The Canaveral Port Authority and Disney Cruise Line have reached a new 20-year agreement to expand operations and make Port Canaveral home for two of Disney Cruise Line’s three new ships.
The new operating agreement will begin June 1, 2019, and replaces an existing Marine Terminal Agreement set to expire on December 31, 2027. It provides a 20-year primary term with two additional five-year renewals. Initially, the call guarantee remains at 150 calls, but increases to 180 calls in 2023 and up to 216 calls in 2024 through the remainder of the 20-year term.
The terms of the new agreement continue Disney’s exclusive operation from Cruise Terminal 8, in addition to providing preferential use of the Port’s Cruise Terminal 10 for a third homeport vessel. The planned waterside and landside improvements to Cruise Terminal 8 and Cruise Terminal 10 will accommodate the growth of Disney’s fleet of cruise ships. The new ships are expected to be delivered in 2021, 2022 and 2023, with two of them homeporting in Port Canaveral for at least their first five years of operation.
The agreement between Disney Cruise Line and Port Canaveral continues a relationship that began with negotiations in 1994 to build the first Disney cruise terminal at Port Canaveral. All four of Disney’s cruise ships in its existing fleet made Port Canaveral their home port when they debuted. The cruise line’s two biggest ships, the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, are currently homeported at Port Canaveral year-round, while the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder rotate home ports.
Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the terms of the new agreement at the regularly scheduled Commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.