Two of three new Disney Cruise Line ships to call Port Canaveral home in new agreement

“By resetting the clock, we get a longer term on great partners like Disney, and coupled with our Carnival agreement, we’ve got two of our largest cruise partners on long-term agreements now which really is a tremendous benefit to this port,” said Port CEO Captain John Murray.

The old agreement had the cruise line guaranteeing 150 calls on the port annually, and that continues for now, but will increase to 180 in 2023 and at least 216 calls in 2024. The new agreement also gives Disney Cruise Line continued exclusive use of Terminal 8, the current terminal DCL uses, and also preferential use of Terminal 10 when the cruise line begins home porting three ships from Canaveral.

The agreement also increases the per-passenger wharfage rate cost to Disney Cruise Line by $0.09 from the old agreement with potential annual increases of 2.5 percent if the Consumer Price Index increases by more than 4 percent any year.

Both cruise terminals are in the midst of a nearly $46.5 million of budgeted improvements to be completed before Disney’s first new ship of its new class debuts in 2021. The new agreement also states Disney will begin paying to Port Canaveral upon completion of the two terminal improvements a $3.15 per passenger cost that will over the 20 years allow Port Canaveral to recoup the cost of the improvements.

“The industry is changing. There’s 130 ships coming in the next 7 years that have to be deployed somewhere,” Murray said, “I think our strategy now is pretty well in place that there’s no need to be out trying to drag people in here. They’re going to come. It’s just a matter of time. So what we need to do is position ourselves so that when they do come, we’re negotiating on our terms for our port, so I think this is a great baseline.”