Carnival Cruise Line To Expand Terminal Operations At The Port Of Long Beach

To improve operations and enhance the passenger embarkation experience, Carnival Cruise Line has signed an agreement with its west coast landlords to expand the Long Beach Cruise Terminal facility. The expansion, which will nearly triple the size of Carnival’s current terminal facility from approximately 66,000 square feet to 142,000 square feet, will allow Carnival to accommodate larger ships in the future.

Carnival has operated the Long Beach Cruise Terminal since 2003 using a partial area of the Geodesic Dome that was the former museum housing Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose” attraction. The new agreement gives Carnival 100 percent use of the Dome, allowing for larger ships and providing additional space needed to accommodate two-way operations, enabling embarking guests to access the terminal prior to completion of disembarkation. Work on the project is slated to be completed in late 2017 and measures will be taken during the construction period to ensure a continued smooth operational flow and high standard of customer service for cruise guests.

“For years we have been working toward reaching an agreement to expand the Long Beach Cruise Terminal to accommodate larger ships on the West Coast, and we’re thrilled to finally be able to move forward with our plans to assume full usage of the Dome, making Long Beach one of our largest homeport facilities,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Plans also include expansion of portside cold-ironing capacity to accommodate larger vessels. The technology enables cruise ships to plug into the local electric grid and reduce exhaust emissions while docked. In addition, Carnival has plans for enhancements to the area surrounding the dome and the adjacent Queen Mary attraction, as well as ways to expand parking capacity to accommodate future growth. Currently, the recently enhanced Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Imagination operate year-round three- and four-day Baja cruises from Long Beach while Carnival Miracle sails 7-day voyages to the Mexican Riviera and 14- and 15-day cruises to Hawaii and Alaska round-trip from Long Beach.

Image Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line