Norwegian Cruise Line has unveiled plans for a new terminal in Miami to begin construction in May, pending final approval by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners. The terminal at PortMiami will be LEED Silver certified and will make an effort to be built with local materials and resources.
Designed by Bermello Ajamil & Partners, the terminal’s gently curved outer form and spiralled, multilevel facade are inspired by the nautilus. Immense lateral windows will offer prime ocean views and the oblong, white-accented terminal’s nearly 166,500 square feet will give the port the capacity to host an additional 5,000-person ship with new technology to speed up embarkment and disembarkment. The terminal will also feature a variety of amenities for passengers, as well as expanded parking and valet services.
Miami-Dade county will be investing $100 million in the terminal, citing its job creation benefits. It is unclear what Norwegian will itself contribute to the cost of the terminal. Bermello Ajamil & Partners was chosen by Norwegian after a dispute between Norwegian and Miami-Dade county over the initial bid-winning design and construction firm chosen by the county. The county would have saved $19 million if the original plans had gone through.
The new Norwegian Cruise Line terminal, to be labeled Terminal B, will be next to Royal Caribbean Cruise’s new Terminal A, which is set to be complete this November, and just east of Norwegian’s current Terminals B and C, which are set to be combined into a single Terminal C. The new terminal arrangement would double Norwegian’s capacity. PortMiami is currently the “cruise capital of the world,” last year breaking world records by hosting 5.3 million visitors. The new terminal will dramatically reshape the port, and as PortMiami director Juan Kuryla told the Miami Herald, “[set] the stage for other beautiful terminals along the north side of the port.”
The terminal is intended to be completed fall 2019 to coincide with the launch of the Norwegian Encore, the newest Breakaway Plus class ship in Norwegian’s fleet.
