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World's Largest Cruise Ship Will Call Port Canaveral Home

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. Photo: Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. Photo: Royal Caribbean

Port Canaveral will soon be home to the world’s largest cruise ship. Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas will sail from the port starting the summer of 2019. The ship will embark on 7 night cruises to destinations in the eastern and western Caribbean.

Port Canaveral CEO John Murray credits the launch of a new terminal for Royal Caribbean back in 2014 in bring the mega-ship to Canaveral.

“Having the right facility with the right check in lanes, the right number of ticket stations and the two boarding bridges have been quite successful," said Murray. "I think Royal Caribbean has been very pleased with the operation since we opened the terminal.”

The ship hosts 6,687 passengers in 2,747 cabins with a crew of 2,100.

The increase in passengers will have an affect on the local economy. More passengers means more customers at local businesses including hotels and shuttle services like Uber and Lyft. “We have a $2.2 billion economic impact to the local community including central Florida,” said Murray.

The Harmony of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s newest vessel and currently sails out of Port Everglades. The Mariner of the Seas will return to Port Canaveral after a $100 million upgrade and will replace the Majesty of the Seas currently sailing from Port Canaveral.

Brendan Byrne is WMFE's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the WMFE newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing WMFE's internship program.

Byrne also hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.