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A major port redevelopment will not leave room for Carnival to homeport in Charleston.
The South Carolina ports authority and the city of Charleston announced yesterday that when carnival cruise lines’ contract to homeport in the city ends in 2024, it will not be renewed.
The reason for not renewing the contract was the decision to commission a major redevelopment of that area. There are plans to host cruise ships in the future but no plans to allow cruise lines to homeport.
Jim Newsome, President, and CEO of South Carolina Ports Authority, says this idea has been discussed for some time. But, he said, “As time has gone along, and certainly the real estate values have increased in Charleston and just the opportunity to do something really transformational. The City of Charleston has led us to the conclusion to do a complete non-maritime redevelopment. And the consequence of that is we really don’t have a place to do a homeport operation after the end of this contract in 2024.”
Carnival issued a statement in response to the decision, “It is amazing to see the continued growth of Charleston’s tourism economy, and Carnival is proud to have been a part it of since 2010. While exciting for the future of Charleston, the redevelopment of Union Pier Terminal will, unfortunately, mean Carnival will no longer homeport a ship in Charleston beyond 2024. We will work with the Ports Authority to explore future opportunities in Charleston. In the meantime, it is business as usual, and we look forward to seeing our guests aboard Carnival Sunshine through 2024.”
