As we reported earlier this week, Royal Caribbean got the official go-ahead to build a new cruise terminal at Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey and today we've got more details as to what the facility will entail.
The $70 million terminal will be paid for by Royal Caribbean and includes a 36,000-square-foot check-in terminal, a 60,000-square-foot luggage area, a parking deck, additional parking and berth improvements. Construction will begin this summer and should be completed by October 2014. Quantum of the Seas is scheduled to have its first cruise out of Cape Liberty in November 2014.
As part of the agreement allowing construction of the cruise terminal, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the marine terminal facility in Bayonne, agreed to extend Royal Caribbean’s operating agreement for the terminal for an additional five years through 2043.
Passenger volume at the Cape Liberty port have been increasing steadily over the past three years, from 393,000 in 2010 to 476,000 in 2012. Once the new cruise terminal is complete, officials expect the passenger volume to increase to about 600,000.
