Royal Caribbean Group is doubling down on Miami as the global capital of cruising, unveiling plans with PortMiami and Miami-Dade County for a new next-generation terminal tailored to the world’s largest and most luxurious ships.

The project, centered on a complete redevelopment of the port’s existing Terminal G, is positioned to redefine the embarkation experience for high-end travelers and further cement the city’s role at the forefront of the cruise industry’s post-pandemic growth.

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A New Flagship Partnership At The Cruise Capital

The latest agreement between Royal Caribbean and PortMiami builds on a decades-long relationship that has already produced some of the port’s most recognizable waterfront architecture.

The new initiative focuses on Terminal G, on the west end of the port, where construction is beginning on a purpose-built facility designed to serve Royal Caribbean International and its sister luxury brands Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.

Miami-Dade County officials, PortMiami leadership and Royal Caribbean executives are joining construction partners in a groundbreaking ceremony on January 8, 2026, marking the formal start of work on the complex.

The project is structured as a public-private partnership involving Miami-Dade County, PortMiami, Royal Caribbean Group and the Lemartec-NV2A joint venture, which is tasked with delivering a terminal able to host the industry’s newest generation of mega-ships.

For Royal Caribbean, the investment is a strategic move to secure long-term capacity in the heart of its most important source market.

Already homeport to the record-breaking Icon of the Seas and multiple Oasis-class ships, Miami provides unmatched air connectivity, hotel inventory and brand visibility that few cruise destinations can rival.

The new terminal gives the company room to grow while offering a tailored environment for the premium and luxury segments that have been expanding rapidly in recent years.

Designed For Icon-Class And Next-Generation Luxury Ships

At the center of the project is a state-of-the-art terminal engineered to accommodate ships carrying up to 7,000 passengers.

This aligns with the scale and technical requirements of Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class vessels, currently the largest in the world by gross tonnage and passenger capacity, as well as future large-tonnage ships across its fleet.

The new Terminal G is being conceived as a multi-level complex that organizes passenger flows vertically, separating arriving and departing guests on different floors to minimize congestion.

Such a layout has become standard in recent flagship terminals worldwide, but Royal Caribbean and PortMiami are tailoring the design to ultra-high volumes and short turnaround times typical of three- and seven-night Caribbean sailings.

From curb to gangway, the facility will be optimized for the full spectrum of Royal Caribbean Group’s portfolio.

That means expansive check-in halls with dedicated zones for suite and luxury guests, private lounges geared toward Silversea’s high-end clientele, and upgraded boarding bridges and gangways robust enough to handle some of the heaviest passenger flows in the cruise business.

Cruise industry observers note that in recent years, major lines have increasingly sought bespoke terminals to showcase their brands from the very first moment of the trip. Royal Caribbean’s original Terminal A at PortMiami, known as the Crown of Miami, opened in 2018 and quickly became an architectural landmark.

The new Terminal G is expected to extend that design-led approach into a multi-brand complex focused on scale, efficiency and luxury.

Tripling Capacity And Redrawing The PortMiami Map

The new Royal Caribbean terminal is set to dramatically expand the company’s footprint at PortMiami. According to project outlines shared by county and port officials, annual throughput at the redeveloped Terminal G is projected to rise from roughly 600,000 passengers to as many as 2.1 million once operations fully ramp up.

That increase would more than triple existing volumes, effectively transforming the west end of the port into a Royal Caribbean-dominated hub linked directly to some of the world’s most high-profile cruise ships.

The buildout includes a nine-level parking garage with space for more than 2,000 vehicles and an integrated ground-level transportation area for taxis, ride-shares, tour buses and private cars.

The parking and intermodal facilities are central to the project’s design philosophy. PortMiami and the cruise line are aiming to avoid the traffic bottlenecks that have challenged some terminals as ship sizes climbed.

By pairing vertical terminal design with a tiered access road and parking system, planners hope to keep vehicles moving even at peak embarkation and disembarkation windows when thousands of passengers may be arriving and departing simultaneously.

The terminal’s expanded capacity is expected to support both year-round Caribbean deployments and seasonal repositionings, giving Royal Caribbean and its luxury brands flexibility to introduce new itineraries and ship rotations out of Miami in the years ahead.

A Competitive Response In A Rapidly Evolving Port

PortMiami has been undergoing a multi-year transformation, with new facilities for MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages reshaping both the skyline and the competitive landscape.

MSC’s recently opened Terminal AA, billed as the world’s largest cruise terminal by passenger capacity, can process up to 36,000 guests per day and has set a new benchmark for size and technology at the port.

Royal Caribbean’s latest partnership with PortMiami can be seen as a direct response to that escalating arms race in terminal design and capacity.

While the new Terminal G will not match MSC’s complex in raw size, it is being crafted as a flagship hub calibrated to Royal Caribbean’s fleet and brand mix, including its newest and most high-profile ships.

Cruise industry analysts say the proliferation of dedicated, line-branded terminals at PortMiami reflects a broader trend in the sector. As ships grow larger and onboard offerings more elaborate, cruise lines are seeking equivalent control over the land-side experience.

Purpose-built terminals allow them to integrate digital check-in technologies, premium lounges, branded decor and loyalty program touchpoints in ways that generic multiuser facilities cannot easily provide.

For Miami-Dade County, the investment from Royal Caribbean and its rivals is a sign of confidence in the port’s long-term prospects.

The county has previously estimated that new terminal projects can support thousands of direct and indirect jobs and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the regional economy through tourism spending, construction contracts and port revenues.

Green Credentials And Shore Power Integration

Beyond size and aesthetics, sustainability is a central pillar of the new terminal plan.

County and company officials have said the facility is being designed to meet LEED standards, continuing a trend across PortMiami where many of the most recent terminals carry Silver or Gold certifications for energy efficiency and environmental performance.

The project is also expected to tie into PortMiami’s expanding shore power infrastructure.

In 2024, the port began activating one of the largest cruise shore power systems on the United States east coast, allowing ships at several terminals, including Royal Caribbean’s existing Terminal A, to shut down their engines and plug into the local electric grid while docked.

Extending that capability to the new Royal Caribbean complex is seen as crucial to meeting both regulatory expectations and growing consumer scrutiny of maritime emissions.

With Icon-class and other next-generation ships incorporating advanced propulsion and emissions-control technologies, the ability to operate on shore power in port is viewed as a key environmental and marketing advantage.

Port planners say the next phase of their sustainability roadmap includes not only shore power but also enhanced stormwater management, improved energy monitoring and a stronger focus on climate resilience as sea levels and storm intensity pose growing challenges to low-lying coastal infrastructure.

Elevating The Luxury Passenger Experience

While the terminal will serve Royal Caribbean’s mass-market ships, a significant part of the narrative around the project focuses on luxury and premium travel.

Silversea and Celebrity Cruises, both under the Royal Caribbean Group umbrella, have seen a steady rise in demand for higher-end sailings, particularly from North American guests flying into Florida for Caribbean, South American and transatlantic itineraries.

To cater to that clientele, the terminal design is expected to incorporate segregated check-in lanes and exclusive lounges, with amenities such as private seating areas, enhanced concierge services, expedited security screening and direct boarding access for top-tier suite guests.

Industry precedent suggests these spaces will feature elevated design finishes and curated food and beverage options intended to mirror the onboard luxury product.

For travel advisors and tour operators specializing in upscale cruising, the dedicated facilities at PortMiami are likely to become a selling point, particularly for guests who place a premium on a seamless and stress-free embarkation process.

The new terminal’s design aims to reduce time spent in queues and security lines, complementing the biometric and app-based check-in tools that cruise lines have been rolling out across their fleets.

In a market where high-net-worth travelers increasingly compare cruise experiences with luxury hotels and resorts, the land-side cues at the point of departure can influence perception and brand loyalty before a ship even leaves the pier.

Economic Stakes For Miami And The Wider Caribbean

The Royal Caribbean–PortMiami terminal partnership carries significant economic implications not only for Miami but for the wider Caribbean region.

As the homeport for some of the world’s largest ships, Miami functions as a gateway to a network of island destinations that rely heavily on cruise passenger spending.

With the new terminal enabling higher-capacity deployments and more frequent turnarounds, port calls across the region could see increased volumes, particularly at private islands and dedicated destinations that feature heavily in Royal Caribbean itineraries.

For local economies in the Bahamas, Eastern and Western Caribbean, the expanded Miami hub may translate into more excursions, retail purchases and hospitality business.

In Miami-Dade County itself, construction and eventual operation of the new complex are expected to support jobs in engineering, contracting, transportation, hospitality and port services.

Officials have frequently underscored that the county’s ongoing investment in port infrastructure is aimed at maintaining PortMiami’s status as the self-styled Cruise Capital of the World, amid growing competition from other Florida ports and emerging hubs in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

For Royal Caribbean, the project is a hedge against that competition and a long-term bet that Miami will remain central to cruise deployment strategies, particularly for North American and Latin American markets where direct air links to South Florida are robust and growing.

What Travelers Should Know About The New Terminal

With construction work beginning and an opening target set for late 2027, most Royal Caribbean guests will continue to use the existing Terminal A and other facilities at PortMiami in the near term.

However, as the new Terminal G nears completion, the company is expected to gradually announce ship assignments, deployment changes and updated check-in instructions well in advance of the inaugural sailings from the complex.

Travelers booked on Icon-class or other large Royal Caribbean ships sailing from Miami in the latter half of the decade should watch for communications regarding terminal assignments, arrival times and new embarkation procedures.

Port officials say road access and signage will be reconfigured as the west end of the port is rebuilt, which may affect traffic patterns for private cars, taxis, shuttles and ride-share services.

Given the scale of the project, Miami-Dade transportation planners recommend that cruise passengers build extra time into their plans during the construction period, particularly on days when multiple large ships are departing.

Once the terminal is fully operational, the expectation is that the layered roadways, expanded parking and dedicated drop-off zones will streamline flows and potentially shorten curb-to-ship times compared with current norms.

For luxury travelers in particular, the introduction of more expansive suite-focused facilities may slightly shift the calculus when choosing between competing lines out of South Florida, adding another differentiator in an already competitive market for high-spend cruise guests.

FAQ

Q1. What exactly are Royal Caribbean and PortMiami building at Terminal G?
They are redeveloping the existing Terminal G area into a new, state-of-the-art cruise complex designed to handle next-generation ships carrying up to around 7,000 passengers, with integrated parking and transportation facilities tailored to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.

Q2. When is the new Royal Caribbean terminal in Miami expected to open?
Current timelines from port and county officials indicate that the new Terminal G is scheduled to open by the end of 2027, following approximately two years of major construction and subsequent systems testing.

Q3. Which cruise brands will use the new Terminal G at PortMiami?
The terminal is being planned as a hub for Royal Caribbean Group brands, primarily Royal Caribbean International, but also Celebrity Cruises and the ultra-luxury line Silversea, all of which will be able to homeport ships there.

Q4. Will the new terminal be able to accommodate Icon-class ships?
Yes. Design specifications call for berthing and passenger-processing capabilities scaled for the largest Royal Caribbean ships, including Icon-class vessels with maximum capacities of around 7,000 guests.

Q5. How will this project change the passenger experience in Miami?
The terminal will feature multi-level check-in and waiting areas, separated flows for arriving and departing guests, expanded parking and new premium lounges, all intended to reduce congestion and provide a smoother, more personalized embarkation and disembarkation experience.

Q6. Is the new Royal Caribbean terminal focused on sustainability?
Yes. The facility is being targeted for LEED certification and is expected to connect to PortMiami’s growing shore power network, allowing ships to plug into the electric grid while docked and significantly reduce local emissions.

Q7. How much will Royal Caribbean’s capacity increase at PortMiami once the terminal opens?
Port and industry estimates suggest annual passenger throughput at the redeveloped Terminal G could rise from roughly 600,000 to around 2.1 million, more than tripling current capacity for Royal Caribbean Group at that location.

Q8. Will construction at Terminal G disrupt current cruise operations in Miami?
Some traffic and access adjustments are expected during demolition and construction, but PortMiami plans to keep existing terminals, including Royal Caribbean’s Terminal A, fully operational so that current sailings can continue with minimal disruption.

Q9. What should future Royal Caribbean passengers do to prepare for changes at PortMiami?
Travelers should monitor pre-cruise communications from the cruise line, pay close attention to updated terminal assignments and arrival instructions, and allow additional travel time to the port during the construction phase and early months of operation.

Q10. Why is Miami investing so heavily in new cruise terminals?
Miami-Dade County and PortMiami view continuous terminal upgrades as essential to preserving the port’s status as a global cruise leader, attracting the newest ships, supporting local jobs and tourism, and competing effectively with other rapidly expanding cruise ports in Florida and the wider region.