The JAXPORT Cruise Terminal ( 30°24.50′N 81°34.65′W / 30.40833°N 81.57750°W / 30.40833; -81.57750 ) is a 63,000 sq ft (5,900 m) "temporary" cruise ship terminal in Jacksonville , Florida . The facility located at the northwest corner of the Dames Point Marine Terminal , beside the Dames Point Bridge . It was completed in six months during 2003 and is a facility at the Port of Jacksonville , administered by the Jacksonville Port Authority . The baggage handling area is 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m); and a passenger embarkation section has 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m). Vehicle access to the site is via Hecksher Drive and there is paved parking for about 600 cars.
32-649: Celebrity Cruises began regular service from Jacksonville on October 27, 2003 on the MV Zenith . Celebrity discontinued their service from Jacksonville in 2005. The ship Carnival Miracle was christened at the Port of Jacksonville on February 27, 2004, beginning Jacksonville service by Carnival Cruise Lines . The Carnival Miracle was replaced by Carnival Cruise Lines' Jubilee , which sailed between JAXPORT and The Bahamas from May 2004 through August 2004. Carnival established year-round cruise service from Jacksonville aboard
64-580: A letter of intent for a new class of vessels. The two 2,900-guest, 117,000 GT ships would be developed under the project name EDGE and will build upon the brand's Millennium -class and Solstice -class vessels. The company took delivery of the first Edge -class vessel, the Celebrity Edge , on 31 October 2018, followed by the Celebrity Apex in 2020, and enlarged stretched Edge -class Celebrity Beyond in 2022. The Edge class introduced
96-533: A negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours. On 26 June, Celebrity Edge became the first cruise ship to leave the United States with ticketed passengers since March 2020. It set sail from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On 29 August 2022, a tugboat strike caused Celebrity Eclipse to delay its departure from the Port of Vancouver by almost 12 hours. Also a new class named Nirvana
128-466: A new livery for the brand, with blue painted hulls that would be incorporated on the rest of the fleet as part of the Celebrity revolution initiative. In December 2014, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo , a 32-year veteran of Celebrity Cruises, was promoted to president and chief executive officer, making her "the first woman to be named CEO of a major cruise line". On 14 March 2016, Celebrity Cruises announced
160-542: A partnership with famed chef Michel Roux , a unique thing for a cruise line at the time. Quoted by then chairman John Chandris, "“We will feature comfort and quality, not glitz and glitter." Celebrity Cruise's second ship Horizon , which had been ordered in 1988 as a replacement for Amerikanis in the Chandris Fantasy fleet, was transferred to Celebrity Cruises fleet, entering service in May 1990. It would be
192-471: A quartet of new ships, the first gas turbine -powered cruise ships, and aptly named Millennium -class ships Millennium , Infinity , Summit and Constellation . The new class of ship introduced a new hull livery, with dark blue hull, gold stripes, and red accents on the mast and funnel. The livery was short Iived, and after a few years, would revert to Celebrity's original white hull, dark blue stripe color scheme. The Celebrity Expeditions sub-brand
224-685: Is a cruise line headquartered in Miami , Florida , and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group . Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group , and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 1997. Celebrity Cruises was founded in April 1988 as a subsidiary of the Greece -based Chandris Group to operate upmarket cruise ships to Bermuda . Chandris had been involved in cruise traffic since
256-471: Is planned. From 2022 to 2022, TSM Singapore . Scrapped at Alang in 2022 as Singa. From 2023 onwards, Marella Voyager for Marella Cruises SS Galileo Galilei 4°37′1″N 99°54′6″E / 4.61694°N 99.90167°E / 4.61694; 99.90167 SS Galileo Galilei was an ocean liner built in 1963 by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico , Monfalcone , Italy for Lloyd Triestino 's Italy–Australia service. In 1979, she
288-465: The 1973 oil crisis , which, combined with the increasing prevalence of airliners , contributed to the decline of ocean liners. Galileo Galilei returned to Genoa and repaired after she struck a reef off the coast of West Africa on 13 January 1975. Galileo Galilei continued to operate on the Italy–Australia run until April 1977, at which point she was withdrawn from service and laid up. Her lay-up
320-781: The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean sailed aboard the Carnival Elation . During the COVID-19 pandemic all cruises were suspended. The first post-pandemic cruise was the American Queen Voyages ship, Ocean Voyager which departed February 21, 2022 for a 12-day cruise to destinations along the Atlantic coast. The Carnival Spirit operated from Jacksonville from March 7, 2022 to April 9th, 2022. Five cruise ships were chartered to serve as floating hotels during
352-657: The Celebration on October 12, 2004. The Celebration continued to sail between JAXPORT and The Bahamas through April 2008. After a four-month hiatus in service, Carnival restarted Jacksonville-Bahamas cruise service aboard the Carnival Fascination , which provided service from Jacksonville until April 2016, being replaced with Carnival Elation . The Carnival Elation was replaced by the Carnival Ectasy in 2019. As of 2022, cruises from Jacksonville visit
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#1732800806377384-654: The Galileo underwent a multimillion-dollar refit at Lloyd Werft , Bremerhaven , Germany between October 1989 and February 1990. Most of her interiors were rebuilt, and externally her rear superstructure enlarged. On 1 March 1990 she emerged as the stylish SS Meridian , the first ship of the new Celebrity Cruises brand, cruising on the Caribbean and the Boston / New York – Bermuda service. In 1997, following Royal Caribbean International 's acquisition of Celebrity Cruises,
416-478: The Zenith also meant the end of Celebrity Cruises' association with Bermuda for the time being, as no ship was brought in to replace her on the cruises to Bermuda. In April 2010, The Celebrity Summit began to reposition yearly to New Jersey to offer cruises to Bermuda. In 2007–2008, all Celebrity Cruises' ships were renamed with a "Celebrity" prefix added to the pre-existing ship names. Celebrity Solstice ,
448-464: The 1960s, and during the late 1980s the company operated in the United States market under the brand name Chandris Cruises. Chandris Fantasy Cruises targeted the lower end of the cruise passenger market, with fleets consisting of second-hand ocean liners . Celebrity Cruises came into existence when, in April 1988, Home Lines , at the time one of the world's leading premium cruise lines, was sold to Holland America Line . Home Lines' ships had held two of
480-724: The Chandris family sold its interests in Celebrity Cruises to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line , leading to the formation of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (later Royal Caribbean Group ) as a holding company to keep both brands separate and the renaming of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to Royal Caribbean International . Following the delivery of the Mercury , the lines first ship, the Meridian, was sold to Singapore-based Sun Cruises. Between 2000 and 2002, Celebrity took delivery of
512-610: The contract, Chandris Fantasy Cruises' Galileo was rebuilt at Lloyd Werft , Germany in 1989, re-entering service as the SS Meridian for Celebrity Cruises in February 1990. Celebrity Cruises adopted the Chandris "X," which was slightly stylized for their logo. The new line advertised itself as a “Luxury Cruising by Design", with the strategy of offering an upscale product with mass-market pricing. The ships would have refined interiors, destinations and dining, which included
544-561: The contracts, but the Government of Bermuda was only willing to award them to upmarket cruise lines, which Chandris Fantasy Cruises was not. To gain the Bermuda Government contracts, Chandris created Celebrity Cruises and immediately began negotiating with the Bermuda Government in April 1988. As a result of the negotiations, Celebrity Cruises was awarded the contract for two ships for five years beginning in 1990 To fulfill
576-617: The first ship in the new Solstice class, was delivered to Celebrity on 24 October 2008. In May 2009 Galaxy was transferred to the fleet of TUI Cruises , a joint venture between Celebrity Cruises' owner Royal Caribbean Group and TUI AG and renamed as Mein Schiff . Two more Solstice -class ships entered service – the Celebrity Equinox in 2009 and the Celebrity Eclipse in 2010. In 2011, Celebrity Mercury
608-507: The five contracts offered by the Government of Bermuda to cruise lines, giving the ships priority berthing arrangement and unlimited access to sail to the islands in exchange for the ships sailing to Bermuda between April and October each year. Although these contracts were highly valued, Holland America Line withdrew the former Home Lines ships from this service, leaving an opening for two new ships to gain access. Chandris wanted to acquire
640-546: The fleet of Pullmantur Cruises to Celebrity Cruises under the names of Celebrity Quest and Celebrity Journey . The ships would have joined the Celebrity Expeditions sub-brand, but in the end the decision was made to form an entirely new line, Azamara Cruises , to operate these ships in 2007. Also, in 2007, the Zenith was transferred to Pullmantur Cruises 'in exchange' for the Azamara ships. Transfer of
672-640: The legalization of same-sex marriage in Malta , where most of the Celebrity fleet is registered. The company already hosted same-sex marriages while docked in jurisdictions where they are legal, but the change in Maltese law allowed the company's captains to perform legally-recognized marriages while in international waters. In July 2018, the company announced its intention to invest more than $ 500 million to refurbish all Millennium -class and Solstice -class ships in its fleet between 2019 and 2023. In 2020, due to
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#1732800806377704-643: The line's first purpose-built new build. In late 1990 Celebrity Cruises placed an order for a sister ship of the Horizon , delivered in 1992 as Zenith . Celebrity ordered a trio of newbuilds at Meyer Werft, known as the Century class, with the first ship, the Century debuting in 1996, followed by the Galaxy and Mercury . These would be the last ships designed under the Chandris family management. In 1997,
736-579: The planned acquisition of the Galápagos Islands tour operator Ocean Adventures and its two ships, the 48-guest MV Eclipse (now Celebrity Xperience ) and the 16-guest catamaran MC Athala II (now Celebrity Xploration ). The move expanded Celebrity's guest capacity in the Galápagos by 65 percent. Celebrity Cruises announced on 11 October 2017, that it would perform legal same-sex marriages on its ships while in international waters following
768-553: The project, and opposition from local residents was vehement; a lawsuit seeking an injunction was filed. In March 2010, the authority announced that they were starting over and reviewing all possible locations for the cruise terminal. In February 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line announced plans to sail from the port for the first time in its history. Beginning Nov. 2025, Norwegian Gem will offer seasonal cruises to The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean every year through 2028 out of Jacksonville. Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises
800-521: The same year, she was joined on the route by her sister ship SS Guglielmo Marconi . Originally the ships traveled to Australia via the eastern route, passing through Suez Canal in both directions, but in the later years the return trip to Europe was via the Panama Canal . They also routed to Australia via the Cape of Good Hope in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The ships were very successful until
832-424: The week preceding Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005. Four of the vessels docked at JAXPORT terminals, providing over 3,500 rooms plus restaurants and night clubs for fans. The Jacksonville Port Authority had plans to relocate the cruise terminal. In 2008, an 8-acre (32,000 m) parcel was purchased in the small fishing village of Mayport as the site of a permanent $ 60 million facility. The economic crisis delayed
864-749: The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic , sailings were suspended on various dates in various regions. On 12 January 2021, a report indicated that sailings were suspended worldwide "through April 30, including the May 1 transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Apex". Between May and October 2021, "Europe and transatlantic cruises on Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Constellation will also be suspended May through Oct. 2021". On 19 March 2021, Celebrity Cruises announced that it would be resuming its North American cruises in June, sailing out of St. Maarten and that to board all adults, including crew, will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Children were allowed to show evidence of
896-767: Was converted to a cruise ship , and subsequently sailed under the names Galileo and Meridian . She sank in the Strait of Malacca in 1999 as the Sun Vista . Ordered by Lloyd Triestino in 1960, Galileo Galilei was built in Italy for the Australian immigrant route. Galileo Galilei was launched on 2 July 1961. On 23 March 1963, the ship entered service for Lloyd Triestino, doing Mediterranean cruises before departing on its official maiden voyage from Genoa , Italy to Sydney , Australia on 22 April 1963. In November of
928-584: Was launched in 2001 with the acquisition of Celebrity Xpedition , a small boutique ship offering specialized cruises around the Galápagos Islands . In 2005, the Horizon was transferred to the fleet of Royal Caribbean's United Kingdom-based subsidiary Island Cruises . In the same year, the first ship of what was to be named Solstice class was ordered from Meyer Werft . By 2007, three more ships of this class were on order. In 2006, plans were made to transfer Blue Moon and Blue Dream from
960-538: Was purchased by Chandris Group . The ship was again rebuilt, this time with additional cabins on her forward deck, and her name shortened to Galileo . In 1984 the Galileo began cruising on the Caribbean under Chandris Fantasy Cruises brand. After the collapse of Home Lines in 1988 Chandris's executives decided to create a new upmarket brand to take over the market segment occupied by Home Lines. With this in mind
992-582: Was short, and in October 1977 she returned to her builders for a lengthy reconstruction into a cruise ship. On 24 March 1979 the Galileo Galilei finally started cruise service with Italia Crociere (owned by Italia Navigazione , who also owned Lloyd Triestino). However, already in September of the same year the Galileo Galilei was withdrawn from service and laid up again. In 1983, the vessel
JAXPORT Cruise Terminal - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-592: Was sold by Celebrity fleet to become Mein Schiff 2 for TUI Cruises. The fourth Solstice -class ship the Celebrity Silhouette entered service in 2011. The Celebrity Reflection was delivered in 2012. In 2014, Celebrity Cruises launched a blog called "Catalyst," which covered travel, fashion, and culture. In April 2015, Celebrity's oldest ship, the Celebrity Century , departed the fleet. On 4 December 2014, Celebrity Cruises signed
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