by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:15 PM ET, Tue October 18, 2016
On Monday, Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to expand its terminal at the Port of Long Beach in California.
According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, Carnival has been using a portion of the Queen Mary Dome since 2003, but a new agreement was struck allowing the cruise line to use the entire dome, increasing the size of its terminal from 66,000 square feet to 142,000 square feet.
The larger terminal will allow Carnival to bring bigger ships into Port of Long Beach.
Carnival's current terminal at Port of Long Beach is only big enough to act as a one-way facility, but the expansion would allow passengers to both embark upon a vessel while returning travelers are disembarking. The Carnival Imagination, Carnival Miracle and Carnival Inspiration cruise ships currently operate out of the California terminal.
"For years we have been working toward reaching an agreement to expand the Long Beach Cruise Terminal to accommodate larger ships on the West Coast," Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy told the Long Beach Press Telegram. "We're thrilled to finally be able to move forward with our plans to assume full usage of the Dome, making Long Beach one of our largest homeport facilities."
In addition to Carnival ships being able to plug into the shore side electrical grid while at berth, the new landlord for the Queen Mary Dome-Urban Commons-is looking to develop the area around the terminal with bars, theme park attractions, restaurants and an amphitheater.
The expansion project by Carnival at Port of Long Beach is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
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