Miami will continue to be the cruise capital of the world when Carnival Corporate moves away from Doral in a few years.
The cruise operator isn’t moving far. It announced Monday it will build several buildings to serve as its new headquarters just south of Miami International Airport, in the Waterford Business District.
The new campus will bring more workers, too. Carnival will consolidate its North American operations to the business district. It will initially be home to more than 2,000 employees who work shoreside for the cruise ship company for Princess Cruises, Cunard Line and Holland America Line in addition to its namesake Carnival Cruise brand.
"Co-locating our North America shoreside team members on a shared campus — designed from the ground up to support how we work and what we do — will foster even greater knowledge sharing, innovation, efficiency and career growth,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival, in a news release.
The project will start with an office complex and training and rehearsal space for shows it stages on its cruise ships. The corporate home is expected to be complete in 2028.
The project "aligns with the strategic priorities of our community, including long-term investment and job creation," a Beacon Council spokesperson told WLRN. The Beacon Council is the economic development group for Miami-Dade County. The spokesperson would not comment on whether any economic incentives were used in the deal.
It is not clear what will happen to Carnival’s current headquarters in Doral. It has operated out of the space since the 1980s. It is 17-acres and the company put it up for sale last year, according to media reports. Miami-Dade County appraised the property at $67.1 million in 2023.
Carnival’s new home will be in the Waterford Business District, a 250-acre area bordering SR-836 that had been known as Blue Lagoon before it was rebranded in 2019. The district has at least seven existing office buildings with a mix of industries such as financial services, healthcare and hospitality.
First consolidation of different brands
Carnival Corporation is a collection of eight different cruise line brands, including Costa and Seabourn. The consolidation of its North American brands to its new global headquarters in Miami represents the first time those brands will be united in a single location. Princess and Holland America have had business operations in California and Seattle.
The company said it will maintain some employees in the Pacific Northwest for its Alaskan cruises. Princess has had its operations centered in California since the 1970s. Cunard has been based in California for 20 years.
Carnival is just the latest South Florida-based cruise operator to announce HQ changes. Royal Caribbean has been building its new headquarters near its terminal at PortMiami. MSC Group moved its cruise operations to downtown Miami last year.
In March, Carnival reported record sales in the first quarter of the year. Strong demand for cruises and passengers spending more money while onboard helped its financial results. Its operating income also was a record, doubling from a year earlier.
Operating income does not include debt payments. The company borrowed billions of dollars to stay afloat during COVID-19 when the industry was banned from sailing for more than a year. It's stock price is down about 20% this year over worries higher tariffs and lower consumer confidence will hurt demand for its cruises.
