‘It’s exciting:’ New cruise line heading to Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Norwegian cruise lines are headed to the Bold City.

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The cruise line was given the green light during a special Jaxport meeting this afternoon.

Board members unanimously approved the idea and Jaxport officials say these cruises will begin in November of 2025.

Jaxport’s CEO Eric Green says this is an opportunity to bring jobs to the area as well as cruising options for travelers.

“It’s exciting for our community anytime we do things like this it’s exciting because of the opportunity to create more jobs,” said Green.

According to Jaxport, the Norwegian Gem will be homeported in Jacksonville from November to April every year through 2028 and will have seasonal cruises to the Bahamas.

The Terminal in Jacksonville already has a Carnival cruise line, and Green says both companies will work together.

“It was always a question of whether or not we can host two cruise lines at the same time, but we are able to do it,” said Green.

The Norwegian Gem can hold just under 2400 passengers.

Jaxport officials say more than 98 million consumers live within driving distance of the Jaxport cruise terminal. They are still looking into updating the current terminal.

“It’s all about space, right? So we are very methodical about the things that we do so we will look at those things as time goes on, but it’s really about how long the commitment and contracts are,” said Green.

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Local cruise industry

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