Big Cruise Line May Depart San Pedro for Long Beach.Senior executives from Carnival Cruise Lines This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. met with Queen Mary Queen Mary, Queen Marie, or Queen Maria may refer to: Queens Britain England
Under the proposed agreement, Carnival would abandon its current port in San Pedro and instead dock at a new multimillion-dollar terminal complex to be built adjacent to the Queen Mary, sources said. "The discussions are continuing and progressing," said Jennifer de la Cruz de la Cruz is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning 'of The Cross.'
Because the deal has not been sealed, De la Cruz declined to provide details on the discussions or a timeline for reaching an agreement. "We're enthused about the developments and the possibilities for moving this thing forward, but there's nothing solidified," she said. If an agreement is reached Carnival would become the first cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the to dock in Long Beach, where a major renovation of shoreline shops and other attractions is underway. Along with benefiting tourism at the Queen Mary, the arrival of Carnival could boost business at the Aquarium of the Pacific The Aquarium of the Pacific is located in the city of Long Beach, California at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. The aquarium features a collection of over 12,500 animals representing almost 1,000 different species. , which opened last year and has become a popular tourist destination A tourist destination is a city, town or other area the economy of which is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions or visitor attractions and possibly some "tourist traps". . It also could deliver business to a new entertainment and shopping complex along Queensway Bay. Construction of the 500,000-square-foot, $150 million center is expected to break ground by the end of this year, with completion set for May 2001. "A cruise ship coming into Long Beach from our perspective is pretty fantastic," said Geraldine Knatz, managing director for the Port of Long Beach. The lead negotiator wooing Carnival is Joseph Prevratil, president of Queens Seaport Development, which runs the Queen Mary. Prevratil was unavailable for comment. Several sources indicated Carnival is considering the move due to an increase in the per-passenger tariff at the Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown. Also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT LA , where the cruise line now operates a terminal in San Pedro. The Elation elation /ela·tion/ (e-la´shun) emotional excitement marked by acceleration of mental and bodily activity, with extreme joy and an overly optimistic attitude. and Holiday, the two ships using that port, bring roughly 270,000 passengers a year to San Pedro, according to estimates by De la Cruz. The tariff hike brought the per-passenger tariff from $8.50 to $9.35 for everyone boarding or leaving the ships. Like all other cruise lines at the port, Carnival's lease will expire on Dec. 31, 2000. As a result, the timing could be right for a move next year. "We're always looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. alternate bases of operation as our company grows and our fleet grows," De la Cruz said. "And there are many attractive aspects to the Long Beach area that are appealing to us." In addition to protesting the tariff hike, several cruise lines have expressed dissatisfaction about the lack of activities available to passengers in San Pedro. A survey of lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises conducted by the San Pedro business improvement district earlier this year showed that the port ranked "at the very bottom" in tourist appeal when compared with other national cruise-line ports. While the Port of L.A. may lose Carnival, it scored a coup over Long Beach last month when the world's largest shipping company announced it would leave Long Beach for Los Angeles. Maersk Inc. plans to move Sea-Land Services Inc. to Pier 400 in 2002. Knatz said Maersk's departure will allow the Port of Long Beach to accommodate demands for space from other shipping companies. |
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