SeaPort Manatee aims to attract a cruise line, prompting possible competition with Port Tampa Bay
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 14, 2023

One of the fastest-growing container ports in Florida, it has always operated in a quasi-competition with Port Tampa Bay.

Now it has allocated over $25 million to building a cruise terminal to attract the same type of ships as Tampa, according to President and CEO Carlos Buqueras. From 1993-2003, the Regal Empress cruise line set sail from what was then called Port Manatee. No cruise company has made a commitment since, but conversations are ongoing, Buqueras said. If a company were to commit more money into a new terminal, the port would consider giving it exclusivity.

"I'd say the Fantasies or Dreams [class of ships operated by Carnival] are very practical because we have the port facilities, the right to access and the money to build it," Buqueras said. "The cruise lines are desirous of having different itineraries. There are places you can reach from here that you can't reach from other spots in Tampa Bay because we're that much closer. Three or four hours each way sometimes can make a difference. We're talking about adding to the cruise business, not detracting. [There are] so many new cruises being built and so many itineraries being developed."

The decision comes as a dialogue ramps up in Tampa regarding the long-term viability of the cruise industry there. Cruise passenger activity is at an all-time high at Port Tampa Bay, but the Sunshine Skyway Bridge walls off the large ships that companies are investing in.

The bridge also blocks SeaPort Manatee from the Gulf of Mexico.

The Florida Department of Transportation spent $150,000 in 2014 to conduct a report on the Sunshine Skyway, an obstacle to growth in both cargo and cruise operations. Replacing the bridge — not due for a teardown until 2087 — would cost $2 billion, the report said. No new cost analysis has occurred since, according to FDOT spokesperson Kris Carson.

FDOT's study floated the idea of building a new cruise terminal in Pinellas County, but there was no political appetite to do so. Building out a cruise terminal would require new roads, parking and other infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive area.

"There was kind of a shrug at the time like, 'Wow, this is a big project,'" former Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President and CEO David Downing said. "Then time moved on."