Mayport Cruise Ship Terminal Proposal

[JeffreyS]

Hell although I hope Jax gets the ships a cruise with a day in Savannah tacked on sounds like a great promotion. And we will have the "lovely" people of Mayport to thank.

[Mattius92]

Now look at this picture, there is more then just one place on the St. Johns that we can have a cruise terminal without the worries of the Dames. Also some are much more assessable then the Mayport site.

[stjr]

Recently visited Savannah.  While it's suburbs need some work (makes you really appreciate our sign and landscaping ordinances!), the historic downtown is something to behold.  Hundreds of tree lined city blocks and parks choked with tourists and downtown residents, almost all in buildings over 100 years old!  Who says historic preservation doesn't pay.  And, while their riverfront is nice, it's not nearly as nice as ours.  But, it sure is a lot busier.

[Charles Hunter]

Looking a little closer at Google maps, and the City's GIS, shows that Site 1 above is owned by the City and JaxPort - but road access would be through a neighborhood, on narrow, winding residential streets.  Bad enough for the cars going there, but a real problem for the semis needed to provision a large cruise ship.

Although I recognize the "box" for Site 2 is merely representational, about half of it is in the National Park Service's Fort Caroline and Ribault Monument areas.  In between are about a dozen riverfront homes.  The eastern end, currently used as a "sand mine" has possibilities.

Edited to Add: About Site 1, the JEA power lines - that have the same clearance as the Dames Point Bridge - cross from Blount Island (see the vertical line bisecting the island), and cross the Site (see the pylons in Mill Cove south of Site 1) - pushing the potential cruise ships right up next to those riverfront homes.

[thelakelander]

Jax should think "connectivity" when deciding on where the cruise port will go.  An isolated cruise port will have limited to little impact on surrounding businesses.  In Mayport, a well design terminal could easily achor the immediate redevelopment and revitalization of that entire waterfront and commercial district.  IMO, if we must stay east of the Dames Point, to get the most bang out of our buck, its Mayport or bust.

[mtraininjax]

its Mayport or bust

Agreed, we need to create a critical mass out there. Mayport Road could see a revitalization and finally see cleanup. I don't think the citizens realize what can happen to have the ships come in at Mayport.

Also, ships are not getting smaller, and we are not about to jack up the Dames Point bridge, so GO EAST young man.

[Mattius92]

I agree Mayport is the best bet, but that cant be the only site that Jaxport is thinking of... Now some poeple talked about a cruise terminal in DT, first off we know that the bridges will cause height limitations, the Hart Bridge has 141' of clearance. However most major cruise ships require more then 200' of height clearance, so east of the Dames would be best for current and future cruise ships.

[blizz01]

This is nice to see - although Grand Turk wouldn't be my first choice......I'm just happy to see Carnival continuing to be creative out of JAX.

Carnival adds longer cruise from Jax

Carnival Cruise Lines will add a seven-day service to eastern Caribbean starting in late April 2011, bringing its cruise services out of Jacksonville to three.

The new service to Grand Turk, the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, Nassau, will complement Carnival’s existing four and five-day cruises to Bahamas and Key West. The added itinerary is in response to passenger feedback requesting more eastern Caribbean ports, particularly more secluded destinations, said Gerry Cahill, Carnival President and CEO, in a news release.

“Jacksonville has already proven to be a successful homeport based on the convenient cruise options that we offer to consumers from across the Southeastern U.S.,” said Jacksonville Port Authority CEO Rick Ferrin.

The amount of Cruise passengers hit a local record last year with 186,000 passengers. The number of passengers has grown by 34 percent since Carnival began sailing out of Jacksonville in 2005.

Reservations are being accepted for departure dates including April 30, May, 7, July 23 and 30, and Sept 17 and 24, 2011.

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2010/06/21/daily35.html

[mtraininjax]

Slow news day, but the TU did report that the JPA has narrowed the sites down to Mayport and 2 west of the Dames Point bridge. Timken and FlaFor - I think the people in Mayport want your help to raise some cain and see if you can stop the economic engine of new jobs when the JPA folks choose Mayport.

[thelakelander]

New thinking for port-owned land in Mayport eyes development without a cruise ship terminal

When angry words and lawsuits were flying in Mayport, Mikki Baldwin and her daughter took a walk on the waterfront and recalled how tightly their lives were tied to the long history of the little village.
Back then, residents like Baldwin felt powerless to stop the Jacksonville Port Authority from building a cruise terminal in Mayport. As the pair strolled that night, they came to a flagpole with the port authority banner on it. Baldwin decided something could be done, if only symbolically.

The next morning, that flag — that "slap in the face" — was hanging upside down.

Baldwin tells the story while recounting the once-rocky relationship between Mayport residents and the port authority, even as she looks forward to what she hopes will be a new chapter — one that absolutely doesn't involve a cruise ship terminal, as that idea has been scrapped.

Instead, JaxPort intends to join forces with the city's Office of Economic Development to attract private development for the 6 acres of property, most of which has sat idle since the port authority bought it eight years ago.

"I think whatever the project turns out to be, it will be something significant for the Mayport community," port authority board member Jim Citrano said.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2016-05-26/story/new-thinking-port-owned-land-mayport-eyes-development-without-cruise

[acme54321]

I'd like to see somewhere that boats could stop and have lunch, etc.  For a city this large there really aren't that restaurants (or at least desirable ones) on the water that are easily accessible by boat.  Maybe something like Shem Creek in Mt Pleasant.

I still think the people that live in the "village" of Mayport are delusional about the character of their area and a cruise terminal makes sense there.

[Tacachale]

I'm from the Beach and i never understood the pushback against the cruise terminal. At any rate it's good that they're finally considering some other options.

[brucef58]

You make a good point!  The Baldwins and Gulliford are portrayed as heroes and yet they set back Mayport's economy by at least five years.  With the realities of the US Fisheries and the fact that fresh water Aqua-culture and Aqua-phonics are the growing trend in provide fish products and freshwater shrimp the days of scores of fishing/shrimp boats being docked in Mayport are gone.  The Baldwins and Gulliford had better find an attraction to bring people into Mayport before planning all of this development.  Unfortunately the actions taken by the port under pressure from this group will prevent a cruise terminal for becoming an option once again.

[thelakelander]

I'm in the camp who also thought a cruise terminal would have been great for Mayport. Especially when it comes to supporting the retail/restaurants people say they want, as well as making the ferry more sustainable via the extra traffic. I wish them well but I think it may be a struggle.

[strider]

How successful is the current cruise ship venue?  If it is doing well, would not moving the terminal to Mayport allow larger ships? Would a different cruise ship line be interested s there would be two terminals?