zoomImage Courtesy: Port Everglades

Miami-based cruise line Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCL) and Florida’s Port Everglades have agree a Memorandum of Understanding for a new long-term business agreement, including complete, customized renovations of the port’s Cruise Terminal 25.

The parties said that the MOU will allow negotiations to move forward toward a final agreement that must be approved by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners.

RCL’s current agreement expires on December 31, 2017. The new agreement will be effective on January 1, 2018, and expire on September 30, 2026 with options to extend the agreement for four years, followed by another five years.

Earlier this week, RCL unveiled that its newest Celebrity Cruises ship Celebrity Edge will homeport in Port Everglades beginning in the fall of 2018, as the works at the Cruise Terminal 25 are scheduled for completion by the end of October the same year.

“Our cruise line customers are becoming more sophisticated in the way they think about the guest experience, as we saw when Royal Caribbean partnered in the construction of Cruise Terminal 18 for their Oasis class of ships,” Steven Cernak, Port Everglades Chief Executive, said.

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas, the newest Oasis class ship, began sailing from Port Everglades in November 2016.

“We value the company’s partnership and confidence to bring the newest ships from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises to Port Everglades,” Cernak added.

Broward County’s Port Everglades handled more than 3.8 million passengers in 2016.