Port Canaveral seeks cruise-line commitments

Winning commitments from cruise lines takes on urgency as Canaveral plans for mega-ships.

Executives at Port Canaveral are entering potentially treacherous waters in their efforts to keep the Brevard County facility among the world's busiest cruise ports.

A new generation of bigger-than-ever ocean liners are being built and entering service, which will ultimately force the seaport to spend millions of dollars adding and upgrading facilities to accommodate them.

A the same time, the port's major cruise tenants -- Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International -- have balked at making long-term commitments to Canaveral that would ensure enough future business to justify the port's construction costs.

"The cruse lines are demanding flexibility in moving their assets when they want and where they want to where they can make the most profit," Stan Payne, the port's chief executive officer, said Wednesday during a daylong planning meeting of the Canaveral Port Authority that touched on everything from the cruise business to the shipping industry....