The first Saturday of the winter season set a record at VC Port: eight ships sailed, seven came home the same morning, and 61,400 passengers crossed the port bridge between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. The same day, the Port of Vice City opened its North Channel Terminal, the first new terminal on the main channel in eleven years.
The terminal is built for the largest ships afloat, with up to 6,000 passengers each. Ships at its berth plug into shore power and switch off their engines while they wait, so the air over the channel stays cleaner. A garage of 1,800 spaces faces the terminal, and a shaded curb keeps waiting families out of the sun.
Every ship that docks is a small town arriving at once. The new terminal lets us move those towns faster, more quietly and with fewer engines running.
Sailing this season
- Check the terminal on your boarding pass: some cruise lines have moved to the North Channel Terminal this season
- Come at your boarding time, not earlier: terminals open about three hours before departure
- On Saturdays, book a garage space ahead, or take the Vice City Metro sailing-day shuttle from Downtown Vice City
- Until hurricane season ends on November 30, the port can still close at short notice
A day in Vice City before or after the ship
Many passengers fly in the day before or stay a night after. Ocean Beach is a short taxi ride from the terminals, and the free Ocean Beach trolley loops along it every 20 minutes; the beach walk works that start there in December leave the sand and the hotels open. Little Cuba’s bakeries open before the first ship docks, and the evening departures across the bay are worth watching even if you are not sailing.
