Philadelphia Opens $60M Cruise Terminal for Norwegian Sailings
Before the terminal was finished, passengers checked in at a local hotel and took buses to Norwegian Jewel at a temporary port facility.
PhilaPort and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings opened a permanent cruise terminal near Philadelphia International Airport on Aug. 27, four months after departures resumed from the city. The roughly $60 million, 16-acre terminal handled its first embarkation with Norwegian Jewel.
The facility gives Philadelphia its first permanent base for regular cruise departures in more than 15 years. Cruise operations are projected to support 2,185 direct and indirect jobs and generate nearly $300 million in annual economic output across Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker joined state and local officials, port representatives and Norwegian executives for the ribbon-cutting. Rich Lazer, executive director and CEO of PhilaPort, called the terminal “a critical component of our broader economic development strategy.”
Permanent facility replaces temporary processing
Norwegian began sailing from Philadelphia in April. The terminal was not finished. Passengers checked in at a local hotel, then boarded buses to Norwegian Jewel, which operated from a temporary port facility.
The terminal was scheduled to open in the spring, but permitting requirements delayed completion. Lazer said a frozen Delaware River prevented some in-water work, while construction near airport flight paths required coordination with federal agencies.
Norwegian approached PhilaPort about restoring service approximately four years before the opening. The terminal sits at 4 Atlantic Ave. in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, adjacent to the airport and along the Delaware River.
Norwegian schedule extends through 2033
A seven-year berthing agreement between PhilaPort and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings runs through March 31, 2033. The agreement calls for at least 41 Philadelphia departures annually.
Norwegian Jewel will operate from Philadelphia through Sept. 26, 2026, with itineraries to Bermuda and Canada and New England. Norwegian Pearl is scheduled to arrive in November for five- to 14-day cruises to Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Canada and New England through April 2028.
Norwegian Gem is due to enter the Philadelphia program in April 2028 with seven-night Bermuda cruises that include an overnight stay at the Royal Naval Dockyard and a call at Norfolk, Virginia. Additional Philadelphia voyages for the ship in 2028 have not been announced.
Local businesses stand to gain
Daniel Farkas, executive vice president, general counsel and chief development officer at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said the operation would benefit “the local hotels, the restaurants, the transportation providers, as well as the many vendors that provision the ships.”
Norwegian also announced $50,000 in local contributions during the opening. Tinicum Township’s fire department will receive $20,000, while three Boys & Girls Clubs in the Philadelphia region will share the remaining $30,000.
Norwegian remains the only cruise line with confirmed service at the terminal, and PhilaPort has not identified another operator. Lazer said current departures were selling out and that the port’s goal is “to add additional cruises in the coming years.”
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