If you drew a diagonal line from one corner of North America to another, it couldn't be much longer than the one linking Port Canaveral (Florida) and Nanaimo (British Columbia).
Both are cruise ports with vastly different volumes of traffic, but both have built what might be perceived as cruise ship terminals of the future.
The one in Florida welcomes its first ship on Monday — the Carnival Ecstasy. It's called Terminal 6 and it's part of a $65 million complex, which gives it almost nothing in common with its cross-continent cousin in Nanaimo.
In fact, while both could be considered state-of-the-art, it's for a different reason…as it should be for a port that welcomes a million visitors a year, and a port that welcomes thousands, at best. Terminal 6 could have as many big cruise ships in a weekend as Nanaimo has in a year.
Terminal 6 is major cruise facility No. 4 for Port Canaveral. It will be used mostly but not 
exclusively for Carnival ships and is designed to make things easier for passengers. It has a new parking garage that will accommodate 750 cars and easy access to buses and taxis. Luggage handling is supposed to be easy, too, and here's the big one: It can handle embarking and disembarking passengers at the same time.
The Port Canaveral facility that will be in service for the first time next week has paid some attention to energy efficiency, but nothing compared to the newest Canadian counterpart, in Nanaimo (above).
Sustainable materials were used to build it on what was a reclaimed wood storage site, its design honors the area's lifelong industry, and it looks something like a huge hull of an old boat. It's solar-heated by a natural stone floor that warms during the day and radiates heat. Outside the main hall is a native garden and linear water feature.
For the passengers, who are promised speedy disembarkation, the biggest plus of the facility that opened last year is it eliminates tendering and generally makes the Vancouver Island city more attractive to major cruise lines with ships bound for Alaska.
In future, it's likely that new terminals will follow the leads of these ones…making the boarding of ships smoother and being more environmentally responsible.
Photo: Checkwitch Poiron Architects
Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas
9 nights
January 23, 2013
Sydney (return): Noumea, Lifou, Ile des Pins
Inside: $899
Cost per day: $99
www.royalcaribbean.com