Carnival to Sell Miami Headquarters in Hot Real Estate Market

Carnival Cruise Line will be relocating its Miami office space within the next two years as the company has engaged real estate services to list the existing property in a skyrocketing real estate market.

While the cruise line does not appear to be relocating outside of the Miami area, the downsizing in office space can be a smart financial step as office roles have changed since the company first started in the location more than 30 years ago.

Carnival to Sell Miami Headquarters

Carnival Corporation & plc is currently based in Doral, Florida, a city in the Miami metropolitan area just west of Miami International Airport and 12 miles (19 kilometers) from PortMiami, through the often congested downtown region. The cruise company will soon be moving, however, as the space is being listed with commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield Plc.

According to Bloomberg, the current headquarters of Carnival Corporation & plc has now been listed for sale as the company is seeking to downsize its overall office space.

The current space measures roughly 470,000 square feet, whereas a space of 300,000 square feet is being sought for the relocation. This reflects changes in office use in several ways, such as the greater use of digital meetings and virtual spaces in the post-pandemic area as well as more efficient staffing, streamlined equipment, and an online or remote workforce that requires less of a physical office footprint.

Carnival Cruise Line first moved into the Doral office space – located at 3655 NW 87th Avenue, Miami – in 1983, having paid $16.6 million (USD) for the real estate at that time.

While no listing is yet publicly active for the space, skyrocketing real estate values in the area could mean a significant profit to be made from a successful sale, which could help the company’s overall financial status and provide a boost for further investment.

New HQ Not Yet Purchased

At the same time, however, the company will need to search for new office space. There is no indication yet where that might be, though it would be logical to secure a space closer to the cruise terminals, if possible. There is no hint that the cruise line might relocate to a completely different area, such as moving closer to Port Canaveral or another busy cruise port.

The report also says that Carnival plans to remain at the same space in Doral for roughly the next two years, so there is time to both secure a new space that will meet evolving, updated needs as well as court a suitable buyer for the existing space at a good price.

It is possible that Carnival will look for a new space that could woo employees with upgraded features and amenities, encouraging greater office use at a time when remote work remains high.

Carnival Corporation & plc has more than 100,000 employees, and while the crews aboard its cruise ships on multiple lines – Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, etc. – make up the bulk of the company’s workforce, shoreside employees are also a valuable part of the team.

Shoreside positions include research and development, management, weather operations, interior design, data analysis, accounting, payroll, recruitment, software engineering, marketing, and much more, as well as teams at cruise homeports, staff for the cruise line’s private islands – including the upcoming Celebration Key – and other destinations.