Will Royal Caribbean’s Genesis ships sail from Ft. Lauderdale?

When you’re building the biggest cruise ship ever, you might have a bit of trouble finding a port large enough to dock such a vessel. This is the problem facing [% 15420 | | Royal Caribbean %] as it plans the launch of two 5,400-passenger vessels with its Project Genesis.

According to Travel Weekly (registration required), the cruise line is in talks with Ft. Lauderdale’s Port Everglades to homeport the ships there when the first one debuts in 2009. To accommodate such large ships, the terminal would need to undergo a $37 million expansion, though the channel would not need to be dredged.

Broward County’s Board of County Commissioners was to meet on August 7 to determine whether talks should begin with Royal Caribbean. The cruise line’s current contract with the port expires in October 2009.

Ft. Lauderdale would benefit from the new jobs and tourism income this most mega of megaships would bring. On the other hand, no one has mentioned what the environmental impact would be with bigger ships and more passenger traffic.

If you lived in Ft. Lauderdale, would you want Project Genesis in your backyard? We’ll have to wait and see what the board of commissioners decides.