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Port Everglades Braces for Another Record Cruise Season

Published Nov 28, 2011 7:44 AM by The Maritime Executive

Port Everglades logged a record 3.66 million multi-day cruise passengers in Fiscal Year 2011, which ended September 30, 2011, and Port officials anticipate an equally active cruise season in 2012.

During 2012, Port Everglades is expecting another estimated 3.6 million multi-day passengers, nine days with eight cruise ships, and on two of those days (November 26, 2011 and March 17, 2012) Port Everglades may break its world record for the highest number of cruise guests embarking and debarking in a single day.

Seabourn's new 450-guest luxury Seabourn Quest arrived today, November 21, 2011, at Port Everglades for the first time. Royal Caribbean International's 3,634-guest Liberty of the Seas arrived on November 12, 2011, and P&O Cruises' 710-guest Adonia will make a first call on March 26, 2012.

"This year, we anticipate matching our record 3.6 million multi-day passengers, which we reached for the first time during the 2011 cruise season, on fewer yet larger ships," said Port Everglades Director Phil Allen. "A weekend with Allure and Oasis of the Seas is like five ships from three years ago in terms of passenger numbers."

On November 26, 2011, over Thanksgiving weekend and on March 17, 2012, during the peak Spring school vacation period, Port Everglades is projecting a record 55,000 passengers to travel through the Port aboard eight cruise ships on each of those days.

Port Everglades is already the world record holder for the highest number of passengers to travel through a cruise port in a single day. On December 21, 2003, the Port announced a first-time record with 44,108 passengers on 15 ships sailing in and out of the South Florida cruise port in a single day. The Port then set another record on Saturday, January 3, 2009 with 49,234 passengers on 11 ships. The most recent record was set on March 20, 2010, with 53,365 guests on nine cruise ships.

Port Everglades is the cruise ship capital of the world with more than 3.6 million multi-day passengers expected during 2012 and more homeported cruise ships will than any cruise port worldwide. Twelve cruise lines and 45 cruise ships sail from the South Florida seaport this year including: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, ISE (Semester at Sea), MSC Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Silversea Cruises and Seabourn. The Port's wide-ranging fleet of cruise ships provides guests with an array of cruise vacation choices from the sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale area. Port Everglades, where the best cruise ships launch and the greatest getaways begin.

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SOURCE: Port Everglades 

Details on the latest cruise offerings are available on the Internet at http://www.porteverglades.net/.