Port officials attribute the increase to more cruise ships sailing during the summer and the cruise lines offering more 4- and 5-night sailing itineraries.
“Port Everglades celebrated a record fiscal year with $153 million in revenue, one-million TEUs and 4-million passenger moves,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak. “These are terrific milestones. The key now is to continue moving forward with our infrastructure plans since we know that ships are only getting larger and facility needs are greater.”
The South Florida cruise port, consistently ranked among the top three in the world, also bested the 4 million mark in 2004 with 4,075,406 passengers, but with fewer multi-day passengers at 2,675,296. In 2004, several ships were diverted to Port Everglades from other ports that suffered hurricane damages.
The Port’s 20-Year Master/Vision Plan estimates that Port Everglades will reach 5.6 million cruise passenger moves by the year 2033. The cruise industry at Port Everglades accounts for more than 5,000 direct jobs and nearly $1.7 billion in annual economic activity.