Making Its Mark

Port Everglades is celebrating these days, as its passenger numbers topped 4 million during its 2014 fiscal year. The port handled a record 3.88 million multi-day moves and 121,321 daily moves, according to preliminary fiscal year 2014 statistics. 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 chief executive and port director, Steven Cernak commented: “Port Everglades celebrated a record fiscal year with $153 million in revenue, one-million TEUs and 4-million passenger moves. 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.

Eight cruise lines, one ferry and more than 40 cruise ships sail from the South Florida seaport including: Balearia’s Bahamas Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn and Silversea Cruises.

For more, check out the Port Everglades video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3GHWs4C8gU or visit http://www.porteverglades.net .