By
Rebecca Gibson |
Officials have revealed that Port Everglades in Florida, US, broke its own world record for the most cruise passengers to embark and debark in a single day – 53,485 guests – on 20 December 2015.
Beating its former record of 53,365 guests, which was set on 20 March 2010, the port hosted eight cruise ships on 20 December. These included Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Silhouette, Holland America Line’s Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam, Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess and Royal Princess, and Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.
“We were cautiously optimistic that we would break the record, but didn’t want to celebrate prematurely,” said Steven Cernak, Port Everglades’ chief executive and port director. “It is difficult to judge how many families would be sharing staterooms with children and driving up the count. Plus, one ship came from drydock without guests, which would have added another 2,000 people. We are pleased that our cruise operations continue to grow.”
All of the ships returned to the port on 3 January 2016, with the exception of the 3,560-guest Royal Princess, which will return from her ten-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on 9 January when she will be joined by Princess Cruises’ 680-guest Pacific Princess for another eight-ship day.
Meanwhile, Costa Cruises’ Costa Deliziosa has started its winter 2015-2016 Caribbean season after making its maiden call at its new Port Everglades homeport on 21 December 2015.
The visit marked the first time the 92,720gt vessel has been based at a US port and the start of Costa Deliziosa’s seven-night holiday cruise calling at Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Roatan, Honduras; and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
“Thank you to everyone at Port Everglades for an incredible welcome, both to Costa Cruises and Costa Deliziosa,” said Scott Knutson, vice president of sales and marketing for Costa Cruises North America. “Costa Deliziosa is the newest Costa ship to homeport in the US and we are excited for North American guests to see firsthand what makes Costa Europe's most popular cruise line.”
Costa Deliziosa has now embarked on a series of ten-night itineraries and a nine-night voyage from Port Everglades, which will take guests to Nassau or Freeport, Bahamas; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Roatan; and Cozumel or Costa Maya, Mexico.