Cruises from fort lauderdale
Cruises
from fort lauderdale - With a long and interesting history in South
Florida, Port Everglades, originally known as Lake Mabel or Bay Mabel
Harbor (part of which now is also called Hollywood Harbor), was
officially established as a deep-water harbor in 1927 by the Florida
State Legislature and dedicated in 1928.
Since welcoming its
first cruise ship in 1931, it has grown to become one of the busiest
cruise ports in the world with 12 cruise lines, more than 45 cruise
ships, some 2,000 different cruises, and over 3.6 million passengers
expected this year.
Aside from the industrial scene there is the
glamorous side to this popular port with movies shooting cruise shots
and utilizing the location as an intriguing backdrop for many movies,
commercials, fashion pages and other commercial film ventures.
A little history about this port includes:
- 2000s: continuously breaks its own world record for handling the most cruise passengers.
-
In 2001, The port dedicated a new Operations Center and Harbormaster
Tower constructed atop the Midport Parking Garage. Port Everglades also
celebrated its 70th cruise season hosting the world's largest collection
of five star ships.
- In 2003, on February 28, port users and customers celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Port Everglades.
-
In 2003, Port Everglades greeted the Queen. Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2,
the world's Grandest Luxury Liner, made its first visit to mainland
U.S. from England, by arriving at Port Everglades, her U.S. winter home
port. At the time, it was the largest, longest, widest, and most
expensive ocean liner ever built.
- In 2009, Port Everglades
opened the World's Largest Cruise Terminal and home of Royal Caribbean's
5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the
world.
Additionally, Seatrade Insider named Port Everglades "Port of the Year" for 2010.
On
November 26, 2011, of Thanksgiving weekend and on March 17, 2012,
during the peak spring school vacation period, Port Everglades is
anticipating a record 55,000 passengers to travel through the Port
aboard eight cruise ships.
Port Everglades broke its own world
record on March 20, 2010, with more than 53,365 guests passing through
the Port in a single day. The previous record was set on January 3,
2009, with 49,234 passengers.
Currently the world's two largest
cruise ships at Port Everglades is the Allure of the Seas and the sister
ship, Oasis of the Seas (just a mere 2 inches shorter).
The
Allure of the Seas was launched in December at a cost of about $1.4
billion. This cruise ship is 1,187 feet long, 16 decks high with a
capacity for 6,318 passengers and 2,384 crew members.
With Port
Everglades being a Leader in Economic Development, ships are not their
only business. Within a juridictional area of 2,190 acres, Port
Everglades has office space, real estate, warehousing and a
foreign-trade zone, in addition to more than 25,000 lineal feet of
docks.
And while the Port attracts major cruise lines, cargo and
petroleum companies to Broward County, FL, other key ancillary
industries, including security companies, import/export companies, food
suppliers and steamship agents also benefit from the Port's success.
These Port businesses reinforce Broward County and Fort Lauderdale as a
first-class business destination and major international center of
commerce.
With a look inside the economic impact, Port Everglades
generates approximately $14 billion worth of business activity and
approximately 143,000 jobs statewide, according to a study produced by
nationally recognized maritime research company Martin Associates.
Ft
Lauderdale is a major vacation destination not only for those who
cruise out of but those who long to explore the some 23 miles of
beautiful blue water beaches. The warm waters of the Atlantic offer
relaxation and calm to an otherwise hectic life. The bonus is that most
hotels and restaurants are just a short and easy walk from the pristine
beaches.
Celebrating ten years of clean, safe, user-friendly
Florida Beaches, Hollywood, Dania Beach, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach,
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and Fort Lauderdale, are proud to have been
continuously certified as Blue Wave Beaches by the Clean Beaches Council
of Washington DC.