Port Everglades recorded an 18.4 percent increase in multi-day cruise activity for the first six months of its fiscal year, with 2,518,445 cruise passengers embarking and debarking through the Port for the period ending March 31, 2011 compared to 2,127,835 passengers the prior year.

“These trends show the resilience of the Caribbean cruise market and the importance of the cruise industry for South Florida,” says Port Everglades Director Phil Allen. “Interestingly, some of the highest ship occupancy rates are on those ships that sail year-round from Port Everglades.”

These increases are being driven by the addition in late 2010 of Royal Caribbean International’s second 5,400-passenger Oasis-class cruise ship, Allure of the Seas, sailing every Sunday from Port Everglades. A new long-term agreement with Carnival Corporation is also expected to bring 25.5 million cruise passengers to the Port over the next 15 years. The Carnival agreement provides for renovation of four existing cruise terminals at Port Everglades. Today, the Broward County Board of Commissioners, the governing body for Port Everglades, awarded Moss & Associates, LLC, a contract for pre-construction services.