Cruiseport Boston completed its 2013 season with a record-breaking 382,885 cruise vacationers, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) announced today.
This surpassed the number of passengers in 2012 by nearly 12,000.
“At the beginning of the 2013 cruise season, we’d estimated around 362,000 passengers so this is great news,” said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “This continuing growth of the cruise industry in Boston has a great economic impact on the local and regional economy.”
Massport’s Port Director Deborah Hadden says that every time a ship is in port, its passengers and crew are supporting local businesses and jobs.
“For many of them, this is their first time in Boston and they’ll come back for a longer stay and explore the award-winning restaurants and museums, shopping centers, professional sporting events, and historic tourist attractions,” said Hadden. “We hope that more and more people take advantage of the ability to enjoy a cruise out of Boston or a cruise that visits the city as a port of call.”
This year, 287,542 people embarked and disembarked at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. Another 95,343 passengers outside of New England visited Boston as a port of call for a day or more.
The number of cruise ships that docked at the terminal this year is 116, one less than 2012. Of them, 68 started and/or ended their cruise in Boston. Another 48 cruise ships called on the Port of Boston.
The new record was accomplished with regularly schedule service. In 2012, the previous record year, the total passenger count included nearly 9,000 passengers who had their ships diverted to Boston from New York because of Superstorm Sandy.
Holland America Line added an itinerary from Boston to Quebec City, adding around 24,000 passengers this year. The Quebec City itinerary will return for the 2014 season.
Hadden said the $11 million invested in terminal renovations in 2010 continues to pay dividends. The renovation allowed the embarkation and debarkation of passengers to be conducted simultaneously.
The 2014 cruise season has 60 ships from four different cruise lines embarking passengers from Boston. Another 60 ships from 15 cruise lines will call on the Port of Boston. Massport anticipates between 350,000 and 400,000 cruising passengers next season.
