Broward County’s Port Everglades announced that the 2026 cruise season brought several highlights, including a record number of cruise guests, a new cruise director in a new division, and its latest cruise guide and new infrastructure.

For the third consecutive year, it hosted a record number of cruise guests, with over 5.38 million guests passing through the port during 2026.

With the Broward County Board of County Commissioners’ approval of the FY27 budget and the cruise season officially underway as of October, Martin Jackson has been appointed as director of the newly created Cruise Services Division, having previously served as assistant director of the Cruise Services Section.

“Since Jackson joined Port Everglades in January of 2025, he has been a consistent champion of the guest experience,” said CEO and Port Director Joseph Morris.

“This internal restructuring is intended to ensure that our cruise business line continues to receive the focus and support it needs to excel and provide the superior day-to-day services expected by our cruise line partners and cruise guests, while also focusing on supporting future growth with both existing and new cruise brands,” added Morris.

Jackson said: “Operational consistency earns trust, both internally and with our guests and customers, while continuous improvement ensures we are always making progress and moving ideas, vision, and strategy forward.”

“The Cruise Services Division remains committed to delivering exceptional experiences for all guests and clients of the port,” he added.

In a press release, the port said that with the start of the new cruise season, it has released its “Port Everglades 2027-28 Cruise Guide,” featuring cover artwork, Florida Paradise, by world-renowned artist and South Florida resident Romero Britto, along with the port’s season of cruise line sailings.

A print of the artwork has also been installed on the southeast side of the Palm Garage.

In November, the port will welcome Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas to homeport for the 2027 season. Also new to the port this season will be Orient Express Sailing Yachts. Crystal’s Symphony will also homeport at Port Everglades.

This season, the port will host nine cruise lines and 40 different cruise ships from:

• Celebrity Cruises
• Cunard Line
• Crystal
• Disney Cruise Line
• Holland America Line
• Orient Express
• Princess Cruises
• Royal Caribbean, and
• Viking Ocean Cruises.

Port infrastructure updates include enhancements to Cruise Terminal 18 and parking. The port added a refresh to Cruise Terminal 18.

The terminal has been painted an ocean blue, and the embark hall and VIP lounge area have been transformed.

The port added more than 850 parking spaces adjacent to Terminal 18, bringing the total to 6,386 parking spaces.