Port Everglades Florida Sets Passenger Record

On Dec. 23, 2006 more than 46,000 cruise passengers sailed to and from Port Everglades topping the world record that the South Florida seaport set three years ago. That is enough cruise passengers to fill one hundred 747 jumbo jets and is equivalent to approximately one-quarter of the population of Fort Lauderdale. Although the previous world record was set by the port on Dec. 21, 2003, with 44,108 passengers sailing on 15 ships, this new record will occur with only 13 cruise ships.

Ironically, because cruise ships are getting bigger, they broke their own world record this year with fewer ships than when Port Everglades originally set the record three years ago. Holiday cruises to the Caribbean are always popular, but 2006 was exceptional because Port Everglades hosted larger ships than ever before, including the immense Queen Mary 2.

If docked in a row from bow to stern, the cruise ships in port on Dec. 23 would measure 9,555 feet -- more than six times the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago and the length of approximately 32 football fields.

Together, the combined gross registered tonnage would be 928,467, which is approximately 30,000 tons more than when Port Everglades set the last world record with15 cruise ships.

The cruise ships in port on Dec. 23, 2006 were Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Liberty, Costa Cruises' Costa Magica, Cunard Line's QM2, Discovery Cruise Line's Discovery Sun, Holland America Line's Volendam and Zuiderdam, Imperial Majesty Cruise Line's Regal Empress, Princess Cruises' Sea Princess and Star Princess, Royal Caribbean International's Enchantment of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas, and Seabourn Cruise Line's Seabourn Pride. In addition, SeaEscape Cruises' Island Adventure sailed in the evening on a cruise to nowhere.

Port Everglades is the world's second busiest cruise homeport with 3.6 million passengers expected during 2007. For more information, visit www.broward.org/port.