PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Joining the lineup at Port Canaveral, the port’s CEO Captain John Murray welcomed the captain of Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on Wednesday.
With a max capacity of 6,800 guests, the ship will become the largest in the world scheduled to cruise twice a week.
The port said with record passenger numbers, there’s a greater demand for shorter cruises.
Allure of the Seas passenger Regina Soderberg traveled to the port from Manatee County.
“It’s nice having the shorter ones because you can go back to work and still get refreshed after a few days,” she said.
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The port said the more sailings from the busiest cruise port in the world, the more potential revenue.
Port commissioners Wednesday reported record profits.
In the last fiscal year, operating revenue reached $190 million.
More than 60% of that was from the cruise industry.
“We did right at 6.8 million cruise guests this past year so it’s been a very, very busy year for us,” Murray said. “It’s a record year on the cruise guests so we’re quite pleased.”
The port also took in $41 million from cruise passenger parking.
From the 17th deck of Allure of the Seas, guests could see where the port said it’s adding a thousand parking spots to this terminal alone.
Alyssa Davolio, from North Carolina, was among the ship’s passengers departing Wednesday.
“This is my first time on a big ship so this is my first time seeing the boardwalk and the big promenade,” she said. “And we’re going to Coco Cay and Cozumel, Mexico, so we’re really excited about it.”
After its initial departure Wednesday afternoon, Allure of the Seas will regularly begin sailing out of Port Canaveral on Mondays and Fridays.
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