Cruise Lines Scrap Miami as Port of Call

When the Norwegian Spirit sets sail last week for Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, it will say bon voyage to Miami as a port of call because the New York-based cruise ship no longer plans to visit Miami.

Miami, the world´s cruise capital, remains little more than a place where people begin and end their cruises. No ships call regularly on Port Everglades in Broward County, also a busy cruise departure point.

For all its glamour, South Florida has yet to catch on as a place were cruise lines pull up and encourage their passengers to spend a few hours at local tourist attractions.

Cruise lines say passengers prefer to visit Bahamian or Caribbean islands that cater to their desire to get away from it all. They say that´s especially true for been-there, done-that New Yorkers, who think of Miami as a drive-to or fly-to market.