Port Canaveral Soars to Record Year with 3 Million Cruisers

Port Canaveral Soars to Record Year with 3 Million Cruisers

More than 3 million multi-day cruise passengers sailed from Port Canaveral, contributing $40 million in cruise revenue during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Cruise traffic rose 16 percent in the record year. Overall, Port Canaveral’s total revenues surged to nearly $57.8 million, eclipsing the previous port record of $51.2 in 2006 by 13 percent.

“We emerged from dismal economic times financially strong and focused on the future, fully accepting our role and responsibility as one of the primary economic engines for the Space Coast,” said J. Stanley “Stan” Payne, CEO of Port Canaveral. “With a pipeline full of infrastructure projects, a strong balance sheet, a business strategy focusing on our strengths, we want this to be just the first in a string of record years.”

Focusing on cruise, “We began this year welcoming the new Disney Dream and we’ll end this year with Carnival’s expanded presence and the addition of the Carnival Ecstasy in November,” Payne said. “The momentum will continue into 2012 with new ship arrivals and the opening of new port facilities.”