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Port Tampa Bay Sees 1 Millions Passengers So Far This Year

Port Tampa Bay | Travel | Business

That is a record for Port Tampa Bay.

TAMPA – During the past week, Port Tampa Bay welcomed its millionth cruise ship passenger for the fiscal year 2018 – the first time ever the Port hit this milestone in its history.

Port Tampa Bay tipped over the million cruise Sept. 17 passenger mark when 1,000,524 passengers came through the Port. This past weekend, thousands more passengers continued to enjoy the Tampa area as three more ships called at the port.

Business Research & Economic Advisors estimated that a 3,000 passenger ship generates an average of $403,000 in passenger and crew onshore spending per call in a homeport city. As Tampa continues to develop in the months and years ahead, including the impact of Sparkman Wharf, Water Street and other projects, that number is expected to dramatically grow because cruise passengers will have many more opportunities for dining, shopping, and entertainment.

Cruise passengers have long enjoyed the convenience Tampa’s nearby top-ranked airport, next-door secure parking garages from all three cruise terminals – and the tremendous draws: beaches and local attractions like Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, and Ybor City.

“This is fantastic moment for Port Tampa Bay and our cruise line partners,” Port Tampa Bay President/CEO Paul Anderson said. “This milestone shows that Tampa is truly a world class destination for cruise passengers.”

As FY18 winds down, Port Tampa Bay is celebrating several cruise records and cruise business developments.

Earlier this year, Port Tampa Bay saw two all-time record cruise passenger weekends, the highest traffic weekend being Easter weekend –  March 31 through April 1 – when 29,167 passengers were in and out of
the Port.

Additionally, Carnival Cruise Line added 20 more cruises to Cuba, completed a makeover of the Carnival Paradise, and doubled the Carnival’s capacity in Tampa with the addition of the Carnival Miracle‘s only year-long program with seven-day cruises from Port Tampa Bay.

Royal Caribbean put a larger ship in rotation (Majesty of the Seas) with cruises to Cuba to accommodate a strong customer demand in Tampa.

Overall, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Holland America offer a range of four-, five-, seven-, and 14-night cruises from Port Tampa Bay reaching the Western and Southern Caribbean, Mexico and Cuba.

Photo of Port Tampa Bay courtesy of Port Tampa Bay.

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