In Search of an Inaugural

In preparation for its inaugural cruise, Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas arrived at Port Everglades this morning to a water cannon salute as it sailed into its new home port. 

   The new ship is the first Quantum Ultra-Class ship to sail in the US market. It will begin service from Port Everglades on July 3 and remain homeported there through the winter season (through April) on six- and eight-night cruises. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - October 28, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• An additional delay for Costa Smeralda's delivery, pushing the inaugural cruise back to December 21.
• Carnival Sunrise arrived at Ft Lauderdale ready to homeport there for its winter season
• Negligent homicide charges were filed against the grandfather of an 18-month-old girl who fell through an open window to her death on Freedom of the Seas when it was in San Juan in July.
• The Coast Guard ended their search Saturday evening for a 26-year-old man who went overboard from Carnival Dream last Thursday evening.  

Details appeared October 28 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - January 4, 2018

CND subscribers also read about:

• Baleària Caribbean is upgrading the fast ferry they use on the route between Port Everglades and Freeport to one that will cruise at 35 knots and cover the distance in just two and a half hours. 

Details appeared in the January 4 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Fresh from the Factory

Celebrity Edge arrived at Port Everglades on Sunday, with 1,400 crew members aboard, directly from Saint-Nazaire, France and the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, 4000 miles away.

During the 15-day crossing, with only the crew, the ship made calls in the Azores and the Bahamas.

Details appeared in the November 19 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Celebrity Unveils New Terminal at Port Everglades

Last week Celebrity Cruises announced they will have a new terminal for their home port at Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale). The new terminal will be called Terminal 25, or T25, and it will reflect the same styling as Celebrity's soon-to-be-delivered Celebrity Edge.

T25 is scheduled for completion in late October of this year, and it will be the home port of Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Reflection and Celebrity Silhouette this winter. Other Celebrity ships will use it as they pass through Port Everglades as well as other cruise lines when Celebrity doesn't have a ship in port.

The complete story appeared in the June 27 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 18, 2018

CND subscribers also read about:

• A painting party at Port Everglades
• A short-distance medevac

Details appeared in the May 18 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

You Won't Recognize the Place

Carnival Corp has completed a multi-million-dollar redesign of Terminal 2 for their Princess brand at Ft. Lauderdale's Port Everglades.

The complete story appeared in the November 10 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos courtesy of Carnival Corp. All rights reserved. Many not be copied or used without express permission. 

A Little Growth

Port Everglades is reporting only slight growth in their cruise passenger number for fiscal year 2017.

The South Florida port posted only a 2% increase in multi-day cruise passengers for a total of 3,738,252 passengers.

Details appeared in the November 6 edition of Cruise News Daily.

No More Overhang

Length matters, especially when you're parking a ship.

That's why Port Everglades extended the slip at Terminal 4 as part of an $18 million project. The 900-foot slip was extended 225 feet to accommodate today's larger cruise ships, up to 1,100 feet.

The complete story appeared in the October 24 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photo courtesy of Port Everglades. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - September 24, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Carnival delivering relief supplies for Barbuda
• Royal Caribbean Reviving "Hairspray" for Symphony of the Seas
• Port Everglades waives tariff charges for relief supplies to the Caribbean
• Crystal will be drastically downsizing capacity for Northwest Passage cruises. 

Details appeared in the September 25 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

The $100 Million Terminal

A long-term agreement between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) and Broward County (a/k/a Port Everglades) has prompted the port to invest more than $100 million in a complete makeover of Cruise Terminal 25.

The complete story appeared in the June 7 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 16, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Port Everglades taking a page from Tom Sawyer's book
• A matter of trust

Details appeared in the May 16 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Ft. Lauderdale Shootings Delay Cruise Ships

The closure of Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport this afternoon due to the shooting incident, has resulted in the delay of at least two cruise ships departing from Port Everglades right down the street.

The complete story appeared in the January 6 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

* Other Things You'll Want to Know - December 22, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Port Everglades receiving approval to move forward widening and deepening their channels to accommodate larger ships. 
• Royal Caribbean opening an eye-popping new show, “The Fine Line,” in the AquaTheater aboard Harmony of the Seas.  (a video is below)

Details appeared in the December 22 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Harmony of the Seas Makes US Debut at Port Everglades

After meeting with her two sisters off the Florida coast on Friday, Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas came on into Port Everglades on Saturday to make her US debut on Saturday.

Photos courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Speeding through Port Everglades

Last summer we told you Port Everglades was testing it. Now it's in place, and you can use it to speed through Customs.

Port Everglades is the only seaport approved for passengers to use US Customs & Border Protection's Mobile Passport Control program.

Details appeared in the November 2 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Carnival Corp Isn't Going Anywhere at Port Everglades

Carnival Corp has signed a five-year extension to their contact to sail from Port Everglades.

Today's extension builds on the landmark 15-year agreement signed in 2010, which now secures the company's presence at the port at least through 2030.

Details appeared in the August 16 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Port Everglades Pilots Two Electronic Customs Programs

Passengers returning to Ft. Lauderdale's Port Everglades on Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International this summer may or may not speed through US Immigration and Customs, depending on how well a couple of new electronic programs work.

Port Everglades is the first US port to have the new programs, although versions are being tested in several airports.

Details appeared in the June 22 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Records Are Made to Be Broken, Especially at Port Everglades

Preliminary figures show that for the second time this season, Port Everglades broke its own record for passengers passing through the port in a single day with 54,700 passengers last Sunday, March 13.

The complete story appeared in the March 16 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Surprise Record Breaker

Port Everglades broke its own world record for the most cruise passengers to embark and debark in a single day - 53,485 people - on December 20. The previous record was set March 20, 2010, with 53,365 passengers.

Details appeared in the December 30 edition of Cruise News Daily.