It wasn’t long ago that your options were very limited as to where your cruise ship left from. If you were cruising the Caribbean you basically either left from the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area or Port Canaveral.
For Many people this meant having the added expense of a flight to Florida. Well times have changed and now cruises from New York City and cruises out of Baltimore will get many more families to the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean without the cost of airfare. For a family of four this could be a savings of $1,000 or more.
Why have more ports welcomed cruise ship passengers?
This is a win-win for both cruise lines and the local port authority. The cruise lines are able to attract more customers in large metropolitan areas such as New York City, Boston, Baltimore and Washington D.C. and the ports are able to collect port fees from the cruise line. That is welcome revenue in tough times for both ship and port.
What are some of the new departure cities being used by cruise lines?
- New York City
- Baltimore
- Charleston
- New Orleans
- Mobile
- Tampa
- Galveston
- Jacksonville
- Boston
- Norfolk
Will these ports get some of the new mega ships?
Its possible – but the trend seems to be that the new ships start in Florida where they can offer better itineraries within the standard 7 day cruise while the older ships are moved to the newer ports. Some ports are also just too small to have the mega ships dock. In many cases such as with the Sunshine Sky Bridge in Tampa cruises must sail under structures that limit the size of ships. In Tampa’s case however they still have received some of Carnival’s better ships such as the Glory and Legend.
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