United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
US cruise passengers rise in Q1
Cruise lines carried 2.3 million passengers on North American cruises in the first quarter of this year, a 13.6% increase, according to the Maritime Administration.
The reason – a rise in popularity of passengers departing from ports closer to their homes.
The majority of cruises remain headed for the Caribbean and the Bahamas.
Four cities that had no departures last year now are among the top 15 ports in the nation. Those cities are New York, Jacksonville, Houston and Norfolk, Virginia.
Other fast growing ports include Charleston, New Orleans, Galveston and San Diego.
Miami remained the number one port in the first quarter, but its passenger traffic declined 15% from last year. It’s market share fell from 30% to a 22% ranking, partly because more traffic is going through other ports.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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