US cruise travel grows 8%

The top ten cruise lines carried 8.3 milllion passengers on 3,840 North American cruises in 2003, an 8% increase over the previous year, according to the US Maritime Administration. The highest growth rates among the top ten departure ports were in New York and Galesvton. There were increases there, respectively, of 45% and 39%. Florida ports of Miami, Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale accounted for 49% of the total passenger traffic. Overall, 72% of total passengers recorded for 2003 chose Caribbean and Bahamas destinations. Also, Alaska passed the Southern Caribbean as the fourth most popular destination in 2003. The popularity of the Western Carribean continued with the area accounting for 35% of the total traffic, or up 19% over the previous year. Report by David Wilkening