Study finds most Port Everglades passengers add pre-/post-cruise stays

Sixty-two percent of the cruise passengers surveyed stayed at least one night prior to their cruise, on average 3.4 nights, and 21% stayed an average of 2.6 nights after their cruise.

'This study validates what we have long known—that our local economy benefits from the cruise industry. But, we are seeing that hoteliers are taking advantage of the opportunities that having a cruise port in their backyard offers,' port ceo and director Steven Cernak said. 'Just look at the number of new hotels that have opened around Port Everglades in recent years and the creative pre- and post-cruise vacation packages offered on sunny.org in the Cruise & Play section.'

Expenditures before and after the cruise were nearly identical. However, travelers planned to spend more money on land tours after the cruise than before the cruise—$80 spent on land tours before the cruise and $133 spent after.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau encourages pre- and post-cruise vacation stays through its 'Cruise & Play' section on the sunny.org website. The section features a list of hotels offering shuttle service to and from the port and airport, as well as deals on hotels, attractions and special discounts available by showing a cruise card or cruise documents.

In addition, travel agents have the opportunity to become certified Greater Fort Lauderdale experts with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Specialist program, offered in conjunction with Travel Agent Academy.

Port Everglades is located two miles from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). More than 21% of cruisers surveyed said they came directly from FLL, and a majority (66%) said they selected FLL based on its close proximity to the port.

Port Everglades is within 30 miles of Miami International Airport, an approximate 40-minute drive.

The baseline study, conducted by port consultants AECOM and Dickey Consulting Agency, can be at porteverglades.net/about-us (select 'Statistics' in the left navigation).