The port has become one of the top transit ports for cruise ships in the United States. It ranks number three in the world in terms of passengers, as it closes it on 2 million per year. Boats head out of there for the Caribbean in tourist season sort of like they are on an Interstate highway. And the ships are simply huge - almost too overwhelming to take in, even from a distance. Even so, they are fun to examine from a distance.
That means it is a huge economic engine for the community. It also means that the place is a beehive of activity. When one of those big ships arrives to end/start a journey, that means a few thousand people have to leave the area in some sort of orderly fashion ... while a few thousand more have to enter the complex for boarding a few hours later. Throw in all the supplies that these floating hotels need for the trip, and it's something of a miracle everything works as smooth as it does.
The port takes up two different municipalities bordering Fort Lauderdale (Hollywood and Dania Beach), and it has been expanded several times over the years. It's hard to believe that it all started as a tiny lake near the ocean more than 100 years ago.
The boat shown here is the Harmony of the Seas from Royal Caribbean. It can handle about 5,500 people, assuming double occupancy, and has a crew of 2,300. That's not a boat, that's a city.
We took the Eurodam of Holland America out of Port Everglades. Here's what that ship is like:
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