Fort Lauderdale's famous Port Everglades could well be one of the most popular attractions in the city.
The "Venice of America" is one of the country's most sought-after vacation destinations. Here, visitors relax in the best hotels, many of which overlook the magnificent Atlantic Ocean; eat in the best restaurants; and shop in the finest boutiques – all while either waiting to embark on their exciting cruise or enjoying a few days after disembarking.
And, for these visitors, it's all to the credit of Port Everglades. What could be better?
Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale — Photo courtesy of Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau
Fort Lauderdale is fortunate to be one of the few ocean-side cities that can boast of a seaport quite like this one.
As a part of a comprehensive 20-year master plan, the recent flurry of construction is resulting in upgrades to the port, making it easier to get in and out, for one thing, but also to expand its capacity by five berths, widening and deepening the channel and bringing freight rail into the port.
There's no doubt that, with such a sincere commitment by local leaders, Port Everglades will be on the map for years to come, and it will help keep Fort Lauderdale on everyone's list of favorite places to visit.
The word world-class may well describe this busy hub.
As an economic powerhouse in South Florida’s ever-expanding, multi-billion-dollar cruise ship industry, as well as the state's busiest container port, it not only fuels thousands of local jobs here as well as state-wide, but it's also solely responsible for welcoming more than three million annual visitors.
Nearly every cruise ship company is represented here, making Port Everglades one of the world’s busiest cruise ship ports, as well as home to the world’s largest cruise terminal. From here, enthusiastic travelers board ships with big names such as Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America and Royal Caribbean.
No wonder Fort Lauderdale and cruising almost seem synonymous.
Fort Lauderdale has something else that's special and unique here. Port Everglades holds the exclusive bragging rights as being home port of Royal Caribbean’s mega ships, Oasis of the Seas, which carries six thousand passengers, and Allure of the Seas, which carries just under 5,500 passengers. Each ship carries what could be a small town!
And a bit of interesting history: The port was once home of the RMS Queen Elizabeth when she laid up as a museum ship from 1968 to 1970.
Most recently, in 2004, the majestic Queen Mary 2 arrived here after she completed her maiden voyage and her transatlantic voyage.
