Port Everglades is a port in Broward County, Florida. It is one of the United States's top container ports with more than 5,200 ships at call in a year, a major petroleum storage and distribution hub, and a United States Navy liberty port. It is the deepest of all Florida ports. It is currently the top ranked container port in the State of Florida.[citation needed]

Port Everglades is actually composed of land within three municipalities, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach and unincorporated Broward County. All port operations are handled by Broward County Board of County Commissioners.

The container handling capacity of the port will be increased with a new 41-acre terminal, to be completed in 2010. The expansion will increase Port Everglades' freight handling area by 15%.[1]

Port Everglades is also one of the world's busiest cruise departure ports. It holds the world record for hosting the most cruise passengers in a single day with 49,234 passengers (January 3, 2009). More than 4 million cruise passengers pass through Port Everglades annually. Ships sail year round, but the peak season is from November to April. Port Everglades was once home to RMS Queen Elizabeth when she was laid up as a museum ship from 1968 until 1970. Besides the RMS Queen Elizabeth, Port Everglades has been used to dock many notable and famous ships. The oldest passenger ship still used in revenue service in North America, the Regal Empress, uses Port Everglades as her home port. In 2004, the Queen Mary 2 completed her maiden voyage and her maiden transatlantic voyage at Port Everglades. In December 2009, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines began using Port Everglades as the home port for the world's largest passenger ship, the Oasis of the Seas; in late 2010, she is expected to be joined at Port Everglades by her upcoming sister ship Allure of the Seas.

On December 22, 1996, Port Everglades had a record 13 cruise ships in port on a single day. The port broke its own record on December 21, 2003 with 15 cruise ships. No other port in the world has hosted this many cruise ships on a single day.

Port Everglades is an eight-time winner of the Grand Prix Mondial du Voyage’s International Tourism Award.

A weekly tradition of the residents who live next to the channel of Port Everglades in Sky Harbor East and Point Of Americas bid bon-voyage to cruises as they embark on their voyages from Port Everglades. To wish the passengers a happy voyage the residents blow horns and ring bells, the ships usually respond by blowing their horns back. Some residents fly flags of the ships to pay patronage to having sailed on the ship. This tradition is said to only happen at Port Everglades.

Cruise Traffic

Cruise ships operating out of Port Everglades in the 2009-2010 Winter Season. With 48 different ships operated by 17 different cruise lines, Port Everglades offers more cruises by more cruise lines aboard more cruise ships than any other cruise port in the world.

Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Freedom, Carnival Miracle
Celebration Cruise Line: Bahamas Celebration
Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox
Costa Crociere S.p.A.: Costa Atlantica, Costa Fortuna
Cunard Line: Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria
Discovery Cruise Line: Discovery Sun
Holland America Line: Eurodam, Maasdam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Prinsendam, Rotterdam, Statendam, Veendam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam
Lindblad Expeditions: National Geographic Explorer
MSC Cruises: MSC Lirica, MSC Orchestra
P&O Cruises: Oriana
Princess Cruises: Coral Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, Grand Princess, Island Princess, Pacific Princess, Royal Princess, Ruby Princess, Ocean Princess
Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Seven Seas Mariner, Seven Seas Navigator, Seven Seas Voyager
ResidenSea: The World
Royal Caribbean International: Enchantment of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas
The Yachts of Seabourn: Seabourn Legend, Seabourn Pride
Silversea Cruises: Silver Shadow

History

Port Everglades is a man-made seaport, but its creation was based on a natural body of water called Lake Mabel. Lake Mabel was a wide and shallow section of the Florida East Coast Canal system. The Florida Board of Trade passed a resolution in 1911 calling for a deepwater port to ship farmers' produce to the North and the West. In 1913, the Fort Lauderdale Harbor Company was formed and eventually dug out the Lake Mabel Cut, opening the New River to the sea for small boats. In 1924, Joseph Wesley Young, founder and mayor of the city of Hollywood, Florida bought 1,440 acres (5.8 km2) of land adjacent to the lake and created Hollywood Harbor Development Company. In 1927, the Florida State Legislature established the Broward County Port Authority. On February 22, 1928, 85 percent of Broward County's residents gathered for a ceremony in which President Calvin Coolidge was to push a button from the White House detonating explosives to remove the rock barrier separating the harbor from the Atlantic Ocean. The button malfunctioned, but the barrier was removed shortly thereafter.

Bay Mabel Harbor was dedicated on February 22, 1928. Several local women's clubs decided a new name was needed to represent the region and conducted a name changing contest. The name Port Everglades was chosen to represent the seaport as "The gateway to the rich agricultural area embraced in the 4 million acres (16,000 km²) at the Port's very backdoor."