Tampa Bay Shatters Cruise Passenger Record

The Port of Tampa Bay broke records again as the cruise port welcomed six ships over the weekend. During the two days of March 31, and April 1, the port processed 29,167 guests, beating out the previous record of 22,960 back in February.

With the new improvements to Terminal 6, the port is able to accommodate more cruise guests. “I really like cruising out of Tampa. It feels very safe, it’s a convenient drive from where we live in Fort Myers, and the staff goes out of their way to make our boarding process simple,” a reader told us.

On Saturday, March 31, the cruise port saw Carnival Paradise, Carnival Miracle, and Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas. And then on Sunday, April 1, Norwegian Dawn, Holland America’s Rotterdam, and Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas.

Carnival Paradise recently returned to Tampa after a month-long dry dock. The extensive upgrades to the Carnival Paradise included a new water park, restaurants, bars, and staterooms. The multi-million dollar makeover featured the “WaterWorks Aqua Park”, an all-ages water park with a 300 foot-long twister water slide and two 82 foot-long racing slides. Carnival Paradise’s additions also include four new themed bars and restaurants including “Guy’s Burger Joint”, and 38 new staterooms.

Tampa Bay can only accommodate certain sized cruise ships because of the limited vertical clearance of the Skyway Bridge.