More than 52,000 passengers are set to sail on nine cruise ships Saturday, breaking a world record.
Travelers from around the globe arrived at the port to set sail and help break a world record. Beverly Zehren, one of the passengers, said she and her husband had been going on cruises for the past five years. "We're going on a cruise, because we're down in Florida for one month," she explained. "We just cruise up and down your coastlines and then we park the car for a while and hop a cruise boat."
Cruise lines seemed to be thriving compared to other modes of travel, despite the sour economy. Ellen Kennedy, a spokesperson for Port Everglades, offered a possible explanation. "Because it's a great value. It's all inclusive," she said. "You get your meals paid for and your entertainment. You stay in one room, and you get to see a lot of destinations."
Zehren's husband, Gary Zehren, agreed. "People are looking for something that will make them feel good, and a cruise is very economical," he added.
Kennedy placed the potential world record in perspective. "If you took all the ships that are here, if you put them bow to stern, we'd have 27 football fields. And the number of passengers, 52,000 people, we'd be able to fill the Bank Atlantic Center for a Panthers game three times," she stated.
Port Everglades recently completed a $3 million renovation project, which also created 1,400 jobs for local residents.
The last world record was set on Jan. 3, 2009. Nearly 50,000 passengers sailed in and out of the port on 11 cruise ships that day.
