Families taking their spring school vacations are expected to fill eight multi-day cruise ships at Port Everglades on Saturday, March 17, 2012, and possibly break the world record held by Port Everglades for the highest number of passengers sailing in and out of a seaport in a single day.

Port Everglades last broke its own world record on March 20, 2010, also during a busy spring school vacation time, with 53,365 guests passing through the Port that day and came close to breaking the record again this past November during the busy Thanksgiving weekend. This year, on March 17, eight of the largest cruise ships in Port Everglades’ fleet will be sailing with higher numbers of guests because school children on vacation will be sharing staterooms with their parents.

“The cruise industry is robust, especially during Spring vacation because cruising is a great value for families since food, lodging and entertainment are all included in one price,” says Port Everglades Chief Executive Steven Cernak. “Cruising’s great vacation value and popularity at this time of year sets the stage for us to be in position to break our previous record.”

On March 17, cruise ships sailing from Port Everglades include: Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Miracle, Holland America Line’s Eurodam; Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Grand Princess; Royal Caribbean International’s Liberty of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas; and MSC Cruises’ MSC Poesia. In addition, Balearia’s Pinar del Rio, the Bahamas Express fast ferry, will also be sailing to Freeport, Bahamas.

FUN FACTS:

If lined up bow to stern, the eight cruise ships docked at Port Everglades on March 17

•  would stretch 8,014 feet or the equivalent of nearly 27 football fields

•  fill between 107 and 130 747-jumbo jets

•  fill all the seats at the BankAtlantic Center nearly three times for a concert or a Florida Panthers hockey game.