ALLURE IS AT HOME IN PORT CANAVERAL
The massive cruise ship will sail to Bahamas twice a week
Royal Caribbean International’s massive Allure of the Seas sailed into Port Canaveral early Wednesday to start what will be an unprecedented home-port stay there.
For the first time ever at any port, a ship that size will sail on a twice-aweek schedule from a single port, rather than one sailing a week.
Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray said the twice-weekly sailings of the Allure from Port Canaveral indicate that Royal Caribbean is confident the demand is high for bookings on the ship.
“It shows you how strong their customer base is here at the port,” Murray said.
The Allure of the Seas has 2,748 staterooms, a double-occupancy capacity of 5,496 passengers and a full capacity of 6,828 passengers. It is the world’s fourth-largest cruise ship. Port Canaveral — the world’s busiest cruise port — also is home to the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas.
Two other Royal Caribbean ships also will be based at Port Canaveral this winter season — the Adventure of the Seas and the Mariner of the Seas. Among Royal Caribbean ships scheduled to make port-of-call stops this winter season at Port Canaveral are the Anthem of the Seas and the Vision of the Seas.
After its initial Wednesday-to-Monday sailing, the Allure of the Seas will sail out of Port Canaveral on Mondays and Fridays to the Bahamas, with most of the cruises stopping at Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island.
The twice-a-week sailings of Allure of the Seas — as opposed to once-a-week sailings — will be important for Port Canaveral. That’s because the port’s cruise revenue is based in part on fees tied to dockings of cruise ships and to passenger counts. The more sailings per month, the more potential revenue.
This is the first time the Allure has been based at Port Canaveral, although it has made port-of-call stops there before.
The Allure of the Seas has 18 decks; a crew of 2,054; 23 dining options; 17 bars and lounges; and five areas geared to younger children and teens. It first started sailing in 2010.
The Allure features a nine-story zip line, two FlowRider surf simulators, twin rock climbing walls, ice skating, mini-golf, the Sports Court, the H2O Zone kids’ aquapark and an adults-only Solarium.
Among the ship’s entertainment productions are the high divers, aerialists, slackliners and other performers at the AquaTheater; Olympic-level skaters at the Studio B ice-skating arena; and performances of “Mamma Mia!” at the Royal Theater.
Next July, an even-bigger ship — the Utopia of the Seas — will replace the Allure of the Seas at Port Canaveral. The Utopia now is under construction, and will make its debut at Port Canaveral, sailing a similar twice-a-week itinerary.
The Utopia will be the sixth “Oasis Class” ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, and the first to be powered by cleanerburning liquefied natural gas.
Two other Port Canaveral-based ships already use liquefied natural gas — the Carnival Mardi Gras and the Disney Wish.
Record year-end numbers
Port Canaveral on Wednesday reported record year-end revenue, profits and passenger counts for the 2022-23 budget year that ended Sept. 30.
Operating revenue totaled $190.75 million. Of that, $116.71 million came from cruise ship operations; $41.30 million from cruise passenger parking; $20.54 million from cargo operations; $5.23 million from leases; $3.94 million from recreation; and $3.02 million from other revenue sources.
The port’s profit totaled $88.73 million, which is used for port development projects and to reduce debt.
The twice-a-week sailings of Allure of the Seas — as opposed to once-a-week sailings — will be important for Port Canaveral. That’s because the port’s cruise revenue is based in part on fees tied to dockings of cruise ships and to passenger counts. The more sailings per month, the more potential revenue.
Multiday cruise passenger counts totaled 6.78 million, up more than 66% from 4.07 million passengers a year earlier. The cruise industry counts passengers on a home-ported ship twice — once when boarding the ship at the beginning of a cruise and once when leaving the ship at the end of a cruise. Passengers making a port-of-call stop at a port are counted once.
Murray said cruise ships sailing out of Port Canaveral are operating at an average of about 110% of their double-occupancy capacity, with three or four passengers occupying many cabins, particularly on cruises that have a number of families with children sailing.
In addition, the Victory 1 gambling ship, which sails twice a day, had a total of 143,938 passengers, up more than 4% from the previous year.
Cargo tonnage was 7.10 million tons, up more than 8% from the previous year.
The top commodities, by tonnage, were fuel, lumber, slag, limestone, granite, salt and fertilizer.