Port Canaveral sets record for passengers coming through the port

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PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Activity at Port Canaveral is exceeding expectations and setting a record for passengers coming through the port.

Port Canaveral projected that 500,000 cruise passengers would move through the port in December.

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We now know that 700,000 passengers passed through the port last month.

On Monday, there were four ships in port with a steady flow of cruise passengers, with some of them sailing for the very first time.

“So, when I first started back cruising last February, it was lower and I feel like now it’s almost back to normal capacity,” said cruise passenger Karla Lee. “Honestly, I feel like people are back to cruising.”

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Another passenger, Niki Sheppard told Channel 9 that she and her family are sailing for the first time since 2016, and part of helping to make that decision was the fact that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

“Now that the restrictions are gone. We’re back in the game,” Sheppard said.

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Port Canaveral is also entering the new year with something else it’s never had before -- 13 homeported ships - with the December arrival of The Norwegian Prima.

In the past three months, 1.7 million passengers have moved through the port.

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