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Most U.S. Cruises Start At 10 Ports, Including Tampa

Tampa Tribune file photo

Carnival Cruise's Inspiration sails year-round from the Port of Tampa to Mexico and the Cayman Islands.

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2008

TAMPA - Ten U.S. cruise ports, including the Port of Tampa, accounted for 83 percent of U.S. cruise embarkations in 2007, a report by the Cruise Lines International Association in Fort Lauderdale reported.

The report, released last week, showed that Tampa tied for seventh place with about 4 percent of the 9.2 million U.S. embarkations.

Miami was first at 21 percent, followed by Port Canaveral and Port Everglades with 14 percent each; Los Angeles, New York City and Galveston, Texas, with 6 percent each; and Seattle, Honolulu, Long Beach, Calif., tied with Tampa at 4 percent.

The Port of Tampa budget for fiscal 2009, which began Oct. 1, forecasts 793,000 cruise passengers, a 6.3 percent increase over 2008 because of special events and additional ports of calls on cruises from Tampa.

Ports count passengers departing and leaving a cruise in their figures, not just embarkations.

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