Bon Voyage Miami

Hard to believe, but cruise ships are no longer making Miami a port of call. Tourists prefer the Bahamas instead.

My brother-in-law was a cruise ship musician for over 10 years. He originally ported in Ft. Lauderdale(Port Everglades) but later on it was always Miami. Other than Oceanside(A shopping and restaurant area), I never saw much appeal in Miami. If one was embarking or disembarking in Florida, Miami may be best. It has the biggest airport in Florida with many non-stop flights.

Economics and what the customer wanted certainly drove the cruise lines decision on Miami. Anyone want to buy a port cheap?(Time for sarcastic laughter)

Open Post- Outside the Beltway, Bright & Early,

When the Norwegian Spirit sets sail this evening for Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, it will say bon voyage to Miami as a port of call -- the New York-based cruise ship no longer plans to visit Miami.

Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas will start calling on Miami in July during a series of nine-day itineraries from Baltimore, delivering 2,000-plus passengers to local tourist attractions.

But beyond that, Miami -- the world's cruise capital -- remains little more than a place where people begin and end their cruises. No ships call regularly on Port Everglades in Broward County, also a busy cruise departure point.

For all its glamour, South Florida has yet to catch on as a place were cruise lines pull up and encourage their passengers to spend a few hours at local tourist attractions. Those same attractions, which usually see lulls between the weekends, had come to enjoy Norwegian's Wednesday visits as a mid-week pick-up.

Cruise lines say passengers prefer to visit Bahamian or Caribbean islands that cater to their desire to get away from it all. They say that's especially true for been-there, done-that New Yorkers, who think of Miami as a drive-to or fly-to market.

Take, for instance, Stacy Shaughnessy, a Long Island, N.Y., mom who recently visited Miami as a passenger aboard the Norwegian Spirit.

''Miami is just like New York, except it has palm trees and it's hotter and the water is clearer,'' Shaughnessy, 46, said. ``I'd rather be in a place that's more quiet and laid-back.''

For the past few months, the 1,966-passenger Spirit has been stopping in Miami every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Norwegian Dawn, a 2,224-passenger ship, previously called on Miami during tours of Florida and the Bahamas.

''People would rather go to the Caribbean or the Bahamas,'' said Stewart Chiron, a Miami-based cruise expert. ``And if there's a scheduling need for a U.S. port of call, Port Canaveral is going to win every time.''

Indeed, the Spirit is dropping Miami but keeping Port Canaveral for its week-long tours of Florida and the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas will call on Port Canaveral on its way back to Baltimore from Mexico. The big draw for Port Canaveral: its nearby attractions, namely Kennedy Space Center, Disney World and Universal Studios. Key West is another popular Florida port of call.

''If you were to spend a day in Miami, I don't know where you'd begin,'' said Bob Dickinson, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, which operates a fleet of 21 ships. ``There's so much to do, and it's all spread out.''

SPECIAL TOURS

Parrot Jungle Island, near the Port of Miami-Dade, designed special behind-the-scene tours for Dawn and Spirit passengers -- premium access that the general public now pays as much as $200 a head to enjoy. ''They always sell out,'' sales director Sandy Edwards said.

Though cruise lines generate healthy profits selling port-of-call excursions, Edwards said they show less enthusiasm for steering passengers to Parrot Jungle before and after their cruises.

''They want the cruise ship passengers to spend as much money as possible on their ships,'' she said.

Tourism officials argue that the nearly 700,000 overnight visitors who come to Miami to board cruise ships -- about 6 percent of the county's tourists -- provide more economic boost than would the day-trippers that come with a port of call.

ON THE PLUS SIDE

About half of all passengers extended their stay in Miami by at least one night, meaning millions of dollars in hotel stays, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. Being the country's top cruise-ship port involves a trade off: There are far fewer ships to pick Miami as a port of call.

''You can't have your cake and eat it too,'' said Maria Sastre, a senior Royal Caribbean executive and chairwoman of the visitors bureau.

Passengers finishing cruises at both ports roll up by the bus full at Rick Soverns' Sawgrass Recreation Park near Weston.

In less than three hours, the groups ride on airboats, view the park's 1,400-pound alligator, hear a talk on Florida's vanishing species and, if they dare, pet a baby gator.

''Sometimes we have five or 10 buses a day,'' Soverns said. ``We have them in and out really quick because the tour operators take them right on back to the airport.''

Local attractions could get a boost when Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas begins calling on Miami in July. The Baltimore-based ship initially was supposed to call on Grand Bahama Island during a five-month series of nine-day sailings.

But Miami won out partly because it means passengers won't have to clear customs upon arriving at their next stop in Key West, said Diana Block, associate vice president of ship deployment. The ship then heads to Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico before returning to Baltimore via Cape Canaveral.

''In general, people are looking to get out of Florida into the Bahamas and Caribbean,'' Block said. ``But we'll test things out.''

Norwegian Cruise Line isn't ruling out Miami as a port of call, either. ''I think it's likely we'll be returning to Miami at some point,'' said Andy Stuart, executive vice president of marketing at Norwegian. ``Miami delivered well. We're just looking to offer more variety.''