CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Port Canaveral is seeing a near full rebound in revenue two years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 13 will mark two years since the last cruise ship left the port before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed a pause on the cruise industry.
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Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said it’s been a difficult journey, but after cruises resumed last July, a bounceback is well underway.
“There’s a lot of activity on short-term cruising. I think we’ll be back in the next five or six months,” Murray said.
The port was forced to make many adjustments over the course of the shutdown to help with the loss of revenue.
“We put all our capital projects on hold,” Murray said. “I think that’s the biggest takeaway. That helped us get through the 18-month period of the cruise industry being in doubt.”
According to Murray, total revenue for the first five months of this fiscal year is $48.8 million, which is $32 million higher than this point last year and $5 million less than pre-pandemic levels.
Thursday’s update came after the Carnival Elation returned to port. Anja Marino said she and her husband had been looking forward to the cruise for a long time.
“We had a lot of fun. It was great,” Marino said. “It was nice to be able to get back into vacation mode and glad to see it all bouncing back.”
Recently, COVID restrictions have been relaxed on cruise ships after the CDC updated its guidance.
Murray said it’s a hopeful sign there will soon be a full return to the industry.
“I think by the time we get to the summer, we should be in pretty much full-strength mode,” he said. “Bookings are strong, people want to get out. People want to vacation.”