Cruise Travel

Many major cruise lines make Florida a point of embarkation for itineraries to the Caribbean and Mexico. Occasionally a cruise line actually offers an itinerary in which Florida is a port of call, most often Key West or Port Canaveral, and sometimes Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades.

The port of Miami has the world's largest year-round fleet. It also handles more megaships—vessels capable of transporting more than 2,000 people at a time—than any other port in the world.

Port Everglades, 30 miles north of Miami in Fort Lauderdale, is also a cruise-ship mecca, and it's been vying to eclipse its neighbor to the south. Port Canaveral, 60 miles west of Orlando, is the home port for some Disney Cruise Line vessels but increasingly other cruise lines as well, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Other cruise ships homeport in Jacksonville or Tampa.