It is the undisputed capital of cruises. By 2023, 7.3 million travelers passed through the Port of Miami. The number was an all-time record and left behind the 6.8 million in the last year considered normal for the industry until now: 2019. Cruisers embark and disembark there through the nine terminals erected on Dodge Island, an artificial island which is industrial on the south side and is dedicated entirely to cruises on the north side. A tenth and spectacular terminal, capable of operating with two ships simultaneously, is currently in the final phase of construction.
The island where the cruise ships dock was being prepared during the real estate fever of the twenties. It grew in parallel with the artificial areas gained in the waters of Biscayne Bay, although it did not have a name until the 1950s. It was then that cruise ships began to operate from there, an industry that became the economic engine of the area with exponential growth. The example of this boom is clear: if during the 1950s there were about 60,000 boat tourists passing through Miami a year, in the spring of 2023, specifically on April 9, 67,594 tourists passed through port in a single day.
The historic passenger record, celebrated almost without discussion, was carried out by eight ships from six companies: NCL, MSC, Seabourn, Virgin, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The last two, born in the seventies, are the parent of two large holdings that dominate much of the sector. The two corporations own 15 shipping companies of all kinds: from ultra-luxury ones, which operate small boutique ships, to those that sail with huge floating resorts.
On January 23, the Icon of the , one of these huge ships, unthinkable for its size and characteristics just a few years ago, was christened in this port. With a well-oiled marketing, advertising and public relations machinery, Royal Caribbean turned the official opening into global news, and into a spectacle as big as the ship itself. To demonstrate his power, he had the footballer Leo Messi as godfather of the Icon. The ship has as its hook the fact of being the largest in history in its class, since it steals the record from another ship of the company: the Wonder of the Seas, which it has won by length by three meters and by tonnage: it has a displacement of 248,000 tons, 12,000 more than its brother.
The enthusiasm that the ship has caused in the United States has been absolute, to the point that the first trip set sail with all cabins occupied and the first official cruise sold out to full capacity, ranging from 5,610 passengers if in each cabin or suite only two people travel, up to 7,600 cruise passengers if all the extra or extra beds in the accommodation with more space are occupied. To these must be added a permanent crew of 2,350 professionals.
At maximum capacity, the Icon of the Seas will carry between 8,000 and 10,000 people each week to various ports in the Caribbean, and will return every seven days to Miami... and it's back to the beginning for a giant who already has the next trips scheduled years. Ports like St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands; Philipsburg in St. Martin and Cozumel in Mexico already have berth reservations for this ship until 2026. Also ready, even longer, is CocoCay, the island in the Bahamas that Royal Caribbean has leased from of the eighties to the Government of the former British colony.
Five years ago the island used exclusively by the holding's ships received an investment of around 230 million euros for a complete renovation. The few Bahamian activists cried out for the loss of natural beauty and especially for environmental damage when a Disneyland-style park and other unnecessary facilities, such as America's tallest water slide, were built there. Few other critical voices were heard in the country, an archipelago extraordinarily dependent on offshore banking and tourism, especially cruises.
The huge size of the Icon of the Seas is a trend in this industry. Gigantism is due to economies of scale, since it is more profitable to cram as many passengers as possible into one large ship than to cram them into many small ships, another trend in the industry: boutique or cruise ships exploration, although the latter is a very different world from what travelers who buy tickets for this brand new giant ship are looking for. They pay between 1,600 and 10,000 euros per week and person to travel to the Icon, prices that include many activities and services. In theory, the passenger doesn't have to spend more on board, although there are plenty of extras that the airline either charges for or knows the passenger will pay for without much thought, because they're on vacation.
Being on board is a frenzy of stimuli that on this ship has numbers: 20 different catering points, from restaurants to more informal venues, 15 places of entertainment and live music, a complete water park, 16 swimming pools and a ice rink Entertainment, stimuli, spending, food and drink 24 hours a day... and at the same time it is insisted that everything is controlled and sustainable. On board, an environmental officer is in charge of recycling programs, water reuse, more efficient engines, use of liquefied natural gas and the possibility of "plugging" the ship in ports when this is possible and the engines can be to stop However, according to calculations by the ICCT (International Council for Clean Transport), the ship emits around 250 g of CO2 per passenger and kilometer.
Shipping companies such as Royal Caribbean say that they are doing their homework in environmental matters, although they do not stop expanding their fleets with ships, in principle more respectful of oceans and seas, although by organizations such as the Belgian Transport
