CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Port Canaveral is setting records again after the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 100,000 passengers came through two weeks ago.
What You Need To Know
- Port Canaveral has hit a record milestone of passengers
- Now that the CDC has ended its COVID program, the cruise business is getting back to normal
- Local businesses are reaping the benefits, gaining more customers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ended its COVID-19 program for monitoring cruise ships, which is leading to more growth as businesses invest millions into two new cruise terminals and renovations of several others.
For local businesses, that means even more disembarking passengers to spend money in their shops and restaurants.
During bustling lunchtimes in the kitchen at Southern Charm Cafe in Cape Canaveral. Betty Wright and her staff have served up southern-style cuisine to hungry guests for the past six years.
“Our pork tenderloins, our fish and shrimp, our Reubens are hits,” Wright said. “They like the home-cooking food.”
The cafe is down the street from Port Canaveral, and the past couple of years have been a struggle. When the cruise industry was forced to shut down, and later slowly reopened, Wright and her team felt the pinch because cruise passengers make up 40% of their business.
Now that the industry is beginning to reopen, the world’s second-busiest cruise port just marked a milestone: 107,000 passengers passed through in one week, the second week of July. It marked the third time this year the port has topped 100,000 passengers.
With the CDC's program complete, the port could get even busier as cruise ships manage their own mitigation.
Wright and her team are looking forward to feeding even more cruise passengers looking for that home-cooked meal.
“We also hear great stories from them about their cruise, where they’re from. It’s pretty good,” Wright said. “We love having them here.”