Miami Launches Inaugural Miami Cruise Month in January 2014

Miami Cruise Month features enticing offers to book cruises departing from PortMiami and special pre- and post-cruise hotel stays, and Heritage Neighborhood Tours.

Miami, January 2nd, 2014. With close to five million consumers expected to pass through PortMiami – the Cruise Capital of the World™ in 2014, the Greater Miami and the Beaches is offering a wealth of pre- and post- cruise options for cruise passengers to extend their travel or vacation with stays in the destination.

This January 1-31, consumers can prepare for wave season, the most popular time to book cruises, as the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) introduces Miami Cruise Month, sponsored by MasterCard’s Priceless Miami program.

Miami Cruise Month features enticing offers to book cruises departing from PortMiami and special pre- and post-cruise hotel stays, attraction visits, and Heritage Neighborhood Tours.

«Greater Miami and The Beaches has been welcoming increasing numbers of visitors for many years, resulting in record-breaking tourism and further growth and traffic at PortMiami,» said GMCVB President & CEO William D. Talbert, III, CDME. «More than ever before, cruise passengers are taking advantage of pre-and-post cruise stays to explore the destination’s many attractions, culturally rich heritage neighborhoods and pristine beaches that continue to attract visitors from around the world.»

To date, participating cruise lines with special offers and incentives for consumers booking cruises in January include: 

•           Azamara Club Cruises

•           Carnival Cruise Lines

•           Celebrity Cruises

•           MSC Cruises

•           Norwegian Cruise Line

•           Oceania Cruises

•           Regent Seven Seas Cruises

•           Royal Caribbean International

Port Director Bill Johnson said the 2013 cruise season was one of PortMiami’s best with the addition of two new cruise brands-Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Disney Cruise Line-and the arrival of three new build ships including: the Carnival Breeze, Celebrity Reflection and the Oceania Riviera.

«Last year marked our greatest fleet expansion ever in a single cruise season,» Johnson said.  «Looking ahead, 2014 promises to be yet another banner year.  We are anticipating a surge in cruise traffic with close to five million cruise passengers traveling through PortMiami in the coming year.»

New for the 2014 Cruise Season is MSC Cruises; the Mediterranean brand, which began sailing one of its newest ships, MSC Divina, from Miami last month.  Additionally, PortMiami will welcome Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Norwegian Getaway, in February.

Calling all Cruise Directors…

During the month of January, consumers may enter the PortMiami Adventure Sweepstakes for a chance to win weekly cruise-inspired prizes and the grand prize of a trip to Greater Miami and The Beaches, courtesy of the GMCVB. Simply visit https://www.facebook.com/VisitMiami to create your own PortMiami adventure mentioning your favorite things to do, places to stay and dining hot spots.

Consumers looking for pre-and-post cruise itinerary ideas can visit Miami and Beaches’ Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/miamiandbeaches/ using the new Pinterest Places interactive City Guides feature. From places to sleep and eat to places to play and discover, including destination heritage spots, Pinterest boards will have inspirations for planning a cruising trip out of PortMiami.

«Miami Cruise Month is a great marketing and promotion program providing tremendous options for a cruise vacation departing from PortMiami,» said Christine Duffy, President and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). «We congratulate the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau for recognizing the importance of the cruise industry to bring more people to the destination and for opening up the market to global travelers.  PortMiami is the busiest cruise port in the world and Miami offers many pre/post cruise activities and reasons to come early and stay longer.  I’m sure that this promotion will be very successful and a great boom for the cruise lines, Miami and PortMiami.»

Tempting Options for 2014 Trips to Greater Miami and Beaches…

Miami Cruise Month is part of the GMCVB’s increasingly popular Miami Temptations program, which takes a thematic focus on the best that Miami has to offer throughout the year at attractive prices. Full details for Miami Cruise Month can be found at www.MiamiCruiseMonth.com.

Other programs include Miami Romance Month, Shop Miami Month, Miami Sports Month, Miami Museum Month, Miami Film Month, Miami Spa Month, Miami Spice Restaurant Month, Miami Attractions Month, and Miami Live Month.  For more information on the Temptations programs please visit www.MiamiTemptations.com.

Source: Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), Negocios Magazine.

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