Is New England becoming the cruise embarkation point of the world? Probably not, but the Port of Boston did set a record last year for cruise passengers, with passenger traffic growing by 12 percent at Cruiseport Boston's Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. "We benefited from a 25 percent increase in scheduled ship calls and larger vessels," said Mike Leone, port director for Massport.
During the 2007 season, 101 ships called at the cruise terminal, bringing in 234,284 passengers to Boston, whose cruise season ended in December when Norwegian Gem called there.
The port also grabbed headlines recently with the announcement of a 10-year agreement between Norwegian Cruise Line and the Government of Bermuda, which designates NCL as the exclusive line to sail from Boston to Bermuda. (DE)