San Juan cruise port sees record daily arrivals

The cruise port of San Juan reached a record high of 17,847 passenger arrivals on Feb. 25, who arrived on six cruise ships.

The new figure topped the previous records of 15,776 passengers set on Dec. 31; 16,712 on Jan. 8; and 16,395 on Feb. 4.

"The arrival of more than 17,000 passengers in a single day represents an economic impact of approximately $2 million to the economy of Puerto Rico," said Luis Munez Martinez, deputy director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC).

Recent improvements at the cruise port aided in the passenger and cruise call increase, including Pier 1, which made possible the arrival of the Disney cruises, and the expansion of Pier 3, which favored the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, according to Colberg Ingrid Rodriguez, executive director of the Port Authority.

The ships that called on Feb. 25 included the Quantum of the Seas, Disney Fantasy, MSC Divina, Carnival Glory and Holland America's Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

Cruise ships calling on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 include the Oceania Riviera, Carnival Liberty and Silversea's Silver Cloud, making a total of 21 cruise ships that have called in San Juan since Feb. 21, including 11 ships that called between Feb. 21 and Feb. 25.