Fort-de-France (Martinique)

Fort-de-France is the largest port and the capital city of Martinique - one of France's overseas territories in the Caribbean Sea. The port is located on the island's central-western coast, at Madame River's mouth. Here are also the island's Martinique Aime Cesaire International Airport, and Fort Saint Louis (French naval base). The other cruise ports in Martinique are Le Marin and Les Anses d'Arlet.

IMPORTANT: Since January 2020, all cruise ship passengers booked on roundtrip itineraries from US ports (including San Juan Puerto Rico) that visit Martinique ports need for boarding passport books (not passport cards or birth certificates). Passport books are required for both adults and minors and must be valid for at least 6 months after the voyage ends.

Besides cruise ship tourism, Fort-de-France Port (locode MQFDF) serves most of the country's cargo shipping traffic, including the exports of cacao, rum, sugar, tinned fruits.

The city covers a total area of 44 km2 (17 mi2) and has population around 85,000.

For season 2023-2024, Martinique announced a total of 240 cruise ship calls/booked berthings (28% increase over season 2022-2023) with expected ~421000 tourists (compared to 338154 in 2022-23). Of the 240 visits, 180 were for Fort-de-France and the remaining 60 for Martinique's other cruise ports - Les Anses-d’Arlet, Le Marin, Saint-Pierre (32 calls/~13000 tourists) and Trois-Ilets.

Turnaround/homeporting operations (roundtrip itineraries) out of Martinique (Fort-de-France) were offered by 6 cruise shipping companies- AIDA, Costa, MSC, Ponant, Sea Cloud/fleet, and Club Med/fleet.

Christopher Columbus (Italian explorer and colonizer, 1451-1506) discovered the Martinique Island in 1493. In 1635, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc (French trader in the Caribbean, 1585-1636) claimed the island for France.

Fort-de-France is an extraordinary town, with a distinctive French flair. It is a perfect travel destination for dining or shopping for souveniers. Other attractions are the Central Park (flowering gardens and fountains), the Cathedral, the historic Fort Saint Louis.

Elsewhere on the island are Paul Gauguin Memorial, the Museum of Seashell Art and the Museum of Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon. For a scenic Martinique Island tour, remember to visit the Regional Natural Park. Those who like hiking can climb the semi-active volcano Mount Pelee (elevation 1400 m / 4580 ft). Its 1902 eruption killed around 30,000 inhabitants.

During season 2015-2016, Martinique was visited by cruise ships 221 times (49 more over season 2014-2015), binging over 380,000 passengers. This passenger volume was an increase of 73% over 2014.

For season 2018, the port reported a record number of cruise berth bookings (a total of 365) made by early March 2018. The over 70% increase (2018 over 2017) was mainly due to diverted cruise ships from the Caribbean islands that suffered hurricane damages. In 2017, the cruise port handled a total of 511,147 passengers. Also in 2018 were upgraded cruise terminal's amenities and services, including pierside passenger greetings, taxi vouchers, new tours, new terminal signage.

In 2019, the port handled 193 ship calls and a total of 285,423 passengers (393,157 pax were received in 2018). For 2020 (before the global Coronavirus pandemic in March), the cruise port had booked 203 ship berthings and anticipated ~400,000 tourists (on transition itineraries) plus ~110,000 (from homeported vessels.

Fort-de-France cruise terminal