Look twice at port numbers

They say all is often not as it appears, and when it comes to cruise passenger counts, you might want to look twice.

Ports in Tampa and Miami, and possibly others, count cruise passengers coming and going.

So when Tampa Port officials recently issued statements that nearly 1 million cruise passengers passed through Tampa in 2012, what they meant was that's how many embarked and disembarked on cruises in Tampa.

Turns out, nearly 490,000 travelers embarked on a cruise from Tampa last year. That makes Tampa the fourth-ranked port in Florida, says a Cruise Lines International Association report.

Miami, No. 1 in Florida and the nation, had nearly 1.9 million people embark on cruises last year. The Miami port's website, however, claims nearly 4 million passengers in 2012.

Jacksonville, while last in the state in cruise activity, doesn't appear to count passengers twice. That port's website says Jacksonville had 195,000 passengers in 2012. That number doesn't include disembarkations.