Sightseeing boat passing Fred Snite Jr.'s Home, Miami Beach, Fla.

Water transportation was one of the primary methods of accessing the Miami area both before and after the arrival of the railroad. Fishermen from the Bahamas were some of the first non-indigenous settlers in the region who recognized the enormous potential for fishing along the bay as well as throughout the Keys. Ralph Munroe was drawn to the area for the boating opportunities it offered, and he brought many friends to Miami by touting the pleasures of sailing the waters of the Caribbean from a base in Miami.

Developers took advantage of the natural waterways as well as the man-made ones, by offering guests and residents alike the opportunity for year-round boating. The Purdy Boat Company provided many Miami Beach hotel owners, for example, with gondolas for rent so their guests could be whisked along Biscayne Bay. Sightseeing boats offered yet another opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the emerging Miami skyline from the tranquil waters of the coastline. Steamships became a crucial part of Miami’s development.

Once dredging work on Miami’s deep channel was completed in 1920, the stage was set for increasing tourist travel between the northern Atlantic Coast, Miami, and Havana. Several steamship companies, including the Havana-American Steamship Line, developed ferry services to Cuba as well as the Bahamas, ushering in the beginning of the cruise industry. When Ted Arison launched Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972, he drew on the benefits Miami had accrued over the last fifty years as a leading site of cruise departures and made Carnival into the largest cruise line in the world.