One of the most visited ports of call in the world just broke its own record. The mayor of Cozumel, Mexico, Mayor José Luis Chacón Méndez, just revealed that the island has already received more cruise traffic in 2025 during the first 3 months than in previous years for the same time frame.
1,502,727 cruise passengers visited Cozumel from January through March this year, and those numbers are only growing.
“Last year, Cozumel welcomed 4,623,000 tourists. The goal is to reach 5 million. We will achieve this by working closely with the cruise companies, tourism entrepreneurs on the island, and internationally”, the mayor stated.
Representatives for tourism in Cozumel were at the recent Seatrade event in Miami, which is the leading international conference for the cruise industry. Mayor Chacón Méndez said the event was helpful in making some key connections with cruise companies.
This Week in Cozumel
If you’re going to Cozumel this week (April 14-20), expect to see even more tourists. Port Authority officials say about 80,000 visitors will arrive on 21 different cruise ships throughout the week.
Here’s a quick look at how many ships and people are expected each day:
- Monday, April 14: 2 ships, 6,501 passengers
- Tuesday, April 15: 3 ships, 13,264 passengers
- Wednesday, April 16: 3 ships, 13,904 passengers
- Thursday, April 17: 5 ships, 18,297 passengers (the busiest day)
- Friday, April 18: 3 ships, 16,246 passengers
- Saturday, April 19: 2 ships, 6,136 passengers
What Makes Cozumel so Popular
Cozumel has really worked hard to make itself a top destination for cruise ships. While it’s not everyone’s favorite port—it is one of my favorites–, the island is capable of handling this kind of cruise traffic with ease.
There are three main cruise piers, allowing some of the cruise traffic to be spread out to a degree, and this helps reduce wait times. The deep-water ports allow even the largest ships in the world to visit the ports as well.
Cozumel is also strategically located for cruise ships sailing in the Western Caribbean. Stops to the ports in Cozumel are often part of itineraries to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Belize.
Planning on visiting this Mexican port soon? Here are some of the best things to do in Cozumel.
