Port Canaveral and PortMiami are powerhouses in the cruise industry, each battling for the title of busiest cruise port in the world on a regular basis.
Both cruise ports just finished their fiscal years at the end of September, and both have blown away numbers from previous years.
49 miles from Orlando, Port Canaveral announced that 7.6 million passengers had sailed through its terminals on 911 cruise ships.
This increase from 6.8 million passengers the previous year represents an almost 12% increase in traffic.
Not to be outdone, PortMiami just announced its highest cruise passenger total ever as well, with 8.2 million passengers from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
The 12.8% increase in cruise traffic from last year’s number of 7.3 million passengers made it truly the Cruise Capital of the World.
The cruise industry is alive and well in Florida, and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.
Port Canaveral’s recent addition of the 236,860 gross ton Utopia of the Seas and MSC Seaside have helped to give passengers more options from the port. But another gigantic cruise ship is coming in August of 2025: Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, expected to be the largest cruise ship in the world upon completion.
Additionally, Norwegian Aqua will be welcomed to Port Canaveral in late April of 2025 after offering two sailings out of Miami initially.
Port Miami has welcomed the current largest cruise ship in the world with Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas this last fiscal year, and Norwegian Viva was also added to the lineup.
The 6,700-passnger MSC World America will be homeporting in Miami in April of 2025 and will be offering 7- and 14-night sailings out of the south Florida port.
The largest cruise terminal in the world is also coming to Miami, with MSC Cruises’ Terminal AA that is expected to open in the spring of 2025.
Royal Caribbean is also busy at another terminal in PortMiami as Terminal G will be under construction next year. The aging terminal will be demolished to make room for a multi-story terminal with a parking garage.
PortMiami is the first major cruise port to offer shore power at 5 different berths as well, allowing for ships to use land power instead of relying on their engines when docked.
