Port Canaveral surpasses Miami as world’s busiest cruise port

Alex BurtonFebruary 24, 2023

BREWARD COUNTY, Florida. – Port Canaveral has surpassed Miami as the world’s busiest cruise port for the first time, the Florida Ports Council told News 6 partner Florida Today.

According to the organization’s just-released report, Port Canaveral’s total ridership for fiscal year 2022 was 4.21 million. This compares to 4.02 million for the Port of Miami. The Port of the Everglades in Fort Lauderdale retained its No. 3 spot with 1.72 million passengers, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.

“We have always strived to be the best cruise port in the world, but what an achievement that we are now known as the busiest port,” said Port CEO John Murray. “This historic event is a testament to the efforts of our team and cruise partners to deliver a best-in-class experience for all cruise guests departing from Port Canaveral.”

Port Canaveral is currently home to 13 multi-day cruise ships from five cruise lines – Carnival, Disney, MSC, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.

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Port Canaveral is also a major driver of the Space Coast tourism market as a whole, with many cruise passengers staying at local hotels before or after cruises. They also visit local attractions, eat at local restaurants and shop at local stores.

Space Coast Tourism Authority executive director Peter Kranis said Port Canaveral’s top spot “is a testament to the excellent infrastructure and everything to see and do on the Space Coast. It says a lot about our destination and how much people enjoy staying here before and after a cruise.”

Kranis added that “Port Canaveral has come a long way and worked hard to surpass Miami as the world’s busiest cruise port.”

Murray said the new rating is important as the Port of Canaveral has always had a “friendly rivalry” with the Port of Miami and the Port of the Everglades as the Brevard County Seaport aspired to be the No. 1 cruise port.

“Sometimes the back-and-forth rivalry is a little fun,” Murray said during a press conference where he discussed the ratings. “As it ended in 2022, we were ahead and there is much to rejoice about now.”

New and larger cruise ships: Allure of the Seas and Marella Cruises on the way

Murray said Port Canaveral has achieved its goal of attracting some of the world’s newest and largest ships and is well positioned for the future.

Murray said: “I think the fact that we have a new profile of new, bigger and better ships will continue to give us a good boost going forward with our status in cruise types and the people who come to see us.”

Murray said he was unfazed by projections in a Florida Ports Board report that Miami will once again surpass Port Canaveral in passenger numbers by 2027, with 8.40 million passengers this year compared to Port Canaveral’s 6.43 million. .

Murray said the numbers are “highly speculative” and Port Canaveral could hit the 2027 forecast well before then.

Murray noted that the number of passengers at the Port of Canaveral in 2023 has been high so far and is likely to far exceed 2022 figures.

Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, a 6,780-passenger “Oasis-class” vessel, will begin sailing twice a week from Port Canaveral on October 25. It will be the first Oasis-class vessel in the Royal Caribbean fleet to sail regularly twice a week, which Murray says shows the cruise line’s trust in Port Canaveral and its ability to attract passengers.

In addition, Marella Cruises will begin operating from Port Canaveral on May 7, targeting cruises for residents of the United Kingdom who fly into Melbourne Orlando International Airport for their cruises.

“We have a very active plan for the future,” Murray said, as the Port of Canaveral will likely need to build another cruise terminal in the next three to five years.

Florida Cruise Ports

Murray said all of Florida’s cruise ports are doing well now.

“It’s great to see him coming back strong,” Murray said after a long hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. For Port Canaveral, this closure lasted over 16 months from mid-March 2020 to the end of July 2021.

“All of our cruise ports have a big economic impact on the state of Florida,” Murray said.

For ships based in a cruise port, passengers are counted both when boarding the ship at the beginning of the cruise and when leaving it at the end of the cruise. For ships that are not based in the port but call there to stop at the port, passengers are counted only once.

This is the total number of cruise passengers in 2022 for other Florida ports: