Overview
- Official reports show Port Canaveral handled 8,602,047 passenger movements in fiscal 2025, edging PortMiami’s 8,564,225 for the top spot.
- This marks Port Canaveral’s second time at No. 1 since the pandemic recovery year of 2022.
- Growth was driven by a greater mix of capacity, including a roughly 13% rise in ship calls, 16 home-ported vessels, the arrival of Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, and first-time calls from Princess and Celebrity.
- Port Canaveral cites local tourism data that 27% of cruise passengers stay at least one night, generating about 2.3 million hotel stays annually.
- PortMiami posted records of its own with its highest-ever annual cruise tally and a 2025 cargo high of 1,115,058 TEUs, while Port Canaveral forecasts about 9 million passengers in 2026 and plans upgrades including a $255 million FY2026 program and a broader $912 million five-year initiative.