Sarah Bretz, ContributorPort Canaveral set a new monthly record for most passenger movements when it hosted 925,994 guests in March. This surpassed last year’s March count by 16 percent. Fueled by the busiest month in its history, Port Canaveral — the world’s second busiest cruise port — is also on track for a record 2025 fiscal year. It’s expected to host 8.4 million passenger movements compared to 7.6 million last year.
“It wasn’t long ago when we exceeded 500,000 guests in a single month,” said Captain John Murray, CEO of Port Canaveral. “Now, with numbers like this approaching nearly a million, it’s not just remarkable, it demonstrates the strong demand for sailings from our Port. We’ve been predicting it, and we were ready for it.”
Port Canaveral has been growing in popularity, especially for cruisers who prefer to drive to the port. “One of the things we pride ourselves on is easy access in and egress out of Port Canaveral,” Murray said. “Our growth and success comes from our ongoing commitment to ensure we are the best port possible for our partners and guests.”
The port is investing millions of dollars to make sailing from the central Florida region even more accessible and convenient. Current projects in the works include expanded terminals, updated parking facilities, and updated technology.
Port Canaveral is currently home to 16 ships from seven cruise lines: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Disney, Norwegian, MSC, and Princess. Collectively, these lines operate over 1,000 sailings annually from the port.
The port is expanding its cruise options with the arrival of some of cruising’s newest and largest ships, including Norwegian Aqua this weekend and Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas in August. Carnival Festivale and MSC World Atlantic, slated to debut in 2027, will also sail from the port. In addition, MSC, Princess, Celebrity, and Norwegian will all deploy newer ships to Port Canaveral this winter.
“Port Canaveral has become the homeport of choice for new ships with more cruise lines deploying newer and larger existing tonnage, which speaks volumes about our partners’ confidence in our ability to consistently deliver high-quality experience for their guests,” Murray stated.
The eastern Florida port’s cruise business contributes significantly to the local economy, with 91 percent of cruise guests staying in overnight accommodations on Florida’s Space Coast. 27 percent enjoy a pre and post-cruise land stay with per-party spending at $3,072, according to a recent study by the Space Coast Office of Tourism. In addition, cruise visitors are one of the primary drivers of new hotel construction, with approximately 2,000 new hotel rooms planned by the end of this year.
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