Port Canaveral is on a roll.
The place it as soon as took Port Canaveral a yr to file 1 million cruise passengers, it now comes inside putting distance of that determine in a single month.
The Central Florida port closest to Orlando reported a brand new month-to-month file of 925,994 passenger actions in March 2025, a 16 % improve over the identical month final yr.
The milestone marks the busiest month within the port’s historical past and places it on tempo to achieve a projected 8.4 million passenger actions in Fiscal 12 months 2025 – up from 7.6 million the yr prior.
“It wasn’t way back after we exceeded 500,000 friends in a single month. Now, with numbers like this approaching practically one million, it’s not simply outstanding, it demonstrates the robust demand for sailings from our port,” mentioned Captain John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO.
“We’ve been predicting it, and we have been prepared for it,” he added.
The record-setting March comes simply forward of a wave of latest ship deployments to Port Canaveral.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s brand-new 3,571-guest Norwegian Aqua is about to reach on April 26, 2025, adopted by Royal Caribbean’s soon-to-debut 5,610-passenger Star of the Seas on August 20, 2025.
“Port Canaveral has develop into the homeport of selection for brand spanking new ships,” Murray mentioned.
“Extra cruise traces [are] deploying newer and bigger present tonnage, which speaks volumes about our companions’ confidence in our skill to constantly ship high-quality expertise for his or her friends,” he added.
This winter, extra vessels from Superstar Cruises, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line may also be a part of the lineup, becoming a member of 16 ships from seven cruise traces that already name the port residence.
And the growth isn’t simply benefiting cruise operators. In line with the House Coast Workplace of Tourism, 91 % of cruise friends keep in a single day within the space, and 27 % lengthen their journeys with pre- and post-cruise resort stays.
On common, the workplace says cruisers spend $3,072 throughout their visits to the realm, supporting eating places, inns, and native companies.
That spending energy is fueling new improvement. Roughly 2,000 new resort rooms are anticipated to be added throughout Florida’s House Coast by 2025, which is sort of a 20 % improve from 2021.
Elevating the Bar at Port Canaveral
A lot of the Port Canaveral’s development is attributed to the port’s attraction amongst drive-market passengers from Southeast US and its fame for ease of entry, with Murray taking satisfaction in offering easy-in and easy-out companies.
Throughout a one-on-one interview with Cruise Hive throughout Seatrade Cruise World in April 2025, Murray mentioned the port intends to “increase the bar” and develop into the No. 1 US port.
“We’re the primary and final a part of the cruise expertise,” he mentioned, as he mentioned steps the port is taking to make sure passengers strikes effectively via the port.
This contains using facial recognition, pre-paid parking, vertical lifts for these with mobility points, and using substitute gangways to make sure gangways are all the time functioning, even with the port working repeatedly at the very least six days per week.
Learn Additionally: Port Canaveral Cruise Terminal: Your One-Cease Information
The port can also be investing hundreds of thousands in upgrading and increasing its present cruise amenities, with intensive renovations deliberate for Cruise Terminal 5 to extend the terminal’s functionality to accommodate bigger vessels.
The terminal will stay in service throughout renovations and, when accomplished, will probably be roughly 65 % bigger, encompassing 150,000 sq. toes.
It can increase its baggage areas, present extra passenger seating, improve crew and worker areas, add extra elevators and escalators, and provides its entrance and exterior a brand new look.
In the meantime, Cruise Terminal 1 can also be present process a refresh with new canopies and walkways, as Cruise Terminal 10 undergoes a feasibility examine to discover potential improve enhancements.
Two extra new cruise ships will debut on the port in 2027.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Festivale, carrying as much as 5,270 friends and arriving in spring, and the 6,762-passenger MSC World Atlantic from MSC Cruises, scheduled to reach in winter, will each homeport at Port Canaveral.
