Port Canaveral is now considered the world’s busiest cruise port in the world, beating out Miami. The port welcomed 8.6 million passengers in the 2025 fiscal year. It's the homeport for 18 ships across seven different cruise lines, and 1000’s of ships use it annually.
Port Canaveral beat PortMiami by about 100,000 passengers. The only other time Port Canaveral was in first place was back in 2022
The 2025 fiscal year saw a 13% increase over the previous year’s 7.6 million passengers.
While an increase in passengers moving through the port can help the area around Port Canaveral, Kevin Markey, one of the Port’s Authority Board of Commissioners, said economic impact is felt across the state.
“The numbers are in the several billion positive financial impact for the entire state, not just our community,” Markey said. “Having lived here my whole life, I remember when the port was sleepy, one ship cruise terminal. And what remains unique about Port Canaveral is the fact that it's so open, you have all those restaurants that are available. You have other retail stores that are usually related to maritime activities. So there's a lot going on out there.”
A $912 million five-year capital improvement initiative is in the works at Port Canaveral, aiming to meet this growing demand from passengers. The project will improve facilities like parking, expanding two existing terminals and more.
Markey said that he’s had locals, and even his friends, express concern about traffic and congestion near the port as Canaveral gets busier. With this growth, Markey said he reminds people that Port Canaveral is working towards keeping up with the numbers and maintaining the quality of life in the area.
“It's not always evident every day, but if you look at our budget planning, the five-year plan is close to a billion dollars we're going to spend,” Markey said. “That's not just to accommodate cruising. That's to help the port remain a viable, usable part of our community.”
