Port Canaveral set a brand new month-to-month document for many passenger actions when it hosted 925,994 friends in March. This surpassed final yr’s March depend by 16 p.c. Fueled by the busiest month in its historical past, Port Canaveral — the world’s second busiest cruise port — can also be on observe for a document 2025 fiscal yr. It’s anticipated to host 8.4 million passenger actions in comparison with 7.6 million final yr.
“It wasn’t long ago when we exceeded 500,000 guests in a single month,” mentioned 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 rising in reputation, particularly for cruisers preferring to drive to the port. “One of the things we pride ourselves on is easy access in and egress out of Port Canaveral,” Murray mentioned. “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 hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to make crusing from the central Florida area much more accessible and handy. Current tasks within the works embrace expanded terminals, up to date parking services, and up to date expertise.
Port Canaveral is presently residence to 16 ships from seven cruise traces: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Disney, Norwegian, MSC, and Princess. Collectively, these traces function over 1,000 sailings yearly from the port.
(Photo courtesy of the Canaveral Port Authority)
The port is increasing its cruise choices with the arrival of a few of cruising’s latest and largest ships, together with 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, can even 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 said.
The jap Florida port’s cruise enterprise contributes considerably to the native financial system, with 91 p.c of cruise friends staying in in a single day lodging on Florida’s Space Coast. 27 p.c take pleasure in a pre and post-cruise land stick with per-party spending at $3,072, based on a latest examine by the Space Coast Office of Tourism. In addition, cruise guests are one of many main drivers of recent lodge building, with roughly 2,000 new lodge rooms deliberate by the tip of this yr.
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