Move over Miami, Port Canaveral has climbed to number one as the world’s busiest cruise port for the first time ever,
New figures from the Florida Ports Council rank the port 45 miles from Orlando as number one, with 4.07 million passengers coming to or from cruises in 2022. That compares with 4.02 million for PortMiami, which has held the title for many years. Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale retained its number 3 spot, with 1.72 million passengers.
In addition to Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruises, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean make the port home to some of their biggest ships.
“We’ve always aimed to be the best cruise port in the world, but what an achievement to now be known as the busiest,” port CEO John Murray said. “This historic milestone is testament to the efforts of our team and cruise partners to provide a best in class experience for all cruise guests sailing from Port Canaveral.”
Miami is battling back, PortMiami director Hydi Webb said. Five new ships are calling at Miami this year and the port is rolling out improvements such as easy-access roadways and technology to support more efficient operations. It will soon become the first port on the East Coast with multiple terminals providing shore power, she noted.
In a five-year projection, the Florida Ports Council estimates PortMiami will grow to accommodate 8.4- million passengers in 2027. Port Canaveral is projected to handle an estimated 6,434,000 in 2027, while Port Everglades would grow to an estimated 5,176,280.
Florida remains far and away the champ for U.S. cruise departures. In 2019, Florida ports accounted for 60 per cent total U.S. cruise passenger embarkations. Other Florida cruise ports include Port Tampa Bay (418,200 passengers in 2022), Port of Key West (198,411), Port of Palm Beach (188,235) and Jacksonville, with 90,241.
1 Trackback / Pingback
Comments are closed.