On September 14, 2026, PortMiami successfully reclaimed the title of the busiest cruise port in the world by surpassing 10 million cruise passenger movements. This historic achievement marks PortMiami as the first port to have transported over 10 million passengers in a fiscal year, thus surpassing its competitor, Port Canaveral in Florida.
Significant Growth in Passenger Numbers
Miami officials announced that the port has seen substantial growth compared to the fiscal year 2025, during which passenger movements reached 8,564,225. Considering that ports count embarking and disembarking passengers independently, the individual passenger count for fiscal year 2026 is approximately 5 million.
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Danielle Levin Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, stated: "Breaking the 10 million passenger threshold demonstrates PortMiami's unwavering commitment to service, sustainability, and economic vitality. This remarkable achievement highlights our port's role as a global gateway and a driver for job creation, tourism, and local business growth."
Future Prospects
While final figures have yet to be announced and Florida ports operate based on the fiscal year from October 1 to September 30, the 10 million passenger figure clearly indicates PortMiami's top position this year. In 2025, Port Canaveral fell to second place with 8.6 million passengers.
The growth of these ports symbolizes the rapid expansion of the cruise industry and the introduction of larger cruise ships. PortMiami and Port Canaveral regularly service ships that have a capacity of 6,000 passengers or more and have become home to vessels with a gross tonnage of 225,000 tons. These ports continue to grow by investing in infrastructure and developing new terminals in collaboration with major cruise companies.
PortMiami is recognized as the site of the largest terminal, Terminal AA, located at the eastern end of the port, which can service three ships simultaneously. This terminal is dedicated to MSC Cruises.
Although PortMiami has not released forecasts for the next year, strong growth is expected to continue. Port Canaveral has also projected that it will reach around 9 million cruise passengers in fiscal year 2026 and will welcome new ships such as Carnival Festivale and MSC World Atlantic next year.
Port Canaveral anticipates registering approximately 10.9 million cruise passengers in fiscal year 2027, with the number of incoming ships expected to reach 1,213.
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