Right here is Cruise Hive’s record of the highest 10 busiest cruise homeports primarily based on cruise visitor visitors, together with passengers on home-ported ships plus port name guests. We’ll maintain updating the record with the most recent numbers reported by the cruise ports.
1. PortMiami (Florida)
The sprawling PortMiami, with its cruise terminals and a significant cargo facility unfold throughout 518 acres, welcomed 8,233,056 million cruise passengers in its 2024 fiscal 12 months from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
The cruise port maintains its No. 1 spot because the cruise capital of the world and continues to develop. Passenger transits by means of the port jumped by practically 13% from 2023’s 7,299,294 million.
Just about the entire main cruise strains have a presence at PortMiami, notably throughout winter seasons when Caribbean cruising is at its peak. The port, which opened in 1960 and is positioned in Biscayne Bay, is a pacesetter in shore energy growth and opened its tenth cruise terminal in 2025.
The brand new 492,000-square-foot MSC Miami Cruise Terminal can accommodate three ships at a time and course of as much as 36,000 cruise visitors per day. The terminal opened in April 2025 and is the most important passenger cruise terminal in North America.
Title: PortMiami
State: Florida
Annual Cruise Passengers: 8,233,056
Variety of cruise terminals: 10
Deal with: 1015 North America Method, Miami
2. Port Canaveral (Florida)
Florida’s Port Canaveral is the second-busiest cruise port within the US primarily based on passenger transits. In 2024, the port welcomed 7.6 million cruise visitors, a 12% hike from the earlier 12 months.
Wanting forward, the port expects to succeed in 8.4 million visitor transits in 2025, when it should have 16 ships homeporting and greater than 1,000 ship calls.
The entire main cruise strains function from Port Canaveral, and the power holds the file for having the very best variety of ships calling. That’s probably because of its proximity to the theme parks of Orlando.
Opened in 1953, Port Canaveral grew to become the primary liquified pure fuel (LNG) port within the US in 2021, an essential milestone since many new ships are being constructed to make use of the environmentally pleasant gasoline and current ships are being upgraded to make use of it.
Title: Port Canaveral
State: Florida
Annual Cruise Passengers: 7.6 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 7
Deal with: 9245 Charles Rowland Drive Cape Canaveral
3. Port Everglades (Florida)
Port Everglades is positioned in Fort Lauderdale, the South Florida vacation spot synonymous with spring break enjoyable. The port retains its place because the third-busiest within the US, with 4,010,919 cruise passengers transiting in 2024.
The quantity displays a considerable 39% improve in comparison with 2023. The port obtained 889 ship calls in 2024, together with 241 from Balearia’s Caribbean ferry.
Port Everglades hosts year-round cruise ships from Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean. The port is on observe to put in shore energy expertise later this decade.
The port, which opened in 1928 beneath the identify Bay Mable Harbor, is shut to 2 main airports; it’s three miles from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Worldwide Airport and 25 miles from Miami Worldwide Airport.
Title: Port Everglades
State: Florida
Annual Cruise Passengers: 4,010,919
Variety of cruise terminals: 8
Deal with: 1850 Eller Drive, Fort Lauderdale
4. Port of Galveston (Texas)
The Port of Galveston/Galveston Wharves has a protracted and fascinating historical past. It was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico, when Texas was nonetheless a part of Mexico.
Situated on Galveston Island on the northwestern fringe of the Gulf of Mexico, the power is a significant drive-to port for cruisers hailing from the Southwest and from Gulf Coast cities.
Its 2024 cruise visitor transits totaled 3.4 million. Cruise ships departing from Galveston primarily sail Western Caribbean itineraries, however some cruise strains supply Japanese Caribbean voyages as properly.
Galveston port will rejoice the opening of Cruise Terminal 16, its fourth, in November 2025 because it welcomes MSC Cruises’ 170,400-gross ton MSC Seascape to her new Galveston dwelling. The terminal additionally will serve ships within the cruise manufacturers owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
The brand new $156 million terminal is being constructed at Galveston Wharves Pier 16, a 160,000-square-foot area that previously held cargo operations. The terminal will embody a seven-story parking storage.
The port in 2025 the port expects to deal with greater than 400 cruise ship sailings.
Title: Port of Galveston
State: Texas
Annual Cruise Passengers: 3.4 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 3
Deal with: 123 Rosenberg Avenue, Galveston
5. Port of Seattle (Washington)
The Port of Seattle, circa 1911, has two cruise terminals that collectively accommodated 1.75 million cruise visitors in 2024, making it the fifth-busiest cruise port within the nation.
The Washington State port’s declare to fame is its proximity to Alaska, and several other of the most important cruise strains routinely embark their Alaska cruise visitors in Seattle beginning every Might, as they gear up for the busy summer season season.
The port’s foremost competitor for the summer season windfall of cruise ships is Vancouver, British Columbia, positioned lower than 150 miles north of Seattle and, due to this fact, even nearer to the pristine cruising grounds of the Final Frontier State.
The Seattle port is located in protected Elliott Bay and is dwelling to the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91 and Bell Road Terminal at Pier 66.
The port is a pacesetter in shore energy expertise, and because of a $44 million funding, all three of the port’s cruise berths are outfitted with shore energy plug-in infrastructure. Beginning in 2027, the port requires that each one homeporting cruise ships make the most of the native energy grid in an effort to considerably cut back emissions.
Title: Port of Seattle
State: Washington
Annual Cruise Passengers: 1.75 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 2
Deal with: Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91, 2001 West Garfield Road, Seattle, and Bell Road Terminal at Pier 66, 2225 Alaskan Method South, Seattle
6. Port of San Juan (Puerto Rico)
San Juan, Puerto Rico, a US territory positioned northwest of St. Kitts and Nevis within the Caribbean Sea, is a main embarkation port for ships heading to the Southern Caribbean.
The San Juan Cruise Port has two cruise terminals accommodating 4 ships, whereas the close by Pan American Pier has two terminals that may dock two ships.
These amenities assist make the port, which opened in 1970, among the many busiest within the Caribbean and the sixth-busiest within the US. The 2 amenities collectively welcomed 1.4 million cruise visitors in 2024, together with from home-ported ships and people calling on the in style port.
The overall displays a wholesome 10% hike in comparison with the earlier 12 months.
Since mid-2022 the port has been managed by World Ports Holding, which has invested in a significant modernization challenge of the Pan American pier. The cruise port’s Pier 3 West stays beneath restore, following an incident in April 2024 that noticed MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia collide with a berthing dolphin.
The accident was a setback for the port, since Pier 3 West is the one pier in a position to host Royal Caribbean’s largest ships.
Title: Port of San Juan
State: US Territory of Puerto Rico
Annual Cruise Passengers: 1.4 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 2
Deal with: Pan American Pier 1 East, Calle Lindbergh, San Juan; Pan American Pier 1 West, Calle Tadeo Rivera, San Juan
7. Port of New Orleans (Louisiana)
The Port of New Orleans is located on the Mississippi River close to the Gulf of Mexico, making it a well-liked embarkation port for ocean cruises to the Japanese and Western Caribbean, and for river ships that ply the Mississippi.
There was a deepwater port in that location for the reason that US purchased the territory from France in 1803, however it wasn’t till 1984 that the primary cruise terminal was developed. In 2024, the power introduced a record-breaking 12 months with greater than 1.2 million cruise passenger actions.
All main cruise strains sail from New Orleans, an essential drive-to port for cruisers residing within the Southern US. The port, which has a considerable cargo operation, has two cruise terminals, at Erato Road and Julia Road. Cruise visitors can simply entry the historic French Quarter and different points of interest from both terminal.
Carnival Cruise Line particularly has had a longstanding relationship with the vacation spot. In Might 2024, the cruise line marked 30 years of year-round service from the Huge Straightforward. It celebrated one other milestone in October 2024, when it welcomed its 7 millionth visitor embarking one in all its ships on the port.
Title: Port of New Orleans
State: Louisiana
Annual Cruise Passengers: 1.2 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 2
Deal with: 1350 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans
8. Port of Los Angeles (California)
The Port of Los Angeles ranks No. 8 on the busiest cruise port record, with 1.1 million cruise visitors transferring by means of the power’s World Cruise Middle in 2024. It is also a significant cargo port serving the US West Coast.
The cruise port, with two cruise ship berths and two terminal buildings comprising the cruise middle, is a homeport for cruise strains working voyages to the Mexican Riviera, by means of the Panama Canal, to Hawaii and Alaska, and alongside the California coast.
Roughly a half-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles, the port was based in 1907 however had been used as a buying and selling and cargo port for the reason that early nineteenth century. A bid to develop its cruise amenities surfaced a number of years in the past however was sidelined by the pandemic.
In 2024, the port issued a request for proposals to redevelop the World Cruise Middle, which presently has two cruise berths, two terminal buildings, and a baggage dealing with construction, and to construct a brand new Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal. The challenge is pending.
Title: Port of Los Angeles
State: California
Annual Cruise Passengers: 1.1 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 2
Deal with: 100 Swinford Road, San Pedro
9. Port Tampa Bay (Florida)
On Florida’s west coast on the Gulf of Mexico, Port Tampa Bay dealt with 1.1 million cruise passenger transits by means of its three cruise terminals, Terminal 2, Terminal 3, and Terminal 6, all positioned a brief drive from Tampa Worldwide Airport.
Primarily tied with the Port of Los Angeles, we’re itemizing Tampa Bay because the ninth-busiest US cruise port. It presents quick access to the Japanese and Western Caribbean, and on the shoreside, to Orlando, Florida’s theme park capital.
Cruise visitors arriving on the Tampa port will discover a main cargo and container operation, in addition to a thriving shipbuilding and restore enterprise. The port opened in 1924 and at this time attracts the trade’s main cruise strains for home-porting in addition to port calls.
The port additionally takes steps to supply companies to cruise ship crew members. Early in 2023, it opened a Seafarers Middle at Terminal 3, providing help to worldwide crew visiting the port.
Title: Port Tampa Bay
State: Florida
Annual Cruise Passengers: 1.1 million
Variety of cruise terminals: 3
Deal with: 1101 Channelside Drive, Tampa
10. Cape Liberty Cruise Port (New Jersey)
Cape Liberty Cruise Port, in Bayonne, New Jersey, has a storied previous. It began out as a federal authorities website that distributed army provides throughout World Struggle II.
The ability was ultimately turned over to native authorities in Bayonne, who in flip entered right into a partnership with Royal Caribbean in 2004.
An settlement between the city and the cruise line led to the development of a cruise terminal, and Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas grew to become the primary cruise ship to sail from the port.
Right this moment it’s among the many busiest cruise ports within the nation, welcoming about 600,000 cruise visitors to Bayonne Harbor. In 2025, the port will obtain roughly 80 ship visits.
Its location about 10 miles from Manhattan makes it a handy embarkation port for cruisers residing within the tri-state metro space of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, which collectively are dwelling to some 24 million folks.
The port’s three terminals help operations for the most important cruise strains, which supply itineraries to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, the Japanese Seaboard, plus seasonal cruises to Canada/New England.
Title: Cape Liberty Cruise Port
State: New Jersey
Annual Cruise Passengers: 600,000
Variety of cruise terminals: 3
Deal with: 4 Port Terminal Boulevard, Bayonne
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