Florida Cruise Port System

FDOT's port profiles describe cruise service at five public seaports, PortMiami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Port Tampa Bay and JAXPORT, out of the 16 publicly owned seaports the FDOT Seaport Office works with (FDOT Seaport Office).

FDOT describes each port in its own terms. Port Canaveral, about 50 miles southeast of Orlando in Brevard County beside Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, is called the busiest cruise port in the world; PortMiami is recognized as the Cruise Capital of the World; Port Everglades is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world as well as a leading container port; Port Tampa Bay, the largest Florida port by tonnage and land, handles cruise passengers alongside all types of cargo; and JAXPORT in Jacksonville owns three cargo facilities and a cruise terminal (FDOT).

The law that ties these ports together lists more than the cruise ports. Section 311.09, Florida Statutes, seats the port directors of Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Port Citrus, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach, Port Everglades, Miami, Port Manatee, St. Petersburg, Putnam County, Tampa, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Pensacola, Key West and Fernandina on one state council (Florida Statutes 311.09). FDOT describes one of them, the 162 acre Port of Palm Beach, 80 miles north of Miami, as a full service, diversified landlord port that generates approximately 2,850 direct and indirect jobs (FDOT).

PortMiami and Port Canaveral both report about 8.6 million for fiscal year 2025, but they count differently: Miami-Dade County reports 8,564,225 cruise passengers at PortMiami, while Port Canaveral reports 8.6 million passenger movements (Miami-Dade County; Port Canaveral).

Miami-Dade County announced on December 2, 2025 that PortMiami welcomed 8,564,225 cruise passengers in Fiscal Year 2025, which ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, up from 8,233,056 the year before, a 4.02% increase and the highest count in the port's history (Miami-Dade County release). Port Canaveral's own cruise page lists, for its record-setting fiscal year 2025, 8.6 million passenger movements, 16 homeport ships, 1,038 total ship calls and more than one million vehicles parked (Port Canaveral). FDOT's port profile calls Port Canaveral the busiest cruise port in the world (FDOT).

Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale reports over 4.7 million cruise passengers in FY2025, nine cruise lines and one ferry service to the Bahamas, and the distinction of being the second year round homeport for Disney Cruise Line (Port Everglades). Port Tampa Bay says it homeports eight vessels from five cruise lines (Port Tampa Bay).

The two Miami-Dade County sources differ slightly: the PortMiami cruise page's historical table shows 8,564,151 passengers for fiscal 2025, while the county's December 2025 release gives 8,564,225 (PortMiami).

Federal wage records for deep sea passenger transportation (NAICS 483112) show 76 private establishments in Florida in 2025 with 13,669 jobs and an average annual pay of $131,936, a gain of 880 jobs or 6.9 percent over 2024 (BLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 483112). Miami-Dade County held 11,225 of those jobs at 24 establishments, with average annual pay of $143,994, and Broward County held 787 jobs at 29 establishments, with average annual pay of $123,062 (BLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 483112).

PortMiami's fiscal year totals show its cruise traffic falling from 6,823,817 passengers in 2019 to 252,099 in 2021, then climbing past the old peak to 7,299,294 in 2023 and 8,233,056 in 2024 (PortMiami historical snapshot).

The same table rises from 4,915,576 passengers in fiscal 2015 to 8,564,151 in fiscal 2025 (PortMiami). PortMiami has also added terminals: it says MSC Cruises Terminal AA opened in 2025 as a 490,000 square foot facility, the largest cruise terminal in the world, that can accommodate up to three ships and process up to 36,000 passengers in one day, Royal Caribbean's Terminal A opened in 2018, and Norwegian Cruise Line's Terminal B covers 190,000 square feet (PortMiami cruise terminals).

Overnight cruise parking at the big Florida ports runs from $20.00 a day plus tax at Port Canaveral to $25 at Port Everglades and $28 to $35 at PortMiami, depending on the garage (Port Canaveral; Port Everglades; PortMiami).

At PortMiami, Garage AA by the MSC terminal charges $20 a day short term with no overnight and $35 a day long term; Norwegian's Garage B has charged $35 per vehicle per day since January 1, 2025; and garages C, D, F and G and surface Lot E charge $10 short term and $28 a day long term (PortMiami parking). PortMiami accepts cash and major cards but not debit cards (PortMiami parking).

Port Canaveral charges $20.00 per day plus tax for both vehicles and RVs, the rate includes the day of arrival and the day of departure, payment is taken on arrival and the port does not take parking reservations (Port Canaveral directions and parking). Port Everglades garages and lots charge $5 for up to an hour, $10 for up to five hours and a $25 daily maximum, with a $35 daily maximum for oversized vehicles; its parking team answers at 954-468-3680 (Port Everglades parking rates).

At JAXPORT, the fenced parking area sits next to the Jacksonville Cruise Terminal, is patrolled 24 hours a day, takes cash or major credit cards and needs no reservation; the parking office answers at (904) 453-0975 during business hours (JAXPORT cruise FAQ). Port Tampa Bay puts its cruise garage across the street from Cruise Terminal 3 at 815 Channelside Drive and asks passengers to reserve parking online by sailing (Port Tampa Bay).

Port Everglades says it is the only U.S. seaport next to an international airport, and Port Canaveral says Orlando International Airport is about 45 minutes west of the port (Port Everglades; Port Canaveral).

Port Canaveral directs drivers from Orlando International Airport to S.R. 528 east, a toll road, and splits its terminals between north side A terminals on Charles Rowland Drive, reached from Exit 54A and including Cruise Terminal 5 at 9245 Charles Rowland Dr., and south side B terminals reached from Exit 54B, including Cruise Terminal 1 at 9050 Discovery Rd. (Port Canaveral).

Port Everglades notes that Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is next to the port, that taxis, shuttles and rideshares serve the terminals, and that drivers collecting passengers can wait in a free cell phone lot; cruise questions go to 954-468-3720 (Port Everglades cruise). In Jacksonville, JAXPORT asks embarking passengers to arrive at the Cruise Terminal during the arrival appointment window reserved through Carnival, and terminal information is at (904) 357-3006 (JAXPORT).

The FDOT Seaport Office and the 18 member Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development (FSTED) Council coordinate Florida's public seaports at the state level (FDOT Seaport Office; Florida Statutes 311.09).

Section 311.09 of the Florida Statutes creates the FSTED Council within the Florida Department of Transportation to support seaport growth through review, development and financing of port transportation and port facilities, and its members are the port directors of 16 ports plus the secretaries of Transportation and Commerce, or their designees (Florida Statutes 311.09). The council must prepare a 5 year Florida Seaport Mission Plan, update it every year and submit it by February 1; FDOT posted the 2026 to 2030 plan on February 4, 2026 (FDOT Seaport Office; Florida Statutes 311.09). The Seaport Office handles statewide seaport system planning and coordinates seaport infrastructure projects with the 16 publicly owned seaports (FDOT Seaport Office).

Local public bodies run the cruise ports themselves. Miami-Dade County published PortMiami's fiscal 2025 results, quoting Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and the same release reports 1,115,058 cargo TEUs in FY2025, the 11th consecutive year above one million (Miami-Dade County release). Port Canaveral's site is published by the Canaveral Port Authority (Port Canaveral), Port Tampa Bay is the business name of the Tampa Port Authority (Port Tampa Bay), and FDOT describes the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) as an independent agency that supports 132,000 jobs and nearly $27 billion in annual economic impact for northeast Florida (FDOT Seaport Office). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the FDOT Seaport Office and port authority websites.