Port of Miami Breaking Records!

The port of Miami is considered the world’s leading cruise port with an estimated 5.3 million cruise passengers in 2017.  This year they continue to break records and there’s no sign that PortMiami is slowing down. In 2017, the port grew by nearly 400,000 passengers.   According to port director, Juan Kuryla, there’s still plenty of room for growth with new partnerships and new terminals being built for multiple cruise lines.    

Forecasts suggest a nearly 20% increase by the year 2019 for cruise traffic in the port. This could mean 6.4 million passengers passing through the area. The largest increase comes directly from Royal Caribbean who will have an estimated 350,000 passengers flowing through the port facilities.  With the opening of Terminal A which will accommodate Oasis Class vessels, the largest vessels in the Royal Caribbean fleet, there is huge growth potential.

In December 2017, MSC and PortMiami inaugurated Terminal F which will serve as the homeport for the MSC Seaside as well as the Divina.  In addition, Norwegian Cruise Line broke ground for Terminal B in April 2018 for their new state-of-the art terminal which will accommodate ships up to 5000 passengers.  The completion date is slotted for the fall of 2019 just in time for Norwegian’s newest vessel, Norwegian Encore. Come 2020, Virgin Voyages will also be in the mix. Carnival Cruise Line has also contributed to new home port operations in Miami, which accounted for more than 2 million passengers over the last year.  

The growth of the cruise industry is one of the biggest reasons why PortMiami is increasing in passenger numbers, but it is also their commitment to improving and building new infrastructure. Elected officials across Miami are willing to accept the port’s recommendations and future investments from the cruise lines.  Newer terminal projects will ensure that there is space for new land infrastructure, parking, utilities, improvements to traffic patterns and more. They can now accommodate the largest ships at sea.

Kuryla even went as far as to say, “By the time we finish fiscal year 2021 we could be at 7 million passengers, and that is 40 percent growth (from 2016).”  And that’s why Miami is considered “Cruise Capital of the World!”

Access Cruise is a Miami based cruise marketing and sales consulting group, specializing in product and business development within the cruise industry.