Port Canaveral named nation's top home port by readers of cruise-industry website

Port Canaveral has again been named as the nation's best cruise home port in a poll of readers of the cruise-industry website Cruise Hive.

This is the fifth time that Port Canaveral received that honor. Port Canaveral received 35% of the votes, followed by PortMiami (16%) and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale (10%). They were followed by Port of Galveston in Texas and Port of New Orleans. Port Canaveral's vote percentage in the latest poll topped the 34% it received a year ago and the 24% it received two years ago.

“This award is a testament to our investments in state-of-the-art facilities, our dedication to excellence and the exceptional service provided by our talented team,” Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said. “We’re proud to host record-breaking numbers of passengers, while welcoming some of the world’s newest and most innovative ships to Central Florida. This recognition reaffirms our commitment to offering unparalleled experiences for cruisers.”

Port Canaveral is the world's second-busiest cruise terminal, behind Miami. It currently is the home port for 16 cruise ships, representing seven brands — Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, MSC, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean.

In writing about Port Canaveral's latest win, Cruise Hive Senior News Editor Melissa Mayntz said: "Every year that U.S. cruise home ports have been voted on, Port Canaveral has been the clear winner. Port Canaveral is a prime spot for a diverse array of cruises, and is easily accessible by all travelers, from local cruise enthusiasts to passengers who prefer to drive or fly to their home ports."

Ships based at Port Canaveral also were featured prominently is other Cruise Hive poll results. For example:

Best cruise line

Carnival won this category, with 32% of the votes, followed by Royal Caribbean (20%), Celebrity (11%) and Norwegian (9%).

Carnival has five ships based at Port Canaveral, Royal Caribbean has four, Celebrity has one and Norwegian has one.

Best overall cruise ship

Port Everglades-based Celebrity Beyond won this category, dethroning last year's winner, Port Canaveral-based Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas.

Best new cruise ship of 2024

This category was won by Royal Caribbean's Miami-based Icon of the Seas, Icon was followed in the voting by Royal Caribbean's Port Canaveral-based Utopia of the Seas and Princess Cruises' Port Everglades-based Sun Princess.

Icon of the Seas currently also is the world's largest cruise ship and Utopia of the Seas is the second-largest.

Most anticipated new cruise ship for 2025

Two ships that will be based at Port Canaveral later this year topped the voting. Royal Caribbean Star of the Seas, debuting in August, finished first in the balloting; followed by the Norwegian Aqua, debuting in April. The Star of the Seas will become the world's largest cruise ship when it starts sailing.

Best private island

Finishing first for the fourth straight year was Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas. No. 2 was RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, the Carnival/Hollard America island in the Bahamas. Third was Carnival's Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic.

Port Canaveral-based ships make port-of-call stops at these three private islands.

Favorite cruise ship feature

Carnival's BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster won this category for the fourth straight year, with 34% of the vote. The BOLT roller coaster debuted on Carnival's Port Canaveral-based Mardi Gras in 2021, and now also is on two other Carnival ships.

Finishing second was Royal Caribbean’s FlowRider Surf Simulator, which is found on many of the cruise line's ships. That includes its four Port Canaveral-based ships — Adventure of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54