Port Canaveral is Number One!

[twangster]

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/port-canaveral-overtook-miami-worlds-busiest-cruise-port-2022-updated

 

Port Canaveral for the first time became the world's busiest cruise port in 2022 with 4,072,396 multi-day passengers, just topping PortMiami's 4,022,544.

Following the top two, Port Everglades had 1,621,216 multi-day passengers in 2022.

Other Florida cruise ports

Other Florida ports with cruise business include Port Tampa Bay (418,200 passengers in 2022), Port of Key West (198,411), Port of Palm Beach (188,235) and JAXPORT (90,241), all numbers according to Florida Ports Council, citing the ports. 

Update: This story originally cited Florida Ports Council numbers which have 3,988,094 multi-day passengers listed for PortMiami, but port Director/CEO Hydi Webb in an update told Seatrade Cruise News that Miami's in-transit numbers were not included so, with those, the total was 4,022,544. 

[asquared17]

this is so wild to me especially how remote port canaveral feels, from orlando airport and doesn’t have the hubbub of fort lauderdale and miami (at least to me!) 

[Austin]

It would be nice to see JaxPort built out. Lots of room for expansion and close proximity to airport and the city.

[twangster]

4 hours ago, Austin said:

It would be nice to see JaxPort built out. Lots of room for expansion and close proximity to airport and the city.

If they ever get around to moving the cruise terminal that could happen.   The bridge over I-295 has 174 feet of clearance at high tide.   Without moving the cruise terminal to the other side of the bridge it's unlikely JaxPort passenger volumes will grow very much.  As Carnival scraps more of it's aging small cruise ship fleet passenger volumes will likely decline at JaxPort.

It doesn't sound like plans for a new cruise terminal is working out very well.  It's been stalled since 2010.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2010/05/21/jacksonville-port-authority-looking-20-sites-possible-cruise/15945297007/

[WAYNO]

Port Canaveral does everything well.  It's our favorite.

[twangster]

13 hours ago, asquared17 said:

this is so wild to me especially how remote port canaveral feels, from orlando airport and doesn’t have the hubbub of fort lauderdale and miami (at least to me!) 

And yet at Port Everglades and the Port of Miami there is nothing there except cruise terminals and parking garages.  No stores, no restaurants, no bars, no touristy things, nothing to do except stand and wait to board a ship.  Port Canaveral is a much nicer area in general.  Stay at a hotel, walk on the beach.   

[BB1]

I am looking at some of their cruises but my big questions involve the airport.  What would be a reasonably early time to get a flight out? I can carry luggage off and have tsa pre-check.  Thanks.

[BB1]

I would be flying out Monday morning. 

[asquared17]

6 hours ago, twangster said:

And yet at Port Everglades and the Port of Miami there is nothing there except cruise terminals and parking garages.  No stores, no restaurants, no bars, no touristy things, nothing to do except stand and wait to board a ship.  Port Canaveral is a much nicer area in general.  Stay at a hotel, walk on the beach.   

100 percent; canaveral is beautiful. 

[Ampurp85]

My only major gripes with PC is MCO. But they have a ton of hotels and restaurants within walking distance. The port also seems to have its stuff together as well. 

[BMW Hoosier]

On 2/24/2023 at 10:49 PM, asquared17 said:

this is so wild to me especially how remote port canaveral feels, from orlando airport and doesn’t have the hubbub of fort lauderdale and miami (at least to me!) 

MCO is the busiest airport in Florida. 

[Ditchdoc]

Port Canaveral is just convenient. Ruling out the few cruises RC does from Baltimore and New York, Canaveral is the closest port to most of the East coast north of there. The extra 3+ hours driving from Canaveral to Miami is significant if you have already been in the car 8+ hours. There are a few good hotels near by that offer shuttle and parking as well as port parking. I would check pricing on hotels and parking. Prices can fluctuate and stay & park  packages vary, sometimes by a hundred dollars or more. For instance, there are two Marriott hotels at the port and they seem to alternate as to which one has the better room price.

Boarding times are staggered to keep wait times short. The whole boarding process has changed a bit, the main emphasis being a lot fewer RC personnel. The days of the "bank window" checking your ID, paperwork and giving you your sea pass card are gone. Now you check in via the RC app, show your ID and board.

  Customs has gone high tech at Canaveral. Assuming you have a US passport, customs is  a quick facial recognition stop on the way out.

One tip, if you can manage it. Using rolling suitcases, shoulder bags etc., if you can exit the ship with all your stuff in hand, you can roll off the ship early and keep going. This can save you time if you have an early flight or a long drive in front of you. Otherwise, you may have to wait for your bags to be delivered and staged.

[Joe01]

I knew it was popular since my Harmony cruises from there were full but I never really understood why, it's not a short distance from MCO and only a few Southern states are really driving distance. The South Florida ports and Bayonne are the most convenient easily.

[JasonOasis]

19 hours ago, BB1 said:

I am looking at some of their cruises but my big questions involve the airport.  What would be a reasonably early time to get a flight out? I can carry luggage off and have tsa pre-check.  Thanks.

Passengers generally begin disembarking the ship around 7 a.m. and MCO (if that is the airport you're flying out of) is about an hour away.  If the cab or Uber speeds they can get you there in 45 minutes, but generally it takes an hour.

Lets time it out:

Off the ship: 7:30 a.m.

Cleared customs and outside the port 7:45 a.m.

In a cab to MCO: 7:55 a.m.

Arrival at MCO: 8:55 a.m.

Depending on the time of year and day of the week lines to both check-in with bags and get through security can be quite long.

Check-in with bags: 9:25 a.m.

Clear TSA: 9:50 a.m.

The earliest flight time I personally would feel comfortable with is an 11 a.m. departure.  

Boarding starts at: 10.20 a.m.

Seat released at: 10:45 a.m.

Door closes at: 10:50 a.m.

If that all seems a bit rushed that is because it is and although I would be comfortable booking an 11 a.m. flight there would have to be a really good reason for me to do it because you are up against the clock from the moment the doors open on the ship until you board that plane and that isn't how you want to end your vacation. 

If  you don't want to feel rushed I would say do not book anything prior to 12 p.m., if you still get off the ship by 7:30 a.m. you've given yourself an extra hour and you will board your flight feeling relaxed instead of rushed.

[BB1]

41 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

Passengers generally begin disembarking the ship around 7 a.m. and MCO (if that is the airport you're flying out of) is about an hour away.  If the cab or Uber speeds they can get you there in 45 minutes, but generally it takes an hour.

Lets time it out:

Off the ship: 7:30 a.m.

Cleared customs and outside the port 7:45 a.m.

In a cab to MCO: 7:55 a.m.

Arrival at MCO: 8:55 a.m.

Depending on the time of year and day of the week lines to both check-in with bags and get through security can be quite long.

Check-in with bags: 9:25 a.m.

Clear TSA: 9:50 a.m.

The earliest flight time I personally would feel comfortable with is an 11 a.m. departure.  

Boarding starts at: 10.20 a.m.

Seat released at: 10:45 a.m.

Door closes at: 10:50 a.m.

If that all seems a bit rushed that is because it is and although I would be comfortable booking an 11 a.m. flight there would have to be a really good reason for me to do it because you are up against the clock from the moment the doors open on the ship until you board that plane and that isn't how you want to end your vacation. 

If  you don't want to feel rushed I would say do not book anything prior to 12 p.m., if you still get off the ship by 7:30 a.m. you've given yourself an extra hour and you will board your flight feeling relaxed instead of rushed.

Excellent information.  Thank you very much.  Just one other question,  would Clear help at MCO? I already have TSA pre-check. 

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, BB1 said:

Excellent information.  Thank you very much.  Just one other question,  would Clear help at MCO? I already have TSA pre-check. 

I only have Pre now.  I used to have Clear but can't justify for the infrequent flights I do now.

Both Clear and Pre are next to each other at the far left end of security.  I've never had much of wait at Pre in MCO.  Most I've seen is 5-10 people.  Clear would be faster by a minute or two.  Is that worth it?

[smokeybandit]

In Denver the Clear line tends to be more backed up than the Precheck line.

[Ampurp85]

MCO is one if the worse and busiest airports. I would never recommend any flights before noon even with precheck and self assist disembarkment.

I have flown in and out on a Sunday, Monday and Friday. Even with precheck, the lines for baggage were long and arduous. This was pre and post pandemic. That airport is the main reason I don't sail from PC more often. I saw many of crying individuals because they missed their 10/11am flights.

[asquared17]

2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

MCO is one if the worse and busiest airports. I would never recommend any flights before noon even with precheck and self assist disembarkment.

I have flown in and out on a Sunday, Monday and Friday. Even with precheck, the lines for baggage were long and arduous. This was pre and post pandemic. That airport is the main reason I don't sail from PC more often. I saw many of crying individuals because they missed their 10/11am flights.

i would agree with this; i've always found it a bit of a nightmare to navigate MCO and driving an hour and change from the ship to the airport to be a hassle.

flights typically are more expensive for us, flying from the NJ/NY area; the one more recent time we did a cruise out of PC, we stayed at the airport because it was the most convenient (but not necessarily the cheapest), all things considered.

whereas with MIA and FLL, you are 7-15 mins from the airport, there are a litany of accommodations at varying levels of comfort and $$, and tends to be more convenient for us overall.

i recognize that this may not be everyone's experience, and totally respect that PC is a happier option for so many cruisers. but with FLL and MIA also doing the seamless technology with customs at disembarkation, we're at the airport within 20 mins of getting off the ship. MIA is a mess with TSA, but FLL is a well oiled machine when it comes to TSA precheck/Clear.

for our traveling/overall peace of mind, that can't be beat.

[JasonOasis]

9 hours ago, BB1 said:

Excellent information.  Thank you very much.  Just one other question,  would Clear help at MCO? I already have TSA pre-check. 

 

9 hours ago, twangster said:

I only have Pre now.  I used to have Clear but can't justify for the infrequent flights I do now.

Both Clear and Pre are next to each other at the far left end of security.  I've never had much of wait at Pre in MCO.  Most I've seen is 5-10 people.  Clear would be faster by a minute or two.  Is that worth it?

I agree with twangster on this one. 

I have Pre/Global Entry and I've found that works just fine for me. I can't justify the cost of Clear because they are not at every airport and if they are at the airport you are flying out of they may not be located in the terminal you're flying out of.  For instance if the airline you primarily fly is American Airlines there is no reason for people who fly exclusively with AA to buy Clear because AA has blocked Clear from setting up in any terminal/concourse where they are the sole or main operator. 

Clear might save you a couple minutes but lately traveling out of O'Hare's Terminal 1 where there are Clear lanes the line for clear can at times be longer than the line for Pre, so I just stick with my TSA Pre/Global Entry.

[WAAAYTOOO]

2 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

there is no reason for people who fly exclusively with AA to buy Clear because AA has blocked Clear from setting up in any terminal/concourse where they are the sole or main operator. 

That’s very interesting.  I didn’t know this.  My Clear membership has long ago expired and, like @twangster, I cannot see renewing it since I very rarely fly anymore.  …and since I normally fly AA when I do fly, this bit of information seals the deal.

[nickpants]

On 2/26/2023 at 9:41 AM, BB1 said:

Excellent information.  Thank you very much.  Just one other question,  would Clear help at MCO? I already have TSA pre-check. 

At MCO, if you have Pre, Clear only lets you "skip" the ID check line, then you get put into the same line after the TSA agent. however,  once you get past the TSA agent, you are directly at the checkpoint. MCO is my home airport and have never waited more then 10 minutes at a pre-check lane. HOWEVER, if you are checking bags, that will be your longest wait, as you are at the mercy of your airline's checkin line.

I live exactly an hour from MCO, and I can drive there, park, and be drinking my first cocktail at the skyclub in 80 minutes.

[lkg276]

Terminal 1 Port Canaveral to MCO is 45 miles straight shot I drive it multiple times a week transporting people to and from the cruise terminals. 45 minute trip 98% of the time and the earliest departure recommendation is 11 am if you self carry off the ship and take Uber/Lyft or schedule a private transport. Friday and Monday mornings are busy travel days so plan accordingly.

I have attached a link to a project that is being built at the port starting in 2024

https://spacecoastliving.com/zoo-expands-operations-to-include-new-aquarium/