PortMiami is the Cruise Capital of the World and has earned that title without dispute by hosting a record-breaking 10 cruise ships on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
No frequent cruise traveler will be surprised that PortMiami is busy, but just quite this busy is a shock – on a typical day 5-6 ships would still be considered quite heavy cruise traffic.
The 10 ships homeporting from PortMiami all at once include vessels from seven different cruise lines, setting sail on itineraries ranging from 5-27 nights. Together, the ships will be visiting more than 35 unique ports of call on the sailings they began on the same day.
The longest itinerary is for Holland America Line’s Zaandam, which is beginning a 27-night “Amazon Explorer” itinerary that will visit unique and exciting destinations such as St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Tobago, French Guiana, Barbados, and more.
Of special interest are several unique ports in Brazil as the 61,396-gross-ton ship makes her way up the Amazon River. Zaandam will return to Miami on Friday, March 7.
In addition to that longest cruise, the record-breaking fleet homeporting simultaneously from PortMiami includes:
- Carnival Sunrise on a 5-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport
- Independence of the Seas on a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise to Grand Cayman and Jamaica
- Norwegian Escape on a 5-night Western Caribbean sailing to Great Stirrup Cay and Cozumel
- Norwegian Gem on a 5-night Bahamas voyage to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay
- Icon of the Seas on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Cococay
- MSC Seascape on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean sailing to Amber Cove, San Juan, and St. Thomas
- Carnival Magic on an 8-night Southern Caribbean voyage to Aruba, Curacao, and Amber Cove
- Scarlet Lady on an 8-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary to Amber Cove, San Juan, St. Croix, and Bimini
- Oceania Sirena on a 10-night one-way voyage to Panama, including Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica
When the passenger capacities of all 10 vessels are combined, nearly 68,000 cruise guests are transiting through the same port on the same day, both embarking and debarking.
“It is no surprise PortMiami and the cruise industry continue to break records,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
“PortMiami is the departure choice for all major cruise lines. As a destination, Miami-Dade is undoubtedly the center of world cruise tourism with incredible weather, culture, and unlimited options for exciting experiences.”
More New Ships to Come
In addition to such amazing homeporting capacity on a single day, PortMiami is also set to welcome seven new ships throughout 2025. While some are day visits, others will be new homeporting vessels.
Of special distinction on January 21 was the arrival of Queen Anne as part of her 112 Maiden World Voyage itinerary, a tremendous voyage circumnavigating the globe from Hamburg, Germany.
MSC World America will debut from Miami in April. The brand new ship will remain homeported from the Sunshine State year-round with alternating Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean voyages.
Also setting sail from Miami in April will be Norwegian Aqua, the third Prima-class ship and the first of the enhanced Prima-plus subclass.
Norwegian Aqua will only offer two sailings from Miami before homeporting first from Port Canaveral and then from New York, before returning to Miami to homeport for the winter season.
Wonder of the Seas will be leaving Port Canaveral and redeploying to PortMiami in August, bringing another Oasis-class experience to the South Florida homeport. She will offer 3- and 4-night Bahamas sailings for great short getaways.
Following her Alaska season in Seattle, Queen Elizabeth will homeport from Miami beginning on October, offering Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean itineraries until early April, when she will return to Seattle. She will return to South Florida again after the 2026 Alaska season.
Brilliant Lady will begin setting sail from PortMiami in October, offering a diverse selection of Caribbean itineraries ranging from 7-12 nights. In March 2026, she will depart for Los Angeles and then Seattle to enjoy the Alaska season.
Finally, Oceania Allura will bring even more luxury and diversity to PortMiami beginning in November with a broad Caribbean season visiting ports in the Bahamas, Mexico, Aruba, Martinique, Bermuda, and much more.
With so many options from PortMiami, it is no wonder that it’s a favorite homeport of cruise travelers who are always interested in trying new ships and visiting new destinations.
