Port Canaveral Advances $175 Million Cruise Upgrades

Port Canaveral is moving ahead with nearly $175 million in cruise infrastructure work: an expanded Cruise Terminal 5 and a 13-story parking garage near Cruise Terminal 6. The Canaveral Port Authority said the terminal will grow to 170,000 square feet, while the garage will add about 3,700 parking spaces for cruise traffic from Central Florida.

The port recorded 8,602,047 passenger movements in fiscal 2025, up 13% from 7,592,535 in fiscal 2024, and reclaimed the world’s busiest cruise port ranking from PortMiami.

Captain John Murray, Port Canaveral’s CEO, said the investment is aimed at maintaining “the level of guest experience and operational efficiency our cruise partners expect” while preparing the port for future business commitments. Murray said the work also supports the port’s role in local and regional economic activity.

Cruise Terminal 5 expands while staying active

The Cruise Terminal 5 renovation carries a $78 million construction cost and is being led by Merritt Island-based Ivey’s Construction, with BEA Architects of Miami as designer. The project will nearly double the terminal from 90,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet, with a modernized entrance, refreshed interiors, expanded luggage laydown areas, larger passenger seating space and expanded security screening areas.

“It’s a significant expansion of one of our oldest cruise facilities and we just did not have a large enough facility to handle the larger vessels,” Murray said.

The project is proceeding while Cruise Terminal 5 remains open for ship calls. Murray called it “a highly complex project” because crews must mobilize and demobilize around cruise activity. “We had no choice but to keep it an active terminal,” he said. “Because of the volume of passengers, we had no option to take it offline.”

William Crowe, Port Canaveral’s vice president of engineering and construction, said the work also includes facial recognition technology, new screening protocols and new equipment. Crowe said the operational goal is to “minimize the time from vehicle to vessel.”

New garage targets drive-in cruise traffic

The new Cruise Terminal 6 East garage is a $93 million project and the largest and most complex parking project in the port’s history. The 13-story structure will bring Port Canaveral’s parking capacity to nearly 17,500 spaces across eight garages and surface lots.

The garage will include eight extra-large elevators sized for passengers with luggage, twin two-lane vehicle ramps and a pedestrian bridge to the Cruise Terminal 5 entrance. Murray said more than 80% of Port Canaveral cruise guests arrive by car.

The new structure is also expected to connect with existing parking facilities so vehicles can be directed among multiple cruise terminals depending on demand. Murray said some traffic challenges will remain because State Road 528 carries heavy volumes to both Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.

The two projects have generated 2,000 local jobs and more than 85,000 hours of contractor and subcontractor work as of mid-July. Crowe said the tight construction market has required $4 million in premium time and overtime to keep work on schedule.

Part of the Port Canaveral Advantage program

The terminal and garage projects are part of Port Canaveral Advantage, the port’s five-year capital improvement program valued at nearly $1 billion. The program covers cruise, cargo, recreation and landside and waterside infrastructure work across the port.

Other planned or underway elements include Cruise Terminal 10 upgrades, development of an additional terminal campus, Jetty Park improvements and cargo berth modernization. Port Canaveral’s cruise business includes 18 homeported ships across seven cruise brands and more than 1,000 annual sailings.

The garage is scheduled for completion in autumn 2026. Cruise Terminal 5 has a targeted completion date of December 2026.

See cruises departing Port Canaveral on Cruise Lookup.