Carnival Navigates Two Jam-Packed Days at PortMiami With 19 Ships in Port

As one of the busiest cruise ports in the world, it’s rarely quiet at Florida’s PortMiami.

Though it recently lost its title of busiest cruise port in the world to Port Canaveral, the bustling port still welcomes over 8.5 million guests annually. Its record for one day is a staggering 75,201 guests.

In fact, two recent days were busy enough for Carnival Cruise Line to issue an advisory about the crowds descending upon the Cruise Capital of the World.

Guests embarking on January 4 and January 5, 2026, were told to expect delays caused by possible detours and heavy traffic. Construction is also underway in and near the port, which can bring delays even without big crowds.

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“We’d like to inform you that PortMiami will be operating with a high number of ships the day of your embarkation, amidst construction in the downtown area and within the port premises. Consequently, there will be detours and heavier than normal traffic,” the cruise line advised guests on January 3.

“To ensure prompt arrival within your pre-selected Terminal Arrival Appointment, we suggest you allow ample travel time to account for any potential delays,” the notice added.

As an additional tip, it’s always a good idea to sign up for Carnival’s text alerts to ensure you get real-time updates about your sailing and departure port.

Embarkations on January 4, 2026

Both Carnival Celebration and Carnival Magic graced PortMiami with their presence on January 4. Both vessels are currently cruising in the Eastern Caribbean, with Carnival Celebration on a 7-night sailing and Carnival Magic on a 6-night voyage.

And of course, these Fun ships were not alone. They were just two of ten ships in the port on January 4 that were all going through the same embarkation and disembarkation processes.

Assuming the Carnival vessels are operating at maximum capacity, they could bring a combined total of 11,224 guests to the cruise port – with 6,500 passengers coming for Carnival Celebration and 4,724 booked on Carnival Magic.

This number is per sailing, meaning up to 11,224 guests could be disembarking as 11,224 new guests are arriving to embark on the next voyage.

They were also joined by Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Jewel. Two Royal Caribbean ships, Symphony of the Seas and Independence of the Seas, were also present – as was sister-brand Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond.

Next on the list of present ships is Virgin Voyages’ new Brilliant Lady and MSC Cruises’ MSC Divina. Last but not least is Oceania Cruises’ Oceania Allura, which was the smallest vessel present with a capacity for 1,200 guests.

Embarkations on January 5, 2026

Three more Carnival ships – Carnival Conquest, Carnival Horizon, and Carnival Sunrise – returned to PortMiami on January 5 for another extra busy day.

Carnival Conquest is currently on a 12-night voyage to the Southern Caribbean, while the latter ships are on shorter sailings to the Western Caribbean.

All in all, nine ships were in PortMiami on January 5.

Diving back into the numbers, the Carnival ships alone could have drawn a maximum of 10,941 guests to the port per sailing.

Carnival Conquest can accommodate a maximum of 2,980 guests per voyage, Carnival Horizon can welcome up to 4,977 at maximum capacity, and Carnival Sunrise’s capacity is set at 2,984 cruisers.

Royal Caribbean also had two ships in the port, which were Freedom of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas. NCL was back with Norwegian Getaway (3,969 guests), while MSC was represented through MSC Seaside.

Rounding out the total was Oceania Cruises’ Oceania Nautica and Explora Journeys Explora II, both of which are on the smaller side with room for under 1,000 guests onboard.

PortMiami will now get to recover with a lower number of ship calls over the next few days, with eight ships expected to arrive at the port at once on January 10 to ramp things back up.