Port Canaveral is gearing up for the next wave of mega-ships, pushing ahead with a substantial overhaul of Cruise Terminal 10 aimed at speeding up check-ins, easing luggage bottlenecks, and freshening up public spaces for thousands of travelers on busy sail days.
According to the Orlando Business Journal, the Canaveral Port Authority board on June 3 agreed to advance an upgrade of roughly $95 million at Cruise Terminal 10. The project is designed to accommodate ships carrying about 6,700 passengers and to add expanded security-screening zones and modern design elements that can handle heavier passenger flow.
Port documents describe the Cruise Terminal 10 work as one piece of a broader capital program. Renovations are scheduled to kick off this fall, timed ahead of several next-generation ships homeporting in 2027. The port’s Port Canaveral Seatrade media kit notes the port handled a record 8.6 million passenger movements in fiscal 2025 and highlights Carnival’s Festivale in May and MSC’s World Atlantic in November as among the vessels the CT10 upgrades are expected to serve. That schedule helps explain the push to fast-track design work and contractor selection.
What The Work Includes
Procurement documents outline both landside and terminal improvements, including larger queueing and screening areas, a dedicated luggage laydown building, and added public seating for waiting passengers. According to GovTribe, the landside portion alone is budgeted at roughly $50 million, and the construction will be phased so the terminal can stay open while work is underway. The solicitation also sets a pre-construction window in early 2026, with a target for substantial completion in late 2027.
Timeline And Local Impacts
Port officials say construction will be staged to minimize disruptions for cruisers, although the timing overlaps with other big-ticket projects already in motion at the harbor. Crews have started vertical construction on a new 13-story, $93 million parking garage that will add more than 3,700 spaces for cruise customers, according to Port Canaveral. With multiple projects running in parallel, nearby businesses and transportation planners are tracking schedules closely, since any delays could tighten access on peak embarkation days.
Per the Orlando Business Journal, commissioners were told staff will shift from design and pre-construction into contracting and phased construction over the next year. Port leaders say they expect the Cruise Terminal 10 upgrades to be ready ahead of the major 2027 homeportings and plan to return to the board with contract approvals and updated timelines as the work moves ahead.
