Miami cruise season: hurricane season, weather and sailings by month

This guide sets the official hurricane and rainy seasons, Miami's weather normals and PortMiami's own season figures next to the schedule on this site. The table at the end counts each month's departures and its 7-night fares, and the site rebuilds it from the schedule every day.

When is cruise season in Miami?

PortMiami describes a high season of 81 days but does not say which months they fall in. Its traffic release of October 16, 2026 says "The high season includes 81 days when seven to 10 ships will call on PortMiami," and names no months.

On this site's schedule, which runs from November 14, 2026 to November 13, 2028, January 2027 has 148 departures, March 2027 has 165 and September 2027 has 66. The month pages list every sailing by date, and the 2027 schedule has the whole year.

How many cruise passengers does PortMiami handle?

PortMiami counted 8,564,225 cruise passengers in fiscal year 2025, which ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, the county said on December 2, 2025. That was up from 8,233,056 the year before.

PortMiami's cruise page shows 8,564,151 for the same year in its table, while the county's September 21, 2026 release repeats 8,564,225 as the record, so this guide uses the release figure.

Fiscal year 2026 ran from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, and the port welcomed its 10 millionth cruise passenger of that year on September 14, 2026. I found no final total for fiscal year 2026 on the county's site on November 14, 2026.

What are the busiest days at PortMiami?

April 20, 2025 was "its busiest cruise passenger day in history," with 72,401 guests, the county says, and February 8, 2025 set the ship record, with 10 cruise ships docked at the seaport. The county expected "Close to 68,000 passengers" that February day.

In high season, the county says, seven to 10 ships call on each of 81 days. It asks passengers to "arrive only at their scheduled embarkation time," and its traffic plan sends traffic for Terminals AA, A, B, C and D through the PortMiami Tunnel and for E, F, G, J and V over the PortMiami Bridge. The terminal guide and the first-time cruiser FAQ cover arrival times.

The county's October 1, 2026 release lists the ships it is welcoming for the 2026 to 2027 season month by month, among them Carnival Firenze in February 2027, Norwegian Aura in June 2027 and Royal Caribbean's Hero of the Seas in August 2027.

When is hurricane season for cruises from Miami?

June 1 to November 30. The National Hurricane Center says "The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30," and that its peak is September 10, "with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October."

Every departure from June to November falls inside the season, and every departure from December to May falls outside it. The schedule lists 79 departures in August 2027, 66 in September and 88 in October, the three months around the peak.

What happens to a Miami cruise if a hurricane is coming?

Royal Caribbean, the one line whose weather policy I could quote, can change the itinerary for weather and says it does not have to refund any of the fare. Its hurricane FAQ says "We try to avoid operating any ship in the vicinity of a tropical system."

Its itinerary-change FAQ allows changes "In the event of strikes, lockouts, riots, weather conditions or mechanical difficulties," and says neither Royal Caribbean nor any affiliated party is "required to refund any portion of fare." Carnival's help center returned no hurricane-specific answer when I searched it on November 14, 2026.

Before you book a sailing between June and November, read your own line's terms on itinerary changes, and leave time in your flight plans on both sides of the cruise. The flying to Miami guide covers the trip in.

What is the weather like in Miami for a cruise?

Highs above 76°F in every month, with a drier winter and a wet summer. On NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for Miami International Airport, the average high runs from 76.2°F in January to 90.7°F in August, and average rainfall from 1.83 inches in January to 10.51 inches in June.

Month	Average high, °F	Average low, °F	Average rain, inches
January	76.2	61.0	1.83
February	78.2	63.2	2.15
March	80.6	65.6	2.46
April	83.6	69.8	3.36
May	86.7	73.4	6.32
June	89.3	76.3	10.51
July	90.6	77.5	7.36
August	90.7	77.7	9.58
September	89.0	76.9	10.22
October	85.9	74.2	7.65
November	81.3	68.3	3.53
December	78.2	64.3	2.44
Year	84.2	70.7	67.41

These are NOAA's monthly and annual normals for the airport station. NWS Miami's climate report for October 2026 prints the same October normals: 85.9°F, 74.2°F and 7.65 inches.

NWS Miami's 2025 rainy season outlook says the South Florida wet season "begins on May 15th and ends on October 15th," the part of the year when 60 to 70 percent of the average yearly rainfall occurs. On the normals above, each month from December to April averages less than 3.4 inches of rain, and June, August and September each average more than 9.5 inches.

Which months have the most cruises from Miami, and which are cheapest?

The table at the end of this guide answers that from the schedule: departures in each month, the regions they visit, and the typical and lowest 7-night starting fares. Fares are starting fares per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026, and the site rebuilds the table every day.

For a month as a whole, the lowest starting fare of any length was $227 in March 2027 and $254 in September 2027 on November 14, 2026. Those figures include every cruise length, so they are never higher than the table's lowest 7-night fare for the same month.

The schedule lists 1,356 departures in 2027. The cheap and last-minute guide and the weekend and short cruises guide look at fares by trip length and timing.

What is the best month for a cruise from Miami?

The figures point in different directions, so it depends on what matters most to you. December to April falls outside hurricane season, and each of those months averages less than 3.4 inches of rain at the airport. PortMiami's ship and passenger records, set on February 8 and April 20, 2025, also fell in that stretch.

June to November is hurricane season, and June, August and September are the wettest months. The number of sailings and their fares in each month are in the table below, which changes with the schedule. Compare the months you can travel there, then open a month page for the dates.