Port Cabo Rojo named finalist for 2026 Seatrade Cruise Award

Port Cabo Rojo in Pedernales has been selected as one of three finalists for the Port of the Year category at the Seatrade Cruise Awards 2026, placing the Dominican terminal among leading cruise ports in the international industry.

The winner will be announced September 16 during Seatrade Cruise Med at the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Spain. Port Cabo Rojo is competing against Portsmouth International Port in the United Kingdom and Skjolden Port in Norway.

The recognition is particularly notable because the Dominican terminal began receiving cruise ships in January 2024, making its selection significant for a relatively young port in the international cruise market. An independent jury of 15 cruise industry professionals selected more than 20 finalists across the awards’ different categories.

Port Cabo Rojo has expanded its cruise operations rapidly since opening. By January 2025, the terminal had welcomed 19,628 cruise passengers and 7,747 crew members. Three months later, it received Oasis of the Seas, one of the world’s largest cruise ships, carrying 6,502 passengers and 2,126 crew members.

By that point, the port had received 14 ships and more than 41,600 cruise passengers, with six cruise lines operating at the terminal.

The port reached another milestone in November 2025 when it welcomed two cruise ships simultaneously for the first time: Brilliance of the Seas, carrying 2,518 passengers, and AIDA Sol, with 2,161 passengers.

The nomination highlights Port Cabo Rojo’s rapid growth and the Dominican Republic’s efforts to establish Pedernales and the country’s southwest as a growing destination within the Caribbean cruise industry.