Key Aspects:
Developers are exploring a privately financed cruise port in West Florida.
The port would allow larger cruise ships that cannot pass under the bridge to reach Port Tampa Bay.
The proposed terminal must clear local zoning, permitting, and public review before construction can begin.
A proposed cruise port on Florida’s Gulf Coast could allow larger cruise ships to sail from the Tampa Bay region for the first time.
The project would be located south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which cruise ships like Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Miracle, which homeport in Tampa, must currently pass under to reach the Port of Tampa.
The bridge’s 180-foot height restriction prevents many of today’s largest cruise ships from accessing the port, especially Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class ships, which are nearly 250 feet in height.
SSA Marine, a global marine terminal operator, said it is working with Tampa-based Slip Knott LLC to explore development of a cruise port on 328 acres of land known as the Knott-Cowen’s tract in Manatee County.
Details of the proposal were released through a newly launched website promoting the project.
If approved, the project would represent a significant expansion of cruise infrastructure along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Royal Caribbean Ship in Tampa, Florida (Photo Credit: Dennis MacDonald)
Construction of the facility, if it moves forward, is estimated to take between 3 and 5 years. Before any construction can begin, however, the project must go through Manatee County’s zoning and permitting process.
This includes reviews by the planning commission and county commissioners, and no timeline has been set for those approvals.
“Throughout this project, we are committed to transparently working through the public process and welcome the opportunity to engage local residents in meaningful dialogue and work collaboratively with the community to ensure this effort reflects West Central Florida’s needs and creates sustained, long-term public benefit,” the project website states.
Project Details
The Knott-Cowen Cruise Port is described as a privately financed project led by SSA Marine, which operates port facilities across Florida, including at Port Tampa Bay, Port Canaveral, PortMiami, Port Everglades, and JAXPORT in Jacksonville.
Plans call for a multi-berth cruise facility with supporting infrastructure. The project also includes a separate land purchase of Rattlesnake Key, a 710-acre island adjacent to the site.
Developers say the island will not be commercially developed and is intended to remain in conservation.
The Knott Cowen tract of land is the site of a proposed cruise port near Tampa.
Economic projections published on the project website estimate more than 31,000 jobs tied to construction and related activity, with more than 13,000 ongoing jobs once the port is operational.
Read Also: Tampa Cruise Port – Terminals, Transportation, What’s Nearby
The developers also project roughly $40 million annually in tax revenue, though those figures have not yet been reviewed throughout the public approval process.
Port Tampa Bay recorded about 368 cruise ship sailings in fiscal year 2025, handling more than 1.6 million cruise passengers. That number was a record for Tampa Bay and includes other brands that homeport in the region, like Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Margaritaville at Sea.
Despite that growth, Tampa’s cruise operations remain constrained by the bridge, which provides roughly 180 feet of vertical clearance at zero tide. Cruise ships taller than that cannot access the port.
Most of today’s large cruise ships exceed that height. Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships, for instance, rise above 200 feet from waterline to top deck, putting them out of reach for Tampa Bay.
Other Florida ports do not face similar restrictions, and it shows.
In 2025, PortMiami handled more than 8.5 million cruise passengers, while Port Canaveral welcomed more than 8.6 million, making them the busiest cruise ports in the world.
Developers argue that a cruise port south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge could allow Florida’s West Central coast to compete more directly with those high-volume homeports by enabling access for larger ships.