WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao welcomed more than half a million cruise passengers during the first six months of 2026, as the island’s cruise sector continued its upward trajectory.
According to figures released by the Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA), 515,556 cruise passengers visited the island between January and June aboard 204 cruise vessels. CPA described the results as reflecting the continued development of Curaçao’s cruise sector and cooperation among stakeholders.
The latest numbers represent a significant increase compared with the first half of 2025.
The Curaçao Tourist Board’s State of the Industry report for the first six months of 2025 recorded 473,795 cruise passengers and 184 cruise calls. Based on those figures, passenger volume increased by approximately 8.8 percent and the number of ship calls by about 10.9 percent during the first half of 2026.
The growth is particularly significant because cruise traffic had declined during the first half of 2025 compared with 2024. CTB reported that cruise passenger arrivals fell 5 percent during that period, from 500,054 in the first six months of 2024 to 473,795 in 2025.
The 2026 result therefore puts first-half cruise passenger traffic back above the level recorded two years earlier.
Cruise Calls Increase
The number of ships calling at Curaçao has also continued to increase.
CTB recorded 181 cruise calls during the first half of 2024 and 184 during the same period in 2025. The 204 calls reported for the first six months of 2026 represent a substantial increase in vessel traffic through Willemstad.
Curaçao’s cruise infrastructure includes the Mega Pier facilities as well as berths inside St. Anna Bay. The Curaçao Ports Authority has long identified cruise tourism as an important contributor to downtown activity, retail spending and excursions around the island.
June Shows Cruise Market Can Fluctuate
Despite the strong half-year result, monthly figures demonstrate that cruise traffic can fluctuate considerably.
In June 2026, Curaçao received more than 39,000 cruise passengers, approximately 9 percent fewer than in June 2025. Eleven cruise ships called at the island during the month, compared with 12 a year earlier.
The decline in June was not enough to offset the gains accumulated during the earlier months of the year.
Combined with continued growth in stayover tourism, the cruise figures contributed to Curaçao receiving nearly 970,000 visitors across its major tourism categories during the first six months of 2026. More than 437,000 were stayover visitors, while approximately 516,000 arrived aboard cruise ships.
The first-half figures indicate that cruise tourism remains a major component of Curaçao’s overall visitor economy as the island enters the second half of 2026.