Where it goes · Ports of call · Q4 2026 edition
Cruise Destination Vitality Index
Two readings. Seven pillars. Value and durability, never averaged. Every port of call is read twice against full potential: once for what a call is worth to an itinerary, and once for how secure that worth is on the public record.
In brief
- What it grades
- 41 ports of call read twice, Itinerary Value and Deployment Durability, never averaged.
- How to read it
- Letters are read against full potential, no curve. Under 60% coverage a card is not graded; a provisional grade, marked *, carries its range.
- What to do with it
- Find your card, read the two pillars furthest from full potential, and start with the first assignment. Dispute any criterion with evidence.
To the class
There is no curve here, and there is no single number. A port can be valuable and fragile, or modest and secure, and a deployment plan needs to see both. So we grade both, and we never average them. The ruler is the one the Cruise Commercial Excellence Index uses, and the letters mean the same thing. Against it the median graded port reads B- on Itinerary Value and C+ on Deployment Durability.
A destination that limits cruise to protect the place is not marked down for it here. A published cap, allocated in advance and agreed with the lines, is scored as what it is to an operator: a rule you can plan against. What costs points is a rule that changes faster than a ship can be redeployed, a charge nobody can find, and a record that says nothing either way.
The class, ranked
| # | Destination · operator | Peer group | Itinerary value | Grade | Deployment durability | Grade | Coverage | Conf. | Fragility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San JuanPuerto Rico Ports Authority piers; Global Ports Holding lists San Juan Cruise Port among its ports · Puerto Rico Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | 88 | B | — | not graded | 64% | 89 | high |
| 2 | NassauNassau Cruise Port Ltd; Global Ports Holding lists it among its ports · Bahamas Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | 87 | B | — | not graded | 54% | 78 | high |
| 3 | JuneauCity and Borough of Juneau (Docks & Harbors) · United States Open the card | Alaska, Canada & New England | 85 | B-* | 85 | B-* | 76% | 76 | high |
| 4 | Victoria, British ColumbiaGreater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) · Canada Open the card | Alaska, Canada & New England | 85 | B- | 86 | B | 84% | 83 | moderate |
| 5 | Funchal (Madeira)APRAM – Portos da Madeira · Portugal Open the card | Northern Europe & Atlantic islands | 85 | B-* | — | not graded | 60% | 84 | high |
| 6 | Hakata (Fukuoka)Fukuoka City Port & Airport Bureau · Japan Open the card | Asia-Pacific & Middle East | 85 | B-* | — | not graded | 57% | 80 | high |
| 7 | St John's, AntiguaAntigua Cruise Port (Global Ports Holding) · Antigua & Barbuda Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | 84 | B-* | — | not graded | 57% | 84 | high |
| 8 | BarcelonaPort de Barcelona (Puertos del Estado) · Spain Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | 84 | B-* | 73 | D+* | 69% | 87 | moderate |
| 9 | MarseilleGrand Port Maritime de Marseille-Fos · France Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | 83 | B-* | — | not graded | 48% | 78 | high |
| 10 | BergenMunicipal port authority (name not verified in this pass) · Norway Open the card | Northern Europe & Atlantic islands | 83 | B-* | 82 | C+* | 69% | 86 | high |
| 11 | Charlotte Amalie, St. ThomasGovernment of the USVI (dock operators not verified in this pass) · US Virgin Islands Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | 82 | C+* | — | not graded | 45% | 74 | high |
| 12 | Oranjestad, ArubaAruba Ports Authority N.V. · Aruba Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | 81 | C+* | — | not graded | 45% | 74 | high |
| 13 | Bridgetown, BarbadosBarbados Port Inc. · Barbados Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | 81 | C+* | — | not graded | 44% | 73 | high |
| 14 | Belize CityPublic anchorage and tender destination · Belize Open the card | Mexico & Central America | 79 | C* | 81 | C+ | 79% | 83 | high |
| — | Basseterre, St KittsGovernment of St Kitts & Nevis · St Kitts & Nevis Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | — | not graded | — | not graded | 40% | 75 | high |
| — | Cabo San LucasPublic port · Mexico Open the card | Mexico & Central America | — | not graded | — | not graded | 19% | 71 | high |
| — | Civitavecchia (Rome)AdSP del Mar Tirreno Centro Settentrionale · Italy Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 34% | 76 | high |
| — | CopenhagenCopenhagen Malmö Port AB (CMP) · Denmark Open the card | Northern Europe & Atlantic islands | — | not graded | — | not graded | 36% | 71 | high |
| — | CozumelPublic destination; three terminals (Punta Langosta, SSA Mexico, Puerta Maya) · Mexico Open the card | Mexico & Central America | — | not graded | — | not graded | 48% | 71 | high |
| — | EnsenadaPublic port (federal port system) · Mexico Open the card | Mexico & Central America | — | not graded | — | not graded | 25% | 75 | high |
| — | GenoaAdSP del Mar Ligure Occidentale · Italy Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 19% | 58 | high |
| — | George Town, Grand CaymanCayman Islands Government · Cayman Islands Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | — | not graded | — | not graded | 52% | 75 | high |
| — | KetchikanCity of Ketchikan (Port & Harbors); Ward Cove is privately operated · United States Open the card | Alaska, Canada & New England | — | not graded | — | not graded | 38% | 76 | high |
| — | Las Palmas de Gran CanariaAutoridad Portuaria de Las Palmas · Spain Open the card | Northern Europe & Atlantic islands | — | not graded | — | not graded | 45% | 75 | moderate |
| — | Lifou (New Caledonia)New Caledonia Open the card | Asia-Pacific & Middle East | — | not graded | — | not graded | 26% | 75 | high |
| — | LisbonPorto de Lisboa (APL) · Portugal Open the card | Northern Europe & Atlantic islands | — | not graded | — | not graded | 41% | 76 | high |
| — | MykonosMykonos Municipal Port Fund · Greece Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 36% | 74 | moderate |
| — | NagasakiNagasaki Prefecture (port manager); Nagasaki City (statistics) · Japan Open the card | Asia-Pacific & Middle East | — | not graded | — | not graded | 21% | 69 | moderate |
| — | Naha (Okinawa)Naha Port Authority · Japan Open the card | Asia-Pacific & Middle East | — | not graded | — | not graded | 49% | 79 | high |
| — | NaplesAdSP del Mar Tirreno Centrale · Italy Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 31% | 75 | moderate |
| — | PalermoAdSP del Mare di Sicilia Occidentale · Italy Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 37% | 73 | high |
| — | Palma de Mallorca (Balearic port system)Autoridad Portuaria de Baleares · Spain Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 42% | 71 | high |
| — | Philipsburg (Sint Maarten)Government of Sint Maarten · Sint Maarten Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | — | not graded | — | not graded | 29% | 73 | high |
| — | Piraeus (Athens)Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) · Greece Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 55% | 76 | high |
| — | Roatán (Coxen Hole)Ownership or operator not verified in this pass · Honduras Open the card | Mexico & Central America | — | not graded | — | not graded | 41% | 68 | high |
| — | Santa Cruz de TenerifeAutoridad Portuaria de Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Spain Open the card | Northern Europe & Atlantic islands | — | not graded | — | not graded | 35% | 74 | moderate |
| — | SantoriniThira Municipal Port Fund · Greece Open the card | Mediterranean & Adriatic | — | not graded | — | not graded | 31% | 77 | low |
| — | SaseboSasebo City (port manager) · Japan Open the card | Asia-Pacific & Middle East | — | not graded | — | not graded | 22% | 64 | high |
| — | SitkaCity and Borough of Sitka; private Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal · United States Open the card | Alaska, Canada & New England | — | not graded | — | not graded | 47% | 72 | high |
| — | SkagwayMunicipality of Skagway · United States Open the card | Alaska, Canada & New England | — | not graded | — | not graded | 44% | 74 | low |
| — | Taíno Bay, Puerto PlataPrivate developer/operator; ownership not verified in this pass · Dominican Republic Open the card | Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda | — | not graded | — | not graded | 16% | 65 | high |
Itinerary Value pillars: Demand Pull (30%), Access & Season (25%), Call Economics & Shore Programme (25%), Guest Day (20%). Deployment Durability pillars include Environment & Climate Readiness and Policy & Legal Durability. Coverage is the share of applicable criterion points with public evidence either way; a card under 60% is not graded.
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