The port directly accesses Tampa Bay on the western coast of the Florida Suncoast, and is approximately 25 sea miles from the Gulf of Mexico.

79 assists companies in Tampa Bay and along the I-4 Corridor in importing, exporting, manufacturing, and distribution activities.

In April 2016, a reversal in Carnival's policy banning Cuban-born Americans from booking cruises to Cuba sparked protests in Miami and at the Port Tampa Bay, where a handful of Cuban-American protesters objected to the Port's ties with Carnival because the company is doing business with the Castro regime.

Elevated, reversible lanes on the expressway run from Meridian Avenue (three blocks west of the cruise terminal) to Interstate 75 and the suburb of Brandon.

A significant amount of truck traffic to and from the port once traveled on the urban streets of Ybor City, one of just two National Historic Districts in Florida.

[14] Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was a leader of the Narváez expedition to establish Spanish colonies in La Florida.

Cabeza de Vaca saw the great naval and maritime commerce potential of the bay and described it as “The Port of which we speak is the best in the world.”[15] They continued to explore the upper Gulf Coast.

In 1821, James Forbes was the U.S. marshal of Florida and he wrote that the bay must “afford protection to our own trade and be of vital importance to our naval grandeur.”[15] Fort Brooke was established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in 1824.

[15] During the Seminole Wars (1816-58), there were primitive wharves where steamships and sailing vessels docked to deliver military supplies, slaves and export hides and lumber.

[15] Local, state, federal and private enterprise collaborated to enable the founding of Port Tampa Bay.

[15] Local voters approved a bond issue for funds to build municipal docks and onshore structures which were completed in 1924.