Carnival Opens Bookings for Tropicale's 2028 Galveston Cruises
Sunsation Point will span multiple decks at the aft, with Carnival WaterWorks Ultra adding six slides and Fairway 66 Mini Golf getting a Route 66 theme.
Carnival Cruise Line has opened bookings for Carnival Tropicale, a roughly 183,900-gross-ton ship scheduled to begin sailing from Galveston on April 15, 2028. The fifth and final Excel-class vessel will operate four-, five-, six- and eight-night cruises to the Western Caribbean, The Bahamas and Mexico. Steel cutting has begun at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany.
The approximately 5,200-lower-berth ship will join Carnival Jubilee in Galveston, Texas’ only cruise homeport.
Where Carnival Tropicale will sail
Carnival Tropicale’s deployment includes Celebration Key, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, Isla Tropicale and Puerta Maya from Carnival’s Paradise Collection. Other scheduled ports include Nassau, Progreso and Cozumel, depending on the departure date and cruise length.
“Guests can now begin planning their vacations aboard this incredible new ship,” said Ben Clement, Carnival Cruise Line’s executive vice president of maritime and new builds.
The inaugural six-night cruise will spend its first full day at sea before calling at Cozumel from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 17. Carnival Tropicale will visit Isla Tropicale, formerly Mahogany Bay in Roatan, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. the following day, then spend two more days at sea before returning to Galveston on April 21.
Construction begins in Papenburg
Carnival and Meyer Werft held a western-themed steel-cutting event at the German shipyard, where company leaders wore customized cowboy hard hats and the yard served Texas-style barbecue. Carnival Tropicale will carry the Star of Texas on its bow, as Carnival Jubilee does.
“Carnival Tropicale is already the fifth Excel-class ship for Carnival Cruise Line,” Meyer Werft GmbH CEO Andre Walter said. He described the vessels as “a successful and highly popular series” produced through the companies’ longstanding partnership.
The other Excel-class ships are Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, Carnival Jubilee and the upcoming Carnival Festivale.
Water park, games and new restaurants
Sunsation Point will span multiple decks at the ship’s aft and include Carnival WaterWorks Ultra, a six-slide water park with SunSoaker, the Turning Tides raft slide and Racing Currents. Splash areas will serve younger children, and the water park will remain open later on selected evenings.
Other activities will include sports courts and the Treehouse Adventure Trail, which will have netted paths and obstacles. Carnival is redesigning the Fairway 66 Mini Golf course with a Route 66 theme, while The Vault Retrocade will combine contemporary and vintage video games with pinball, air hockey and pool.
Renderings of the multi-story Grand Central Atrium depict tropical scenes across integrated display surfaces. The design differs from the other Excel-class ships.
The dining lineup will add Uku Lei Lei, serving Hawaiian-inspired food with Asian influences, and Fetaccine, combining Greek and Italian dishes. Emeril’s Coastal Seafood, developed with Carnival Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse, will feature seafood influenced by coastal regions of the United States.
Carnival has so far described the ship’s entertainment only as drawing on the golden era of show business, including dedicated spaces and new experiences. Further entertainment and onboard-experience details are due to be released in the months ahead.
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