Costa Fortuna Begins Final Season Before Margaritaville Move
The transfer shows Margaritaville at Sea moving beyond its short-cruise niche, using former Costa tonnage to build a larger presence in the competitive Florida-Caribbean market.
Costa Fortuna has returned to the Mediterranean for its final season with Costa Cruises, with the last Costa departure scheduled from Piraeus on Sept. 4, 2026, before the ship transfers to Margaritaville at Sea in September. After a major refurbishment, the vessel is slated to enter service from PortMiami in early 2027 as Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber.
The move will take the oldest ship out of the Carnival-owned Costa fleet and make Beachcomber the largest vessel at Margaritaville at Sea. The line’s active ships are Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, the former Costa Classica sailing from Port of Palm Beach, and Margaritaville at Sea Islander, the former Costa Atlantica sailing from Port Tampa Bay.
Built by Fincantieri at Sestri Ponente in Genoa in 2003, Costa Fortuna is about 102,600 GT and 272 meters long, with standard capacity near 2,700 passengers and maximum occupancy of up to 3,470. The ship has spent 23 years in Costa service.
Final Costa deployment spans western and eastern Mediterranean
Fortuna spent the winter operating Canary Islands cruises before beginning a repositioning voyage to the Mediterranean in early April. Its opening program in the region is a 14-night itinerary linking Italy, Spain and France with Tunisia, Greece and Turkey, including calls at Barcelona, Marseille, Savona, Civitavecchia, Messina, Izmir and Piraeus, plus an overnight stay in Istanbul.
In May, the ship is scheduled to shift to the Eastern Mediterranean for seven-night cruises from Istanbul and Piraeus. The Greece and Turkey program includes calls at Izmir, Mykonos, Volos, Santorini, Heraklion and Rhodes.
Fortuna is one of three Costa ships scheduled for the Eastern Mediterranean this summer. Costa Fascinosa is due to operate from Catania, Taranto and Piraeus on cruises to Southern Italy, Malta and Greece, while Costa Deliziosa is assigned to Adriatic and Greece itineraries from Marghera and Trieste.
Beachcomber’s post-conversion plans
Margaritaville at Sea has outlined a post-conversion product that includes redesigned staterooms and public areas, a speakeasy-style venue called Cowboy in the Jungle and two Bridge Wing Suites, which the company has described as the largest accommodations in its fleet. Beachcomber is scheduled to operate PortMiami cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas, with announced 2027 itineraries ranging from four to eight nights to the Southern and Eastern Caribbean.
The line has also announced a family program for Beachcomber, including three age-based clubs: Jolly Mon Kid’s Club for ages three to five, Parakeets Kid’s Club for ages six to nine and The Hangout for ages 10 to 12. Outdoor and shared-use spaces are planned to include a sports court, a climbing playground, a waterslide and pool area, and mini golf.
One early Beachcomber sailing is already being marketed as a third-party themed group cruise rather than a full-ship charter. High Seas Cruise Co. is organizing the May 15, 2027 Legends at Sea departure from Miami, with former Carnival cruise directors Matt Mitcham, Steven Schwartz and Jonathan “Cookie” Adams scheduled to host the seven-night itinerary to Key West, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Nassau.
