Margaritaville at Sea to Start Weekly Galveston Cruises in 2027
Friday departures will use Cruise Terminal 28, with itineraries planned for the Caribbean and Central America and the Texas ship to be named in September.
Updated September 24, 2026
Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber will begin sailing from Galveston in October 2027, offering four- to seven-night cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico. The newly released itineraries are now available to book.
Destinations include Aruba, Key West, Curaçao, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay, along with Belize, Progreso, Roatán, Cozumel, Grand Bahama Island and Bimini. The schedule also includes Veracruz, Mexico, which the cruise line describes as a new addition to the Galveston cruise market. The first listed Texas departure is a four-night Cozumel cruise on October 4, 2027.
“Texas knows how to have a good time, so bringing Margaritaville at Sea to Galveston feels like a natural fit,” Margaritaville at Sea Chief Executive Officer Christopher Ivy said. “With Beachcomber, we're giving guests an incredible ship and more choices for where their vacation can take them, including places they simply can't reach on other cruises from Galveston. It's a chance to see more, go farther and make every getaway a little different, all while experiencing the Margaritaville lifestyle at sea.”
License sets passenger fees and traffic guarantees
The Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees unanimously approved the cruise line’s operating agreement on August 25, 2026. The Texas program will be Margaritaville at Sea’s first homeport operation outside Florida. It will make the company the seventh cruise brand serving Galveston.
The operating license runs from October 1, 2027, through October 31, 2028, with two five-year renewal options. Cruise Terminal 28 will be the primary facility, although the agreement also allows Margaritaville at Sea to use Cruise Terminal 25 at times.
At Terminal 28, the line will pay $18.61 per passenger movement in 2027 and $19.17 in 2028. The Terminal 25 charge is $20.17 per movement. An additional city services wharfage fee will rise from 27 cents in 2027 to 28 cents in 2028. Annual increases during the renewal periods are capped at 3%.
The agreement guarantees the port at least 200,000 passenger movements during the initial term. The minimum increases to 210,000 movements during the first five-year renewal and 220,000 during the second.
Beachcomber will reposition from Miami
Beachcomber will become Margaritaville at Sea’s third and largest ship. The 102,500-gross-ton former Costa Fortuna was built in 2003 and has 1,358 passenger staterooms. It is scheduled to undergo a 12-week conversion at Navantia-owned Harland & Wolff in Belfast.
The ship will debut from PortMiami in early 2027 with four- to eight-night Eastern and Southern Caribbean cruises before repositioning to Galveston that October. Its initial Texas deployment will last 13 months, corresponding with Miami’s Bulkhead Rehabilitation Project and related berthing constraints. Margaritaville at Sea retains the option to extend the Galveston agreement through the two five-year renewal periods.
The cruise line currently operates the 52,926-gross-ton Margaritaville at Sea Paradise from the Port of Palm Beach and the 85,619-gross-ton Margaritaville at Sea Islander from Port Tampa Bay. Paradise accommodates 1,680 passengers, while Islander carries approximately 2,650 to 2,680 guests.
New venues planned for Beachcomber
Beachcomber will introduce more than 15 experiences created for the ship. Existing Margaritaville at Sea venues will include 5 o’Clock Somewhere, Hemisphere Dancer, Cheeseburger in Paradise and License to Chill.
The additions include Same Boat, a live music venue created in collaboration with three-time Grammy Award winner Zac Brown. Margaritaville at Sea bills it as the first artist-designed live music venue on the water. The space will combine live performances and cocktails with design elements inspired by Brown’s musical influences.
The brand began service in 2022 through a partnership between Margaritaville and the former Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line operation.
Galveston prepares for further cruise growth
Port officials forecast 445 cruise sailings and 3.9 million passenger movements in 2026. Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Princess Cruises already sail from Galveston.
The port operates four cruise terminals. Its newest facility, Terminal 16, opened in November 2025 and serves MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Galveston is separately discussing a fifth terminal with Royal Caribbean Group. The proposed Cruise Terminal 14 would be designed to accommodate Icon-class ships and approximately 2 million annual passenger movements. Under the proposed structure, the port would prepare the berth and pier, as well as parking facilities. Royal Caribbean would build the terminal.
No construction budget, schedule or completion date has been agreed for that project. Definitive agreements would not be required until December 31, 2027.
