St. Maarten to Host Sun Princess and Allura Maiden Calls on Jan. 1

Port St. Maarten is set to open 2026 with a rare double milestone: two first-time ship visits on the same day. Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess and Oceania Cruises’ Allura are scheduled to make their maiden calls in Philipsburg on January 1, putting the destination in focus at the start of the Caribbean winter cruise season.

Port St. Maarten Group Management said it will mark each inaugural visit with a formal greeting for the ships’ captains and a traditional plaque exchange, while focusing on the onshore experience for guests and crew.

Port St. Maarten calls the paired inaugural visits a tourism marker

In a statement on the New Year’s Day schedule, Port St. Maarten Group Management framed the timing as a signal of the destination’s positioning in the cruise market. “Starting the year 2026 with two inaugural calls is an extraordinary achievement for our tourism product,” the organization said.

The port operator added: “Welcoming the Sun Princess and the Allura on the very first day of the year sends a clear signal to the world that St. Maarten remains at the forefront of the cruise industry.”

Arrival timings and itineraries: two ships, two cruise segments

While both ships are scheduled for January 1, they represent different ends of the cruise spectrum, from a next-generation, high-capacity ship to a smaller, premium-focused vessel calling within the same morning.

Oceania’s Allura is due around 7 a.m. local time while sailing a holiday itinerary from Miami. Sun Princess is set to arrive at 8 a.m. local time as the final port day of its seven-night roundtrip holiday cruise sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Sun Princess: Princess’ largest ship, LNG-powered, and a one-off 2026 call

Sun Princess is the largest ship ever built for Princess Cruises, measuring 177,882 gross tons and powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). During the January 1 call, the vessel is expected to land up to 4,300 passengers ashore, a surge Port St. Maarten has linked to immediate demand for taxis and other transport, island tours, and visitor-facing retail and dining.

Port St. Maarten is scheduled to be Sun Princess’ only visit to the destination during 2026. The ship is slated to return in December 2027, when it is expected to begin calling more frequently as part of its winter 2027-2028 Caribbean itineraries.

Oceania Allura: second Allura-class ship, with repeat visits planned

Allura, which debuted in 2025, is Oceania Cruises’ second Allura-class ship. The 68,000-gross-ton vessel accommodates about 1,200 passengers and is positioned around destination-focused, premium cruising, including elevated culinary programming.

Unlike Sun Princess’ single planned 2026 call, Allura is scheduled to return to St. Maarten again in early March 2026 on another Miami roundtrip voyage. The ship is also slated to operate more consistently from December 2026 through March 2027, giving the island repeat exposure to Oceania’s premium-brand guests during the heart of the winter Caribbean season.

What the double inaugural day says about port operations

Port officials have highlighted the practical implications of hosting both a mega-ship scale call and a smaller luxury vessel on the same day, pointing to berth availability, passenger-flow management, and the ability to meet different guest expectations in parallel.

The port has also encouraged broader island participation in the welcome, with the plaque exchanges serving as the ceremonial marker of each ship’s first-ever visit.

Cruise passenger volumes and a run of inaugural calls in late 2025

The New Year’s Day schedule follows a period of rising cruise volumes for the destination. Through the first three quarters of 2025, St. Maarten handled nearly 1 million cruise passengers, according to the island’s Department of Statistics.

More granular 2025 snapshots also pointed to growth earlier in the year: from January through May 2025, cruise arrivals totaled nearly 820,000 visitors, and arrivals through the second quarter of 2025 were up about 14 percent year over year. Full-year figures for 2025 were still pending at the time of the reports, while Port St. Maarten projected the year could surpass 1.5 million cruise passengers.

Port St. Maarten also logged multiple first-time calls in a short span in December 2025, including MSC Grandiosa, Celebrity Xcel, and Marella Discovery 2. Celebrity Xcel was also in port as 2026 began, along with Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, which entered service in August.

What’s next on the early-2026 calendar

After the January 1 inaugural visits, the port expects continued calls from Princess Cruises and a wider mix of brands during the winter season, including P&O Cruises, TUI Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Cunard, AIDA, and Virgin Voyages.

• Jan. 7, 2026: Majestic Princess is scheduled to arrive in St. Maarten.
• Jan. 10, 2026: Enchanted Princess is set to follow.
• Jan. 13, 2026: Grand Princess is scheduled to arrive.

Beyond those early-month calls, the next major timetable markers highlighted by the port are Allura’s return in early March 2026 and Sun Princess’ longer-term return starting in December 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a cruise ship “maiden call”?

A maiden call is a ship’s first-ever visit to a specific port. Ports often mark these visits with a ceremonial plaque exchange with the ship’s captain.

What are the specifications of Sun Princess?

Sun Princess is a 177,882-gross-ton vessel, the largest ship built for Princess Cruises. It is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and has a passenger capacity of up to 4,300.

How many passengers are expected from Sun Princess and Allura on January 1, 2026?

Port St. Maarten expects Sun Princess to bring up to 4,300 passengers ashore. Allura accommodates about 1,200 passengers.

When will Oceania Allura and Sun Princess visit Port St. Maarten again?

Allura is scheduled to return in early March 2026 and is slated to operate more consistently from December 2026 through March 2027. Sun Princess has no further visits scheduled in 2026 but is scheduled to return in December 2027 as part of its winter 2027-2028 Caribbean itineraries.

Which other cruise lines are expected to call at St. Maarten during the winter 2026 season?

Port St. Maarten expects calls across the wider winter season from a range of brands, including Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, TUI Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Cunard, AIDA, and Virgin Voyages.