Margaritaville opens 2028 bookings, with first calls in Costa Rica and Panama
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Margaritaville at Sea opened 2028 bookings on 1 Oct 2026. The line’s release, datelined Orlando, lists 30 itineraries and 25 destinations. Two ports are new for the brand. Bookings are open on the line’s site. The release prints no fare.
New ports from Tampa
Book Islander from Tampa if you want the new ports. The line will call Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama, for the first time. Islander visits both on new eight-night cruises from Tampa. Those cruises also call Grand Cayman and include four days at sea.
Christopher Ivy, chief executive officer, says the lineup is built so no two escapes have to look the same. He says the trips are for people who want the Caribbean and want to go beyond it.
The release pairs those ports with Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize, Roatán, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Bimini, Nassau, and Progreso.
The release does not print a month for the eight-night Costa Rica and Panama cruises. The Miami Herald, updated 1 Oct 2026, says the first sailing is in September 2028, with a second sailing to follow in October. The Herald does not print a year beside October, and it does not print a calendar day. Cruise Industry News and TravelPulse, both dated 1 Oct 2026, describe the eight-night shape and do not add those months.
Dates the release does print
Islander returns to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in 2028, with an overnight, sailing from Tampa. The release says the first Mardi Gras visit is in 2027. It does not print the 2028 departure date.
Sail the Haunted Seas is back for a third year. In 2028 the Halloween cruise leaves Tampa, stays overnight in New Orleans, then calls Progreso for Día de los Muertos. The release says that cruise has three full sea days. It does not print the departure date.
One date is printed. Islander sails five nights to Key West and Bimini on 25 Jun 2028. The release ties that cruise to International Parrothead Day on 28 Jun.
Holiday products in the release, with no departure dates, are St. Patrick’s Day in Key West, a five-day Mother’s Day cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, and a Fourth of July cruise from Tampa. Music cruises are promised. Artist names come later.
Galveston on Beachcomber
Beachcomber sails from Galveston in 2028 after a 2027 debut from Miami. The release gives Beachcomber new combinations, including a Mexico trio of Cozumel, Progreso, and Veracruz. It calls Beachcomber the biggest ship in the fleet. It says the ship will have more than 15 venues found only there, including Same Boat, a live music room with three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown.
Cruise Industry News repeats the 30 itineraries, the new ports, the New Orleans overnights, the 25 Jun sailing, and the Mexico trio. One sentence in that article mentions an Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao cruise from Tampa. That cruise is not in the line’s release, so it is not a booking fact here.
What you should do
Pick Tampa for Islander, including the new Limón and Colón cruises and the 25 Jun 2028 Key West and Bimini sailing. Pick Galveston for Beachcomber’s 2028 Mexico combinations. Open the date on Margaritaville’s site before you deposit. These pages do not give you a price. Treat September 2028, and a second sailing the following October, as the Herald’s timing until the line’s page shows the month. Facts above follow Margaritaville at Sea on 1 Oct 2026. Cruise Industry News and TravelPulse are the same day. The September and October line follows the Miami Herald, updated 1 Oct 2026.
Ship pages
More Margaritaville at Sea news
Sources
Tier 1 = the cruise line’s own published material · Tier 2 = an established cruise-news outlet- TIER 1Margaritaville at Sea release, Orlando, 1 Oct 2026: the line unveiled 30 distinct itineraries visiting 25 destinations, including two new-to-brand ports and specialty and holiday sailings; Islander sails from Tampa and Beachcomber brings 2028 sailings to Galveston after a 2027 debut in Miami; for the first time the line calls Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama, with Islander visiting both on new eight-night voyages from Tampa that also call Grand Cayman and include four days at sea; Christopher Ivy, chief executive officer, says the lineup is built so no two escapes have to look the same and so guests can experience the authentic Caribbean and explore beyond it; returning ports named are Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize, Roatán, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Bimini, Nassau, and Progreso; Islander returns to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in 2028 with an overnight, after a first Mardi Gras visit in 2027, sailing from Tampa; Sail the Haunted Seas returns for a third year with an overnight in New Orleans, then Progreso for Día de los Muertos, three full sea days, from Tampa; Beachcomber adds Galveston combinations including a Mexico trio of Cozumel, Progreso, and Veracruz, and is called the biggest ship in the fleet; Islander sails a five-night cruise to Key West and Bimini on 25 Jun 2028, timed around International Parrothead Day on 28 Jun; holiday products named without departure dates are St. Patrick's Day in Key West, a five-day Mother's Day getaway to Key West and Cozumel, Memorial Day, Father's Day, and a Fourth of July escape from Tampa; music sailings with chart-topping artists will be detailed later; Beachcomber will have more than 15 new venues found only on that ship, including Same Boat, a live music venue with three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown; Islander is described with a 14-story atrium and the three-story LandShark Bar at Sea; the 2028 itineraries are on sale at MargaritavilleAtSea.com; the release prints no fare and no departure month for the eight-night Limón and Colón cruises
Margaritaville at Sea, checked 1 Oct 2026 · Tier 1 release on the line's site. Use it for the itinerary list. It does not print September or October for the new eight-night cruises. - TIER 2Cruise Industry News, 1 Oct 2026: Margaritaville unveiled 30 itineraries visiting 25 destinations, with first calls at Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama, on Islander eight-night voyages from Tampa that also call Grand Cayman and include four days at sea; the article repeats the returning port list, the 2028 New Orleans Mardi Gras overnight, the Halloween overnight in New Orleans then Progreso, the 25 Jun 2028 five-night Key West and Bimini sailing, the Galveston Mexico trio of Cozumel, Progreso, and Veracruz, Beachcomber's move to Galveston after a 2027 PortMiami debut, and that bookings are open; the article prints no fare
Cruise Industry News, checked 1 Oct 2026 · Agrees with the line on the items in this claim. A separate sentence in this article about an Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao cruise from Tampa is not in the line's release, so it is not used here. - TIER 2TravelPulse, 1 Oct 2026: bookings are open for 30 itineraries visiting 25 destinations from two homeports; new ports are Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama, on eight-night Islander sailings from Tampa that also visit Grand Cayman and include four sea days; returning ports match the line's list; the article prints no fare and no September or October departure month
TravelPulse, checked 1 Oct 2026 · Agrees with the line on the new ports and the eight-night shape. No extra calendar dates. - TIER 2Miami Herald, Alisha dos Santos, TravelHost, updated 1 Oct 2026: a new eight-night itinerary from Tampa takes Islander to Limón and Colón for the first time in September 2028, with a second sailing to follow in October; the page also repeats Grand Cayman and four sea days; the article does not print a calendar day for either sailing, and it does not print a year next to the word October
Miami Herald, checked 1 Oct 2026 · Single travel report for the September 2028 and following October timing. The line's release does not print those months. Other Herald details that are not in the release are left out.
Prices and policies move. This page was last checked on Oct 2, 2026, 11:20 AM ET.