Carnival Cruise Line has selected Galveston, Texas, as the homeport for its fifth Excel-class vessel, the Carnival Tropicale, which will make its inaugural sailing on April 15, 2028. The ship will accommodate over 6,000 guests and nearly 2,000 crew members, marking a major expansion of Carnival’s Gulf Coast presence.
The Carnival Tropicale will feature amenities that include a multi-slide waterpark designed for all ages, a treehouse adventure trail obstacle course, and family raft rides. Its dining venues will offer a range of cuisines such as Hawaiian and Asian dishes at Uku Lei Lei, Italian and Greek fusion at Fetaccine, and
seafood at Emeril’s Coastal Seafood, in addition to a large buffet option.
Alongside Tropicale, Carnival Jubilee will debut a new series of short cruises from Galveston starting in 2028. The Jubilee’s itineraries will include four-, five-, six-, and eight-day durations with departures on selected Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays, focusing on Western Caribbean routes.
Specific Carnival Jubilee sailings include four-day cruises departing select Thursdays from April 27, 2028, to April 26, 2029, visiting Cozumel, Mexico. Five-day Western Caribbean cruises will sail on selected Saturdays and Mondays from April 17, 2028, through April 30, 2029, calling at Cozumel and Progreso, Yucatán. A
six-day Western Caribbean itinerary departs on October 29, 2028, stopping in Cozumel and Isla Tropicale in Roatán. Eight-day cruises include a Bahamas itinerary on April 1, 2028, with stops at Celebration Key, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau, and an eight-day Western Caribbean cruise on April 9, 2028, visiting Cozumel, Isla Tropicale, and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Bookings for cruises aboard both the Carnival Tropicale and Carnival Jubilee are currently open. Starting in 2028, passengers departing from Galveston will have access to a wider selection of cruise durations and Caribbean destinations through Carnival’s expanded Gulf Coast operations.
