Carnival Cruise Line will base its fifth Excel-class ship, Carnival Tropicale, at the Galveston, Texas port beginning in 2028. The ship will accommodate more than 6,000 guests and nearly 2,000 crew members, making it one of the largest vessels serving the region.
Guests aboard Carnival Tropicale can expect amenities including an all-ages waterpark featuring six water slides, a treehouse adventure trail obstacle course, and family raft rides. Dining options will include multiple restaurants such as Uku Lei Lei offering Hawaiian and Asian-inspired cuisine, Fetaccine presenting Italian and Greek dishes, and Emeril’s Coastal Seafood.
Cruisers will be able to book four-,
five-, six-, and eight-day itineraries departing from Galveston. The cruises will connect passengers to popular Caribbean destinations and Carnival’s private Paradise Collection ports like Celebration Key, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, Isla Tropicale, and Puerta Maya. The first voyage of Carnival Tropicale from Galveston is scheduled for April 15, 2028.
Alongside the Tropicale, Carnival Jubilee will operate a series of short Western Caribbean cruises out of Galveston between April 2028 and April 2029. Jubilee’s four-day cruises will sail on select Thursdays from April 27, 2028, through April 26, 2029, visiting Cozumel, Mexico. Five-day cruises departing on select Saturdays and Mondays from
April 17, 2028, through April 30, 2029, will include stops in Cozumel and Progreso, Yucatán.
Additional sailings on Carnival Jubilee include a six-day Western Caribbean cruise leaving Galveston on October 29, 2028, which will call at Cozumel and Isla Tropicale, Roatán. Eight-day itineraries will consist of a Bahamas cruise departing April 1, 2028, with stops at Celebration Key, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau, as well as a Western Caribbean route leaving April 9, 2028, that visits Cozumel, Isla Tropicale, and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
