Princess Cruises cancels sailings, drops popular home port
A fleet redeployment plan brings disappointing news for passengers booked on a number of cruises from one U.S. port.
Many cruise passengers prefer to book their sailings far in advance to get the greatest selection of options and, potentially, the lowest rates.
Although this is usually a good strategy, sometimes changes happen that throw a wrench into your strategically made vacation plans.
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For some Princess Cruises passengers who proactively booked cruises for late 2026 and early 2027, their cruise line’s own strategic planning just pushed their vacation plans way off course.
A change in Princess Cruises' fleet deployment plans for the winter 2026 – 2027 season is redirecting one cruise ship, resulting in canceled cruises and the cruise line’s departure from a convenient cruise home port where it has sailed for 20 years.
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Galveston loses its Princess Cruises ship for 2026-2027 season
As part of a “broader global fleet deployment strategy,” Princess Cruises made the decision to cancel all sailings from Galveston scheduled on Majestic Princess between November 2026 and March 2027. The cruise line provides all impacted passengers with full refunds and assists them with finding alternative cruise options.
The largest Princess cruise ship ever homeported in Texas, Regal Princess, also won’t be returning to the Port of Galveston for the 2026 – 2027 cruise season. Since 2023, Regal Princess has sailed western Caribbean itineraries from Galveston during the winter season, offering a convenient drive-or-fly cruise port option for residents of Texas and surrounding areas.
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Prior to the new redeployment development, Majestic Princess was set to replace Regal Princess in Galveston for the winter 2026 – 2027 season as Regal Princess moves to Fort Lauderdale to sail a variety of Caribbean itineraries.
While this means that no Princess cruise ship is currently scheduled to sail from Galveston for the winter 2026 – 2027 season, it doesn’t mean Princess Cruises won’t return to Galveston in the future. But for now, it appears that Princess Cruises departing from the port will go on hiatus following the completion of the winter 2025 – 2026 season.
Princess Cruises has not yet announced where Majestic Princess will sail instead of Galveston.
Galveston is a popular and growing cruise port
Although the news is disappointing for loyal Princess cruisers who sail from Galveston, passengers still have opportunities to sail from the port on Regal Princess cruises departing from November 2025 – March 2026.
Regal Princess recently wrapped up its winter 2024 – 2025 cruise season from Galveston, which featured special performances from emerging country music artists on some sailings. Through its partnership with the Academy of Country Music, Princess Cruises hosted an ACM Live from the Red Barrel Lounge concert series on Regal Princess sailings in February and March.
Cruisers who want to continue sailing from Galveston also have plenty of options with other cruise lines. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Disney Cruise Line all offer Western Caribbean cruises from Galveston.
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The Port of Galveston is the fourth most popular cruise home port in the U.S. It experienced record growth in 2024 with more than 380 cruise sailings and about 1.6 million cruise passengers. The port's growth is set to continue in 2025, with more than 400 cruise sailings and 1.75 million passengers forecasted.
In November, MSC Cruises will open a new cruise terminal in Galveston, increasing capacity and cruise options from the popular port. Galveston’s fourth cruise terminal, the new $156 million cruise complex will be home to MSC Seascape as well as Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva. With the addition of the new terminal, the Port of Galveston is projected to handle more than 2 million passengers annually.
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