30 Itineraries, Mardi Gras Overnight and New Ports: Margaritaville at Sea Mixes It Up for 2028
Tired of the same cookie cutter destinations?
Margaritaville at Sea just released a big batch of new sailings for 2028, with 30 distinct itineraries visiting 25 destinations. While Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian are increasingly running the same itineraries to many of the same Caribbean destinations and private islands over and over again, Margaritaville at Sea is offering some more unique options.
The newly announced sailings focus on Margaritaville at Sea Islander from Tampa and Beachcomber from Galveston, with everything from overnight stays in New Orleans to the ABC Islands, Panama, Costa Rica and even Veracruz, Mexico.
Of course, there are still plenty of typical Caribbean and Mexico sailings in the mix. But several of the new itineraries caught our attention.
Mardi Gras Overnight in New Orleans
Margaritaville at Sea Islander will leave from Tampa and head to New Orleans for the 2028 Mardi Gras celebration, including an overnight stay in the city.
That overnight is what makes this itinerary particularly interesting. Rather than heading back to the ship in the late afternoon or early evening, guests will have much more time to experience the parades, beads, brass bands, and unmistakable energy of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans isn’t exactly a common port call from Tampa to begin with, and getting an overnight stay there during Mardi Gras makes this one of the more unique sailings on Margaritaville’s 2028 schedule.
Costa Rica and Panama Are New for Margaritaville
Margaritaville at Sea is also going somewhere it has never gone before.
Islander will offer new eight-night cruises from Tampa that visit Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama. Both will be first-time destinations for the cruise line and allow guests to visit lush rainforests and tropical landscapes. The itinerary also includes Grand Cayman along with four sea days.
These are the types of ports that really caught our attention. Margaritaville at Sea has historically been heavily focused on the Bahamas, Mexico and the Caribbean, so adding Costa Rica and Panama gives repeat guests something genuinely new to choose from.
Signature Halloween Cruise
For the third year, Islander will also offer a special Halloween sailing. For 2028, it’ll include an overnight stay in New Orleans.
Sailing from Tampa, the special Halloween and Día de los Muertos itinerary gives guests more time to experience the Crescent City’s legendary mystery and after-dark energy before continuing to Progreso, Mexico, for the color, culture, and traditions surrounding Día de los Muertos.
The overnight in New Orleans should work especially well for a Halloween sailing. It’s a city already known for its haunted history, cemeteries, voodoo culture, and nightlife, so it feels like a much more natural fit than simply taking a normal Caribbean itinerary and adding some Halloween decorations onboard.
More Adventure From Texas
As we shared before, Margaritaville at Sea’s newest ship, Beachcomber, will move from Miami to Galveston, Texas, in October 2027. Once there, it’ll offer even more itinerary combinations, including a Mexico trio featuring Cozumel, Progreso and Veracruz.
Veracruz is the destination that really stands out there. It’s not a port you regularly see on mainstream cruise itineraries from the U.S., especially compared to Cozumel and Costa Maya, which appear on seemingly endless Western Caribbean sailings.
Beachcomber will also offer a mix of other itineraries from Galveston, giving Margaritaville at Sea a chance to differentiate itself in a market that has gotten much more competitive over the past few years.
All Three ABC Islands From Tampa
Another interesting option aboard Islander will visit Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao on the same cruise.
According to Margaritaville at Sea, it’ll be the only cruise from Tampa visiting all three ABC islands in 2028.
That’s a pretty significant departure from the typical Western Caribbean routes you see sailing from Tampa, which tend to rely heavily on Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize and Roatán.
International Parrothead Day in Key West
What would a Margaritaville cruise schedule be without a sailing specifically for Parrotheads?
Timed around International Parrothead Day on June 28, this special five-night sailing aboard Islander will visit Key West and Bimini and depart Tampa on June 25, 2028. The timing means guests will actually be onboard for International Parrothead Day, and it’s hard to think of a more appropriate destination to pair with it than Key West.
Margaritaville at Sea says the voyage will bring together island culture, tropical destinations, and plenty of opportunities for Parrotheads to flock together at sea.
The cruise line hasn’t announced exactly what the special programming will include yet, but considering how closely Margaritaville is tied to Jimmy Buffett and Parrothead culture, we’d expect this one to have more going on than a typical Islander sailing.
Special Holiday Sailings Year-Round
Margaritaville at Sea’s announcement also highlights special holiday sailings throughout the year, mentioning events like St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July.
Looking at the sailings during those weeks, the itineraries themselves aren’t overly unique or special. In most cases, they look similar to the cruises Margaritaville at Sea is already offering throughout the year.
That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s nothing special about them, though. It sounds like the cruise line may be doing more onboard to celebrate each holiday, whether that’s themed parties, entertainment, food and drinks or other activities. Margaritaville hasn’t provided many details yet, so we’ll have to see what actually makes these sailings different.
More Music on the Horizon
According to Margaritaville at Sea, they’re also “leaning into Margaritaville’s musical DNA” with more music-focused specialty sailings.
These cruises will feature chart-topping artists and exclusive performances at sea, although the cruise line hasn’t announced who those artists will be yet. More details and artist announcements are expected in the months ahead.
Music cruises obviously aren’t a new concept, but they make a lot of sense for Margaritaville at Sea. Live music is already a big part of the onboard atmosphere, and few cruise brands have music built into their identity quite as much as Margaritaville does.
My Take: Margaritaville Is Mixing Things Up
What stands out about Margaritaville at Sea’s 2028 schedule isn’t just the number of itineraries, but how much variety they’re getting out of Islander and Beachcomber.
You’ll still find plenty of Cozumel, Nassau, and other familiar destinations. But there are also overnights in New Orleans, new ports like Veracruz, Costa Rica, and Panama, sailings to all three ABC islands, event-focused cruises, Parrothead sailings, and more specialty cruises still to be announced.
For a cruise line that’s still relatively small, it’s a much more varied lineup than I expected.
One thing that stuck out was that Margaritaville at Sea Paradise wasn’t mentioned at all in the press release. The cruise line’s original ship is scheduled to continue sailing shorter cruises from Palm Beach until December 2027, but Margaritaville didn’t detail its 2028 plans as part of this latest itinerary rollout. Could that mean changes ahead for the fleet?
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