Princess Cruises Cancels More Than 15 Galveston Sailings
They say the early bird gets the worm, but guests who booked well in advance for a cruise got bad news for voyages departing from Galveston, Texas, between late 2026 and early 2027.
Princess Cruises announced it would remove its 141,000-gross-ton Majestic Princess from the homeport, beginning with cruises scheduled in November 2026.
In the announcement, the cruise line said, “Princess Cruises has made the difficult decision to cancel all sailings aboard Majestic Princess from Galveston scheduled between November 2026 and March 2027.”
“We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause our guests and appreciate their understanding as we work to enhance our global offerings.”
Passengers who booked now-cancelled cruise vacations aboard Majestic Princess will receive full refunds from the cruise line.
With the bookings so far ahead, no flights or hotels have likely been booked yet to be cancelled and refunded, but some passengers fear the prices for alternative cruises will increase.
“I bet prices are higher for those who booked a year or more ago,” worried one passenger on social media.
Princess Cruises says it is assisting guests with finding alternative cruise options, including other sailings from Galveston to the Caribbean.
“We remain committed to delivering exceptional vacation experiences and look forward to welcoming guests aboard Majestic Princess in its soon-to-be-announced deployment,” the cruise line said.
Less than two years ago, the cruise line was touting its partnership with the Port of Galveston, sending the city its 3,560-passenger Regal Princess, Majestic Princess’s sister in size and capacity.
At the time, November 2023, Princess Cruises Chief Commercial Officer Terry Thornton said, “Princess loves Texas, and we know Texas enjoys the convenience of having the Love Boat so close by offering a hassle-free drive or convenient fly option.”
It’s uncertain if the cruise line has changed its tune about sailing from the Lone Star State.
With the cancellation of the vessel’s 2026-27 season, Princess Cruises will not have any ships sailing from Texas to replace it.
Right now, its last scheduled Galveston cruise will be in March 2026 on Regal Princess.
Deployment Reshuffle to be Announced
While the news is disconcerting for the passengers looking forward to sailing with Princess Cruises from Texas, the reason for the cancellation has guests wondering what’s to come.
The cruise line said leaving Texas is “part of our broader global fleet deployment strategy.”
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At press time, it hadn’t specified what that new global deployment strategy may be and whether or not any of its fleet will call Texas home following the changes.
Passengers on social media shared other unconfirmed cancellations taking place in 2026, including several guests saying they received word that Island Princess’s Hawaii and South Pacific cruise from Los Angeles in September 2026 has been removed.
“Our 32-day South Pacific Islands/Hawaii, September 23 to October 25, 2026, cruise on the Island Princess has been cancelled ‘due to changes in our deployment program,’” shared one guest.
Another said the cruise line had also just cancelled a Southeast Asia voyage, also in September 2026, indicating Princess Cruises’ ship reshuffle could include multiple vessels.
Meanwhile, the Port of Galveston may take a hit if Princess Cruises doesn’t return. But it could be minor, considering the popular port broke its own records in 2024, welcoming more than 380 cruise ship calls and over 3.4 million passengers.
There are a host of major cruise lines basing big vessels there, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and Carnival Cruise Line, so passengers have not been left high and dry if Galveston is their go-to homeport.