Carnival’s New Excel-Class Cruise Ship Is Officially Open for Bookings Out of Texas

Bookings are now open for Carnival Cruise Line’s final Excel-class ship that is set to be sailing from Galveston, Texas in 2028.

Carnival’s Excel-class ships have been a big hit for the cruise line, ever since the first ship in the class, Mardi Gras, came out in 2020.

Carnival Tropicale, the final ship in the class, is officially on the schedule, and she is set to debut in the Lone Star State and join another Excel ship that has already been sailing out of Galveston, Carnival Jubilee.

These ships can accommodate 5,228 passengers at double capacity and 6,631 at max capacity. So, that’s a lot of Texas residents that can sail out of the local port for the cruise line.

Here are the new sailings just opened up on Tropicale:

The name Carnival Tropicale isn’t actually new to the fleet. Back in 1982, Carnival launched the original Tropicale, and it was the very first ship purpose-built for Carnival rather than converted from an older ocean vessel.

She was around 36,600 gross tons and carried about 1,000 passengers. Fast forward to today and this new mega-ship will come in over 183,000 gross tons and carry more than five times the passengers.

Galveston is really on the move lately, attracting larger ships and building newer terminals.

And Carnival’s commitment to Galveston has been growing too. Carnival was actually the first cruise line to operate year-round sailings out of Galveston way back in 2000 with Celebration.

To celebrate a new ship coming to Texas Carnival is even painting the iconic Star of Texas right onto the bow, just like on Jubilee.

Over in Papenburg, Germany, where the ship is being built at MEYER WERFT shipyard, the team hosted a western-themed party with custom cowboy hard hats and Texas barbecue to celebrate the occasion.

What’s New on Tropicale?

Galveston cruisers will get to experience some new features on Carnival Tropicale, including the addition of Sunsation Point, which is a multi-deck hub with Carnival WaterWorks Ultra (complete with six waterslides), alongside a Route 66-themed mini-golf course called Fairway 66, and a arcade called The Vault Retrocade.

For foodies, Carnival is debuting The Next Course concept lineup, which includes Uku Lei Lei (Hawaiian-Asian fusion) and Fetaccine (a Greek and Italian combo), right alongside Emeril Lagasse’s popular Emeril’s Coastal Seafood.

When she arrives in April 2028, Carnival Tropicale will run 4- to 8-day Caribbean itineraries, visiting ports like Cozumel, Nassau, Progreso, Celebration Key, RelaxAway, and Isla Tropicale.

Check out the newly opened sailings on Carnival Tropicale on Carnival’s website here.