Followers of upscale cruises are about to have a brand new possibility for sailings to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.
Upscale cruise operator Oceania Cruises on Wednesday introduced it could start common sailings to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal out of Tampa in 2026 — a primary for the road.
It will mark the primary time an “ultra-premium” cruise line equivalent to Oceania has operated out of Tampa. The cruise port usually serves as a hub for mass-market manufacturers equivalent to Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Oceania mentioned its 670-passenger Insignia would function out of Tampa beginning in March 2026 for an preliminary two-month season of sailings starting from seven to twenty nights.
The brand new routings will embrace stops on the islands of St. Thomas, St. Kitts and Tortola; Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico; and Belize Metropolis, Belize, amongst different locations within the Caribbean.
A number of of the sailings will embrace a daylight transit of the Panama Canal paired with an in a single day keep in Panama Metropolis.
“Port Tampa Bay represents an thrilling new chapter as Oceania Cruises turns into the primary ultra-premium cruise line to have devoted voyages from Tampa, opening the door as a handy gateway to Florida’s west coast and the Gulf of Mexico,” Oceania Cruises president Frank Del Rio mentioned in a press release accompanying the announcement.
“It is a pure enlargement for our model, as Tampa echoes the cosmopolitan essence of our beloved hometown of Miami with its various mixture of worldwide influences and cultures,” Del Rio added.
In a press release, Port Tampa Bay president and CEO Paul Anderson mentioned the port was thrilled with Oceania’s transfer.
Day by day E-newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Day by day publication
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
“The arrival of Insignia marks a big milestone, enhancing Tampa’s standing as a premier cruise vacation spot,” Anderson mentioned. “We sit up for welcoming new visitors to our lovely metropolis and gateway, because the elevated tourism will create substantial financial alternatives for our area, staff, and companies.”
The brand new Oceania sailings from Tampa will embrace:
- A 15-night “Leeward Isles Serenade” crusing with stops at San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas; St. Maarten (the Dutch facet of the island of St. Martin), Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Croix and Tortola
- A seven-night “Western Caribbean Escape” voyage with stops at Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico; Belize Metropolis; and the island of Roatan in Honduras
- A ten-night “Palms & Panama Canal” voyage by the Panama Canal that additionally brings stops at Cozumel; Costa Maya; Belize Metropolis; Roatan; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Colon, Panama; and Panama Metropolis (for an in a single day keep)
- A 20-night “Panama Canal Connoisseur” crusing by the Panama Canal that additionally has stops at Cozumel; Costa Maya; Belize Metropolis; Roatan; Puerto Limon; Colon; Panama Metropolis; Cartagena, Colombia; Willemstad, Curacao; Oranjestad, Aruba; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and George City, Grand Cayman
The latter crusing begins in Tampa however ends in Miami.
“Extremely-premium” is a time period that cruise trade insiders use to indicate cruise manufacturers which are extra upscale and costly than the standard mass-market cruise manufacturers however not fairly as high-end as the highest luxurious traces.
Tampa presently is house to ships from 4 important traces — all of that are thought-about mass-market manufacturers and never upscale or luxurious manufacturers. They’re Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Celeb Cruises.
Along with Oceania, one different higher-end cruise model, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, is planning to function cruises out of Tampa in late 2026 — months after Oceania arrives. Nevertheless, Regent solely plans two such sailings, and it is not planning to maintain a ship in Tampa for an extended season of voyages.
A sister model to Oceania, Regent is taken into account a luxurious line and never an ultra-premium line.
Planning a cruise? Begin with these tales:
