Princess Cruises ditches Caribbean for more summer coolcations
As family cruise lines expand in the Caribbean, premium cruise line Princess Cruises is taking an entirely different approach. The cruise line is scaling back in the region - at least during the summer.
After offering a sizeable summer season of sailings to both the Eastern and Western Caribbean in 2026, Princess is abruptly dropping summer cruises to the Caribbean for 2027. This season, Princess is sailing summer cruises to the Caribbean from Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but next year, no Princess ships will sail to any region in the Caribbean between May and September.
Instead, the cruise line is going all in on Europe and Alaska for summer 2027 and 2028, plus expanding cruise options in the Asia Pacific region.
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Princess Cruises moving ships from Caribbean to Europe as coolcation demand grows
Beginning in 2027, Caribbean Princess and Regal Princess are trading sun-soaked Caribbean summers for coolcations in Northern Europe, as Princess expands its focus on cool-weather summer getaways. It's a strategy that makes sense considering searches for cooler destinations and coolcations are up 74% year over year, according to recent data from Trip.com Group.
Caribbean Princess will sail Northern Europe cruises from Copenhagen, Denmark across Scandinavia and the Baltic in summer 2027, and Southampton, England in 2028. During the 2028 season, the ship will offer an expanded variety of itineraries in the region, including a new eight-day Circle Ireland itinerary that adds new ports in Ireland - an island with strong appeal to U.S. travelers.
"In terms of value, those in the U.S. are most likely to perceive Ireland as a good value and relatively easy to get to," said Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Alice Mansergh.
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Between her summer seasons in Northern Europe, Caribbean Princess will sail classic fall foliage cruises between Boston and Quebec City, followed by Panama Canal and Southern Caribbean cruises to the ABC islands - Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao - from Fort Lauderdale during the winter.
As Regal Princess moves from Fort Lauderdale to Northern Europe in summer 2027, the ship will sail a variety of European journeys from Southampton, Copenhagen; Helsinki, Finland; and Reykjavik, Iceland. In the fall, Regal Princess will sail a series of Canada and New England cruises from New York before returning to the Caribbean for the winter.
In summer 2028, Regal Princess will return to Northern Europe to offer voyages through Scandinavia and the Baltic from Copenhagen.
Princess Cruises makes bigger Alaska push as competition grows in the region
In addition to boosting its offerings to meet growing demand for coolcations in Northern Europe, Princess Cruises is reinforcing its position as a leading Alaska cruise line as competition heats up in the booming cool-weather summer vacation destination.
This summer, Princess' newest ship, Star Princess, headlines the cruise line's largest-ever Alaska season in its nearly 60-year history in the region, featuring eight ships and expanded North to Alaska onboard programming to enrich sailings.
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In summer 2027, the cruise line is set to take more travelers to Alaska's sought-after Glacier Bay National Park than any other cruise line in a season that will again feature eight ships, including Star Princess. To expand choice for Alaska cruises, Princess will offer 17 unique itineraries from five departure ports in 2027.
These expanded offerings promise to help Princess maintain its strong reputation for immersive voyages to the Great Land as other cruise lines introduce intriguing new ways to cruise to Alaska.
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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 9:04 AM.