First-Ever Dog-Friendly Cruise Ship Is Here—And It’s a Game-Changer!

Finally, I can give you the news that all cruise enthusiasts and dog owners have been waiting for.

A cruise line has decided to launch some itineraries specifically for dog lovers that will allow you to bring your four-legged friends on board.

It’s a real revolution in this field since, until now, cruises were among the few types of vacations completely closed to dogs.

I know you are curious, so let’s go right away to see which cruise line it is, which ship will be specifically for dogs, and how the trip will be organized.

The Cruise Line and Ship

These special cruises will take place on the Margaritaville at Sea Islander, the cruise ship that recently joined the Margaritaville at Sea fleet.

If you don’t know Margaritaville, it’s a fairly new Florida-based cruise line that operates cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Maybe, looking at the photo, some of you—especially Italians—will find the ship familiar. It’s the iconic Costa Atlantica that had been built in 2000 for the Genoa-based cruise line.

As you can imagine, it was sold to Margaritaville in 2023 and has obviously undergone a process of total renovation and refurbishment.

The New Dog-Friendly Cruises

What do we know so far about these new dog-friendly cruises? Actually very little.

We know that they are organized by Cruise Tails and Expedia Cruises, two Orlando-based companies.

We know that the cruises will probably depart from Tampa and follow a similar itinerary to the current one so: Key West, Florida, then Cozumel and Progreso, and Yucatán in Mexico.

However, there are no official announcements yet on either dates, duration, or actual ports of call (departure will probably be by the end of 2025).

How Many Dogs Will There Be, and What Will Life on Board be Like?

According to initial information, there will be about 250 dogs on board, which must be up to date with vaccinations and get the green light to travel from their veterinarian.

There will be dog-friendly spaces on the ship, events, seminars with experts, theme parties, and even dog shows and training sessions.

Obviously, dogs will have to follow strict rules, like staying on a leash in public areas, and owners will be responsible for cleaning up after them.

What Do You Think? Will It Be a Positive Experience?

Let me start by saying that I have a dog, a small chihuahua that barely causes any trouble and hardly makes a mess.

However, I am really concerned about the presence of 250 dogs on a single ship.

Won’t there be too many of them for such a small space, and will the owners really be able to look after them?

I don’t know, certainly, it’s something that requires experimentation, and it’s good that there will be some testing in this regard.

The dog industry is a very large business market, and certainly, its profitability is interesting to cruise lines.

For now, all the big ones such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and MSC have preferred to avoid it but we will see if this new cruise will pave the way for new travel prospects.