New cruise ships sailing from Miami in 2027

Last reviewed: November 4, 2026. Sources for this page are listed in its fact sheet.

Short answer first. Three ships start sailing from PortMiami in 2027, in a clear order. Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber comes first, in January 2027, on four to eight night Caribbean trips. Norwegian Aura follows, homeporting in Miami from June 2027 on seven night sailings after a debut in Europe in May. Royal Caribbean Hero of the Seas lands last, in August 2027. Pick by date first, then by ship. The port is changing underneath them too, with a new $345 million Terminal G due in late 2027.

A cruise ship docked at PortMiami with the downtown skyline behind it. Photo: Felix-Antoine Coutu, Pexels.

The three ships at a glance

Beachcomber, Margaritaville at Sea. Starts January 2027. Four to eight nights, mostly seven, to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. About 3,450 guests, the largest ship in its line.

Norwegian Aura, Norwegian Cruise Line. Miami sailings start June 2027, all of them seven nights. At 169,000 gross tons and almost 1,130 feet, Aura is the largest ship Norwegian has built, with 3,840 guests at double occupancy.

Hero of the Seas, Royal Caribbean. Starts August 2027. Seven night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings, and every trip stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas. Hero is the fourth Icon Class ship and carries 5,654 guests.

Beachcomber: first in, and honest about what new means

Beachcomber is new to Margaritaville at Sea and new to Miami. It is not a new build. The ship first sailed in 2003 as Costa Fortuna, and it changes hands in late 2026 for a full refit before the Miami start. Read that as a plus: the hull is proven, and the bars, restaurants and music spaces going in for 2027 are the fresh part.

The route map is the real news. Margaritaville has run short Bahamas trips until now, and Beachcomber takes the line into the Eastern and Southern Caribbean for the first time. The 2027 ports named by the line are Philipsburg in St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San Juan, Puerto Plata, Bimini and Aruba, with Bonaire and Curacao on Southern Caribbean trips.

One date needs care. The line announced Beachcomber as a year round Miami ship in September 2025. Since then, an August 2026 Galveston port agreement and the October 2026 roundups point to a move to Galveston in October 2027. Both things are on the record. If you want Beachcomber from Miami, book the first three quarters of 2027, and recheck the line's booking pages before paying for anything after September 2027.

Norwegian Aura: the June arrival

Norwegian opened Aura for sale on January 15, 2026, and the dates matter because early roundups blurred them. The ship debuts in Europe, not Miami. Its first voyage is a seven day Mediterranean sailing on May 21, 2027, from Trieste in Italy to Barcelona in Spain. A transatlantic crossing follows, and Miami homeporting starts in June 2027.

From June through October 2027, Aura sails seven day Eastern Caribbean trips to Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian's private island in the Bahamas. In winter, the pattern flips to seven day Western Caribbean trips to Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Harvest Caye in Belize. There are no short Miami trips on this ship in its first season. If your group has four or five nights, look at Beachcomber instead.

The size numbers hold up: 169,000 gross tons, almost 1,130 feet, about ten percent larger than Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna. Its headline space is Ocean Heights, an open air activities complex. Book this ship for the ship, and treat the ports as the familiar Caribbean set done well.

Hero of the Seas: the August arrival

Royal Caribbean announced Hero of the Seas on March 30, 2026, as the fourth Icon Class ship, after Icon, Star and Legend. It homeports in Miami from August 2027 on seven night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings, and every trip calls at Perfect Day at CocoCay. Eastern trips add ports such as St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Western trips add Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Royal Caribbean's own guide puts the ship at nine pools, six waterslides and 28 dining venues across 20 decks, with 5,654 guests. Families are the target, right down to a three story Ultimate Family Treehouse cabin. Couples after a quiet week should price Aura and Beachcomber first.

Hero also explains a move in the same month. Icon of the Seas ends its Miami run in August 2027 and repositions to Galveston, arriving on August 16, 2027. Hero is the replacement Icon in Miami. Its sister Star of the Seas does not sail from Miami in this plan at all: Star stays at Port Canaveral through at least April 2028.

What is changing at the port

MSC's Terminal AA opened on April 5, 2025, and it is the largest cruise terminal in the world: 492,678 square feet, up to three ships at once and as many as 36,000 passengers a day. If your 2027 sailing boards there, allow airport style walking time inside. It is that big.

Terminal G is still a building site. Royal Caribbean Group and Miami-Dade County started work in January 2026 on a $345 million terminal built for ships carrying up to 7,000 passengers, due to open in late 2027. Until then the old site is closed, and Royal Caribbean has already boarded some 2026 sailings at Terminal AA while the work runs. Expect the same in 2027. PortMiami handled about 8.56 million cruise passengers in fiscal 2025, a port record, and three new homeport ships in one year is what a record like that buys.

Trust your boarding pass. Terminal assignments move during construction, and the terminal in your cruise line app in the final week beats any static list, including ours. Our PortMiami cruise terminals guide tracks the standing assignments.

Plan the sailing once you pick a ship

January and February are the heavy booking months for 2027 sailings, and first season dates sell first, in particular Hero's August and September sailings and Aura's first Miami month in June. Book the cruise before anything around it. Then sleep in Miami the night before. Downtown and Brickell sit ten to fifteen minutes from the port in normal traffic.

Check pre cruise hotels near PortMiami on Expedia

Our MIA to PortMiami transfers guide prices the airport run, the PortMiami parking guide settles driving in, and the pre cruise guide plans the night before. Hours to fill on either end of the sailing are better spent on a bay cruise or a Little Havana tour than near the terminal.

Browse Miami tours for your port days on Viator

Pack light and pack early: a dry bag, a lanyard for the ship card and reef safe sunscreen cover most first season mistakes. Shop cruise essentials on Amazon

Frequently asked questions

Which new cruise ship sails from Miami first in 2027?
Beachcomber, in January 2027. Norwegian Aura follows with Miami sailings from June 2027, and Hero of the Seas starts in August 2027.

Is Norwegian Aura sailing from Miami in May 2027?
No. Aura debuts in Europe in May 2027, from Trieste to Barcelona on May 21, and crosses the Atlantic after that. Its Miami season starts in June 2027.

Does Star of the Seas sail from Miami in 2027?
No. Star of the Seas sails from Port Canaveral through at least April 2028. The Icon Class ship in Miami for 2027 is Hero of the Seas.

Which terminal will my 2027 Miami cruise use?
The one on your boarding pass in embarkation week. Terminal G is closed for its rebuild until late 2027, assignments shift during construction, and Royal Caribbean has boarded some sailings at Terminal AA. Check the cruise line app in the final week.

Keep planning

The port itself is covered in the PortMiami guide, terminal detail is in the cruise terminals guide, parking is settled in the parking guide, and first timers should read the first time cruise from Miami guide before booking.