As the world celebrated the start of 2026 with anticipation for what’s to come, Port St. Maarten in Philipsburg got a glimpse into its future with an unusually busy New Year’s Day.

On January 1, 2026, the Sun Princess from Princess Cruises and the Oceania Allura from Oceania Cruises arrived at the port for their maiden visits, marking a rare double inaugural day for the Caribbean destination.

“Starting the year 2026 with two inaugural calls is an extraordinary achievement for our tourism product,” said Port St. Maarten Group Management, adding that the visits will positively impact the island.

“Welcoming the Sun Princess and the Allura on the very first day of the year sends a clear signal to the world that St. Maarten remains at the forefront of the cruise industry,” the group continued.

The authority expressed its commitment to ensuring all passengers and crew members experienced unparalleled hospitality while extending plaques to the captains of each ship.

Sun Princess, Princess Cruises’ largest vessel, carried up to 4,300 passengers to shore when it arrived at 8 a.m. local time on its last call of its 7-night roundtrip holiday cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The celebrated arrival, however, is the only 2026 visit scheduled for the cruise line’s 177,882-gross-ton, LNG-powered ship. It will make a return in December 2027, when it finally adds the port as a frequent call during its winter 2027-2028 Caribbean sailings.

Meanwhile, Oceania Allura, the second ship in Oceania Cruises’ Allura-class that debuted in 2025, arrived an hour before Sun Princess on its own holiday voyage from Miami.

The ship, which accommodates 1,200 passengers, was also enjoying its last call before returning to Florida. Its January 1 visit, however, will not be its last.

The 68,000-gross-ton ship is scheduled to return in early March on another Miami roundtrip journey and will begin a more consistent presence at Port St. Maarten from December 2026 through March 2027.

Read More: St. Maarten Cruise Port – Piers, Getting Around and What’s Nearby

The inaugural calls follow an exciting December MSC Cruises’ MSC Grandiosa, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xcel, and Marella Cruise’s Marella Discovery 2 all sailed in for the first time between December 1 and December 7, 2025.

Celebrity Xcel, which debuted in November, was also at port to celebrate the start of 2026, as was Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, which was introduced in August.

Poised for Growth

St. Maarten’s busy start to the New year follows a year of growth for the island nation known for its shared Dutch-French identity.

The port handled nearly 1 million cruise passengers through the first three quarters of 2025 alone, according to the island’s Department of Statistics.

In fact, cruise arrivals through the second quarter of 2025 climbed about 14 percent year over year, with nearly 820,000 cruise visitors arriving at the port from January through May.

Although final data for 2025 has yet to be tallied, Port St. Maarten had forecast reaching over 1.5 million passengers.

Princess Cruises will return to the island with its Majestic Princess on January 7, 2026, Enchanted Princess on January 10, and Grand Princess on January 13.

More cruise lines will be bringing guests to St. Maarten throughout the winter season, including P&O Cruises, TUI Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Cunard, AIDA and Virgin Voyages, among others.

Port St. Maarten Kicks off 2026 with Dual Maiden Cruise Calls