In late 2024, a company named Cruise Tails sent out a press release about a unique cruise that would allow up to 250 passengers to bring their dog with them on a ship to the Western Caribbean in 2025.
Two weeks later, the company said that over 5,000 people applied for the right to bring their dog on this cruise that was a collaboration with Expedia Cruises of West Orlando.
The cruise was originally going to take place out of Tampa on Margaritaville’s Islander cruise ship in November 2025. Cruise Tails said that the cruise would “put the bark in em-bark”, and that it would be the first-ever dog friendly cruise.
It would have a number of dog related activities including:
- On-board pet-friendly accommodations with a Pet Butler
- Dog groomers
- Puppy (and people) massages
- Dog-friendly splash stations
- Theme parties
- Pre-cruise events
- And more
Dog would be required to be leashed while in public, and they would not be permitted in any dining areas of the ship.
In 2025, Cruise Tails said that the cruise was going to be rescheduled, and that they had to push the departure date back to early 2026.
They said the reason for the change was due to issues with cruise ships and ports, and that they need to “change things up”. They never gave any details on a date or ship for the new cruise.
The new cruise in 2026 also never took place, and Tampa Bay 28 reported this week that the company vanished with money that customers paid to go on the cruise.
The TV station in Tampa Bay interviewed several people that paid between $1,700 and $6,000 to go on the six-night cruise to the Western Caribbean.
Jerry Enget was one of those customers who paid to bring his dog on the cruise. He told Tampa Bay 28 that Cruise Tails sent him a message saying the cruise as not going to happen and there wouldn’t be any refunds.
Yes, Cruise Tails canceled the cruise and was not refunding any money that they received. Enget said that the company does not respond to emails or phone calls.
Although the cruise was going to take place on Margaritaville at Sea, they had nothing to do with the charter. When large groups or charters take over a ship, passengers who are going on the cruise do not directly pay the cruise line.
They pay the charter company for their cabin, and then the company pays the cruise line for all of the cabins they reserved. This is true for both full ship and the majority of partial ship charters. Reservations are not handled by cruise lines.
Margaritaville at Sea sent the following statement to Tampa Bay 28 about the cruise:
“This was an independently operated third-party charter. Margaritaville at Sea did not manage reservations, collect guest payments or oversee customer transactions for the sailing. As with charter cruises across the industry, questions regarding refunds or reservations should be directed to the charter operator (Cruise Tails), which is responsible for those matters.”
Cruise Tail’s website is still up and running, although no specific cruise is mentioned on the site.
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