Cruise lines love to break records – competing for the biggest ships, introducing firsts-at-sea, and of course, creating record-breaking events that give thousands of guests the chance to make history… well, until the record is broken again!
Princess Cruises is no stranger to world records. In 2024, the cruise line set a record for the largest pizza party at sea, with guests consuming over 60,000 slices across 16 ships. The event marked a partnership with 13-time World Pizza Champion chef Tony Gemignani, who developed exclusive artisanal pizzas for the fleet.
Now they’ve done it again, shifting from a favorite food to a favorite holiday cocktail.
And their margarita world record is one piece of an even bigger celebrity partnership mosaic.
On February 17, 2026, during a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise from Galveston, Texas, the Regal Princess became the location for another record-breaking party. The event turned the ship into a floating fiesta for the ship’s 3500 guests to celebrate Princess Cruises’ most popular cocktail.
Over 8 hours, the guests did their part to help break the Guinness World Record for most margaritas sold in 8 hours.
How many, you ask? Well, raise your salt-rimmed glass to the guests of the Regal Princess, who ordered 3410 handcrafted margaritas. That easily tops the previous record of 2,728 for the iconic lime-and-tequila cocktails.
What’s more, the occasion coincided with Princess Cruises marking the sale of over 1 million of its signature “24K Margaritas” between January, 2025 and January 2026.
The 24K Margarita is the fleet’s most popular signature cocktail, made exclusively with Pantalones Organic Blanco Tequila, co-founded by Matthew and Camila McConaughey.
The million-margarita milestone arrives just over one year after Princess Cruises and Pantalones Organic Tequila launched their fleetwide partnership in October 2024, quickly becoming one of the most successful beverage collaborations in cruise line history.
Camila and Matthew McConaughey are also the godparents of Princess Cruises’ most recently-launched ship, the Star Princess, the newest Sphere-class ship from Princess Cruises. They officially christened the vessel in Fort Lauderdale on November 6, 2025, using none other than a bottle of their tequila. For the world record-breaking, the couple sent a congratulatory video message that was played onboard to the guests of the Regal Princess as the record was announced, with the audience roaring its approval.
While made with Pantalones Tequila, Princess Cruises’ most popular cocktail is otherwise a classic margarita: handcrafted with Cointreau, Grand Marnier, margarita mix, and served over ice in a salted-rim glass.
And in addition to the 24K Margarita, guests can toast their cruise with any of a lineup of handcrafted cocktails created by Princess’s Mixologist Rob Floyd has designed a menu of other margaritas using the McConaugheys’ tequila, too, like
- Pants on Fire – with Reposado tequila, fresh lime juice, Campari, smoked paprika and agave
- Sea Legs – Reposado tequila, Luxardo Maraschino, fresh lime juice, grapefruit juice, agave syrup and soda
- Hot Pants – Blanco tequila, fresh lime juice, pineapple juice, fresh jalapeno and agave
- Fancy Pants Paloma – Reposado tequila, fresh lime juice, Fever Tree grapefruit
To ensure your cravings for the cocktail never go unsatisfied, there’s even a roaming ‘Pantalones Organic Tequila Custom Cart’ capturing the ‘spirit’ of the McConaughey brand throughout the voyage.
In just over a year, having one of these cocktails on board has become an essential Princess Cruises experience fleet-wide.
And now, with the margarita world record, Princess Cruises has put a cherry on top of a celebrity brand partnership that’s a template for the kind of wild success that cruise lines – and avid cruise travelers! – are looking for.
START YOUR TRIP!
By: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert
Images courtesy of Princess Cruises
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