Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise Sails Today With Capleton, Damian and Stephen Marley Aboard
The 11th annual Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise sails out of Miami today, November 11, aboard the Norwegian Joy, calling at Falmouth and Ocho Rios before returning November 16. Capleton confirmed his performance on Instagram, joining a bill of 50-plus artists that includes Damian and Stephen Marley, Burning Spear, Sizzla, Beenie Man and Protoje, plus Stone Love, King Jammy's Superpower and Renaissance sound systems and a SoundClash at sea. Last year Hurricane Melissa kept the ship from Jamaican ports; this year it docks in Jamaica again.
(ReggaeVibeMedia.com) - The ship leaves today. The 11th annual Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise sails out of Miami this Wednesday, November 11, aboard the Norwegian Joy, bound for Falmouth and Ocho Rios before returning on November 16 — and Capleton is aboard.
The St. Mary firebrand confirmed it himself on Instagram, posting with flame emojis and the hashtags #WelcomeToJamrock, #JamrockReggaeCruise, #WTJRC2026 and #Jamrock2026. He tagged the cruise's official account and closed with a "24hrparty" tag, which says plenty about what a set at sea looks like when the music never really stops.
The bill around him is heavy. Damian and Stephen Marley are on board, with their Traffic Jam set opening today's sailaway party, alongside Burning Spear, Sizzla, Beenie Man, Protoje, Barrington Levy, Elephant Man, Junior Reid, Lila Iké, Ding Dong, Gyptian, 450, Richie Spice and Sevana. Sound systems Stone Love, King Jammy's Superpower and Renaissance are sailing too, and there is a SoundClash at sea with King Addies facing King Jammys, Black Scorpio and Bodyguard. More than 50 artists, DJs and sound systems in all.
The route is the story within the story. Last year Hurricane Melissa kept the ship from docking in Jamaica. This year it returns to Jamaican ports — Falmouth and Ocho Rios — and for Capleton, whose home parish of St. Mary sits right next door to Ocho Rios in St. Ann, that is close to a homecoming.
The cruise takes its name from Damian Marley's 2005 hit "Welcome to Jamrock," and over eleven years it has grown from a sailing into a floating festival, a regular fixture on the reggae calendar where the sets run around the clock and the island comes to the sea.
Reggae Vibe Media is not accredited aboard this year's sailing — that call was made back in October, with coverage deferred to next year. So this one we watch from shore, the same as the fans tracking the lineup from home. The ship sails today, the music starts at the sailaway, and for the next five days the biggest reggae gathering on water is underway.