Report: Margaritaville at Sea purchases ship too large for Port of Palm Beach

Margaritaville at Sea is expanding — possibly into a different port.

The budget-priced cruise line that operates two-day trips to the Bahamas from the Port of Palm Beach has purchased a much larger ship, according to Maritime Executive, a website and magazine that covers global maritime business.

The ship is 85,8612 gross tons, 959 feet long and can haul 2,680 passengers. That’s twice as many passengers as the company’s current ship, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, can carry, and the ship is likely too large to sail out of the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach, the website said.

Port of Palm Beach spokeswoman Yaremi Farinas confirmed on Thursday that the ship is too large for the port. Meanwhile, Farinas released a statement from Michael Meekins, executive director of the port, stating that new investors are acquiring ownership and control of the cruise line.

Farinas said port officials do not know what the cruise line has planned for the larger ship.

Margaritaville at Sea’s public relations firm responded to an email seeking confirmation of the developments by saying, “At this time, we don’t have any detailed information to share,” but promised to provide details “when there’s an announcement to make.”

The new ship was built in 2000 and sailed under Carnival Corp.’s Costa Cruises brand as the Costa Atlantica until the cruise industry shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the website reported.

In 2018, Carnival Corp. sold it and a sister ship, Costa Mediterranea, to Adora Cruises, a brand developed in a partnership between Carnival Corp. and the China-owned China State Shipbuilding Corp., the story states. The ships continued to operate under the Costa name with plans to launch the Chinese cruise brand in 2020.

But since the pandemic, the ship has spent most of the past three years anchored off Cypress before going into dry dock in the spring. It’s currently docked at Cagliari, Italy, the story said.

The story said that the sale came to light when cruise industry observers recently noticed that the vessel’s Automatic Identification System signal switched identity to read MAS Islander, an acronym for Margaritaville at Sea Islander.

Margaritaville at Sea launched in 2022 as a partnership between the former Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and Margaritaville, a resort brand founded by singer Jimmy Buffet, who died in early September.

Its single, 1,300-passenger ship, which was originally built in 1991 for Costa Cruises, was refurbished with Margaritaville-themed decor and renamed Margaritaville at Sea Paradise.

It currently runs two-day cruises between the Port of Palm Beach and Freeport, Bahamas.

The larger ship could possibly operate out of one or more of Florida’s three largest ports — Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Port Miami, or Port Canaveral in Brevard County.

Ellen Kennedy, spokeswoman for Port Everglades, said use of that port would depend on the ship’s schedule. During the busy winter season, 40 ships operate out of the port and weekend days might not be available, she said.

Summer would be an easier time to accommodate the ship. Just five ships regularly sailed out of the port this past summer, she said.

Meekins’ statement indicated that the Port of Palm Beach expects the company to continue to operate Margaritaville at Sea Paradise there.

The statement read: “Over the past year, the Port of Palm Beach has continued to be impressed with the performance of our cruise partner Margaritaville at Sea and its flagship vessel the Paradise. The cruise line notified the Port that new investors are acquiring ownership and control of the company.

“The cruise line gave us the opportunity to review and understand the change in ownership and control and to ask questions related to the new investor. We are comfortable with our review and the new investor and will be providing our approval of the change in ownership and control. Port of Palm Beach Board of Commissioners and I are excited to continue to see the growth of the business and look forward to more years of shared success.”

According to the cruise line’s website, Margaritaville at Sea is a joint venture between Classica Cruise Operator Ltd. and Margaritaville Enterprises. Classica Cruise Operator’s CEO is Kevin Sheehan, former president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.