Jimmy Buffett fans, world’s first ‘Margaritaville’ cruise to sail from Port of Palm Beach, Florida-
The following written content by Susan Salisbury
When the Port of Palm Beach’s only cruise ship relaunches on April 30, it will be the world’s first Margaritaville-branded ship and the newest offering associated with Jimmy Buffett’s 1977 hit.
The Grand Classica will be renamed the Margaritaville Paradise and the company that owns it, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, will become Margaritaville at Sea.
The deal announced Wednesday at the port in Riviera Beach is a partnership between Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and Margaritaville Enterprises LLC, Oneil Khosa, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line CEO, said.
Buffett, a singer, songwriter, author and businessman whose music portrays an “island escapism” lifestyle, said in a statement Wednesday, “To me the only thing better than being on a beach by the ocean, is to be on the ocean. Now you can follow in our wake.”
Margaritaville features more than 25 hotels and resorts andtwo gaming properties, as well as RV resorts, 60-plus food and beverage venues, real estate communities, vacation clubs and products from frozen shrimp to footwear. They’re all part of Margaritaville’s multi-billion-dollar global lifestyle brand. Terms of the agreement between the two privately held companies were not disclosed.
Khosa said the goal is to bring the laid-back tropical lifestyle and state of mind evoked in Buffet’s songs to the 1,680-passenger ship offering two-night cruises and the cruise terminals in Riviera Beach and Freeport, Grand Bahama.
“We are not seeing this as a rebranding of just a name, but a rebranding of the concept, basically redefining cruising with whatever Margaritaville has to offer,” said Khosa, who will serve as CEO of Margaritaville at Sea.
The family of former Norwegian Cruise Line president and CEO Kevin Sheehan will remain majority owners of the cruise line.
Orlando-based Margaritaville CEO John Cohlan and Khosa met about two years ago pre-COVID and agreed the idea to transform the ship into a Margaritaville experience made sense.
“We went on the ship. He found the Grand Classica to be a beautiful ship. A vision was created right then that was the way to go for them,” Khosa said. “I have been working on it for some time. I am glad it has come to fruition now and we are actually embarking on a journey here.” Read more from The Palm Beach Post
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