Buffett’s Margaritaville set for cruise debut in April from Port of Palm Beach
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Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville brand is entering the cruise business: Palm Beach-based Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line said Wednesday it would license the name to launch Margaritaville at Sea.
The cruise ship at the Port of Palm Beach will set sail next April under the Margaritaville name, already on restaurants, hotels and casinos.
Buffett, a popular singer and songwriter, originally started the Margaritaville business in Key West, but the corporate headquarters now is in Orlando. The hospitality company and brand is named after Buffett’s hit song “Margaritaville.”
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line officials would not elaborate on the financial details of the partnership with Margaritaville, but said current leadership would stay the same for Margaritaville at Sea.
Margaritaville at Sea will operate one ship, the Margaritaville Paradise, formerly known as the Grand Classica, which last sailed Nov. 27. Similar to Bahamas Paradise, Margaritaville at Sea will run two-night cruises from the Port of Palm Beach to the Bahamas. Prices will range from $169 to $329 for the cruises. The maiden voyage is set for April 30, 2022.
“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,” Buffett, who will not have an ownership stake or management role in the cruise line, said in a prepared statement.
Buffett, who turns 75 on Dec. 25, moved to Florida in the 1970s, initially to Key West. Last year, he sold his home in Palm Beach.
The Margaritaville Paradise ship is undergoing a multimillion-dollar refurbishment. The decor will feature Margaritaville’s signature casual design with subtle nautical details. The ship has 10 decks and 658 cabins.
Oneil Khosa, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s CEO, will run Margaritaville at Sea.
“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve built at Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and are appreciative of our loyal customers and trade partners who have stood by us through so much,” said Khosa, the top executive since 2016. “We’re excited about this next phase of our evolution, rebranding as Margaritaville at Sea.”
The cruise company’s new name and rebranding comes after two rocky years for Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line. Like many cruise companies, Bahamas Paradise has been under fire during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cruise line forced 276 workers to stay on board and work without pay for five months at the beginning of the pandemic. According to reporting from the Miami Herald, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line promised crew members a one-time $1,000 payment that never came. The workers sued the cruise company in August 2020.
In January 2021, a federal judge in Miami approved a settlement between Bahamas Paradise and workers that gave $612,000 to the 276 workers and $262,500 to their attorneys.
