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The history of Margaritaville at Sea: from Bahamas Paradise to a three-ship fleet

Margaritaville at Sea grew out of a two-night Palm Beach operator, borrowed Jimmy Buffett's brand in 2021 and now has three ships. Here is how it got there.

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Grand Classica, the Bahamas Paradise ship that became Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, passing through the Palm Beach inlet on January 24, 2020. Photo: BlueCrabRedCrab, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Grand Classica, the Bahamas Paradise ship that became Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, passing through the Palm Beach inlet on January 24, 2020. Photo: BlueCrabRedCrab, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. · Photo: BlueCrabRedCrab, CC0 (public domain dedication), via Wikimedia Commons

Margaritaville at Sea carried its first paying guests on May 14, 2022. The company behind it is older than that. It grew out of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, a small Palm Beach operator that sold two-night trips to Grand Bahama, and it borrowed the name and style of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville brand. Here is how that happened, and how a one-ship line became a three-ship fleet.

Grand Classica passing through the Palm Beach inlet, January 24, 2020. Photo: BlueCrabRedCrab, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Before Margaritaville: Bahamas Paradise

The line's roots are in the short, cheap Bahamas market out of the Port of Palm Beach. Travel Market Report traces the business through Celebration Cruise Line and then Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, noting that these were not technically the same company.

The ship that anchored the operation was Grand Celebration. Seatrade Cruise News reports that she was built in 1987 as Celebration for Carnival Cruise Line, moved to Spain's Iberocruceros in 2008 and later sailed for Costa. Cruise Industry News says she made her Bahamas Paradise debut in early 2015. The line also used her for relief work. Seatrade lists housing for people affected by Hurricane Irma, a FEMA charter after Hurricane Maria and relief missions after Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Grand Celebration now has a page on Cruise Frog.

In December 2016, a new company, Paradise Cruise Line Operator, took over the operation. Seatrade reported that the owners included Kevin Sheehan, the former chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and Oneil Khosa, a shipping finance adviser who was managing partner. Grand Celebration was leased, not owned.

A second ship came in April 2018. Bahamas Paradise bought the former Costa neoClassica and renamed her Grand Classica. Cruise Industry News said the addition nearly doubled the company's capacity and allowed daily departures to Grand Bahama Island. Maritime Executive adds that she was built by Fincantieri and introduced by Costa in December 1991 as Classica. That ship is the one now sailing as Margaritaville at Sea Paradise.

The pandemic pause and a one-ship line

Cruising stopped in March 2020. In November 2020, Bahamas Paradise confirmed it had sold Grand Celebration and planned to restart on one ship, Grand Classica, with a focus on two-night Grand Bahama trips. Cruise Industry News later reported that the former Grand Celebration was beached in India for scrapping in January 2021.

Grand Classica returned on July 24, 2021, after what Cruise Industry News called a 16-month pause. The line followed the CDC's conditional sailing framework at the time and ran back-to-back two-night cruises.

December 2021: Margaritaville comes aboard

On December 8, 2021, Margaritaville announced Margaritaville at Sea. Grand Classica would become Margaritaville Paradise and start two-night cruises from Palm Beach to Grand Bahama on April 30, 2022. Buffett was quoted in the release: "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."

The deal was a license. The Miami Herald reported that Bahamas Paradise would license the Margaritaville name and that neither side would discuss financial terms. Current leadership stayed in place, with Khosa moving from Bahamas Paradise to run Margaritaville at Sea. Maritime Executive described the split this way: the cruise company would keep providing marine operations, while the Margaritaville resort company handled marketing. The Herald listed fares of $169 to $329 for the two-night trips.

The original start date did not hold. In April 2022, Khosa said that global shipping delays forced the line to push its first passenger sailing back two weeks, to May 14. Several early May sailings were canceled. The refit took place at Grand Bahama Shipyard, where, Cruise Industry News reported, every cabin was being rebuilt with new bedding and furnishings.

May 2022: Paradise debuts

The ship came back to Palm Beach on May 10, and the line held a preview sailing on May 12 and 13. Margaritaville's own account says the christening ceremony was followed by a surprise hour-long poolside concert by Buffett. Guests also saw a preview of "Tales from Margaritaville: Jimmy's Ship Show," which Buffett wrote and produced with Frank Marshall. The Port of Palm Beach described a ship 723 feet long with 658 staterooms and 11 food and beverage venues.

The first paying guests sailed May 14. The beginning was not smooth. Travel Weekly later wrote that the launch suffered from supply chain problems, plumbing issues and gaps in Margaritaville theming, such as no restaurant tied to "Cheeseburger in Paradise." Travel Market Report wrote that Paradise was launched too early, which led to uneven reviews.

2023: Buffett's death and a new owner

Jimmy Buffett died on September 1, 2023, at age 76, at his home in Sag Harbor, New York. His official announcement said he had fought Merkel cell skin cancer for four years and played his last show in early July. Margaritaville's statement called him "a true national treasure" and said his spirit would live on "like a never-ending encore."

The line's ownership changed three months later. Travel Market Report says the private equity firm Sycamore Partners acquired a controlling interest in December 2023. Sycamore also owns Azamara. Travel Weekly wrote that the deal was made quietly. CEO Christopher Ivy told the magazine the team was "building the brand and building the business from scratch."

2024: Islander and Tampa

On December 4, 2023, the line confirmed a second ship, the former Costa Atlantica, to be called Margaritaville at Sea Islander and based at Port Tampa Bay. It would run four- and five-night cruises to Key West, Cozumel and Progreso. All 1,100 staterooms were to be redesigned. By then more than 250,000 guests had sailed on Paradise, according to the same report.

Islander was built in 2000 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Finland. She had also sailed for CSSC Carnival in China before the sale, Cruise Industry News noted. The refit was done at Harland & Wolff in Belfast, and the ship left on May 19, 2024. Savannah Buffett, Jimmy Buffett's daughter, served as godmother at a christening in Tampa on June 10. The maiden voyage, a four-night trip to Cozumel, left Port Tampa Bay on June 14.

Travel Weekly said Islander nearly tripled the line's capacity and made Tampa a second homeport. The line also planned to shift many of Paradise's calls from Grand Bahama to Nassau, where guests could buy $99 day passes to the Margaritaville Beach Resort.

Where things stand

The line's third ship was announced on May 14, 2025, the company's third anniversary. In a press release, it said it had bought Costa Fortuna, a ship of more than 102,500 gross tons that would be its largest. The company later named her Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber.

The ship is now at Harland & Wolff for a refit; our Beachcomber refit story has the shipyard details. Cruise Industry News reported that her first cruise from PortMiami is set for January 9, 2027. She is then due to move to Galveston in October 2027 on a one-year agreement with options for two more five-year terms. CIN also says Beachcomber will have a Same Boat live music venue developed with Zac Brown. If you are comparing a refit with a newbuild, read what to check before booking Beachcomber.

Back in Florida, October brought a weather problem. Bad weather kept Paradise out of Palm Beach for an extra day. The line offered prorated refunds on per-day packages and a $50 future cruise credit, according to Cruise Industry News. Holiday sailings are next: Very Merry Margaritaville runs from November 30, 2026, to January 2, 2027, on both ships.

Today, Margaritaville at Sea sells a mix of short getaways from Palm Beach, longer trips from Tampa and, soon, week-long cruises from Miami. For a quick look at what the line does well and where it falls short, see our five-things guide. Solo travelers can read our solo cruising guide.

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