The Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber will homeport in Miami with sailings set to start in 2027, offering mainly week-long cruises, said Christopher Ivy, CEO.
Bookings for the new cruises are open.
“As we listened and went through surveys and talked to the travel agent community, it was clear we wanted to go longer and further,” said Ivy. “For us, that was the Eastern and Southern Caribbean and Miami is the easiest way to get there.”
The homeporting deal will see the Beachcomber, currently operating as the Costa Fortuna, sailing from Miami’s Terminal C.
Ivy credited Port Director Hydi Webb and her team for the collaboration between the port and the cruise line.
The Beachcomber becomes the line’s third ship, with the Paradise sailing short cruises from Palm Beach and the Islander in Tampa on a variety of Caribbean itineraries.
In Miami the company has access to significant airlift, which was part of the decision criteria, Ivy added.
Margaritaville at Sea will also be putting its latest tonnage into the most competitive cruise port in the world.
“We are the largest cruise line of scale in the hotel and resort business, and we can draft on that,” said Ivy.
“We are very much a national and international brand with an incredibly strong awareness. Most people know Margaritaville, but do they know Margaritaville at Sea? When we started this three years ago, we were focusing on a drive-in market and a two-night cruise product.”
Ports of call for the Beachcomber will include Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Thomas, USVI; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Bimini, Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; Kralendijk, Bonaire; and Willemstad, Curaçao.
At just over 100,000 tons Ivy said the Beachcomber was the perfect size, not too big, and not too small. News is set to follow, he continued, about more than 15 new venues for the ship.
