The Port of Palm Beach is in talks with a number of cruise companies as it looks to grow its cruise business and make its terminal accessible to more vessels, said Michael Meekins, the port’s executive director.

“We completed a master plan back in 2023 regarding increasing our cruise business, and that entails going ahead and making the terminal more acceptable to more vessels,” Meekins explained.

While the port has a vision for the project, it is relying on experts and engineers to determine the best design.

“The one thing you don’t want to do is take a good thing that you’ve worked very hard on making good and make a mistake. We’ll work on it together (with experts) to make the best possible product,” he added.

Meekins told Cruise Industry News in an interview that key port enhancements for this year include improvements to the terminal, an upgraded parking area, canopies, additional baggage drop-off areas and facial recognition technology.

Operating a single berth also means little congestion, improving the customer experience.

“We are also concentrating on making the berth a little bit longer, adding some moorings and doing upgrades in the terminal that will allow for more passengers.  All those upgrades are so that we can look towards the future of cruising and make sure that we’re a part of it,” he explained.

According to Meekins, Margaritaville at Sea, the port’s biggest client, has changed its sailing program, which has impacted passenger numbers. The port now handles more than a quarter of a million passengers a year.

Margaritaville at Sea added four- and five-night cruises to the Caribbean in 2026 for the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. The ship has been based at Palm Beach since April 2022, sailing year-round.

Meekins noted that the port welcomed its first passenger ship in 1926 and said it is fitting that, 100 years later, Palm Beach continues to look toward the future of cruising and the opportunities it can create in the industry.

The first passenger ship, the Mary Weems, docked at the port on January 3, 1926. The ship made 13 trips to New York between 1926 and 1927.

Meekins said the port measures the success of its cruise calls by customer service.

“You’re seeing passengers not have to wait in lines, not be in a congested area, getting in and out just as quickly as they can. The first thing you remember is your experience getting onto the ship and your last experience is leaving the ship.  So, if any of those are bad, it does not help our clients,” he explained.

“We work very hard here at the port to make sure that everything we do is with the passengers in mind, so they have a great experience,” Meekins added.

“We kind of pride ourselves on the fact that their vacation starts from the moment they pull into the port, because none of it should be a hassle all the way through. We’re always looking to improve upon what we do and get better at it every day.”