Margaritaville at Sea cruise line gets $250,000 in financial concessions from Port of Palm Beach
RIVIERA BEACH — Margaritaville at Sea, whose passenger counts were hampered by COVID-19 restrictions and missed sailings while its ship was upgraded, will receive financial concessions from the Port of Palm Beach totaling nearly $250,000.
The cruise line called on the port to reconsider a penalty for failing to attract enough passengers on its cruises. The contract it signed with the port required a minimum of 156,000 passengers during the 12-month period ending July 31. The count was 107,472, well short of the guaranteed figure. The port receives revenue based on each passenger who boards the ship.
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During much of that time, the ship had not yet been rebranded as Margaritaville at Sea, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not lifted COVID restrictions on cruise ships.
The 50,000-passenger shortfall could have cost Classica Cruise, the operator of Margaritaville at Sea, $777,000 but port commissioners agreed to reduce the penalty by $249,846, or 32%.
While passenger counts have steadily increased since Margaritaville at Sea’s maiden voyage on May 14, they were not enough to make up for shortfalls experienced earlier in 2021 when COVID restrictions were still in place.
Manuel Almira, the port’s executive director, said Kevin Sheehan, CEO and president of Classica Cruise, sought concessions since the company missed sailings while its ship was being overhauled.
“I spent nearly $40 million converting the ship into the vessel that it is now,” Sheehan said. “We could not sail during that time, and with COVID restrictions not being lifted during much of the first year, we felt [we] were entitled to some consideration.”
Almira agreed. He recommended to the commissioners that they approve the concessions, which they did during a recent meeting.
“It seemed to be shortsighted,” said Sheehan of the staff's initial decision to bill him for the full amount of the contract. “We figured a way to make it more palatable. We have had a great partnership with the port and want it to continue that way.”
Almira said the rebranding of Bahamas Cruise to Margaritaville at Sea has helped to “widen the scope” of the operation. “This was a decision to help them with their bottom line in light of the problems that they experienced early on. We don’t expect to make further concessions.
“This is all about developing a strategic partnership with Margaritaville. It is having a positive impact on port operations.”
Even with low passenger counts in the beginning of the 2022 fiscal year, the cruise line generated revenues of $2.9 million for the 11-month period ending Aug. 31, 2022, and $480,000 for the month of August alone.
“This September was the best we had since we got involved with the company in 2016,” Sheehan said.
The iconic symbols of the Margaritaville brand were added to the vessel, such as the 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar, the 12 Volt bar, the LandShark Sports Bar, JWB Prime Steak & Seafood and the Par-a-Dice Casino.
The company offers two-night trips from the port to the Bahamas city of Freeport with a two-day land-stay option to extend the trip.
A "Heroes Sail Free" program allows free cruises to current and former U.S. military members, fire, police, and EMS personnel, educators and nurses. They can sail free on any voyage once a year if they are with a paying guest.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers county government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Port of Palm Beach cuts Margaritaville at Sea passenger penalty by $250,000
