Tag Archives: Margaritaville

Margaritaville To Operate Cruise Brand; Does Deal with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line

Posted on by
Reply

Margaritaville Resorts & Hotels will operate a cruise brand in 2022, and announced a partnership with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.

The Margaritaville Paradise, the former Grand Classica, will launch service on April 30 after what is expected to be an extensive refit at Grand Bahama.

The Florida-based hotel group has long been rumoured to be looking at entering the cruise industry and now gets in with an existing marine and hotel operations base that can be mixed with its hotel and resorts brand and client database.

The vessel will sail under the Margaritaville at Sea brand, and the hotel group anticipates adding more ships, referring to the Margaritaville Paradise as its first vessel.

The company said the Margaritaville Paradise will continue operating two-night sailings from the Port of Palm Beach to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.

“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,” said singer, songwriter and best-selling author, Jimmy Buffett, in a prepared release. 

“Margaritaville at Sea will be a new, exciting, and fun way for guests to escape and vacation in Margaritaville,” said John Cohlan, CEO of Margaritaville. “From oceans to lakes, Margaritaville has an organic tie to the water and with Margaritaville at Sea, we’re able to put our iconic lifestyle, resort experiences, and elevated service directly on the sea. We look forward to seeing guests on, and in, Paradise.”

“We’re excited about this new partnership as we launch Margaritaville at Sea out of the Port of Palm Beach. 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. We’re excited about this next phase of our evolution, rebranding as Margaritaville at Sea. The collaborative concept will add a different dimension to the cruising industry, appealing to a new audience of travellers,” added Oneil Khosa, CEO of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, who will serve as CEO of Margaritaville at Sea.

“Margaritaville at Sea will provide guests with Margaritaville’s authentic culture, entertainment, and food en route to a beautiful destination in Grand Bahama Island. The experience will be complemented by an unmatched, personalized approach to guest service from start to finish via valet service and exclusive cruise terminals for smoother embarkation and disembarkation. It’s the perfect partnership in paradise,” Khosa said.

While multiple sources in the industry told Cruise Industry News earlier this week that Margaritaville bought the cruise line, Bahamas Paradise denied this and in a statement said the ownership was “100% still the same.”

Norwegian and Margaritaville Expand Partnership

Posted on by
Reply

Photo credit By Dave Jones

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) passengers will have more opportunities to declare, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” in true Parrothead fashion as the cruise line is expanding its exclusive partnership with Margaritaville — a multifaceted brand masterminded by music legend Jimmy Buffett.

Margaritaville at Sea is opening onboard Norwegian Getaway Sept. 18, then on Norwegian Breakaway Oct. 9, as revealed by Andrew Stuart, NCL’s President & Chief Operating Officer, during a press event at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood Beach, FL.

In addition to these ship-based venues, Stuart also announced that two Landshark Bar & Grills — another Margaritaville brand — will be opening on NCL’s private Caribbean islands. Harvest Cay’s location is opening Nov. 16 and Great Stirrup Cay’s during summer in 2017.

These expansions are part of NCL’s $400 million “Norwegian Edge” program, which has transformed the company’s ships, its private destinations and culinary offerings.

“When we first launched Margaritaville at Sea, on Norwegian Escape, it absolutely blew us away. The demand for that venue, was beyond anything we’d ever seen. So we knew we had a partnership that made sense,” Stuart said. “So we’re super-excited to be talking about how we’re expanding the partnership.”

Norwegian Breakaway sails year-round from New York to Caribbean destinations and Getaway sails from Miami to the Caribbean as well.

The Escape a step forward for Norwegian Cruise Line

Posted on by
Reply

Part of the Guy Harvey hull painting on the Norwegian Escape. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

PAPENBURG, Germany — The Norwegian Escape will be a bigger, and improved, version of the two ships that preceded it in the Norwegian fleet.

On a tour here, Norwegian executives showed off the line’s 14th ship, which is about six weeks away from its debut in Miami in early November.

Although it is based on the same platform as Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway, the Escape will be notably different in its details and carry more passengers.

Escape, designated Breakaway Plus in early discussions, will have one more deck of cabins, giving it a capacity of 4,270 at double occupancy, up from 3,969 for its predecessors.

The extra deck also allowed for a two-story design in the deluxe Haven area, which now has an elegant glass-enclosed curving staircase connecting the two levels. The Haven also has an indoor-outdoor restaurant, a feature from Norwegian Epic that was skipped on Breakaway and Getaway but is being resurrected.

The pool area of Norwegian Escape. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

On almost every deck, Escape has something that distinguishes it as new. On the top deck, the ropes course has been expanded to three levels and has 99 elements, including five zip tracks. The Plank, a balance beam that extends out over the side of the ship, is now on either side of the ship, doubling the opportunity for passengers to try it.

The Aqua Racer water slide has been given a bigger diameter and can accommodate 1,000 riders an hour, up from less than 500 previously.

Breakaway/Getaway’s ice bar has been deep-sixed in favor of The Cellars, Norwegian’s first wine bar. Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville replaces the more generic Flamingo bar near the Spice H2O entertainment area, and his 5 O’Clock Somewhere bar will use the space occupied by the Fat Cats jazz and blues club on preceding ships.

At the new Food Republic, guests will order dinner on iPads. “These ships come out with ever-more innovative features with every ship we build,” said Norwegian President Andy Stuart.

Stuart said that the outdoor dining area in The Haven and the ropes course are among his favorite additions on Escape. “The ropes course is going to blow people away,” he said.