Recently, Port Palm Beach District Commission signed a 10-year agreement for addition of a 2nd cruise ship into service between West Palm Beach and Freeport.
The 2nd ship, sailing currently as the 1,308-passenger Costa neoClassica, will join the 1,496-passenger Grand Celebration by spring of 2018. Each vessel wlll sail every other day on the 2-night voyage to Freeport and back, which means daily departures from next year.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line intends to bring Costa neoClassica from Greece in March 2018. The ship is scheduled to enter service in May.
These cruises proved popular with Bahamians who come to Palm Beach to shop. The line estimates that these passengers spend around US$4.5 million per year.
The port projects to receive between $54.3-$62.9 million in net income from the two boats over 10 years, depending on the number of passengers handled. The ships' annual capacity is forecast at close to 1.3M passengers per year.