On April 13, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line officially welcomed a 2nd cruise ship to operation at Port of Palm Beach, Riviera Beach.
The addition of Grand Classica made Bahamas Paradise the only cruise company to offer daily departures to Grand Bahama Island from Palm Beach County. Along with Grand Celebration, the budget cruise line expects to carry around 500,000 passengers to Freeport annually.
Established in 2014, the company has been majority-owned by the family of Kevin Sheehan (former president & CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line) since December 2016. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line fills an unusual niche: it is one of the few to offer 2-night getaways, but it also provides an option for guests to disembark and stay at resort hotel, and then return to Palm Beach County a few days later aboard one of line’s ships.
Between 10%-15% of the passengers of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line are international tourists. A large number of them are expected to travel to the cruise port from outside Palm Beach County.
With the 2nd ship, the cruise line is due to provide 185 jobs at Palm Beach cruise terminal. Nearly 600 crew members work onboard the new ship.