West Palm Beach (Florida)

West Palm Beach is a port city in Florida USA, as well as South Florida's 3rd largest metro county - following Miami-Dade and Broward. The city covers a total area of approx 151 km2 (58 mi2) and has population around 110,000 (metro around 5,83 million).

West Palm Beach is the oldest municipality in Miami metropolitan area. It was incorporated as a city in November 1894 - 2 years before Miami. Despite the fact that West Palm Beach is situated approx 109 km (68 mi) north of Downtown Miami, it's still considered the principal city within Miami metropolitan area, because of the solid urbanization between the two cities. The estimated population of Miami Metropolitan area, including all of Palm Beach County, was 6,012,330 inhabitants at 2015 census.

The Atlantic Treasure Coast of Florida is home to West Palm Beach. A bit further east of West Palm is Palm Beach island, home to Florida's famous mansions and renowned upscale shopping boulevard of Worth Avenue. Henry Flagler, railroad tycoon, established this region as a vacation haven for the most famous and rich. Among the many part-time residents, President Donald Trump owns the renowned Mar-a-Lago mansion, created by the Post family years ago.

Other attractions in the area include Lion Country Safari, where visitors dive through cageless zoo containing more than 1,000 animals including elephants, lions, gorillas, gazelle, giraffes, birds. More nature awaits at Loxachatchee National Wildlife Refuge, best for a leisurely hike on nature trails or renting a canoe for fishing. Easily accessible from Palm Beach are Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

The Port of Palm Beach is situated on the northern edge of city limits. It is Florida's 4th busiest container port and continental United States' 18th busiest port. In addition to its intermodal capacity, the Port is an important modal point for shipment of variety of goods, as well as being home to a number of small passenger cruise lines.

As a waterfront city, West Palm Beach has a specific need for water transportation between surrounding areas and points in the city. Waterway transportation is offered to and from downtown Clematis Street District, Peanut Island, Sailfish Marina Resort, waterfront attractions and special events.

In April 2018, Grand Classica (now Margaritaville Paradise) joined the fleet of the Florida-based company Margaritaville at Sea/Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line. The company has 2 vessels - Grand Celebration and Grand Classica.

In the end of August 2017, Port Palm Beach District Commission signed a 10-year agreement for the Costa cruise ship (neoClassica) to serve the Florida-Bahamas route West Palm Beach-Freeport (Grand Bahama Island). The ship's regularly scheduled itinerary program was based on 3-day / 2-night Bahamas cruises to Freeport and back to Palm Beach FL. These Florida-Bahamas short-breaks are very popular among both American and Bahamian citizens as they provide a cheap travel shopping alternative. Bahamas Paradise estimated that these tourists spend ~USD 4.5 million annually.

From both ships (Celebration and Classica), Port Palm Beach projected between USD 54-63 million in net income over a 10-year period (2018-2028), depending on the number of handled passengers. Both cruise vessels' combined passenger capacity is nearly 1,3 million per year.

In October 2019, Bahamas Paradise introduced its "Nassau Cruise and Stay" program. Besides Grand Bahama Island, now cruisers can extend Bahamian resort vacations with premium all-inclusive leisure properties like Melia Nassau Beach Resort, SLS Baha Mar Hotel, Comfort Suites Paradise Island. The company offers a travel option from Florida to Nassau the 2-night cruise (Grand Classica) combined with "Nassau Cruise and Stay" (max 6-night hotel package extension).

West Palm Beach cruise terminal