This ship does not yet exist under this name
The Beachcomber sails today as the Costa Fortuna. Bought in May 2025, she is
due into dry dock for twelve weeks from the end of September 2026; the yard has
not been announced. The maiden voyage under the present name is announced for 9
January 2027, out of PortMiami.
The direct consequence for this page: every figure that follows is from the
pre-refit configuration. Cabin count, category split, adapted cabins, flag, home
port — all of it can change. We give them because they are the only ones that
exist, not because they are guaranteed.
What the hull is today
Built in 2003 by Fincantieri, 272 metres, thirteen decks of which eight carry
cabins, 12 lifts. Two decks are not served by the lifts in the current
configuration. One thousand three hundred and fifty-four cabins, of which 464
have a balcony, 58 are suites, 315 are ocean-view and 507 inside. Two thousand
six hundred and ninety-eight travellers at double occupancy, up to 3470 at
maximum capacity: a gap approaching eight hundred people, the largest in the
fleet.
She is also the best supplied with adapted cabins: twenty-seven according to
third-party databases, with doorways of at least eighty-six centimetres,
roll-in showers with a fold-down bench and lowered basins. These figures
describe the pre-refit ship and will need rechecking afterwards.
A calendar shared between two brands
Our inventory carries forty-one dates on this page, and you need to know what
they are. Three in 2026 are eastern Mediterranean cruises operated under Costa
colours, in late August and early September, before the transfer. Thirty-eight
in 2027 leave Miami for the Caribbean under the present name.
Those same forty-one dates also appear on the Costa Fortuna page: one hull, two pages,
one calendar. We write it here so that no reader books a Mediterranean cruise
believing they are boarding a ship that will only carry this name from January
2027.
The two ships already in service
The Paradise sails out of Florida with almost no balconies. The Islander is the fleet's
large balcony hull. The la flotte au complet page brings the three together.
Who actually operates this ship
Not Jimmy Buffett, and not the hotel chain either. The carrier named in the
contract is Classica Cruise Operator Ltd. It operates under licence from
Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC: the name is rented, not owned. That is a legal
distinction, and it matters the day you need to know who to address a claim
to.
The company began at the end of 2016 as Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, on the
assets of an earlier line. The Margaritaville agreement was announced on 8
December 2021 and the change of name came in May 2022. The operating head
office is in Orlando, Florida; the country of incorporation appears nowhere,
not even in the passage contract.
What is included, and the two charges added every day
Included: the cabin with twice-daily service, meals at the included
restaurants, filtered water, coffee, tea, milk, juice and lemonade, production
shows, outdoor games, indoor activities, the kids' club from three to seventeen
and the fitness centre.
Not included: alcohol, soft drinks, specialty coffees, specialty
restaurants, excursions, the casino, photos, phone calls and Wi-Fi, sold as a
package. And above all two mandatory daily charges: the service charge, posted
automatically to the onboard account, which the line states cannot be adjusted
or removed; and a fuel supplement, on the Paradise only. They are added to the
advertised fare, per person and per night.
Accessibility: read this before booking
The line provides a courtesy wheelchair for boarding and disembarking only,
not for use aboard. A personal device is admitted if it is under sixty-six
centimetres wide and stows in the cabin. A powered device over eleven kilos
will not be lifted by the crew. A companion is required as soon as a traveller
cannot meet their own basic needs.
Three calls are made by tender: Belize, Grand Cayman and Roatan. A device
over forty-five kilos cannot be transferred, and anyone unable to board the
tender loses the call with no refund and no credit. The line also states that
its ships do not offer full medical services, and it accepts only trained
service dogs: no emotional support animals, no pets.
Booking from Quebec: the frame
The passage contract falls under the general maritime law of the United
States and names the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Orange
County. A mandatory arbitration clause applies to non-bodily claims above a
threshold, and the contract waives class actions. Bodily injury claims escape
arbitration and go to court.
The deadlines are very short. For an injury: written notice within six
months, suit within one year. For everything else: notice within thirty days,
suit within six months. A traveller who waits until they are home and back on
their feet can be time-barred before ever seeing a lawyer. Nothing establishes
a Quebec licence for this line: your protection comes from Voyages AquaTerra,
which holds a licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur,
with a trust account and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel
Agents.
