Margaritaville at Sea is settling in at PortMiami the way its guests settle into a swim-up bar: deliberately, and with no intention of leaving. A preferential berthing agreement headed to Miami-Dade County commissioners would guarantee roughly 1 million passenger movements and at least $23.15 million in revenue over five years, giving the line priority on certain dates at Cruise Terminal C — about 170 calls from January 9, 2027 through April 30, 2031, with two optional five-year renewals if everyone’s still feeling the island vibes in the 2030s.

The fine print is standard port stuff: a per-passenger fee that climbs 3% a year, plus limited incentives around parking, marketing, and off-peak calls. Worth noting — this is an agreement up for approval, not a done deal, so consider it 5 o’clock somewhere pending a commission vote.

The ship doing the heavy lifting is the Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber, a 102,500-gross-ton, 3,450-passenger vessel heading into a 12-week dry dock conversion starting in late September. When she emerges — presumably repainted in forty shades of key lime — she’ll launch 7- to 10-night Eastern and Southern Caribbean itineraries from Miami in early 2027.

That’s the real story here: Margaritaville graduating from the short-hop Bahamas booze cruise lane into week-plus Caribbean itineraries, berthed at the busiest cruise port on Earth. For Podcastaways listeners, it’s one more contender in the Miami lineup — and yes, we’re aware a certain co-host will need a full segment to evaluate the onboard cheeseburger situation. We’ll allow it. For journalism.