As the late Jimmy Buffett sang, “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere.” At 5 p.m. Monday, more than 100 employees of the Margaritaville at Sea cruise line raised a glass to celebrate day one in their new global headquarters office overlooking downtown Orlando and Lake Ivanhoe.
The fast-growing company christened the new 22,000-square-foot office on the 11th floor of the Gateway Center in Orlando’s North Quarter, consolidating space for 128 shoreside employees who were split between offices on the building’s 12th floor and 2 miles away at CNL Center II.
CEO Christopher Ivy said space was cramped. Some employees were working six to an office designed for one. “We’ve definitely been violating fire code at CNL II,” he joked.
They leased 11th floor when it became available, and moved in after a 10-week renovation. “It had very good bones, and I like the location a lot, but the original layout left a little bit to be desired,” Ivy said.
Margaritaville at Sea’s prepares to cut the ribbon on the new 22,000-square-foot global headquarters office in downtown Orlando’s Gateway Center. (Staff photo)
The office has 360-degree views of downtown Orando, including this view of Lake Ivanhoe as seen from the break room. (Staff photo)
Each conference room, huddle space and common area shares the same theming as Margaritaville at Sea’s cruise ships, including this room designed for the Zach Brown Band. (Staff photo)
The break room does not come equipped with a frozen margarita machine, but employees shared a cocktail to commemorate the opening of the new office. (Staff photo)
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Margaritaville at Sea’s prepares to cut the ribbon on the new 22,000-square-foot global headquarters office in downtown Orlando’s Gateway Center. (Staff photo)
It was dark and chopped up into 70 small offices. Working with landlord FCA Partners and Foundry Commercial, the design team opened up the space to create 25 larger offices plus themed conference rooms and huddle spaces. The carpets and wallpapers match what’s used on the ships. Even the lobby will feature one of the company’s signature flip-flop sculptures.
“The whole aim of this is not just to build a great office because we want a great office, but I think it’s incredibly important that what our ships look like, our office looks like, and that’s why everything is obviously themed the way it is,” Ivy said.
Margaritaville at Sea is one of Orlando’s fastest-growing companies. The cruise line launched its first ship in 2022 and added a second two years later. The third ship, which will sail from Miami to Galveston, will open in January, bringing the total number of crew members to 5,000.
“I relocated the headquarters from Riviera Beach to here, Ivy said. “And I think we can get access to great talent in Orlando.”
Plus, it puts the cruise division in close proximity to the headquarters for Margaritaville Hotels and Resorts, which has an office in Dr. Phillips.
“I think our brand is unique; we’ve been able to, I think, develop a pretty nice niche and really bring Margaritaville’s 55-ish hotels and resorts,” Ivy said. “So we’ve got this nice ability to draft off of the hotel business. The brand is headquartered in Orlando, as well, down off of Turkey Lake. So it’s been good. I think bringing this brand to cruising has been the most fun thing I’ve done in my career, by far.”
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