MARGARITAVILLE AT SEA PARADISE - DOESN'T SUCK!

I just got off my 2 night / 3 day cruise on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise and I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised. There were a lot of things I liked and a couple I didn't ... Before we get into it, you need to understand a few things...

1. Who/What is Margaritaville at Sea? Originally, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, which was founded in late 2014, the company began operating cruises in February 2015 with the Grand Celebration. In 2018, the company added the Grand Classica. In May 2022, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville brand partnered to rebrand the company as Margaritaville at Sea. The Grand Classica was refurbished and renamed the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. (I'm not sure what got refurbished in 2022 but) In 2024, Margaritaville at Sea acquired the former Costa Atlantica and refurbished it to become the Margaritaville at Sea Islander The ISLANDER sails out of Tampa and has won SEVERAL AWARDS this year. Fans love it and I've already booked about 10 cabins on it! But ...

I WAS ON PARADISE. Which sails from Port of Palm Beach. 

2. Set Realistic Expectations! 

• This ship was built in 1991.  For the math-challenged - that was 33 years ago. The furnishings, cabin structure (wall paneling) and bathrooms are from 1991.  For reference: the top TV shows then were Cheers, Rosanne and A Different World.  
• The cruise is STUPID CHEAP.  This ship is sailing for as low as $49 per person for a 2 night cruise. (plus taxes/port fees).  That is equal to $49 a night for a couple - and covers 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches (all you can eat). 

I double-dog dare you to find that kind of value anywhere else in the hospitality world. 

Of course, as you might imagine - that price point, and the age of the ship do mean you're settling in some areas, so here we go ... ratings are 1 to 5 stars.

EMBARKATION:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The boarding process was a step back in time.  As soon as I stepped out of my Uber I heard "last call for luggage" so I immediately handed my bag to a guy (luggage tags were emailed to me and fit nicely in Royal Caribbean sized luggage tag holders).  I walked into the terminal and found a long line in front of me.  However, there were about 20 check-in agents and the line moved surprisingly fast.  One curiosity: when I got toward the front, I noticed a lady gathering passports, making copies of them, and then returning them with the copies.  She explained these were for the agent. I suppose they kept them on file rather than any kind of an electronic version.  I was told this was changing soon.  They will also be adding facial recognition to increase the speed of embarkation and debarkation. 

Upsells, upsells, upsells: Folks weren't obnoxious, but you have the photo package, the drink package, the shore excursions, etc.  I'd rather that be a little less in your face. 

There were areas with a LOT of chairs that weren't being used.  I expect with a full ship, they stage folks and call groups at a time. For this cruise it wasn't necessary.  I was walking on the ship 25 minutes after I got out of my Uber.  I went straight to my Muster station (took 3 minutes) and then went directly to my cabin.  My bag arrived about 15 minutes later.  It's a small ship that was 1/2 full at best - but that's the easiest process for me - EVER - despite the lack of technology.

* Parking at Palm Beach is currently Valet Only - supposedly that's changing to self-park soon. (what a bottleneck for the locals/drivers)

THE CABIN: 🌟🌟🌟½

I had an oceanview cabin.  The bed was nice and comfy - firm (but that's my preference).  The covers were as nice as any Hilton hotel.  There was one chair (not sure why the above photo has two) and one "do your makeup" spot.  There was an actual mini-fridge (a lot of cruise lines only have a "cooler"). The decor was "Beach House" - Jimmy Buffet would approve. The carpet was in good shape.  The closet / storage space was more than adequate.  

The light switches were OLD SCHOOL and weirdly located - most of them were waist-high and were push-button switches.  There was a master switch for the whole cabin that stayed on (didn't require a card in a slot like modern ships) and there were light switches behind your head when lying in bed - convenient if you don't want to get up and out to turn on/off the lights. 

Outlets were a head scratcher.  There were a couple that were 220V and a couple that were 110V (clearly marked).  They were universal plugs (work for Euro or US) and had USB ports on several of them.  There were more outlets in this cabin than my recent stay on AmaSerena Rivers. 

A nice flat screen hung in the corner and had as plenty of TV to watch - no premium or on demand movies though. The AC worked GREAT! No weird smells.  A pleasant experience for sure ...

But let's discuss the bathroom.  Dated furnishings - blue counters (kinda reminded me of Carnival Ecstasy) BUT the most room on "the throne" of any ship I've sailed.  (This can be a frustration for big guys).  And then there was the shower.  the LEAST room in the shower of any ship I've sailed. With a fabric shower curtain that gives you a cold, clammy feeling when you bump into it.  But the water pressure and temp was great.  I'm 325 6'2" ... if you're under that (which most of you are) you'll be fine.  

After settling in I went to ... 

LUNCH AT THE PORT OF INDECISION BUFFET: 🌟🌟½

I'm not super critical of cruise food.  A lot of folks are and I really don't know why. It's all you can eat.  If it doesn't make you sick and if you can't find SOMETHING tasty out of all of the options, you're just a curmudgeon in my opinion.  HOWEVER, this food needed some help.  This is clearly where they are cutting costs.  And, basically, it comes down to the meat and dessert options.  Veggies were fine. Salad bar was fine. The meat/entree choices were limited and not that tasty.  I did learn the custom Panini stand was the best choice.  The desserts were bad.  Like $8 Chinese Buffet bad.  Soft-serve is your best bet. And then, I went around the corner and discovered 

CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Not quite as good as Guy's Burger's on Carnival - but not bad.  The burgers were definately NOT frozen flat patties.  They were well cooked and hearty.  Add the fuddrucker's style dressing bar and you've got a good meal with AWESOME fries - and I'm not a really big fry guy.  

Also on board, Frank & Lola's Pizzeria (not included - didn't try) | JWB Prime Steakhouse (specialty - didn't try)

I'm moving from Chronological to Topical now ... so, 

FINS DINING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

No complaints here.  The food was good. The selection was about what I've come to expect on a cruise.  The portions were smallish but also to be expected as folks tend to double up.  The service was fantastic. Temp was perfect. It's a nicely appointed dining room. You won't be disappointed.  

SHIP ACTIVITIES:🌟🌟🌟🌟 

 

So what is there to do on board?  You've got Bingo, Trivia, Karaoke, Plenty of live music (which was phenomenal by the way), lots to drink if that's your thing. The pools are small.  The main pool has a max stated occupancy of 18 folks.  Yet there are hundreds of deck chairs.  The second pool (aft) is about the same size.  There are two hot tubs with max occupancy of 4 folks.  There's a decent game room, a good sized casino, a ping pong table, air hockey, pool table, and I saw one corn hole spot - may be more.  There's a kids club available (felt a lot like a kid's class rather than a full fledged "club" - but the kids seemed well taken care of and were having fun).  There's also a library and board game area. There's a spa and fitness center but I didn't go in either.  I'm sure they're great.  There are a few shops on board though shopping hours are limited based on the itinerary. Oh and here's a surpise - a PICKLEBALL COURT ... like a nice one.  I've never played but I know folks are crazy about it.  There's nothing spectacular here but I'd say enough to match or exceed expectations. 

MAIN ENTERTAiNMENT: 🌟🌟🌟½

First off, I love the STARS ON THE WATER theater. It's a 3/4 round with "stadium" seating that has a classic feel. The sound and lights were awesome.  The shows are basic song/dance reviews.  The instrumentalists (also heard around the ship during the day) were INCREDIBLE.  The dancing was great.  I mean, what do I know about dancing? but it was energetic, synchronized and very professional.  This category loses a star and 1/2 because of one thing - the main vocalists.  Maybe it was the arrangements of the songs (out of range for the singers) but to quote Simon here, "Very Pitchy".  I'm a musician myself and I notice this stuff.  They make great use of the giant jumbotron digital scenery on the back of the stage and the cast was very engaging. 

SERVICE: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 <- That's a perfect score!

I love cruise crew on just about any cruise line. The ones that act poorly are only reacting to worse acting passengers.  But the crew on MVASP was SO great.  Here's a bit of a disclaimer though: the word got out among the crew that "Jon the travel agent is sailing with us!" so it could be they went overboard just for me.  But I watched them take good care of everyone.  At debarkation there was an autistic child who ran ahead down the gangway and a mother who FREAKED OUT! Nobody lost their composure (other than the mom).  The situation was remedied quickly and professionally and one crew gently advised another crew how to handle things better in the future.  This shows me the ship is managed well. With positivity. 

CLEANLINESS: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 <- That's another perfect score!

You can't wash away OLD.  But you can make the most of it.  And they did. 

SHIP FUNCTIONALITY: 🌟🌟🌟½

One of the public bathrooms needed some repair.  There were some "you can't get there from here" situations (go up a deck to go down a deck) but that's common on a lot of ships that have open plaza's midship. Signage was PERFECT - maybe because it was small, but everything was easy to find and became intuitive quickly.  

Okay - so those are the big categories ... let's get general.

WHY I LOVED THIS SHIP: 

The Public Spaces: I was amazed at how many unique public spaces were available on this ship.  I notice this because I think like a travel agent who works with large groups.  I counted at least 5 places that could accommodate a group of 100+ (Horizon's Night Club, Conference Center, Euphoria Lounge, The Theater, and Keys on the Water) plus other areas that could be temporarily repurposed for large groups (Fins, JWB) and small groups (Library, etc).  So, if you've got a large group, you can get on this ship for a short retreat at sea and have a lot of options to work/play.  And it will be VERY reasonable.  

A Smart Layout: The dining is up - not down.  No bottlenecking.  Guest Services is DOWN and isolated from almost everything else.  Other ships centrally locate guest services which seems convenient, but when you have frustrated and troubled guests lined up, everybody is passing through and seeing that which makes for a negative experience for everyone.  

The Vibe: People crudely refer to this as a 'booze cruise'.  I'd like to reframe it to a very affordable get away.  The folks on my sailing weren't obnoxious or noisy.  The laid back energy of Jimmy Buffet seems to permeate the experience and I appreciate that.  Folks had fun.  

The Value: In a cruise world where prices keep climbing, this is an affordable way to get away and have a nice time.  

Side-Note: The WiFi (Starlink) was ROCK SOLID and fast enough! I did a speed test - 20 down / 20 up. I had two zoom calls and down/up videos for work with no issue at all. 

Summary: If you love the feeling of the ocean in your view, the breeze in your face, and the low rumble of the engines propelling you to paradise, you'll love it.  Set your expectations correctly based on all I've written here and you'll enjoy yourself.  This is more of an analog experience - paper receipts, paper dailies, paper shore excursion options, but all that is changing soon - and is in fact starting already (TV updated my folio for me).  If you google or search on YouTube you'll see "worst cruise ever" over and over.  Don't believe it.

I fully expect to be putting large groups and charters on this ship in the future.  And I've heard the wins of Islander are heading south to Palm Beach soon! Stay Tuned!  If I can help you get on board this, the Islander or any cruise anywhere - call or text me at 470-9TRAVEL or email jgraham@expediacruises.com or facebook (@thejongraham)

OVERALL SCORE: 🌟🌟🌟½