Donald BucoloMargaritaville is known for its high-end resorts, funky restaurants, and island vibes. So, it seemed like a natural fit that the brand would launch a cruise line, the new Margaritaville at Sea. How well does the brand’s laid-back lifestyle translate to cruising? Well, we have just returned from the inaugural sailing and have our honest Margaritaville at Sea Paradise scorecard review for this new cruise line’s first ship.
Watch our deck-by-deck ship tour of Margaritaville at Sea Paradise
Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Cruise Scorecard Review
Outdoor Decks
There are 10 public decks on the 52K gross ton Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, which is the former Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s Grand Classica.
While this 31-year old ship did undergo a multi-million dollar update, the pool deck and outdoor spaces did not see much renovation.
On Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, there are two pools, including the adults only 12-Volt Bar and Pool aft on Deck 11. The main pool, located in the center of this deck, is a rather small sunken pool. These pool areas feature chairs, loungers, and daybeds that are a mix of old and new.
The deck 12 sundeck also features loungers all the way forward as well as overlooking the midship pool. Oddly, this deck has Astro Turf flooring, which was a bit of a turn off for us. Not to mention, the deck plans label this area as the jogging track.
There is no sports deck or similar amenities on the outdoor decks of Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. Although, you will still find a spa and fitness center on the ship. The fitness center has newer cardio equipment, free weights, and some weight machines.
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Complimentary Restaurants
As part of our Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise scorecard review, we dined at several of the ship’s restaurants to get a complete overview of the food on this new cruise line. The Port of Indecision on Deck 10 aft is your traditional cruise ship buffet.
It was open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The buffet served up typical selections and was on par with other contemporary cruise lines.
For breakfast, you could enjoy eggs, bacon and sausage, pancakes, waffles, continental items, and even a custom omelet bar. For lunch and dinner, there was a salad bar, a pasta bar, and a decent selection of warm entrees that varied each day.
There are two sit-down options for dinner on Deck 8. The complimentary restaurant is the large main dining room, Fins. This venue looks like a pretty typical main dining room on a cruise ship. We suspect this restaurant was not updated much during the refurb.
During our cruise, Fins served a sit-down dinner (unlike the buffet we had during the prior media sailing). Some menu items include short rib, ginger glazed salmon, jerk chicken, pasta dishes, and a vegetarian option.
The Fins dining room offered your traditional early and late dining times of 6 pm and 8:30 pm.
Since this was the inaugural cruise, service was predictably slow. Further, the food quality was average at best.
Specialty Dining Venues
The second dining venue on Deck 8 is the up-charge specialty restaurant, JWB Steakhouse. As part of this Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise review, we dined here on the second night of our cruise.
This restaurant, actually a small curtained off section of the main dining room, serves up prime cuts and seafood selections. The up-charge to dine at JWB Steakhouse is $58 per person, and reservations are required. Currently, reservations can be made in the terminal prior to boarding the ship.
For appetizers, we enjoyed the fried oysters and deviled eggs. The wife’s chicken entrée was your typical steakhouse selection, while my filet was tender and cooked medium-rare as ordered. The banana cream pie and key lime pie desserts were both quite tasty as well.
While service here was also slow, the food was served warm and the waitstaff were personable.
Additionally, you will find the casual, yet up-charge, Frank and Lola’s Pizzeria on deck 9. This venue offers sit-down dining, or you can get one of the custom pizzas to go. The menu features 14″ pizzas at a la carte pricing. Pricing ranged from $12.99 to $16.99. The cruise line indicated it does have plans to expand the offerings to include salads, sandwiches, and more at this venue.
Right next door to the pizzeria, there is the Margaritaville Coffee Shop. This venue serves up espresso-based drinks, along with sweet treats. Items like croissants, cinnamon buns, doughnuts, and ice cream are all an up-charge. Of course, the coffee drinks will cost you extra too.
Finally, there is the 5 O’clock Somewhere Bar and Grill located aft on deck 10. Again, food from the Grill is an up-charge. Menu items included burgers, tacos, chicken wings, and more at a la carte prices. Given the short duration of our cruise, we did not have time to dine here.
In our opinion, it’s rather unfortunate that all the signature Margaritaville dining options are up-charges. They also come at a higher price than you might expect for a cruise line.
Related Post: Day-By-Day Margaritaville Inaugural Cruise Review
Nightlife and Entertainment
For a short cruise, there were a variety of onboard activities. Jeffy, the cruise director, and his Fins Up Crew, were high energy and visible throughout the vessel. They made the entertainment that much more enjoyable.
The main theater on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, Stars on the Water, is located on decks 8 and 9. This venue is home to the signature production show Tales from Margaritaville: “Jimmy’s Ship Show”.
The aptly named 45-minute production occurred each evening at 7:45 pm. Even though we are not huge fans of the musician, I found the show entertaining and very interactive. This was exactly what I expected to find on a ship barring the Margaritaville name.
Other entertainment included live music and game shows in several venues around the ship.
At night, there was live music at the centrally located Euphoria Lounge on deck 8. The Sunset Band played an eclectic mix from ABBA, to Bruno Mars, and Latin hits.
The Euphoria Lounge was also home to games shows, like trivia, the Love and Marriage show, and Battle of the Sexes. Even though the cruise was just two days, the Fins Up Crew fit it all in, even the popular adult scavenger hunt “The Quest”.
Of course, there was also a bar here to enjoy a drink during your favorite activities.
The Oasis Lounge on deck 9 aft is another venue with live music. The Oasis Lounge hosted karaoke, dance classes, a piano performer, and a musical duo, along with a bar.
Oddly, the ship was missing a pub, or bar featuring live acoustic music. The outdoor 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar advertised such a performance; although, it never occurred during our cruise.
Lastly, there is the Hangout on deck 14, which seemed like a rather hodge-podge venue. Near the entrance on both sides are arcade style games, like skee ball. Then, all the way forward is a small dance floor and a DJ booth, hosting the late night nightclub experience. There is a bar here as well, yet it never seemed to be open.
While the Stars on the Water theater was renovated, it is clear that these other venues did not receive much work during the rebranding.
Bars and Lounges
Like much of our Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise review, we found there were a mix of new and old when it came to the bars and lounges as well. First, there is the perfectly situated and rebranded 5 O’clock Somewhere Bar and Grill. This deck 10 aft venue is bright and lively, offering a bar with signature drinks.
We were informed that over the next couple of weeks each venue will receive its own signature drink menu; however, there was not a bar menu to be found onboard just yet.
One deck above, the License to Chill Bar is located on the portside of Deck 11. This bar lacked any theming. It was essentially the ship’s former pool bar, with a new sign.
The 12 Volt Bar on deck 12 is a new addition to the ship. This bar is conveniently located near the adults only pool area.
As for the two indoor lounges, Euphoria and Oasis, both of these venues’ color palette, furniture, and atmosphere felt more like Grand Classica than Margaritaville at Sea.
While these public spaces featured a variety of entertainment, some updates would have been nice. The same can be said about the Hangout on deck 14.
Finally, there is the Stars on the Water Bar, which is located in front of the theater. This venue is a pretty standard theater bar.
Most drinks averaged around $12 and are included in the Boat Drink Package. This package includes 10 alcoholic drinks for $99 (inclusive of gratuities).
Cabins
For this Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise review, we stayed in an Ocean View Cabin, 7129. According to the deck plans, this portside stateroom is 176 square feet. Given the age of the ship, there are very few balcony cabins. It has been a while since we stayed in an ocean view cabin. Although, there was plenty of space for a 2-day Bahamas cruise.
The main cabin itself has been updated with a bright, yet minimalistic, island décor.
The bed was new, with signature Margaritaville bedding. There were also two new chairs near the porthole, some cheery artwork that was definitely on brand, and a new flat screen television.
This room certainly felt more complete than the cabin on deck 4 that we stayed in for the prior media event.
However, the one glaring omission to the update was the bathroom! All of the features were functional, but it certainly felt dated. While I thought it was manageable for two nights, the wife struggled with the size of the shower, which was small even by cruise ship standards.
Service
For a new cruise line and a maiden voyage, we always expect a few hiccups. The staff were hardworking and accommodating; although, many of them had only been on the ship for a short time.
Perhaps it will be resolved once staff become more efficient in their duties, but the venues did feel understaffed.
Bar service did improve over our few days onboard; however, service in the dining rooms remained slow.
Dinner took over two hours both evenings, with very uneven pacing. At the Fins main dining room, our drinks and first course took close to an hour to arrive. At the JWB Steakhouse, our drinks did arrive quicker, but it still took quite some time for our food courses to arrive.
Despite the service being slow, the waitstaff were friendly.
Our shout-out goes to Novi at the Euphoria Lounge who was always quick to deliver the wife’s morning latte with a smile. Further, Jeffy and the Fins Up Crew were a highlight of the trip.
Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Cruise Scorecard Review Recap
It seems like a natural fit for Margaritaville to have its own cruise line. After all, cruising delivers good food, plenty of entertainment, and island vibes. During our 3 total days on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, we certainly got a glimpse of what this cruise line could look like in the future.
The retail plaza and the 5 O’clock Somewhere Bar and Grill were exactly what we would expect to find on a cruise ship bearing this name. Not to mention, the main theater show rivaled the offerings found on other contemporary cruise lines.
Further, the ship delivered many classic cruise experiences, including trivia, game shows, and live music.
When it comes to dining, it is unfortunate to see that all the Margaritaville-inspired venues did cost extra money. Yes, there is the specialty restaurant JWB Steakhouse, but even the pizza parlor and grill came at an up-charge. In fact, even the continental items at the coffee shop cost extra.
Really, the only complimentary venue for breakfast and lunch is the buffet. It would be nice if there was an alternative venue offering small bites and snacks throughout the day similar to cafes on other cruise lines.
We also hope that the brand continues to make updates to public spaces, including the restrooms.
We understand there is only so much you can do with a 30 year old ship, so we look forward to seeing what the cruise line has in store for the future. With such potential in the cruise market, we hope the brand continues to improve and grow its fleet with newer and more innovative ships that can truly showcase the signature Margaritaville experience at sea.
Unfortunately, we had high hopes going into this sailing, and the ship did not live up to these expectations.
Comments
Did you find our Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise scorecard review helpful? Would you consider sailing with this new cruise line? Drop us an anchor below to share your upcoming cruise plans.
22 comments
Gerald Henry
While on the cruise my room smelled like sewage that made me sick to my stomach.. The room only has one plug and a very small shower only enough to fit one person. The steak house is far from elegant please fix not waste your money. The food at the steak house was not up to standards. The asparagus is undercooked with hollanaise sauce that is horrible and the food doesn’t have seasoning. Overall I would rate this cruise a 2 star… This was the worst cruise I been on..The lady at guest services had a bad attitude when asking her questions. The staff had poor customer service.. this cruise is not fit first timers because you will not have a great experience. The best part was going on tour in Bahamas with the locals.
Simone Davenport
Worst vacation experience of my life!!! My card has been charged several times without my acknowledgment and after I was told that I wouldn’t have any additional charges. They had us waiting for hours to get our rooms on the boat and at the resort. They made us get off the boat at 9 am knowing the rooms at the resort would not be ready until 3pm. We waited passed 3 pm in the blistering sun. We didn’t get our room until 6:30 and in result my husband got the worst case of sun poisoning I have ever seen. The staff was extremely rude and barely could communicate. They charged my card for every single thing when it was advertised that it was all inclusive. The food was absolutely terrible. Me and my husband do not eat beef or pork and they had minimal alternative options for us. Even Burger King offers the impossible whopper. We were not accommodated for anything at all. The servers have the audacity to ask for an additional tip when the 18% gratuity is already included. If you don’t give a extra tip they treat you even worse!! The boat had metal sticking out on the steps and my husband cut his finger. He was also stuck on the elevator for hours in the middle of the night. You think we was accommodated for that?? NOPE!!!! The worst cruise line EVER. Do not I repeat Do not waste your time or money with them. Nobody will help you at all. I NEED A REFUND ASAP! ZERO STAR RATING.
Meme
I just read a comment about bed bugs in a cabin. Is this true? I was getting ready to book for my husband and I, but I wanted to read everyone’s experience. The only one stood out to me was about the bed bugs and I am terrified!! I know that would ruin my trip
Roynisha Jones
This was my first cruise, and it was the worse experience. First, I woke up with bites from bed bugs all over my legs. My room was old and nasty. The bathroom made me itch, and water goes every where. Everything cost! Check your bill at the end. I even had a fuel charge smh. Food is horrible, and not always available. Just a horrible exy
Meme
Are you serious? Bed bugs? What deck were you on? I was getting ready to book now I am terrified!!
Brent S
My wife and I just spent the Memorial Day weekend on the newly refurbished Margaritaville Ship and contrary to many of the above reviews we found the experience to be a very positive one. The rooms were very clean with brand new bedding. The crew was exceptionally friendly. The musical entertainment was top notch. At first we were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t reserve a table at the upscale JWB Steakhouse, but as it turned out the food and service at the standard Finn sit down restaurant was impressive. For starters we had a choice of escargot and/or salmon tartar; for desert there was creme brulee. Not too shabby in my opinion. Admittedly this ship isn’t the caliber of Disney or Regent Seven Seas but it’s a fraction of the cost and never pretended to be on those levels. Some of the above reviews sound like they came from people who have never been on a cruise. As far as extra charges for drinks like premium coffee, please this is standard fare on most cruises. Concerning tacking on an 18% gratuity, also standard. regarding comments about the showers being too small, come on this is a cruise ship not the Waldorf Astoria. For those of your considering the Margaritaville at Sea experience, I highly recommend this 48 hour getaway without any second thoughts.
Stephanie
Worst experience! I would give this a zero if I could. Food was awful (everyone on the cruise thought so as well.) The restaurants on site took over an hour to even get any type of food on your table. Couldn’t do anything besides swim in a tiny pool or pay $15 for a drink. Not to mention the staff wasn’t friendly. And they try charging you for absolutely everything and have the audacity to give themselves a 18% tip on your bill and then ask you if you want to give an additional tip at the bottom of the receipt. If I had to choose this cruise or jail I would rather go to jail that’s how awful this experience was for my sister and I. Everyone on this cruise was so upset and many said the same. Save your money. And if you stayed here recently check your bank statement because I have (new) charges to my account days later for unknown reasons.
Liany
So let me start by saying this is not my first time on this cruise. I’ve previously sailed 3 times before they renovated to what now is Margaretville. My previous experiences where wonderful but on sail date 08/06/22 was anything but that. We traveled with a group of 12 people including myself for one of our groups birthday. We arrived at about 11am and everything went smooth check in/ paperwork the lady who helped us was really nice. We boarded after buying the drink package for $99 keep in mind there’s 12 of us. We boarded and went directly to have lunch at the buffet the food was very bland everything needed salt and or flavor so was not impressed. After lunch we went exploring the cruise ship and bar hopped around the cruise to different bars the bar staff would scan our bracelet and then ask different members for their room key we were all told different reasons as to why they asked for the room key, reason told to me was (because they needed to keep count of drinks per room) ended up finding out that was a LIE, they ask for the room key to charge you 18% gratitude so basically they charge you 15 dollars even though you paid $99 for a drink package they are not honest and tell you what the card is for. When we finally went to our rooms the rooms where just as pictured on the website and where very clean no complaints there. Now here is where it gets interesting and the reason for my complaint/review at around 430pm (keep in mind we had been on the cruise for hours drinking eating etc.) cruise leaves the port of palm beach at 5pm so basically 30 min before departure. The person who was traveling with me in my cabin got pulled off the cruise and told they needed to speak to them at check-in off the cruise with no explanation as to why. They removed him without his Identification, Money, Paperwork or luggage. My cabin mate calls me on the phone and states they weren’t going to let him board back on because his birth certificate is old and he doesn’t have the proper paperwork. KEEP IN MIND WE HAD ALREADY BOARDED ATE,DRANK, even taken a dump in the cabin to be specific for hours and decided to take him off 30 min before departure. I go to customer service to see what’s going on and I’m told that they were looking for me as well keep in mind I have a passport. Finally I stated we had been on here for multiple hours what’s the problem when it was their negligence in letting us board if technically we weren’t allowed. The supervisor or whoever she was kept saying it didn’t have anything to do with the cruise it was immigration and a new law as of 2010 for Puerto Ricans who traveled with birth certificates needed to have the most updated version and my cabin mate had his Original birth certificate and Drivers license from when he was born (which it state on Margaretville website that you all you need is a US ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE and ID OR PASSPORT) no where on there does it say you got to have the most updated one because from what I know we are only born once in our life and our parents info and other info stays the same, and was allowed to board but for some reason decided 30min before departure he wasn’t allowed. Finally I decided I’m disembarking too because obviously the trip was meant for my cabin mate and I didn’t want to travel without him. When I get downstairs there was about 5 female workers gossiping and looking at me funny because I was trying to once again understand what happened since they let him board hours prior, she goes through her spill making comments about how he should have a passport to travel…. ummm since when is it a requirement to have a passport its optional anyways the worker starts talking crap to another worker while I’m literally standing there so I called her out and she’s gonna stare at me like I’m supposed to be intimidated. I recorded all our the conversation an event that happened because we got treated like criminals. After seeing we weren’t going anywhere and they were refusing him
Shamika
One may 16 2022
me and my fiancé is sailing on margaritaville at sea it’s the 3 sailing of the boat and employee robbed us outta our belongings we gave the Concierge our luggage around 1030am and approx 4:45pm we received ou belongings to be robbed outta out things they clam the caught suspect on camera going threw our belongings and and he was arrested this is a vacation from hell this ppl are completely full of it…. On Tuesday we arrived at the Bahamas and was escorted of the boat by the bohemian police and left in the Bahamas plz do not book wit these ppl a vacation from hell we was racial profiled
Carl with a C
I went on this cruise right before the changeover. It was great for the price. It was my first cruise, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It looks as if with the BIG Margarita name, service has become crappy. It didn’t stop them from raising the prices though. The exact cruise I booked is now $500 more for the same 30 year old room. They have lost my business.
Thanks for the spot on review.
Drue
Seems as if there is an up charge on just about everything. And the ship is 30+ years old. Looks like the shower stalls have those annoying butt-clinging curtains. I guess if you like the Margaritaville experience and want to pay top dollar for it, by all means go. Me, I was not impressed to pay extra for just about everything.
Sean
I worked on this ship on its first at sea as a Diving Instructor (we took people snorkeling in the ports). I’m glad to see the ship is still out there and not on a beach in India being taken apart piece by piece. It was a good ship and I can’t wait to sail on her again, this time as a passenger and Parrothead.
cheryl a corrigan
you didn’t mention a casino on board that’s important to alot of people
Kelly
There is a casino. I did profit on the slots. Was small but had everything you might expect at a casino. I did have one problem with the ship. I ordered my go to drink which is diserano and although they had the bottle of diserano it was cheap amaretto in the expensive bottle. His happened at every bar. I know my drink and they put a cheap version in the bottle. Very disappointing!!!
The Husband
Does “the wife” actually have a name???
Barry
Got to start somewhere. The potential is great for the Margaritaville concept. It would be nice if the additonal food costs were just added into the overall cost. Hidden / surprise / additional cost always leave a bad cruise experience. The goal is for Margaritaville to workout all the issues and pursue a new experience for cruisers. It be nice with an added port stop like Key West with an additional day. Sooner or later they’ll start targeting all the parrot heads for special packages and programs. Happy cruising…..
Oliver Max
Good review. Thank you. Unfortunate about most of the dining costing extra. And your review of the cabins is fair. There is only so much they can do on a 30 year old ship.
Dan
You have to watch the waiters. They will add gratuities to your drinks if you don’t cross off the tip portion.
Stephanie
Worst experience! I would give this a zero if I could. Food was awful (everyone on the cruise thought so as well.) The restaurants on site took over an hour to even get any type of food on your table. Couldn’t do anything besides swim in a tiny pool or pay $15 for a drink. Not to mention the staff wasn’t friendly. And they try charging you for absolutely everything and have the audacity to give themselves a 18% tip on your bill and then ask you if you want to give an additional tip at the bottom of the receipt. If I had to choose this cruise or jail I would rather go to jail that’s how awful this experience was for my sister and I. Everyone on this cruise was so upset and many said the same. Save your money. And if you stayed here recently check your bank statement because I have (new) charges to my account days later for unknown reasons.
Nonaya
Wow! This is very rude. Maybe you belong on the jail excursion.
Sally D
Thanks for the review. Hoping things will be improved before we sail in August.