A year ago, we sailed on board Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. We didn’t pick it, however. Our followers actually voted on which new-to-us cruise line they wanted us to try and Margaritaville at Sea won! At the time, we joked whether or not people actually liked us or not sending us on, “the worst cruise ship in the world” according to many cruise bloggers. Well, we posted our review and continued on with our life. Then, a year later, Margaritaville at Sea invited us back to see all of the changes that they’ve made post our little review. So, here we go… Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Review: One Year Later!
Our First Sailing
Before we get into One Year Later, let’s rewind a little bit. We first sailed on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise in February, 2024. Based on everything we had read and watched, we were truly surprised with how much we LOVED about a $60/person cruise. Yes, you read that right: The cruise was $60/person and that included 5 alcoholic drinks. The drinks were phenomenal and we couldn’t believe how much live entertainment there was on board! We also really enjoyed the Fins Restaurant (main dining room).
The ship itself is dated, but we knew that as we’re cruise geeks and had studied the Costa Classica and Costa NeoClassica deck plans long before we booked this cruise. So we weren’t expecting fancy artwork and tablecloth service. But that’s where Margaritaville at Sea surprised us. The dining room exceeded our expectations. The updates to the public spaces were really nice. And the staterooms were HUGE!
We liked so much about our experience that the lovely internet had this to say:
- You Guys sound so desperate!
- you guys got some kind of incentive to say only good things about this cruise
- everyone else, hate this cruise. 99% do. Fact.
Those were the comments that YouTube didn’t automatically block due to language or slurs.
Ironically, however, if viewers stuck around, they would have found out that there was a deal breaker that caused us not to recommend the ship. While our stateroom was huge, it was dirty. And we got bites while sleeping. Dirty bedding was definitely NOT a great first exposure to the brand.
Truly, we were super disappointed with how the experience ended because of how much we loved everything else on board!
Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Review: One Year Later
As you can imagine, we had some hesitations about booking Margaritaville at Sea Paradise again. After all, we absolutely fell in love with their new ship MAS Islander and could just as easily sail on that ship. But the team at Margaritaville at Sea wanted us to see all that’s changed over the past year.
And boy, am I so glad we took them up on their offer to come back. All of the things that we loved about our experience the first time are still there. The drinks are great, the entertainment is far better than a cruise this inexpensive should have, and the food is definitely better (with some exceptions).
But what about the bedding and the stateroom – along with the other things we didn’t love about our experience? Well, take a look at our Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Review: One Year Later to see how it’s all changed…
Want more? After you watch our Paradise Review: One Year Later, Check out our Margaritaville at Sea Social Media Takeover for tips, tricks, pictures, videos, and articles!