Sailing on board Margaritaville at Sea Paradise out of West Palm Beach? You’ve now got access to an *exclusive* shore excursion that no other cruise line can offer in the Bahamas: A day-pass to the recently updated Margaritaville Beach Resort in Nassau! Find out all that this full-day excursion includes and how to book it. Trust us, this is one Nassau Shore Excursion not to miss!
A Perfect Partnership
We had the chance to sail on board Margaritaville at Sea Paradise on just her 3rd visit ever to Nassau, Bahamas. The cruise line recently launched new itineraries for the ship that include 2-, 3- and 4-night options! And many of those new itineraries include a stop in the Bahamas. What better way to continue your Margaritaville at Sea cruise vacation than with a visit to Margaritaville on land?!
While you can purchase a day pass to the resort through Margaritaville Beach Resort, it doesn’t come with all of the amenities you can book through the cruise line. This makes for a perfect partnership between the cruise line and resort business! You cruise with Margaritaville at Sea and you get so much more on land!
What’s Included
There are two excursion options when booking on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise.
Option 1: Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash Pass (best value, in our opinion!)
We booked the Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash Pass. As the name implies, you get lunch, drinks and access to the entire resort. But there’s even more! Let’s take a look at all of the inclusions:
- Board your tour bus for included round trip transportation to the resort
- Beat the crowds with private beach access
- Find the perfect lounge chair around the pool, lazy river, or on the beach
- Enjoy 5 alcoholic drinks (21+) from any of the bars on property. They’ll bring you menus with several unique drinks that aren’t on the ship!
- Stay hydrated with unlimited fountain soda
- Dine on your choice of a hamburger or hot dog platter (we recommend the hamburger; it was huge and tasty!)
- Receive access to all of the amenities in the Fins Up Water Park (water slides, lazy river, plunge pool, hot tub, and more), and the private beach
- Take the best pictures of ships in port! A perfect view of the Nassau cruise port.
- Post those pictures and make your friends jealous with the complimentary Wi-Fi!
We floated around the lazy river multiple times and loved it. We also checked out the water slides – after some liquid courage – and Rocky even did the plunge pool! The lunch was super filling. The burger was huge and the fries were fantastic; highly recommend.
Option 2: Sail & Splash at Margaritaville Beach Resort
The second option is booking the Day Pass by itself without all of the add-ons. The Sail & Splash at Margaritaville Beach Resort option is nice if you’re just looking to escape the crowds in Nassau, relax on a private beach, and enjoy all the amenities the resort has to offer (including complimentary Wi-Fi!). You can pay ala carte for drinks and food while at the resort, or enjoy the food and drinks in Nassau before heading back to the ship. And just like the first option, transportation is included to and from the resort.
Cost and Booking
If you’re a cruiser on another line and go to the resort on your own, Margaritaville Beach Resort offers the day-pass-only option for $145. But if you’re cruising on Paradise and want to take advantage of this option? It’s just $109.99 for the day pass; another perk of cruising and day-passing with the same brand!
Only cruisers sailing on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, however, have the option to book the inclusive option Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash Pass. Add food and drink to your day pass and get it all for $149.99. That means, you get 5 alcoholic drinks (21+), unlimited fountain soda, and lunch for about the same price as other cruisers pay for the day-pass-only option at the resort! It pays to sail with a cruise line that has exclusive access to land-based resorts.
Cruise Tip: While roundtrip travel is included with both options, the cruise terminal is a 5-10 minute walk from the resort. If you’d prefer to walk back to the ship on your own and do some shopping or exploration, you have that option. Just make sure you’re on ship time! If you walk back on your own, the ship will not wait for you if late. Also, keep in mind, once you leave the resort, there is no readmission.
Things to Know about Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash
Having just done the Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash excursion, there are some things we wish we would have known ahead of time that we want to share with you:
- Towels are indeed provided at the resort; no need to bring yours from the ship.
- You are not required to take the transportation back to the ship. The resort is about an 8 minute walk from the cruise terminal.
- You can finish your excursion as early as you’d like and explore Nassau. We met some new friends who enjoyed their drinks and lunch and decided to go out and visit one of our other favorite stops in Nassau: John Watling’s Distillery.
- There’s a hidden hot tub at the top of the stairs by the waterslides. It overlooks the pool and lounge chair areas. It was a perfect way to warm up after speeding down those waterslides!
- Wi-Fi is included with your pass. This wasn’t listed anywhere and no one told us about it. Thankfully we have cell service in the Bahamas, but in case you don’t, it’s good to know you have Wi-Fi.
Cruise Tip: You can tell this excursion is new as there was some confusion between the ship and resort. We were told on the ship that we had to check out beach towels for the day, however, the moment we got there, they handed us beach towels. That’s one less thing you have to worry about bringing! Plus, Wi-Fi is included, so don’t miss out on that.
Overall Rating
We will absolutely book Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash the next time we sail on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise to Nassau, Bahamas. Considering the cost of the day pass alone… This excursion adds on the 5 drinks, unlimited fountain soda, free Wi-Fi, and lunch making it an amazing deal.
We give Lunch, Drinks and Sail & Splash Pass 5 out of 5 ships! If you have any questions about this excursion, let us know in the comments.
Headed to Cozumel instead of the Bahamas on your cruise? Check out our 5-Ship Cozumel Shore Excursion Recommendation!