One of the upcharge dining options on board Margaritaville At Sea Islander is the Margaritaville At Sea Sparkling Wine Brunch. This brunch is served in the more upscale Islander Dining Room located on the second floor of the Fins Restaurant. The brunch features unique menu items that are only available during the brunch. We’ll go through the menu and share photos of what we ordered to help you decide if it’s worth the $15!
Sparkling Wine Brunch Cost
As of the time of this article, the Sparkling Wine Brunch is $15/person and can be added to your reservation pre-cruise. You can also purchase it once you are on board.
The Sparkling Wine Brunch is also included in several of the Islander Packages Margaritaville At Sea offers. Because we purchased the Ultimate Dining Chill Package, Sparkling Wine Brunch was included as one of our meals.
Islander Brunch Menu
The Sparking Wine Brunch menu consists of two sides. One side is focused on lighter fare and breakfast options, while the back side of the menu focuses on lunch options. We were advised to stick to the lunch side of the menu from other cruisers, however, our server informed us we could try things from both menus so we did a little mix-and-matching for our brunch.
Sparkling Wine Brunch Food
Bread Course
We started brunch with the Pastry Basket. We tried several of the items and they were all fresh and tasty. The pastry dough was flakey and melted in your mouth. We were off to a really good start!
Lighter Fare / Greens Course
For our next course, Rocky decided to start with an item from the Lighter Fare menu. He had enjoyed Halo Halo Pudding before and was excited to see it on the brunch menu. I opted for an item from the Greens section of the menu and chose the Mixed Greens Salad.
Presentation for both dishes was fantastic and my salad was super fresh. It was brightly colored and really made for a great photo. Rocky very much enjoyed his Halo Halo and scraped the bottom of the dish.
Brunch was off to a GREAT start!
Lunch Course
So far, we were two for two at brunch. Could the Lunch Course deliver a knockout performance? Rocky decided to order the Islander Alfredo whereas I went with one of my all-time favorite dishes Huevos Rancheros. For sides, Rocky and I both ordered the Mac and Cheese and I also ordered a side of ham.
We were a little nervous ordering the Mac and Cheese as we tried it on Margaritaville At Sea Paradise earlier in the year and we didn’t love it, but we wanted to give it another go. When it was brought out, we were SHOCKED how large the portion size was. It could have been an entire meal in itself – and we each ordered one!
The picture doesn’t do it justice, but the Margaritaville At Sea Islander’s Mac and Cheese was easily the best one we’ve had this year. It was creamy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. Just look at all that cheese!
Ironically, Rocky ordered a pasta dish to go with his pasta side! Like the Mac and Cheese, the Islander Alfredo pasta was perfectly cooked and the dish was super flavorful. While the egg had fully cooked through (likely sitting under a warmer), it was a nice add to the dish. We actually recorded our entire meal and it’s funny to watch back how excited we were about this dish!
I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and it reminded me so much of Carnival’s old Sea Day Brunch menu where they served it with three salsa sides. I absolutely LOVED this dish. It was so flavorful and the addition of the 3 salsas was a great touch.
My side of ham was also really flavorful. I was a little nervous it wouldn’t be warm with the dish it was served in, but sure enough, it was hot and I loved it.
Rocky tried the ham and shared, “It tastes like it’s been smoked on a grill!” All of the dishes I ordered were wins for me. Check out the ham and the Huevos Rancheros aftermath!
Desserts Course
You may have noticed it the pictures of the menu, but there were no desserts that were part of the Margaritaville At Sea Sparkling Wine Brunch. While we thought it was strange at first, by the time we came to the end of our meal, we were thankful that there was no more food to be served! We were so full that we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy dessert even if it was part of the meal. We did make our way to the Port of Indecision Buffet later in the day, however, to snack on some cookies.
Final Verdict: Is Sparkling Wine Brunch Worth It?
We absolutely loved our brunch in the Islander Dining Room and both agreed that we would gladly pay for this meal in the future. With that said, part of our justification was that the Sparkling Wine Brunch originally included either a mimosa or a glass of sparkling wine. To us, it was an investment into a drink we would have purchased anyway!
Sadly, the free drink inclusion was removed from the Sparkling Wine Brunch offering. The website has been updated to indicate that drinks are available for purchase separately. Would we pay $15 for the more upscale dining experience and food?
Absolutely.
While the inclusion of the mimosa or sparkling wine was a nice touch, and helped soften the blow of paying for a meal that would typically be included, we loved our experience at brunch so much that we’ll be back the next time we sail Margaritaville At Sea Islander!
Watch our full review
You can check out our full of the Sparkling Wine Brunch review on YouTube below. We cover the menu, dishes, ambiance and more, so check it out!
And if you’re still hungry, check out our JWB Prime Steakhouse Dinner where we share the menu and photos from this specialty dining spot on board both Margaritaville At Sea Islander and Margaritaville At Sea Paradise.