Margaritaville Cruises Are Affordable, But Are They Even Worth That Low Of A Price?

It may be tempting to get "wasted away again in Margaritaville," but have you ever wondered if Margaritaville cruises are really just a waste? The party cruise is known for being among the cheapest out there, with tickets ranging from $65 to $599 before taxes and fees. The inaugural sailing of Margaritaville At Sea Paradise took place in April 2022. A second ship, Margaritaville At Sea Islander, began sailing in June 2024."From oceans to lakes, Margaritaville has an organic tie to the water and with Margaritaville at Sea, we're able to put our iconic lifestyle, resort experiences, and elevated service directly on the sea," noted CEO John Cohlan in a press release.

A review by Christina Jane at Business Insider notes that even a low fee is too much for what you get. Jane noted the services were so underwhelming they even fell short of her modest expectations. From subpar food to tiny pools, bad entertainment, and delays, she wrote that she wouldn't go on another Margaritaville cruise in the future. In fact, she explained that of the five dining facilities onboard, only two were included in the ticket price.

Aside from anecdotal evidence from individual experiences, Margaritaville at Sea has a lot of chips stacked against it. From poor BBB ratings to dangerous conditions on board, the cruise line appears to be treading water despite only being a few years old.

Since launching in 2022, Margaritaville at Sea has had 44 customer complaints lodged with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). As such, it is not a BBB-accredited business and has an F rating from the organization. Of the 44 complaints, 17 remain unanswered by Margaritaville at Sea, dating from June 2023 to May 2024.

According to the BBB, the company has a failing rating due to its lack of response to those multiple complaints. Several cruisers cited additional, unapproved charges on their cards, booking issues, and maintenance concerns.

One of the newest complaints at the time of this writing is from May 2024 and relates to a trip taken in April 2024. "It has been the worst cruise experience of my lifetime. First I paid an astronomical fee to upgrade my room to one of the 10 Suites. On the first night I decided to use the jacuzzi tub which was part of the upgrade and it was not draining. We had to call maintenance and they ended up coming into the room," the customer wrote. "Maintenance came three different times without even telling us to fix the problem. They were finally able to fix the problem upon arrival to the port which was the end of the cruise." 

Safety is usually the main reason cruise lines do things like ban baby monitors, so it makes sense that safety is top of mind onboard. This is part of the reason why a crew death aboard the Paradise in 2023 was so alarming. Deaths do happen on cruises, estimated at around 200 per year. However, crew deaths are not as common — accounting for 11% of the total deaths per year. 

However, a crew member aboard the Paradise reported to Crew Center that on October 11, 2023, a crew member died after performing a fire team patrol drill. Per the report, the crew member was among the patrollers who were instructed to run the stairs from Deck 3 to Deck 8, carrying all their heavy equipment for seven to eight minutes. Shortly after the drill, the crew member collapsed and died.

In 2023, two women alleged that a bartender aboard the Paradise sexually assaulted them. One of the two passengers even became pregnant after the attack. Another woman has also filed a lawsuit against the company after being sexually assaulted by a different crew member during a vacation in August 2023. The second lawsuit stems from an alleged incident that took place at a Freeport, Grand Bahama hotel that the Margaritaville at Sea passenger stayed at because the ship didn't have enough rooms, according to WFLX.

There are plenty of unsettling reasons you might want to avoid a cruise, and getting sick tops the list. That's why when Margaritaville at Sea's Paradise ship failed a surprise Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inspection in May 2024, it was a red flag. The CDC inspection noted "65 different areas" of concern aboard the ship. 

One of the concerns raised by the CDC was whether a crew member was washing their hands when handling food, but there were other issues. "The crew member washing lettuce heads and immersing them in an antimicrobial solution for fruits and vegetables could not demonstrate competency in verifying the concentration of the chemical used," noted the CDC, according to the Daily Mail. They added that the crew member "could not use a test strip correctly to verify the concentration of the solution and did not know what an acceptable test result would be." Other concerns included some freezers and coolers not being at the correct, safe temperature for storage. 

Margaritaville at Sea issued a statement to Fox News saying they were taking "immediate corrective actions" to rectify any of the concerns that came from the inspection. The company also said they would work with the United States Public Health office to get another inspection and pass.

Over at Cruise Critic, the Reddit for cruise aficionados, opinions are mixed. Here, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise stands at 3.9 stars out of 5, with a 4 out of 5 editor rating. Several cruisers commented that they enjoyed the live entertainment, food options, and quick bargain-friendly itinerary. In fact, at the time of this writing, nearly all of the reviews in the past six months are overwhelmingly positive. 

One cruiser wrote the two-night sailing was worth the cost. Despite the ship being older, the cruiser enjoyed the shows and package offerings, writing that the ship had a good capacity for what you pay. "The low cost fares were beyond worth the experience," they wrote.

However, the negative reviews are so specific that they're hard to ignore. Like this cruiser who asked for three sets of sheets before getting clean ones. "On arrival, we requested clean sheets," they wrote, noting that their first set had stains that "looked like blood." They mentioned the second set came with a "horrible smell," but that the third finally fit the bill. This cruiser also mentioned surprise additional charges, hair in their food, and unknown bug bites. Many also bemoaned the spotty Wi-Fi — which reminds us of this phone tip to save yourself a giant fee during a cruise. 

Just because they've named one of their ships Paradise doesn't mean Margaritaville At Sea is all smooth sailing. Or so say travelers like Bright Sun Travel, who have dubbed Margaritaville at Sea Paradise as North America's Worst Cruise Ship. In their video, they say the ship is rife with bad odors, persistent upselling, and weird vibes. That said, they noted that the crew was excellent. Overall, they gave the ship a meager score of 14/50. 

Even Travel Spree called Margaritaville At Sea the worst-rated cruise ship in the country. While they admitted it wasn't as bad as they expected, they didn't offer much praise either. The fact that such large numbers of cruisers rated the cruise line as terrible on TripAdvisor suggests these creators aren't alone in their general dislike or overall lackluster feeling about the ships.

Heck, a handful of reviewers call it either the worst vacation or worst cruise of their life — so that's saying something. Even with some of the lowest prices you'll see in the cruise industry, it seems that this cruise line may not be worth even the small cost of coming aboard.