Welcome guest writer Georgia Burgess! Georgia is an engineer in Dallas, Texas. While she does have a long-standing love of travel, she will be the first to tell you that her favorite place to go is home because that’s where her dog is. In her free time, she can typically be found knitting with her friends, on a walk with her dog, or watching Dallas Stars hockey.
The last time I went on a cruise was in 2004 when I was five years old. Needless to say, I don’t remember very much about it. However, I recently took my first cruise as an adult on Margaritaville at Sea's Islander.
The 4-night cruise sailed from Tampa, Florida, to Progreso, Mexico, with two days at sea. Overall, I enjoyed my time on Islander and was especially impressed by the cruise line's commitment to embracing the Margaritaville brand.
I enjoyed my first cruise as an adult and do not think this will be my last cruise. It definitely won't be my last voyage with Margaritaville at Sea, either.
First Impressions
Upon boarding the ship, I was transported into the world of Jimmy Buffett. The atmosphere of the ship was tropical with fish hanging from the ceiling and beach murals on the wall. The entire experience screamed, “Welcome. I hope you are ready to chill out and have a good time.”
Our first stop was the very appropriately named Flip Flop atrium, featuring a giant flip-flop statue and the Flip Flop Bar. Since our rooms weren’t ready yet, we decided to make use of the drink package that had been graciously gifted to us by Margaritaville at Sea and made a stop at the bar to toast the start of our four-day adventure.
After drinks, we took a walking tour of the ship and decided to grab some tacos at the Mexican Cutie Cantina. Based on the reading I had done on other people’s experiences with their first cruises, I did not have high expectations for the food. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the chicken tacos were delicious.
This was also when I had my first surprise of the cruise: there is no free Wi-Fi on cruise ships. Now, if you’re an experienced cruiser, then I’m sure you’re thinking, “Well, duh.” However, I had assumed that cruises were like hotels where you get free crappy Wi-Fi and can pay for an upgrade. That is incorrect.
My friend informed me that it is pretty standard for cruises to have different Wi-Fi packages priced to reflect the quality. I purchased the premium for $88 because I’m obsessed with my dog and wanted to receive "Pawgress Reports" about him.
After my revelation, we wandered to the Tiki Bar on the adults-only deck after lunch. We ordered drinks and awaited the call for the muster drill. The muster drill itself took about half an hour. Everyone crowded in at their assigned assembly stations. We received the briefing and then dispersed shortly thereafter.
I’m not much for crowds, but it was relatively painless, and we were soon back to taking in all the Islanders had to offer.
Room & Accommodations
When our room was ready, we made our way down to check it out. The folks at Margaritaville at Sea were kind enough to upgrade us to a Grand Terrace Suite, and it made me feel like I was at a beach resort! The room was spacious with a bed, couch, two counters, and a large balcony.
The bathroom had two sinks, and, the most important thing to me was that the water pressure in the shower was very good.
Additionally, Margaritaville at Sea offered shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower that smelled wonderful, made my hair feel great, and made up for the fact that I am notorious for forgetting to pack my toiletries.
We paid around $430 per person for our initial interior stateroom. However, the Grand Terrace Suite costs around $1,000 per person for a 4-night cruise from Tampa.
Food
As guests in a suite, my friend and I had access to additional amenities such as the concierge, the soda and espresso available in the Concierge Lounge, VIP seating at shows, and dining in the Islander Dining Room. Our concierge, Diana, was incredibly kind and helpful. She even made our reservation for dinner in the steakhouse on the first night and scheduled us for a bridge tour - I felt like a celebrity!
Our first night on board, we ate at one of the specialty restaurants - the JWB Steakhouse - which is the most upscale dining option on the Islander. The dining experience there was delightful. Our waiter was kind and attentive, and the atmosphere was upscale while still maintaining the “chill out and have a good time” vibe that was found throughout the ship.
Dinner was a four-course meal in which I was treated to roasted beet carpaccio, lobster bisque, halibut with a beurre blanc sauce, and a coconut mousse. My friend ordered the filet which she said was excellent, and the lady at the table next to us said it was the best steak she had ever had!
However, as someone who does not eat red meat, I don’t know if I would opt to splurge on a meal at the steakhouse if I were to sail by myself in the future. The dining rooms offer sit-down meals that are almost as delicious and they are included in the fare. Therefore, especially if I splurged on a suite (which gets you access to the Islander dining room in addition to the Fins dining room), I probably wouldn’t bother.
All that being said, the food on Islander exceeded my expectations. Between the tacos and the steakhouse on the first day, my expectations had been set pretty high, and I was not disappointed. The Port of Indecision buffet always had plenty of options, and I enjoyed each thing I tried, especially the cajun pasta with mussels.
Additionally, there were two dining rooms: the Islander and Fins. The Islander Dining Room is included in the fare of guests in suites, whereas the Fins Dining Room is open to all guests. From what I understand, they featured the same menu with the Islander having a few additional seasonal options. However, non-suite guests may pay extra to dine in the Islander Dining Room.
In any case, my experience in the dining room was wonderful. We ate at the Islander dining room for dinner the second night, and I am still thinking about the baked clams!
I will say that I was surprised there were not many options to get snacks on board. There was almost always access to food, including the pizza kitchen which was open late and made a surprisingly good quattro formaggi.
However, as someone who will go days at a time eating nothing but snacks, I found myself wishing for easier access to snack food. I think on my next cruise I will probably plan to bring snacks, as my friend, who has many more cruises under her belt than me, told me this is typical.
Drinks & Entertainment
While I’m not much of a drinker, the thing I enjoyed the most aboard Margaritaville at Sea was getting to try different cocktails and enjoying the never-ending entertainment.
Each bar had a unique menu of creative cocktails as well as seemingly endless chances to enjoy live music. My favorite drinks on board were the Tiki Marg, the Frozen Crazy Mango, and the Banana Breeze, but I could be convinced to try any drink with the Margaritaville Mango Tequila in it.
Having a drink package was really key to this experience because it meant I got to try all kinds of things without having to think about it too much about my spending or whether I’d like a certain cocktail.
The Unlimited Beverage Chill is generous with an allotment of 15 drinks a day as well as unlimited soda and bottled water. For our particular sailing, it cost around $81 per person, per day. While I never got close to using all 15 of my drinks, I did enjoy being able to have a margarita in one hand and a Diet Coke in the other!
If I were to complain about anything, it would be that specialty coffee is not included in the drink package. However, that is not something that would stop me from purchasing the Unlimited Beverage Chill package in the future.
In addition to the live music that was always available, I would be remiss without mentioning the shows I got to see during the cruise. The second night on board, my friend and I enjoyed Conky-Tonkin’, an original production featuring a mash-up of country hits.
The choreography and singing were excellent, but the acrobats really stole the show for me. I can never again say I have not seen a man hold himself up by his teeth while performing aerial stunts, and I have Margaritaville at Sea to thank for that.
Additionally, I was able to catch Rich Purpura’s comedy/magic show on the third night of the cruise. I’m not usually one for stand-up or magic shows, but I asked myself, “What would Jimmy do” and made my way to the theater. While I enjoyed the audience participation and the humor injected into the magic tricks, I can’t say the show will make a convert of magic any time soon.
Unfortunately, my friend was not feeling well on our port day, so we ended up not doing our planned excursion in Progreso. Therefore, I spent the day enjoying the benefits of a largely empty ship while she rested. I expected to feel bummed out, but it turned out to be a really nice opportunity to sit on the adults-only deck, enjoy the weather, and indulge in my hobbies. I even struck up a chat with another guest about crochet!
I also used this time to check out the gym. It wasn’t really anything to write home about, but it had enough equipment to satisfy my workout routine. I was able to get a quick run and some weight-lifting in before we set sail back to Tampa.
Final Thoughts
Luckily, on the last day, my friend was feeling better and we got to spend our time exploring the ship, doing Disney song trivia, and trying out Far Side Sushi (delicious, by the way). Then, in an (almost) perfect end to a great trip, we closed out by watching the Four Nations hockey game in the Havana Daydreamin’ Sports Bar & Lounge.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about cruising, but I enjoyed how it takes the hassle out of traveling (i.e., figuring out where to stay, what to eat, where to go, how to get there, etc).
As someone who lives by themself and has a pretty demanding job, I like the idea of an affordable vacation where I can just show up, know that everything is taken care of, and still have the opportunity to see the world.
In addition to enjoying the incredible staff and everything the ship has to offer, it felt so good to spend a couple of days doing nothing but relaxing in an environment where chilling out and having a good time is basically the whole point.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
