Margaritaville at Sea Islander Confirmed!

[Cruising89143]

Tampa it is. 
 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/12/margaritaville-at-sea-adds-second-ship-to-sail-from-tampa/

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, cruisingator2 said:

Tampa it is. 
 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/12/margaritaville-at-sea-adds-second-ship-to-sail-from-tampa/

For those who like Carnival’s Spirit class ships, Costa Atlantica was the very first of that class.  EM

[toad455]

Since Tampa has limited cruises, I think this will be a hit among a younger crowd. Those 5-day cruises to Key West will be very popular with the Parrotheads.

Edited December 4, 2023 by toad455

[rikitikitavii]

From a email I received today…The Margaritaville at Sea Islander is the newest and flagship resort at sea perfectly designed to transport cruisers on fun-soaked escapes to an island state of mind. Sailing Summer 2024 from Port Tampa Bay to Key West and Mexico on 4- and 5-night cruise itineraries.

[toad455]

Dug through the bookings for the Islander. Looks like they're doing their schedule based on the Tampa port availability. I believe Tampa can only hold three ships maximum. For the most part, Tampa only has the Carnival Paradise, Carnival Pride(winters only), RCCL Radiance of the Seas & Enchantment of the Seas, NCL Jade(winters only) and Celebrity Constellation(winters only). The majority of the 5-day sailings are Cozumel & Key West.

 

Schedules through September:

4-day cruises: June 14 & 28, July 12 & 26, August 9 & 23, Sept. 6 & 20

5-day cruises(Key West & Cozumel): June 18 & 23, July 7, 21 & 30, August 4, 13, 18 & 27, Sept. 1, 10, 15, 24 & 29

5-day cruises(Key West & Progesso): July 2

5-day cruises(Progresso & Cozumel): July 16

[F27TW]

Nice looking ship!  Glad to see this line expanding. 

[pr8hd]

Looking forward to sailing on MAS Islander.  Larger and newer than MAS Paradise but not a mega-ship.  The economy priced obstructed view interior cabins on Deck 4 (Have not sailed on a Spirit class ship) look interesting.  Do these cabins get much noise from activity on Deck 3?   Thinking the aft cabins may get some with two bar venues being directly below.  Or not.   

 

Aaanndd.....  It's already set up for 'Cheeseburger in Pardise' dining.  .  😁

Edited December 7, 2023 by pr8hd

[irun5k]

Always glad to see another option from Tampa... I can see the ships in port from my office window so it is always frustrating to have to drive to Port Canaveral or worse, South FL to get a cruise.

 

I think we've only ever cruised out of Tampa once back in 2010 when the Carnival Legend was home ported here.  For 7 night cruises we're a little picky and it is worth driving a couple extra hours to get the "right" ship that we're going to be on for a full week. For shorter cruises it won't matter as much to us.  I wish they'd offer alternating 3 and 4 night cruises but I guess part of the problem is there isn't anywhere to go in 3 nights from Tampa besides maybe Key West?

[Brighton Line]

10 hours ago, irun5k said:

 I wish they'd offer alternating 3 and 4 night cruises but I guess part of the problem is there isn't anywhere to go in 3 nights from Tampa besides maybe Key West?

Which they can't do as there is no call at a foreign port under PVSA. I sure do miss the cruises to nowhere (CTN) that did 2 or 3 days. The one day were just too short and full of too many bachlor/et parties. 

[tewkewl]

I can only imagine the mos eisly like ambiance aboard.

[irun5k]

10 hours ago, Brighton Line said:

Which they can't do as there is no call at a foreign port under PVSA. I sure do miss the cruises to nowhere (CTN) that did 2 or 3 days. The one day were just too short and full of too many bachlor/et parties. 

Ah right, good point about PVSA.

 

We did the two nighter Celebration when it was under Bahamas Paradise.  I think if were were local (within a 1/2 hr drive) it would have been better.  We drove from the Tampa area down to West Palm and the travel time to cruise length ratio was off.  However, I still talk about the BBQ they smoked on the back of the ship after we got back on board from Freeport... some of the better BBQ I've had.

[PFV]

Thinking of booking the July 26 sailing, as this will be my 65 birthday and I really don't want to go to a hotel to celebrate.  Hopefully not too old for this cruise line? I would love some feedback to push me over the edge to book this cruise.  I love the Sprit class ships of CCL and this one, looks really interesting.  Can anyone comment about service and food quality?  I'm not a foodie, but just kind of like a heads up of what to expect.

Thank you.

Paul

[pr8hd]

5 hours ago, PFV said:

Thinking of booking the July 26 sailing...

 

You'll be rolling the dice on this dependent upon your expectations.   Mrs. Pr8hd and I enjoyed the service and food on MAS Paradise.  It's Best Western and Outback, not the Westin and Sardi's as some expect it to be.  MAS Paradise is crewed by the same people who were there when it was operated by the previous owners.   With an all new crew, MAS Islander is an unknown quantity until June.  

[PFV]

Thank you pr8hd for commenting.  I just read today that the ship had arrived at the yard, to be turned into its next life.

I think I'm going to jump in and book this cruise.  Oh, what the "H"!  It's not a lot of money and the drive to Port Tampa Bay is easy.  Drinks and Jimmy B.  Sounds like a party!

I've been watching UTube video's and the food looks fine.  I've been on almost 80 cruises and some of the least desirable meals have been on HAL(both Pinnacle Grill and MDR) and RCCL.  I like Best Western and Outback! LOL

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

Hubby and I booked the Islander for Nov 19th along with our adult daughter and her boyfriend. I am so excited to see this ship and go to Key West again.  I have been so heartbroken over the loss of Jimmy Buffett😢 and I told my husband I really want to go on Margaritaville at sea cruise.  I swear,  I said if they add a longer cruise to Key West we are going... Then the next day it was announced about The Islander ship and he said "Book it"

So I did!🌴  I am actually excited it is a smaller ship and more intimate. We are going to have a blast! I like going out of Tampa too.  Finns up Jimmy🦈

 

[momof3cruisers]

On 1/13/2024 at 7:07 PM, pr8hd said:

 

You'll be rolling the dice on this dependent upon your expectations.   Mrs. Pr8hd and I enjoyed the service and food on MAS Paradise.  It's Best Western and Outback, not the Westin and Sardi's as some expect it to be.  MAS Paradise is crewed by the same people who were there when it was operated by the previous owners.   With an all new crew, MAS Islander is an unknown quantity until June.  

Last September, the same company that owns the Margaritaville land resorts, bought the company from the Bahamas Paradise company. The goal is to bring it more in line with the vibes at their resorts. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Latest news on Islander progress:

Margaritaville at Sea Islander Completes Sea Trials