Bahamas Paradise Cruise now Margaritaville at Sea Review

I love my family, they are the greatest join in my life. Some of my favorite memories are of our family vacations. However, as the kids get older vacations become fewer. My boys who are 21 and 18 have full-time jobs and their own lives with friends and girlfriends. My daughter is now a teenager and though she wouldn’t mind coming on vacation with her parents she would miss her brother. So when my husband asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and to make it special, I told him I wanted to go on our first cruise just the two of us! We are excited to share with you our cruise review.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise now Margaritaville at sea

I didn’t have to twist my husband’s arm as he is all for a little me and his time. So I began my research to see if we could indeed swing a cruise. Not having a large budget for a last-minute cruise I saw a Facebook Ad for Bahamas Paradise Cruise now Margaritaville at Sea. I had no idea we had a cruise line so close to home, as we have always traveled to Fort Lauderdale or Miami to cruise in the past. Bahamas Paradise Cruise is now Margaritaville at Sea ports right out of Palm Beach.

I booked a two-night, three-day cruise to Grand Bahama Island for my birthday just my husband and I. I would like to think of Bahamas Paradise Cruise now Margaritaville at Sea for providing my husband and me with WiFi, a drink package, and an excursion while cruising with them. We left the port on Sunday, March 17^th under a beautiful sun and windy breeze.

Grand Celebration Accommodations

We sailed on the Grand Celebration for our cruise review and enjoyed a cabin near the front of the ship. Our cabin was the perfect size for two with a queen/king bed, television, chair, table, desk, closet, and half bath. We have actually stayed in a cabin like this with the five of us so it was nice to only have the two of us cruising.

When booking my cruise I had the option of paying a little extra to select my room or allow them to select one for me with no additional fee. I chose to allow them to select my room thinking the ship would not be full and I would get the same type of room I would have chosen. However, in retrospect, if you are paying for an ocean view and it is important to you I suggest you pay the extra fee and select the room you want. We ended up with a porthole vs a picture window, and while it was nice to have a little light in and be able to see the waves you had to climb in to see it. It was disclosed that I could have an obstructed view so this was my own choice but I would advise against it if the view is important to you.

Food Onboard the Grand Celebration

Our first stop, once we got through the line to get on the ship, (look for my upcoming post on cruise tips) was to eat. We were both rather hungry and often not a lot of things are going on when you are waiting to leave port. The buffet was open for lunch and we had our choice of hamburger, hot dogs, and fried chicken (there was more but I can’t remember the other choices). We both opted for the hamburgers. For our dinner option, we chose to dine in the Your Choice dining and select from the menu. You had options among the food that was provided or upgraded for an additional fee for better-cut steaks, lobster, etc. I would give the food on this cruise ship a rating of 3 out of 5. There was definitely a smaller selection of foods compared to other cruising we have done and I think the dining menu was just not my type of food, I couldn’t pronounce many of the dishes. I am used to having a more traditional or American option in addition to the fancier dishes. I did really enjoy the seafood chowder on the second night and the ricotta cheesecake.

Drinks, Drinks, and More Drinks

Ok, this title is deceiving because if you know my husband and I, we don’t really drink much at all. I joke (but it is no joke) I still have wine coolers in my refrigerator that I purchased when we moved into our new home in 2014, does alcohol go bad?! That said many people are interested in drinking while on the cruise. My husband and I purchased one drink each with our drink package and I had their “special” drink of the night Bahama Mama. I just want to point out that they did not skimp on the alcohol. The drink was very enjoyable and if you are there to enjoy the nightlife you will not be let down.

Friendly Customer Service

I wanted to address the customer service aboard the ship because when I was reading reviews of the cruise line this was one area that was all over the place in terms of good and bad. If there is anything I can say about our time with Bahamas Paradise Cruise now Margaritaville at Sea is that the customer service was very good. We were met by Manuel, when we boarded since we were working with the cruise line to get our additional upgrades. He was extremely friendly and we did find that our excursion had not been booked. It took him all of three minutes to confirm that it should have been taken care of and gave us our tickets and instructions on where to meet. Our steward was very friendly and took the time to call us by name always asking us how our day was going when he saw us. While some reviews complained of pushing bartenders trying to sell you drinks I did not find this the case at all. While they do have bartenders roaming the ship they will politely inquire if you would like a drink in passing but they are not at all aggressive. Anyone we did encounter on board from our waiters to salespeople were very friendly.