Jimmy Buffett has built an impressive lifestyle brand around his unique style of music. The singer celebrates the laid-back vacation lifestyle and has built a successful chain of restaurants, resort, and even 55+ residential communities under his "Margaritaville" brand.
The latest entry in that empire, Margaritaville at Sea, repurposed an old, former Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) ship that had been sailing low-cost two-night trips to the Bahamas into a Buffett-themed floating tribute. By building everything around the singer's brand, the new company took a very dated ship and made it something special (at least for the singers legion of "Parrothead" fans.
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In theory, Margaritaville at Sea not only serves the Buffett fanbase, its short cruises compete with the three- and four-day cruises offered by industry leaders Carnival and Royal Caribbean (RCL). Both of those cruise lines sail short cruises out of multiple Florida ports at relatively low prices.
Margaritaville at Sea's prices are much lower for a single sailing and now the cruise line has a huge offer for people who want to make being on vacation their lifestyle. The cruise line is offering something that neither of its two key affordable cruise line rivals offer an "unlimited" sailing package.
Image source: Margaritaville Paradise
Margaritaville at Sea Offers Unlimited Cruise Pass (Sort Of)
Unlimited passes have become a way for travel providers to make some revenue on spaces that would otherwise be empty. Frontier Airlines (ULCC) has led the way in that space, offering unlimited airfare for a year, for a single price (which was as low as $799 if you bought it early.
The fine print, however, is pretty important. People who buy the Frontier "Go Wild" pass still have to pay for any extras (like bringing a carry-on or checking a bag) and they still pay taxes and other fees. In addition, and this is the big catch, domestic flights can only be booked 24 hours in advance while there's a 10-day window for international flights.
That means that passengers flying in the U.S. can't book a return trip until they're already at their destination.
Margaritaville at Sea's Ultimate Paradise Pass doesn't have a catch that big, but it's not quite the offer it seems to be on the surface.
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The cruise line is selling its Ultimate Paradise Pass for $899 and touting it in the following way:
"This is the unlimited vacation pass you didn’t know you needed. Set sail for the crystalline blue waters of the Bahamas -- again and again -- with the Margaritaville at Sea Ultimate Paradise Pass. The first, and only, cruise deal of its kind, you’ll enjoy year-round access to tropical island paradise," the company shared on its website.
The pass is good for the rest of 2023, but the catch -- and it's an important one -- is that passholders can only sail non-consecutive sailings. That means that while you can, in theory, sail two out of every four days, you can't book multiple sailings back-to-back.
In addition, cruises can only be booked no more than 72 hours and no less than 24 hours before departure. Passholders also won't get a balcony cabin or a cabin assignment.
"The best available ocean view or inside stateroom will be assigned at terminal check-in," according to the company. And, the pass price does not include taxes, fees, port expenses, gratuities, fuel surcharges, or onboard expenses, but it does allow the passholder to bring a guest and that guest can be different on each sailing.
Passholders will also pay a booking fee ($19.99 per cabin), taxes, fees, and port expenses ($94.40 per person).
Neither Royal Caribbean nor Carnival offers any sort of pass allowing people to sail more than once for a single price.
