Fraudulent fees with nonresponsive customer support
I have traveled extensively visiting 100+ countries, I can't recall a time I have experienced more predatory billing practices.
To start, their advertised, upfront price was an obvious "hook", only to discover that the $49/person was actually $160/person, because of taxes, fees and port expenses. While this was highly offputting, it was at least fairly disclosed prior to booking. And I still booked, but with a highly negative experience.
Now after I take the cruise, I am charged $136.25 to my surprise, given my purchases were $4.25. I didn't receive an invoice with itemized charges. Instead I had to call to inquire about the charges, and I'm informed these are legit charges for 1. service and 2. fuel supplement. I'm informed that these are disclosed in the booking invoice 'Other important appliaple terms and conditions', under sub section link 'Onboard charges'.
These are obvious practices to hide their full charges from the customer. Shame on them. No clear mention they would do this and they don't even invoice them. I'm sure most customers are unaware not only because they don't properly disclose, but also because it is not common practice to charge post-trip in this way.
I contacted their customer service 6 times over 6 months without reply.
BBB has rated them F.
Date of experience: 20 December, 2024
I'm confused and wondering why the phone nu.ber on the site continually changes? This is odd. The puc is yesterday. Today, at this moment it's showing 877-943-1862
The number I called when I booked was 866-985-4114
It makes it seem sketchy. Or is this common with cruise lines??
returned from a Margaritaville cruise. Overall it was a decent cruise BUT when we returned we found over $1000.00 in bogus charges. We have been in touch and the cruise line said it will issue a check. 4 WEEKS AGO!! Still no check. We will try a bit more before taking further action. Perhaps a class action suite and Tampa major news crews. We will not let this go. I'm sure they are doing this to many many more people. STAY AWAY FROM MARGARITAVILLE CRUISE LINE.
I was called by a Margaritaville sales person and sold a cruise. We agreed on a price with prepaid gratuities, cruise fare, taxes and fees and an on board credit. Justin the sale person said the he could not send me a breakdown of the charges but he assured me everything was correct and included in the price. I made a deposit and was later provided a booking ID through email. The price I was provided was lower than the price in my booking and the booking did not include prepaid gratuities. I have called the their customer service line at least 50 times and tried to resolve the issue but I am either hung up on or transferred to a disconnected number. I have been told a supervisor was going to call but they never do.
This was our first cruise, and we didn't know anything about it when we booked. We thought we were getting a fabulous deal after comparing prices with other cruise lines since we were booking for the "heroes sail "free"" but since we needed specific dates, we had to pay.. and after everything was said and done, we paid about $1200 for our cruise and then ended up with a $900 bill at the end of the cruise for fuel and other fees. Our spa credit really wasn't worth it since pricing was so high. I didn't know we would be charged $211 PER PERSON for a Swedish massage - therefore we still ended up paying $272 for our massages which is basically equivalent to not having any spa credit at all (total rip off).
We paid for the license to chill which was only worth it for disembarking the ship, we were supposed to have VIP treatment and receive saved seating each night at the theatre, but every night when we came even early, the seating in the VIP was completely full. There was never a time when we felt like we had VIP treatment. Not even on DAY ONE when i explained there was hair all over our sink. They did not apologize, they made a note and it was never cleaned up.
We also did not have a safe, microwave, or fridge in our room, but our friends who booked the same time as us and paid less than us had all of those things.
In addition to this, we found out that most people had gotten the cruise entirely for free besides fees which really stunk. We thought we got a great deal at $1200 (which turned out to be $2,100 total) for a 4 day cruise to the Florida Keys and Freeport Bahamas. We found out our itinerary had changed around 9pm for the following day- we were supposed to be on our way to the Keyes when we found out we would be going to Nassau instead- which was okay, but the communication was poor and the way they handled the excursions left us very unhappy. We couldn't understand ANY of the announcements on the overhead speakers so we had no idea about it until we received a letter saying that it had changed and to visit guest services regarding the excursions we had booked, sometime after 6pm they put the letter in our room. By the time we got to guest services it was roughly 9:30pm and all of the excursions for Nassau were already taken and they only had a couple options left, then they told us we had to be refunded for the Florida Keyes excursion and that we had to book the new excursion separately. The only options available were all more expensive than our excursion in the Keyes, so we ended up spending way more than we intended to and felt really jipped since the excursion was the same as the next days excursion in Freeport. We understood they had to change itinerary due to weather, but after finding out we were the only guests to pay so much money for a cruise, and then to find out that they weren't even going to transfer the excursion credit and allow us to choose another at no additional cost, it was extremely disappointing.
The room was pretty gross and old looking. The bathroom was not clean upon arrival, but they did change the towels and bedding each day.
The furniture on the entire ship was outdated, and torn. I'm not sure why they don't do small things to update the ship like this. The hot tubs were small and the siding on them (to sit on) was falling apart.
Pools were extremely small, we never used them because of this.
The staff was mostly very kind, but you can tell they are overworked.
The food was good on the first day, but then we quickly realized the options were the same every day and not super good. The steakhouse was good, but we only went because it was included in our package.
The license to chill was not worth it in my opinion. If we ever went again (we won a "free" 2 day cruise on the first day, which we feel less thrilled about after finding out they really just hand these out) we would skip the license to chill and stick to the drink packages. We never used our free coffee drink/pastry credit because the pastries looked pretty stale and factory made. The picture packages were like over $100. For some silly cruise photos I can't imagine anyone paying that price, they should sell them individually and they would make money on them. We were interested until they said the smallest package was $100.
If we wouldn't have been with friends on this cruise it would have been a real drag. We did karaoke which was super fun, Svetlana was a lot of fun and we loved her, but the options for karaoke were even outdated! Everyone said they had no songs they wanted.
We had a lot of fun and Svetlana is what encouraged me to give more than 1 star, and the people we met on the cruise. I liked that it was a smaller cruise and didn't have a lot of people and that the rooms were not overly small and ours was cooler.
The workers are very nice, but to say the least ultimate disappointment. The poor planning for the 3-day cruise from west palm beach to Freeport, Bahamas on a Sunday when everything is closed and porting on the side nowhere near downtown where all the shops are at made no sense to me. We could've spent our Saturday in Freeport and our day at sea on Sunday. The boat rocked so bad you would've thought I was drunk which I didn't drink because the person we booked with said my friend and I couldn't share a package we each had to buy 1 which we are not avid drinkers would've never been able to drink all that. So, then we purchased no drinks and brought are own water bottles and flavoring. Later finding out other couples were sharing drink packages? The food when we got thru the lines were not hot long it seemed like the trays were hot but no water for steam wells or heat lamps to keep the buffet food hot. We didn't receive any communication on itinerary the first day had no idea at all till midday Saturday what was all planned out and unless and nothing available till the following day. I agree on the updates the remodeling is better but not nearly complete. With the ship being Margaritaville very surprised the lack of Jimmy Buffet music that played and no bands to play his music just video recordings? Feel like it needs a little more for people to do or entertainment to offer. Only having regular tv with commercials is awful if people have to pay that much for internet it needs to be available to all devices so you can watch your subscriptions apps, or the ship needs to offer alternatives. It seems like everything costs extra and automatic tips. Once you pay a thousand for a 3-day cruise you really don't want to hear about spending more money or surprise charges. I've heard that's a thing with cruises but it doesn't have to be, be better and upfront about the expenses and people can have the opportunity to make payments or pay early and not the day checking in. Vacation and time away should be stress-free and easy. Unfortunately for this I won't be back I enjoyed my time on carnival and going to Nassau which I recommend over Freeeport.
*** AVOID AT ALL COSTS *** I'm an avid cruiser and wanted so much to like the cruise due to 1) its local for me 2) I'm a big Buffet fan and 3) I like the ports of call. On the positive, the ship is very new, suite staterooms are spacious and well laid out, and the food (especially burger bar) is quite good.
However..... all of these qualities are offset but completely incompetent and uncaring management. I've never been on a cruise where you wait in incessant lines for EVERYTHING ! Buffets constantly out of meat/food while people stand in line and wait for them to replenish about 10 persons worth. Every meal is the same thing and Fins restaurant is even worse. The disembarkation process is also a waiting nightmare. I've done this cruise twice and each time it took over 2 hours. They blame customs but do nothing to address because mgmt is incompetent and/or uncaring.
I used to think Carnival was not very good (as compared to Norwegian etc) but this cruise makes Carnival look like the Ritz Carlton. In Margaritaville's defense, their price is cheap but my time/enjoyment can't be sacrificed just for the sake of cheap.
First time cruising with the Heroes program. Very disappointed the moment stepped on board. Purchased the license to chill package is misleading. Wine tasting, dinner and breakfast was not up to par. The meals we chose could have been better. Even the buffet wasn't appealing but had to eat with medication. Some of staff was rude, disrespectful and arrogant. Had a bartender that didn't know how to make a simple drink w/o looking it up. Our room was clean, but was in need of ventilation Security apparently targeted certain people. To make it worse, the water was off the morning of departure and was given no warning or notice. Did not feel safe or comfortable for a vacation. Not returning.
I had an absolutely amazing time on the Margaritaville at Sea cruise to the Bahamas! From start to finish, everything was top-notch. The staff were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, making sure every detail was perfect. The food was exceptional, and I found myself indulging in delicious meals every day.
When we docked at Freeport, Bahamas, I was met with the warmest and nicest people. The overall experience was incredibly enjoyable, and I found myself truly relaxing and having fun. I'm already looking forward to my next cruise with Margaritaville at Sea! Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantastic getaway.
I travel a lot. 10+ out of the country resort trips in the last 4 years, this was my first cruise. When we were leaving we had an offer for a free cruise and I threw the paper away because there is NO WAY you could get me back on a Margaritaville cruise. When I pay upfront for a vacation I shouldn't have to keep paying on vacation!
I purchased the Ultimate license to chill package for my husband and I. When I booked I read the drink package as 10 drinks a day per person. Turns out it's TEN drinks total for both people over the entire cruise. After 10 drinks you are paying $15-20 per drink.
EVERY transaction! EVERY TRANSACTION THAT YOU DO WILL GET CHARGED A 18% gratuity. Get a drink 18%, get a coffee 18%, get a coke at dinner with the drink package you have already paid for 18%. They then offered a blender cup that was supposed to be better and get you more alcohol.. that was $$25 and turn out you have to PAY AN ADDITIONAL $8 for EVERY REFILL! The ultimate package is the best one you can get and I still had to buy a soda package for $35 per person. The coffee shop on board is not included in any package. The food was not good, lacked any seasoning. We ate burgers from the 5 o'clock somewhere spot most meals. The menus available online are not updated per what they actually have that night. We got VIP wrist bands that ONLY helped with getting on and off. You had to have a wristband for drinks, a key card for you room, another 2 wrist bands for excursions and if you didn't have it they weren't looking up your room you had to go get it, SUPER inconvenient.
Room service wasn't included in the package so if you were hungry late night there wasn't anything to eat that was included in your package. Casino was very small and had maybe 40 slot machines. The gift shop/store on board was open during odd hours, never when I actually needed something and then they were out of most items I asked about. They partner with Viva Wyndham when docked at Freeport Bahamas.. that "resort" is more comparable to a Red Roof Inn and they made it seem like a luxurious place and it was down right disgusting deserted resort. If it wasn't for the people from the cruise there were maybe 30 people at the resort. Food was HORRIBLE!
One good thing was the spa on the ship was actually really good. With the ultimate package you get a $300 spa credit, but of course none of the massages fit in that price range. The cheapest was $159 PLUS that 18% per person gratuity.
Save yourself and find another place to vacation.
Coming from a 100% Disabled Army Veteran, DON'T!
Hello my name Drew Wilder and my family and I just got done with a 3-day Margaritaville Cruise in the Bahamas on the Paradise Nassau Boat. First off that right there it's misleading as the boat name would suggest where you may be going, but it most definitely does not bring you to Nassau. The boat brings you to a part of the "grand bahamas" that is basically wiped out still from a hurricane. Not to mention, when the "cruise line" docks you there (on sunday), everything is closed due to religion. So with that half of the market was even closed sadly. Now I jumped too far ahead because there is much more that led to my PTSD and Anxiety to flare up extremely due to situations from this "veteran friendly" cruise line.
Let me bring you to the beginning where I thought hey if a thing or two is wrong its ok. My family and I had the license to chill all inclusive VIP and extra soda and alcoholic drink packages. So right there we spent a good amount of money because we wanted to experience everything the cruise had to offer. We boarded the ship very easily, so there was an actual plus in all of this. Once we were on though, we were swarmed with the deal vultures trying to get you to buy anything. Then you'll head up to go get your drink bracelets, where you might be surprised like I was when I found out the license to chill package is just 10 drinks for 2 to share, not 10 each as it may appear. So obviously we knew we had to buy one more at the very least and so we did. Extremely huge let down right off the bat, but no big deal right? Wrong, we had a couple of hours still to waste as our luggage was still boarding and so we wanted to see where everything was. Right off the bat the 3 kids (16, 7 and 6) wanted to see the pool and so we went up to the "pool deck" or the "smoking deck" as I would call it. As you hold your breath through all the cigarette smoke you get
to "the pool". By observation I'd say no larger than 12 by 12 and just over 4 feet deep. That was the only pool the kids could use and normally it was crowded with 20+ adults. Oddly enough the "adult pool" would always have less adults. All of our kids were extremely depressed about that as that was a huge feature for a child to have fun on a cruise, which was failing on this cruise line. So after that disappointment the kids decided they wanted to go see the different "kids rooms". As we headed that way an absolutely strong stench of mold/mildew just filled your nostrils. It was so disgusting, especially since it was right next to where the majority of the kids were in a 7-12 yr room right next to the theater entrance. It was so bad that other people on the ship talked about it as well. Someone like me that has respiratory issues that is a problem that can harm me. By this time we tried to sign our kids into the room and because my son and his cousin are 4 months apart they had to be split into 2 different rooms. This is absolutely ridiculous as they wanted to experience this cruise together and my youngest was only a few months different. That issue made it very hard for the KIDS to have FUN together, since there basically now no pool they can get in and nothing else other than an arcade for them to do. Extremely dissatisfied with how Margaritaville promotes that they are a veteran family fun boat, THEY ARE NOT.
Now at this time we just got used to something going wrong and figured it can't get worse. I was wrong. One time when we all were going up on Elevator 13 it got stuck on floor 8 as it was going up. It wouldn't move or anything no matter what button we pressed. Then suddenly it opens half way 'ish and myself and a worker held it open for everyone to get out. Then all the worker says is "ya, that one is broken right now". My kids were freaking the hell out and I just had to play it off like I wasn't either. As I tried to keep my family cool we all decided to take the stairs.
The next morning we had a "Dolphin Encounter" and a "Taino Beach" excursion booked and planned and showed up well before the 8:15 time they said you had to be on floor 5 by the desks. We were all so excited because everything else to this point was a huge let down. As my entire family sat and waited for our excursion paddle to show up, we saw family after family getting ready to go on excursions like zip-lining, swimming with turtles, swinging with pigs, kayaking among others. Once it hit 30 mins, ya thats right! 30 mins after 8:15 we went up and asked whats going on because there hasn't been an update. The lady behind the counter had no answer and said to be patient and wait. Once 45 mins past hit. myself and others waiting starting filming the dolphin guy just "chillen" and once he noticed he then started to come out. After an hour past our time the dolphin guy finally says that they are canceling the dolphin encounter completely. This immediately made everyone in the room mad as we all now waited a hour
Ok - you can't beat the experience for the price. It was clean, rooms were spacious, staff was delightful, food was good drinks were good. My only warning is if you do the 2 night trip -- be aware that it's very rushed when you factor in all the hullabaloo of getting on and off the ship. Definitely have your passport to get off the boat quicker and global entry will help too. but it's still a long process.
Best parts:
the adult only pool with bar
The cheeseburger in paradise "burger bar"
The rooms (huge bathroom for a cruise)
The staff
Worst:
Embarking/disembarking
The shows were....well, bring a strong drink
This cruise as awesome!!!
My husband and I just got off of the Islander this morning and all I can say is we were both in tears not wanting to leave. We both have been on many cruises before and though this ship may not have some of the amenities as some of the larger or newer ships, it truly was 1st class for us. As anything you do, it's all in what you make it and we boarded this ship with just the 2 of us, but left with a lot of awesome family. Vee Jay the cruise directior, Venus , Mr. A, our cabin steward Comedian Jay Whittaker and ESPECIALLY Natahlie- Group Coordinator. Nathalie took our small dream of renewing our 10 year wedding vows and made it a beautiful reality that we will truly never forget!!We are already planning our next rip on this ship. Thank you Captain Theo and your ENTIRE crew!
Please, please please be weary of this cruise line! This is my opinion and worth absolutely nothing to some of you. We were set to be on the cruise that was delayed because of weather. We took the option to rebook the cruise again within one year. Last night I received an email telling me I was booked on the cruise to leave this Sunday. I did not book this cruise!!!! When I called, I was told I have one year to book a cruise when I inquired about the email and I was to be leaving in a few days, they told me that was an email they just send out. Now I'm smart enough to know that if I did not show up on Sunday, I would have been considered a no-show. You may have fun once you get on the ship, but I promise you, as a season cruiser, this is the worst customer service cruise line I have ever dealt with.
Wow wow wow.
Just called and spoke to ROWBIE who hung up on me after I asked to speak to a supervisor regarding the horrific reviews and ultra cheap prices after I paid quadruple what they're offering now. My cruise is in 2 weeks. I paid $937.08 (included swimming with the pigs ) and an ocean view. When I asked for an upgrade after the terrible reviews of the staff doing inexplicable and horrifying criminal acts to female guests, ROWBIE replied those BOGO were for TAMPA even though the results were out of the WPB ship/destinations. He said he couldn't upgrade me. Only a supervisor could. So I asked for a supervisor. He then said SURE AND HUNG UP. IM now calling back and again in line on hold for another 22 minutes. I'll update post after hopefully speaking to a supervisor that does the right thing.
Don't be tempted with the promise of low prices because you will "pay" for that! Not a kid-friendly cruise line. Disorganized with horrendous communication. Disgusting pool, Terrible food, and the kicker: they make it difficult to get ahold of drinking water. Can't stress this enough: don't do it.
Food is 2/5 stars. Cabins are 4/5 stars. Entertainment 4/5. Pool capacity 2/5. Overall is a boat that takes you places. Staff is mostly friendly. The food is pretty much mostly high-school cafeteria quality for days and maybe step above for dinner. The entertainment was great. One singer, Filipino, just killed it. Amazing voice. Other than that, no great large shows you'd see on even a carnival or Norwegian, but good engagement from the entertainment. I'd saw 2
5 to 3 overall but if your going just to the Bahamas for a cheap fair sure but I wouldnt pay more than $400 tops for this.
I was on Board the Islander 12th-16th. What a great time I had on board. JOLY at the Pool Bar, an Awesome Guy and FUN.
At the Casino,.. Go See LINGGA, He's a treat!!
AGUNG nd INDRI were Spot on!!
I couldn't of asked for a better time and the crew is 15 out of 10.
You'll be delighted you booked this cruise... Go see the top 4 servers/bartenders and you'll know your taken care of. I'll be booking another cruise soon.
The only thing I didn't like was the edible straw but the food was delicious and the service was wonderful I would recommend to anyone who is thinking about going on a cruise
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