The CHEAPEST cabin on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise - Interior Cabin - Full review
I recently cruised onboard ‘Paradise’, the first ever cruise ship in the Margaritaville at Sea fleet. Before taking this cruise, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, due to the fact that the line only offered short cruises out of Florida at the point of me taking the cruise. This meant that VERY FEW British cruisers have actually tried the line, so I didn’t know anyone who had been onboard.
I found myself in Florida for a few nights between ships, and it worked out cheaper to try this cruise line than to stay on land (like I needed an excuse…), so it was time for me to board a brand new ship and get out to sea to understand Margaritaville at Sea’s product!
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On ‘Paradise’, you’re able to cruise in multiple different room types, and I’ve reviewed them ALL on this website - just click here to head to my Margaritaville at Sea section, where you can find all of my reviews. There’s Interior (also called ‘inside’) cabins - what we’re looking at today, Oceanview cabins, and a range of Suite options - you won’t be short for choice on this little ship!
Let’s get started with looking at the most budget-friendly accommodation option onboard: the Inside cabin:
That’s right - the photograph you’re looking at here is an Interior cabin onboard a cruise ship that was first launched back in 1991. When I first stepped into this room, I couldn’t believe how fresh and modern it felt. Granted, Margaritaville at Sea did refurbish the cabins after taking over the ship, but I was SO impressed at the calibre of room being offered here.
This is the cabin grade you would be booking if you were to opt for the insanely cheap promotional rates offered occasionally from this cruise line, and I would be DELIGHTED arriving at one of these rooms if I’d got a great price!
In terms of location on the ship, you’ll find these cabins spread across decks 4, 5, 6 and 7, and some will have a capacity of 2 guests, and others will have a capacity of 4. The room that I’m showing you today is designed to accommodate 2 guests. You’ll find that the cabins able to accommodate more passengers will be a little larger - the average room in this category is 176 Sq Ft.
In terms of amenities, these budget-friendly cabins pack a punch. In each room, you’re going to find:
Your own Television
A desk, a table and a chair
A hair dryer
Storage space (we’ll come back to this in a second)
A phone (to call other cabins, or land - note: this last option isn’t cheap!)
In short, this cabin has everything that I’d have expected from any other cruise line, so a big ‘thumbs up’ from me here!
You’re also going to find bottles of water and wine in the room, but be aware - these aren’t included in your cruise fare. If you don’t want them, just pop them somewhere out of sight during your cruise, and ensure you don’t take them home at the end, or you’ll be charged for the luxury!
Ok, let’s go back to storage…
This really is the area where these cabins outperform so many other cruise lines that I’ve been with. If you scan through the above pictures, you can get a feel for just how much storage is in here. Remember - although this ship is currently offering mostly shorter cruises, it is an actual cruise ship, and so was fitted out fully when the ship was owned by Costa Cruises years ago. It’s great to see that so much storage remains available, and the cruise line haven’t chosen to strip it bare, leaving very little space for passengers to keep their belongings tidy in their cabins.
My only gripe when it came to storage was the handles on the drawers and wardrobes - I found them to be really annoying, and would like to see these replaced with better handles in the future. However, I appreciate that they’re probably the original fittings, and so do also understand why they probably haven’t been changed before now…
Next up, let’s move on to talk about the bathroom. Just like every other cruise ship, you’re going to have your own ensuite bathroom when you cruise with Margaritaville at Sea (thank goodness, I know…!). Here’s what the bathroom looked like in this cabin:
First impressions? Really positive in here too - similar to what I felt when I first walked into the bedroom itself. This part of the room has obviously been updated fairly recently, and I heard from crew members that not every cabin bathroom looks like this. Infact, the room I actually stayed in onboard (I’ll show you this in another post) had a MUCH older bathroom than this one, and so I can testify that this is a good one!
In terms of the layout here, it’s been quite cleverly done to feel bigger than it actually is - if you look in the mirror, you’ll be able to see that the shower cubicle is tall and slim, and the toilet sits directly infront, which allows the passenger to walk in and be faced with a full-length mirror (I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a cruise ship cabin, but really like it!).
In here, you’re getting a bar of soap as your ‘included’ toiletries, but this is absolutely fine considering the price point that we’re looking at with this cruise line. You know what I am going to say I didn’t like about this bathroom, don’t you? The shower curtain.
It’s long been a pet hate of mine to have shower curtains on cruise ships, as it moves around so much when the ship is in motion - good luck keeping that off of you when you’re ‘at sea’ trying to have a wash! However, this is very much a personal preference thing, rather than being an actual issue.
So, an ‘Interior’ or ‘Inside’ cabin onboard Margaritaville at Sea Paradise - would I recommend it to you? Based on what I saw in this cabin, absolutely yes! This isn’t a luxury cabin, but this isn’t what this cruise line is aiming for. If you’re looking for a couple of really good value nights at sea in a decent, clean cabin, then this one could be worth exploring! Can you believe there’s a towel animal in the photo?! I’ve been on MUCH more expensive cruise lines, where towel animals are a thing of the past. Margaritaville at Sea, if you happen to find this post, PLEASE keep the towel animals - I love them!
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