North America's Worst Cruise Ship 

That thing with the billiard balls killed me. They can't be bothered to upkeep the pool table mechanics but they can send a security guard out to actively sabotage the sparse fun that the guests ARE experiencing.

I guarantee you that the tape over the smoke alarm was done by previous passengers so they could smoke in the room, and just wasn't noticed by cleaning staff.

the season pass thing is so fascinating as someone who almost worked on cruise ships and went to school for hospitality and tourism. a lot of older people choose to die on cruise ships, it's so common that there are morgues in the ship and it's talked about beyond the industry. the pass almost feels like it's encouraging it, plus the target audience for this would be older people. it gives me a weird feeling

As a graphic designER I CROAKED at the Chinese copyrighted stock photo wall art. Absolutely amazing.

This is the most depressing cruise ship I've ever seen. It's like a floating retirement home, but with no people.

That man taking all the balls from an active game and saying "Game's Over" seems quite on brand for what I'd expect from the title of the video

I was shocked when you started revealing the prices. For how jank everything is I was expecting it to at least be cheap to match, but you can get the same value for your money on a low end royal carribbean cruise, have a blast, AND not worry about whether the carpet in major areas of the ship is growing moss! That's what truly makes this the worst cruise. If this had been an absolute bottom barrel price, I'd totally get why you'd sail on this. As it is, I think you'd probably get better value for your money finding a game of 3 card monte and betting it all on the left cup.

Went on this cruise just before Christmas. The pool table is still broke and the netting over the pickle ball court was down on one corner. We easily found seating around the pool and buffet. The back pool isn't at all accessible for some in a wheelchair. I enjoyed the food in both the buffet and Fins. Others in my group order $25 steaks that were tough and tasteless. We played trivia games and won a lot of margaritas. I didn't buy the drink package and stuck with the free water, lemonade and juice in the buffet. I enjoyed the dueling pianos and theatre shows. You forgot to include the mandatory tips and fuel surcharge that will add $200 to your cost...and billed to your CC after you leave port.

If the passenger rooms and public spaces are so sketchy, what must the crew quarters look like?😬

Imagine the "wear and tear" on the areas you can't see? Like the kitchen or the engine room.

Corn lasagna isn't real. It can't hurt you. Corn lasagna:

Emmi's face at 12:40 reacting to the entertainment was priceless, it made me belly laugh. I've had a moment like that on at least every cruise I've been on.

"Take a picture in front of the Titanic staircase" Yeah, that's definitely what I want to be thinking about on my questionable ocean adventure aboard a slightly janky ship. 😂

Bright Sun Travels put more effort into making this video than the owners have in their cruise line

The elevator speaking in Italian is absolute greatness! That and the scotch tape over the smoke detector. You just cant find quality like that anymore! LOL

This seems like the quintessential nightmare cruise. Thank you for enduring what you did so we don't have to!

Just canceled our margaritaville at sea cruise! I am so happy I saw this video when we could still get a full refund lol.

Eddy Burback and Ted Nivison did a video a while back where they visited every Margaritaville restaurant/resort location in North America. The only thing they didn’t check out was the ship. After watching this video, I think Eddy and Ted would’ve been glad they didn’t go anywhere near the ship.

At 31:27 “Pairs well with water.” My assumption is any wine that includes “pairs with water” is probably mostly water itself. 😂

I just got off this ship yesterday, you are being generous with the scores. I have been on a few other cruises including a now defunct cruise that is laid up grounded on a Mexican shore now abandoned and even that ship was better when I went as a kid. There is now an extra gratuity charge and fuel surcharge added to your onboard acct after you board. Which on this cruise came out to an extra $198, so with cruise fare of two adults and a child, for this 2 night Bahama cruise, the final bill came a rough $756 after fare, taxes, port fees, gratuity, and fuel surcharge. That’s nothing else, no extra packages, drinks, souvenirs, taxi or bus to beach, nothing. There are way better options for your money out there. Great for single person or a couple that may live within an hour of the ship for a couple days to kill, other than that it’s not worth it at all.

Them ruining your pool game is so funny to me because there was literally no reason to do that. It’s not like they were really losing money. If the thing was broken, people couldn’t pay to play it anyway? Idk either way it feels pretty salty.

I can’t stop laughing at the employee coming out of nowhere to steal the pool table balls 😂

Thank you for this review Jake. It was great. I’m a Florida native and we’ve been looking into going on one of these. We may still try it, but I think my standards will just be super low. We typically sail Disney and have recently gotten into MSC cruises. I have the same environmentality gripe with MSC. They swear they’re the greenest ships on the water, but the amount of paper you get onboard is bananas. Keep doing these!! I’m a cruise ship fanatic too so stuff like this is awesome

idk why but I find the two cabins being different in small but still very significant ways to be hilarious

I'm so incredibly happy this channel exists. RU-vid needs more content like this - honest travel reviews from an unbiased source yet still with HIGH production value. Incredible stuff, Jake.

I'm so genuinely saddened by the poole table - firstly, it should be free anyway! second, why would that security guard decide he was going to take it away. It feels very unfair and rubbish.

That ship has the exact luxurious appeal of a greek car ferry of similar age. But I have slept on the carpet under the front windows on one of those, and I most certainly didn't have to rest my head on literal MOSS!

6:42 "Wine... pairs well with water." France and Italy have left the chat.

This is so surreal for me. I'm a resident of Grand Bahama Island, so I've been on this ship so many times. For Bahamians, we use this as a ferry, more or less. It's often cheaper than flying out of Grand Bahama, and the biggest advantage is that since many Grand Bahamians shop in Florida in bulk and bring stuff back, using this ship is very easy for large loads. Great video!

this the perfect accompaniment to eddy burback and ted nivision’s videos on margaritaville. i love all the historical background in your videos

Your video convinced me to book this cruise. I need to experience North America's Worst Cruise Ship! Wish me luck.

You three deserve an award for getting on this OLD TIRED SHIP, bravo for your self sacrifice. There are people who this ship will be perfect for. You guys are not part of that group. I don’t cruise, ever, but this was so enlightening! I got a good chuckle out of your adventures. Thanks!😂

When Margaritaville first started they were offering free cruises for Military. I looked at going. When looking at their drink packages and shore excursions it was going to cost me more than what I'd pay for a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean. I've seen tons of videos on their cruise ships and they seem like they're a motel 6 at Sea.

I feel like anything Jimmy Buffet-related is best shared with friends, and your review provides a good case for that argument. And yes, I also can’t believe there isn’t an area called “Jimmy’s Buffett” on this ship.

So true story: toward the end of 2019 I was part of a group that chartered the Grand Celebration (after we didn't have enough people to fill a Royal Caribbean ship)... in 2020 the ship was sent to scrap, RIP Grand Celebration. but our group still jokes that we defiled the ship so bad they couldn't let anyone else on it lmao.

Thanks for making this video. After watching a lot of cruise content lately I became convinced that all cruises are good but now I know that there are still operators with subpar cleanliness, dining options and activities!

This cruise really gives you the “you get what you paid for” vibes.

i can’t get over the fact that emmi got locked in a public bathroom- that’s insane

I sailed professionally both Naval and Merchant and I can tell you ALL of the ships, except the ones just out of the shipyard or from the builder suffer mechanically. If you see the black smoke from the stack...that an indication of engine wear and time for an overhaul but these ships run almost continuously so the wear and tear is intense

Reminds me of gated apartment communities in low income areas. Constantly rebranding to avoid negative reviews.

The saddest part for me is that the Costa Classica was such a beautiful ship with so much effort and care put into it, but now it’s just a sold out dead queen of the seas.

RIP to a legend 🙏🏻 Even though your cruise sucked, you certainly didn’t 😔💗🌴

Can tell you the reason the crew were the best was they were trying to make up for the crapfest they were working in. I work at a motel that’s falling apart in a tourist town, and the new mngmnt is all about just making $$. So on a night the rates are priced high bc of an event, I’m just trying to do what I can for the guests, hoping to distract them from the mildew in their rms or the pcs of rusted ceiling falling in the parking lot.

This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌

I used to work for a company that advertized these "free" cruises as a prize but you still had to pay almost 300 worth of taxes. What people didn't realize is that they'd have to sit through a time share presentation. They were better off catching a Carnival cruise for a better value at around the same price.

19:21 Missed opportunity for the gym to not be called the Gymmy Buffett.

Wes palm resident here. as soon as you asked “is there really anything to do on board other than get drunk” and i was like nope. if you’re gettin on this boat, you’re either gonna be face down drunk or being accosted by people who are about to be face down drunk

Great show. Good info Thanks.

I was hoping when you were describing the places to hydrate while showing the rain footage of the deck one of the options would've been to capture rain water and drink it.

I was a commercial diver in South Florida for a few years. We did a lot of work on the celebration. We swam the surveys on her, and did the hull/prop cleanings. That boat was a pile of junk. It was a RORO ferry, turned into a sewage stinking cruise ship.

Great video!. I have to admit that it was like a train wreck that I couldn’t turn away from, but you presented it expertly. Just kinda sad to think that people who went on this actually had to deal with such a delapidated vessel. Crazy!.

Look, I am a snob. I have always been repelled and strangely fascinated by cruising. Your review makes me fascinated with the 1980's jinxed ship experience tricked up just enough to be the bottom feeder in a rather deep cruise ecosystem. A "cruise" just short enough to be a laugh and say "guess what I did?" and get bragging rights. The Margaritaville is certainly on my bucket list now . P.S I survived Contiki Tours 14 countries in 10 days bus tour in the late 1980's, so I am match fit for this.

My buddy and I went on a 10 day cruise on this ship as it was repositioning from FL to the west coast. There were only 160 passengers on our trip, so the activities, food, etc were all scaled way back. It was not even remotely a normal cruise experience, but we expected that. The crew (who outnumbered guests 3 to 1) were all fantastic, and being such a long trip with few guests, my friend and I got to know a lot of the crew very well and remain friends to this day. We both look back quite fondly on that trip, despite the lack of normal cruise ship amenities.

I love how security quickly broke up your pool game once they saw that they were getting stiffed on they themselves trying to stiff people 🙄. I wonder if they ever actually fixed the pool table because if they're not going to do so, you might as well let people have their fun. Also...it was, what, $2 a game? The ship is going to need to make a LOT more money than that measely pool table would bring in if they have any hope of actually drawing more peoole in 😂.

Very interesting video, well done

Note from a veteran cruiser--Avoid short cruises like the plague. ---Low class passengers drunk are during whole cruise.

Ah, the Grand Bahama ferry! It's cheaper and comfier than the legit ferry, has a good deal for one-way trips, and has a option to basically bring a crate of stuff with you for big shopping trips to Florida. While it clearly sucks as a cruise, it's great for residents of the island! As an aside, I hope you were able to record any of the interesting abandoned places while you were here, as there are some really cool ones, such as the Crowne Plaza/Princess Resort, International Bazaar, the Xanadu hotel, or the old Arawak hotel. All places killed by various hurricanes, but with uniquely interesting backstories and in varying states of preservation. Unfortunately not much footage of them exist on the internet so it would neat to see a proper video on them.

Someone definitely hotboxed that cabin lol

When are we getting the next cruise ship video? I love these 😊

This is kinda adorable, but it’s a shame it wasn’t great. I love how old the ship looks and feels, and I wish there were more retro shipping experiences out there.

I have no intention of going on this cruise but the content is just so damn entertaining I watch it in it's entirety. Good work.

You are very brave for sailing on this ship. As soon as I saw the rooms I would've gotten off.

I like that your friend decided to have as much as possible, even on such a disappointing ship.

“Pairs well with water” on the wine I’m DYIIING

You can catch a high speed ferry from Ft Lauderdale to one of several of the islands of the Bahamas for around $200 one way or $300 roundtrip. Trip is 2 hours or more depending on destination. They also have package deals with hotels. The ferries aren’t very luxurious but you’re only on them for a short time. Much more cost effective than a cruise

I always thought the ship was a wrongful choice for the Margaritaville Brand. Side note, we just were on the Disney Fantasy last week, and boy, even the crew had not great things to say about the new Wish, even further your points on that ship. additionally, one of our engines died on the way to cast away. So they gave us all a $250 credit as well as 25% off next cruise so we may go again next year.

Really amazing review.

Great video! I subbed and will watch all the rest to help your channel, in hopes that you do a bunch more like this with other fleets!! Looked like an awful cruise but was a fun video!! Good job!

No one should travel without a black light

If the Margaritaville brand wants to maintain a good reputation, they need to be more careful with the business ventures that they are allowing to use their name.

plot twist, the parrot mascot is the captain doing overtime

You did a great job not bashing a cruise line that was essentially horrible

The wine saying 'pairs well with water' is insane

"Aggressively average." I love it. LOL I need to remember that one.

Im going on my second Disney Cruise in 61 days and I was wondering if it was worth it. Thank you for this. I needed it.

As a European I have no idea what a “margaritaville” is but I can safely say after this review the overnight car ferry from the UK to France is nicer than this cruise 🤣

I would definitely be interested in hearing your take on Cruise Recommendations for first timers. Especially couples, no kids, etc. Great work as always man!

Super quick nostalgia blast here: I actually sailed on the Ocean Breeze way back in 1998 on my first and thus far only cruise. She was indeed an old ship, though at the time I didn't realize how old or that she was a minor maritime legend, formerly the Southern Cross, one of the first ocean liners with all-aft machinery layout. Despite her age though, I have nothing but fond memories of her, from the sail-away party with an Eastern European band singing a hilariously accented version of "Celebrate Good Times, Come On!" to a lovely violin piano duo that we loosely followed around the ship, right down to the all of the bartenders recognizing my father's multicolored tam hat and greeting us with "Hey, Bob Marley, mon!" and mixing the parents' drinks extra strong (the fact they tipped well probably helped). Overall, say what you will about the cruise line's reputation overall, I have no horse in that race, but the Ocean Breeze at least was a grand ship. I was actually a little brokenhearted to learn she'd been scrapped in 2003.

My wife and I looked into this. I’m sure most people, like ourselves, weren’t looking for a budget cruise. We were actually looking for a margaritaville experience. With that being said, previous videos of the ship, made us question whether we even wanted to try it.

You have encouraged me to book this cruise, looks like a blast if you're into weird things.

Thank you so much for continually finding stuff that I never knew existed or even knew I wanted reviewed. Also this ship sounds cursed ☠️

sounds like you made the best of a less than prestigious experience. It always makes for a better story when things are sketchy and you've got great people along. Super fun video, thanks for doing this. Subscribed!

These videos are so good

We've been on this cruise multiple times going back to the old Bahamas Celebration. The first two times we actually thought it was really fun (for what we paid). The last two times we went it was terrible. And the last time was right before they made the switch to Margaritaville. When I say terrible, I mean half the ship was closed down. Hardly any shows. And Freeport was still in rough shape with lots of places still closed. Also, it's not as cheap as you may think. Stuff adds up. It's probably worth paying (what ends up being) only a little more to sail on a legit cruise line.

Sounds exactly like the Margarittaville I used to work at. Look up Lake Lanier Islands Water Park. They sort of bought it out and slapped some logos on it and now its basically the land version of this, on an incredibly dangerous lake. You cant even swim at the beach since they closed it because too many people were drowning.

Rest in peace to Jimmy Buffett. I was able to go on this cruise this year year back in February for my great grandmother birthday. And I will say that was not that terrible But there was some problems to it that was frustrating especially where I have to pay after the cruise on service fees which sucks. I still had a good time with family on this cruise and there was nice people on the cruise without was helpful but still the ship looks a bit outdated and there was many problems to it. But I suggest if you want a cheap cruise for a weekend then maybe you could try it out especially checking out the Bahamas. But if you expect for a cruise that is one of a kind I definitely don't recommend this. Especially don't do any drink package or anything on that ship that cost money.

I love the robotic Phillapina like voice during the muster drill 😅

I saw this when they were offering "free" cruises for first responders and I was thoroughly entertained after watching a couple RU-vid videos and seeing what awaits you at Freeport

Back in November of last year, I went on a cruise on the Carnival Glory and saw this very ship docked next to ours while in Freeport. Even from a distance, the ship felt distinctly dated, what with its rough paint job and overall lack of balconies, and when I looked up its origins (namely the fact that it was over 30 years old), it made a little more sense why it felt that way. Gotta say, though, even with that context, I'm still surprised at the poor condition of much of this ship. Parts of it seem like something you would normally see at the absolute cheapest of cheap motels (Tape on the smoke detectors? Seriously?). It feels like they spared damn ear *every* expense during its conversion from a Costa ship.

We went on “Regal Empress” (a precursor shown early in the video) on the same itinerary on one of its last sailings. We wanted to sail on the historic ocean liner Olympia before it went to the scrapper due to SOLAS requirements. Despite its age, it appeared to be in better shape than this ship and had some genuine historical value. I was impressed the crew was actively painting and varnishing and most of the public spaces (not all) were OK, with the dining room being beautiful. The food was consistently terrible but the staff was very friendly. I have no regrets about getting to sail on Regal Empress, due to its historical value, but would never sail on this if for no other reason than I find every Jimmy Buffett song formulaic and trying. This is a hard no. Thanks for this great video!

Yikes, I’m in West Palm Beach and considered a trip on this since it’s so close by. Glad I saw this!!!

Mans out here putting AUD conversions in the video. Thank you, i feel very seen

I literally just went on a work/employee cruise on this boat... at the same time you were releasing this video. It was actually pretty fun and not overcrowded. It was a bit of a snooze fest but nice to get away.

2:03 Well that's ironic, one of your ships crashes into underwater rocks and ends up on shore, and then a few years later you buy a cruise ship from Costa of all companies.

Nice one Jake!

I was Navy for over 20 years. We ate quite well and kept a clean ship. At 5'4" I would be a monster of an inspector, being able to fit in places where most can't.

It appears Eddie missed a Margaritaville on his pilgrimage

It wouldn't surprise me if the CDC Ship inspectors gave this ship a score of 23/100

I can't believe there's just random Italian books laying around

I'm watching this from Australia and this is hilarious haha well done