Paradise lost and regained: Margaritaville ship back at sea after failing safety inspection
Guests on board Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship were forced to return to dry land this week when the U.S. Coast Guard issued a no-sail order for the recently christened cruise ship.
The Margaritaville at Sea Paradise is a 30-year-old ship (previously run by Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line) that recently underwent a multimillion-dollar Margaritaville-themed refurbishment.
The ship was scheduled to sail from Florida's Port of Palm Beach to Freeport, Grand Bahama, on July 13, but when passengers awoke on July 14, the boat had never left the port. The passengers disembarked that same day, according to local news station WPTV in West Palm Beach.
All guests were compensated due to the cancellation.
During the ship's annual "Certificate of Compliance" exam, Port State Control officers from Marine Safety Detachment Lake Worth identified issues that had to be rectified for the safety of crew and passengers.
Related: Margaritaville at Sea sets sail on choppy waters: Why you should wait to book a cruise
Typically, if the Coast Guard finds minor issues during an inspection, they will still allow the cruise line to address the issues over time. They will only issue a no-sail order for safety issues that must be fixed immediately.
In this case, "the ship's certificate of compliance was temporarily suspended while work onboard was completed in the port, primarily related to the closure of automated doors," according to a statement from Oneil Khosa, CEO of Margaritaville at Sea. "We cooperated fully and completed all necessary work to return to safe service and welcome guests back onboard in under 48 hours."
"Margaritaville At Sea's top priority is to ensure the safety of our guests and crew members. Our cruise line's shoreside and shipboard teams worked closely with the United States Coast Guard to expeditiously address the issue and were cleared for sailing this morning following an inspection of work completed," the statement continued.
Margaritaville at Sea cruise line, which operates two-night sailings to Freeport and back every other day, has resumed normal operations for this weekend's sailing. It will leave today at 5 p.m. for Freeport and return to Port of Palm Beach on Sunday morning.
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