So when we arrived back to the van after our last cruise, we went to turn on the fridge again cause we were gonna go camping for a couple of days and we got an error code on the fridge and it wouldn’t turn on. Last year we had issues with it for something different that Greg was able to repair but this error code was something beyond what could be fixed so while we were at the campground we did some Internet Refrigerator shopping and found one that we hope will fit in the space where the old fridge was. We are leaving the van at my cousin Maureen’s house in Tampa so we will have the fridge delivered there. Hopefully it will all work out. In the meantime camping without a fridge brings us back to the good old days on the Appalachian trail. Eating processed and premade food. It’s fine for a few days.
This campground is really great. I went on a two mile hike this morning while Greg slept. It was through the bald eagle nesting area but I didn’t see any bald eagles. It was still a pretty awesome trail through nature. Later that day we went for a bike ride and saw some turtles munching away.
So we headed to my cousin Maureen’s house. She made us an awesome dinner and we talked the night away. I forgot to take any photos but will hopefully remember when she picks us up after the cruise. She lives only 15 minutes from the cruise ports so it was a nice short trip here and no traffic at all as it’s a Tuesday and this is the only ship in town. We arrived at around 10 am. And got on the ship by 10:30 am. We received this cruise offer from a company called URComped. We sent them a copy of our Celebrity Cruise offers and they matched them with other cruise lines. That is how we got this free cruise. Plus on top of the offer, they gave us the express pass which allowed us to board so early and we also get free WiFi and our first balcony room. I thought for sure there was some kind of catch but there isn’t. The only thing that was different was we had to put down $150 deposit that we get back in onboard credit to use on the ship.
This ship and the clientele are much different than the Celebrity ships. Lots of Parrot heads plus the ship is decorated so differently with tiki bars and all that fun stuff.
We explored the ship and then had some lunch at the buffet which was really delicious. It wasn’t as big as Celebrity’s buffet but the food tastes better, atleast today’s lunch. There was bracciole and it was delicious. The only negative point so far if I’m doing a comparison is that our room won’t be ready till 1:30 so we gotta lug around our backpacks instead of leaving them on the room like we do on Celebrity. Also, Margaritaville doesn’t have an app so we have no idea what’s going on today as far as activities and bands go. I’m sure there will be a paper copy in our room when we get to go in.
So around 1:00 Greg decided to get The Cheeseburger in Paradise and it was amazing!!
Let’s talk about our room. This was the first comped balcony we have ever gotten and it was beautiful. The only issue was that the air conditioning was stuck on ICEBOX temperature the first night. It was so so cold! Next day I called maintenance and they were able to fix it. Thank God. Brrrrrrrr
Those backpacks we are wearing in the room pictures above are the only luggage we bring on a cruise. It’s funny when we get off of the ship and we start heading out, we always get stopped and asked if we need to go pick up our luggage and the answer of course is no and they’re always like. Wow, you guys are so efficient. We definitely have the hang of cruise packing now.
On the second night of the cruise we went to the show which was some country hokey southern thing. The dancers were excellent but even that couldn’t get me to stay the entire time of a country song show. After the show we went to the casino for a bit. I’ve been doing very well with making my money last. Gambling is so much more fun when you don’t lose right away.
Next day was Progreso Mexico. It is a 4 mile Pier so you have to take the shuttle bus to town. It was a mob scene. Not fun. And the hawking was pretty bad. We walked around, went to the beach and then went back to ship. The beach was like Robert Moses. Cloudy with seaweed. This port is bottom three for both of us.
I probably should have just stayed on the ship where I had the entire pool area to myself.
The Margaritaville is a very laid back ship. I’m really liking it so far. The food is delicious and our cabin steward is very nice. Deck 7 actually won the towel animal competition against all the other decks.
The production shows are very entertaining just like on Celebrity. The headliners are great too. Greg got chosen by the magician to go on stage. He was a natural.
All in all I would recommend this ship to a friend. They have way more deck space than any other cruise we have been on and getting a lounge chair by the pool was never an issue. Tey even have an outdoor adult only pool. Whats better than that!
Our last and final night on the Margaritaville was fun and we went to bed sort of early because we had express debarking and had to meet at 6:45 am and get off ship at 7 am. We settled in nicely to the main dining area where the other express people were waiting. Then the announcements began for someone named Amy Phelps to go to guest services. Every 5 to 10 minutes they made this announcement. This went on for 90 minutes!!! Finally she was found and was taken off the ship in handcuffs. We wound up getting off around 8:45 am. My cousin, Maureen picked us up and then Greg loaded the new refrigerator into the van and went to visit his parents around 40 minutes away and Maureen and I went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.
The stadium was absolutely beautiful. The parking was easy and the pretzels were warm and soft. The only two bad things about the game was that they lost and it rained the whole time. Thankfully we had ponchos and managed to stay semi dry. After the game, Greg came back and off we went on our van journey. We drove two hours north in the pouring rain and arrived at the Gainesville Cracker Barrel for some dinner and a good nights rest.
From there we were off to Lowe’s to install our new fridge. We needed to raise it up onto some two by four slats because it was a half inch too wide for the space where our old fridge sat. Greg had to do some thinking and some cutting but we did finally get it to fit. And it looks great.
The whole time we were working on it, we had these cute visitors watching us.
From there we just drive another 15 minutes to the nearest rest area. The time zone changed for us so now it’s getting dark super early. It got down to 34° last night. Brrrr. Thank God for our zero degree bags and the heater that we have in here.
We also did our annual stop at Bass Pro Shop for our photo with Santa.
Next day made it to Gulfport Mississippi where the Island View casino offered us two free nights in a nice room plus 2 free Buffet’s, an order of Beignets, and $300 dollars of their money to gamble with. That’s called free play and this casino loves taking care of us.
From there we drove about two hours to Farr Equestrian Park and RV Camping in Baton Rouge, right down the block from LSU. We had the entire place to ourselves and that included a picnic table for just 10 bucks!
Next night was good ole Cracker Barrel in Beaumont, Texas and then off to Galveston for Free Cruise Number 5. This next cruise is an MSC Cruise. The ship is HUGE! The biggest thus far of any ship we have been on. This cruise was offered to us from URComped and because it’s an Italian ship, they don’t charge taxes or Port Fees and on top of that, at the last minute, they upgraded us to a Deluxe Balcony with a bathtub. I can’t even imagine a cruise ship bathroom with a bathtub. It just doesn’t seem possible. I’ll guess you’ll have to wait till the next blog to see if it really is possible.
The Van Stops Here 
Not sure my first reply was saved. Definitely jealous of the free cruises. Looking forward to hearing about your MSC Cruise, we haven’t sailed that line, nor have we sailed Margaritaville. I assumed there would be a lot drinking on the Margaritaville line but I see I was wrong. I had mentioned going on their ships to John. Sounds good but that requires him taking time off from the deli and that isn’t possible right now. Anyways, happy sailing!
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