UPDATE: July 15, 2022 - The Margaritaville at Sea Paradise has been cleared to sail, and its Certificate of Compliance renewed by the U.S. Coast Guard following some onboard repairs, and has returned to its regular sailing schedule.
The CEO of Margaritaville at Sea told local outlet WPTV earlier today that the U.S. Coast Guard placed a 'No Sail Order' on the cruise line's ship, Paradise, at the Port of Palm Beach, located in Riviera Beach, Florida.
The Coast Guard revealed the reason for its issuance of the 'No Sail Order', saying:
"Cruise ships operating in the U.S. are required under federal law to have a Certificate of Compliance exam every six months. During this ship's annual exam, Port State Control officers identified conditions, which required the ship to stay in port until rectified due to the safety of the crew and passengers. The ship will not sail until the conditions are rectified."
The order was issued on Wednesday after guests had already boarded the ship. Although Margaritaville at Sea's Paradise was scheduled to depart on July 13 for Freeport, Bahamas, passengers awoke Thursday morning to find themselves still docked in Palm Beach.
All passengers disembarked at some point on Thursday afternoon, with many of them expressing their disappointment at the way the situation was handled.
"It's very inconvenient. I feel like regardless of what happened, they could've had somebody else take us," Alyse Scott, who hails from Georgia, told WPTV. "One girl said she was going for her mother's funeral, and another couple was going to get married. It was just a lot of people on there crying, mad and upset."
Nikki and Quincey Lloyd, a couple from South Carolina who'd planned on cruising as a combined celebration of their seventh wedding anniversary and a birthday, were among the guests who expressed their dismay.
"These are the times when our vacations mean more to us than anything else," said Lloyd. "We are living in hard times right now. Between the pandemic, the economic crisis and all of the different situations we're going through in the world, vacation is something families value."
In a statement released on Thursday, Margaritaville at Sea CEO Oneil Khosa told WPTV:
"Margaritaville at Sea Paradise was not able to move forward with its planned departure on July 13. During a routine inspection, the United States Coast Guard identified some corrective actions that the cruise line is expeditiously undertaking and managing to ensure the safety of all crew members and guests. The cruise line's shoreside and shipboard teams are working closely with the United States Coast Guard to quickly address the flagged items and continue sailing on schedule. We do not anticipate any additional impact to our planned itineraries. All guests have disembarked from the ship and have received compensation for the inconvenience."
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