RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — All passengers have disembarked the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship after the U.S. Coast Guard issued a "No Sail Order," according to the CEO of Margaritaville at Sea.
The order was issued on Wednesday.
The cruise ship was supposed to leave Port of Palm Beach to head to the Bahamas. However, passengers woke up Thursday morning still docked in Palm Beach, the Coast Guard told WPTV.
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According to the U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Nicole Groll, the "No Sail Order" was issued due to the following:
Cruise ships operating in the U.S. are required under federal law to have a Certificate of Compliance exam every 6 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 passengers disembarked some time Thursday afternoon, many of them disappointed with how the ordeal was handled.
"It’s very inconvenient. I feel like regardless of what happened, they could’ve had somebody else take us," said Alyse Scott, who traveled from Georgia. "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."
One of the upset couples were Nikki Lloyd and her husband, Quincey, who were hoping to celebrate a birthday weekend and their seventh wedding anniversary.
"These are the times when our vacations mean more to us than anything else," said Lloyd, who traveled from South Carolina. "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 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.