Norwegian Cruise Line & Margaritaville: It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere!

One of the best concerts Mel and I ever attended was in Charlotte, North Carolina featuring Jimmy Buffett & his Coral Reefer Band. If we hadn’t been big fans before, we’d have become instant Parrot Heads. As a result, we are ready to get our Fins Up and shakers of salt ready, as the first-ever floating Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant and 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar will soon set sail onboard the all-new Norwegian Escape.

News of the partnership was announced last week at a company-wide event with the assistance of a very special guest—the legendary Jimmy Buffett himself, who performed for the crowd (pictured below). Norwegian’s exclusive partnership with Margaritaville Holdings LLC extends to Norwegian’s island destinations to include Margaritaville branded food and beverage locations on Norwegian’s new island destination in Harvest Caye, Belize, set to open in fall 2015 and a 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar on Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, planned to also debut in 2015. Additionally, the partnership will extend to other ships in the fleet in the future.

“Jimmy Buffett is an icon who embodies the island lifestyle and his Margaritaville lifestyle brand which includes restaurants and bars in its portfolio is a perfect fit for Norwegian Cruise Line and the incredible new Norwegian Escape, that will sail the Caribbean and offer our guests the first and only Margaritaville experience at sea,” said Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sheehan. “We are more than thrilled to form this exclusive partnership with Jimmy and his talented team and we know our guests are going to love the new tropical experiences.”

The Margaritaville name brings to mind the desire in everyone to kick back and escape the everyday, if only for a short time. Norwegian Escape’s Margaritaville restaurant and bar will embody that essence of escapism with a laid back atmosphere inspired by the lyrics and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett. The restaurant menu will invite guests to take a bite out of paradise with signature items like the Cheeseburger in Paradise and Who's to Blame Margarita. This venue will be one of Norwegian Escape’s numerous complimentary dining outlets. In addition to the restaurant, Norwegian Escape will feature the 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar, a music venue and outdoor bar on The Waterfront. The 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar will feature live nightly performances so guests can enjoy the sounds of the tropics while sipping a signature margarita or “boat drink” and gazing out to the Caribbean Sea. Sorry, those drinks won’t be complimentary.

Norwegian Escape will begin weekly 7-day cruises from her year-round homeport of Miami to the Eastern Caribbean beginning on November 14, 2015. The ship will be the largest to home port year-round in Miami, carrying 4,200 guests to tropical Caribbean destinations including St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas.

Here at Cruise Diva’s headquarters we’re excited about the news and have just one question, “What took so long for a cruise line to figure out what a great idea this is?”

Images Courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line