Tampa Now Home To Margaritaville Cruise: Here’s When
Tampa is going to be home to the new Margaritaville cruise. The name of the cruise ship is called the Islander. Firstly, Margaritaville at Sea announced that their new ship the Islander will start sailing from Tampa in the summer of 2024. This is Margaritaville at Sea’s second ship. That ship is called the Paradise which launched in May 2022. The cruise on the Islander from Tampa will begin on June 14, 2024. Additionally, it will sail to Key West, Cozumel and Progreso in Mexico. Finally the new ship that will be sailing out of Tampa can accommodate 2,680 passengers. Finally, the cruise out of Tampa will be four or five nights.
“Since we launched our first ship, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, last year, we’ve been working to expand what our guests have been asking for: more amazing views, longer itineraries, and new ports of call,” said Christopher Ivy, CEO of Margaritaville at Sea. “The addition of the Islander is an exciting moment for Margaritaville at Sea and marks the next chapter of growth for our business.” Christopher continued, “We are also pleased to add Tampa as a new homeport – the perfect location to provide access to our adventurous new itineraries in and around the Gulf of Mexico.”
The Margaritaville Name Is World Famous
The name Margaritaville is based on Jimmy Buffett’s 1977 song by the same name. Jimmy Buffett turned it into a restaurant chain which became highly successful with the first one opening up in 1985 in Key West. Additionally, they are headquartered in Orlando. There are 23 locations of the Margaritaville restaurant in the world. Finally, the Margaritaville name can be found at other places, including retail outlets, vacation clubs, hotels, casinos and cruises.
Finally, Jimmy Buffett passed away on September 1, 2023 at the age of 76. He released over 30 albums and sold over 20 million of those albums. Other songs that he released other than “Margaritaville” that became very popular include “Come Monday”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and he also teamed up with Alan Jackson for “It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere”.
[SOURCE: WFLA]
Jelly Roll: 5 Songs You Need To Know From 'Whitsitt Chapel'
As Jelly Roll celebrates his 39th birthday today (12/4), we celebrate him and the album that brought him to country superstardom, Whitsitt Chapel.
As a journalist who has lived for many years in Antioch, Jelly’s hometown and a suburb of Nashville, when I saw the album cover and his tribute to Whitsitt Chapel, it looked pretty familiar to me. The family and I drive by it often on our way to Percy Priest Lake and the recreation area. If my husband wasn’t a teacher in another county in Tennessee wanting his kids to go where he teaches, both of my children would have attended Antioch High School just like Jelly did.
When the album was released in June of this year (2023), Jelly Roll described it as “Real music for real people with real problems.” He added that the project was “about growth and gratitude happening in my life.” The album and his music struck a nerve with listeners, who quicky made it one of the most successful album releases in country music in 2023.
Jelly has been a top award nominee and often a winner. Last month (November), he won his first CMA Award for New Artist of the Year.
Just a couple of days after winning the New Artist award and performing twice at the CMA Awards in Nashville, Jelly Roll learned that he is a three-time GRAMMY nominee for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which will air on February 4, 2024, on CBS.
Jelly posted a video on his Instagram; in the clip, he is openly weeping and wiping tears away. He says, shot on his phone at his Nashville area home, “I’m not sure if I’m gonna post this or not because I’m so emotional, but the greatest honor an artist can ever hear is that they’ve been nominated for a GRAMMY. I got to hear that this morning.”
He paused for a moment to get even more emotional before saying, “I haven’t cried like this since my daddy died. I tried to make this video seven times, ya’ll.”
We gathered five songs from the Whitsitt Chapel album that we believe stand out the most and everyone should know.
Kevin is a member of Tampa Bay‘s Hometown Morning Krewe on 995 QYK. He has been with the station for 25 years, is a Tampa native, and went to Jesuit High School and USF. Go Bulls!. He is passionate about all things Tampa Bay. Kevin writes articles on the ongoing road projects around the Tampa Bay area, awards that Tampa Bay cities and businesses have won and country music happenings around the Bay area. He is always doing many things with his wife and kids. He loves to read books and play video games in his spare time.
