While we are yet to see the kind of "pay once and fly around the world for free" flight subscription that American Airlines AAL briefly offered in the 1980s, airline flight subscriptions have increasingly been popping up over the last two years.
Airlines such as Alaska Airlines ALK, Frontier FRON and European budget airline Wizz Air WZZAF all offer different versions of a flight pass that let travelers pay a single monthly or seasonal fee and then pick their flights either using credits or selecting any flight they want outside of certain popular blackout periods.
Related: Another Airline Is Planning an All-You-Can-Fly Subscription
The limited subscription model is now also seeping into the world of cruise lines. In advance of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, the Margaritaville at Sea cruise line is launching a new "Heroes Pass" that offers active military members, veterans, police officers, firefighters, emergency workers and teachers to take unlimited cruises to the Bahamas through the end of 2024 at a starting price of $300 a year.
Margaritaville Paradise
'A way for our heroes to relax with a quick escape to the Bahamas...'
For everyone else, the same "Ultimate Paradise Pass" launched last March and starts at $999 for the simplest cabin in the interior of the ship. Part of Jimmy Buffett's wider Margaritaville tropical-themed restaurant and hospitality chain, the cruise line branch started offering routes to the Bahamas in May 2022.
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"In our first two years, we've launched the unprecedented Heroes Sail Free program, as well as the cruise industry's first season pass," Margaritaville at Sea Christopher Ivy said in a statement to travel magazine Travel + Leisure. "We're excited to add the Heroes Pass as a way for our heroes to relax with a quick escape to the Bahamas, as often as they want."
Described as an "island at sea" with the typical cruise ship offerings of live music and theatre performances, parties and ample food and drinks, the three-day cruise sails from Florida's Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island.
Here are the terms and conditions you need to know before paying up
Both the Heroes and regular pass come with numerous terms and conditions. The subscription fee does not include the taxes, terminal fees, fuel surcharges and tips one leaves for the services onboard the trip. Booking fees for the state rooms will be $19.99 for the rest of 2023 and, in 2024, $29.99 for sailings leaving from Sunday to Wednesday and $49.99 for weekend sailings from Thursday to Saturday.
That said, the pass is per stateroom and so includes room for one other partner or friend free of charge. While the pass is technically unlimited, cruises cannot be booked consecutively. One will need to get off and book another sailing 24 to 72 hours prior to the sailing.
The latter also means that one will need to book fast and not be able to reserve cruises weeks in advance. The program also has blackout dates for popular sailings leaving on Nov. 23, Dec. 31 and, in 2024, May 25, Aug. 30 and Dec.31.
The pass is also better suited for those who already live near Palm Beach as those trips to Florida will add up for cruisers from other parts of the country.
