Mardi Gras...oh what a first cruise story!

I have been cruising now for a while, and absolutely love it. But looking back, I am amazed how great a time I had on my first cruise despite unbelievable conditions!

The ship was the Carnival Mardi Gras...the year was 1983 (I have to correct my signature!). I was 14 and my parents decided it was time to bring me on my first cruise...western route 7 day. Also along for the cruise were my two older stepbrothers, 16 and 19. The 5 of us had booked a room described as 'family accomodation'.

The Mardi Gras was a very small ship by modern standards, and an older ship (porthole rooms, raised bulkheads, steel oval bulkhead doors, etc). But for me, it was amazing and huge. Until we were shown our 'family' cabin. It was an INSIDE stateroom...OK...no big deal. But it was also 2 side-by-side beds with overhead bunks...and 3 1/2 feet between them. the beds were 2 inches from the open door and another foot to the bathroom door. Opening the bathroom door revealed a single, small room with a toilet along the side wall, a shower knob next to it, a sink across from it, and a showerhead above it. Yep...you could sit on the toilet and shower.

For the 5 people staying in the room, thay rolled a cot in between the two lower beds at night...and it fit with millimeters to spare. Making the bottom two beds connect in the middle, and making the room essentially all matress. The bunkers had to drop down onto the cot to get to the bathroom.

That first night once we all figured out what kind of origami was required to get the 5 of us changed, showered, and in bed...we discovered another interesting twist about our quaint room: It was one floor down and directly under the disco floor. The whole room reverbrated with pounding feet, and from the upper berths you could feel the ceiling moving. Fortunately, we were usually in that very disco until nearly closing time, so we were able to pass out fairly easily once back to the room.

Back then, the rules of drinking onboard were more, um, relaxed than nowadays. So my 19 and 16 year-old brothers had no problems ordering drinks anywhere on the ship - no IDs required. It was a bit more surprising to learn that my 14-year-old self also had no problem ordering drinks. Well I had a lifetime of alcoholism all wedged into a single week of my 14th year...I drank everywhere and stayed up so late that I was actually given a "nightowl" pass...a sticker you wore when up late to get discounts on drinks because you had proven to be such a partier.

Somehow we were all happy in that tiny cabin on that tiny ship (well maybe not my parents, experienced cruisers...but the boys were having a ball). At least until my stepbrother got sick from drinking and threw up in the cabin. Well that was day 2...and that smell never went away! My other brother and I actually slept on deck several nights...fully dressed at poolside. We'd get woken up by either sunlight and heat, or angry sunbathers who wanted our chairs by the ever-crowded pool! How the others could ever stand the odor in there, I'll never know.

In Jamaica, my brilliant 16-year old brother decided to pick up some...ah...alternative tobacco; and was only saved by our excellent cab driver for the day who pulled him out of his deal at the last minute...recognizing that the seller was an undercover officer looking for stupid tourists to snag off the ship. Later in the cruise, that same brother was the first person to inform me that cruise ships actually have jails, or brigs...something I'd never have believed if he hadn't been placed there the previous night for getting far too drunk and unruly at the disco.

Somehow that cruise, as bad as it should have seemed to me, was just such a brilliant and wild experience that it stuck with me. I was addicted and couldn't wait for the next one. For the first 5 years, cruises were 100% party zones for me...but after 6 or 7 cruises, I started appreciating the finer aspects of cruising...great food, exotic countries and islands, respite from work and stress, adventure, exploration, relaxation, and more.

I'll always remember that experience I had on the Mardi Gras. Which of course makes me wonder what ever became of the old girl. And if anyone else from the boards ever sailed on her (hopefully not in that same cabin!). Or if anyone else ever had a similar first-cruise experience! How about it?

Well, if memory serves me correctly the Mardi Gras was originally the CP liner Empress of Canada - we sailed on her as the Star of Texas, she also served as the Apollo for Epirotiki, but is now, alas, scrapped.

She was a beautiful ship, though.

Is she scrapped? That would be unfortunate. There is something unique and fun about the original liners...the ones built before the era of cruising. The design of the ship and the classic feel of it were what I enjoyed the most. I would hope to never try to squeeze 5 people in that cabin again, but certainly have fond memories of the ship and the cruise.

Many of my first cruises were on these smaller, classic liners from the 50s or 60s that were refirbished for cruise duty, and I loved the experience on all of them. The Carla C, the Nordic Prince, the Dolphin, and I think the Riviera were all former liners from decades before. Any time I end up in a port next to an older, smaller vessel, I always try to study the lines and look for clues to see if it could possibly be one of those ships I was on, now sailing under different colors and names. I don't recall ever having recognized the Mardi Gras again.

Thanks for the info!

Stephen is correct. MARDI GRAS was originally built in 1962 as Canadian Pacific's EMPRESS OF CANADA (name aside, she was a BRITISH ship) for the liner run between Liverpool and Montreal. She was the last CP liner to be built and while quite modern behind the scenes (for her day), aesthetically she was one of the last classic British liners, with interiors that could almost pass for (very) late Art Deco (or the mutated version thereof that appeared on British ships like QUEEN MARY).

CP sold her to Ted Arison in 1972, closing out CP's passenger service. He renamed her MARDI GRAS and she became the very first Carnival ship.

Carnival kept her all the way through 1993 when she was sold to Greece's Epirotiki Cruises. They initially renamed her OLYMPIC, but then chartered her to a company out of Galveston which renamed her STAR OF TEXAS and used her for short gambling cruises from Galveston. She was later renamed LUCKY STAR and operated from Miami, but was returned to Epirotiki in 1994 and renamed APOLLON. She was laid-up in Greece, during which time Epirotiki merged with Sun Line to form Royal Olympic Cruises, until 1999 when she was refurbished and entered service on a charter to the UK tour operator Direct Cruises, who used her on cruises from UK ports. Sadly, in a move to limit competition, the then-dominant UK tour operator Airtours took over Direct (paying rather more than market value I might add - a "deal they couldn't refuse if you will). Airtours did not continue Direct's cruises from UK ports, and returned APOLLON to ROC. She was laid-up once again, except for a brief stint in service in 2001.

In 2003, with ROC in dire financial trouble, they sold three laid-up classic liners, including APOLLON (the others were STELLA SOLARIS and STELLA OCEANIS) for scrap in India. APOLLON was beached at Alang on 9 December 2003. ROC are presently operating under bankruptcy protection from the Greek government, having lost much of their remaining fleet earlier this year.

The scrapping of APOLLON is particularly sad because I believe that of all the remaining former British liners out there, she was probably the best candidate for preservation. She was in excellent condition and after all these years, she amazingly retained almost entirely original interiors. What's more, she was a particularly historic vessel, having both closed out the liner services of Canadian Pacific, the greatest transportation system on earth in the 1960s, and started out the massive Carnival empire in the 1970s, serving with them for over two decades and helping to catapult them to success. Sadly no concerted effort was made to preserve the ship, and as she would not be economical for further trading, she was sold for scrap. A sad end to a very fine vessel.

Stephen is correct. MARDI GRAS was originally built in 1962 as Canadian Pacific's EMPRESS OF CANADA (name aside, she was a BRITISH ship) -SNIP-

Umm...British how? CP line was always a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, no? Or am I missing something ?

Umm...British how? CP line was always a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway

She is more British than TITANIC - which was owned by a British subsidiary of an American-owned American company. For that matter she is more British than QM2 is as well.

Now I've got to pull out the old slides and scan a few Mardi Gras shots into the computer...In fact, since all my pre-1999 cruises are either on slide or film, maybe that would be a fun project to scan in photos of all the ships I've gone on. Since then, I've predominantly used digital, or had digital copies made from film, so my 199+ cruises are easy to access.

Thanks for the detailed information...though it is sad to hear.

My first cruise was on the Mardi Gras as well. I still remember the real wood deck and deck chairs. How the beds is in some of the cabins were numbered from the days when singles were assigned cabin mates. The small hallways. I will always consider the Mardi Gras as one of my favorite ships. Such a sad ending to a wonderful ship.

I cruised her on my honeymoon in 1983, it was our first cruise and 21 years later we're still cruising but now with our kids along.

Now I've got to pull out the old slides and scan a few Mardi Gras shots into the computer...In fact, since all my pre-1999 cruises are either on slide or film, maybe that would be a fun project to scan in photos of all the ships I've gone on. Since then, I've predominantly used digital, or had digital copies made from film, so my 199+ cruises are easy to access.

 

Thanks for the detailed information...though it is sad to hear.

Wow!! I'd LOVE to see your old slides of the Mardi Gras! We sailed on her in '89 or '90. Great ship. I still have an unopened deck of cards with the ship's name on them. They used to do that, remember?

I really only started taking pictures around 1995, so have few pictures from my earlier cruises. Digital has changed all that, thankfully.

That's a good plan you have for keeping picture data for your "199+ cruises". That's quite a few!;)

If you can post some shots of her, please drop me a line at deek589@bellsouth.net

Thanks.

Oops...missed a '9' there! I meant to say my 1999 + (as in since 1999) cruises.

My family can come close - my mother just completed cruise #94 or 95...somewhere in there. She goes on 5 or 6 a year, after becoming addicted to cruising beginning in 1975 or 1976 on the Flavia!

I have to figure out how to scan slides at home...I can at least scan a few slides of the ships I've been on. I'll let a company do the mass scanning of all the rest of the slides (Those include cruises as well as other vacations, weddings, graduations, and other events - probably 65 slide carousels and thousands of prints). Gonna be costly!

If I get around to the personal ship scanning, I'll make a post of all the ships! And I will let you know if I get them uploaded...maybe this weekend.

.....I have to figure out how to scan slides at home...I can at least scan a few slides of the ships I've been on. ...If I get around to the personal ship scanning, I'll make a post of all the ships! And I will let you know if I get them uploaded...maybe this weekend.

Thanks. That would be great if you can do it.

We have been pretty lack about taking pictures. I wish I could go back and fix that!

The first cruise my husband and I took in 1982 was in the Mardi

Gras. We paid the full brochure rate $999 each, including air for the lowest priced inside cabin, which was an upper and lower bunk with the sink in the cabin and the toilet and shower in a very, very small bathroom. It was a wonderful cruise - great entertainment and very good food. I remember taking a nap so I wouldn't miss the gala midnight buffet and coming back exhusted because we tried to do everything.

What a shame! We sailed on her when she was STAR OF TEXAS as a gambling ship. I kept thinking that someone should restore her to her former glory. May she rest in peace for time well served.

Here's a really crappy attempt to photograph a slide of the Mardi Gras - I don't have a slide scanner, so as yet cannot scan them in. Photographing a small slide is surprisingly challenging. But even blurry, fuzzy, and blurred, she still has those classic lines:

Thanks for that pic! I sailed on the Mardi Gras as my first cruise in 1985. It was my senior cruise and it was a blast. I too slept on deck a few nights! Thanks for bringing back the memories.

It's strange seeing a Carnival funnel without the trademark "Freddy" ears!

I just wish I could get a clear scan of that slide! The picture is a lot nicer, I promise.

Amazing how big the ship felt back then, as my first ever cruise, and how unbelievably small it looks now compared to my more recent cruises!

Did not cruise on the Mardi Gras but was on sister ship the Carnavale in 1981. Travel together in Eastern Caribbean. Saw her once again docked. She was small compared to today's ships. Oh but that first cruise/

Our first cruise was also on the Mardi Gras in 1993. It was a three day cruise out of Cape Canaveral. The Carnivale was also sailing the same three day route. It hooked us on cruising.

We were unwittingly there during Spring Break....many many college students.(this was before the adult in the cabin rule). We had booked a 4A guarantee. Learned about the upgrade fairy on that cruise, was upgraded to one of the cat. 11 mini-suites. Huge room by the standards of the boat complete with a tub and two big picture windows (you can see them on the picture of the boat).

I hate to hear of her sad end. She was truly a classic.

I went on my first cruise on the Mardi Gras in 1978! I cruised with my brother and figured that since we were both living at my parents home and sharing a bathroom we'd have no problem sharing a cabin. Well we must have gotten that same inside cabin directly below the Disco dance floor!!

Couldn't go to sleep as the disco music seemed to get louder as the night went on....so I spent loads of time in the disco!! Unfortunately, my vocal chords haven't been the same (even now, 26 years later!)....talking over the music strained them.

The story that I always tell is about the bathroom as I figured it would be a problem showering and getting dressed but that wasn't the way it was....everything gets wet....you could sit on the toilet and shower at the same time. The other thing I remember is that the sink was in the cabin. It was strange.

We bought a conch shell while in Nassau ( off the rowboats by the pier) for only 50 cents brought it back to the ship and rinsed it off but the smell lasted all week and we couldn't get rid of the smell!!!

It's amazing how many "first time cruisers" went on this ship. And that picture sure brings back memories. It sure felt bigger when I first sailed on her but if you compare her to what Carnival has going now it sure doesn't compare. Still I think that there is alot to be said for the quaint smaller ships. You got to know your way around faster and didn't need a map your entire cruise just to find your state room.

As you can see...this is only my second post to CC. (I have been a voyer to CC for years). My first cruise was on the Mardi Gras and boy what a cruise that was. Your thread brought back so many memories...what a beautiful ship. One of my greatest memory of this cruise was the beer drinking contest....a woman won. Later in the day my hub and I are walking down the hallway and a firehose is in the middle of the walkway...next we see firemen, i mean guys in yellow fire jackets....the woman who won the beer drinking contest room had caught on fire....i mean on FIRE....this room was distroyed...but the rest of the ship did not have a clue and unless you had been walking down the hallway with the yellow firehose, you would not have known. My hub and I slept in seperate (twin) beds welded to the floor in the "bottom of the boat". We only do balcony rooms now. i have some great pics of the mardi gras...gotta find a way to scan them.

My stepbrother won the beer drinking contest on our cruise! He didn't burn our room down (or the people in the disco would have lost their dance floor), but the throwing up in that tiny cabin was probably as bad, or worse!

It really was a great ship - I've got a whole ring of slides, but as you can see my efforts to scan the slide was less than perfect. The actual shot is much nicer!

Zackiedawg

Thanks for the photo to as you suggest, capture the classic lines of the Mardi Gras. She was beautiful. My wife and I took our first and only cruise with her April 7, 1991. Pre-children. As we are scheduled aboard the Glory very soon, we have talked about what may have happened to her.

Thanks Again