Mardi Gras / Live / Solo / Nov-27-Dec-04-2021...

[sid_9169]

...

 

In early October, I did finally get myself “back on board” again for the very first sailing of Virgin Voyages brand new Scarlet Lady… It felt sooo great to finally be out on the open ocean again… The experience brought back memories that’d been missing in my life for over a year and a half. I almost had to pinch myself to believe that it was actually happening. Upon my return to dry land, I dove head first into the planning for my long awaited for Mardi Gras cruise. I had originally booked the Country Inn & Suites, but heard that the Radisson Resort at the Port had a free shuttle from the airport, so I cancelled and rebooked there. When I called them up to arrange for my shuttle pick up, they said that I hadn’t booked at the proper rate to receive the shuttle service, and it would be about a hundred more dollars… I declined and went on the search for my own transportation from MCO to the hotel. Coco Beach Shuttle offered a service for $45, so I just went ahead and booked with them. The one thing I like least about sailing from Port Canaveral is the hour drive from the airport. The food and beverage options once I arrive to the port area certainly aren't anywhere what I’m used to sailing out of Miami, but hopefully I’ll find something good. I did map out a couple of interesting looking options, however, my experience here is limited… 

 

I also needed to figure out my corona virus testing, as “2 days prior” to my cruise was Thanksgiving day… I guess that I needed to order some of those at home tests in case I couldn’t find a place open on the holiday. Virgin Voyages did their testing for free at the port, but Carnival was only doing a limited amount of testing, and at a charge of $100… I ended up just ordering the at home tests that Carnival recommended, so I wouldn’t have to try and run all over town on Thanksgiving day looking for somewhere opened… 

 

November 12th rolled around, and I made a plan to stay up until midnight to do my online check in, and try to get an early boarding appointment… Sounds easy enough, but I normally go to bed much earlier. I did end up making it (barely) and secured an 11:00 - 11:30 arrival time. With that out of the way, I only had seven more days at work left until my vacation! 

 

[sid_9169]

Bumper to bumper traffic on the way to Thanksgiving dinner... This is Atlanta...

 

 

[sid_9169]

Soon...

 

 

[sid_9169]

Time to grub!... Deviled eggs, tater salad, green beans, broccoli casserole, macaroni and cheese, ham, turkey, and giblet gravy... All home made...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sid_9169]

......

 

I did some further research into the deck plans of the Mardi Gras, as it differs greatly from any other class of Carnival vessel. I wanted to make sure I had a pretty good idea of how to get around once on board, where the restaurants and bars were, as well as the different “neighborhoods''... I checked out all the various bar and restaurant menus on @Saint Greg’s recent review, and tried to make mental notes about the different items I needed to check off my list. Maybe, I’ll make an “actual list”, just to make sure I remember everything. 

 

I do hate the idea of having to use my phone for all the menus and such, as I much prefer something “real” that I can hold onto. I’m also not looking forward to the “mask situation” on board, as I’ve heard that Carnival enforces it in some areas… That’s one great thing about my cruise on the Scarlet Lady recently. Once I was on board, the mask came off and I never looked back until debarkation morning, when they made you wear it into the terminal. 

 

[sid_9169]

The best part of Thanksgiving... My aunt's dirt puddin'...

 

 

[sid_9169]

...

 

As for my port plans this time around, I have my “usual” driver in Cozumel, where I’ll probably hit up my “old favorites” and also try to visit a couple of “new to me” eating and drinking establishments. In Roatan, I have arranged a private driver, and I want to try and visit the La Sirena restaurant / bar in Camp Bay… Hopefully, the driver doesn’t give me any guff about going so far, but I hired a driver to take me there a few years ago, and the place was CLOSED when we arrived… They recently suffered some damage to their structure, and I want to allow my “food and beverage” hunt to contribute to their rebuilding. As for Costa Maya, I’ll just take a cab over to the Malecon to eat, drink, and swim in the ocean. Not necessarily in that order… 

 

[sid_9169]

...

 

How do you eat an elephant?... One bite at a time… 

 

In Japan, they have a word called Kuidaore that means “to ruin oneself on extravagant eating”... Pretty much my life’s motto. I’ll be putting my eating superpowers to the test with the vast array of “new to Carnival” dining and drinking venues. Shaq’s Big Chicken, Street Eats, Rudi’s Seagrill, Chibang!, Emeril’s Bistro 1396, and more!… I also have a reservation for the Chef’s Table, in their all new style accommodations. I want to try and sample everything on board, but I think it might take more than seven days to do it. I'm also looking forward to trying out the all new bar's on board: Fortune Teller Bar, The Brass Magnolia, and Redfrog Tiki Bar… And then, of course, there’s the Alchemy Bar, where my only hope is that they don’t have any trouble going “off the menu”... There have been a few times when it took a few days to convince them to “spread their wings” and “GO WILD” with my drinks… We’ll see soon…

 

[sid_9169]

[Beagleluv6107]

Hey Sid,

I just passed the test. See you on board!!!!!

😁

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

Back down on my side of town now to throw in a load of laundry and finish packing... Things are finally beginning to "get real"...

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

Theoretically, I could get along with just a carry on, but I need this other case to bring liquor bottles back... I hope the guys at work appreciate me dragging their stuff all the way from the Caribbean... I'm just throwing some junk in there so I not lugging an empty case...

 

 

 

 

[sid_9169]

Well, I guess that I’m going to have to get to this next part sooner or later, so let’s just “rip it off like a Band-Aid (™)”... After much consideration, I’ve decided to “retire” from doing the Live Reviews… Maybe not forever, but for the immediate future until who knows when… I’ve had a GREAT TIME doing these “reviews”, and I LOVE the back and forth of it all, but something I forgot to do all of these sailings was to BE ON VACATION… All of this “stuff” is a lot of work… It’s been a “labor of love” for so long, but at the same time, I’m spending all this money to go on vacation, then “working” from beginning to end. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE THE WORK, but I also need to decompress and try to enjoy things in the moment, rather than trying to document and dissect every single dish or beverage… This decision wasn’t something that occurred all of the sudden, it’s been building up for awhile. There’s a better possibility than not that I’ll give it another go someday, but I need to work on some things “at home” for now… Hopefully, y'all will understand… And, with that, we can return to our regularly scheduled programming……...

 

 

[SNJCruisers]

10 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I've got my vaccine card, but I'm going one step further and actually bringing a photo of me getting "the jab"...

 

 

Did you rub a slice of lime over the injection site?

[Jamman54]

14 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Well, I guess that I’m going to have to get to this next part sooner or later, so let’s just “rip it off like a Band-Aid (™)”... After much consideration, I’ve decided to “retire” from doing the Live Reviews… Maybe not forever, but for the immediate future until who knows when… I’ve had a GREAT TIME doing these “reviews”, and I LOVE the back and forth of it all, but something I forgot to do all of these sailings was to BE ON VACATION… All of this “stuff” is a lot of work… It’s been a “labor of love” for so long, but at the same time, I’m spending all this money to go on vacation, then “working” from beginning to end. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE THE WORK, but I also need to decompress and try to enjoy things in the moment, rather than trying to document and dissect every single dish or beverage… This decision wasn’t something that occurred all of the sudden, it’s been building up for awhile. There’s a better possibility than not that I’ll give it another go someday, but I need to work on some things “at home” for now… Hopefully, y'all will understand… And, with that, we can return to our regularly scheduled programming……...

 

 

 

James, we will miss your live reviews, but fully understand the amount of time and work that it takes. I know it's a labor of love, but to tell you the truth we don't know how anyone can do "Live" reviews. You have to be "on" constantly, and it takes a lot of time away from enjoying the whole cruise experience. We prefer to let the cruise happen, take a lot of pictures, jot some notes at the end of the day, then when it is all said and done, weave a story around the pictures that were taken. That is our way to re-live the cruise all over again.

 

It goes without saying that we enjoy all the reviews of any type that get posted here on Cruise Critic, and appreciate all the time and effort that goes into doing them.

 

Now, I'm not sure if you have "retired" immediately or after the Mardi Gras, but no matter, thanks for all the invaluable information that you have passed along over the years. It's been a fun ride, and I'm sure we will continue to see you on the boards! 

[canes20]

32 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Well, I guess that I’m going to have to get to this next part sooner or later, so let’s just “rip it off like a Band-Aid (™)”... After much consideration, I’ve decided to “retire” from doing the Live Reviews… Maybe not forever, but for the immediate future until who knows when… I’ve had a GREAT TIME doing these “reviews”, and I LOVE the back and forth of it all, but something I forgot to do all of these sailings was to BE ON VACATION… All of this “stuff” is a lot of work… It’s been a “labor of love” for so long, but at the same time, I’m spending all this money to go on vacation, then “working” from beginning to end. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE THE WORK, but I also need to decompress and try to enjoy things in the moment, rather than trying to document and dissect every single dish or beverage… This decision wasn’t something that occurred all of the sudden, it’s been building up for awhile. There’s a better possibility than not that I’ll give it another go someday, but I need to work on some things “at home” for now… Hopefully, y'all will understand… And, with that, we can return to our regularly scheduled programming……...

 

 

So are you saying you are retiring after this cruise or are you stopping when you get on board this time?

[sid_9169]

31 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

James, we will miss your live reviews, but fully understand the amount of time and work that it takes. I know it's a labor of love, but to tell you the truth we don't know how anyone can do "Live" reviews. You have to be "on" constantly, and it takes a lot of time away from enjoying the whole cruise experience. We prefer to let the cruise happen, take a lot of pictures, jot some notes at the end of the day, then when it is all said and done, weave a story around the pictures that were taken. That is our way to re-live the cruise all over again.

 

It goes without saying that we enjoy all the reviews of any type that get posted here on Cruise Critic, and appreciate all the time and effort that goes into doing them.

 

Now, I'm not sure if you have "retired" immediately or after the Mardi Gras, but no matter, thanks for all the invaluable information that you have passed along over the years. It's been a fun ride, and I'm sure we will continue to see you on the boards! 

Thanks Jamman54... This review is very much STILL ON!...

Edited November 26, 2021 by sid_9169

[sid_9169]

Pretty much everything but the shirts are packed now... The check list is almost complete... I need to strike the perfect balance of space going down and space requirements on the way back. By the return trip the liquor bottles will be padded with dirty clothes...

 

 

[mlshum]

Yay, another Sid review!  Seriously, it’s totally understandable that you’d rather not write the Live reviews and take time to enjoy your vacation.  Thanks for taking us along this last time on Mardi Gras. I’ll live vicariously through until until my turn comes in January!

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

Which pair of shoes should I bring?... 1, 2, or 3?...

 

 

[blarko]

If you take #3, you’ll look like part of the Fun Squad….so definitely #3…..plus aren’t those your “cruisin shoes”?