Beagle's Party on the Mardi!!! (Review w/Pics)

[jimbri]

Great review

[darleean]

OH!!  I was on this cruise with you!   I can not believe you at in the main dining room every night!  We where opposite and never made it to it with all the choices we had.   I am jumping back on the ship on Jan 2nd - last time was with mom... next time is with Hubby!    I can't wait to read the rest of your review! 

[Beagleluv6107]

11 hours ago, jimbri said:

Great review

Thanks for following along!

[Beagleluv6107]

52 minutes ago, darleean said:

OH!!  I was on this cruise with you!   I can not believe you at in the main dining room every night!  We where opposite and never made it to it with all the choices we had.   I am jumping back on the ship on Jan 2nd - last time was with mom... next time is with Hubby!    I can't wait to read the rest of your review! 

Hey Darleean,

I know its hard to believe with all those great "free" options!!! I am so happy for you to get back on January 2nd!!  I would go in a heartbeat if I could. Enjoy!! 

[Beagleluv6107]

 

Day 3 – First Sea Day

 

 

Oh my… I was up at 5am. It must be all that excitement still built up. I snapped a few pics. Its blurry but we had a ship behind us.

 

 

 

 

We never ordered any room service all week but here is the breakfast menu.

 

 

 

I took off for a Bloody Mary by myself. I went to the Red Frog. I forgot to snap a picture, but I did stumble upon a hard copy of the Fun Times so I took it. They want you using the cell phone for everything, but some places had hard copies laying out.

 

DH found me and we set off to find the squad for some SEA DAY BRUNCH. My Favorite! We forgot about making a reservation on the app. When we arrived at the Palm Restaurant the hostess told us to use the app and make the reservation.  We had about a 20–25-minute wait for a table. They seated us at a great table on the water. I wondered why we were getting so lucky but I didn’t say it out loud. I did not want to jinx us!

 

 

 

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

DH had steak and eggs and I had the Salmon Super Food. That was healthy and delicious. I would get that again anytime.

 

 

 

 

When we went back to the room at 10:40, it was already cleaned.

 

 

Our steward was Ganda. He introduced himself the day before and asked if we wanted morning or night service. They will no longer do both. He also made me this little guy. Everyday, no matter where I placed my little towel animals, Ganda would steal them back. I like to put them all together for a picture at the end of the cruise but honestly… there isn’t any “display” room for them. These cabins have nice storage but no space. I think Ganda was doing me a favor.

 

 

We had nothing on the agenda. The girls wanted to lay out and the boys went to Pig & Anchor for a Bloody Mary. I snapped this picture of the infused vodka we were told about.

 

DH didn’t care for his drink. There’s a slight sweetness and Bloody Mary’s should not be sweet. Hmmm good to know before I wasted a cheers drink on that! Thanks Hubby!

 

 

I opted for something with Orange Juice

 

[Beagleluv6107]

I met the girls after 1 and we laid out for a while.

 

 

 

I got bored and got a drink at the Serenity Bar and they got salads. They raved over the salad. We took a tour around the ship, so we knew what our options were. Ahhhh I found the Street Eats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, wow look… We found the gym. This is the first time I’ve ever looked in the gym on any ship. I had no intentions of coming back but it’s a mighty nice gym!

 

 

 

Random Pics

 

 

 

I really like this Center Stage area but there are some design flaws. It's really noisy if you sit near the back. 

[Beagleluv6107]

We eventually met back up with the boys and stayed at the Red Frog on the Lido until it was time to get ready for dinner. Tonight, was the first elegant night. Sadly, I don't think DH and I ever took a pic dressed up the whole week. 

 

 

I had this refreshing Carnival Cosmopolitan!

 

 

For dinner, I had the cream of mushroom soup, striped bass, and crème brulee. DH had prime rib and lobster.

 

 

 

 

 

That night we went to see Happy Cole do his adult comedy. Hilarious!

 

 

Then we made a discovery that would change our week… The Backyard Band. They were playing in the Brass Magnolia, and they were fantastic!!  I don't think there is a dance floor, but a few folks made it a dance floor. We ended up going to see these guys every chance we could.  

 

 

At some point, midnight struck and it was time for pizza! Of course, I forget a pic.

 

Up Next - Cozumel

[stellarose]

so backyard band is not to miss??? where were you laying out? serenity? is that a good spot. I want a chair that I could read/ chill/ listen to my iPod (yes iPod).

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

21 hours ago, stellarose said:

so backyard band is not to miss??? where were you laying out? serenity? is that a good spot. I want a chair that I could read/ chill/ listen to my iPod (yes iPod).

 

 

Hey Stellarose,

Yes, if they are back on the Mardi Gras, don't miss the Backyard Band. They did say they were getting off on Dec 11th and didn't say when/if they were coming back. 

 

We laid out in the Serenity area. It might be the best Serenity on any ship. It was huge with tons of loungers. I even noticed empty day beds in the shade. I hope you get the chance to have 70% capacity because everywhere I looked, (even the Lido) I could spot an empty lounger. 

[Beagleluv6107]

Day 4 – Cozumel

 

 

 

 

I didn’t wake up until 7:35. I think it was the best sleep I had in over a week.

 

 

 

That was the good news, the bad news is I had broken out with hives on my face. It’s something that has happened before with no rhyme or reason. I know this has nothing to do with cruising, so please forgive the over sharing. I just want you to know that something usually happens every vacation and I roll with it. Today was no exception. Luckily, I had brought along some Benadryl cream. I spackled some on the hives and sprinted off to the Lido. DH and the boys met me, but they were only interested in breakfast. They decided it was time for a breakfast burrito today. I had a bloody Mary from the Red Frog and ended up getting the Huevos Rancheros from the Blue Iguana. Be very selective if you try some of those hot sauces. This one here almost killed me but I never wrote down the name.

 

 

We went back to the room, and it was sparkling clean by 9:15!

Thank You Ganda, you’re the best!!!

 

 

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

We packed up for our trip to Mr. Sanchos. Knowing there were at least 3 ships in port that day, we went online about 7 weeks in advance and made a reservation. I’m glad we did because we were asked 3 different times along the way if we had a reservation. Even our Taxi driver asked. I hear they can only accommodate 500 people. We were told to have some proof of vaccine, so we took pictures of our cards, but no one ever asked. We needed photo ID and sign & sail cards to get off the ship.  We left our passports in the safe and took our DLs with us. The itinerary said our stop would be at 10am but the captain announced we couldn’t get off until 10:30 and then a few minutes later, he switched back to 10 again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

The line for the taxi was long and I saw some drivers or tour operators poaching people out of the line. If they didn’t have set plans, the drivers convinced some folks to go with them. We eventually made our way to a van that would fit all 7 of us and it was perfect. It was only $34 and quick ride.

 

We arrived at Mr. Sanchos about 11:20 and showed our reservation and decided to buy the $12 pass to jump around on the water toys. That was a good investment.

We had a blast all day!!

 

 

 

Jhonny was our server and took good care of us. The boys drank Dos Equis and I had the Tecate Light.

 

 

The girls said the Bahama Mama and Dirty Banana drinks we really good. The food was ok. I had fish tacos and DH ordered seafood soup and shrimp cocktail. Only the soup never showed up, but he didn’t care.

 

 

 

 

The band came over and played a song. They also handed over sticks and maracas so the group could play along. That made for hilarious videos. The Wi-Fi worked better for me than on the ship so I could send a few pics out finally.

 

We took another dip back in the water. It was really warm. 2 of my girls went out there and climbed that rock wall!! By then I did have some beer muscles, but I wasn't about to try that!!

 

One more for the road!!

 

 

Getting a taxi out of there was a piece of cake. As soon as you walk out, they are lined up for you. We were on our way at 4pm. When we stepped out of the taxi to schlepp all the way down the pier, it started to rain hard. I had put on dry clothes for the ride, so I was soaked a second time. 

[Beagleluv6107]

A few pictures when we got back on.

 

 

 

 

 

From our dinner table

 

 

 

For dinner I had the pork slider, tilapia, and CMC.

 

 

 

 

 

DH had... hmmm... I'm not sure what that is and the veal parm.

 

 

 

 

Each night someone comes over the speaker in the dining room and announces that it is SSSSHHHOOOWWW Time. Whew, it’s rough. We had a lot of laughs over that. Tonight, they made the poor wait staff dance to “I got A Feeling”.

[Beagleluv6107]

I believe this night the girls may have gone to bed early and I left the boys to go to the Punchliner by myself. Chris Wells was doing his G show and he was not funny, but I needed to keep busy.

 

 

I found DH back at the Fortune Teller Bar. I took a few pics of other people’s double bubble drinks.

 

 

 

After that we went over to the Brass Magnolia and watched the Backyard Band do a Stevie Wonder Tribute. Love those guys! During their second set they played anything they wanted and brought the house down with “Whole Lotta Love”.

 

 

We made our way back to the Fortune Teller bar, but you can’t get a beer there, so we walked up a flight up steps to the Alchemy and no beer there as well. We stopped into the nightclub but didn’t stay. We wanted to go back when we had the whole crew with us. I think we went to the casino bar for a beer and then of course we found our way to the midnight pizza. I was carrying a few slices for a friend when we got into the elevator and DH turned around and knocked the whole plate out of my hand. I cleaned up the mess and ran out the door. Are you sensing a theme with us??  I returned the plate and the pizza mess to the appropriate area and went back to the room.

 

I FINALLY remembered to get a pic of ours after DH had already gotten thru a slice!

 

 

Up Next - Costa Maya

[Knights on the Beach]

On 12/20/2021 at 7:32 PM, Beagleluv6107 said:

We had nothing on the agenda. The girls wanted to lay out and the boys went to Pig & Anchor for a Bloody Mary. I snapped this picture of the infused vodka we were told about.

 

DH didn’t care for his drink. There’s a slight sweetness and Bloody Mary’s should not be sweet. Hmmm good to know before I wasted a cheers drink on that! Thanks Hubby!

 

 

I agree with your DH - I wasn't at all impressed with my Bloody Mary in P&A.  I was really looking forward to it, too.  I asked for spicy but it was very blah - tasted just like tomato juice with some hot sauce dumped in.  I thought the ones at Red Frog Tiki were much better.

 

1 hour ago, Beagleluv6107 said:

Hey Stellarose,

Yes, if they are back on the Mardi Gras, don't miss the Backyard Band. They did say they were getting off on Dec 11th and didn't say when/if they were coming back. 

 

So this explains my confusion last week.  😂  There was a band called Backyard Band in Pig & Anchor some nights and they were at Brass Magnolia on other nights - but it clearly wasn't the same band I've read so much (and seen pictures of) here.  

[BennyBrun]

On 12/18/2021 at 11:07 AM, Beagleluv6107 said:

 

Hi there,

I"m glad you asked about the internet. I think the plan we bought was "The Value" plan. We didn't bother to sign up until the first sea day and it still cost the same so I did not save a dime. It was $110. It worked ok but no, I couldn't get a green text to go thru. Just iphone to iphone. Oh, and on that plan I could not get a picture to go thru. 

We signed up during the Black Friday Sale and it was $115.00 for the premium plan.  So you definitely save before you get on.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, Beagleluv6107 said:

We packed up for our trip to Mr. Sanchos.  I hear they can only accommodate 500 people.

Nachi Cocum has a maximum of 130 people, and no kids.

[Jamman54]

13 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Nachi Cocum has a maximum of 130 people, and no kids.

The last time I was there there certainly were kids. There was a playground for them, and they loved hanging out in the hot tub next to the pool. 😎

[stellarose]

hoping to see the backyard band.

[JaniceB]

Just found your review and enjoying it.   Did your hives go away?  

[Momma1980]

Subscribing! Thanks for posting!

[TrqoisWtrs]

20 hours ago, Beagleluv6107 said:

We made our way back to the Fortune Teller bar, but you can’t get a beer there, so we walked up a flight up steps to the Alchemy and no beer there as well. We stopped into the nightclub but didn’t stay. We wanted to go back when we had the whole crew with us. I think we went to the casino bar for a beer and then of course we found our way to the midnight pizza.

fyi, they have a few canned selections of beer in the ice bin at the pizza place.  We discovered this by chance after all the bars closed and still wanted to use our Cheers package lol. 

[ninjacat123]

Emeril's is really awesome and I wish we would have had more meals there.  That and Big Chicken would be enough to make me book again on MG!

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

The last time I was there there certainly were kids. There was a playground for them, and they loved hanging out in the hot tub next to the pool. 😎

Their policy might have changed when they expanded size wise.  I was there about 12-13 years ago when they had a maximum of 100 people and no playground.  Maybe kids were allowed, but there were zero of them there the day I was there.