Willdra's Massive Carnival Mardi Gras Apr 30- May 7 Review

[willdra]

6 hours ago, Sadebud said:

Willdra, I am a lurker who has followed several of your reviews.  I am so glad to have found this one and I'm happy to welcome you back!  Your style and sense of humor are refreshing!  Congratulations on another brilliant review!!  PS--I missed your Panorama review so thank you for posting the links.  I am headed there now!

LOL thanks for lurking 👀!! 😍😍😍

[Indiansbaseball]

I enjoyed your review (and others) immensely ! I think there should be a “Willdra and W” cruise …. First come first served !! I would jump on it !!

Edit to add: I have 4 currently booked…hint hint ! 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Indiansbaseball

[willdra]

On 6/10/2022 at 12:12 PM, Indiansbaseball said:

I enjoyed your review (and others) immensely ! I think there should be a “Willdra and W” cruise …. First come first served !! I would jump on it !!

Edit to add: I have 4 currently booked…hint hint ! 

LOL 🤣😂🤣 There really should be a Cruise Critic Reviewer Cruise (or if there already is, they should advertise)! It would be fire 🔥 to cruise with my cousins! 🛳🎉🎉🎉🛳

[Sunseeker20]

On 5/29/2022 at 11:52 AM, willdra said:

 

 

 

 

 

Your hair looks absolutely stunning! 😍

[Houst]

Another fantastic report. I really think you should write some type of book. Maybe like Erma Bombeck.

Thank you so very much 🙂 

[slurry57]

This review was FANTASTIC!!! Thank you for taking the time to take us on your journey.  I actually had to reset my password as it had been forever since I commented to something on cruise critic.  We are going on the Mardi Gras in October and thanks to this review and a few others we will know what to expect. Thanks again!!! Debbie

[willdra]

On 6/15/2022 at 12:08 AM, Sunseeker20 said:

 

Your hair looks absolutely stunning! 😍

Thank you!! 😘

[Quilcruisers]

On 5/30/2022 at 2:59 PM, willdra said:

The shuttle pulled in to the Terminal right at 11. We unloaded and identified our luggage for the porter. Next we went thru the first checkpoint, to make sure it was time for us to enter. After that we went up the long winding upward ramp. This is what I like to call "heart attack hill". Maybe do a few squats and lunges before you go, if you tire easily. It's a dream crusher, if you can't make it up!  We survived the Mt. Everest-ish climb (this time), so we went through another quick checkpoint and into the terminal. Yes, there are several checkpoints along the way. This is why it's good to have your docs in your hand, sorted, and ready. It keeps the lines moving.  

 

 

Inside the terminal we waited maybe 2 minutes to be called over to check our passports and VeriFLY. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use VeriFLY when we first heard about it. The reviews on it in the App Store are atrocious, and I didn’t need an atrocious app on my phone. No room. However I’m all for technology that will make cruise check in easier. So when W asked me about it, I decided we should try it. We could always delete it if it didn’t work. I downloaded the app and had everything ready to go in about 10 minutes. The first step after setup is to scan in your vaccination cards for review. I already had pictures of them on my phone so that took about a minute. I got the green check for those after they were reviewed maybe an hour later. After that we just waited to download our negative test results. As soon as I got mine back from CVS, I downloaded the PDF, screenshot it, and then added it to VeriFLY for review. I also downloaded W’s as well and sent him the photo so he didn’t have to worry about getting his on his phone. VeriFLY sent me the green light for my test about an hour after I submitted it. Next I got a notification that my pass was created and I was good to cruise. My picture then had a green border around it. That’s it. Wow that was too easy! I asked W if he did all of his stuff. To which he replied "Uh yeah, but I put the wrong type of test in, so it got rejected at first." Huh? How did he mess this up? A garden gnome could do it!  After he saw my blank stare, he said "I redid it, and it gave me all green check marks, but my pass says Action Required." What?!? I looked at it, and sure enough everything was done, but there was a big red border around his pass, his picture was blurred out, and the words “Action Required” were dominating the scene. Not a good look. I do some quick searching on the innanets, and found NOTHING to fix this. Nobody else has had this problem???? I guess not. Leave it to W. Well that was only Wednesday, so I prayed for W's sake, that it was sorted out by Saturday. Plus, new rule. From now on, W won’t be allowed to do any of his pre cruise tasks alone anymore. Hmmm. Maybe that was his plan all along. Let me find out.    

 

This is what my VeriFLY pass looked like: 

 

As we were boarding the ship, I asked W if he got it resolved. I’d forgotten about it, as a form of self-preservation. I'd also brought paper copies as backup, cuz errybody knows, you must always have a backup.  He said he was good to cruise, and his pass was green. Ok goody!  I reminded him to pull up his pass on his phone to have it ready for check in. I don’t know about y’all, but I ain’t got time to be standing there waiting for him to be stabbing his phone trying to find the app, then stabbing it again trying to pull up the pass, then showing me the phone, saying "it’s loading or the signal is bad", etc. Get it ready now please Sir. So he did. Stay one step ahead of foolishness my people. At that checkpoint, both of our passes were ready to go, so we handed over our passports, and showed our VeriFLY passes to the attendants. They barely even glanced at them! I mean it took 2 seconds!

 

We passed thru security next. Then we took pictures. Our zone had been called so we went directly to the Smile and Go scanners, then onto the ship. We entered the ship at 11:18. Everything was speedy! I actually think using VeriFLY was the best part. After the W debacle, of course. 

lol at “stabbing the phone “ 

[Imalismom]

On 5/31/2022 at 7:11 PM, willdra said:

 

Smart! I did a little research here before we went, and it helped out a lot. Mardi Gras is big and beautiful, with so much to offer. You are gonna have so much fun! Wish we were going back that soon! 😍

Just found your review and am only on page 4 - we were on the ship at the same time - wish you had been in our pre online group on another social networking place...   if you have not found another good week - we will be back on November 12th of this year

[CoasterGuy]

Awesome review. Thank you. I was on Mardi Gras last halloween. You gave me something new to try if I ever get on her again (the Beignets). Saw Happy Cole on the Conquest back in January. 

 

 

[Florings]

Thank you for the entertaining review, Willdra!   Great pictures too.  

[willdra]

On 6/15/2022 at 2:49 PM, Houst said:

Another fantastic report. I really think you should write some type of book. Maybe like Erma Bombeck.

Thank you so very much 🙂 

Awww 🥰 thanks 🙏🏾!!! I may write a book someday when I get my life together. ☺️

 

[willdra]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:12 PM, slurry57 said:

This review was FANTASTIC!!! Thank you for taking the time to take us on your journey.  I actually had to reset my password as it had been forever since I commented to something on cruise critic.  We are going on the Mardi Gras in October and thanks to this review and a few others we will know what to expect. Thanks again!!! Debbie

Welcome back to CC! You will adore Mardi Gras. She’s got a lot going on! ♥️♥️♥️

[cruiser52forever]

I don't know if I missed it, but when is your next adventure?

[willdra]

On 6/22/2022 at 5:49 PM, cruiser52forever said:

I don't know if I missed it, but when is your next adventure?

We will be on the Sunshine in Sept and Vista in Oct. 🎉🎉🎉 

[Gigi1068]

On 5/30/2022 at 5:55 PM, willdra said:

Later on, we went back to the cabin so I could get my iPad and start reading one of the books that I downloaded. We were only there a few minutes when W declared that it was time for pre-dinner. As always, I’m intrigued. But where? We checked our options and decided on the Piazza Panini. We were out of the door 3 seconds later. You’d think we hadn’t just eaten a couple of hours before. The setup there was smart. They have the sandwiches premade, and they just heat them up when you order. Saves a lot of time. I did the Ham and Cheese, W did Turkey. Sorry no pics. We ran out of the cabin so fast; I forgot my phone and my camera. Blame it on W. We found seats outside, and it was calm and pretty out there. This ship had great seating areas. Did I mention that already? If so, blame it on the guppy. 🐟

 

 

After our “snack” we went back to chillax before the real dinner. I read some, and W sat on the balcony dozing off. In other words, dull old folks stuff. At about 8, I got up to shower, and W followed after me. At the start of my shower, the drain was slow and cloggy. Then I noticed that a clump of hair was clogging it.  We didn’t order our shower with preinstalled hair, so it had to go! I got out, and used a towel to clear the drain. The hair was blonde, so I could see why the steward didn’t see it. It blended in. Once the drain was free of debris, it worked a lot better. Balance was restored. 

 

We got dressed, then made our way to the steakhouse. We were about 10 minutes early for our reservation. We checked in then sat in the bar area until our table was ready. On the first night you can get a bottle of Merlot or Chardonnay free at the steakhouse. We chose the Merlot. It was really nice and smooth, which was a surprise for free Merlot. I’ve had my share of rough Merlot, and this was not one of them. Thankfully, it wasn’t as dry as the Sahara.  I had about 3/4 of the bottle, since W drinks way less wine than I do. Yay me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loving your review.

 

Mu husband and I are booked on Mardi Gras 10/07/2023 (my birthday).  We are not regular Carnival cruisers, this will be his 2nd and my 3rd.  I appreciate you sharing the info about the free bottle of wine, so we will definitely book the steakhouse for night one.  We are not heavy drinkers and do not plan to purchase the beverage package; we’re bringing a couple bottles of wine and will pay as we go for his beer and my cocktails.  We’ve already ordered bottled water for our stateroom.

 

Thanks again for your awesome review and for sharing information for those of us who are not in the know.

[willdra]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:33 AM, Gigi1068 said:

Loving your review.

 

Mu husband and I are booked on Mardi Gras 10/07/2023 (my birthday).  We are not regular Carnival cruisers, this will be his 2nd and my 3rd.  I appreciate you sharing the info about the free bottle of wine, so we will definitely book the steakhouse for night one.  We are not heavy drinkers and do not plan to purchase the beverage package; we’re bringing a couple bottles of wine and will pay as we go for his beer and my cocktails.  We’ve already ordered bottled water for our stateroom.

 

Thanks again for your awesome review and for sharing information for those of us who are not in the know.

Yay Team Libra ♎️ l! You are already off to a great start by researching and planning ahead (cuz that’s what we do 😉). The Mardi Gras is the perfect ship to solidify a strong cruising addiction. She has so much to see, eat, and do. We were never hungry or bored on her. ♥️🛳♥️

[teacher34]

I am so glad to find your review ! We were on the Mardi Gras for our first b2b the end of Nov. and the beg. of Dec. 2021. I was curious to see how your review compared to my personal thoughts . You write such fantastic reviews !!

[teacher34]

Wildra, thank you so much for your review !! I love all your reviews ! You make me laugh plus give good details about the ship and activities. I know this must take a lot of work and I really appreciate it ! I hope one day we will meet on a cruise. Again, thank you !

[Ladybug5]

Loved your Home2suite. What kind of Suite was that? It had so much room.

[Lanz]

What a FANTASTIC review, love your photos and your writing style.  You two are so cute and Wildra you have a million dollar smile.  Will look for your reviews in the future 👍🏻😃

[willdra]

On 8/26/2022 at 10:34 PM, teacher34 said:

Wildra, thank you so much for your review !! I love all your reviews ! You make me laugh plus give good details about the ship and activities. I know this must take a lot of work and I really appreciate it ! I hope one day we will meet on a cruise. Again, thank you !

Thank you 😊 so much!!! 

[willdra]

13 hours ago, Lanz said:

What a FANTASTIC review, love your photos and your writing style.  You two are so cute and Wildra you have a million dollar smile.  Will look for your reviews in the future 👍🏻😃

Thanks for jumping in! 🥰🥰🥰

[rs45thompson]

Do you mind me asking when your next cruise is?  Can't wait for another review.

 

[mimmy52]

First time I’ve read one of your reviews and loved it! Now to go back and read your others. Last night I thanked God for witty cruise reviewers.