Mardi Gras Review Good Bad and Ugly

[Mary Louise]

Hi,

Background: 

I have not cruised Carnival since 2015. I have cruised several times since 2015 on RCCL. I originally booked the Dream for September of 2020 with my family  but it was cancelled. CCL offered a deal that instead of getting a refund, they offers us $600 of OBC and moved our deposit to a future cruise. When we booked the cruise CCL had a promotion and we received an additional $50 of OBC. The $650 was non refundable and the $100 from our TA was refundable OBC. Have $750 was very easy to spend. 

 

We booked the Mardi Gras due to being a new ship and that it went out of Port Canaveral. My son lives in Orlando so it was an easy decision to make. I am platinum on CCL and Diamond on RCCL. I will compare the perks in a later post. 
 

Embarkation 

Being platinum we were allowed to check in earlier to get an early time to embark. However our son is not, as this was his 3rd Carnival cruise. We embarked with him during his embarkation time. We waited for 30 minutes until his group was called, which was D 4. We could have gotten on the ship earlier, in A group, but if our family could not go together we would wait with them. I really thought that if you went during your time you could embark right away,  but that is not the case. After passing through security you go to a holding area until your group is called.

 

Overview of ship

The Mardi Gras is a beautiful ship. She is tastefully appointed. No more neon colors. Yay
 

Elevators

On embarkation and debarkation days it was hard to get an elevator. There are three banks of elevators forward, midship and aft. The elevators are small. If there is a scooter in the elevator only two other passengers can get in the elevator. The buttons to get to other floors was on the side instead of the front by the doors. It was confusing for many passengers as everyone has a natural instinct to look for the buttons by the door. It took some time to get use to. I was in a forward elevator (PL109). I pushed the button to go to the 18th floor. When I reached the floor, the door never opened and I went what appeared very fast non stop to the 4 th floor. I was not the only one who this happened too. Pretty scary.

They did fix the elevator. Phew

 

Balcony Room

We stayed in an aft balcony on the 12th deck. I read to avoid these rooms as you would hear noise from the Bolt. Yes you do hear the bolt but it does not run at night so it was not an issue. I personally thought the room was quite spacious. When we entered the room the bathroom had a sewer gas smell, that was quite obnoxious. We called to report it, and someone came right away and had it taken care of. The following day we received a call to make sure we were happy with the service. We certainly were. There are plenty of outlets and USB ports. Loved the closet. There is a pullout draw at the bottom for your shoes. There is also a drop down shelve. This gave you the flexibility for either hanging space or shelve space. Your choice. Good size safe. Nice lighting. Could shut off by the bed, and a reading light with shelving on each side of the bed. Balcony size was fine for us.

 

The bathroom was the typical cruise ship size. Loved the shower door. I do not understand why they put the tissue holder in front of the toilet paper. When you had to wipe, you had to reach behind you. I am sure there is a reason, but not sure why. There is a shaving mirror. It would be great if there was a make-up mirror by the big mirror in the room. 
 

We had great cabin service. Carnival has gone to making your room up once a day. We elected to do it during the morning as I hate coming back to an unmade room later in the day. Mona Liza made sure we had extra towels every day and was extremely friendly. I have to say the majority of the staff was very warm and welcoming. 
 

 
Pools

 I love sitting out by the pool. There are four public pools. Deck 18 has the Serenity pool. Deck 16 has the main lido pool and an aft pool. Deck 8 also had an aft pool. There were several hot tubs. I typically love the adult pool area on RCCL and CCL. No kids and typically very quiet. The serenity area is nice that has clam shell loungers and if you are not there early they are typically taken. There are other areas that are also prime real estate both in the sun and in the shade. There is a towel exchange on this level. The girl was always smiling and friendly. I would go to the Serenity deck early and score a clam shell lounger. In the afternoon. I would go to deck 8 pool as it was no longer quiet. When cruise lines started to offer the drink packages, passengers were no longer quiet. The serenity area was no longer serene. It got loud and crowded. The serenity deck also offers salads in the afternoon. I would have liked more of a food choice than salads in this area. It is a pretty area, and if you are looking for quietness by a pool, go in the morning.

 

Main lido deck busy and loud.  Went there a couple of times with my grandson.  Not my favorite pool. Deck 8 pool is very nice. It never seem crowded at all. There are 6 water chairs, that always were occupied. Loved the pool area, but there was no towel exchange at this pool. There are two towel exchange areas, one deck 16 and the other deck 18. Other than that the pool area was great. The aft pool on deck 16 is smaller than the aft pool on deck 8. Did not spend much time there.

 

Tomorrow I will write about, photos, food, and spa. Feel free to ask me any questions. 
 

Thanks for following along

 

Mary Louise

 

 

[DanOO]

11 minutes ago, Mary Louise said:

Hi,

Background: 

I have not cruised Carnival since 2015. I have cruised several times since 2015 on RCCL. I originally booked the Dream for September of 2020 with my family  but it was cancelled. CCL offered a deal that instead of getting a refund, they offers us $600 of OBC and moved our deposit to a future cruise. When we booked the cruise CCL had a promotion and we received an additional $50 of OBC. The $650 was non refundable and the $100 from our TA was refundable OBC. Have $750 was very easy to spend. 

 

We booked the Mardi Gras due to being a new ship and that it went out of Port Canaveral. My son lives in Orlando so it was an easy decision to make. I am platinum on CCL and Diamond on RCCL. I will compare the perks in a later post. 
 

Embarkation 

Being platinum we were allowed to check in earlier to get an early time to embark. However our son is not, as this was his 3rd Carnival cruise. We embarked with him during his embarkation time. We waited for 30 minutes until his group was called, which was D 4. We could have gotten on the ship earlier, in A group, but if our family could not go together we would wait with them. I really thought that if you went during your time you could embark right away,  but that is not the case. After passing through security you go to a holding area until your group is called.

 

Overview of ship

The Mardi Gras is a beautiful ship. She is tastefully appointed. No more neon colors. Yay
 

Elevators

On embarkation and debarkation days it was hard to get an elevator. There are three banks of elevators forward, midship and aft. The elevators are small. If there is a scooter in the elevator only two other passengers can get in the elevator. The buttons to get to other floors was on the side instead of the front by the doors. It was confusing for many passengers as everyone has a natural instinct to look for the buttons by the door. It took some time to get use to. I was in a forward elevator (PL109). I pushed the button to go to the 18th floor. When I reached the floor, the door never opened and I went what appeared very fast non stop to the 4 th floor. I was not the only one who this happened too. Pretty scary.

They did fix the elevator. Phew

 

Balcony Room

We stayed in an aft balcony on the 12th deck. I read to avoid these rooms as you would hear noise from the Bolt. Yes you do hear the bolt but it does not run at night so it was not an issue. I personally thought the room was quite spacious. When we entered the room the bathroom had a sewer gas smell, that was quite obnoxious. We called to report it, and someone came right away and had it taken care of. The following day we received a call to make sure we were happy with the service. We certainly were. There are plenty of outlets and USB ports. Loved the closet. There is a pullout draw at the bottom for your shoes. There is also a drop down shelve. This gave you the flexibility for either hanging space or shelve space. Your choice. Good size safe. Nice lighting. Could shut off by the bed, and a reading light with shelving on each side of the bed. Balcony size was fine for us.

 

The bathroom was the typical cruise ship size. Loved the shower door. I do not understand why they put the tissue holder in front of the toilet paper. When you had to wipe, you had to reach behind you. I am sure there is a reason, but not sure why. There is a shaving mirror. It would be great if there was a make-up mirror by the big mirror in the room. 
 

We had great cabin service. Carnival has gone to making your room up once a day. We elected to do it during the morning as I hate coming back to an unmade room later in the day. Mona Liza made sure we had extra towels every day and was extremely friendly. I have to say the majority of the staff was very warm and welcoming. 
 

 
Pools

 I love sitting out by the pool. There are four public pools. Deck 18 has the Serenity pool. Deck 16 has the main lido pool and an aft pool. Deck 8 also had an aft pool. There were several hot tubs. I typically love the adult pool area on RCCL and CCL. No kids and typically very quiet. The serenity area is nice that has clam shell loungers and if you are not there early they are typically taken. There are other areas that are also prime real estate both in the sun and in the shade. There is a towel exchange on this level. The girl was always smiling and friendly. I would go to the Serenity deck early and score a clam shell lounger. In the afternoon. I would go to deck 8 pool as it was no longer quiet. When cruise lines started to offer the drink packages, passengers were no longer quiet. The serenity area was no longer serene. It got loud and crowded. The serenity deck also offers salads in the afternoon. I would have liked more of a food choice than salads in this area. It is a pretty area, and if you are looking for quietness by a pool, go in the morning.

 

Main lido deck busy and loud.  Went there a couple of times with my grandson.  Not my favorite pool. Deck 8 pool is very nice. It never seem crowded at all. There are 6 water chairs, that always were occupied. Loved the pool area, but there was no towel exchange at this pool. There are two towel exchange areas, one deck 16 and the other deck 18. Other than that the pool area was great. The aft pool on deck 16 is smaller than the aft pool on deck 8. Did not spend much time there.

 

Tomorrow I will write about, photos, food, and spa. Feel free to ask me any questions. 
 

Thanks for following along

 

Mary Louise

 

 

Thank you.

Can't wait to read about the Food. 

Going on Mardi Gras  12/31!

[lazydayz]

Thanks for the review.  We also had Mona Liza for our cabin steward and enjoyed her.  We also had a deck 12 aft balcony and loved it.  Not as convenient as the the more forward extended balconies but it was quiet and we needed the exercise.  Glad you enjoyed the Mardi Gras.  It is a great ship.  

[IntrepidFromDC]

2 hours ago, Mary Louise said:

Hi,

Background: 

I have not cruised Carnival since 2015. I have cruised several times since 2015 on RCCL. I originally booked the Dream for September of 2020 with my family  but it was cancelled. CCL offered a deal that instead of getting a refund, they offers us $600 of OBC and moved our deposit to a future cruise. When we booked the cruise CCL had a promotion and we received an additional $50 of OBC. The $650 was non refundable and the $100 from our TA was refundable OBC. Have $750 was very easy to spend. 

 

We booked the Mardi Gras due to being a new ship and that it went out of Port Canaveral. My son lives in Orlando so it was an easy decision to make. I am platinum on CCL and Diamond on RCCL. I will compare the perks in a later post. 
 

Embarkation 

Being platinum we were allowed to check in earlier to get an early time to embark. However our son is not, as this was his 3rd Carnival cruise. We embarked with him during his embarkation time. We waited for 30 minutes until his group was called, which was D 4. We could have gotten on the ship earlier, in A group, but if our family could not go together we would wait with them. I really thought that if you went during your time you could embark right away,  but that is not the case. After passing through security you go to a holding area until your group is called.

 

Overview of ship

The Mardi Gras is a beautiful ship. She is tastefully appointed. No more neon colors. Yay
 

Elevators

On embarkation and debarkation days it was hard to get an elevator. There are three banks of elevators forward, midship and aft. The elevators are small. If there is a scooter in the elevator only two other passengers can get in the elevator. The buttons to get to other floors was on the side instead of the front by the doors. It was confusing for many passengers as everyone has a natural instinct to look for the buttons by the door. It took some time to get use to. I was in a forward elevator (PL109). I pushed the button to go to the 18th floor. When I reached the floor, the door never opened and I went what appeared very fast non stop to the 4 th floor. I was not the only one who this happened too. Pretty scary.

They did fix the elevator. Phew

 

Balcony Room

We stayed in an aft balcony on the 12th deck. I read to avoid these rooms as you would hear noise from the Bolt. Yes you do hear the bolt but it does not run at night so it was not an issue. I personally thought the room was quite spacious. When we entered the room the bathroom had a sewer gas smell, that was quite obnoxious. We called to report it, and someone came right away and had it taken care of. The following day we received a call to make sure we were happy with the service. We certainly were. There are plenty of outlets and USB ports. Loved the closet. There is a pullout draw at the bottom for your shoes. There is also a drop down shelve. This gave you the flexibility for either hanging space or shelve space. Your choice. Good size safe. Nice lighting. Could shut off by the bed, and a reading light with shelving on each side of the bed. Balcony size was fine for us.

 

The bathroom was the typical cruise ship size. Loved the shower door. I do not understand why they put the tissue holder in front of the toilet paper. When you had to wipe, you had to reach behind you. I am sure there is a reason, but not sure why. There is a shaving mirror. It would be great if there was a make-up mirror by the big mirror in the room. 
 

We had great cabin service. Carnival has gone to making your room up once a day. We elected to do it during the morning as I hate coming back to an unmade room later in the day. Mona Liza made sure we had extra towels every day and was extremely friendly. I have to say the majority of the staff was very warm and welcoming. 
 

 
Pools

 I love sitting out by the pool. There are four public pools. Deck 18 has the Serenity pool. Deck 16 has the main lido pool and an aft pool. Deck 8 also had an aft pool. There were several hot tubs. I typically love the adult pool area on RCCL and CCL. No kids and typically very quiet. The serenity area is nice that has clam shell loungers and if you are not there early they are typically taken. There are other areas that are also prime real estate both in the sun and in the shade. There is a towel exchange on this level. The girl was always smiling and friendly. I would go to the Serenity deck early and score a clam shell lounger. In the afternoon. I would go to deck 8 pool as it was no longer quiet. When cruise lines started to offer the drink packages, passengers were no longer quiet. The serenity area was no longer serene. It got loud and crowded. The serenity deck also offers salads in the afternoon. I would have liked more of a food choice than salads in this area. It is a pretty area, and if you are looking for quietness by a pool, go in the morning.

 

Main lido deck busy and loud.  Went there a couple of times with my grandson.  Not my favorite pool. Deck 8 pool is very nice. It never seem crowded at all. There are 6 water chairs, that always were occupied. Loved the pool area, but there was no towel exchange at this pool. There are two towel exchange areas, one deck 16 and the other deck 18. Other than that the pool area was great. The aft pool on deck 16 is smaller than the aft pool on deck 8. Did not spend much time there.

 

Tomorrow I will write about, photos, food, and spa. Feel free to ask me any questions. 
 

Thanks for following along

 

Mary Louise

 

 

Very nice start to your review!  I note that you (platinum) waited to board with your family member (gold) during gold boarding.  It has always been practice that golds could board with platinum in the platinum boarding zone.  I don't think this has changed, but not sure.

[mikaula]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. 

[sunkey1]

9 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Very nice start to your review!  I note that you (platinum) waited to board with your family member (gold) during gold boarding.  It has always been practice that golds could board with platinum in the platinum boarding zone.  I don't think this has changed, but not sure.

I'm hoping that's still the case as we're sailing with our two adult kids soon. We are platinum but they are both one day shy of platinum. Going to see if they can board with us, if not, we'll wait at the bar and warm up for vacation with our first Fun Ship!

 

[IntrepidFromDC]

41 minutes ago, sunkey1 said:

I'm hoping that's still the case as we're sailing with our two adult kids soon. We are platinum but they are both one day shy of platinum. Going to see if they can board with us, if not, we'll wait at the bar and warm up for vacation with our first Fun Ship!

 

I believe if they will turn platinum on day one or two (or seven) of the cruise, they are considered platinum for boarding.

[Jelly_Toast]

I've got a cruise booked next month on the Mardi Gras and I have to be honest, I'm nervous that we aren't going to enjoy it as much as cruises on smaller ships. We've been on two since restart, Freedom and Liberty and both were filled less than capacity and the size of the ship and the crowds is starting to make me wonder if I've made a mistake picking a ship this large.

[sunkey1]

5 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

I believe if they will turn platinum on day one or two (or seven) of the cruise, they are considered platinum for boarding.

Sorry, I misspoke, they will be one day shy AFTER this sailing - so they will just have to book another one soon!
 

[ninjacat123]

5 hours ago, sunkey1 said:

I'm hoping that's still the case as we're sailing with our two adult kids soon. We are platinum but they are both one day shy of platinum. Going to see if they can board with us, if not, we'll wait at the bar and warm up for vacation with our first Fun Ship!

 

That's why DH and I (Platinum) are booked, one with a DD and one with the other DD, both who are not yet Platinum.  That way we can board at the same time, then we will adjust who is in what room.  I would think Carnival would let families board together but I didn't want to chance it since my DDs are 20 & 22 and are not children any longer.  So they tell me😉

Edited October 3, 2022 by ninjacat123

[Schoifmom]

6 hours ago, sunkey1 said:

I'm hoping that's still the case as we're sailing with our two adult kids soon. We are platinum but they are both one day shy of platinum. Going to see if they can board with us, if not, we'll wait at the bar and warm up for vacation with our first Fun Ship!

 

 

5 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

That's why DH and I (Platinum) are booked, one with a DD and one with the other DD, both who are not yet Platinum.  That way we can board at the same time, then we will adjust who is in what room.  I would think Carnival would let families board together but I didn't want to chance it since my DDs are 20 & 22 and are not children any longer.  So they tell me😉

 

There is no "platinum" boarding group any longer.  Platinums now get to check in 2 days earlier, which would ensure them an earlier boarding group, if they want one.  Normally, if all parties are booked on the same reservation, the platinum cruisers can check everyone in so that they all have the same boarding group.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Schoifmom

[ninjacat123]

5 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

 

 

There is no "platinum" boarding group any longer.  Platinums now get to check in 2 days earlier, which would ensure them an earlier boarding group, if they want one.  Normally, if all parties are booked on the same reservation, the platinum cruisers can check everyone in so that they all have the same boarding group.

Well I didn't want to leave it to chance (I have been on 6 Carnival cruises since the restart) and I also wanted to get my shareholder credit for both rooms, which I did.  My cruises since the restart have always been in one cabin and this was the first cruise to have separate cabins.

[mouche]

Thanks for the review, we board the Mardi Gras in  11days 22 hours and 17 minutes. LOL!!! Yes I know the time down to the minutes, so excited!!!

[Mary Louise]

Hi,

 

I did ask if my son and his family could embark with my husband and I and was told no. We could have embarked ahead of our family, or wait with them. It might have been because it was extremely hectic and they did not want to get other passengers angry. 

[Mary Louise]

Part Two

 

Cabin Update

 

I forgot to mention that there is really no live TV. I like to watch the news in the morning and when I get ready for dinner. There is a CBS channel and it is just a loop of news that happened that day. However after Ian struct there was plenty of live coverage  of the destruction that Ian left. 

 

There are some free movies. One evening our son went out with his spouse and our grandson came to our room and watched a movie. I do miss live news. 

 

Dining

After we embarked, we went to Shaq's Chicken and it was pretty good. It was busy. There is also an ice cream machine in the area.  We had no trouble finding a table for 5. If you like fried or grilled chicken check it out. 

 

I am typically a lido deck person for breakfast and lunch, and main dining room for dinner. With all of the food choices we decided to mix it up a bit. We did MTD for dinner the first night. The Carnival Hub is a very useful app. It lets you know what the wait times are of various restaurants. Once you are ready to be seated you can check-in. Our wait time was less than 10 minutes. There is not congregating outside the restaurant waiting for a table. We would have a pre-dinner drink and once it told us our table was ready we made our way to the dining room. It actually gave you your table number.

 

Main Dining Room 

The Palm and Flamingo restaurants are the main dining rooms. There are no table clothes, which I do miss. The menus are on the app or there is a QR code on the table. They will give you a real menu if you ask for it. The food is the same no matter what ship you go on. As mentioned I have not cruised on CCL since 2015 and the menu still has some of the entries I remember. I had, the sweet and sour shrimp and it was good. I am not a food snob. so if I do not have to cook, clean up after the meal the food is good. That was the only time that we ate dinner at the main dining room. I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried other restaurants after the first night. 

 

On the morning of debarkation, we did go to the Palm restaurant and ordered breakfast, and it was very good. 

 

Blue Iguana

The Blue Iguana had a great breakfast burrito. They also had fresh watermelon. The lines were not too long and there is plenty of seating on the port side. I never once had breakfast at the lido deck. My husband did and said he had no lines, but if you wanted an omlette there was a line.

I loved the Blue Iguana for the Tacos and burritos for lunch. Never had a long line.

 

Room Service

We did order room service. The food was a little cold. There is no fee for some of the room service food. They do not make it easy to find out about free room service. There is a QR code in the room that you need to scan. You call room service and order your food. They no longer have a card for you to fill out and leave outside your door. I was not all that impressed on the process or the food temperature. They did get the order correct. 

 

The Pig and Anchor

I thought this restaurant had the worse breakfast selection. it was buffet style and did not have much of a selection. Bananas were green, coffee maker was not always working. Plenty of seating, but the seats were not that comfortable.

 

We did eat here for lunch and dinner. I love BBQ and thought they did a nice job. Lunch is buffet style and dinner is first come first serve, For dinner you order on a piece of paper and give it to your server who brings it to your table. I wanted to have the loaded Tater Tots as an appetizer, but the server said he could not do it. It had to come all at the same time with the meal. The Mac and Cheese was dry. The brisket was quite tender. 

 

 

Guys Burgers

There are many food choices and that is why I did not go to the Lido buffet. . If you have cruised CCL before then you most likely had Guy's burgers. That line was always long. It was well organized. Moved fast. I did ask for extra onion rings and the server said he could only give me two extra. He would not give my husband any extra onion rings. Burger's are great. Not a lot of seating. Many passengers carried their burgers to the various pool areas. 

 

PIZZERIA DEL CAPITANO

This line was always long especially at lunch and when passengers returned from port. They have 6 pizza  ovens and the day that I went they were only using one. There was only one server. If someone ordered more than a slice or two, you had to wait. Was it the best pizza I ever had and the answer is no. It was ok. 

 

Piazza Panini

Nice selection of sandwiches. Again long lines and not enough help. I had the reuben which was very good, but if you expect a typical restaurant  size reuben, you would be disappointed. You would need to order two. My husband and I each ordered one and wished we had more. We did not want to get back in that long line. 

 

Chibang

We ate here for both lunch and dinner. At lunch you are given two pieces of paper to fill out. One is Mexican food and the other is Asian. There is various selections can either have a stir fry noodle bowl or have it in broth. They bring out out pico de gallo and chips prior to ordering your lunch. Service during lunch was slow and our waiter was not very attentive. Dinner was a different experience. Service was good. We sat near the kitchen and was told that there would be a 30 minute wait for food, but they kept coming around and filling our water glasses and to see what we needed. There was much to select from and would definitely go back for dinner. This restaurant is another one that you need to check-in and they notify you when your table is ready. 

 

Fresh Salads

This was at the Serenity pool. It was a nice salad bar, but I was use to the solarium options on RCCL and this did not compare. Good for a quick salad. Hardly any lines. If you were looking for more food you need to go to another restaurant. 

 

Cucina Del Captaino

We went to this restaurant twice. Loved the meatball appetizer. If you like chicken parm, it was very tasty, but it came with no sides. If you want pasta order it with your chicken, it does not automatically come. The caprese salad was not good at all, The tomatoes were pale red, not the nice red tomatoes. I did have the rice balls and were delicious. This restaurant is another one that you need to check-in and they notify you when your table is ready. 

 

All of the above food places were free of charge. 

 

My absolute favorite was:

The Chef's Table

If you have one splurge make it on the Chef's Table. Well worth the money. You need to make reservations prior to sailing. Do not wait as it sells out fast. I have been to the Chef's Table on RCCL and this Chef's Table was absolutely the best. It is offered once per night and only 16 people at a time are allowed to go. The food was fabulous. It is not a wine pairing event. They only have a white and red wine to go with the meal, but it is a never ending glass of wine. They had a close up magician and to this day I do not know how he did some of the tricks. We had a tour of the kitchen and watched a pastry chef make the famous chocolate lava cake. Karma the executive chef came out and talked about the meal and gave us some fun facts. his food budget is $730,000 each week. There is enough extra food for five days should the cruise not be able to return to port as scheduled. Keep that in mine should something happen on your cruise. The survivalist in me thought  should I needed to was to hoard food should we not return to port because of Ian. Luckily we returned to port as scheduled. 

 

I loved the different food options which is really something I had not done in the past. 

 

This was a long post, so I will continue with the spa, and other items tomorrow. 

Please feel free to ask me any questions. 

 

Thanks for following along. 

 

ML

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mary Louise]

5 hours ago, Jelly_Toast said:

I've got a cruise booked next month on the Mardi Gras and I have to be honest, I'm nervous that we aren't going to enjoy it as much as cruises on smaller ships. We've been on two since restart, Freedom and Liberty and both were filled less than capacity and the size of the ship and the crowds is starting to make me wonder if I've made a mistake picking a ship this large.

I absolutely loved the big ship. I hope you do to. 

[ninjacat123]

Did you get a chance to try Emeril's?

[Mary Louise]

Just now, ninjacat123 said:

Did you get a chance to try Emeril's?

No We have been to Emerils in the past in New Orleans, did not try it on this ship. Emeril grew up in the city where I grew up and my husband and I actually had a double date with him when he was still in high school and not famous. We also dined at the Venus de Milo where he started his career, and ate at the restaurant where his mom worked. Our children also went to the same high school as his daughters.

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, Mary Louise said:

No We have been to Emerils in the past in New Orleans, did not try it on this ship. Emeril grew up in the city where I grew up and my husband and I actually had a double date with him when he was still in high school and not famous. We also dined at the Venus de Milo where he started his career, and ate at the restaurant where his mom worked. Our children also went to the same high school as his daughters.

Awesome!!  I loved the muffuletta sandwich and the banana Foster crepes.  I wish I would have eaten more meals there.  Glad you enjoyed Mardi Gras!

[notscb]

On 10/2/2022 at 7:53 PM, Mary Louise said:

an aft balcony on the 12th deck

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I'm really curious (based on other discussions on this forum), do you feel that the aft balconies give enough privacy? I know you're on deck 12, which might provide for a bit more, but with the ships design do you think it's enough?

[Mary Louise]

7 hours ago, notscb said:

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I'm really curious (based on other discussions on this forum), do you feel that the aft balconies give enough privacy? I know you're on deck 12, which might provide for a bit more, but with the ships design do you think it's enough?

Hi, Deck 12 there is privacy. I believe deck 9 has the extended deck so any body on deck 10 and above can look down on those decks. Also when in the deck 8 pool, you can see anyone on deck 9 who has an extended deck. 

[sparks1093]

Thanks for the review, can't wait to try Mardi Gras ourselves!

[cruisegirl1976]

Thanks for your review, taking my 1st Carnival Cruise next year on the Mardi Gras, and keep hearing good and bad things, making me a little nervous.

[dan4182]

We sailed on the Mardi Gras last October and had a great time.

 

The embarkation process was a little disorganized because your signed up for arrival time didn’t seem to really matter. Once we got upthe ramps into the actual terminal building things went pretty fast.

 

The ship was about 65% capacity so there were not lines for anything except the bolt roller coaster (well worth the wait).

 

Our balcony stateroom was nice, only complaint here was that the space between the end of the bed and the wall was a little narrow. Lots of USB ports and lighting and great A/C.

 

Elevators did seem small for a ship of that size and buttons that you had to press to open the doors on the ship need to be replaced with motion sensors.

Edited October 4, 2022 by dan4182

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for your review!   I'm taking it that you did not do Street Eats at lunch time.  It's a great option for sea days.  Dw loves the Serenity salads.  As an MDR fan, and with family I can see why you'd miss Emerils, Rudy's and the Steakhouse.  Emeril's breakfast options are fantastic. We didn't care that much for the dining mash-up known as Chibang. But Bonsai Sushi was good. P&A gets a hit or miss on what they call BBQ.  But the bar has good brews and a great bourbon selection.

I enjoyed the Summer Landing deck  more than the Serenity and usually avoid the Lido pools.  Heros was great to watch football.  Comfy chairs and sofas and good service from P&A bar. 

 

Can't wait to get back on in January.