Our “Never Say Never” Mardi Gras Cruise – Live (Hopefully) May 27 - June 3

[SRQbeachgirl]

First, I’m going to apologize in advance for my short attention span and notorious lack of follow-through. Mr. SRQ will be the first to tell you that I love to start projects and then leave them for him to finish. But I am going to do my best to do a live report from the Mardi Gras May 27 – June 3.

Okay, so let’s get this started with a little pre-cruise background.

 

Mr. SRQ and I are in our mid-50's. I like to remind him that he's more "mid" than me, since he's 18 months older, to which he usually reminds me that it's not the years, it's the mileage. Smart aleck. 🤨 We've been married going on 34 years and our anniversary is the day we disembark, so we’ll be celebrating it on this cruise. 

We live in Southwest Florida, which I personally think is just about the best place to live (except when there’s a hurricane – more on that later). We're originally from Texas, which is the second-best place to live. Texas may be "God's country," but I'm pretty sure He has a vacation home on Casey Key. 😉

 

Mr. SRQ is retired, so he doesn’t have to deal with pesky things like schedules and workloads (well, unless you count the ones I give him 😆). I love my job, even though it makes me crazy sometimes…or most of the time…and have no plans to retire for a long time as long as I can take vacations. I will not be one of those people who retires and gets a big check for tons of annual leave that has been saved up. Nope, I will wring my annual leave balance dry.  

 

Now, about that title…

 

This will be our second time on Mardi Gras. The first was June 2022 and it was our first cruise post-pandemic. To say we needed a vacation at that point would have been an understatement. After two years of pandemic, five canceled cruises, selling a house, a cross-country move, starting a new job, and almost three months staying in a hotel until we closed on a new house in February 2022, we were STRESSED! It was a good thing we tested negative for COVID before that cruise, because my coworkers were preparing for the Four Horsemen to saddle up if we had to cancel. I think HR had prearranged mental health support, just in case. 😬

 

It was also a little bittersweet because it was our first vacation in 23 years for just the two of us without our son. He had graduated from college, had a new job, and had just gotten engaged, so we were new empty-nesters and were still trying to get used to the whole concept of being on our own. It’s a good thing we still like each other after all these years! 😍

 

Anyway, we had an aft-balcony on that first MG cruise, and it was so hot with no breeze that we just couldn’t enjoy it during the day. Which was a shame, because the view was amazing and we love spending time on our balconies. The location also meant it took forever to get to most venues and a “quick” detour back to the cabin for anything was absolutely not quick! About halfway through that cruise we decided that the Excel Class was probably just too big for us and we likely wouldn’t cruise on one again. Famous last words, and all that…

 

Now here we are, eating our words and about to pack for a second trip on the MG.

 

Never say never, indeed. 🙄

 

So how did we get here?

 

We had cruised on the Celebrity Reflection in January. It was a great cruise and we spent a week in stress-free bliss. we didn’t worry about anyone or anything, which speaks volumes about how good that cruise was considering what we’d been through over the last year.

 

Remember all that stuff about moving, new job, etc.? Well, we moved back to Florida in November 2021 after spending four years in the utter insanity that is the Washington D.C. metro area, which we will forever refer to as the Frozen Tundra. 🥶Can't tell you how happy we were to leave the snow blower in the middle of the garage with a big red bow around it for the new owners of the house we sold. They were moving from San Diego--they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. 🤣

 

I left a very high-pressure job up there and moved back to Florida to take…another high-pressure job. 🤦‍♀️ But at least this one comes with beaches! 

 

And then came Ian… 

 

Y’all, we’ve been in hurricanes before. We went though Charley in 2004, Irma in 2017, and numerous other side-swipes through the years. We are pros at hurricane preparation. Mr. SRQ has a very impressive collection of hand-crank radios, flashlights, and other nifty gadgets, and I can whip up whole dinners with a can of chicken and a bunsen burner. We do not get freaked out over hurricanes. But then, we'd never been through anything like Ian.

 

About a week before Ian hit, our son and now daughter-in-law got married on one of our local beaches. Her parents live in another state and she had just moved to Florida, so I played wedding planner and helped with all the arrangements. It was a lot of work and stress (there’s that word again), but so worth it. It was beautiful. 🥰 Looking back, we remember that moment as not only an amazing day for our family, but also a day when we were so blissfully unaware of what was coming.

 

On September 28 we were staring down a Category 5 monster that had made a bullseye on southwest Florida. Our house is fairly new and built to modern hurricane codes, we have storm shutters, and are equipped to ride out a storm, so we battened down all the hatches and hunkered down.

 

We spent nine terrifying hours in Ian’s eyewall. Windows broke even with brand-new hurricane shutters. Our pool cage, what was left of it, was in a twisted heap in the pool. Our concrete tile roof was a total loss. Every square inch of my car, which was parked in the driveway, looked like it had been beaten with a baseball bat (the car ended up being totaled). One wall of our house that faced the direction the wind came from had actually cracked and been pushed inward (it’s a concrete block house!). All the houses around us were as bad or worse. We were without running water and power (other than a generator) for weeks. No cell or internet service.

 

Overall, we ended up with over $100,000 in damage. It took six months to get our roof replaced and our windows won’t be delivered for another four months, so we will be going through hurricane season this year with broken windows.

 

Now back to our cruise booking…

 

There we were, at the end of February, sitting at home five months after Ian listening to the tarps flapping around in the slightest breeze on what was left of our yet-to-be-replaced roof. Flap, flap, flap. 😑 

 

Let’s just say the post-vacation glow was quickly fading from our January Celebrity cruise. So naturally, I was surfing cruise websites.

 

There weren’t a whole lot of choices that would get us a balcony in our preferred locations, or during the weeks I knew I could get away from work. Then I found a MG sailing with an oversized slanted balcony on the hump during the right timeframe. 

 

I looked over at Mr. SRQ, my finger hovering over the Book Now button, and said “How would you feel about going on the Mardi Gras again?”

 

Mr. SRQ looked at me like I had grown a third eye in the middle of my forehead. He said "We just got off a cruise four weeks ago! And I thought we weren't going on a ship that big again?"

 

I asked "And...?"

 

He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and then went back to what he was doing.

 

So naturally, I booked it! 😁

 

 

To be continued...

[kelkel2]

I’m loving this already. I’m so sorry to hear about your hurricane damage. I always think I’d love to move to Florida one day, but geesh that scares me! Im from Illinois, give me a foot of snow. But spare me the hurricane. 
I can’t wait to read more! 

[SRQbeachgirl]

15 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

I’m loving this already. I’m so sorry to hear about your hurricane damage. I always think I’d love to move to Florida one day, but geesh that scares me! Im from Illinois, give me a foot of snow. But spare me the hurricane. 
I can’t wait to read more! 

 

I'll take the hurricanes over the tornadoes we used to get in Texas. Nothing like a funnel dropping on your house with no warning in the middle of the night. At least with hurricanes you can see them coming. For days. It's like being stalked by a giant turtle. 🐢

[SRQbeachgirl]

Now, let’s talk planning.

 

I love planning vacations. I mean, who doesn’t LOVE planning vacations? Okay, Mr. SRQ doesn’t, so he’s just darn lucky to be married to me. 😁 If I left it to him to plan our vacations, they would consist of a 30-minute drive west to our local beach for the day. And while, yes, living that close to some of the best beaches in Florida is AWESOME, that’s not a vacation. That’s a random Saturday.

We’ll be driving over to Cape Canaveral on Friday 5/26, but will be stopping first at Cracker Barrel on our way out of town because, well, it’s Cracker Barrel and my vacation doesn’t officially start until I’ve been there! 🤤

 

Being able to drive to four ports in under 3.5 hours is one of the things on my list of why I love living in Florida. Really, I have an actual list. 📃 It comes in handy to remind myself in the middle of hurricanes while I'm praying the roof doesn't blow off. Or, you know, later when it actually has blown off and I’m writing the check for the insurance deductible. 

 

We have reservations at the Hampton Inn by the port for Friday night. Remember I said we spent almost three months in a hotel when we moved back to Florida? It was "snowbird" season and there were approximately zero homes to rent, so we had to stay in a hotel until we could buy and move into our house. Because of that, I have more Hilton Honors Points than I know what to do with. I could probably sell them like crack in the parking lot (pssst, hey you, I got sumthin’ to show you’z). So until we use up this balance, we are staying in nothing but Hilton owned hotels.

 

Our plan is to have a very early dinner at Fishlips so we can watch some of the ships leave at 4 and 5pm. 🛳️ It’s a great way to spend the evening before a cruise.

 

For embarkation day, we have FTTF. It was sold out when we booked this cruise and hasn’t had any availability whenever I’ve checked, but I logged onto Carnival yesterday and it was available! Score! I know some people think it’s a waste, but we like getting on the ship early and dropping our luggage off in our cabin, then being able to wander luggage-free while it’s still not crowded.

 

And yes, we carry our bags on ourselves, rather than leaving them with the porters. Well, usually. Last year on our MG cruise they hadn’t started FTTF back up so we knew we’d have to lug our bags with us until 1:30. Mr. SRQ was not happy about this. We talked about leaving them with the porters, but I kept mentioning all the worst-case scenarios. Not that Mr. SRQ needs to worry about such things – nope, it’s always MY bag that something happens to when we fly. Never his. 🙄 I’m certain the airline gods hate me. I also come from a very long line of worriers. It’s what we do. I can't help it, it's genetics.

 

Anyway, as we were sitting in line to get into the parking garage I kept naming off all the ways the bags could get lost. Finally, I looked over at Mr. SRQ and he was staring at me with the expression of an abused pack mule, so I relented and we dropped them off with the porters. Did our bags arrive to our cabin safely? Yes. Did I worry? Yes. Will we be leaving them with the porters again if I can help it? Absolutely not.

 

This cruise is sold out, with not a single cabin available for the last few weeks. I guess we and 6,000+ of our new friends are about to find out how the MG feels when it’s packed!

 

We’re doing the Western itinerary with stops at Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay. All stops we have done several times, but other that Costa Maya we really love this itinerary.

 

Our port plans are…

 

Cozumel

We have the Dolphin Swim with Unlimited Food and Drinks excursion at Dolphinaris. This will be the third time we have booked an excursion to swim with dolphin, and hopefully this time we will actually get to take the excursion.

 

Let me explain…

 

Our first attempt was on our 2018 Magic cruise when we booked the Dolphin Swim and Snorkel excursion at Anthony’s Key Resort for our day at Mahogany Bay. However, the night before the excursion one of the dolphins gave birth. They canceled all the dolphin swim excursions to give the mom and baby time to bond without human interference. Being a mom myself I can fully appreciate the need to prevent the mom from going full Mama Bear on anyone who might get too close to her baby!

 

Attempt two was last year on our MG cruise. We had the same excursion booked in Cozumel that we have this time. I was so excited! I was finally going to get to swim with dolphin! 🐬 I was up and ready early that morning and told Mr. SRQ I was going to get some coffee at the Bar Della Rosa. I headed down to deck 8, got my mocha latte, and practically skipped back to the cabin from excitement. I opened the cabin door and…everything changed.

 

Mr. SRQ was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face an odd shade of pale green. 🤢 I stood frozen in the cabin doorway. Mr. SRQ looked at me, I looked at him…and then he bolted for the bathroom. I didn’t see him again for half an hour, though I could plainly hear that my dreams of swimming with dolphin had just been dashed. AGAIN!

 

As I waited for Mr. SRQ to emerge, I stood on the balcony drinking my latte, staring out over the Cozumel shoreline and beginning to understand what might drive someone to toss their spouse overboard. 🤨 Just kidding. Sort of. 😉

 

Anyway, Mr. SRQ finally emerged and proclaimed that he thought our dinner the night before at the Pig & Anchor had disagreed with him and that there was no way he was going to be able to go on the excursion. Yeah, newsflash, I could already hear that for myself, thanks. He suggested I could go by myself.

 

Now, y’all, we’ve been married a long time. I know what Mr. SRQ really means when he says stuff like this. It’s basically the same thing I mean when I say something is “fine.” If Mr. SRQ asks me if I’m okay and I say “fine,” he knows I am definitely NOT fine. In fact, he knows that the best thing he can do at that point is to not say another word, back away slowly, and immediately proceed to the store to buy me flowers. He is a very, very smart man. He also has a keen sense of self-preservation.

 

So anyway, I stood there for about 30 seconds contemplating the whole “for better or worse, in sickness and in health” concept that I had dreamily agreed to when I was young and didn’t yet understand that those innocent words were going to someday cost me a chance to swim with dolphin. 🤔 In the end I grabbed the excursion tickets and stomped down to the excursion desk to see if anyone wanted some tickets. I ended up giving them away to a mother and daughter who practically gushed with thanks and happily ran off to go on MY EXCURSION. 😭

 

But I’ve gotten over it. Really. Mostly. I have also told Mr. SRQ that he’s only allowed water and bread for dinner the night before we dock in Cozumel. He thinks I’m kidding. We’ll see. 🤨

 

Costa Maya

I could be perfectly happy never getting off the ship again in Costa Maya, and that might be what happens this time. We’ve tried snorkeling there and spent a miserable morning at a beach club waving away the vendors who are more tenacious that a swarm of south Florida mosquitoes. 🦟 But just in case, we have tickets to the Aviarius at the port. We always enjoy looking at and feeding tropical birds, so if we do get off the ship we’ll do this activity and wander through some of the shops.  

 

Mahogany Bay

I really, really wanted a cabana for Mahogany Bay. We had one last year and it was the highlight of our cruise (well, Mr. SRQ’s version of Fifty Shades of Green certainly wasn’t the highlight…).

 

The cabanas were sold out when we booked this cruise, but I am nothing if not determined. I stalked the Carnival website so much, I’m surprised they didn’t get a restraining order. But the night before final payment was due my persistence paid off and one opened up! And unlike the $500 many people are seeing lately, it was still $379. SOLD! 🥳

 

On the ship

As for our evening and sea day plans, we have reservations at Rudi’s, Fahrenheit 555, and Bonsai Teppanyaki. We didn’t try Chi Bang last year, so we plan to give it a go this time. We will probably do Cucina at least once as well. We ate there twice last year and really liked it. Suffice to say, we will be skipping the P&A this cruise. I am not taking any chances!

 

We didn’t do Bolt last year and I want to try it this time. Will also spend some time (and money) in the casino. I am under no delusions that we will walk out of the casino with more money that we walk in with. It just doesn’t work that way with us. Our son once argued with me that is was impossible to lose money at blackjack, so I took him to the casino and demonstrated just how easy it was to do exactly that. For me, at least. He walked out with $60 in winnings. He still hasn’t let me live that down.

 

We have the Value WiFi Plan, which I only plan to use to post on Cruise Critic and check our bank account periodically to make sure I don’t spend the mortgage payment.

 

Also, we don't do Cheers. Mr. SRQ very rarely has any alcohol and is perfectly happy drinking tea and water for the week. I can't drink enough for both of us to make Cheers worth it (well, maybe I could, but I'd actually like to remember this cruse, so...). I do, however, already have our allotted two bottles on wine ready to go. And yes, I will drink both bottles. 😁

 

That's it for now. Let the countdown begin!

[lazydayz]

Have a fantastic cruise.  You deserve it!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Great start and looking forward to the rest!  We will be doing the same itinerary on the Mardi Gras in January.

 

 

Kim

[balcony bound]

This sounds like fun.  I'm following🙃

[cruiserNC]

Great start, Can't wait!

[pe4all]

You have a great writing style.  Will be following along on your cruise!

[luvs2beachit]

Following along.  Love your humor! Will be on the MG in Jan. so looking forward to your review!

[SailingRNC]

So looking forward to this review !!

[SRQbeachgirl]

It's packing time! 

 

Well, it's time to talk about packing, at least. Mr. SRQ and I are last-minute packers. Like, really last minute. Mr. SRQ will probably start packing at around 10:00pm tomorrow night and will be finished approximately 17 minutes later. I'm not kidding, y'all! That man can pack faster than anyone I've ever seen! And he never forgets anything, either. It's just not normal. I think it's his superpower. 

 

While I'm a last-minute packer, too, I do not possess his speediness. I will usually start packing about the same time as Mr. SRQ. My method is to plop my suitcase on our bed, open it up, then go stand in my closet for a good 45 minutes trying to decide what to take. 🤔 Finally I will just grab most of my capris and sleeveless tops--way more than I will ever wear on a 7-day cruise--and throw it all on the bed. Next I head to the bathroom to pack all my toiletries into ziplock bags and bring them all to the bed. Then I start meticulously folding my clothes. By this time, around midnight, Mr. SRQ decides he wants to go to bed sometime this century, so he will start folding everything and packing for me. Isn't that a great system?!? I totally think I have the best packing method ever! 😁

 

We no longer take anything dressy on cruises. We used to do all the formal stuff when we first started cruising, but now Mr. SRQ gets grumpy if he has to take pants. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him he had to wear jeans or khakis every night on our Celebrity cruise. He was completely put out, like it was the biggest inconvenience ever. He literally said "But I don't have to on Carnival!" 🤣 

 

Despite my best efforts to take the entire contents of my closet with me, Mr. SRQ and I will only have one carry-on size rolling suitcase each. I will also have a small travel tote and Mr. SRQ will have a small backpack.

 

We used to seriously overpack. Okay, fine, I used to seriously overpack, and could easily take two large suitcases and a rolling carry-on for a 7-night vacation. Mr. SRQ played his recurring role of abused pack mule. There came a point when I was either going to have to learn to pack less, or he was going to report me to the SPCA. 🐴

 

Only one more day of work and then it really will be packing time!

 

 

[chriscec2012]

We’re on the same sailing with you. I’ll try and remember to check here to see how the week is going or I’ll catch you in the casino. 

[SRQbeachgirl]

2 hours ago, chriscec2012 said:

We’re on the same sailing with you. I’ll try and remember to check here to see how the week is going or I’ll catch you in the casino. 

 

Sounds great! I'll be the one losing all the money. 😆

[ciship]

What a fabulous start to a review!  Can't wait to read more!

[SRQbeachgirl]

We're packed! In record time, too, since Mr. SRQ made a preemptive strike and started packing my suitcase while I was still dawdling over toiletries. He apparently decided he wanted to go to bed before dawn. I'm telling you, I have totally got this packing system down! 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by SRQbeachgirl

[BlerkOne]

12 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

Sounds great! I'll be the one losing all the money. 😆

That really narrows it down. 🙂

[SRQbeachgirl]

And we’re off!


But first, we had to stop at Cracker Barrel (I told you!). After we ate I was wandering around the store (because it's mandatory to wander around the Cracker Barrel store--I think it's a law or something) and I look over at Mr. SRQ who is standing by the cash register eyeing me with trepidation. I was like "what?" And he says "we haven't even left town and you're already shopping!"

Y'all, I love shopping. I mean, really love. If I had known professional shoppers were a thing before I spent all that time in college and climbing the career ladder, well...

So anyway, after completely falling in love with a pink flamingo glitter lamp, I decided I would uncharacteristically restrain myself and not buy anything. I needed to visit the ladies room so told Mr. SRQ that I'd meet him in the car. A few minutes later on my way out of the restaurant I stopped by for one last look at the flamingo. I even took a photo to remind me to maybe convince Mr. SRQ to stop back on our way home after the cruise so I could buy it.
Now, Mr. SRQ knows me better than anyone on the planet (and he still loves me in spite of that, bless him), so when I get out to the car guess who's sitting there with a pink flamingo glitter lamp? I married a good man, y'all.

 

Remember that list of things I love about living in Florida? Being able to put a pink flamingo glitter lamp in my office and nobody raising an eyebrow at my decorating choices is on the list. 

 

Now let's talk about driving. Raise your hand if you enjoy driving on I-4. Anyone? (No, you back there in the back row--put your hand down and stop gaslighting us, 'cause we all know you're lying). We try to avoid I-4 like our lives depend on it (which isn't wrong).

We are taking the back roads up through Desoto and Hardee Counties and the areas south of Orlando. It's just a prettier and more interesting drive. Even though we do have small towns and some traffic lights to go through, it typically only adds 10 or 15 minutes to our drive vs I-4. We'll take it, considering what we've seen on 1-4. Like that one time we were stuck for five hours at night in the pouring rain because an overpass embankment in front of us literally slid down onto the highway. Y'all, you seriously can't make this up. How many people can say they got stuck in a mudslide on the highway in FLORIDA??? The state where the highest elevation is the local landfill!!!

But that's another story.

 

Next stop Cape Canaveral!

Edited May 26, 2023 by SRQbeachgirl

[lazydayz]

Enjoy the drive.  We hate I-4, but alas usually take it.  Glutens for punishment, I guess. 

[SRQbeachgirl]

Don't you just love traffic? Yeah, me neither. Unfortunately we hit a bunch of it today. By the time we got to Cape Canaveral the ships were already leaving. We got to our hotel room just in time to look out the window and see the Disney Wish leaving port.

 

 

We decided not to go to Fishlips since we were already tired and not really hungry. Instead we drove down to Publix to get a couple of sandwiches for later. And since we were there, we figured we might as well get some Blue Bell ice cream. 😏

 

No y'all, we're originally from Texas where the happiest cows on the planet make the milk for Blue Bell ice cream. When we moved to the Frozen Tundra we learned we couldn't buy Blue Bell within 100 miles. How could we have made such a life-altering logistical error?!? 😱  Should have known then that we wouldn't be there too long.

 

Anyway, we took our sammies and Blue Bell back to the hotel. We're staying at Home2Suites on Astronaut Blvd. Here are some photos of our room, which by the way, is exactly like the Home2Suites room we spent 3 months in last year when we moved back to Florida, so we may or may not be experiencing a little PTSD right now. 🫣

 

 

 

 

And here are some photos around the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if y'all will excuse me for a bit, there's a gallon of deliciousness calling my name from the direction of the freezer...🤤

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SRQbeachgirl]

It's Cruise Day!

I have learned to be highly skeptical of hotel breakfast buffets. Three months of living in a hotel will teach you things, things you probably really don’t want to know. My one weakness on hotel breakfast buffets are the waffles. I love waffles! This hotel had malted vanilla waffle mix. Mmmm...malted. But the line was long. Too long. I also knew I would have to wait around long enough for me to completely screw up the first waffle and then wait for the second one to cook (yeah, I've done this a few times...I know how this is gonna go, no matter how hard I try). I know those waffle makers are supposed to be foolproof, but those waffle maker designers obviously never met me.

So to save time and the embarrassment from the burning smell that I knew would waft through the lobby, I chose potatoes, eggs, and a bagel.  Now I have to say, those potatoes were tasty. Crispy and nicely seasoned on the outside. And the bagel, well, it's a bagel...hard to screw that up. The eggs, though...oh, the sad, sorry eggs. I mean, they looked good and they were hot. But they, well...how do I put this delicately? They sucked, y’all! I mean really, truly, irredeemably sucked. I hear people complain about the scrambled eggs at Carnival's buffet but let me tell you, these eggs made the Carnival eggs seem like fresh from the farm, right outta the hen's butt eggs. If y'all had those Home2Suites eggs, you would be kissing the carton those Carnival eggs are poured out of. There's no amount of salt, pepper, hot sauce, or ketchup that could mask the powdered travesty of those eggs! And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

We checked out via the Hilton Honors app and were sitting in the FTTF area in Terminal 3 less than 30 minutes later. It was shocking how fast everything went! Last time we sailed MG out of Port Canaveral we arrived at the port at about the same time, but we sat in line in traffic for a good 30 minutes before we got into the parking garage, then stood in line to check in for another 15-20 minutes. We expected the same thing today which is why we left the hotel so early. Today was definitely a much-improved process!

 

Here's our first glimpse of the MG today.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by SRQbeachgirl

[kelkel2]

Happy Cruise Day!!! 

[SRQbeachgirl]

5 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Happy Cruise Day!!! 

 

Thank you! I think the hardest part is sitting in the terminal waiting for them to let us onboard. So close....

[kelkel2]

5 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

Thank you! I think the hardest part is sitting in the terminal waiting for them to let us onboard. So close....

Oh it absolutely is. Boarding there is really smooth though.

what kind of cabin did you book? 

[SRQbeachgirl]

Just now, kelkel2 said:

Oh it absolutely is. Boarding there is really smooth though.

what kind of cabin did you book? 

We're in 14344, a slanted balcony on the forward part of the hump.