Mardi Gras...oh what a first cruise story!

[2Cruise4Ever]

I sailed March 27, 1976!! Carnival had 2 ships, the Carnivale and the Mardi Gras!From what I remember...to tell the difference between the ships, the smoke stacks were painted in opposit colors...(red whie and blue for one and blue white and red for the other) Carnival was filiming a promo movie and I was in it!! I saw it at a CCL travel agents seminar about a year later!! Bob Dickenson was on the cruise as well!!

I fell in love on that ship and almost married the guy!! It was my first cruise and I will never forget it! I still have the formal night dinner pictures!! AHHHHHHH memories...I sail Friday on the Fascination, can't wait...

 

I found you!!!! OK, now that you're an official CC member, you need to add a countdown clock to your signature. For directions to do that, go here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=174730

 

Fascination in 3 days, my friend!!!! I can't wait!

 

I wish I had been able to see Carnivale and Mardi Gras. CCL sure has grown since then!

[dromMOM]

I sailed March 27, 1976!! Carnival had 2 ships, the Carnivale and the Mardi Gras!From what I remember...to tell the difference between the ships, the smoke stacks were painted in opposit colors...(red whie and blue for one and blue white and red for the other) Carnival was filiming a promo movie and I was in it!! I saw it at a CCL travel agents seminar about a year later!! Bob Dickenson was on the cruise as well!!

I fell in love on that ship and almost married the guy!! It was my first cruise and I will never forget it! I still have the formal night dinner pictures!! AHHHHHHH memories...I sail Friday on the Fascination, can't wait...

 

 

WOW.. 1976 you have me beat.. I thought 1978 was going way.. back.. by the time I was onboard the furniture was peeling.. and there were no such thing as stabilizers that worked.. We would dance in the disco and get tossed totally from one side of the dance floor to the other...and you had to hold on tight to the railings to climb from one level to the next it rocked so bad.

[dromMOM]

Elena, what a great picture! I'm not able to see the slide Zackie posted a while back...is it gone? I am presently reading Devil on the Deep Blue Seas which is about the history of cruise companies, with a heavy emphasis on Carnival, so I am learning a lot about the Mardi Gras! Was anybody here on board when she hit the sandbar? :o

Never experienced the sandbar.. what fun that would have been! LOL

[minimotorin]

Please keep posting pics!! This trip was a great adventure for me, 17 years old..fresh out of high school and then I was a world traveler!!! My cabin was on the Main deck, I think it was M48. I shared it with three other students from my school.

 

Do you remember the mirrored rooms in the hall where you would dry your hair?

 

Yep, the staff hung out in the bars,cabins and even on the islands with passengers. I also remember being tossed from one side of the ship to the next. Or having the heavy wood railing from the bunk above me coming down at like 3am almost mashing my head!

 

I have a pic of the room sink, I'll try to post it later tonight.

[dromMOM]

Please keep posting pics!! This trip was a great adventure for me, 17 years old..fresh out of high school and then I was a world traveler!!! My cabin was on the Main deck, I think it was M48. I shared it with three other students from my school.

 

Do you remember the mirrored rooms in the hall where you would dry your hair?

 

Yep, the staff hung out in the bars,cabins and even on the islands with passengers. I also remember being tossed from one side of the ship to the next. Or having the heavy wood railing from the bunk above me coming down at like 3am almost mashing my head!

 

I have a pic of the room sink, I'll try to post it later tonight.

When I get a free moment I will scan in some more pics....

[seamama1]

Oh, the memories you are all bringing back...I too was a Mardi Gras cruiser in the late 70's early 80's...and also the Festivale (remember her) and the Carnivale..What party ships they were, great time, great interaction between guests and crew....and so lovely with all the real wood and brass.....SIGH....I remember when they brought Tropicale and HOliday on line...Lordy, they seemed like such GIANTS then..

[minimotorin]

Here are a couple of pics for everyone, sorry for the poor quality but they are pics taken of pics in a photo album (no scanner).

 

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/data/500/41cruisenewmini_001-med.jpg

 

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/gallery/data/500/41cruisenewmini_003-med.jpg

[minimotorin]

Where are those pics guys/gals??? :D

[dromMOM]

Been so busy.. though I did pull out the album.. I'll try to do it on the weekend..

[crusinala]

14. wow! Tell me what I didn't do............. got drunk, had sex (well almost) told and officer that I was 18 Biggggg mistake.. He took me to his room and started to GET BUSY I got scared and told him that I was just 14. He let me out of that room sooooo fast. Now I have a 13 year old we are leaving next week. She will be chained to me lol.......

[crusinala]

No such thing. Of course my parents would not approve of drinking, so my brother and his friend signed for every drink as Calvin Cline Veranda deck bla bla bla. The last day on the ship the pursers office kept calling for Calvin Cline Veranda deck #bla bla bla.

[etoile]

No such thing. Of course my parents would not approve of drinking, so my brother and his friend signed for every drink as Calvin Cline Veranda deck bla bla bla. The last day on the ship the pursers office kept calling for Calvin Cline Veranda deck #bla bla bla.

Now that is amusing, LOL!

[dromMOM]

Ok so I also saw the officers quarters.. LOL.. but I was with a friend..safety in numbers..

 

But heavy makeout sessions near the smoke stack..way up high..in the wee hours.

 

BUT I was 23!!!!! LEGAL>>>>>

[QTBabyNurse]

Well...the Mardi Gras wasn't my first cruise.....but the Dolphin was, back in 1982. I was 20 and a travel agent at the time.....we made the decision on a Wednesday to leave on that Friday with Mom, Dad and my aunt on a weekend cruise....everyone's first cruise. Got an awesome price...it cost like $115....what a steal (we later found out why!) We all stayed in the same cabin which was MIGHTY tiny!! One of the things I remember best, is that our cabin was WAY DOWN BELOW and it wasn't long before we realized we were on the same deck as the crew. We kept hearing "squawking" noises every so often and had no idea where it was coming from....until we found out that we were berthed right next to the ship's magician and the "squawking" was coming from his pigeons!!

 

But I have such fine memories of that cruise....we were all cruise "virgins" then...but didn't stay that way for long....we all became hooked, so to speak. :p

[cruisegirl1]

What a great thread. The Mardi Gras was our first cruise in 1988. A tenth anniversary celebration. I recall beautiful wood throughout the ship.

 

After reading some of your room stories, we must have been pretty lucky. The room was small but had a double bed, and a tub in the bathroom. I recall some type of call button you could press and a room steward would arrive at your door, day or night.

 

We still have the boarding picture and I’m sure if I look hard enough, I can find some others pictures or brochures. If I find anything, I’ll post.

 

By the way – I do not recall specific prices but it seemed very high at the time.

 

Thanks for the memories!

Marci

[lucille&mike]

ah the mardi gras.... thanks for bringing back the memories.... dw and my first cruise as well. i want to say about 1983, but i could be off a year or two. have sailed about a dozen times or so since then, but the mardi gras will alway, always, always be my favorite. bulkhead doors, welded bedframes, sink in the room and probably 15 corners!!!! the best!!! better yet was the seperate room for the slot machines located 10 ft. from our cabin door. as my wife said.... the machine spoke to her (and she was right!) my fondest memory was of the male nightgown contest!!! had to do it. what did i care, was never going to see these people again anyway!!!! picture 6'2"; 210 lbs. in dw's nightie (5'4", maybe 110 soaking wet) add a wig from the beauty shop, and i indeed was a real beauty. you get the picture....:eek: . the best part was walking from our cabin all the way to the other end of the ship to the auditorium. the looks from the fellow passengers were priceless!!!! they laughed so hard backstage, they sent me out first........ my wife and fellow dinner companions laughed so hard they never did get a picture. how perfect was that???? breaks my heart that carnival doesn't do the contest anymore, although next month when we sail the triumph over thanksgiving there will be others on board (including dgd's and co-workers) who would probably prevent me from goign that route again. i'm going to have to find our old album. i'll see if i can put up a pic or three.... take care all.

mike

[cruisegirl1]

Oh Yeah – I forgot about the male lingerie contest. Absolutely hysterical!

I can still picture our table mate, a conservative gentleman (I thought) , walking down the hall in his costume!

Marci

[zackiedawg]

Well, I said I'd try to work up some old pictures from the mardi Gras...these all had to be photographed from slides, so again quality is not at its peak. Here goes!

 

Here's a new try of the first shot I posted:

 

 

Here are some of my traveling companions who squeezed into that 'family' room (from left, my mother, me, step-brother Craig, and step-brother Jeff, seated):

 

 

Craig's the one who threw up and forced us to spend a few nights sleeping in deck chairs on deck!

 

The reggae band:

 

 

mom, Jeff, and myself standing in front of the Mardi Gras:

 

 

Docked in Ocho Rois Jamaica:

 

 

more...

[zackiedawg]

Mom at the best jerked chicken joint in Ocho Rios, according to Wilson our driver for the day:

 

 

At the time the chicken was grilled over a hole in the ground with a metal grate over it...and you ate standing at an oil drum. The joint is still there today...but now has a full kitchen, covered seating, and a bar, with a small dirt parking lot.

 

This was that great little inside sun room area with deck chairs and glass windows:

 

 

...Craig is stealing a kiss with one of the many female passengers we, ah, had relations with that week! Those days, cruising was as much about hooking up as traveling.

 

This is where Jeff, mom, and I slept for 3 nights! We'd start there, then get booted by the clean-up folks and early risers who wanted to sit and read...then we'd go outside on the pool chairs until we were finally booted for good by the sunbathers. Many a morning was spent crawling back to our awful-smelling room, fully dressed from the night before, to change for the day!

 

Well that's all I could get scanned in...but it gives a little taste of lie on the Mardi Gras in 1982!

[cruisinpaige]

I did not start cruising til 96 and I wondered what it was like back then. Your posts have been very entertaining thanks so much for sharing!

[minimotorin]

Thanks for the pics! Brings back lots of memories.:)

[zackiedawg]

For me too! I'm glad some people asked about any old photos, because it prompted me to dig through old slide show reels, and in the process brought back my own memories as much as writing this thread did.

[longandfosterjames]

Zackiedawg, what a wonderful post, and what wonderful pictures! My first cruise was on the Voyager of the Seas in 2000 and I've always wondered what it was like to cruise back then. Thanks for the effort in posting the pictures, I think it would be cool to see before and now pictures of you and your family too:)

[zackiedawg]

That's easy...just add some pounds to everyone and grey some of the hair!

 

My step-brother Jeff stopped cruising back in 1984 to finish college, go to law school, get married, and pop out 3 kids. He finally returned to cruising last year by taking the family on a Celebrity Alaska cruise, and looks like he missed it as they are planning more. My other step-brother Craig died a few years after the cruise.

 

I cruised pretty regularly, except for a bit of a gap after 1994 when I unfortunately lost my home and work to the Northridge earthquake - several years of paying off loans and getting back on my feet in a new state before I could get on a cruise again, in 1998. It's been one a year since then, which will likely remain my pace considering work obligations!

 

My mother was then on her 4th or 5th cruise, if I recall correctly. She has since made cruising practically a career, having just completed her 98th cruise two weeks ago, her 99th departing Nov 17, and her 100th in late January! She likes the longer and more exotic itineraries that I can't get the time off of work to do myself...so while my cruising career of 21 has been mostly 7-day and a smattering of 10-dayers, hers has been filled with 20-30 day World excursions. My stepfather (the man behind the camera) has been on roughly 15 less than her, since she goes on cruises with friends and other relatives plus those they cruise together.

 

A non-photographic update of the folks in the pictures!

[dromMOM]

Ijust found a whole envelop with lots of my Mardi Gras memorabilia.. all the capers.. and.. even the 1981 brochure promoting the Carnival/Festivale/Mardi Gras..We went on the Festivale in 81 too.. this brochure has pics and the cabin maps..etc..

Can't beleive I didnt thow this all away..