Very large ship that is too small

Mardi Gras Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

CrazyChick1952

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

Sail date: October 12, 2021

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12276

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

Too small for full capacity. We sailed at 70 percent and pools and other venues were very crowded. There is no decor, not even Mardi Gras beads anywhere. I expected to see Mardi Gras decor, but nothing. MDR had carpet from '70s with harvest gold and avocado green bubbles, '50s turquoise curtains and 2000s navy blue chairs. You have to download the Hub app and everything is on that. It's your menus, it's your acct. info, it's your entertainment guide...if you don't like having to carry your cell phone with you everywhere, you won't be happy. I suggest trying the other restaurants besides the MDR. The Italian is very good as well as Pig and Anchor and Chibang. Pizza is the only 24 hour food besides ice cream. Of course Guy's Burger Joint shouldn't be missed. This was my 45th cruise and I really was not that impressed with the ship. The shows were excellent as well as the bands around the ship. The comedians were okay to excellent; we had six different ones and Spike Davis was the best and funniest. Our cabin was extremely small as well as the bathroom. You have to be a contortionist to reach the toilet paper. I'm not a big girl, but it was hard for me in that bathroom! It's one of those ships you'll have to try for yourself and form your own opinion.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Excellent. Thorough and quick.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Guy's Burger Joint, Pig and Anchor, Chibang and the Italian were all excellent. Main dining room had a couple of nights where there was no entree I wanted so I had to order three appetizers. Buffet was ok.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Liked most comedians, loved Spike Davis. The dancers and singers were great and their shows and performances were some of the best I've seen. Liked the band in the pig and Anchor and lived the Center Stage Band.

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Cabin steward and assistant where excellent! Both went above and beyond for us.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Venues too small for number of passengers. Loved the way food venues were spread out to prevent crowdedness. Love the PG comedians. Staff sanitation could be better especially with bartenders.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Cleanliness very good. Cabin is too small, didn't like the lack of shelving by the bed. No room for a clock. Bathroom extremely small, couldn't use the magnifying mirror without having to straddle the toilet. Had to be a contortionist to reach toilet paper . I don't know how some of the larger passengers even got in the bathroom. Balcony very small. Had to move chairs every time we went in or out.

Ship tip

Don't even try to go to the Serenity pool. No room to even sit around it. People blocking the steps. The deck floor and seating are not teak and you will blister your feet or legs because the material of the deck floor is too hot without your shoes. I would tell them to book another ship.

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Disembarkation

4 out of 5

Could have been earlier, but worked. We had self debarkation.

15 Comments

GerryBCruisin 3 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your review! Sadly the bigger ships do tend to be crammed.

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lflewtocruise 3 years ago

The best bathrooms are the horizon deluxe ocean view ! You get 2 bathrooms

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AuntPinkie 3 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Looks like Carnival is going the wrong direction for my taste.

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Curt34 3 years ago

Appreciate your review. Thanks.

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jmutt24 3 years ago

The mini bathrooms were a disappointment for us. Everything else was good

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10cruiser 3 years ago

Just be happy you can cruise again

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Pheznt55 3 years ago

Thanks !!

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KrisDen 3 years ago

We were on the Mardi Gras on the Sept 25 sailing. I also was quite disappointed. I felt like the food was lacking. (But I also considered that there is a food shortage) so hard to say for sure. We did like the panini sandwich place. Everytime I tried pizza it was burnt on the bottom and crust. The rooms are small for a balcony room. The bathrooms reminded me of a camp trailer bathroom. The bathroom is maybe 18 inches wide to the sink and total door to mirror maybe 30 inches by 60 inches wall to wall. There is maybe 12 to 16 inches from bottom of bed to wall. They did have a big TV which was nice when we got in bed at night and contacts were out. Lol Entertainment was just ok. I also didn't care for having to have my phone to get a menu. We went to the steak house for our anniversary. We were looking forward to a nice dinner and the food was not very good. The restaurant is small and we were put at a table between 2 other couples that were only about a foot away from you on either side. We didn't feel like we could have a Conversation. It was very awkward. We paid the up charge of round $75 and not worthy it. We were excited to ride the bolt and scheduled it twice to be told both times that it wasn't running. We gave up and never did get to ride it. I did not mind the masking even though it was not ideal. I feel like maybe due to covid that things are different so I tried to be open minded and not judge to harshly. Maybe they couldn't get more Entertainment and food 🤔. The pools were so over crowded. I can't even imagine full capacity crowds. Staff as always were great! The debarkations was so quick and easy. Probably the best debarkation we have ever had. We were off the ship, through customs, got our luggage and leaving the parking garage by 8:55. Overall not my favorite ship/cruise.

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hollysmomtravel 3 years ago

Sorry it wasn't great for you

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izrgreen 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing

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cbyron3 3 years ago

Being you can see the MDR menu for the entire cruise on the first day on the app, why would you go on nights when there was nothing you wanted? My problem was most nights I wanted at least 3 different entrees and ordered them all. None disappointed. The one night they didn't have any of my favorites I booked specialty dining.

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cruising2004 3 years ago

Thank you for your detailed review

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willwork4cruz 3 years ago

Glad you found enough good things to have a good time.. Yes. I think we all need to just accept that new ships have small rooms and tiny balconies. Teak flooring is a relic unfortunately. Although I don't miss the circus decor found on older Carnival ships. Pools have always been too small on ships. Still there are lots of things to enjoy and cruise fares have never been lower.

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jameeh 3 years ago

Appreciate your very candid review.

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javawoody 3 years ago

Thanks for the review and sharing your experience

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