We sail a lot (115 to date) and on all the major cruise lines including Cunard. Carnival is no longer the party cruise line with the low quality reputation it once had. Mardi Gras is a great ship especially when they are sailing fully staffed with excited, healthy, rested & happy crew. This, our 4th time on Mardi Gras, was disappointing for the reasons I stated earlier in my review. The biggest disappointment was the lack of entertainment & proper staffing levels even at lower guest capacity. We still had a good time but not the AMAZING times we had on the prior 3 cruises. We have no issue with seeing shows & entertainment we have seen several times before when they are good but when they cut back to the point when there is not much going on, it's not good especially for their latest & supposed, greatest ship. I do not expect to be entertained 24/7 but in the evening hours they had at least 3 live bands wuth vocalists each and every evening. There is no library on the Mardi Gras so be sure to bring your own. I understand that Carnival & all cruise lines are losing money & need to cut back during these difficult times. We will be canceling upcoming cruises until things are better.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was smooth.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
While there are more free dining venues on Mardi Gras than any other ship, they have cut back. On our prior 3 cruises on Mardi Gras we were able to have breakfast, lunch & dinner al fresco at La Cucina. This was especially wonderful considering covid 19 / variant concerns. Dining outdoors was fabulous. Staffing numbers are much lower than before so service & morale in restaurants, bars & entertainment definitely affected. Amazing nightly live bands in Center Stage & Pig & Anchor gone! Wait time at Fortune Teller Bar & Alchemy Bar ridiculous at 40 minutes. Most staff have been on ship since June & need a vacation to go home, be with their loved ones & recharge.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We loved Summer Landing & Serenity Deck. Lots of trivia games at Pig & Anchor.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Disappointing not having live bands each evening at Center Stage & Pig & Anchor as prior 3 cruises onboard Mardi Gras. Only had good shows at Center Stage 2 nights & did not repeat shows so early dining guests could enjoy them. Again, cut back on live entertainment made a big difference on this, our 4th time on Mardi Gras! Quality of comedians lowered as 2 of 3 comedians forgot their sets midway and never recovered, not funny or professional. Ordinarily we love all the comedians & see several of their shows. Mardi Gras no longer felt like the best, newest flagship for Carnival. We were disappointed because we knew how fabulous it was before!
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Although the majority of the staff have been onboard since June & desperately need vacations, the service overall was good. Ani, server in Chibang is still amazing, friendly, welcoming & a true professional. Overall staff was not as lively & welcoming & one can not fault them as they have been dealing with so much & deserve time off now! We had a minor issue with an obnoxious new server in Farenheit 555 who told us that there was no sugar for our coffee and only after we pressed him, he went elsewhere to get sugar for our table. Otherwise, it was great.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Its a big ship. The dining venues are bigger & better than most other ships. There are a few areas where people trip due to poor design but now some of thise areas have been roped off. We saw 3 areas where large panels of glass were broken in public areas. Plenty of areas to read & relax. Very little shaded seating at main pool but plenty ar Serenity deck & Summer Landing. Ship is clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Balcony cabins are good with plenty of storage, phone charging outlets, comfortable beds & pillows. Bathroom is ridiculously small but replacing shower curtain with door a definite plus!
Ship tip
Bathroom light tap top for full light & tap bottom for lower light which is great for those late night visits. Muffins, fresh fruit, granola & breakfast sandwiches are good & free at Coffee place near Center Stage, 6 mid ship. Get seats up front at Center Stage shows at least 30 minutes before showtimes. Definitely use app onboard especially for reserving dinner with just 10 - 15 minute wait time. No library so bring your own reading material. The coffee machine at Pig & Anchor is supposedly the best self service machine on the ship. If you only drink tea, know that they only have Nugelow Green Tea, some no name brand jasmine tea, regular black tea & a decaffeinated black tea.
Thank you for your review. Sorry your cruise was not as exciting as in the past. We were on the Mardi gras on 1/8 and we had a blast. We enjoyed some of the entertainment, but we knew going in that the some things were limited or even not available.
Thanks for the review. Covid has affected the entertainment / activities on most ships. If you are looking for a party atmosphere, try a 3 or 4 night weekend cruise or cruise during spring break.
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