Beautiful Ship although some design flaws

Item: Mardi Gras
Rating: 4
Author: emc75

Mardi Gras Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

emc75

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 87

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 29, 2022

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

It is a beautiful ship. But It was a one and done for us. We will not sail on this ship again. IMO I think that there wasn't enough thought put into how to handle a full capacity sailing. I will feel bad for those who sail and cannot enjoy what the ship has to offer because of crowding.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

wonderful experience with this, very fluid and efficient

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Wonderful Staff, very attentive and efficient. Dining room (Flamingo) was very nice. Loved the staff there, they were excellent and again very attentive. Buffet on Lido deck was nice, had a nice selection of dishes, although not over the top with their choices. Only Specialty restaurant that I went to was the Bonsai Teppanyaki - The main course of Filet & Shrimp was delicious, the other courses were just ok. Chef was fun and entertaining. However, IMO not my best food experience.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Can't really rate this as I didn't really experience any of these activities.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Flying Scotsman was fabulous, he was so talented and entertaining. Musicians in Center Stage were great, although loud at times. Not enough or good seating for everyone. Very obstructed from most of the seating area.

Children's Programs

no children were with us on this trip

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The staff was WONDERFUL, very attentive, courteous and friendly.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was very Clean, the design has many flaws. Most areas are not large enough to hand a full capacity load of passengers. The elevators are very small and only hold about 8 people. Needless to say we waiting a long time for them, and the ship was not at capacity only at about 60%.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Cabin itself was very nice, lots of storage. Bathroom suitable and love the shower door, much better that a curtain. The FORWARD facing Balcony was huge, however a big NO from me on it. It is totally obstructed unless you stand up. There is a solid wall in front of you. Why they didn't put glass there is beyond me. Everyone gets a balcony to see the water. Not these front facing cabins. It overlooks the crew area, which when they are there, all you can smell is cigarette smoke!