Spring Break Cruise - FINALLY!!!

Mardi Gras Cruise Review

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 63

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5
Mardi Gras

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 26, 2022

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8206

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

We originally planned a spring break cruise for 2020. We finally got to take one after two LONG years. This absolutely did not disappoint. We loved the ship and the ports. Not everything was a 10/10, but when you look at the entire package, this is a must travel ship and an excellent itinerary.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
AMAZING!!! It was so organized and timely, I didn’t even realize the process was complete and we were onboarding! I expected a stop at the long desk line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
We didn’t eat at the MDR because the menu never really appealed to us. There are many options, but most of them are just average.

Fortune Teller Bar

4 out of 5

Fun themed cocktail menu. My niece loved ‘virgin’ Bogg Juice.

Brass Magnolia Bar

5 out of 5

Good custom drink selections and excellent vibe! Our favorite place to hang out all cruise!

Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que

3 out of 5

I really want this to be better than it is. The atmosphere is nice but the food falls short. It’s basically buffet style, except the chefs put it on a plate and the server brings it to the table. Also, the desserts had no flavor.

Pizzeria del Capitano

5 out of 5

Well done as always! So convenient. The prosciutto pizza is the BEST!

Lido Marketplace

2 out of 5

The two stars here are only because of 1 - breakfast and 2 - the self serve pop machines for the Bottomless Bubbles plan. The best thing at lunch was the shawarma and dessert. We never at their at dinner because nothing appealed to us.

La Piazza

5 out of 5

Well done as always! So convenient. The prosciutto pizza is the BEST!

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Always a must have! Love the new dedicated location on Deck 17!

Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Absolutely a STEAL at $36pp. The Art at the Table was really fun. The bone marrow appetizer was EXCELLENT! Only downside was they were out of the Australian Wagyu. We enjoyed the ribeyes though!

Cucina del Capitano

5 out of 5

Ate here for dinner. This was the best ‘included’ dining experience for this trip. We had the carbonara, chicken parm and the pistachio pasta. All were excellent and the service was even better!

Chibang!

2 out of 5

Ate here for lunch only. Had the Asian noodle bowl. The concept was good, but the food lacked flavor. It took 25mins to get the food, which our server did warn us about, since we ordered build your own bowls.

Bonsai Sushi

2 out of 5

The tempura roll and poke bowl was delicious. The bang bang bonsai roll had crab meat in it that was very fishy. Tasted like it came from a can. The ramen bowl smelled very strange (like dish water). Once I realized it was the herbs added on top, I removed them and the bowl tasted fine.

BlueIguana Cantina

5 out of 5

Finally tried a breakfast burrito or 3! Didn’t eat there for lunch, but a definite must have for breakfast!

Big Chicken by Shaq

5 out of 5

Excellent new addition! Great for lunch. Didn’t try the breakfast sandwiches.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Everyone we interacted with was Top Notch! Excellent job even though we heard the ship was short handed 200 people!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
LOVE LOVE LOVE Center Stage. A great place for a show or even just to hang out during the day. The glass windows that transforms into a tv screen is really special as well. Also like how things are spread out on different floors/different parts of the ship. There were 5500+ people on this sailing and all common areas were perfectly maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
The room and extended balcony were easily rated a 10! Lots of room, the glass doors on the showers and the decor made it really enjoyable. The swing chair on the balcony was a great place to enjoy coffee every morning and read a book in the afternoon. One BIG negative, this cabin is forward facing. Right in front of you, a deck or so below, is the crew common area. Unfortunately, the cigarette smoke would blow right into the balcony. Also, they really know how to party…especially on the last night of the cruise! Very loud…cannot enjoy the balcony at night.

Ship tip

1 - If you want good seats at Center Stage, get there early (45mins to an hour early); 2 - Bring things to entertain yourself (books, cards, games) for during the day.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Easy process on and off at the port.

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

3 out of 5
I’ve been to the port before and enjoyed it. Unfortunately, there was another ship in port on our day so the common area was CROWDED and the weather didn’t cooperate so our excursion was cancelled. Ended up back on the ship after only a couple hours.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5
We didn’t explore the port at all. We went on a ziplining excursion and it was AMAZING. The bus ride there is part of the experience!

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5
WOW!!! We LOVED this port! No excursion needed. We brought our own snorkeling gear and saw sooo many fish right there at the beach. We sat by the pool for a bit and had lunch at Margaritaville. Definitely will go back!

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
As GREAT as Embarkation was, Disembarkation was as BAD. There needs to be a little more organization and supervision of folks on the upper floors. Also, the elevators allow both up and down, so if you were on a lower floor, the elevators were mostly full by the time they came back down.
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8 Comments

Jzusvme    2 years ago

Thanks for your review

lspop205    2 years ago

Thanks for your review.

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Glad you enjoyed yourselves. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

blackholesun    2 years ago

Thanks for the review

wooti05    2 years ago

Thanks for the detailed review and glad you had you enjoyed cruise.

natelorip    2 years ago

Thanks for the detailed review.

pitagypsy    2 years ago

So funny I tasted embarkation a 1 star and debarkation a 5🤣 We got there just before noon and were told they were no longer honoring check in times just get in line. Took us 2 hours to get through the line carrying tons of heavy stuff. Getting off the ship today took minutes.

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Appreciate your detailed review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

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