Way too crowded
Mardi Gras Cruise Review
7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 02, 2022
Ship: Mardi Gras
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 15343
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
I hate writing negative cruise reviews, but I think it’s important to be aware that not everyone is suited for a Mardigras Cruise. You have to not mind the atmosphere of a busy amusement park, you have to embrace the idea of hurry up and wait, you have to be ok with loud music with loud resonating bass woofers and you must be prepared to deal with mass humanity up close and personal. There were some wonderful parts of the ship—The Bolt was amazing— but book all the times you want on day 1 or else you will be shut out of times. The entertainment — singers/actors were the best we have seen on 30+ cruises—the sound and light systems would be the envy of any theater. The guys mixing the sound must be deaf— allowing the music and vocals to be so loud and poorly balanced as to be painful to listen to at times. The pools were heavenly but could only be appreciated on port days when the ship was nearly empty. And all of Guys restaurants were wonderful. The elevators were so small and impossibly busy. The public bathroom doors were mind boggling— who designed the doors that wouldn’t close in a timely manner?— the guys just gave up and peed in the urinals with the doors wide open for all to watch. And then there were the doors to the outside that sometimes opened automatically and sometimes you had to locate the small button and press it about 3 times before the door would reluctantly open. As for me— I prefer a less crowded cruise— I hate to worry about not finding a seat when I want to watch a show or having to wait over an hour in order to eat dinner anywhere. And you also don’t need to mind the extra charges popping up everywhere. Everything is expensive— $22.00 for a digital picture. Probably would have bought most of our pictures in digital format and spent several hundred dollars if the prices had been more reasonable.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Cucina del Capitano
Food was just Ok. After being seated sat there for about 15 minutes before the waitress came by. Clearly— they were understaffed— many uncleared tables despite lots of people waiting for their table. (We waited 30 minutes longer than the Hub app initially indicated.) My kids were hoping for a more typical Italian restaurant experience— for example they would have liked to order spaghetti with the chicken Parmesan. Again food wasn’t particularly warm and appeared to have been sitting for a while before we got it. No kids menu and were told couldn’t order “regular Carnival food” even though the salmon etc was on the last page of the menu.
Lido Marketplace
Long lines for sea days breakfast. About 20 minutes for an omelet. No waiters to bring coffee or juice like other cruise lines. Limited selection of food. Have to dodge children running up and down the aisles and check your salt shakers before using them (several times ruined our food because the tops were loose).
Rudi's Seagrill
The quality of the food was more in line with what I expected from a main dining room— although desserts are beautifully presented.
Big Chicken by Shaq
One of the better food venues on the ship. There were long lines on Sea Days— but the lines went quickly. The fried chicken was juicy.
Guy's Burger Joint
Excellent as always. Line up of 100 people at opening but the grill was organized and we were served relatively quickly.
Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que
Thought this was the best restaurant on board for dinner. Unfortunately not on the hub app— so be prepared to wait 30 + minutes for a table. Excellent desserts. Banana bourbon pie was fantastic.
Palm Restaurant
Average to below average comparing to dining rooms on similar cruise lines. Steak on formal night was pretty chewy.
Pizzeria del Capitano
Pizza is good as it usually is on Carnival ships and they work hard to keep the lines down— very popular though so be prepared to wait. Not open 24/7.
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
The best extra cost specialty restaurant. Took an hour to get thru the first appetizer. Had to return the steak because it was well done instead of medium rare. Sides took so long to come that we had already finished our steaks. (Our waitress admitted she had lost our order for sides so just brought us a few of everything— I was too tired to mention that she forgot the onion rings I had ordered). After dinner coffee was cold and the sugar container she brought was empty.
Emeril’s Bistro 1396
Went there for breakfast to try the banana foster crepes— definitely not worth paying extra for. Never crowded because most folks didn’t want to pay for this venue.
Chibang!
Our food was served cold (the beef broccoli) and other food was undercooked (lobster tail). Took 20 minutes to get soda after it was ordered.
Onboard Activities
Serenity Adult-Only area
Only went on port days because of how crowded it was on sea days. People were literally shoulder to shoulder in the water. All were surprised the bar doesn’t open until noon.
Tides Pool and whirlpool
Another nice but very crowded pool. Liked that carnival has lifeguards on duty.
Summer Landing
Beautiful infinity pool area— less crowded due to others due to being windy. No towels available.
Waterworks Aqua Park
Small area— the slides are nice but enjoyment limited by lines.
Mardi Gras Casino
Beautiful casino. Very busy. Smoking section was very smoky and smelly.
Children's Programs
The Warehouse
Nice selection of arcade games.
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Book restaurants and shore excursions before embarkation. Bring ear plus if you are noise sensitive.
Ports of call
Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
Traveler Photos
