I'd do it again with one change.
Mardi Gras Cruise Review
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 09, 2022
Ship: Mardi Gras
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9318
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
I will start out by saying that my cruise was the one where the man went overboard and it is very scary to be woken in the middle of the night with that announcement. First thing you do is make sure your family is accountable. Then relief and then sadness for that person's family. I could even see sadness on the staff . I do think the crew handled as well as could be expected but the crew members that I came in contact with were clearly shaken by this tragic event. Even with the disappointing food quality and lack of options on the buffet I would definitely go on the Mardi gras again. The staff was very friendly. The entertainment was the best of the 4 cruises I had taken. You can not possibly do it all . There were big shows at center stage every night while there was a show going on in the theater. There were 6 comedians on the ship. They also preformed at the same time but there shows started at 4PM and went until 10 or 11 I think I saw 4 out of the 6.. The venues were small for a ship this large probably why they had so much going on at the same time to separate the crowds. If you arrive 30 minutes early you should have no problem getting a decent seat.. The elevators downright sucked. No other way to put it. I actually took the stairs way more often than taking the elevators . Most activities happened floors 8-18 but only once did I do the 10 floor walk. Most the time it was a 3 or 4 floor walk. I will never do a cruise during spring break again. The kids run wild. The young kids were fine. The 16 years and above were fine but I'd say the maybe 12/14 year olds ran like there parents were not on board. They were even in the serenity area constantly so you could not get away . The ship itself is beautiful and I actually enjoyed walking around just looking and appreciating the ship. As you can see there are positives and negatives . For me the positives far outweighed the negatives. One thing I do hope is that carnival starts doing a better job with the food in the MDR and on the buffet. My next cruise I am actually going to try another cruise line simply to get better food quality. I hope this was helpful. I know I wrote a lot but it's a big shipEmbarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Lido Marketplace
The buffet was not good. The selection was minimal and most things tasted average at best. Definitely most disappointed I was at a buffet on a carnival cruise. The deserts also limited and not good. The cakes taste like they are store bought frozen cakes. In the past the whole family could eat at the buffet and everyone leave happy but this time we would try eating at the buffet but always going some place else after. Also there were over 6500 people on the ship yet half the buffet was never opened up.
Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que
I have had this on other ships and never liked it but I love BBQ so I tried it again for dinner. The ribs and pulled pork were excellent. Mac n cheese also good. The brisket was a little tough and not much flavor but I had plenty to eat and left satisfied
La Piazza
I had a meatball sandwich here and I really liked it especially the bun.
Palm Restaurant
Only ate at the main dining twice. Brunch and that was ok and dinner and that was not good at all. I have grilled chicken breast and it just had a strange taste to it also I think it was just a frozen breast not fresh.My wife had a pork chop and it was dry and had no flavor. The baked Alaska desert was good . The staff was friendly and service was quick.
Big Chicken by Shaq
After reading Man y reviews I thought this would be on par if not better than chick FIL a it was not even close. It was good but more towards decent than great.But it was very nice to have something different
Cucina del Capitano
We ate here on lobster night and to be fair it was my first time eating lobster. It was very rubbery with no flavor. It took a little over 2 hours for our dinner. The waitress( Andrea) was very nice and attentive.
Guy's Burger Joint
Very good as usual.
Onboard Activities
Atrium
This is not the Atrium we are used too and is now center stage where each night they put on several shows. Most the shows were very entertaining and the talent was not only very good but they seem to put there hearts into the shows.There are bad seats but only one time in the 7 days did I have trouble getting a decent seat . The real problem for finding a seat is the the shows run together so if you want to see the last show you may have to sit at the 2 previous shows because people would go to the first show and stay for all the shows but I didn't mind because I did enjoy most the shows.
Sportsquare
Lots to do here and the mini golf was much nicer than the other ships I have been on
Entertainment
BOLT Ultimate Sea Coaster
This was great. But book when you get on the ship because it is very hard to get on if you didn't book when you first got on the ship. We tried to book several times after first day and could not get back on also it gets cancelled a lot due to weather my guess is the winds will not be as bad in the summer therefore not so much of the cancellating
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Do Bolt and book it early. Sit in balcony at center stage.( Best seats)
Ports of call
Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic