The Mardi Gras is a beautiful ship with tons to do. We were very happy and already booked another one to enjoy more of the ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The port is brand new, so no complaints there. The only issue we had is the website for parking says “payment by Sunpass or Epass only. No cash or cards accepted”. When we arrived after adding the funds to our Sunpass, they wanted my debit card, and the Sunpass reader was not working, not that big of deal but I wish someone would have said something about this by now.
Embarkation process was ok, I’ve seen it handled better at other ports, still not that big of deal, they’re moving a lot of people throughout the day and I would expect some disorder. Overall we were pleased.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
I would rate 5 stars but the food on Lido deck was not what it used to be. Maybe it was just the night we chose to eat from Lido because every other time we ate there it was fine. (Breakfast & desserts were great)
It’s very difficult to try everything in just 7 days but what we did try gets a solid 5 stars from us. This includes: Shaq’s Big Chicken, Guy’s Burgers, Main dining, Pizza & Sandwiches, Guy’s Pig & Anchor, Blue Iguana.
We didn’t eat at any of the specialty dining, so I’ll save that review for later.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service and staff on Carnival ships always exceeds our expectations. They’ll always get 5 stars!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful ship and clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin seemed a little smaller than other comparable rooms we have stay in on other ships. The bathroom was nice, a little small as well, they added a shower door that opens in a manner to conserve what little room you do have, that was pretty cool.
Balcony was nice, railings were redesigned and made enjoying the ocean even better.
Overall we were happy.
Ship tip
ANYTIME DINING! It’ll allow you a little more freedom on booking other restaurants with fewer time restrictions.
Disembarkation was chaotic! Lines of people walking into another line of people on top of another line of people. Seems to me they could organize things a little better. It is a new port and most likely new employees, let’s hope they hit their groove and get as good as other ports we have disembarked from.
Great review! We were on the Mardi Gras the week of April 23. We LOVED our cruise, but I agree on the food. (We ate everywhere except Rudi’s and Emeril’s.) But I’ve always thought Carnival’s food was just ok. That doesn’t stop me from eating or enjoying my cruise of course lol, but I do wish it was better! I’ve never cruised on another line so I don’t have any other comparisons. It was our first time to leave out of Port Canaveral. We thought they were wayyyy better than our home port, Galveston.
What was were the buffets like? We were just on the Dream and it was horrible. We look forward to the buffets. Even the pizza was bad. Idk quality if food very disappointed.
AuntPinkie, The rooms were still nice, just smaller than other boats, it felt as if the width of rooms shrank. Just wanted to be as honest as I could reviewing the ship. We booked another one for Christmas to explore more areas of that awesome ship.
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