Not my favorite

Mardi Gras Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Joe207

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 27

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 24, 2022

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10293

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Take this review with a grain of salt as we can only speak about what we experienced. Mardi Gras is a huge, beautiful ship with lots to see and do. Pack your patients and tolerance, as some of your fellow travelers may not exhibit the proper decorum, etiquette, as one would expect. We came across some very self-entitled passengers that thought nothing of blasting their own personal taste in music through their Bluetooth speakers, when asking them nicely to lower the volume; you receive a reply that is less than accommodating. Be aware of the constant aroma of marijuana wafting over from the smoking areas too. Carnival is known as the “Fun Ship” and Mardi Gras was a huge 24 hour, 7 day floating party. We chose to sail on Mardi Gras as it is Carnival’s newest ship, even though we have never sailed with Carnival before. There are many, many people that love the Carnival brand, but unfortunately we will probably be looking at Celebrity, NCL or Royal for our next cruise.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Now… Carnival operates many cruise ships; they should have plenty of experience embarking passengers. The process of boarding the ship in Port Canaveral was totally bonkers! But, I digress. The process of checking our ID’s, boarding pass and other required documents was very smooth – that’s probably because we had everything printed out, passports ready and the Verifly app up and running on our cell phones. Once getting through the initial screening and security checks, that’s when the ease ended. Passengers are then placed in the waiting area of the terminal, which was overly crowded, hot and very, very loud; which made it very difficult to hear the boarding group numbers being called for. We honestly felt like cattle being herded onto the ship.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Mardi Gras has an amazing selection of food offerings. Rudy’s Sea Grill was very, very good, but Emeril’s Bistro 1396 stole the show when it came to seafood! Shaq’s “Big Chicken” was good – we thought it’s over-hyped. Guy’s Burger is a much better option in our opinion. Fahrenheit 555 was a bit of a letdown. The décor did not invoke that of a high-end steak house. If you have sailed on Royal Caribbean, eaten at Chops you’ll understand what I mean. Bonsai Teppanyaki was great. Make sure you are hungry when going to dine there as they give you a ton of food. Street Eats & Blue Iguana were really good too. The only experience we had at the buffet was for breakfast, and we found the offerings limited, redundant and not that good. This was the first cruise where we DID NOT see any staff enforcing hand washing before entering the buffet. I can only imagine what it would be like during lunch or dinner when more people are trying to eat at the buffet. Passenger hygiene is of great concern at this dining venue.

Bar della Rosa

5 out of 5

This is where we went for coffee every morning. Skip the long lines at Java Blue.

Flamingo Restaurant

3 out of 5

We only ate here one night. The food was good, wait staff was fun, entertaining and spot on with service. The dining room itself looks like a upscale cafeteria.

Heroes Tribute Lounge

4 out of 5

We loved it.

BlueIguana Cantina

5 out of 5

One of our favorites. Beats the Mexican offering that Royal has.

Street Eats

4 out of 5

Perfect place to grab something to eat while out at the pool

Rudi's Seagrill

4 out of 5

Hate to say this Rudi, but the appetizers were better than the main course. Being lobster purists from New England, the crab stuffed lobster would have been returned if we ordered it at New England restaurant. Had a much better lobster at Emeril's Bistro.

Tides Pool Bar

4 out of 5

And yet another great spot to grab an adult beverage.

The Brass Magnolia

5 out of 5

One of our favorite lounges. Tastefully decorated, comfortable seating, wonderful bartenders and entertainment.

Seafood Shack

4 out of 5

Order the shrimp!

Redfrog Tiki Bar

4 out of 5

Fun place. Attentive bartenders even with hoards of folks ordering drinks.

Pizzeria del Capitano

3 out of 5

Late night... Even the line for pizza has a line. Gets very, very, very busy late night. Pizza was good.

Piazza Piani

3 out of 5

Slow service. OK food. Nothing special.

Piano Bar 88

2 out of 5

We really wanted to give this a higher rating, but crowds make it impossible to enjoy. The piano player was great.

Limelight Lounge

2 out of 5

Nice venue, but once again too crowded to be enjoyable.

Lido Marketplace

1 out of 5

If you value your health. Skip this place. NO ONE was washing their hands before going here to eat. As we were washing there must have been 15 people walk right past us, pick up plates and start serving themselves. Carnival PLEASE do away with the self service at the buffet!

Havana Bar

2 out of 5

Loud, crowded. We left quickly.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse / Brewhouse

4 out of 5

Beer brewed on sight! How amazing is that! Food was good too.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que

4 out of 5

Good BBQ flavor. We were only able to eat here once unfortunately.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Had to eat here three times to verify that it was as good as I thought. That was a good burger!

Fortune Teller Bar

5 out of 5

Daiquiri heaven. Amazing specialty drinks. Helpful and informative bartenders, always willing to help you out if you don't know what to order.

Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

3 out of 5

Minus the hair in one of our dishes. The steak was good. Not really an upscale steakhouse. They try, but they are missing the mark with this one.

Emeril’s Bistro 1396

5 out of 5

Some of the best food on the ship!

Cucina del Capitano

3 out of 5

Floating Olive Garden.

Brass Magnolia Bar

5 out of 5

Beautiful bar. We really enjoyed the atmosphere here.

Bonsai Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

Loved it! Fun time. Lots of food.

Bonsai Sushi

3 out of 5

food quality was ok. They were the only ones open after 11PM. That we didn't have to wait in an hour long for.

Big Chicken by Shaq

3 out of 5

We were expecting more out of Big Chicken. Other reviews set expectation too high. Popeye's has a much better product.

Alchemy Bar

5 out of 5

Great place to try new drinks. All the bartenders are awesome.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Pools are so overcrowded, which made it difficult to enjoy.

Summer Landing

4 out of 5

Great spot on the ship.

Mardi Gras Casino

5 out of 5

I have to rate this high. We walked away with more money than we brought with us.

Tides Pool and whirlpool

3 out of 5

Busy, busy. I think all the children on the ship loved this pool.

The Fun Shops

3 out of 5

Wife spent money. I wasn't having any fun.

Serenity Adult-Only area

4 out of 5

Great concept. Two many people however. Did not get much serenity.

Beach Pool and whirlpool

2 out of 5

Very nice, but too crowded.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

There is plenty of entertainment on Mardi Gras. Getting to see the entertainment is another story. Very, very crowded. Not enough room in the clubs, Grand Central was so crowded that we were not able to see a single performance. You need to arrive almost an hour early to get a seat!

Punchliner Comedy Club

2 out of 5

Another venue that is too small and crowded.

Mardi Gras Theater

5 out of 5

We were actually able to see two shows here. It was the only venue that wasn't jam packed.

BOLT Ultimate Sea Coaster

2 out of 5

$15.00 for a two minute ride. First of it's kind. Yes, I thought the price was too high, but I was determined to ride it.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The staff was awesome! All around Kudos to every member of the Mardi Gras Team!

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Mardi Gras is a huge ship, which made it a little difficult to navigate at first. It will take you a day or so to get familiar with her. The staff did an amazing job keeping her clean, which isn’t an easy task considering the slobs that constantly left trash, food and dirty dishes in the elevators.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The stateroom was comfortable. A little, narrow, but comfortable. Our king sized bed was very comfortable, which was very surprising. The balcony was good sized, but be forewarned that the ship design does not afford you any privacy while on your balcony. Bathroom… That was tight. I think I could wash my feet in the shower while sitting on the toilet.

Ship tip

To be blunt. If you are in your 50’s and above, such as we are, then this may not be the cruise for you if you are looking for an enjoyable & relaxing cruise experience. If you’re into an all-out party atmosphere then disregard my previous statement.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

We loved Puerto Rico! Old San Juan is beautiful with it’s architecture and brightly colored buildings. The food was simply amazing. We wish we had more time to spend exploring the city.

Thumbs Up 1

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

3 out of 5

The Amber Cove cruise port is very nice. Clean, laid out well, and easy to navigate. It has your typical shops that you find at any cruise port. The only reason for the three star rating would be for the pool area. The pool area consists of a large pool with a lazy river, zip lines and water slides. The entire concept is great! However… The crowds! Far too many people trying to occupy the same space, which really detracted from what could have been a very enjoyable time. Note to parents: The attire of some of the guests… You may want have your little ones close their eyes. There are some things you just can’t un-see.

Thumbs Up 1

Grand Turk Island Did not visit port

Hurricane Ian had us re-route to Nassau, so we didn’t get a chance to visit this port.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

The easiest part of the entire disembarkation process was finding our luggage. Confusion, miscommunication, disorganization seems to be Carnival’s M.O. for embarkation and disembarkation. Royal handles it so much better.

11 Comments

byhisgrace 2 years ago

Thanks for your review

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donald1lane 2 years ago

Thanks for the honest and very helpful review. This will help me with having more realistic expectations for my November cruise.

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carrieluvsgreg 2 years ago

We have been on 14 carnival cruises with 15 booked for April. One thing we’ve learned is longer sailings tend to be a different vibe. It seems that 3-4 day sailings are weekend trips that folks take and try to squeeze in a bunch of partying in a short window. They are cheaper, so draws a wider range of customers. 7+ day sailings are more expensive, people have planned, saved and are eager to travel to the ports not just get drunk onboard. We stay in the spa staterooms on ships with cloud 9 spas and have always had an amazing and relaxing cruise. Just some good for thought.

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jmutt24 2 years ago

Basically what you are saying is 6k people on a ship is too many. Many people agree.

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steve126 2 years ago

We are going in April with a 6yr old. Normally, we opt for royal but this itinerary fit our son's school vacation. Cautiously optimistic!

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AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Thank goodness we have many options for cruise vacations. Sorry this one didn’t fit your needs. Glad you know about other lines that do.

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Joe207 2 years ago

@Need2CruiseSoon: We read the reviews of Mardi Gras, yet still wanted to try it. We should have sailed on Celebrity or Royal instead. We will not book another Carnival. We did our research, yet still booked it. Buyers remorse.

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javawoody 2 years ago

Appreciate the review

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

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Need2CruiseSoon 2 years ago

Unfortunately it seems like people have become very entitled since the Covid pandemic. Thanks for the review I’ll be on the Mardi Gras come January. Hoping it really wows me or I’ll just continue with Royal.

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kellies26 2 years ago

I am with you as far as Carnival is concerned it is a 2 thumbs down for me. I also don’t want the young, rude, partying teenagers or screaming children. We have been on a couple Carnival cruises but our last was terrible so we won’t go back!

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