Family cruise

Item: Mardi Gras
Rating: 3.1
Author: janobrien

Mardi Gras Cruise Review

janobrien

Contributor Level: Second Mate

5 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 131

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 01, 2022

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 4455

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

There’s been a decline in service and overall experience. We made the best of it but truly not what we are accustomed to.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

This took longer than usual. I thought doing the photo verification would speed up the process but it did not.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining left a lot to be desired. The food quality has seemed to really decline, it reminded me of hospital cafeteria food. We did enjoy the small bites on the lido deck. Great if you just want a little snack. Loved guys burgers, Pig and Anchor my husband ate so much of the Mac and cheese it taste homemade and it absolutely delicious. Our kids loved the chicken tenders from Big Chicken. We did not like Chibang at all. It was truly a terrible experience from the waitstaff to the food. Just a really off putting time and I wouldn’t recommend it. The Italian restaurant was great. We avoided the buffet. We never saw anyone washing their hands and staff didn’t enforce it either. There was no way I was going to risk eating their. The food never looked good and the options were very limited. I think Carnival does a great job at providing a lot of dining options you just have to be willing to wait.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

2 out of 5

Very disappointed our kids told us the staff yelled at them and they heard a staff member yelling at a kid and said they were pissing them off. I relayed this to quest services and they did not care. Our kids usually love Camp Ocean so this was an unfortunate experience

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Hit or miss here. I feel you could sense staff felt overworked and they are just understaffed in general. Our room steward was great but main dining staff wasn’t. Bartenders were inconsistent, we found our favorites and stuck with them.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The decor on the Mardi Gras is stunning but layout is terrible. Elevators are so small and venues are tiny as well. To get to the theater you have to walk through the casino which is very smoky. There lido is already showing a lot of wear. The track is located near the water park I watched a woman fall because it’s impossible to keep it dry. I can not understand who thought that made sense. I feel they could do a better job cleaning dining areas and pools. Anytime we were at a hot tub there were a ton of glasses pilled up. Tables full of dirty dishes just laying around in dining areas trash in the hallways. Hand sanitizer dispensers being employed.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Small but practical. Traveling with kids I loved being able to fit luggage under bed we were able to really optimize our space. Our kids loved the Pullman bed and I couldn’t believe how comfortable our bed was. We slept very well. The bathroom was tiny.

Ship tip

Be prepared to wait so bring lots of patience. Guest can be rude at times. Expect kids to run around unsupervised and causing trouble. Carnival doesn’t care. If you want to relax this probably isn’t the ship for you.

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