Wow that’s a big ship!

Mardi Gras Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 20
Helpful Votes: 309

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5
Mardi Gras

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 26, 2022

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 11221

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Some of our favourite things of the ship was the the variety of restaurants. The decor/lighting/technology. Some of the things we didn’t care for was the size of the ship, the layout , and the crew not being as friendly. we felt bad for them. Overwork and understaffed

Embarkation

3 out of 5
Terminal 3 port Canaveral was a large(overwhelming) terminal and a little confusing to navigate

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Lido Marketplace

4 out of 5

Found that the food was on par with other ships may be slightly better

Bonsai Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

This was a very good experience. The cook put on a great show. And the food was very interesting. It was definitely worth the money

Guy's Burger Joint

4 out of 5

Always good

Cucina del Capitano

4 out of 5

We always try to hit the Italian restaurant on all carnival cruise ships. I did notice that the menu was slightly different on the ship. Possibly because it’s a free option and you don’t have to pay. But we still enjoyed our self

Chibang!

4 out of 5

Food was very good. But it was very loud in the restaurant. But definitely a must to check out

BlueIguana Cantina

4 out of 5

Always happy with this restaurant

Big Chicken by Shaq

5 out of 5

I thought Chick-fil-A was good. But big chicken was awesome

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Serenity Adult-Only area

4 out of 5

We were able to always find a chair. Hot tubs are nice and large but almost never hot enough. Seem to be on average 95 to 98. I complained a couple times but nothing was ever done about it

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Punchliner Comedy Club

4 out of 5

They had a couple good comedians. I always look forward to the comedy acts. The most disappointing thing about it was if you didn’t show up an hour before the show you were not likely to get a good seat. If you were there a half hour before the show you most likely didn’t even get a seat. I couldn’t believe the lines

Mardi Gras Theater

5 out of 5

I would have to say that the show performances are the best on this ship than any other carnival ship I’ve experienced. But that being said most of the good performances didn’t even take place in the theater. The most unfortunate thing was that if you were not there an hour early to get a seat you were usually unsuccessful at getting one very long lines

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Just not the friendliest staff that were used to on carnival cruise ships. I think they are just overworked and understaffed. For having 6800 passengers I don’t think 1700 crew members are enough . When you compare other ships ratio

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
The ship was very clean. The design is quite unique on the ship versus other carnival ships. The decor was really nice. We like the LED lighting everywhere. it’s just such a large ship that it takes a few days to get your bearings

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
It is a nice touch to have a shower door instead of the curtain. But overall I found the cabin much smaller. You lose a little bit of closet space. The space beside the bed is smaller and even the hallway going to the door seemed more narrow

Ship tip

If you’re adventurous and you don’t mind walking a lot and trying out different food venues then I would suggest this cruise ship. They do have like 16 restaurants. But my wife and I like the dream and vista class ships more. We will never cruise the XL ships again.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
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8 Comments

GoCCL    1 year ago

Cruised MG when it first came out and was only 40% full. Didn't review it as I didn't want to be negative about the size. But now I see many comments about not liking the big ships. Forward facing cabin was great.

Sassycruiser60    1 year ago

Thank you for your review. We sail on the Mardi Gras in April 2023.

lsbs    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing.

kelskazoo22    1 year ago

I haven’t sailed on Mardi Gras yet and it seems most people say the same thing about the size and the rooms. Thanks for the review.

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for the review

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed review. Not sure the smaller cabin is something I’d like. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us

WhippetMum    1 year ago

Thanks for your detailed review. I wouldn't like to cruise in such a large ship.

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