Overall we had a great time. I likely would not choose to sail the Mardi Gras again, but I'm glad we did so at least once.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We were not sure what to expect from the dining on board as our first couple of meals weren't great, but once we started trying new things we quickly realized that the food aboard is a real strong point for the Mardi Gras. ChiBang was really awesome, as was Chicken Guy. We did not love Lido, but there are so many great options that it didn't matter whether or not Lido was a hit for us. The pizza was really great, and I very much enjoyed Pig & Anchor. While room service is no longer a complementary luxury, limited breakfast options and coffee are. If you're purchasing the bubbles package, bear in mind that you may get soda from self serve stations or from bars and restaurants, so you're never short on options. There were also far more diet/zero options than expected which I really appreciated. The Dr Seuss breakfast was also a total blast, I highly recommend it even if you don't have kids with you.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The rollercoaster was absolutely *awesome* when it was running, but if the wind reaches 50mph+ or if there is any rain, the coaster and slides stop running. This is totally understandable and I am glad that they take safety seriously, but this means that between weather and frequent technical issues, the coaster can be difficult to ride and/or leave one standing in line waiting for hours at a time. Pools were nice, but very crowded and congested, which is to be expected on a ship with this many passengers.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Entertainment on this ship was a bit of a mixed bag, but the game shows involving passengers were a lot of fun.
Children's Programs
2 out of 5
My son really wanted to love Camp Ocean, but the part of the camp that is meant to be designated for children his age was almost never open for him to use and his group was often put into a much smaller part of the camp with younger kids- therefore he was not able to play any of the games that he wanted to play, etc. He often checked himself out after less than an hour.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Our sailing was full and close to a holiday so I bear that in mind, but the ship does lack garbage cans and often times garbage and used cups/bowls were left in corners of elevators and other random places. This is not the fault of the ship except to suggest that more designated places for people to discard their items after use would be nice. The ships overall layout is unique. Walkways run through bars, and one of the main theaters is in a common space. The ship felt very claustrophobic to me much of the time because of the lack of open spaces and the sheer volume of passengers aboard.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was fantastic. I really appreciated the use and thoughtful design of the space. I never felt that the cabin was much too small or that there were not enough closets, shelves, or outlets for us.
Ship tip
Make more than one reservation for the Bolt coaster to maximize your chance of riding. If you require customer service wait until day 2 or 3 to speak with them if you can. Expect long lines but remember that there is no big rush- go with it.
Highly recommend the Monkeyland excursion for this port of call. We chose the MonkeyLand and Puerto Plata City tour. We would not choose this exact tour again as we did not see much of the city, but Monkeyland was amazing and we would definitely choose to do that again.
This is a great little island. There isn't much here, but that's okay! We took the Duck Boat excursion which my son and husband got equal joy out of doing and spent the rest of the day near the beach and pool.
Disembarkation was great. We chose an early disembarkation time and stayed in our cabin until 830 check out at which point we disembarked the ship. If you have passports bring them, it's a much smoother process with them than with birth certificates only.
We really loved our experience 0n the Mardi Gras so much we booked her sister ship the celebration loved all the food choices choices that are included where they are a up charge on rhe other ships I really recommend this ship 🛳
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