Definitely A PARTY on Mardi Gras, that's it!!
Mardi Gras Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 07, 2023
Ship: Mardi Gras
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 4366
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Overall, there was pros and cons when comparing to other cruise lines we're used to traveling with. The pros was that it definitely is a PARTY ship. Leaving to start cruise was THE BEST. WE LOVED it!! THE MUSIC WAS THE BOMB!! WE LOVED IT. Food was better in certain parts of the ship. We LOVED GUYS on deck 17 but it closed too early. The shows on the ship was OK not Broadway shows we're used to on Royal. Only certain parts of the ships was pretty like the Mirrored staircase and The Swaying Flower Garden. My husband loved being on Deal or No Deal but prizes NEED to be better and not used as credits. Need to step up non drink package drinks for passengers who select to not buy the drink package. All of the staircases LACK pretty art work like Royal has. need larger area in Casino for non smokers. Add Sausage pizza on Deck 8? even if it's for one night. Add cheesecake as one of the dessert options in The Market Place buffet cafeteria. I don't think we'll travel on The Mardi but maybe we'll give it another go later in the future on a different ship. To say politely, it was a lot of not so nice-looking people on the ship and some of the teenagers were out of control. No parenting.. The elevators are too small, especially with a disabled person in a wheelchair. Elevators took a long time and even passed us a few times when there was no one on it. Bathrooms were hard to find and only had 2 stalls when it should have been at least 6. There was always a wait line to even get into the bathrooms. Hot tubs not handicapped friendly to even get in so we skipped it.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que
Portions are small so don't get your hopes up like we did and the food is salty imo. Gives you different option instead of buffet all the time
Lido Marketplace
Same food every other day but one day they had pot roast and mashed potatoes. They were the best I ever had ANYWHERE for that matter. Mashed potatoes were creamy and buttery but food overall was better than Royal. Cons were dessert selection, not so good and if you don't have drink package you're stuck with SUPER SWEET lemonade and unsweetend tea and water..that's it. Not any type of drinks for diabetics.
Big Chicken by Shaq
Pretty good. We tried it once but it was a bit too salty and breaded for me. I still would recommend them and they serve breakfast. I saw chicken and waffles. Gives you a different alternative to the buffet.
Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse / Brewhouse
This is place is good abut imo has salty food. They also serve late night snacks that start at 11 or 11:30PM which we were tired of the late night pizza. Pretty good
Guy's Burger Joint
We caught this on the last 2 days of our cruise and I couldn't get enough of this place. We LOVED it. Best burgers I have ever had on a cruise ship. Different styles of burgers, some with onion rings on it or plain if you like & served with fries. Cons, they close at 6pm every day, on the dot so get there or be in line by 5:30. Opens at noon. Highly recommend.
Limelight Lounge
Had a great time in here for comedy or karoake. Depends on the day.
La Piazza
Gives you a different option for something quick but there was always a line. NO SAUSAGE pizza...but still good overall
JavaBlue Cafe
We didn't buy the coffee but they have other desserts like cheesecake, cookies and donuts, that were overpriced and Not all that good to me. I LOVE cheesecake but it just was not as sweet or creamy for me. Bacon caramel donut was different. I think desserts are seasonal. It might be different. Let me know.
Onboard Activities
Mardi Gras Casino
Kinda small compared to Royal and VERY SMOKEY. We don't smoke but even though the space for non smokers, you could still smell smoke or had to walk through it. If you smoke, then it's fine but if you don't, it's a gamble (no pun intended), lol
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Family Harbor Lounge
We actually stayed in the cabin that has the same name but this is right down the hallway from our cabin. It's a lounge that we were unaware of until the very last night of our cruise, bummer. Had we'd known we would've relaxed more with our daughter whose is special needs and you can eat in there as well. Hang out. They also serve breakfast and snacks. Has tv area for lil ones. Wish our steward had mentioned it but now we know. It's on deck 4, go check it out. Nice place to chill out.
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Get to the shows wait lines 20 min early, otherwise, you will be far around the corner. Also, be sure to have a passport and not birth certificate for disembark, otherwise you WILL BE IN THAT LONG line to get off the ship.
Ports of call
Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic