Family Vacation

Item: Mardi Gras
Rating: 4.1
Author: Paulawake

Mardi Gras Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Paulawake

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 4

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 13, 2024

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 11279

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 months ago

Review summary

Not to lie, very disappointed with food. Best restaurant on board was Pig & Anchor, and Guys Burgers. Steaks were sub standard, not tender, desserts were nil. Choices were cookies, sponge cake. They had a place that “sold” desserts, which I have never run into before on other cruise lines. Buffet was better than most of the restaurants where you paid and the foodwas only ok on the buffet. Half the time , coffee machines were out of coffee or hot water. I love cruising and have been on over 50 cruisers, this was a big disappointment. Entertainment was also only ok. Several in our party (over 20 of us) and others on board didn’t have great experience with employees at customer service desk or restaurant hosts. Bad attitudes as if they didn’t care. Now I know why I don’t do Carnival. Next family cruise will be on Royal Caribbean or Princess. Food quality is always great and entertainment is better.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse / Brewhouse

5 out of 5

Excellent food and service.

Lido Marketplace

2 out of 5

Food was only so so. Didn’t even come close to Royal Caribbean buffet on cruise we did several months ago. Meat was ok, usually dry. Food was always cold and dessert selection sucked.

Big Chicken by Shaq

4 out of 5

Good. One of the better eateries. Chicken was dry a few t8mes

Palm Restaurant

2 out of 5

Buffet food was better and that’s not saying much.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que

5 out of 5

Wow, brisket was the best. Mac and cheese out of this world.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Excellent. Best burgers and they were fast in service

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

The Fun Shops

1 out of 5

Alcohol was higher in price than other cruise lines, variety was limited and there weren’t very many shops to buy in. i was surprised for such a large ship.

Guest Services

2 out of 5

Rude. If you aren’t a people person this is not the job you want to perform.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Mardi Gras Theater

3 out of 5

For such a large ship I was surprised how small this theatre was. Entertainment was just so so. Nothing spectacular.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Why do I need to rate this when I did use kids entertainment.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our riom steward was great NANT! Most of the room stewards we encountered in hallways were gracious and polite. Waiters were somewhat huffy and restaurant hostess at the Palm was very rude and not very noce. Bad attitude. I didn’t have to use customer service but some 8n group did and obviously some of those at customer service needed counselling or vacation as their attitudes were atrocious. One person said they actually had a phone slammed down on counter when they had trouble with internet they PAID for and it wasn’t working. Service rep actually threw the phone on counter and said fixed. When they checked to make sure it was wor, customer representative got upset and said “I told you it was fixed” in a nasty tone. If you ar3 having a bad day, maybe you should’ve taken a break and gotten a better attitude.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Romm size adequate. Our steward keep room very tidy & clean. Surprisingly closet space was great. Bathroom really small. Bed comfortable. We don’t speak a lot of time in room so it was ok. We were a corner room, so surprised how much noise we heard.