big ship, mid experience

Item: Mardi Gras
Rating: 4
Author: emkeezle

Mardi Gras Cruise Review

emkeezle

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 24, 2024

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8289

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

In summary we enjoyed our cruise. We were a little disappointed in the drop in food and service since our last cruise. I'm not sure if it's because it is such a large ship or if it's just a product of covid like everything else.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Staff was friendly. Got on the ship very quickly

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Carnival has changed its menus and not for the better. I miss the port of call menus. The Emeril dishes in the main dining room weren't very good. For example ordered fried green tomatoes and received three tomatoes that were the size of pickle chips. Food was generally lukewarm. The Sea day brunch was lacking. Eggs Benedict is now served with deli ham and was cold when we got it. We ate lunch at chibang and culinary del capitano, both were just okay. Same story with guys pig and anchor. Shaqs big chicken biscuit was dry and crumbly. Guys burger itself was ok. Tomatoes looked terrible. Carnival used to be great with food prior to covid. It's definitely not the same .

Big Chicken by Shaq

1 out of 5

Biscuit was not good. Staff were lackluster

Fortune Teller Bar

5 out of 5

Great drinks!

Alchemy Bar

5 out of 5

Best drinks, friendly bar tender!!!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Lots of things to do. Long waits and limited seating due to size of crowd

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Room steward and dining room staff were great. Some bartenders were great others not so much. They no longer have wait staff walking around decks taking drink orders. There are longer lines at bars as a result.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

More cleaning staff than any other employee!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

It's crowded. All public venues are packed in one area of the ship. Be prepared to navigate around people in the hallways and hunt for coffee machines

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

3 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Super quick

Traveler Photos

Our cabin was our saving grace. Havana gave promised lounge chairs and privacy!

5 Comments

Skooby 8 months ago

Appreciate your review. Unfortunately, just about every cruise line has reduced their offerings after the pandemic. And mostly all of them are pushing guests to specialty restaurants for more profits. I remember back in the day, food on cruise ships were very good and in abundance.

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javawoody 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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HeavySeas 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Gwbigdog 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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cruising2004 8 months ago

I do not care for the new menu either. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thank you for your detailed review.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Unfortunately not a good review

Second week of back to back

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME