Excellent value. Mardi Gras is a very nice modern vessel that feels comfortable. Plenty of open areas and lots of bars. It'd be nice if cruise ship bars had a walk-up area to order at instead of having to cram between sitting patrons while hoping to be seen by a server. Wait times were a bit long for drinks during all but off hours.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Well organized, efficient...even though they had computer issues, things went smoothly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Originally picked early dining but switched to late dining after 2nd night...they were very accomodating. What can you say about Carnival main dining? Service is always exceptional. Food quality was above average on this cruise. What an amazing value main dining is!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Mardi Gras has the best Serenity area we've seen thus far. It was far and away nicer and larger than any on our previous 6 Carnival cruises. The pools were clean and of adequate size. The hot tubs were clean, large and plentiful.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The musicians were all good...the jazz trio was exceptional, however. How that lead singer is not touring the world I'll never know...we could listen to him all night. The performers...well, it's a mixed bag. The dancers were amazing. Out of the 4 main vocalists, only the lead female was better than average..and she was awesome. The male singers were both a bit weak, but then again this is a cruise ship with 'free' entertainment, so in that respect they were passable. We saw 2 of the 4 comedians and they were both funny...no complaints there with the possible exception of the crazy long wait lines for all the late night shows.
Children's Programs
No kids.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Again, outstanding service for the waiter, room stewards and 99% of bartenders. There were a few bartenders that didn't seem like they wanted to be there with poor/indifferent attitudes but on the whole they were good.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very clean and well thought out...with a few traffic flow exceptions.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very clean and efficient. The bathroom is smaller than on some older vessels however it's extremely well designed although it could use an electrical outlet. The shower door is actually an impressive engineering feat in itself and makes a big difference in usability of the whole bath. The best thing about this cabin was without a doubt the large balcony. Double the size of a 'normal' balcony and very useful. There was enough room for 2 deck chairs, 2 lounge chairs and a small table. It's the best balcony we've had...will definitely book this type of cabin again.
Ship tip
Early dining is at 5:30pm...much earlier than on past cruises. Late dining was much less crowded. Enjoy the Serenity area for peace and relaxing!
We did the ziplining/horseback ride excursion. The operator was easy to find once off the pier and well organized. It's about a 30 minute ride in the back of a big truck into the back country to get there. Again, well run operation. The ziplining was super fun...although the gear was a little stinky...could stand to be cleaned a bit more often. Make sure you're in somewhat decent shape because you do a LOT of stair climbing throughout the process but it's worth it. It'd be nice if they offered water at more places along the ziplining 'trail' and maybe a bit of instruction as to how to keep yourself from spinning around. The horseback ride was ok...the horses were decent enough but they're obviously super used to following each other...to be expected. There were plenty of staff along with us and they kept a close watch on everything.
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