Mardi Gras is Huge

Mardi Gras Cruise Review

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Mardi Gras

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 30, 2024

Ship: Mardi Gras

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 16272

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 day ago

Review summary

Mardi Gras is a huge ship and loved the itinerary

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Went smoothly and not too long of a wait.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Overall good food

Swirls

5 out of 5

Loved it

Street Eats

4 out of 5

Liked the options that were served and appreciated the menu being different daily. The middle restaurant (Steam Dream) never seemed to have anyone working majority of the time.

Pizzeria del Capitano

4 out of 5

A lil greasy but delicious pizza

Piazza Piani

4 out of 5

Sandwiches were good, just wish they had side offerings.

Palm Restaurant

5 out of 5

Great food and service!! Enjoyed the entertainment from wait staff.

Lido Marketplace

5 out of 5

Typical buffet fare with different options to choose from. Some things I liked and others I didn’t. Menu was the same or similar every other day. Noticed when walking through some dinner items were the same as main dining room but presentation was different since it was prepared for a buffet and not individual plates. Late night offerings were ok. Not everything is for everybody so stick to what you like to eat.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse / Brewhouse

2 out of 5

Not a fan of this restaurant. The menu posted on carnival website is not what’s offered for dinner even though lunch menu is the same. Was really looking forward to the trash can nachos. The Mac n cheese seemed like box Mac n cheese with a lot of velveeta and no flavor. The baked beans were ok, they’re spicy too. Biggest gripe is collard greens are only available during lunch and not dinner so there’s no veggie option at dinner. The meat wasn’t all that either. Very thin slices of brisket. There is an up charge if you want ribs. Go for lunch since it tastes a little better than dinner.

Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que

3 out of 5

Not a big fan of this restaurant. The Mac n cheese seemed like box Mac n cheese with a lot of velveeta and no flavor. The baked beans were ok, they’re spicy too. Biggest gripe is collard greens are only available during lunch and not dinner so there’s no veggie option at dinner. The meat wasn’t all that either. Very thin slices of brisket. Even though same menu items, lunch tasted better than dinner.

Guy's Burger Joint

4 out of 5

Tastes different since the last time I cruised but still good burgers. One batch of fries had too much seasoning and it made them salty. Got them another time and they were fine. For anyone wanting a smaller portion of the burgers, ask for the kid burger. It’s 2 slider sized burgers 😉

Chibang!

3 out of 5

Tried for lunch and dinner. Not bad but flavor is lacking with some of the menu items.

BlueIguana Cantina

5 out of 5

My favorite place to eat from on carnival. Both breakfast and lunch have great options.

Big Chicken by Shaq

4 out of 5

The sandwiches, tenders and fries are delicious. Did feel like there was too much breading on the chicken and it was a little too crunchy. Opted for the grilled chicken breast one time and enjoyed that much better. The tenders had a lil kick to them so if you don’t like spice be careful. The breakfast options can be passed on. The biscuits were way too hard and crumbly to be used for a breakfast sandwich.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Beach Pool and whirlpool

3 out of 5

I’m gonna say this pool and hot tubs are for the kids. That’s all you see in them all day and night.

Tides Pool and whirlpool

4 out of 5

Hot tub temperature could definitely be hotter

Serenity Adult-Only area

4 out of 5

Nice getaway away from kids and teens. Fresh creations salad bar is good. Just wish people not hog the hot tubs. People will sit in them for hours.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Didn’t get a chance to see all shows but enjoyed the ones I watched. Family feud, love and marriage, Christmas shows, employee we are the world shows were great!! The ropes course was scary yet exciting. Would try again.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
A lot of staff are very friendly and accommodating. The guys with fresh juice and shots can be a tad annoying since different people come around several times while eating in main dining rooms or lido marketplace.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
People can be very rude with the elevators. Traveled with relatives in wheelchairs and while waiting for elevators people would just walk in front of you and get on despite seeing you standing waiting when they walked up to wait. Noticed a lot of cruisers in wheelchairs and scooters had to wait longer times because of this.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
This is an ambulatory accessible room. It’s the same size as standard balcony room but with a few grab bars in the bathroom. The room itself isn’t that accessible for someone with mobility issues. There was a weird stench in the room the entire time near the bathroom. Family member in a room down the hall noticed the same thing. Our room steward Juan was amazing!! Appreciated him checking on my disabled relative every morning.

Ship tip

Walk around and explore the boat. There was an area that I hadn’t seen until the last day despite being on that floor many times. There’s always a long line for shows and not enough seating so get there early.

Ports of call

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5
Port area looks nice. Very nice scenery. There are trams for transportation to front of port, although wait is long. The walk from ship to port entrance is not bad. There are a lot of people that offer taxis for excursions. Walked to Junkanoo beach and it was very windy in that area unlike the rest of Nassau. There are also many shops outside the port.

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5
It was heavy rain majority of the time. Got a taxi to drive around to different areas of downtown puerto plata and really enjoyed that. Highly recommend doing that if you don’t book an excursion. Did not utilize the pool area due to the heavy downpours. There are shops and restaurants within the port area. Would like to come back on sunny port day.

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5
Grand Turk is beautiful. Great for snorkeling. The beach is right at the port so that’s really convenient. Can surely book a snorkeling excursion, however was able to snorkel at the beach area and saw plenty fish. Margaritaville is nice. Large pool and dj playing music. Different shops at port.

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Saw dolphins on the drive from Orlando.

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
This was the longest disembarkation I’ve experienced. Apparently one of the gangways was not working so it prolonged the process. Was out of room by 830 but wasn’t off ship until after 10
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3 Comments

johnpuma25     19 hours ago

Nice to read that you enjoyed the cruise. Mardi Gras is a huge ship and very nice...I also loved my cruise on it

cruising2004     1 day ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thank you for your review.

HeavySeas     1 day ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience and glad you enjoyed your cruise

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