Well, I just returned from another wonderful cruise with Carnival Cruise Line. This time I was on the new ship, Mardi Gras. Originally commissioned in 1972 as the TSS Mardi Gras.
On ship they have Grand Central, French Quarter, Summer Landing, La Piazza, Lido and The Ultimate Playground. Grand Central is the Atrium of the ship and is on Decks 6, 7, & 8 where it overlooks the Centerstage where all the major acts perform. It features Grand View Bar, JavaBlue Café, Bonsai Sushi, Bonsai Teppanyaki, Piano Bar 88 and The Punchliner Comedy Club.
The French Quarter has the NOLA flare on Deck 6 Mid. Emeril’s Bistro 1396 is located on this deck along with The Brass Magnolia and the Fortune Teller Bar. They also have Cherry on Top, Cloud 9 Spa, Flamingo Restaurant (MDR), The Mardi Gras Theatre, Palm Restaurant (MDR), Piano Bar 88, and the Punchliner Comedy Club.
Deck 7 features the Alchemy Bar, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, Grand View Bar, Limelight Loung, Mardi Gras Casino, access to the Mardi Gras Theatre and 2nd floor access to the Palm Restaurant (MDR)
Summer Landing is located on Deck 8 Aft. This deck features the Atrium, Bar Della Rosa, Bonsai Sushi, Bonsai Teppanyaki, Chibang!, Cucina del Capitano, Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse and Brewhouse, Havana Bar & Pool, Heroes, Tribute Lounge, La Piazza, Patio Pool, Piazza Panini, Pizzeria del Capitano, Rudi’s Seagrill, Summer Landing and The Watering Hole.
The Lido is on Deck 16 and there is party central. On this deck you will find the Beach Pool, BlueIguana Cantina, Lido Marketplace, RedFrog Tiki Bar, Seafood Shack, Street Eats, and the Tides Pool. Deck 17 is an extension of the Lido and you can find Guy’s Burger Joint and the 2nd Floor Bar of RedFrog Tiki Bar. Deck 18 features more fun zones, here you will find Carnival Waterworks, Serenity Adult-Only Retreat, SportSquare and the Ultimate Playground (Ropes Course). Lastly, Deck 19 is the newest feature BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster. I did not get to do this but next time I plan on it.
I drove down Friday night and stayed at the Titusville Fairfield Inn, this location is perfect, right off I-95 and only 20 minutes from the port. The next morning, I drove over to the port where Mardi Gras has a brand new terminal. You can park in the garage and use your Sunpass and for this trip the fee was $136. I liked this better than in February where you didn’t know what the total was until you went to leave. While standing in line at the port the new crew members made their entrance and of course people cheered for them. Once inside the terminal I chilled out and met Iris. She organized the gift exchange for this cruise. Once we boarded the ship I started walking around, getting acquainted where everything was. I dropped off my bags and headed up to the Lido Deck for the sail away party hosted by an amazing Cruise Director Lee. He was fun, energetic and knows how to command an audience. I had reservations at the Bonsai Teppanyaki Restaurant on night one. I will say, cruise ship food is sometimes equal to or better than local restaurants. Teppanyaki is similar at each restaurant but here they add some flare. Japimai was our server and Maiko was the Teppanyaki Chef. They start you off with a bitesize piece of tuna, I ordered the Pork Belly Yakitori with sesame asparagus fries and seaweed salad, they also bring out Miso Soup and Kabuki Salad with Ginger Dressing. For the entrée I ordered Shrimp & Spiced Grilled Chicken and for dessert they serve you a Chocolate Bento Box (Green Tea Ice Cream, Pistachio Cake, Pomegranate Chilled Soup, Brulé Tart, some type of Dark Chocolate Citrus and then a Chocolate Covered Strawberry. After this I ventured around, checked out karaoke in the Limelight Lounge where I met Zak from Belgium. By the way, you must meet him, his personality and presence is what everyone needs. I stopped on over to the Havana Bar where they had a latin group performing and snapped some pictures and video. My cabin was 5439 and I had an ocean view this time. The room was perfect for me. The bathroom felt smaller than the interior one on Elation. The AC though, ice cold unlike the Elation, that was a major plus.
Sunday was a sea day, so I got up, had breakfast and went to the gym. Went up to the Lido Deck and laid out in the sun for the day and enjoyed some casino throughout the day. That evening I at in the Palm Restaurant which is one of the two main dining rooms (MDR). This night I chose Blackened Pork Tart tenderloin, caramelized pineapple, and citrus cream as my starter. My entrée was the Broiled Striploin Steak with creamy peppercorn sauce, steamed vegetables, and mashed potatoes. The dessert tonight was the Vanilla Crème Brulé which was a vanilla custard and caramelized sugar. I went over to the Mardi Gras Theatre where they had a show called Rock Revolution, music of the 60’s. I then went over to Center Stage and watched Marcus Anthony “King of That Sweet Soul Music.”. He has performed with entertainers such as Mary Wilson, Ben Vereen, Naomi Judd and Ms. Patti LaBelle. He has also performed for Spain’s Prince Felipe. Later the night I went up to the Lido Deck for the 80’s Night Deck Party.
Monday were were in Cozumel, the weather was sort of sketchy, so I did not plan anything. I did go on shore and looked around the shops and purchased a sugar skull. That evening I ate in the main dining room and ordered Escargots Bourguignonne which is farm raised snails and garlic butter. To be safe I also ordered the vegetable spring rolls for my starter. For my main I chose the Wiener Schnitzel with home fried potatoes and creamed spinach. And for dessert I was lame and ordered the Cheesecake with the strawberry sauce. After dinner I went and checked out karaoke again. On the Center Stage they had a show called A Night of Enchantment. The headliner in this show is Eureka Strings from Russia and Ukraine. Elena, Kira and Evgenia are amazingly talented. They headlined the show with vocal support from the Playlist Production Cast. The show was super theatrical and was well produced.
Tuesday we were supposed to be in Costa Maya but because of the storm coming across the peninsula the waves and weather were not welcoming the boat to dock. So, sea day it is and too much time in the casino, LOL!!! I checked out some other locations on the ship this day, did the street eats and then headed over to the Pig & Anchor. For dinner I had reservations at Rudi’s Seagrill where Tahir is the head chef. They start you out with a small bite Wild Caught Tuna with red onions, kimchi emulsion and lemon herb crips, which was very flavorful. My starter I had the Lobster Mac n’ Cheese which was good, not a lot of lobster but the flavor was definitely there. I also ordered the Oysters served with champagne sabayon and dashi shiro miso caviar. My entrée was the Crab Stuffed Lobster Tail Imperial with roasted carrot, fennel, parmesan, and lemon. Perfect size for dinner, was not stuffed. For dessert though I endulged and ordered the Chocolate Truffle Cake which was a fudge cake, truffle creation and chocolate mousse. After dinner I ended the day with karaoke in the Limelight Lounge again and Zak was the host.
It is Wednesday and waking up in Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras. I have a shore excursion here today so I can get off the boat and go sight-see. Checked out the shops at the port while waiting on our guide. Alina was our guide and Mariano was our driver today from Total Gusta Satisfaction Tours. They took us all over the island. Our first stop was at an iguana farm, very interesting fact is iguana is a delicacy in Roatan. Next stop was the Stone Caste Institute, where they hand carve conch shells into this amazing cameo collection. Frances Andrew Tammaro was there working on a piece and was able to chat with him a little bit. From there he headed over to the Roatan Chocolate Factory, here they taught us some facts on how they go from cacao to chocolate and was able taste a few samples. They have an online store, so I ordered some chocolate after I returned home. We then headed over to the West End/West Bay area where they have the Roatan Rum Company. Across the street is the Roatan Lighthouse “El Faro.” Clinton Williams welcomed me and let me take some photos from the wrap around deck. For a few extra dollars he would let you go up in the lighthouse to take more photos. Back across the street at the rum factory you were able to taste their 6 different flavored rum cakes and seven different rums. They also have rum infused cigars. Our last stop was this small waterfront resort with a beach. We were greeted with a dance and then got to hang around for about 45 minutes. After getting back on board I took a nap, it was hot and super muggy. I ate in the MDR this night where I ordered Alligator Beignets for my starter, Supreme of Poulet Farcie which is chicken breast stuffed with spinach, cheese, and tarragon sauce and for dessert I had the Praline Cake, this was super tasty. This evening I went back to Center Stage to watch “The Residency,” which was a musical revue of major Las Vegas acts. This was a great show with powerhouse vocals.
Thursday was another day at sea and the seas were super choppy. Today I have a Carnival Kitchen Class called Pit, Grill & Smoke. (Side note, don’t sign up alone unless you don’t mind being paired up with someone you don’t know.) Here Arkajyoti taught us about their cooking methods on ship in the Pig & Anchor. Each station had two setups and we each got to prep a pork butt with a wet and dry rub. From there we prepared a hoagie roll for a pulled pork dish and pan-fried pineapple with a rum sauce. They then took us upstairs to the smoker area and then gave us a sampling of the menu and sent us on our way with a spatula. Throughout the day I just chilled and watched some of the musicians in the different areas. Before dinner though they had the Mardi Gras Parade. They started in the French Quarter and marched down to the Center Stage for a huge Mardi Gras Celebration hosted by Lee the Cruise Director. For dinner I had reservations at 555 Fahrenheit Steakhouse. 555 is their searing temperature for their steaks. For my starter I had the Tuna Tartare with a yuzu sphere and avocado ‘Leche de Tigre’. For dinner I ordered the Surf & Turf which was Filet Mignon and Lobster with a side of Yukon gold mash with wasabi horseradish, perfectly cooked too. The dessert was awesome, Chocolate Sphere! They pour a warm cocoa cream custard over the sphere, and it melts in front of you. They pair it with a pear comfit and praline pate. Thank you to Ramina, Josh and Avinash for your service. I ended my night watching Broadway Beats in the Mardi Gras Theatre, cool little Broadway musical revue. The music of course and charts were not all original, but they were all well-known songs.
It is Friday and the last day of the cruise. Was woken to some action, we came upon a raft with some people on it so of course we rescue them. They kept them in medical until we met up with the coast guard off Miami. Throughout the day I hung out at the pool, weather was overcast but still got to relax. I had dinner in the MDR one last time and ordered the Etouffee of Langoustine for my starter served with zucchini rosti. This was very good, had a lot of flavor. For my entrée I ordered the Jerk Pork Loin served with island spices, rice and bean with scallion. The flavor was on point and was moist. Our Friendly Maître ‘D Boris, was awesome. Perfect 10 service. Thank you to Anthony, Vinay and Wantanee, you three were rockstars, thank you from table 537. To end the night the ship hosted another parade, “The Parade of Nations” with a show called “We are One.” Lee the Cruise Director was the host of the show and after the parade processed into the Center Stage everyone had little mini flags in the audience and everyone was cheering for all the crew that was one board.
I am sad to say Saturday morning we were kicked off the ship and told to go home ☹… It was a great week, a little long though as we missed a port but you cannot control weather. Lee, thank you for your hospitality. Getting to meet you and watch you was a pleasure. I can not wait to meet you again in the future. Tyler, congratulations on your accomplishments, can not wait to see you in action as a Cruise Director. Zakaria, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! You are a ROCKSTAR!!! Keep up the great work, you are going places. Edwin, Shine Bright Like A Diamond, you have a heart of gold. I hope to see you again on a future cruise. Kristina, Gabby, Matthew, and everyone else from the Fun Squad and Playlist Productions, BRAVO!!! Keep up the great job, keep entertaining the world and making us all smile.
