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8 minutes ago, pe4all said:

Very sad for family - especially this close to the holidays.  Will be interesting to see how this plays out as the report of divider piece breaking as she was climbing from one balcony to another spells "lawsuit" to me- even though she was doing something wrong and was possibly intoxicated.

Balcony divider was not built for nor ever intended to hold the weight of a person. A lawsuit from the family would be the stupidest thing I could imagine (like the lawsuit from the grandpa dropping the kid on Royal) and would show the world what "jerks" they really are (using their kid's death to try and get rich).

1 minute ago, Jamman54 said:

Did you think the ship felt crowded at all?

To me, not at all. There was plenty of room around all of the pools (granted, the best seats were taken early but there was always a seat open).They only time I noticed it being crowed was when lines started forming for the comedy shows right after the prior show started (though they usually got everyone in line into the show). For some reason, the Punchline seemed to have longer lines than the Limelight Lounge. Longest line at Big Chicken was about 15 people at the beginning of the cruise and then that dwindled. JavaBlue would have a fairly long line around 0900 as everyone wanted specialty coffee but even those went quick. I was very surprised it didn't feel more crowded at 97%.

3 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Mardi Gras. Just a friendly suggestion, you should probably keep your tipping preferences to yourself. It seems like you are trying to provoke responses. Again, thanks for sharing with us. 😎

Thanks for your input but I am merely sharing my full experience and let some who may not know what to expect when it comes to cabin cleanings. Also to let them know they can adjust their gratuities to match the level of service received. There are a lot of folks who don't seem to know this. Not trying to provoke a response, just providing a warning after I posted about my Freedom cruise back in October and don't want the same thing happening on this thread.

On 12/2/2021 at 4:09 PM, HLR said:

Hi All!

 

Booked on the Legend for Christmas out of Baltimore. Seems like there are very few cabins showing as still available. What do people out there know about the capacity they are booking as of now?

 

Howard

According to Guest Services, the Mardi Gras sailed at 97% capacity last week (04-11 Dec). Some of that can be attributed to the Horizon cancellations.

I upgraded from an inside cabin on deck 4 to a balcony on deck 12 for $126 per person (I believe is was a VIFP offer) about a week before my Mardi Gras cruise. I had already applied for and received my stockholder OBC. Once I got onboard, I noticed in the app that my OBC was applied at around 1130 and then it was taken away at around 1530 (the code on the app stated UNOBC). I went to guest services asking WTH over and they assured me it was just confusing and I still had my OBC. The next morning I checked and the UNOBC code was gone and my OBC had been restored.

On 12/7/2021 at 3:15 PM, guxu said:

Having cruised with Carnival 10+ times, I did not know the shareholder OBC could be denied. But I think it makes sense because my next cruise price is $50 for a 5-day cruise (we paid little more to get a better cabin). That's $50 per person total, not $50 per person per day. 

Actually, that's $50 per cabin, not per person. Everyone in the cabin can own and you still only get $50 for the cabin for that particular cruise.

On 12/9/2021 at 1:33 PM, cmukid87 said:

I can only speak up to 2xl.  They have small through 2xl but beware they are at the mercy of inventory.  They do run out of sizes from time to time.

They have up to 3X. They were out of 2X on the Mardi Gras last week.

19 hours ago, MCC retired said:

Just off the Mardi-Gras this morning with a couple of cabin location suggestions .

 

Balcony cabins midship-stern on the starboard sign you may smell the smokers below you (if that bothers you)

If you can grab one of those balconies that begin a row of cabins of the same category , as #14495 as we had.

(same cruise rate as cabins) next door . Should be a more $ category but they are not.

 

We saw those cabins from our deck 12 cabin (12462). It's nice that they have a lounger out there as well as the 2 chairs. Hope you enjoyed the cruise (we were on the same one).

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Alcohol was involved. Is anyone surprised by this?

Not in the slightest.

This was our first time on the Mardi Gras since our Feb cruise on board was canceled due to Covid. After decades of knowing my way around Conquest/Dream/Vista class ships, it took about 3 days for me to get comfortable with the new layout of the Mardi Gras. Once you get used to the layout it's not bad. This was also the first time having MyTime dining, which was great with reservations being app based now and having multiple restaurants to choose from. Unfortunately, the Mardi Gras, like the Freedom and all other Carnival ships I suppose, is only doing morning or night service for the cabin and I again, and will continue to do so if needed, adjusted my tips specifically for the cabin steward to meet the level of service received (if you disagree, don't go there, it will just get you reported and ignored). All other service received was up to par if not above par. Smoking is on deck 17, Starboard Aft, and deck 8, Mid, behind the Bella Rosa Bar.

Food:

As mentioned in several other threads, Big Chicken was fantastic and was the big hit for our cruise. The single best item I had there was the chicken biscuit with the chili honey glaze on it but we loved every single thing they had. Guy's was also very good, as was the pizza and the revamped deli. JavaBlue Cafe also has sandwiches which were very good. With MyTime dining, you can use your app to request dinner at the MDR, Capitano, or ChiBang for free. You request a table for whatever size party you have and it lets you know how long you have to wait for a table. Every time it always said under a 10 minute wait which was accurate except for our first night at Chibang which ended up being 25 minutes. Once your table it ready it pops up with a banner telling you the table number and you click On My Way. When you get to the restaurant you show them the table number and they take you in. Works very well IMO as you can make a request while still in your cabin and then once you walk to the restaurant the table is usually ready. They also have a roulette type option where you choose First Available and the app chooses your restaurant for you. For lobster night, lobster (but none of the other MDR options) is available in all 3 restaurants (we had our Lobster in Chibang's). 2 disappointing things with the food. I really enjoy taco salads from Blue Iguana and had several on the Freedom 6 weeks ago. On the Mardi Gras, they no longer have the taco salad shell but you can get the rest of it in a bowl which just isn't the same to me. I don't know if other ships have gotten rid of the taco salad shells as well or if this is just on the Mardi Gras. Also, the food taste and quality at Street Eats was disappointing and it was only open on Sea Days (so why have 7 different menus for a 7 day cruise?).

Entertainment:

Entertainment was well above average. We hit several shows at the Central Stage which stretches from deck 6 to deck 8. They have a lot more comedy on board as they have comedy in both the Limelight Lounge on deck 7 and the Punchliner Comedy Club on deck 6. Also new (to me at least) is a third level of comedy. In the past, they have always had the PG and the R-18+ shows. On the Mardi Gras, they now have a higher(?) level called Explicit-18+ which is more "explicit" than the R-18+ shows. It was funny as hell to me, others may cover their mouth in horror at what is said. Movies on board were good for the most part though I prefer the setup that the Dream and Vista class have. While we had great weather, if it was raining more it would be hard to catch a movie since about 90% of the seating is not covered. There was lots of Trivia on board and the ladies did a great job or running it. 

Cabin:

Cabin seemed maybe a little narrower but not enough to matter.....to me. We had cabin 12462, mid ship balcony next to the aft elevator. In the future I will try and get a cabin near the mid ship elevator as the aft elevator only runs from deck 5 to deck 16 (you have to go to deck 3 to get off ship at ports and deck 17 for smoking). Absolutely loved the new shower as you have a glass door and more square footage. The total bathroom area is a little smaller but it works fine for us. We had the layout where the bed was by the balcony door and I prefer this layout as compared to our friends having the bed near the bathroom. Cabin just seemed a little more spacious with the bed by the balcony.

According to Guest Services, we were sailing at 97% capacity. Other than being in line for the comedy club, I did not feel that it was crowded at all.

If anyone has any questions, please ask and I'll answer if I can. Oh, and even though we got a cheap ($126) upgrade from our deck 4 inside to our deck 12 balcony, we still got our stockholder OBC.

12 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Tepanyaki could be tough (or not).

 

There will always be some cancellations. You can wait list once on the ship, if necessary 

 

 

We had to change our Teppanyaki reservation on the Mardi Gras because they changed the first formal night due to the entire itinerary being changed and we had no problem doing that. While Teppanyaki was completely full the first few nights, by the end of the cruise it was not. Of course, this can change from cruise to cruise.

Henesey White was $62 on board the Mardi Gras yesterday and was the same price at Amber Cove last Tuesday.

Personally I'd take the cabin across from the elevator as I don't like walking up and down the corridors to get to my cabin.

Big Chicken is open for breakfast and lunch. Pizza Pirate is open 24/7. on sea days you have the Brunch as well.

23 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I think the CVS here has been awesome. 3 times so far, 4th in a week. Ok so maybe it took 20 minutes, but I hadnt even had time to drive home. So I'm happy and will keep using them. ..if it's not broke dont fix it.

The local CVS's here have never had appointments available. Same for the Walgreens. Was lucky in finding the other pharmacy and they've been great (even got my booster yesterday when testing for this Saturday's cruise). Glad CVS has worked for you.

On 12/2/2021 at 1:53 PM, firefly333 said:

I stayed up until 2 am to schedule first test dec 10th, sailing dec 12. 

 

CVS allows scheduling 2 weeks in advance.

 

Hi I see you are a new cc account. Welcome to cc. 

 

Schedule the rapid test so results come back faster. That's all you need if vaccinated. 

Luckily I have a great little pharmacy here in town where I can schedule a test up to 2 months out. Wonderful folks, 10 minutes tops for both me and my wife together.

1 hour ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

We ended up going to Princess Cay.

Wish we had gotten Princess Cay. Or Half Moon Cay. Or Bimini. Pretty much anything other than Nassau but it is what it is. Like BennyBrun, it just gives us more time to pig out with shorter lines on the ship.

1 hour ago, BennyBrun said:

It won’t because my belly will be stuffed with big chicken sandwiches it won’t matter lol.

Amen!

8 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

I feel your Nassusea… on the 12/18 Mardi Gras praying for the best!

Just don't let your cruise be ruined when your prayers aren't answered.

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I will also add that the Wagyu at the steakhouse is nothing special.

 

Almost every time I go to a steakhouse, and order anything other than a ribeye, I regret it.

Last time there (Oct on the Freedom) I ordered the surf and turf for the first time. I asked them to butterfly the filet so it could get to medium well without burning the outside and they only brought back half of the butterflied filet. 🙄

I'm sticking to the rib-eye from now on as well.

Anyone have the December movie list?

14 minutes ago, haehaehaley said:

I like Nassau so I’d be okay with that. Did they just notify you through email or did you have to log in to see the change?

I did not receive an email. I checked online after reading MCC's comment.

55 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

Fears confirmed ☹️
Mardi Gras Dec 04 sailing , Gran Turk replaced by Nassau 🤮.

Dammit, just saw the same thing. 😑

6 hours ago, haehaehaley said:

Does anyone know what carnival is currently changing Grand Turk to since they aren’t open to cruises? We already have Amber Cove and Half Moon Cay in our itinerary. 

We are supposed to arrive in Grand Turk on 09 Dec and they still haven't changed our itinerary yet. Hopefully they will be open by then.

39 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Kind of hard on the ships without a steakhouse (like the few remaining Fantasy class ships).

They probably don't offer it on the MDR menu in that case.