sparks1093

Took us 11 minutes to get through TSA with pre-check at MCO, took our travel companions 25 minutes. We barely travel enough to justify pre-check.

Ship - Mardi Gras Deck - 10 Stateroom # - 10436 Stateroom Category – Balcony Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – couldn't see straight down to the water, there is a balcony below that sticks out and a deck below that also (Rudi's Sea Grill is on that deck). Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - The balcony was larger than normal but was not sold as "oversized". It was square versus rectangular. Big enough for a couple of loungers (but only had to regular chairs and a table). Was wind a problem? - No it wasn't. If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - NA Any specific problems with this cabin? - None at all Any other comments? -

I don't but it's served on plates like those used at Guy's and Blue Iguana.

Ooops, the clam strips were $8.

Just got back from Mardi Gras and since our flight home has been delayed I figured I'd get a head start on my review and share my overall thoughts, impressions and observations. First, we loved the ship and cruise! Just WOW overall. Doesn't mean we didn't see flaws but Mardi Gras leaped into favorite cruise ship status. So, in no particular order and as they come to my tired brain, here we go: 1. Decor was nicely done, no shades of Farcus. Our balcony cabin (10436 midship) was nicely laid out and the balcony was double sized. Due to the terraced balconies we couldn't see right down to the water. Shower had a glass door and could hold two people, but the bathroom overall was tiny. 3 regular outlets and 6 USB ports (2 by the bed, 4 by the vanity). 2. The small shelves by the side of the bed are cute but not as functional as a night stand. Doable for week though. 3. Yep, there were issues getting elevators that was annoying when it was busy (and one elevator was out of service for most of the week). 4. There's no drink service in the main theater, you need to bring it with you. 5. Bolt was also out of service a lot so we didn't get to ride it. Some of our companions got to ride and loved it. 6. Loved the action stations on lido. 7. No more choices of bread at dinner. Each night there was only one choice, but you could have extra if you asked. 8. Bacon was on the buffet every other day but it was cooked to my liking and worth the wait. Yes, someone served it but they would give you all you wanted. 9. Shows could be crowded but with planning (and sometimes some line standing) you could get a seat. 10. Loved the neighborhood concept! We didn't do any paid dining but did Cucina del Capitano for lunch one day. 11. Food was tasty at every meal and loved Emerils touches. Our wait service was a little spotty, nothing too major but mixing up orders. 12. Loved Serenity and the salad bar up there. 13. Bar service was wonderful both at the bar and through the servers. Easily got our money's worth from Cheers. 14. Passengers and crew were friendly. 15. TJ was the CD and was on his A game all week. Chatted with him several times and asked him if he'd cloned himself. 16. Embarkation was fast. We were onboard well before our appointed time. Same with disembarkation (but we had an excursion so not sure how much influence that had). 17. Ports were San Juan (walked around a little), Amber Cove (Monkeyland excursion) and Grand Turk (beach with open bar excursion). Did a pontoon boat tour with airport transfer in PC and saw manatees, dolphins and a lot of bird species. 18. Ship was laid out well and once one got the hang of it easy to get around. Had the goal of getting at least one drink from each bar but failed. 19. Pixels is digital! Loved this. You could use the tablets at pixels to view and order your photos. Could also do this on the Hub App. 20. Hub app is very useful but the chat feature ($5 for the week) was spotty. That's all for now, will post a full review here in a day or so.

Had the chowder and the fried clam strips. Chowder was thinner than I like but had huge hunks of clam. It was definitely worth $5 but I think I preferred the chowder served in the MDR. The clams were tasty and came with fries, but half a plate of clams. I thought it was worth it.

Just off Mardi Gras and the only place I found with Blantons was Parched Pig. Got an old fashioned mixed with it and it was $18. Other bars had Woodford and Bufgalo Trace and had a few on the rocks. Liked them all.

Yes, just off Mardi Gras and ended up buying two days worth.

All well and good but all passengers are subject to the 15 alcoholic drink limit so it shouldn't matter.

Well, Canada would let you enter with a birth certificate but to re-enter the US it's passport or passport card, EDL (which your state doesn't issue) or NEXUS.

I would say that the transportation companies do have this responsibility, since they are prohibited by law from carrying anyone to a country that doesn't have the correct documentation. So, they do have information on their website to aid the customer in this regard and this is good customer service (even if the information is only "a visa may be required", it is still a heads up to the customer). Ultimate responsibility for having the correct documentation rests with the passenger. But it would be unrealistic to expect a company to outline every possible scenario. (And some companies impose a stricter standard than what governments impose just to prevent any confusion.)

No it isn't, typically it is contracted staff that is handling embarkation check in. The reason that those with fake visas were allowed on the ship is because it wasn't government officials checking them in, the visas appeared to be valid until they were checked by government agents. But having said that those folks who are checking people in have been specially trained for the documentation requirements for the ships and itineraries from that port and for all of the different permutations that arise. And since those permutations are so varied the cruise lines will not undertake to provide more than rudimentary guidance on their website with the stipulation that passengers are responsible for having the correct documentation. As to the OPs point of the cruise lines' passing up a huge, untapped market, that is unlikely. The cruise lines know where their market is and how to entice folks to book cruises.

One more word about research- once you've researched the travel requirements for a form of travel from then on you only need to verify that nothing has changed since the last time you undertook that travel, do not assume that things have remained the same. The country that didn't require a visa a couple of years ago might require one now.

I was wondering if bourbon could be used in old fashions (complete neophyte here about anything related to whiskey/bourbon/scotch). Looked at the liquor store and Blanton's is $70 here.

I'm heading down to grab rum in a bit so I'll double check it.

I am not a bourbon person but have seen Blanton's mentioned several times here on CC, so when I saw it in our local liquor store I had to look at the price (around $65 I believe). Might try some next week on Mardi Gras if I can find it in any of the bars.

True, but I know that I would still be doing my own research.

Our experiences have been varied because of the port. Sometimes there is a separate line, sometimes there isn't. Sometimes they are using facial recognition, sometimes not. There was one debarkation (Legend/Baltimore) where the CBP Officers stood outside of their cubicles and watched everyone walk past with no checking of documents. We've traveled with people with different documents than us who have had to go in a different line and we all exited on the other side within minutes of each other.

All of the passengers are vetted during the cruise, so there is no need for any checks to be done at debark. We've never had a CBP Officer give our documents more than a passing glance (as opposed to returning across the border and having everything gone over with a fine toothed comb).

The cruise ship website is often the first (and only stop) for many US citizens, but since the majority of US citizens sail solely from the US and predominantly on closed loop cruises this limited research serves them adequately (especially since most of them only cruise once every year or two). I do make sure when we are traveling to research the type of travel we are doing and where we are going (including what countries we may be passing through). As has been stated, though, many government websites overlook cruise passengers and don't include information for them on their website for visitors, which is when sites like Cruise Critic come in handy. Our first cruise was a cruise to nowhere and I searched for information on what documentation was required. The information was not on any government site, nor was it on the cruise line's site. I finally got the answer (just a valid photo ID) from a cruise forum that I used to belong to (I had found CC and signed up, but was intimidated by how "busy" the site is. Now I am used to it.)

Thank you (and everyone else) for the well wishes. This week will drag by. I will check into this for you. 🙂