pirate4me2

From my last time onboard, I can tell you that they had Family Feud auditions in the FunTimes. So keep an eye out for that. If we don't have conflicting plans when they happen, I will try and go and post about it here. As for Deal or No Deal, I think that is luck of the draw on the playing card you purchase.

HAHAHA I was in this situation a few weeks ago with my MSC cruise. But you know what? It was the best thing ever, it made cruising feel fresh and new and exciting again! And now when I board the Mardi Gras on Saturday, I will feel like I am going "home." I am glad I jumped ship and tried a new line.

They are an interesting breed for sure! Divya has the most personality of any dog I have ever had, and she sure keeps me on my toes! The service is impeccable! We loved our time there last November and hope it is just as awesome this time around. I hope you had a great cruise! Thanks for following along. :)

Aussie 🙂 she is BFFs with a neighbor’s border collie tho…they are 2 peas in a pod!

Whoo hoo! Hopefully this will help the time pass a little quicker for you. 🙂

Thank you for supporting your son’s department!! I’m sure they appreciate that so much. 🙂 Thank you for following along on my journeys.

Thanks for the kind words and for following along!

Me too! Gives me time to relax after all the fun, and come to terms with the cruise ending. Lol.

Our itinerary this cruise.

She’s a great ship worth sailing a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time!! Welcome aboard! I sure hope they do. Whoo hoo, hopefully this will help get you thru most of that time until you’re sailing!

Thank you! If you have any questions about the ship, feel free to ask!

It will sure be good to be back "home!" Thanks for following along. We have been once before and LOVED it, I am hoping we have another wonderful experience. I am a bit worried about how the seaweed situation will be there (I'm not a huge fan of seaweed) since I know its been an issue this year, so we will see how that plays out. Thanks for following along on my "betrayal" to Carnival, hahaha. Glad to have you along on this one as well!

If you have any questions about the ship/itinerary/etc, just ask and I will do my best to find out answers for you! Hopefully this will help pass the time until your cruise quicker for you. 🙂 Hopefully you can cruise again soon!! Thanks for following along 🙂

Glad to have you along for the voyage!

Glad to have you along, as always!! And i can't wait to follow along on your Venezia journey when y'all get back!

For those asking earlier for me to post the link to my Live review of my upcoming sailing where I promise to do lots of food porn, here is the link! I( do have to say, we won't be in the MDR on the last 2 nights of the cruise, we will be dining in Rudi's and the Steakhouse those nights, but the other nights we should be in the MDR. If the menu doesn't excite us one night we may go to ChiBang, but I will at least post MDR menus for each night!

Hello, my cruising family! Who is sitting at work, glaring at their cruise countdown clock, willing it to move along a little quicker? I may not be able to smuggle you onto the ship in my suitcase, but I can do the next best thing: let you live vicariously along with my cruise adventure thru this live review! So, if that, along with a few tropical drinks (sorry, you have to mix them yourself) will help you get thru until your countdown clock reaches zero, then come sail away with me onboard the beautiful MARDI GRAS! First though, a little background info. This poor cruise has been changed so many times, and it’s the first one I used a TA to book….I usually book them myself thru the website, or use my PVP, but during the great 2020 event that I cannot bear to name, we went to Texas and met a former CD who is now a TA. I decided to throw a little business their way, and when cruising resumed I asked her to book Chris and I on a cruise onboard the Sunshine from Charleston. However, due to some life events, that cruise wasn’t going to be feasible, so we moved it to another sailing on the Sunshine for September of this year. I even snagged us an awesome aft wrap cabin! However, after sailing Mardi Gras last November, and then the Celebration in March, I just couldn’t get the itch to get back onboard Mardi Gras out of my system. We absolutely loved that ship, and even though I would be giving up that aft wrap cabin and sailing in an interior, I called the TA and made the switch. The changes were not done though! Right after final payment date, I stalked the website just for kicks and giggles to see if I could snag a balcony, and guess what? There were some magically available! Thank you forgetful people that missed final payment! I didn’t snag just any balcony though….I managed to snag an extended balcony! YESSSSSSS! Now I am done with changes, and I am sure my TA is breathing a sigh of relief. This sailing is happening just 3 weeks after I got home from jumping ship to another cruise line. Please don’t hate me, my Mama made me do it! That sailing really helped me out though, I was feeling a bit burnt out on Carnival after 25 cruises. Being away from “home” made my heart grow fonder though….I missed the more laid back atmosphere, and I REALLY missed my free Platinum laundry! I did a lot of pre-cruise planning for these 2 cruises together, since they both left from Port Canaveral. I booked Chris and I back at Home2Suites (thank you Jeff and Patti for helping me discover that hotel!) and this time we decided to try their Park & Cruise package. It includes parking for the duration of the cruise and a shuttle to & from the port. The location of this hotel is awesome, and it is clean and well kept. Anytime we sail from PC now, this is our go-to hotel. I also booked the value wifi for this sailing, since Chris is working on his final semester of college (way to go honey!) as well as the Cheers package because, well….we are somewhat alcoholics, let’s just be honest, and MG has a LOT of awesome spots onboard to max out that package! I still have yet to max out my Cheers in a day (or maybe I have and just don't remember) so that is my goal this cruise. Game plan: start with spiked coffee first thing in the morning, and go from there. As far as excursions, we are not very exciting people. We both lead really, really busy lives back home (Chris is a full time assistant fire chief, I work in financial services), so we like to go on cruises and just crash. Relaxing in the ocean is a perfect day for us. This cruise itinerary includes two amazing spots for that….Costa Maya, where we will return to Maya Chan, and Cozumel, where we will return to Paradise Beach Club. Our other port of call is Roatan, where I will stay onboard and enjoy Serenity, and Chris will do a dive excursion at Anthony Key. I think that takes care of all my pre-cruise planning so far. If anyone has any questions about MG, the hotel, or our excursions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them for you!

A few weeks ago we got the wristbands on Seaside. I loved it!

I told her to pop in here. I case she doesn't, I can tell you that she loved the YC experience and told me that anytime I wanted to go and my husband didn't, she would happily take his place!

Glad I could help keep you in vaca mode a little longer! Thanks for reading!

Fingers crossed that they manage to find a way to make Greenland possible for you! Thanks for the updates.

Thank you!! I see some things I can't wait to try!

Following along, this is going to be a great adventure!! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Looking foward to following along! Hopefully this will help get me thru until I board Mardi Gras on the 16th.

I usually like eating in the dining room, but every once in a while, I don’t want to have to sit thru a “formal” meal. I just want something quick, and I appreciate that Carnival has a better option in their buffet.