Jamman54

Day # 8 (April 30th) - Turnaround Day (6am – 4pm). We were up at 6am to beautiful day! We are already docked back at Terminal 3 in Port Canaveral. Stepping out onto the balcony, we see our old friend the Carnival Freedom pulling into port. We’ve seen a lot of her the past eight days…… A short time later the LNG transport appears. It’s here to refuel the Mardi Gras….. To be continued…….

You guys are doing it right! It takes more than one week to enjoy all that the Mardi Gras offers. Heck, even after two weeks we didn't experience everything!

Almost there Bob!

I'm a rum and coke guy, and I can handle the Pepsi, especially when you make it a double for just $3 more! 😁

It's a good option for those that like to eat outside. 😎

Hey Kathy! Always glad to have you along with us. That car was like a toy to me. If I ever got in it I wouldn't be able to get out! 😁

Yep, that ceiling used to be all emerald green.

Good for you! We were just there on the Mardi Gras and had a Beach cabana as well. Third time we've had one there. We love them as well! 🤗

You picked a great ship for your first B2B! 😁

You can kill two birds with one stone! 😁

Have a great flight Greg. Sorry that it's come to an end. 😎

Here are our bread plates…… These were compliments of the Chefs….. We both started with a shrimp cocktail and a Caesar salad….. Patti had the lobster with a baked potato, and I had the spice rubbed ribeye with the wasabi mashed potatoes….. For dessert Patti had the fruit plate, and I had the cheesecake….. Tonight’s meal was very good, and we are planning to be back here again next week. We took a slow walk around the ship, and then headed back to the cabin. People had already begun putting their luggage out in the hallway. This is usually a sad sight, but tonight, not for us since we aren’t going anywhere! Back in the cabin we found tonight’s towel creature….. Coming up next: It’s turnaround day. Let’s do it again!!!

They are pouring liquid perfection….. Here are my Pain Relief, and Patti’s Chocolate Martini….. We each had a couple more, and then went back to the cabin to relax before dinner. We had a 7pm reservation for the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse……. This was our table for tonight….. Here are Patti and I at the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse….. As always, the Chefs are hard at work…… To be continued…….

After the show, Patti went to have some lunch, and I went up to the Red Frog Tiki bar for a few drinks. I then went to meet her at Center Stage for this afternoon’s bingo session. She had arrived here earlier to get her cards and a good seat. The Center Stage area was packed with bingo players….. We didn’t have any winners. Here is our invitation to this afternoon’s VIFP Diamond and Platinum party. We decided not to go since all you are given here on the Mardi Gras is one glass of wine…… They do give every Diamond and Platinum member a $10.50 bar credit on your Sail & Sign card. We decided to head on over to the Alchemy Bar to use it there. We were able to get two seats together at the bar. Here are the Alchemy Bar menus….. They have the medicines here for whatever ails you….. Jason takes our order and he and Ramon get to mixing….. To be continued…..

After the Q & A Session was over, we went to Center Stage for the Morning Show (The Wave). There we met up with our Cruise Critic friends John & Gerry (Chipster2), They are also doing a B2B, and will be on board with us next cruise….. Here is Steve & Janice (obx-_fintoo), who we shared drinks with a few times. It was a pleasure to meet you…… They had brought along their 50th Birthday Carnival Monopoly game, which they were going to donate to Groove for St. Jude to be auctioned off. Only a limited number had been produced, and they sold out very quickly, so they are pretty rare…… “The Wave” hosted by Lee Mason…… Lee invites Steve up to join him, interviews him, and thanks him for donating the game to be auctioned off to benefit St. Jude…… Great job Steve and Janice. I understand that the winning bid for the monopoly game was $650. Well done!!! To be continued…..

Day # 7 (April 29th) - Fun Day at Sea # 3. We woke up at 7am to a beautiful sunny day. Here are our views forward and aft, as the Mardi Gras makes her way back to Port Canaveral……. The seas are flat calm….. Here are today’s “Fun Times”…… Patti wasn’t hungry for breakfast, so I went up to the Marketplace and made myself a plate from the buffet. Afterwards, I met Patti at the Mardi Gras Theater for a Q & A Session with our Cruise Director Lee….. Fun Squad member Olivia was acting as moderator….. To be continued…..

To tell you the truth, when we are getting off the ship our minds are on getting our luggage, flagging down a porter, and getting out of dodge. We wouldn't give a TV a passing glance, much less look to see what was on it.

There are five ironing rooms on the Mardi Gras. Deck 4 across from 4320. Deck 5 across from 5390. Deck 9 across from 9394. Deck 14 across from 14396. Deck 15 across from 15393. 😎

Thanks for reading! Patti's camera is a Canon PowerShot XS720 HS. 😎

Tonight is the 2nd Cruise Elegant Night. We decide that we’re going to go to Cucina del Capitano for dinner. Around 7pm we made reservations on the Hub App and we had a less than a ten minute wait. We are at Cucina del Capitano….. The menu….. Our table….. The Chefs are hard at work….. Here are some Cucina del Capitano views….. For starters, we both had the Arancini and the Caprese salad……. For our mains, Patti had the spaghetti carbonara, and I had the chicken parmesan….. We shared an order of crispy potatoes which we both didn’t care for….. For our desserts, Patti had the maple ricotta fritters, and I had the apple crostata….. The meal was okay, but didn’t live up to our past experiences at Cucina del Capitano on other ships. We’ll give it another shot next week. After dinner we walked around the ship for a while, and stopped to watch a little bit of Voodoo Moon at Center Stage. It didn’t impress us much, but I think that we were comparing it to “Soulbound” that we saw on the Horizon and Panorama. Afterwards we decided to call it a night and made our way back to the cabin where we found tonight’s towel creature…… Coming up next: The final sea day of this cruise and Fahrenheit 555.

Here are some more views of the Bye Bye Grand Turk party….. The Mardi Gras sailed promptly at 4pm. Patti made her way back to the cabin, where she then prepared to send some clothes out to the laundry. I grabbed the camera and went out on the balcony to take these pictures as we say goodbye to Grand Turk and the Carnival Freedom…… To be continued…….

Here are some more Freedom pictures….. Here are a couple of Cruise Center views from up on Deck 17….. The last of the passengers are heading back to the ship….. At 3:30pm our Cruise Director Lee leads the Bye Bye Grand Turk party…… To be continued……

While I napped in the cabin, Patti went up to Deck 17 to take some pictures of our sail away. She took a whole bunch of pictures of the Carnival Freedom across the way. She joked that when we are on the Freedom in January, she won’t have to take any pictures of the open decks! To be continued…..

For the rest of our time here, we relaxed on our deck, had some more drinks, and took an occasional dip in the pool. At 2:30pm we decided to head back to the ship. We flagged down Loretta who then brought us our bill. The total was $170, which included a generous tip for a job well done. I neglected to mention earlier, that when you check in for your cabana, you leave your sail and sign card with them. Not because you can pay with your card, which you can’t, but because they hold your card hostage until your bill is paid. You can use cash or credit card to settle up. This way you can’t skip out on paying. No pay, no getting back on the ship! We made a quick stop at the Margaritaville desk to pick up my card, and then we headed back to the ship…… On the pier, this was our view to the left…… This was our view to the right….. The bows of the Mardi Gras and Freedom….. The Mardi Gras gangway. We were shocked that there was no line at all to get back on the ship..... Back at our cabin, we found that they had delivered our B2B information….. Here are some views from our balcony….. To be continued…..

Thank you so much! We still have a long way to go!