Mardi Gras

[CruzCrazy]

4 minutes ago, pyropoodle said:

yeah, there are 4 of us, so it was def $7,300 for a regular old balcony.  my pvp called just after I posted this and confirmed.  we are just as happy with our 2nd choice ship that ended up being $4,100 for the 4 of us. (that's after all the tips and insurance and everything), so all in all, I'm gonna be glad to be on any boat.    I will eventually try the Mardi Gras, and hopefully my kiddos will be old enough to really enjoy that roller coaster.  they are young young young, so after they get a few inches on their heights, they'd have a much better time.

Wow, that's a ridiculous price, even for 4, especially since the 3rd and 4th are usually at a good rate.  Was it during the holidays or something? 

 

[pyropoodle]

Just now, CruzCrazy said:

Wow, that's a ridiculous price, even for 4, especially since the 3rd and 4th are usually at a good rate.  Was it during the holidays or something? 

 

yeah. unfortunately, it's the only other time we can cruise (the New Years cruise..we currently have a cruise booked for August of 2020, so it might have been cheaper otherwise.  )

[ProgRockCruiser]

10 minutes ago, pyropoodle said:

yeah. unfortunately, it's the only other time we can cruise (the New Years cruise..we currently have a cruise booked for August of 2020, so it might have been cheaper otherwise.  )

 

OK, yeah, you pay at least a 50% premium for Christmas and NYE cruises.  And it looks like you include pre-paid grats and insurance.

 

Our booking type and cost was very similar to @CruzCrazy's (before grats and any insurance).

[pyropoodle]

if I had known waaaaay back when we booked our august cruise, I would have waited and booked mardi gras for august 2020...possibly.... but even though new years is a premium, for the same amount of sailing days and 1 less  port, I can't justify the extra $3000 just because it's a new ship.   maybe an extra grand, but not 3.  

 

i'll book her eventually and find a time of the year that isn't so pricey.   but I am bummed for sure.

Edited January 30, 2019 by pyropoodle

[soulsistah007]

I just got a call from my pvp asking if we wanted to book the mardi gras...perhaps they noticed I was browsing the site. Not interested in any of the itineraries - was hoping for different caribbean ports. Will wait to see whats offered beyond April 2021. 

[pyropoodle]

keeping my eyes out for August 2021

[jimbo5544]

32 minutes ago, soulsistah007 said:

I just got a call from my pvp asking if we wanted to book the mardi gras...perhaps they noticed I was browsing the site. Not interested in any of the itineraries - was hoping for different caribbean ports. Will wait to see whats offered beyond April 2021. 

Which ports did you want to see?

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, pyropoodle said:

yeah, there are 4 of us, so it was def $7,300 for a regular old balcony.  my pvp called just after I posted this and confirmed.  we are just as happy with our 2nd choice ship that ended up being $4,100 for the 4 of us. (that's after all the tips and insurance and everything), so all in all, I'm gonna be glad to be on any boat.    I will eventually try the Mardi Gras, and hopefully my kiddos will be old enough to really enjoy that roller coaster.  they are young young young, so after they get a few inches on their heights, they'd have a much better time.

What date did you get a price of $7,300 for four on?

[tallnthensome]

I just priced a balcony for my family of four for April 2021. Price was $4087 including gratuities but nothing else. Not a horrible price but not good either. I’ve never paid above 4 grand for any 7 day cruise anywhere. You’re talking almost 5K with a Cheers package. Ship looks nice inside but the price is too high for a Carnival cruise. If these are the best early rates then it’s only going to get more expensive. A pass for now .....

[ProgRockCruiser]

10 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

What date did you get a price of $7,300 for four on?

 

@pyropoodle indicated they were looking to book a NYE cruise, which looks to be the Western Carib itin.

 

Those prices are almost double of the price of the same cruise a month earlier.  Balcony $1559 pp vs $869 pp (base price), that's an 80% price increase.

Edited January 30, 2019 by ProgRockCruiser

[pyropoodle]

yeah, I really should have said it was for a holiday. my bad y'all.   I just really wanted to get on that ship!

[soulsistah007]

48 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Which ports did you want to see?

 

Was hoping for more of a variety...eastern and southern. The ABC islands, Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, etc. Even the NYC itinerary would have been better with more Canadian ports. That being said, coming from Canada, I wish there more options to see southern islands from Florida as opposed to traveling to San Juan. 

[Joebucks]

Man, that Journey's cruise. Highly tempting...

 

I wonder how much excitement this will take away from the Panorama?

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, soulsistah007 said:

 

Was hoping for more of a variety...eastern and southern. The ABC islands, Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, etc. Even the NYC itinerary would have been better with more Canadian ports. That being said, coming from Canada, I wish there more options to see southern islands from Florida as opposed to traveling to San Juan. 

So is it really the itinerary and not ship?  Carnival only goes to one other NT north port of call.  I would enjoy more of their other ports, but they always bring a ship into an established plan, leave the desirable ports as a booking drag for the less desirable ships.  Another consideration is where this ship will be able to go.  Take Oasis class ships on Royal, they cannot go to any tender port and are to long for some piers....

[soulsistah007]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

So is it really the itinerary and not ship?  Carnival only goes to one other NT north port of call.  I would enjoy more of their other ports, but they always bring a ship into an established plan, leave the desirable ports as a booking drag for the less desirable ships.  Another consideration is where this ship will be able to go.  Take Oasis class ships on Royal, they cannot go to any tender port and are to long for some piers....

Yes, itinerary always has a slight edge for me. The ship itself seems great. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how everyone enjoys it. Its a shame that the less desirable ships get more of a variety of ports. Good point on the length of the docks...forgot that factors into the equation. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but the Carnival webpage for the Mardi Gras now has interactive deck plans like all the other ships have:

 

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/mardi-gras.aspx#deck-plans

 

Included as a result are some view of public areas that were not seen before, I believe.  Such as two renderings of the Lido marketplace on deck 16, maybe some of the renderings of the roller coaster and sportssquare area, maybe Havana Bar area has a new rendering, Bonsai Sushi and Teppanyaki areas, outdoor portion of La Piazza, casino, Steakhouse, Limelight lounge, Piano Bar, Cloud 9 spa area, a couple new views of Guy's Pig and Anchor, Atrium has a rendering of some video screens in place on the stage, etc.  There is a wide view of the Summer Landing area - that pool looks to be usefully big enough.

 

The individual stateroom views are often placeholders ("Say Cheese, Stateroom!").

 

Maybe these have been popping up on Carnival's FB page - I did see some of the already-known-to-me ones there first.

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

Hah, there are also a few bugs/typos for some cabins on deck 15 - the square-shaped interiors at the front, dead centerline.  They are labeled 15231 to 15241 on the basic underlying image, but of you hover, the cabin numbers are wrong and some are labeled "balcony". 

 

I think there are a couple of mis-categorized room on deck 17 fwd too - two of the bigger rooms that are Spa suites on the starboard side are labeled regular spa balconies on the port side.

 

Oops.

[Dylobs]

I got really exited when Carnival posted the interactive deck plans. I think that they’ve been up since the end of last week.

 

Unfortunately, Safari hates flash, so the interactive plans wont work on iOS 😩😂

 

The new renders are looking great!

[13cheermom]

11 hours ago, Dylobs said:

I got really exited when Carnival posted the interactive deck plans. I think that they’ve been up since the end of last week.

 

Unfortunately, Safari hates flash, so the interactive plans wont work on iOS 😩😂

 

The new renders are looking great!

 

I know, right.  I keep going to see if they have updated it and still nothing.  I love my mac but really Carnival needs to get their IT stuff straight so that we can all enjoy the new pics while we wait for next year. What's funny my phone shows a little more than my laptop but still not the interactive version.

[ProgRockCruiser]

11 hours ago, Dylobs said:

I got really exited when Carnival posted the interactive deck plans. I think that they’ve been up since the end of last week.

 

Unfortunately, Safari hates flash, so the interactive plans wont work on iOS 😩😂

 

 

Hmm, that's too bad.

 

I thought Flash was starting to become a no-go due to security holes, I was under the impression no-one used it for new implementations.

 

We certainly can't use it for my line of work...

[PhillyFan33579]

29 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

 

I know, right.  I keep going to see if they have updated it and still nothing.  I love my mac but really Carnival needs to get their IT stuff straight so that we can all enjoy the new pics while we wait for next year. What's funny my phone shows a little more than my laptop but still not the interactive version.

 

Or maybe it’s time for you to get a new computer 😊.

[lele100]

I think I got a good price,  I booked the halloween cruise 10/31, on the first day that bookings opened,  we got an ocean suite for 2 people $2800, plus $200 obc.

[JimmyTheSaint]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:33 PM, soulsistah007 said:

Yes, itinerary always has a slight edge for me. The ship itself seems great. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how everyone enjoys it. Its a shame that the less desirable ships get more of a variety of ports. Good point on the length of the docks...forgot that factors into the equation. 

I agree with the point about itinerary which is causing much deliberation in our house about whether to book the transatlantic sailing on Mardi Gras or Legend. We'd like to sail on Mardi Gras as it's the new ship but Legend has a much better itinerary ( in our opinion ).

[soulsistah007]

59 minutes ago, JimmyTheSaint said:

I agree with the point about itinerary which is causing much deliberation in our house about whether to book the transatlantic sailing on Mardi Gras or Legend. We'd like to sail on Mardi Gras as it's the new ship but Legend has a much better itinerary ( in our opinion ).

What's the itinerary for the Legend? Is it offered the same time frame as the transatlantic?

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, JimmyTheSaint said:

I agree with the point about itinerary which is causing much deliberation in our house about whether to book the transatlantic sailing on Mardi Gras or Legend. We'd like to sail on Mardi Gras as it's the new ship but Legend has a much better itinerary ( in our opinion ).

I really wanted to book Mardi Gras, but really didn’t want to debark in NYC, after the fiasco with the Vista. They probably have it ironed out now, but decided to book the last Med and TA on the Legend instead. I also booked MSC Med prior to the Med Legend leg. I haven’t been to Venice, so this will give me a little extra time there. Plus I love Barcelona. I will eventually sail on the Mardi Gras.

Edited February 8, 2019 by crzndeb