MARDI GRAS

[Cruisegirl6]

We are a family of 4 generations and just booked 5 hump cabins, but now I am looking at the deck plans, and wondering if anybody else feels the same way or thought of this, looking at the deck plans it appears there isn't much public space open deck, I can see huge traffic jams there what are your thoughts?  I am still going but just appears to be lacking in public areas other than the dining establishments.

[shof515]

i noticed the same thing..there is no real promenade deck like what is on the other ships. I only see maybe like 3 areas outside deck space on the lower decks. the starboard by the havana area might be blocked off due to havana guests

[BoDidly]

I'll cruise on her when the shiny new wears off a bit , and when the people start realizing there are other ships out there with less people on them .  But to be honest did you expect Carnival to offer their passenger's more public space and open deck areas ? Looking at Carnivals track record  ? Lets think about this for a short second  ,more people = more money. 

[mexicobob]

Just now, BoDidly said:

I'll cruise on her when the shiny new wears off a bit , and when the people start realizing there are other ships out there with less people on them .  But to be honest did you expect Carnival to offer their passenger's more public space and open deck areas ? Looking at Carnivals track record  ? Lets think about this for a short second  ,more people = more money. 

Agree with you. People may be stacked on the ship like sardines...…...but it has a roller coaster, so they will pay premium prices and fill it up.  Too bad, as I look forward to going as soon as the excitement wears off. 

[Cruisegirl6]

If this mega ship doesn't fit my style, I just go back to the RC Oasis class ships...I am cruising on this ship because the last 3 years I been on 6 RC cruises and 5 were on the Oasis class, I need a change of ship and decor!  I generally do this get tired of one cruise line and go to the other.  

 

I do think its crowded, but heck, most of my time is in the casino and I can tell this casino is huge probably larger than the RC Oasis class ships.  I also dine at specialty restaurants so hoping they will tell us there be more on this ship as they claim alot more news to come.

[SRQbeachgirl]

I looked at the deck plans and was also disappointed with the lack of open deck space. I may be sticking with the Dream-class and other ships that still allow for that "at sea" feeling. The roller coaster holds no attraction for me--I hate to think what that is going to sound like on deck or on the balconies below it.

[philbob84]

I cannot wait until your review!

[Cruisegirl6]

I can't wait to give a review!  The roller coaster I think is a nice touch, but you won't get me on that lol.  The layout could look cramped inside the ship but actually be ok maybe the map does't really give it a good feel of the actual interior space there will be?  I do have to admit one thing about Carnival, they have tons of outdoor deck space, this is totally clear from looking at the deck plans, that won't be any issue and they have a few pools which will be perfect for the amount of passengers, and an adult only pool in the serenity area.

[Djptcp]

Way too large with too many passengers for us. We prefer the medium cruise ships on Carnival and Holland America with around 1900-2200 passengers. Don't like the really small ones either as the casinos are tiny and too crowded. We live close to Tampa, so Port Canaveral is doable, but it won't be on the Mardi Gras. Have never wanted to sail on the Royal Caribbean or NCL  mega ships either. 

[BoDidly]

4 hours ago, Djptcp said:

 Way too large with too many passengers for us. We prefer the medium cruise ships on Carnival and Holland America with around 1900-2200 passengers. Don't like the really small ones either as the casinos are tiny and too crowded. We live close to Tampa, so Port Canaveral is doable, but it won't be on the Mardi Gras. Have never wanted to sail on the Royal Caribbean or NCL  mega ships either. 

I can only wonder if Carnival " and other lines " are killing the market for their products / brands .   Couldn't they actually be shooting themselves in the foot ? Are these ships sailing full after a few years in service ?   The prices to cruise these mega babies  are certainly rising . Is Mega actually better ?     No matter in the next few years we're going to find out.

Edited January 31, 2019 by BoDidly

[Cruisegirl6]

I love these mega ships, the reason why my last 6 cruises the past two years were on RC, now I will have a nice mega ship out of our favorite Port Canaveral on Carnival.  I do go on the small ships also, but those are last minute getaways and or extra cruises in the year, never my main cruise of the year.  On RC Oasis class, we never have a crowd issue other than the promenade sale day for two hours on a certain day and the day of embarkation.  I love all the choices the mega ships give us.

[ishap]

The biggest ship I've been on is the conquest class on Carnival, but I've also been on the smaller carnival ships as well.  I didn't like the smaller ones as we tended to get bored.  I do have a cruise coming up on the Horizon, and then the maiden voyage booked on Mardi Gras for the European destinations.  These will be the biggest ships so I will see if I like those or will end up going back to Conquest class.

[dacsmom]

I am booked on the Mardi Gras in March 2021 and am looking forward to something different. I loved the Vista and I am a mega ship fan. I think there will be a market for all sizes of ships since people have definite preferences for ship size.

[Nightrythm]

I'm not a megaship fan, I don't think. The idea puts me off. I'm going to wait and watch and see how the reviews go. I'm enough of a Carnival fan, that I'm considering checking it out, anyway.

[Treyatl2006]

I was trying to find out where the havana outdoor pool area is going to be... I see tha havana bar and havana cabana cabins but I dont see the out door area like on the Vista class ships. Is it going to be the one pool all the way in the back on deck 8? It seems out of place to and too far to be the havana pool area.

[PhillyFan33579]

8 hours ago, BoDidly said:

I can only wonder if Carnival " and other lines " are killing the market for their products / brands .   Couldn't they actually be shooting themselves in the foot ? Are these ships sailing full after a few years in service ?   The prices to cruise these mega babies  are certainly rising . Is Mega actually better ?     No matter in the next few years we're going to find out.

 

You bring up interesting points that I often talk about with friends who cruise frequently. With so many cruise lines building new ships in the near future, I would think at some point the available ship occupancy is going to exceed the demand.  If this happens, a quick thought would be to eliminate/sell your oldest ships. But Carnival, for example, has invested a lot of money upgrading their older ships, which makes me believe they plan to continue sailing them for awhile. Should be interesting to see how this plays out like you mentioned. 

[beta98beta]

59 minutes ago, Treyatl2006 said:

I was trying to find out where the havana outdoor pool area is going to be... I see tha havana bar and havana cabana cabins but I dont see the out door area like on the Vista class ships. Is it going to be the one pool all the way in the back on deck 8? It seems out of place to and too far to be the havana pool area.

its is the tiny pool right outside the havana bar.  Look for Pixels Gallery on 8 its right next to that.  I booked havanna because I loved it on vista now I have concerns.  Someone told me its not going to be private in the day??? Is that true... also where are the hotubs, only that tiny pool?

[Dylobs]

4 minutes ago, beta98beta said:

its is the tiny pool right outside the havana bar.  Look for Pixels Gallery on 8 its right next to that.  I booked havanna because I loved it on vista now I have concerns.  Someone told me its not going to be private in the day??? Is that true... also where are the hotubs, only that tiny pool?

 

I’m going to await the renders of the Havana area and pool before passing too much judgment here. John Heald could be hyping things up a bit, but his comments so far are making it seem like it’ll be a well equipped area. Also, the Havana area will continue to follow the rules of the Havana areas on the Vista class ships in that it will be private for Havana guests up to a certain point in the evening..

 

Regarding the pool, If you look at the pool size aft on deck 8 (where it is on the Vita class ships), you’ll see that the pool in the Havana area is relatively similar in size - albeit minus the large “wading” area.

 

All in all, I’m optimistic that it’ll still be a nice and secluded sanctuary for all of us, just without a few of those lovely hot tubs.

[beta98beta]

35 minutes ago, Dylobs said:

 

I’m going to await the renders of the Havana area and pool before passing too much judgment here. John Heald could be hyping things up a bit, but his comments so far are making it seem like it’ll be a well equipped area. Also, the Havana area will continue to follow the rules of the Havana areas on the Vista class ships in that it will be private for Havana guests up to a certain point in the evening..

 

Regarding the pool, If you look at the pool size aft on deck 8 (where it is on the Vita class ships), you’ll see that the pool in the Havana area is relatively similar in size - albeit minus the large “wading” area.

 

All in all, I’m optimistic that it’ll still be a nice and secluded sanctuary for all of us, just without a few of those lovely hot tubs.

I hope so too.  My agent said that pool area aft on deck 8 is public... she told me the name of the area but I can't remember it now.  Summertime or something kitschy like that LOL!!! But since its very very far from Lido maybe it won't get too crowded.  Thanks for letting me know Havana will still be private during the day.  It was the one spot where I could read outdoors and not have bunches of distractions coming at me from different directions.  For me, that is worth the extra cost.  Even Serenity gets a bit crazy crowded during the day on sea days.  

[Treyatl2006]

6 hours ago, beta98beta said:

its is the tiny pool right outside the havana bar.  Look for Pixels Gallery on 8 its right next to that.  I booked havanna because I loved it on vista now I have concerns.  Someone told me its not going to be private in the day??? Is that true... also where are the hotubs, only that tiny pool?

I thought that was a hot tub. It looks really tiny and the outdoor space looks really small.

[theinkykitty]

We just booked last night for Thanksgiving 2020

[rob6465]

Wife and I have done 11 cruises and all balconies/carnival. Wife feels she would be claustrophobic in other cabins. I keep hearing that premium inside cabins would be ideal. Wonder when pics will come out to see them. Any premium insides on other carnival ships?

Edited February 1, 2019 by rob6465

[ProgRockCruiser]

8 hours ago, beta98beta said:

I hope so too.  My agent said that pool area aft on deck 8 is public... she told me the name of the area but I can't remember it now.  Summertime or something kitschy like that LOL!!!

 

"Summer Landing".  And yes, the aft area there is open to the public, whereas it does seem the deck areas from outside the Havana Bar forward, wrapping around to forward of JiJi's will be reserved for Hanava Cabin guests (up to a certain time of the evening, probably 7:30pm [?] like Horizon).

 

8 hours ago, beta98beta said:

But since its very very far from Lido maybe it won't get too crowded.  Thanks for letting me know Havana will still be private during the day.  It was the one spot where I could read outdoors and not have bunches of distractions coming at me from different directions.  For me, that is worth the extra cost.  Even Serenity gets a bit crazy crowded during the day on sea days.  

 

The one cool thing about this new ship is that there are a bunch of cabin types I want to try out - the hump balconies, the Havana cabins, and the forward extended balconies (which is what we booked).  I look forward to everyone's reviews.

[RoperDK]

We have really enjoyed the Oasis class ships and are looking forward to giving the Mardi Gras a try.  Planning on booking for early 2021 soon, but with a refundable deposit just is case the reviews scare us away. 

[cparkerkite]

On 3/3/2019 at 1:17 PM, RoperDK said:

We have really enjoyed the Oasis class ships and are looking forward to giving the Mardi Gras a try.  Planning on booking for early 2021 soon, but with a refundable deposit just is case the reviews scare us away. 

 

Same with us!  We've been on the Oasis and going on the Allure next month.  I like the larger ships and was super excited about the Mardi Gras.  We just booked for 4/2021.  I'm so looking forward to it!  Ok lets be honest... I'm looking forward to a Guy's burger most of all! ha!