John Heald walking tours of Mardi Gras on FB

[BrotherCraig]

tour

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by BrotherCraig

[cruisingguy007]

1 minute ago, BrotherCraig said:

Del la Rossa

 

https://fb.watch/72Je_BnrJv/

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[KmomChicago]

18 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

We watched the videos and now hubby and I want to sail her.

 

Definitely will be a game changer for Carnival. . . I expect at least some "never againers" will be persuaded to become, "maybe one more timers".

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

5 minutes ago, BrotherCraig said:

or maybe not.

 

https://fb.watch/72J7R45XHH/

Thanks

 

[BrotherCraig]

heck.  Nevermind.  There is a way.  Just a pain.

Edited July 29, 2021 by BrotherCraig

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I always chuckled in the past whenever they wanted to charge a percentage when getting $ off your S&S acct to buy chips. I'd tell them "You're already going to be getting a 100% back, you don't need to rub it in" - lol

 

Tom

[cruisingguy007]

51 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

I always chuckled in the past whenever they wanted to charge a percentage when getting $ off your S&S acct to buy chips. I'd tell them "You're already going to be getting a 100% back, you don't need to rub it in" - lol

 

Tom

 

If you stick to one arm bandits this is true but if you're playing table games and are having 100% losses all the time, it may be time to rethink strategy. 😁 

[soremekun]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Definitely will be a game changer for Carnival. . . I expect at least some "never againers" will be persuaded to become, "maybe one more timers".

That would be me.  However, some of their older junk I will never sail again.... anything older than Vista.

[KmomChicago]

16 minutes ago, soremekun said:

That would be me.  However, some of their older junk I will never sail again.... anything older than Vista.

 

I understand that thinking. Frankly we prefer newer megaships as well.  I would really like to do both Vista and Dream class at a minimum and maybe see what they are doing with these Sunshine class do-overs, but anything else would really be only because the timing / embarkation port / money / aligned just right.  Fantasy, Spirit, Conquest and Splendor class could all be acceptable as we are not super picky, but it would almost be in spite of the ship rather than because of the ship in those cases. 

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, soremekun said:

That would be me.  However, some of their older junk I will never sail again.... anything older than Vista.

 

Different strokes for different folks. I would totally sail on even a fantasy class ship. As long as it is clean and offers the same base general product, I have zero problems and the value potential is much higher. Some of the rates I see people tossing around for this new ship hardly seem like a value proposition compared to AI options and even a general land vacation at some of the higher price points. Most folks are lounging around eating and drinking basically while cruising. The same limitations and benefits of cruising don't really change enough for me to drop a large amount more on a cruise. All the things I truly enjoy about cruising are available on any of the class of ships. If I can get them cheaper on a older ship, even better! A lot of the shiny things that others are excited about won't really add to my cruising enjoyment or improve my value-to-cost ratio. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by cruisingguy007

[SNJCruisers]

11 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

It would be nice if these videos were posted straight to youtube and not facebook. A lot of people have zero interest in facebook. 

The guy above has some of JH's videos that he makes comments on and shows you a schematic of the ship where JH is talking about.  This is the first video he has and if you search Midships, you'll find others.

[Spif Barwunkel]

As Mardi Gras readies for her inaugural sail,

future passengers plan for their latest sea tale.

 

On July thirty-first in twenty, twenty-one,

a much anticipated sailing will have begun.

 

And as night birds glide on shadowed wings,

She will gracefully glide toward exciting things.

 

Thus begins a new era from a ship that’s brand new,

Mardi Gras is now ready for me and for you.

 

[BrotherCraig]

17 hours ago, soremekun said:

That would be me.  However, some of their older junk I will never sail again.... anything older than Vista.

 

I prefer Dream class and later.  Love the Breeze.  

[Brew12]

I guess I'm an outlier. I enjoy the Spirit class ships the best. I feel that cruise ships should be rated by the deck chair to passenger ratio. Or an average time to obtain a beverage system. I've only done a few cruises but bigger ships seem to lead to fewer available deck chairs and longer lines at the bars.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

21 minutes ago, Brew12 said:

I guess I'm an outlier. I enjoy the Spirit class ships the best. I feel that cruise ships should be rated by the deck chair to passenger ratio. Or an average time to obtain a beverage system. I've only done a few cruises but bigger ships seem to lead to fewer available deck chairs and longer lines at the bars.

 

We're Spirit class fans as well. Mainly because of the aft corner cabins on deck 4, the two story Supper Club (sorry, Steakhouse!), and the better passenger space ratio.

 

Tom

[KmomChicago]

59 minutes ago, Brew12 said:

I guess I'm an outlier. I enjoy the Spirit class ships the best. I feel that cruise ships should be rated by the deck chair to passenger ratio. Or an average time to obtain a beverage system. I've only done a few cruises but bigger ships seem to lead to fewer available deck chairs and longer lines at the bars.

 

We prefer the bigger ones in general because of all the amenities, activities, and dining options. But it's not like we whine and moan when on a smaller ship. They are all great, just relatively minor differences.

[Brew12]

41 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

We prefer the bigger ones in general because of all the amenities, activities, and dining options. But it's not like we whine and moan when on a smaller ship. They are all great, just relatively minor differences.

I definitely see the appeal of the bigger ships. Especially for families with kids who need to be entertained. Give me sunshine, a few restaurants to choose from for lunch, the MDR at night, a piano bar, and good drink service and I'm a happy man.

I'll sacrifice a few newer amenities for the Spirit class. I like that the Serenity area is on the aft part of the ship and has its own pool. I like that the RedFrog Rum bar is by the pool across from the Blue Iguana Tequila bar and not buried deep in the ship. And I like that it has a sports bar. I don't know why Carnival got away from that. 

[snowballs mom]

We are sailing the Celebration transatlantic next year, directly followed by the Elation. It should be an interesting contrast.

[SNJCruisers]

39 minutes ago, snowballs mom said:

We are sailing the Celebration transatlantic next year, directly followed by the Elation. It should be an interesting contrast.

Interesting contrast indeed.  Is HMC that much of a deal to you to transfer from the jewel of Carnival to a 23 year old ship, since they are both doing 6 day itineraries?

 

[snowballs mom]

As a matter of fact, yes. Ports are important to us, and I will not pay to go somewhere I do not like. HMC is our favorite, and we really dislike Nassau. The Elation ports are HMC, Grand Turk and Amber Cove, all nice relaxing stops. I already have a cabana reserved for HMC. And the $1,000 price difference between the two ships means we can treat our adult daughter to a cruise over her Thanksgiving break from teaching. Our first Carnival cruise was on the Triumph, which I think was the same size as Elation.

[Brew12]

22 minutes ago, snowballs mom said:

Our first Carnival cruise was on the Triumph, which I think was the same size as Elation

The Triumph is now the Sunrise and is a slightly larger and newer ship than the Elation. Definitely more comparable to each other than to the newer mega ships.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Brew12

[snowballs mom]

1 minute ago, Brew12 said:

The Triumph is now the Sunrise and is a slightly larger and newer ship than the Elation. Definitely more comparable to each other than to the newer mega ships.

I found some cabin tours before I booked, so I knew what I was signing up for. It looks like the inside cabins are the same size as I remember from the Triumph. The balcony cabins are smaller than the newer ships - no sofa or chair. They are about the size of Triumph oceanviews IIRC. The smaller suites are the size of the Dream/Vista class balconies and have sofas. I booked a balcony for us and an interior for our daughter. I am hoping the luggage from a month of traveling will fit under our bed 🤣

[SNJCruisers]

The  Triumph, which has since morphed into the Sunrise is about 101 K tons.  It was the sister ship to the Destiny, which was the first cruise ship anywhere to surpass 100 K tons.  The Elation is one of the Fantasy Class ships and comes in at 70 K tons.  Initially it had no balconies and they were added during a dry dock.  The insides should be about 185 sq ft on both ships.  Ironically, the insides on the MG are going to be slightly smaller.

Enjoy your TA on the Celebration.  We will be on her for a unique 5 day cruise on Jan 3, 2023.  It's a side by side with the NCL Encore.

[snowballs mom]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

The  Triumph, which has since morphed into the Sunrise is about 101 K tons.  It was the sister ship to the Destiny, which was the first cruise ship anywhere to surpass 100 K tons.  The Elation is one of the Fantasy Class ships and comes in at 70 K tons.  Initially it had no balconies and they were added during a dry dock.  The insides should be about 185 sq ft on both ships.  Ironically, the insides on the MG are going to be slightly smaller.

Enjoy your TA on the Celebration.  We will be on her for a unique 5 day cruise on Jan 3, 2023.  It's a side by side with the NCL Encore.

Your 2023 sailings sound like fun! I have never sailed NCL, but would like to try it some day. I looked at My Cruises and found that we did a Thanksgiving cruise with my husband's family on the Fantasy back in 2009, but I don't remember all that much about it. It was pretty short, and we spent most of the time visiting with people instead of experiencing the ship. 

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, snowballs mom said:

Your 2023 sailings sound like fun! I have never sailed NCL, but would like to try it some day. I looked at My Cruises and found that we did a Thanksgiving cruise with my husband's family on the Fantasy back in 2009, but I don't remember all that much about it. It was pretty short, and we spent most of the time visiting with people instead of experiencing the ship. 

Go on NCL'S website or better yet, do a search on YouTube and check out the Prima.   It will be a game changer for NCL similar to how the Mardi Gras will be a game changer for Carnival.  We will be on her for Halloween 2022 on a repo cruise from Galveston to Miami for 11 days with stops at Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Great Stirrup Cay, along with 5 days at sea.  We'll be back on her again in September of 2023 for a 14 day cruise out of London going to Dublin, Belfast, 3 stops in Iceland and 3 stops in Norway.