Live from Steerage. Onboard Mardi Gras now. Ask us anything.

[KmomChicago]

9 minutes ago, RRLLAL said:

Did the casino have a Texas hold ‘em poker pro table like all the other ships?

Absolutely no idea, sorry. I don’t gamble in the traditional sense and I don’t like smoke. I only passed through the casino when I accidentally got off at an elevator that required me to move that way to get to my intended destination. 
 

[KmomChicago]

Last breakfast in MDR. Stretching it out as long as possible.

[kelkel2]

I remember someone mentioning a specialty dining package. Do you know where I can find more info? We have 2 kiddos going with us so not sure if it would be worth it for us or not. 

[ninjacat123]

4 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

I remember someone mentioning a specialty dining package. Do you know where I can find more info? We have 2 kiddos going with us so not sure if it would be worth it for us or not. 

I see a Child rate for Cucina del Capitano at $5 and Steakhouse at $12.  Have a great cruise!

[blarko]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

Last breakfast in MDR. Stretching it out as long as possible.

 

What is the sandwich? That’s my kind of breakfast!

[KmomChicago]

9:45 am and we are in the car heading off on I-95 north. We were among the last few hundred off. As always the end game feels like a lot of chaos just due to the volume but it moved pretty smoothly. We did luggage assist Zone 17 and happily tipped a porter generously to drag our junk all the way to the car on level 2 of the garage.

 

How about this piece o’ crap view? What happened? 
 

I just realized my thread title is not going to age well as we’re no longer onboard.

 

However I do have more photos as yet unposted and a lot more blather as yet unsaid so depending how the day unfolds that could be very soon or a week from now.

 

My foot did in fact bruise slightly from that Limelight incident but I had to look at it to know as it didn’t cause me any pain or further trouble after that initial profanity laden 30 minutes. 
 

I’m going to make a post showing the numbers within the thread for various menu locations, for myself as much as for y’all.

 

 Somewhere in here I got all 7 nights of the MDR, lunch for Cucina and Chibang, and a handful of bars including RedFrog Tiki on the Lido and Parched Pig on our beloved Deck 8 aft in Summer Landing. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by KmomChicago

[KmomChicago]

18 minutes ago, blarko said:

 

What is the sandwich? That’s my kind of breakfast!

That’s the broken egg sandwich. I had seen prior posts and reviews recommending it and this was my first (also my last) non-brunch breakfast in the MDR so I figured I’d better jump at the chance.  It was really crunchy bread wise and the egg yolk was perfectly drippy. A fine finale. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by KmomChicago

[zzdoug]

On 8/9/2021 at 12:33 PM, KmomChicago said:

Tonight dinner menu for MDR. 

Did you try the rabbit 🐰?

[KmomChicago]

A word about MONEY. I’m joking in my thread title about our inside cabin. We were in Premium Interior 5364. On our last cruise before Covid we sailed with my mom (who treated us) and had the 4 of us in two adjacent but not connecting Junior Suites on “the hump” of Adventure of the Seas, close to the aft elevators and right below the Windjammer. Of course we reveled in the spacious luxury. And yet. . . .

 

I wouldn’t pay for it unless we had wheelbarrows full of green cash money cluttering up the living room. Probably not even then.
 

We are not casino guests. We paid a normal advertised fare on Carnival.com for this journey. We spent a solid four figures in additional purchases onboard and that’s not including stuff we prepaid from home like the steakhouse or Bottomless Bubbles which was probably barely a break even for us. We always prepay gratuities and give more onboard.

 

Last night we handed our lead room attendant a crisp new Benjamin. We usually leave extra but not that much. It’s been a rotten year and we continued working and it’s nice to be generous while we can afford it. That could change any time and we know it.

 

I’ve been called cheap but I think I’m a careful spender. It took me a while to find professional success and nobody’s resources are unlimited. In short, we live within our means and decide mindfully what to do with every dollar. 
 

If an inability to make a purchase without thinking it through makes me cheap, then have at it.

 

I volunteer at a small, private cat rescue that constantly struggles for funds and provides a safe permanent home for many unwanted and unadoptable kitties. If I had wheelbarrows of cash I’d still stay in an inside cabin. Then I’d  wheel the rest of it right over to the vet we use for the endless medical expenses for our sweet aging residents as well as spay/neuter for the ENDLESS litters of newborns we are called to rescue year round.

My perspective is that good enough is good enough for me. I don’t need or even really want the finer things in life. I probably would never cruise on Seabourn or Regent Seven Seas or similar cruises even for free. I can’t imagine being comfortable. You can take the Kmom out of the rural Midwest but you can’t pry me away from my basic values and sensibilities.

 

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, zzdoug said:

Did you try the rabbit 🐰?

No we didn’t. We only ate one night in the MDR and this wasn’t it. One of my cats has a chicken allergy so I feed them rabbit and they like it okay but not as much as fish. 😸😺🐟🐠

Edited August 14, 2021 by KmomChicago

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

I remember someone mentioning a specialty dining package. Do you know where I can find more info? We have 2 kiddos going with us so not sure if it would be worth it for us or not. 

That is mot on the MG, it's on the Horizon for sure and possibly the Vista and Panorama.   It's 60 bucks for Steakhouse and 2 of cucina, jiji's, or 15.00 credit at guys pig/anchor for dinner or Bonsai sushi. (Saving you 8 pp) Another option is 38 for 3 of the places listed without the Steakhouse. (Saving you 7 pp)  Both packages have to be purchased on board.

[maryann2]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 

 

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

A word about MONEY. I’m joking in my thread title about our inside cabin. We were in Premium Interior 5364. On our last cruise before Covid we sailed with my mom (who treated us) and had the 4 of us in two adjacent but not connecting Junior Suites on “the hump” of Adventure of the Seas, close to the aft elevators and right below the Windjammer. Of course we reveled in the spacious luxury. And yet. . . .

 

I wouldn’t pay for it unless we had wheelbarrows full of green cash money cluttering up the living room. Probably not even then.
 

We are not casino guests. We paid a normal advertised fare on Carnival.com for this journey. We spent a solid four figures in additional purchases onboard and that’s not including stuff we prepaid from home like the steakhouse or Bottomless Bubbles which was probably barely a break even for us. We always prepay gratuities and give more onboard.

 

Last night we handed our lead room attendant a crisp new Benjamin. We usually leave extra but not that much. It’s been a rotten year and we continued working and it’s nice to be generous while we can afford it. That could change any time and we know it.

 

I’ve been called cheap but I think I’m a careful spender. It took me a while to find professional success and nobody’s resources are unlimited. In short, we live within our means and decide mindfully what to do with every dollar. 
 

If an inability to make a purchase without thinking it through makes me cheap, then have at it.

 

I volunteer at a small, private cat rescue that constantly struggles for funds and provides a safe permanent home for many unwanted and unadoptable kitties. If I had wheelbarrows of cash I’d still stay in an inside cabin. Then I’d  wheel the rest of it right over to the vet we use for the endless medical expenses for our sweet aging residents as well as spay/neuter for the ENDLESS litters of newborns we are called to rescue year round.

My perspective is that good enough is good enough for me. I don’t need or even really want the finer things in life. I probably would never cruise on Seabourn or Regent Seven Seas or similar cruises even for free. I can’t imagine being comfortable. You can take the Kmom out of the rural Midwest but you can’t pry me away from my basic values and sensibilities.

 

You are not cheap. Possibly frugal like me.

Edited August 14, 2021 by maryann2

[ninjacat123]

3 minutes ago, maryann2 said:

 

You are not cheap. Possibly frugal like me.

"cost conscious" sounds like a good term🤑

[sunkey1]

I hear ya, anytime I look at mini suites or suites, I think, okay I could do that OR I could go on TWO cruises.

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

That is mot on the MG, it's on the Horizon for sure and possibly the Vista and Panorama.   It's 60 bucks for Steakhouse and 2 of cucina, jiji's, or 15.00 credit at guys pig/anchor for dinner or Bonsai sushi. (Saving you 8 pp) Another option is 38 for 3 of the places listed without the Steakhouse. (Saving you 7 pp)  Both packages have to be purchased on board.

MG doesn’t have enough places with an up charge to need such a package anyway. Most are included for now.

[IntrepidFromDC]

1 hour ago, maryann2 said:

 

You are not cheap. Possibly frugal like me.

 

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

"cost conscious" sounds like a good term🤑

... or "prudent money manager" or "personal finance CEO"

[snowballs mom]

1 hour ago, sunkey1 said:

I hear ya, anytime I look at mini suites or suites, I think, okay I could do that OR I could go on TWO cruises.

Yep - I'm right there with ya!

[sanmarcosman]

2 hours ago, maryann2 said:

 

You are not cheap. Possibly frugal like me.

Yes, this has always been true of us too. There's a world of difference between the two terms.

[sanmarcosman]

Your premium inside had a couch. I have read that the floorplan of the 4N category that you had is the same as that of a balcony cabin minus the balcony. You chose wisely. 

[KmomChicago]

8 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

Your premium inside had a couch. I have read that the floorplan of the 4N category that you had is the same as that of a balcony cabin minus the balcony. You chose wisely. 

Yes, thank you and we had the opportunity to visit a standard balcony room onboard and this turned out to be 💯true. The cruise was so incredibly hot we wouldn’t have used a balcony much anyway. 
 

In addition, being down on deck 5 and very very interior, our room stayed nice and cool and was completely silent. Directly below Grand Central, we never heard a thing.

 

We were comfortable and happy with the room. The couch was flipped into the teen’s bed all week and we had ample storage and were all able to maneuver adequately. 
 

The point for us of a mega ship is to be out enjoying the ship until sleepy time.

[KmomChicago]

If anyone is a ParoDeeJay fan you may want to visit them on the tube of you or the book of the faces for an update. 

[tcarter8199]

I have one more question for you.  I have a CPAP and I am trying to figure out if there is a place to plug it near the bed or if I need to bring an extension cord.  Any suggestions?

[KmomChicago]

44 minutes ago, tcarter8199 said:

I have one more question for you.  I have a CPAP and I am trying to figure out if there is a place to plug it near the bed or if I need to bring an extension cord.  Any suggestions?

My dad’s handicap room had one right under the tiny night shelves but our room didn’t so you may need to get some help from special services to get the right kind of room, or else you’ll want the extension cord or yo ask if they will supply one for you.

[stellarose]

thanks so much for a great review.  hopefully we sail in December.  looking for a quiet place to chill during the day with a pool.  deck 8?  was there chia seed pudding on the sea day brunch?  guess no plain fries or vegetarian options at street eats. 

[zzdoug]

This is an epic thread.  Thanks for the information.