Mardis Gras? I'm kinda not loving it...

[ChrisNCruiser]

5 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Uh I hate to break it to you but the conquest class is all 100k+ Tons

then I amend my statement to say "I prefer Carnival's ships that are around 110k in size (per Wikipedia) or smaller, except for the Freedom because it's hideous" 😛

[ChrisNCruiser]

7 hours ago, matymil said:

Just curious. Have you been on the Vista yet. Ive been twice and i agree with you, i like the Conquest size the best. Out of the ones we've been on, the Vista is my least favorite. Im just wondering how it compares? 

I haven't been on the Horizon, Vista, or Panorama. Maybe one of them would change my mind regarding the larger ships...

[kdr69]

12 hours ago, grinthock said:

Who's idea was it to "bevel" or "multi level" the ship where lower decks - stick out - further than the decks above it?

Uhmm I believe that was RCI....

[helene109]

I just got off of the Mardi Gras Saturday and thought it was missing something. Maybe a theater. My deck 9 room looked down to the Havana rooms. I can’t imagine this ship at full capacity! 3950 were on my sailing. Glad we tried it and yes I have been on the Vista,Dream,Valor & Glory. 

[Joebucks]

Not everyone has to like every ship. With that said, I was expecting a lot more than this. Someone "could" throw something on the Havana? Did they? Did you even stay there? 

 

I actually do understand your main complaint though. It is kind of odd to have balconies visible from other balconies above and below without really having to make the attempt. Even though people love the RCI balconies, where you are staring straight into our rooms, I kind of get it. While guessing, I would assume there are multiple balconies available on Mardi Gras that are not visible in tiers. Probably depends on what floor.

 

I'm glad to not be a balcony person.

[evandbob]

One of our last cruises before COVID was on RCCL's huge Symphony of the Seas.  We read many negative reviews and posts about the ship, but found few lines and crowds the week we sailed. One man gathers what another man spills, I guess.

 

We'll be trying the Mardi Gras in 8 days, and we'll experience first hand what the ship is like.  Sure we've read both + and - reports, but we'll have our own 1st hand reaction to being on board for that ship sailing. We realize what we like and dislike may be entirely different from what others may consider important.  More to the point, contempt prior to investigation is usually misguided

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Perhaps we should not try to generalize. There's good/bad to every ship, there's friendly/happy cruisers on all lines, and there's snobs and grouches too.

 

Sure, every ship will have things that some love, others decry.

 

Since I ACTUALLY sailed on the ship, I can say that there are things I'd prefer they had done differently. But, they never bothered to ask me, and probably don't care too much about what I said in my guest questionnaire following the sailing. Hopefully they at least noted the staff members who I gave high marks to.

 

As for me - I really liked the ship. So much so that we're returning over Thanksgiving.

 

Oh, BTW, the pricey cabin over the bridge - very little privacy up there, and little escape from the sun. It's not my "top pick" of cabins onboard. Well, it is for some reasons, but not for others. See - right there - some good, some not so good!

 

Tom

[BrotherCraig]

15 hours ago, grinthock said:

So, try and keep an open mind while we talk about this one....  
 

So the internet is flooded with content about the Carnival Mardis Gras, and I will admit I am not a Carnival cruiser, but they keep saying this was supposed to get other customers (like RCI) get interested.
 

Is anyone else not feeling it?   I'm not trying to be the super negative poster here, but if Carnival doesn't hear messages like this - then - they won't know what people don't like.  The world isn't all rainbow's and unicorns and I don't think we should restrict ourselves to just talking about what we love. 
 

I'm not sure who designed that thing, but every video I see just keeps showing things that are of... questionable design. 
 

The "Havana Cabana" rooms - ok, if that's what you are into, fine, I like that you can walk from your room across a private deck to a bar/pool area and that's cool -- but with it so low on the ship,  it looks up to everyone else's rooms on the rest of the ship - and apparently people have been known to toss things down on that deck...  

Ask yourself if it's ever been possible for someone to throw an item down at you on a ship - it's not... for the next reason i'm about to post.

Who's idea was it to "bevel" or "multi level" the ship where lower decks - stick out - further than the decks above it?   This basically destroys any and all privacy that ships tend to offer in their staterooms.
 

I get the idea to build a shape of modern or unique design (Oasis Class on RCI) or just plain huge (NCL Epic) - but this just seems completely out of touch, where there isn't a single stateroom on the ship where the balcony has privacy, even the super-suite class you can see into the hot tubs from other parts of the ship. 

Anyone else here not feeling this?  It's really not encouraging me to try Carnival..
 

 

Cove balconies have privacy. Our favorite.

[sanger727]

Really confused as to why anyone would discount a ship they have never been on on a line they have never been on over one design issue. And as far as I can tell from looking at photos, only one lower balcony deck sticks out further than the others. So I would think that from any other deck you would have privacy on the balcony. 

 

Not to mention, not sure how many people prioritize being able to change on their balcony in their cruise making decision. I've never been tempted to change on my balcony. On most ships the privacy is an illusion anyway. I remember being on a NCL ship and sitting on the balcony. Our neighbors like to have incredibly personal discussions on their balcony and we heard every word. TMI.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

14 hours ago, matymil said:

The issues you bring up are not Carnival specific. Granted i am a loyal carnival customer but i look at pictures and deck plans for all cruise lines and im pretty sure RCL and others have very similar designs.

Agree. I have been an many ships. Look down from your balcony and you are looking at the balcony below you. As for how many guests on board. I will be going on the Mardi Gras for Halloween. I have cruised on Royals Harmony of the seas with over 6000 guests. 90% of the time you are almost by yourself because of the size of the ship. Loved it.

[john91498]

uh, Carnival ships don't excite you...go back to rcl...

[crewsweeper]

There's a reason fleets have different sizes of ships.  Some cruisers like big , some small, some medium.  Some just want to relax, others need tons of things to do.  Don't like what a ship/cruise lines offers?  Don't sail on them.  

 

DW likes big ships, 7-8 day cruises,  We've been on all the Dream Class, 2 of the 3 Vista class, heading to the Mardi Gras.  But also sailed the Imagination, Legend, Liberty and Valor.  For RCL we've been on the Freedom, Oasis, Symphony, heading for the Harmony then Odyssey.

[cruise77]

I have sailed on Mardi Gras and had more privacy on my balcony then any other.  Its a great ship.

[ARcruisin2]

 18 hours ago, grinthock said:

Who's idea was it to "bevel" or "multi level" the ship where lower decks - stick out - further than the decks above it?

 

have you seen  the new MSC ships?

[ColeThornton]

Personally I think that all mega ships, regardless of line, are butt ugly.  They bear little resemblance to a ship and are basically just floating apartment buildings/hotels/amusement parks.

 

But...they sure are fun!    🙂

[Florings]

Thankfully, there's a ship for every taste!   From the smallest to mega ships.  I love the Carnival Paradise, but a lot of people don't because there are no bells & whistles.  It's one of my favorites.  

 

I also enjoy the Conquest class with the stadium-style Lido deck.  That's a big plus when it's time for Dive In Movies, lots more seating.

 

I do think it's hard to really know if a particular ship would suit you unless you actually sail on it?...

[bstel]

1 hour ago, crewsweeper said:

There's a reason fleets have different sizes of ships.  Some cruisers like big , some small, some medium. 

not really.  the reasons they have different size ships is due to the general evolution of the ships.  Ships always are getting bigger and they keep the old ships until they are no longer economical. No major cruise line are actively building different size class ships.  Due to Covid Fantasy class is almost gone, then Spirit will be next on the chopping block, and so on.

[Dylobs]

1 hour ago, bstel said:

not really.  the reasons they have different size ships is due to the general evolution of the ships.  Ships always are getting bigger and they keep the old ships until they are no longer economical. No major cruise line are actively building different size class ships.  Due to Covid Fantasy class is almost gone, then Spirit will be next on the chopping block, and so on.

I would disagree, here.

 

While this may be the current observational trend from Carnival, lines like NCL and RCI are actively building ships smaller than their predecessors - and sometimes at the same time. 

 

In NCL's case we have the Prima to look forward to, which is smaller than the Breakaway-Plus class and even a smidge smaller than the Breakaway class. With RCI the Quantum class and even newer Quantum-Plus classes are still noticeably smaller than their Oasis class counterparts, although ships like Wonder of the Seas continue to be built.

 

I think the big picture is that smaller ships can be just as economical and evolutionary as bigger ships, and that cruise lines are willing to experiment with all kinds of different sizes to achieve the experience and profit that is best for them.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Dylobs

[sprint180]

I've been on ships before with beveled balconies.  Not sure which brand Carnival, NCL, RCCL, or Princess.  Didn't bother me.  In fact when everyone was on their balconies it was quite fun.  I'm 99% I will never go on the Mardi Gras but from what I've seen it looks like a fun ship.  Don't just assume you will not like something you might be wrong.

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

3 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

There's a reason fleets have different sizes of ships.  Some cruisers like big , some small, some medium.  Some just want to relax, others need tons of things to do.  Don't like what a ship/cruise lines offers?  Don't sail on them.  

 

DW likes big ships, 7-8 day cruises,  We've been on all the Dream Class, 2 of the 3 Vista class, heading to the Mardi Gras.  But also sailed the Imagination, Legend, Liberty and Valor.  For RCL we've been on the Freedom, Oasis, Symphony, heading for the Harmony then Odyssey.

You are correct. We love the older ships just because they are more nautical like a ship should be. Not such a cold atmosphere. The older ones have that cozy warm feeling. They all all making it to the grave yard, sad to say.

[SNJCruisers]

14 hours ago, bstel said:

 Ships always are getting bigger....No major cruise line are actively building different size class ships. 

There is an exception....NCL.  They built 2 ships in the Breakaway Class @ 145K tons, then 4 ships in the Breakaway Plus Class @ 167K tons and now they are building the first in the Prima Class @ 142.5K tons.   The Prima will be a game changer for them similar to how the Mardi Gras is for Carnival.

 

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

17 hours ago, bstel said:

not really.  the reasons they have different size ships is due to the general evolution of the ships.  Ships always are getting bigger and they keep the old ships until they are no longer economical. No major cruise line are actively building different size class ships.  Due to Covid Fantasy class is almost gone, then Spirit will be next on the chopping block, and so on.

I doubt spirit goes anywhere for a very long time, They almost always do Alaska and Panama trips due to their size and they also service Tampa Florida who’s bridge has a height restriction they aren’t just about to abandon a market like that. 

[Frank12]

2 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

I doubt spirit goes anywhere for a very long time, They almost always do Alaska and Panama trips due to their size and they also service Tampa Florida who’s bridge has a height restriction they aren’t just about to abandon a market like that. 

I hope you are right.  Spirit class is by far my favorite. We've sailed on them all!