Harmony of the Seas versus the Mardi Gras

[KatieKatie17]

Hi, we just returned from a wonderful cruise on Carnival’s MG last week. We loved the ship and it’s crew. We are planning a trip mid January and comparing the MG to HOTS. We’re married in our mid 40s and no kids will be traveling with us. We loved the beauty of MG, the dining options, comedy shows, and again the dedication of the crew. We have very limited experience on RC (BOTS a few years ago) and extensive experience with Carnival for looking for some perspective.  IF you have been on both ships, which one would you choose to repeat for your next cruise and why? 

[bajathree]

I have not been on MG but have over 20 Oasis class sailings under my belt. Harmony is my least favorite of the Oasis class ships due to not having a pool in the solarium. All the other Oasis class ships have a pool in the solarium. If you liked the size and variety of venues on MG I would try Oasis class....entertainment is best on the seas and huge variety of dining options. It's a far cry from BOTS.

[renza]

I have not been on Mardi Gras and have no desire to go. I have been on carnival many times and after my Aug cruise I will not return. The crowd that is on carnival and the lack of space is the worst. Carnival has very little space and packs in the people. On oasis class ships it never feels crowded after the first day. Entertainment does not even compare between carnival and Royal. The entertainment on oasis class with Aqua show and ice-skating show are over the top. I have to agree that harmony solarium is my least favorite but ship is beautiful like all oasis class. 

[brillohead]

You really can't base your decision on your BOTS experience.  Comparing BOTS to Harmony is like comparing Mayberry to New York City!  LOL  

I have friends who regularly cruise Carnival and Royal both, and the only reason they do Carnival still is the lower price (they have four kids that travel with them).  When it's just the adults cruising (so they only need to get one room), they always choose Royal over Carnival.

I say give Harmony a try, and then you'll know which one best meets YOUR needs.  It's such a subjective thing...

[soremekun]

I'm looking forward to sailing the Mardi Gras in 2022 and 2023.  I have sailed on Harmony and absolutely loved it.  Best ship I have sailed on and am looking forward to my cruises on a couple of other Oasis class ships.

[mafig]

I just read a review of Mardi Gras where the person said that even though the ship was sailing at 40% it still felt crowded.

[matj2000]

There is nothing wrong with either ship. 

 

My suggestion is try Harmony only because you have done the Mardi Gras.

 

Your  issue is:  This is the wrong place to ask because you get a one-sided response.

 

You got die hard loyalist who demonize anyone that even dare compare Carnival to Royal

[zekekelso]

As an RCI person, it’s my obligation to mock Carnival. But my one time sailing on them was hella fun, and those commercials with Kathy Lee were great. Does Carnival still use those?

 

My recommendation would be to sail both, so you can mock both. 

[KatieKatie17]

7 hours ago, soremekun said:

I'm looking forward to sailing the Mardi Gras in 2022 and 2023.  I have sailed on Harmony and absolutely loved it.  Best ship I have sailed on and am looking forward to my cruises on a couple of other Oasis class ships.

Thanks for the perspective on Harmony.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the MG, it's a stunning ship with well thought out details, and Carnival certainly brings the fun with that one.

 

7 hours ago, mafig said:

I just read a review of Mardi Gras where the person said that even though the ship was sailing at 40% it still felt crowded.

Last week the ship sailed at a little over 65% of max capacity and more than 80% of double occupancy capacity with 4300 guests.  The ship felt lively, not crowded, IMO. We had anytime dining and for the venues we did not have reservations for we typically waited under 2 minutes after checking in on the app for a table at any venue we visited.  There was always ample space at shows and events.  The capacity was perfection for me.  We met a couple while docked in the Bahamas who said the Celebrity Apex was around 25% capacity and it felt like a ghost ship.  That's not what I'm looking for on a cruise.  

 

6 hours ago, matj2000 said:

There is nothing wrong with either ship. 

 

My suggestion is try Harmony only because you have done the Mardi Gras.

 

Your  issue is:  This is the wrong place to ask because you get a one-sided response.

 

You got die hard loyalist who demonize anyone that even dare compare Carnival to Royal

I don't disagree and it will likely come to that as the deciding factor.  Also agree about one-sided responses, in some cases, so I posted this in both forums and planned to figure out what the real answer was someplace in the middle:-)

 

5 hours ago, zekekelso said:

As an RCI person, it’s my obligation to mock Carnival. But my one time sailing on them was hella fun, and those commercials with Kathy Lee were great. Does Carnival still use those?

 

My recommendation would be to sail both, so you can mock both. 

Love your loyalty and your ultimate recommendation LOL!  I think Carnival has moved on to leveraging Shaq as their Chief Fun Officer.  He was actually on the MG last week before sail away for the naming ceremony, along with Miss Universe (ship's Godmother and she sailed the full cruise), and several others.  I don't know how fun he is but the Chicken Shaq named in his honor is startlingly good!  It would have a real following on land.  

 

Thank you all for your feedback.  I did book the Harmony so hopefully I will also be of some use to someone next year debating the same question. 

[John&LaLa]

@twangster did an extensive review of Mardi Gras

[Dadams2763]

We just got off the Mardi Gras.. first time sailing carnival in 10 years because we prefer rc. Mardi Gras is a beautiful ship and does pack in a lot of fun but we found two main differences.. royal Caribbean room size is far superior.. we booked an ocean suite for mg and it was almost half the width of rc suites. We find the food on rc far superior as well, excluding specialty restaurants.. Rudi’s and steakhouse were great. I’d give harmony a try then you can compare.. we’re booked on her 1/23-30.

Entertainment was great on mg but the variety of shows on rc are better in our opinion.

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Dadams2763

[KatieKatie17]

10 hours ago, Dadams2763 said:

.. we booked an ocean suite for mg and it was almost half the width of rc suites. We find the food on rc far superior as well, excluding specialty restaurants.. Rudi’s and steakhouse were great. I’d give harmony a try then you can compare.. we’re booked on her 1/23-30.

Entertainment was great on mg but the variety of shows on rc are better in our opinion.

 

100% agree! We were in an Ocean Suite on our MG cruise and it was super narrow.  I can't imagine that a standard balcony room could be any more narrow, although the sitting area is nicely appointed.  We also enjoyed Rudi's, the Steakhouse, and Chibang a great deal. 

 

For the record we flip flopped. I remembered my BFF is having a milestone bday party on the 15th and I had booked Harmony on 1/16 which would have led to a miserable process trying to get to PC.  The following week's itinerary didn't appeal to us at all, particularly in Jan, so Royal was kind enough to let us cancel penalty free since it was within 24 hours and we're booked on MG again.  I guess I'm going to have to experience the Oasis class on a future cruise. 

[woneill63]

Eighty percent of the time we cruise on Royal, but sometimes we give other cruise lines a shot, depending on price and itinerary.  We enjoy the difference on other cruise lines and the novelty of trying something new.  I can see us eventually switching over to sailing mostly on Celebrity as we get older.

[dcgrumpy]

I normal sail on RCCL I sailed on Mardi Gras last week. It was only my second Carnival cruise. I didn't care for Magic, but I enjoyed Mardi Gras. I haven't sailed on Harmony but I have sailed on other Oasis Class ships. If the price is similar I would go with Harmony. But I wouldn't hesitate to book Mardi Gras again. I agree with the room size. Our cabin on Mardi Gras was very narrow. OTOH our cabin on magic was larger than cabins I've had on RCCL ships.

 

Comapring the two. I enjoy the quick service options on Mardi Gras especially around the pool.But I think the buffet was terrible, Royal wins hands down. I think the food in the MDR is better on RCCL. We had a great meal at Bonsai sushi on MG and it was very reasonably priced.  I enjoy the shows on RCCL more.Everything seems to shut down earlier on Carnival. Unless you want to go to the casino or "nightclub". If you don't have a drink package drinks are cheaper on Carnival. 

[woneill63]

Interesting, I would think that Carnival would be livelier than Royal in the late evening.  I did Carnival about 6/7 times, all four nighters with the guys, and had fun, especially at the piano bars.  Their drink package is a joke, they limit you to 15 drinks per day.  When we got to 15, we would just find a buddy who wasn't drinking as much and use his card.  My favorite ship was the Victory, until they changed the deck plan and the name.






 

 

[brillohead]

On 11/4/2021 at 7:40 PM, woneill63 said:

Interesting, I would think that Carnival would be livelier than Royal in the late evening.  

Maybe everyone has already passed out / blacked out on Carnival?  LOL

[woneill63]

Perhaps.  I do know one thing, though.  Twice on Carnival, I have personally seen a bartender serve a totally drunk customer a drink.  How could I tell they were drunk ?  Well, they could barely stand up and my friends and I had to escort these two to their stateroom.  On another Carnival cruise, my brother in law had to escort a drunk young man, who had just been served yet another drink by a bartender, to his room, hold his head above the toilet while he threw up, and help him into bed.  

I usually cruise two or three times a year with my friends, always short cruises no longer than four nights.  We have since moved our boy's cruises back to Royal and NCL.