Beagle's Party on the Mardi!!! (Review w/Pics)

[Beagleluv6107]

On 12/16/2021 at 2:55 PM, SNJCruisers said:

I personally would choose a hotel near MCO and then get a shuttle the following morning directly to the ship.  Hotels near the airport will be half the price as in Cocoa Beach and you can just use Uber Eats for dinner delivery.  We're staying at the Wingate at MCO for 97 in February and then getting a private shuttle for 80 bucks to take us to the ship the following morning, picking us up at 845 am.

Hey SJN,

I hear ya and we did that the last cruise from Port Canaveral. This time we were arriving at 10am and we wanted beach and fun. It turned out to be the best first day!!! And we knew going in that prices would be high by the beach. Look at our sunny 75 forecast. 

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

Ok, where was I? Oh yes. We had a drink at the Riki Tiki and then decided we would hang out at the hotel until it was time to find a place for dinner.

 

There is a little convenience store right by the pier where you could buy a few beers. I think DH got a 12 pack of Modelo and the other boys bought some Bud Light. The girls took a walk to go shopping and the rest of us hung out on the balcony.

 

For dinner, we found a cool place called the Fish Camp Grill.

Coor’s Lights were only $3.50 whoo-hoo.

 

 

I had the Fried Green Tomatoes Caprese, and DH had red beans and rice, and wings. Everything was pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed up until 10.

Everybody was fading and we knew we had a big day coming up. 

 

Up Next... We finally board the Mardi Gras!!

[Jamman54]

Great start to your review! A trip to the pier and the Riki Tiki Bar is a must for us when cruising out of Port Canaveral. Looking forward to your views of the Mardi Gras. We are doing a B2B on her in April. 😎

[stellarose]

on the edge of my seat. 

[mac21902]

On 12/16/2021 at 2:43 AM, SNJCruisers said:

Ditto. B2B in February

Ditto ditto. I'm on MG in January.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, mac21902 said:

Ditto ditto. I'm on MG in January.

Make sure you don't eat all of the sandwiches at Big Chicken or empty the bar at the two tiered Tiki or the Fortune Teller.

[NutsAboutGolf]

16 hours ago, Beagleluv6107 said:

Up Next... We finally board the Mardi Gras!!

 

Great review, quick question, did you or anyone in your party have the internet and if so, if anyone had an iPhone, could they send/receive regular (green) text messages?  I understand you can send iMessages (blue) no problem

[Guest BasicSailor]

On 12/16/2021 at 7:52 PM, Beagleluv6107 said:

We did notice a sign that said “end of the pier go thru this hallway”. Once we were on the other side, we saw there was a bar at the very end. Well now …  that’s what we wanted this whole time!!

 

Of course, we stopped and had another drink just because! And we needed better pics! I highly recommend walking all the way out here to the Riki Tiki if you come to the Cocoa Beach Pier.

 

 

 

 

 

Brought back memories shared on the Cocoa Beach pier 

[Beagleluv6107]

17 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Great start to your review! A trip to the pier and the Riki Tiki Bar is a must for us when cruising out of Port Canaveral. Looking forward to your views of the Mardi Gras. We are doing a B2B on her in April. 😎

 

Hey Jamman,

You two are just going to LOVE your back to back!!!  Thanks for following along!

[Beagleluv6107]

45 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Great review, quick question, did you or anyone in your party have the internet and if so, if anyone had an iPhone, could they send/receive regular (green) text messages?  I understand you can send iMessages (blue) no problem

 

Hi there,

I"m glad you asked about the internet. I think the plan we bought was "The Value" plan. We didn't bother to sign up until the first sea day and it still cost the same so I did not save a dime. It was $110. It worked ok but no, I couldn't get a green text to go thru. Just iphone to iphone. Oh, and on that plan I could not get a picture to go thru. 

[Beagleluv6107]

Day 2 – Rise and Shine its Cruise Day!

 

 

 

We were up early and ready to go!! I wanted to check out the free breakfast. They had biscuits & gravy, cereal & yogurt, and juice & coffee. That would have been fine for me, but DH walked to Dunkin. It was a bit too chilly for me to walk in my embarkation attire. He was kind enough to bring me back something. I didn’t really care about food. I wanted on that ship.

 

The hotel did arrange for a shuttle for us, and it was free! Our pickup time was 10:30. The anticipation was killing us all.

 

DH is Platinum and I’m Gold. We were told only he could go in the Platinum line, and I had to go to another line. That was a first. We said “NO!” we were not separating and so the lady reluctantly allowed me to tag along. Our friends were through the whole process of showing your vaccine card and negative test before we were. That turned out to be a reoccurring theme on this trip. I’ll call it “Platinum Perks” don’t always work!"

 

Here’s a pic of the area you show your proof of vaccine and negative test before getting into the security line. I saw this particular Santa all over the ship. He never took the hat off.

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

The only time Platinum helped us was getting Boarding Zone “A03”. The rest of the Squad were all in “B”. Here was my first glimpse… This ship is Massive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, here’s my first step on a ship in over 2 years. Wow!!!

 

 

We ran straight over to the Center Stage Bar and signed up for Cheers and got our Funship. This is a mandatory ritual every sailing!

 

 

We had no idea how long the Squad was going to be. Turns out… not long. They walked right in and wanted to go straight to the Muster Station. Wow, I was so impressed with them. We marched right up to the 7^th deck and knocked the Muster Drill right off the to-do list.

[Beagleluv6107]

Then… they wanted that first drink, so we headed to the Lido. Drinks were ordered and pics were taken. It was sunny and beautiful, and we were all in heaven.  Waiting for 2 years really amps up the appreciation.

 

 

Eventually, we got hungry and went to Big Chicken and sat at the Tides Pool Bar. I had the Shaq Attack. It was delicious. I’m glad I enjoyed it because it was the last time I went there for the rest of the cruise.   😥Bummer

 

 

[SNJCruisers]

Have to ask, why did you forego a return visit to Big Chicken over the last six  days?

[Beagleluv6107]

19 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Have to ask, why did you forego a return visit to Big Chicken over the last six  days?

 

I had every intention on getting to Big Chicken at least one more time because it was delicious! I personally just never did get there. I was probably side tracked by a burger ☺️

[Beagleluv6107]

 

We looked at our watches and it was 1:30… time to go drop off our backpacks to the room and see if our luggage had arrived. I decided to be a good wifey and put the backpack on. When I turned around, the backpack knocked DH’s beer right out of his hand.

 

 

UMMMM…. Sorry Love, My Bad.  I wish I could report that was my last oops but nah… I’m a bull in China shop… more “mess” ups to come.

 

Our luggage had arrived, so we quickly unpacked, and I took a few pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

No one else was ready to keep it moving so DH asked me what’s next? We were on Deck 12, and I could almost see The Watering Hole from the balcony. I suggested we stop there. I took a picture of the infinity pool along the way. We really enjoyed sitting there but, we would quickly learn that when the boat is at sea, this is not the best hang out spot. The wind was always whipping you off your seat or the drink right out of your hand. That moment was the first and last time I got to enjoy The Watering Hole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met Robert, a brewer from Guys Pig & Anchor. He gives tours. We often walked thru the area while he was telling a group all about brewing beer onboard. The bartender also shut the bar down for a few minutes because of the safety briefing. I wasn’t expecting this because of the new way we do the muster drill. It only lasted about 15 minutes.

[Beagleluv6107]

The gang joined us, and we went to the Lido for the Sail Away Party. I snapped a few pictures. It looks crowded, but I’ve been in worse, so this didn’t bother me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

We were all signed up the 6PM Dining Time but that was changed to 5:30. I never heard why. Yuly and Giede were our servers for the week. I don’t know how we managed this but we had a corner table #380 tucked away from everyone up against the glass. It was an OMG we got the best table here moment. We went there every night. We were NOT gonna miss out on that table and that view to go anywhere different for dinner!

 

 

 

This is a lousy picture but gives you an idea

 

I had the bacon drippings to go with my bread. I didn't snap a pic, but I highly recommend that! I also had the quesadilla and Mahi Mahi

 

 

 

 

 

and finally ... drumroll please... the CMC.

 

DH had the brisket.

 

 

[Beagleluv6107]

We went to the Fortune Teller Bar to kill time while waiting for the comedy show to start.

 

 

I haven’t made it to the Alchemy Bar on the past 2 cruises so we took a quick trip up the steps to check it out. I have been hearing good things about the Cucumber Sunrise, so I gave it a try. I wasn’t expecting it to taste like a sugared cucumber. It wasn’t my favorite drink but, I’m tough… I didn’t waste it!

 

 

We made our way to the Punchliner and watched Happy Cole. He’s one of my favorites from years ago. I enjoyed the show.

 

 

We went to the Pig & Anchor for 1 more after the show. 

 

 

Eventually we made our way to get some pizza and it was almost midnight.

Whew, what a day!!!! 

 

I forgot all about taking a picture before eating and fell peacefully asleep. Either that or passed out… maybe I just peacefully passed out.

 

Up Next – First Sea Day!

[Beagleluv6107]

On 12/16/2021 at 9:29 PM, cruises42 said:

Do you mind saying how much you paid for Orlando Transfer? We need to book transportation for our May Mardi Gras cruise.

 

Hey Cruises42.

They quoted $150 one way and they require a $30 tip so basically $180. We split the cost between us and that helped. It really worked out great. Have a wonderful time on your May Cruise!

[cruises42]

8 hours ago, Beagleluv6107 said:

 

Hey Cruises42.

They quoted $150 one way and they require a $30 tip so basically $180. We split the cost between us and that helped. It really worked out great. Have a wonderful time on your May Cruise!

Thanks! Enjoying your review! Have fun!

[RhinoMomIL]

On 12/16/2021 at 1:55 PM, SNJCruisers said:

I personally would choose a hotel near MCO and then get a shuttle the following morning directly to the ship.  Hotels near the airport will be half the price as in Cocoa Beach and you can just use Uber Eats for dinner delivery.  We're staying at the Wingate at MCO for 97 in February and then getting a private shuttle for 80 bucks to take us to the ship the following morning, picking us up at 845 am.

Which shuttle company are you using? We are a party of 4 sailing in March and I'm trying to figure out our different options and shared shuttle vs private. 

[RhinoMomIL]

3 minutes ago, RhinoMomIL said:

Which shuttle company are you using? We are a party of 4 sailing in March and I'm trying to figure out our different options and shared shuttle vs private. 

NVM I just saw your post with the specifics. I will be calling Cruise Control. 

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, RhinoMomIL said:

Which shuttle company are you using? We are a party of 4 sailing in March and I'm trying to figure out our different options and shared shuttle vs private. 

Cruise Control Transportation.  Owner is Corey.  Google ranking 4.9/5.0.  Shared is 20 pp, but since you have 4 people, you can get private for 100.  We are using them for private on the front end for 80 since there are only two of us and shared on the back end for 20 pp.