Carnival Mardi Gras - Trip Review

[K_e_short]

Well I am home and wanted to share with everyone my experience with going on the Carnival Mardi Gras during Covid.

 

It was my 14 year old son and I, flying Ottawa to Orlando, Dec 26th - Jan 2nd (please note the holidays in there as that affected some of the things that happened)

 

I am a very organized traveller and had a binder with all the documents I needed. This was the list of documents that I printed out:

 

vaccination documents, both the Canadian one with the QR code and the individual ones with the Ontario logo, antigen tests, boarding documents, car insurance information, printed out info from the government website, parking information, car rental info, and list of emergency contacts.

 

I booked our antigen test at Shoppers 3 weeks before hand as that is when the appointments showed up. We went in and although had to wait because there were people getting antigen tests, pcr tests for actual covid, booster shots, and flu shots (it was sa bit of a zoo), the test and results took less then 5 minutes.

 

The next day we got on our flight. Now that was an experience I never want to experience EVER EVER EVER again. We were supposed to leave at 8:15am and get into Orlando at 11:35am. Our flight was delayed because of weather. There was no bad weather. I am convinced that there was no staff to take us at Orlando. We finally left and landed at 1:25pm.

 

I will note that the final boarding time was 3pm for our ship. We decided to board the plane and if we missed the ship we'd have a week in Florida. This was very important because this is what you need to do when travelling - you need a Plan B, C, etc.

 

We did make our ship. Luggage arrived at 2:15pm and we got to the port at 3:05pm.

 

Now the cruise was awesome. Did everyone wear a mask? No. Did everyone social distance? No. But most people were good and I felt safe as I knew that everyone was vaccinated and had gotten a negative antigen test. My 14 year old was even more relaxed about the situation and said that at school they are just as close, eating in a classroom for lunch, and not everyone there is vaccinated.

 

I am not making excuses for those that were not following the rules, but explaining that being on the ship was like being in Ottawa. (I get out of my car at Bayshore, put on a mask as I enter the mall. I walk around trying to social distance but people are oblivious. I go eat at the food court and take my mask off, hopefully surronded by vaccinated people as those are the rules).

 

Our flight home was much better. We arrived at the Orlando airport and made our way to the testing facility.

 

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!!! The line up for those without appointments was about 400 people long. No that is not a typo. It went all the way from the clinic down the hall and turned down another hall. 

 

The appointments open up 13 days ahead of time and I stayed up until midnight to log in and book an appointment.

 

The line up for appointments was about 40 people long and someone came out and gave us forms based on our appointment times. We filled out the forms, went in and paid, went back out to wait for the test, went back in and got tested.

She said the results would take 1 hour and 10 minutes. We got tested at 10:15am (our appointments were at 9:30 and 9:50am) and needed to check our bags by 11:50am.

Our results showed up at 10:50am. We tested negative.

 

Now I will say that there were 3 other Canadian families on this cruise and two of them had one positive test. One has already been mentioned as the one that was told she had to go to a CDC hotel for 14 days. That was not the case. She was just sent off the ship to do whatever. The other person is at a hotel in Orlando trying to figure out a way home to B.C.

 

The first family was tested on the ship (unvaccinated child) and said there were over 200 positive cases. The ship had 5200 passengers and 1700 staff. News reports said there was an outbreak. She was angry and upset about all the positive cases. I'm not sure what to say other then I had a plan in place if I tested positive (drive home with a car rental).

 

We then had to check in for ou flight as they would not give us luggage tags and confirm our boarding passes until that time.

 

I filled out the ArriveCan app beforehand and submitted it before boarding the plane.

 

We landed and we were told we'd be getting an arrival PCR test.  They said that over 75% of the passengers would be tested and of course I was on a cruise and in two different countries so I knew I'd be tested. I was hoping not but yeah.

 

I had already made an account online with Switch Health, the company doing the testing, and had added my son to the account. The line up was long but we were given our testing kit and got the test right at the Ottawa Airport. The forms they gave us did not say we had to self isolate until our test results but we were verbally told we had to stay home. Results will come in 16 - 48 hours, emailed to me.

 

After the pcr test (5th test in a week if I'm counting - we did a test on the 24th to make sure we didn't have Covid, 25th travel antigen test, Jan 1st antigen test in cabin to make sure we hadn't caught Covid, Jan 2nd morning PCR test, and then evening PCR test in Ottawa.)

 

Would I do it again? Yes! I would not fly in the day of though. That will never happen again.

 

My son had a great time. He met friends. They hung out. He got to do normal 14 year old things that he has not been able to do for 2 years. They all wore masks when inside. They took their masks off outside but at least I knew all his friends were vaccinated.

 

I had a lovely time. I sat at the pool every day. I didn't have to wear a mask outside. I put on a mask inside just like at home.

 

Oh and the best part of the cruise was that I won at the casino. $12500!!!! That meant I had to go through secondary on the way home because I had to fill out a form to say I was bringing in more then $10000 CAD. My son and I joked we should be on the Border Security show.

 

I am more then happy to answer any questions, or describe things in more detail.

 

[broberts]

I don't think my heart could tolerate your travel down experience. At the very least I'd be a complete wreck.

[canadianbear]

Wow, it’s so good you are a very organized person with a backup plan too.  Well done!

So glad you had a great holiday-much needed I’m sure.  And so great  your son met people and had fun too.  
 

It would cause me too much stress going through all that so I applaud you for doing it.  Thank you for your details too.  Welcome back.  

[K_e_short]

20 minutes ago, broberts said:

I don't think my heart could tolerate your travel down experience. At the very least I'd be a complete wreck.

 

A few years ago I would have had a meltdown but Covid has taught me to take a breath, think, and then think of options.

Inside I was still crying and screaming, but on the outside I was like "o.k so we fly to Orlando. We get a car. Oo we can go to Key West. Oo we can go to Miami. Ooo maybe go to Disney."

 

 

[K_e_short]

8 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

Wow, it’s so good you are a very organized person with a backup plan too.  Well done!

So glad you had a great holiday-much needed I’m sure.  And so great  your son met people and had fun too.  
 

It would cause me too much stress going through all that so I applaud you for doing it.  Thank you for your details too.  Welcome back.  

 

I've had some very stressful travel events before Covid, so I put things in perspective that it's not just Covid that can cause stress.

 

We did a cruise to Alaska and the only thing I wanted to do was take a helicopter to a glacier to go dog sledding. They delayed our time about 4 times because of fog and at one point if they delayed too long we wouldn't be able to go because our ship was leaving.

We once chose to give up our airplane seats and stay overnight, but forgot that we hadn't packed anything in our carryons for overnight.

 

[TOCruisers]

WOW. 

One.  Our Anthem was also 3 pm cut off originally (postponed to 5 pm) and I just could not do the same day, The last time we went to Florida for a cruise in 2018, we missed the AC flight  departure time due to an EXTREMELY slow immigration line.  Fortunately, AC was waiting for us as well as a quite few other connecting flight passengers. also stuck at the immigration.

Two.  You won $12,000?  I counted zeros to make sure, and that is USD right?  Congratulations.   

Thank you for the review.  I noticed more and more are doing pre self testing on board.  We were also mentally prepared to drive back to Buffalo if one of us was positive and if RCL did not send us back on a jet.

[canadianbear]

@K_e_short I remember a few years back I took our daughter on a mother/daughter partial Panama cruise.  There was a medical emergency and we were told we might not make it back to our final port on time.  I took a deep breath and told our daughter not to worry.  If we didn’t make it we’d get a hotel and rebook airfare.  Inside I was worried but figured, not much I could do and I had a good high limit on my credit card to use if necessary!  Ship did make it back & we made it to the airport & our long flight home.  Whew!

[Noodles84]

Lucky you with the casino win, as not many people seem to do well there. So what happens in secondary?  Do you have to pay taxes on anything over $10,000 Cdn? Thanks for your descriptive tale of your travels. Nicole

[K_e_short]

1 hour ago, TOCruisers said:

WOW. 

One.  Our Anthem was also 3 pm cut off originally (postponed to 5 pm) and I just could not do the same day, The last time we went to Florida for a cruise in 2018, we missed the AC flight  departure time due to an EXTREMELY slow immigration line.  Fortunately, AC was waiting for us as well as a quite few other connecting flight passengers. also stuck at the immigration.

Two.  You won $12,000?  I counted zeros to make sure, and that is USD right?  Congratulations.   

Thank you for the review.  I noticed more and more are doing pre self testing on board.  We were also mentally prepared to drive back to Buffalo if one of us was positive and if RCL did not send us back on a jet.

 

Students in Ontario were given antigen tests to do over the break. My husband bought 2 more boxes. We brought 6 along and used two the day before.

I know it wouldn't have changed anything. I did the testing in the evening, so if I tested positive I would be fine staying in my room until debarkation.

 

 

[K_e_short]

59 minutes ago, Noodles84 said:

Lucky you with the casino win, as not many people seem to do well there. So what happens in secondary?  Do you have to pay taxes on anything over $10,000 Cdn? Thanks for your descriptive tale of your travels. Nicole

 

The rules for entering Canada state that if you have more then $10000 CAD you need to declare it.

I didn't have to pay taxes. It was more to declare it to prove I wasn't a drug dealer, or laundering money.

I was the only one there and they just filled out a document and I signed it.

 

I will say that I also did not have to pay taxes on the winnings. In a U.S. based casino anything over $1200 is taxed. If you are non American you get the money back or don't pay it? (I used to remember the system but I may be wrong).

I guess the rules are different for cruise casinos.

 

 

 

[rodndonna]

8 hours ago, K_e_short said:

 

The rules for entering Canada state that if you have more then $10000 CAD you need to declare it.

I didn't have to pay taxes. It was more to declare it to prove I wasn't a drug dealer, or laundering money.

I was the only one there and they just filled out a document and I signed it.

 

I will say that I also did not have to pay taxes on the winnings. In a U.S. based casino anything over $1200 is taxed. If you are non American you get the money back or don't pay it? (I used to remember the system but I may be wrong).

I guess the rules are different for cruise casinos.

 

 

 

 

So, just to be clear, for when I win at the Casino (someday .. maybe ... I hope)...🤔

 

Did you have to take your casino winnings in cash? Do you just get a $12000 US "wad of cash" to carry back? No cheque  option?

 

 

[K_e_short]

33 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

So, just to be clear, for when I win at the Casino (someday .. maybe ... I hope)...🤔

 

Did you have to take your casino winnings in cash? Do you just get a $12000 US "wad of cash" to carry back? No cheque  option?

 

 

 

Yes they gave me cash.

I was a little nervous the rest of the trip but we always use the safe for our travel documents so just put it in there.

I never even asked if I could have a cheque. Everyone else who won got cash as well.

 

So yes I had a wad of cash that I carried home. 

 

Now one funny thing is I thought it was $10000 USD. I used cash to pay off my bill, which was mainly the money I had spent at the casino. I thought I was good until I filled out the questionnaire when landing and it said $10000 CAD. 

 

This is only my 2nd huge win at the casino and I've been gambling for years.

I used my last winnings to buy a lazy boy recliner and a trip to Las Vegas and Florida.

I'm sure we are all poor in cash because of our travels.

When I won I posted on my social media that my next 3 cruises are paid off 🙂

Edited January 3, 2022 by K_e_short

[gubby]

Thanks for the information. Like you, I try to be super-organized as it helps keep stress in check. Happy to hear you and your son had such a great time. Winning some cash was a great bonus! Everything seemed to work out after the early delays, and allowed the two of you to enjoy the cruise. Welcome back to winter!

[MamatoJack]

That is a nice win, and thank you for the review. 

 

Normally, if you win in the US you have to pay taxes to the US but I believe a cruise is not considered in the US, which is why casinos are often not open when docked. You will not owe anything in Canada, we don't tax most lottery or casino winnings.

[K_e_short]

4 minutes ago, MamatoJack said:

That is a nice win, and thank you for the review. 

 

Normally, if you win in the US you have to pay taxes to the US but I believe a cruise is not considered in the US, which is why casinos are often not open when docked. You will not owe anything in Canada, we don't tax most lottery or casino winnings.

 

I also heard that the machines aren't regulated as they are in the states, in terms of win/loss ratios.

[Fouremco]

13 hours ago, K_e_short said:

We then had to check in for ou flight as they would not give us luggage tags and confirm our boarding passes until that time.

 

I filled out the ArriveCan app beforehand and submitted it before boarding the plane.

Thank you for the review and congrats on the casino win!

 

A quick question on process. From the couple of paragraphs I've quoted, it appears that you were able to check in and only later submit your ArriveCAN information, before boarding. As you normally have to show you ArriveCAN receipt as part of the check in process, was this an anomaly with the Orlando airport or have I misread what you've written?

[K_e_short]

21 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Thank you for the review and congrats on the casino win!

 

A quick question on process. From the couple of paragraphs I've quoted, it appears that you were able to check in and only later submit your ArriveCAN information, before boarding. As you normally have to show you ArriveCAN receipt as part of the check in process, was this an anomaly with the Orlando airport or have I misread what you've written?

 

Great question.

 

I was able to "check in" online with Air Canada but wasn't able to actually get my boarding passes or luggage tags until I showed my negative PCR test.

 

People were being told to come back to check in after they have their actual copy of the pcr test.

 

I never showed my ArriveCan app code to anyone at Air Canada.

 

 

[Prismanet]

17 hours ago, K_e_short said:

Well I am home and wanted to share with everyone my experience with going on the Carnival Mardi Gras during Covid.

 

It was my 14 year old son and I, flying Ottawa to Orlando, Dec 26th - Jan 2nd (please note the holidays in there as that affected some of the things that happened)

 

I am a very organized traveller and had a binder with all the documents I needed. This was the list of documents that I printed out:

 

vaccination documents, both the Canadian one with the QR code and the individual ones with the Ontario logo, antigen tests, boarding documents, car insurance information, printed out info from the government website, parking information, car rental info, and list of emergency contacts.

 

I booked our antigen test at Shoppers 3 weeks before hand as that is when the appointments showed up. We went in and although had to wait because there were people getting antigen tests, pcr tests for actual covid, booster shots, and flu shots (it was sa bit of a zoo), the test and results took less then 5 minutes.

 

The next day we got on our flight. Now that was an experience I never want to experience EVER EVER EVER again. We were supposed to leave at 8:15am and get into Orlando at 11:35am. Our flight was delayed because of weather. There was no bad weather. I am convinced that there was no staff to take us at Orlando. We finally left and landed at 1:25pm.

 

I will note that the final boarding time was 3pm for our ship. We decided to board the plane and if we missed the ship we'd have a week in Florida. This was very important because this is what you need to do when travelling - you need a Plan B, C, etc.

 

We did make our ship. Luggage arrived at 2:15pm and we got to the port at 3:05pm.

 

Now the cruise was awesome. Did everyone wear a mask? No. Did everyone social distance? No. But most people were good and I felt safe as I knew that everyone was vaccinated and had gotten a negative antigen test. My 14 year old was even more relaxed about the situation and said that at school they are just as close, eating in a classroom for lunch, and not everyone there is vaccinated.

 

I am not making excuses for those that were not following the rules, but explaining that being on the ship was like being in Ottawa. (I get out of my car at Bayshore, put on a mask as I enter the mall. I walk around trying to social distance but people are oblivious. I go eat at the food court and take my mask off, hopefully surronded by vaccinated people as those are the rules).

 

Our flight home was much better. We arrived at the Orlando airport and made our way to the testing facility.

 

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!!! The line up for those without appointments was about 400 people long. No that is not a typo. It went all the way from the clinic down the hall and turned down another hall. 

 

The appointments open up 13 days ahead of time and I stayed up until midnight to log in and book an appointment.

 

The line up for appointments was about 40 people long and someone came out and gave us forms based on our appointment times. We filled out the forms, went in and paid, went back out to wait for the test, went back in and got tested.

She said the results would take 1 hour and 10 minutes. We got tested at 10:15am (our appointments were at 9:30 and 9:50am) and needed to check our bags by 11:50am.

Our results showed up at 10:50am. We tested negative.

 

Now I will say that there were 3 other Canadian families on this cruise and two of them had one positive test. One has already been mentioned as the one that was told she had to go to a CDC hotel for 14 days. That was not the case. She was just sent off the ship to do whatever. The other person is at a hotel in Orlando trying to figure out a way home to B.C.

 

The first family was tested on the ship (unvaccinated child) and said there were over 200 positive cases. The ship had 5200 passengers and 1700 staff. News reports said there was an outbreak. She was angry and upset about all the positive cases. I'm not sure what to say other then I had a plan in place if I tested positive (drive home with a car rental).

 

We then had to check in for ou flight as they would not give us luggage tags and confirm our boarding passes until that time.

 

I filled out the ArriveCan app beforehand and submitted it before boarding the plane.

 

We landed and we were told we'd be getting an arrival PCR test.  They said that over 75% of the passengers would be tested and of course I was on a cruise and in two different countries so I knew I'd be tested. I was hoping not but yeah.

 

I had already made an account online with Switch Health, the company doing the testing, and had added my son to the account. The line up was long but we were given our testing kit and got the test right at the Ottawa Airport. The forms they gave us did not say we had to self isolate until our test results but we were verbally told we had to stay home. Results will come in 16 - 48 hours, emailed to me.

 

After the pcr test (5th test in a week if I'm counting - we did a test on the 24th to make sure we didn't have Covid, 25th travel antigen test, Jan 1st antigen test in cabin to make sure we hadn't caught Covid, Jan 2nd morning PCR test, and then evening PCR test in Ottawa.)

 

Would I do it again? Yes! I would not fly in the day of though. That will never happen again.

 

My son had a great time. He met friends. They hung out. He got to do normal 14 year old things that he has not been able to do for 2 years. They all wore masks when inside. They took their masks off outside but at least I knew all his friends were vaccinated.

 

I had a lovely time. I sat at the pool every day. I didn't have to wear a mask outside. I put on a mask inside just like at home.

 

Oh and the best part of the cruise was that I won at the casino. $12500!!!! That meant I had to go through secondary on the way home because I had to fill out a form to say I was bringing in more then $10000 CAD. My son and I joked we should be on the Border Security show.

 

I am more then happy to answer any questions, or describe things in more detail.

 

Thanks for this excellent post.

Like you I'm very well organized when I plan a trip. For winter cruises we never fly the same day especially to prevent this type of stress. We always fly prior day and stay at an hotel. Even in summer time it can be challenging (we had been delayed 36 hours from Platsburgh once in July).

Congratulations for your casino win !!! I always love going to casino on cruise when kids and wife are sleeping 🙂 but never had such a win!!!

[K_e_short]

1 minute ago, Prismanet said:

Thanks for this excellent post.

Like you I'm very well organized when I plan a trip. For winter cruises we never fly the same day especially to prevent this type of stress. We always fly prior day and stay at an hotel. Even in summer time it can be challenging (we had been delayed 36 hours from Platsburgh once in July).

Congratulations for your casino win !!! I always love going to casino on cruise when kids and wife are sleeping 🙂 but never had such a win!!!

 

We are cruising out of England on July 10th. We were going to fly in the night of the 9th/morning of the 10th.

The moment the plane took off I said "um we're flying in the 7th or 8th 🙂

[soulsistah007]

Thanks for such an insightful post! Glad to hear you both had a great time and congrats on your winnings!! We're they from playing slots or the tables?

 

We don't go on the Mardi Gras until the Fall. I was hoping covid restrictions wouldn't be in place by the time we sail (we booked last Spring) but I guess we have to start preparing what to do/expect upon traveling so your breakdown and tips give us a good lay of the land. A few other quick questions; after landing in Orlando, did you take a taxi or uber to the port? Was it a fairly easy process? What's your best tip for experiencing the ship (I.e. Best thing to do, eat, see, etc.). 

Edited January 3, 2022 by soulsistah007

[lots-of-km2]

6 hours ago, K_e_short said:

I also heard that the machines aren't regulated as they are in the states, in terms of win/loss ratios.

 

That's true. They aren't regulated at all, in fact, which enables them to be highly profitable.  A former cruise ship casino manager once told me that the win-lose ratios are even programmed to fluctuate over the duration of a cruise -- they're not constant.   

 

Glad that you came out so far ahead  - it must have felt awesome! 

 

And thanks for the excellent post!  

[K_e_short]

2 hours ago, soulsistah007 said:

 A few other quick questions; after landing in Orlando, did you take a taxi or uber to the port? Was it a fairly easy process? What's your best tip for experiencing the ship (I.e. Best thing to do, eat, see, etc.). 

 

We had booked Cocoa Beach Shuttle. It cost $35 per person per way, in US dollars.

 

Unfortunately they could not pick us up until 2:30pm, with a drop off at the port at 3:30pm. Final boarding was 3pm so we took a taxi instead. It cost $140 USD. I had tried Uber but there were no cars avaialible. There were a lot of taxis and the stand was right outside our baggage claim.

 

We did use the shuttle on the way home and we arrived at the airport at 9:15am.

 

I will say that the mask wearing was not that bad and if the restrictions don't change I'd be fine to cruise again. My biggest stress is the test on the way home. Otherwise I'm fine with everything else.

 

I would watch as many videos as possible, and look over the deck plans to learn about the ship. Then make a list of all the things you want to do. Everyone likes to do different things on the ship.

 

I made sure to each at every restaurant at least once. We also booked the Bolt roller coaster the day we got on and booked it for the 1st port day. It was quiet since people were off the ship and it got so windy that there were no more spots within a few days.

I had a drink at the alchemy bar and also had a Bloody Mary (well a ceasar) at the bar at Summer Landing.

I used the app alot and every night during dinner we went through the schedule for the next day to make sure we had favourited the things we wanted to do. I saw the Broadway Beats, Magic Show, and Rock Revolution shows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[K_e_short]

47 minutes ago, lots-of-km2 said:

 

That's true. They aren't regulated at all, in fact, which enables them to be highly profitable.  A former cruise ship casino manager once told me that the win-lose ratios are even programmed to fluctuate over the duration of a cruise -- they're not constant.   

 

Glad that you came out so far ahead  - it must have felt awesome! 

 

And thanks for the excellent post!  

 

They made announcements when someone won a lot of money and there were a lot of winners. The night after I won a woman won over $10000 on 3 jackpots combined.

I wonder how many casino offer cruisers were on my cruise. I am going to assume there was a lot.

I could also be all conspiracy theory and say they increased the chances of winning to counteract the fact that smokers weren't allowed to smoke in the casino, along with the strict masking rules (you can take your mask off to eat or drink on the ship but at the casino you have to sip and cover).

[lots-of-km2]

@K_e_short ,  it's not far-fetched to speculate that your cruise casino tilted the win-lose ratio towards winning to boost passengers'  positive experiences overall -- to counteract not only the smoking ban but also travel-to-ship hurdles and the ever-lurking Covid worries.  In these uncertain times, cruise companies would be foolish not to give a little to build long-term brand loyalty.

 

You came out way ahead, and that's a cherry on top.

Edited January 3, 2022 by lots-of-km2

[Ginnyfyr]

Glad you had a mostly positive experience and are literally the richer for it!