Carnival Mardi Gras current status/advice?

[tx121]

We will hopefully be sailing on the Mardi Gras on Jan 22nd. Right now we are planning on going but would like to know what kind of "atmosphere " to expect during these "omicron" times. To those who have cruised recently, have all the shows / entertainment gone on? Are the pool decks filled with empty loungers? Do you notice a decrease in capacity?

 

I thought chibang and cucina del Capitano was included in the cruise fare but when I go on the Carnival website, it says additional charge. Can anyone confirm if those venues are still complimentary? 

 

Most importantly, what are the must dos on the Mardi Gras? 

 

We are very easy going people and as long as we make stops in 2 of the 3 ports we will be happy. Just praying not 7 days at sea 😳😳.any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Edited January 11, 2022 by tx121

[stevepra]

We were on Mardi Gras last week. We were about 80% capacity.

 

All of the shows and entertainment were on. 

I was surprised at times that there were a bunch of open chairs by the pool. But, we don't lounge by the pool much so I can't tell how often that occured.

Chibang and cucina were included, but I have no idea when that will stop being the case

 

 

[pblack]

I'm on the same cruise. Thanks for asking these questions!

[Pellaz]

3 hours ago, tx121 said:

We will hopefully be sailing on the Mardi Gras on Jan 22nd. Right now we are planning on going but would like to know what kind of "atmosphere " to expect during these "omicron" times. To those who have cruised recently, have all the shows / entertainment gone on? Are the pool decks filled with empty loungers? Do you notice a decrease in capacity?

We sailed in October and everything was open, but with omicron really hitting cruise ship crews hard across all lines, there is a good chance that some events will be cancelled and venues might be closed.   

Our cruise was at around 70% capacity and lines were usually short except for the comedy shows and late-night (after 10 pm) pizza.  

 

3 hours ago, tx121 said:

 

I thought chibang and cucina del Capitano was included in the cruise fare but when I go on the Carnival website, it says additional charge. Can anyone confirm if those venues are still complimentary? 

They are still complimentary.  If you have Your Time Dining then they are officially part of your evening dining experience -- and your Sign and Sail card will even say so.  🙂  

 

3 hours ago, tx121 said:

 

Most importantly, what are the must dos on the Mardi Gras? 

The Bolt Coaster was a lot of fun.  For $15 you get to go around two laps, and it was a no-brainer since we all had OBC anyway.  I also enjoyed the body slides and the splash zone; when it comes to water I'm a big kid at heart.  Also enjoyed the aft pools (Summers Landing and the aft Lido pool) since they were quieter than the main midships pool.  

 

Food-wise we really enjoyed Cucina for dinner and ate there twice.  I also ate at Chibang! for their stir-fry hibachi lunch option (there is also a regular menu) and it was as good as the stir-fry on Vista and Magic.   (Sadly, the Cucina and Chibang! are only open on sea-days for lunch, and not on embark day. 😞 )   

Shaq's Big Chicken was good, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the options at Street Eats -- offerings change each day -- and the shawarma station on Lido Deck.  

The seating area for Guy's Burger Joint was greatly expanded AND there's a queueing area, which is a most welcome change.  

Don't miss out on sea-day brunch in the MDR; it's one of Carnival's best-kept secrets.  And, WE liked our dinners in our assigned MDR; others have cast shade on it.  <shrug>  

Our only dining disappointment was dinner one night at Guy's Smokehouse/Brewhouse; we did not return.  The outside lunch buffet there was great, though, and they also have a small breakfast buffet there that's not well-known.  

DO stop by JavaBlue or Guy's or Piazza Panini and grab a sandwich in the evening for later and put it in your room fridge (which worked well).  After 10 pm your only complimentary dining option is the Pizzeria.  

 

[K_e_short]

I was on it Dec 26th - Jan 2nd.

 

I can confirm that Chibang and Cucina is free. You make reservations on the app like the main dining room if you have any time dining.

 

DO THE BOLT!!!! I am scared of heights and roller coasters but did it to say "i went on a roller coaster on a cruise ship."

 

It was crowded in that there was always something going on. I was on the Lido Deck most of the days, once at the Summer Landing pool, and once at the Tides Pool. I could also get a deck chair which is important for me.

 

The others answers are very detailed but to answer in terms of Covid/Omicron. You have to wear a mask inside. Put your mask on as you leave your cabin. Take it off when you are outside. Put it back on when you go back inside. 

That is it.

There is no social distancing. There are no other protocols.

I have amazing cruise. I did not come back with Covid.

[IntrepidFromDC]

There have been a handful of great live reviews about Mardi Gras in general, search for St. Greg Mardi Gras, Sid Mardi Gras, KMom (sorry KMom help me with your handle). 

 

We are sailing with you on 1/22.  I think we all just have to remain flexible and know that we might wind up with all ports canceled or no ports canceled, also might be short-staffed.  It's a Premiere Cruise so expect the casino to be busy with Matilda The Cash Cow and similar silliness.  Someone posted that this week's Mardi Gras cruise was expected to only sail with 900 cruisers.  Lots of people are canceling, I'm just taking the go-with-the-flow approach and hoping 1. we test negative two days prior, and 2. we don't fly down there and stay in a resort for one night only to have the cruise canceled last minute.  If those two things alone go well I promise not to comment on the sub-standard Carnival food... oh, wait a minute! Mardi Gras!  Great food!

[IntrepidFromDC]

2 hours ago, K_e_short said:

I was on it Dec 26th - Jan 2nd.

 

I can confirm that Chibang and Cucina is free. You make reservations on the app like the main dining room if you have any time dining.

 

DO THE BOLT!!!! I am scared of heights and roller coasters but did it to say "i went on a roller coaster on a cruise ship."

K_e, we have anytime dining.  Will you please rank the dinnertime options based on your experience?

 

Does any part of the Bolt ride actually swing out over the water?

 

Thanks.

[TBBucman]

Just off the Mardi Gras last week for the 3rd time, finally tried Emeril's. Red beans & rice for $3.00 was delicious. Beignets in the morning were $5.00, nice with coffee. Steakhouse was well worth the $38.00, don't forget if you book it the 1st night, free bottle of wine or 1/2 off a bottle. Pro tip, get the Caymus! 🍇🍷👍

[K_e_short]

9 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

K_e, we have anytime dining.  Will you please rank the dinnertime options based on your experience?

 

Does any part of the Bolt ride actually swing out over the water?

 

Thanks.

 

Cucina had the best food, followed by Chibang because there were so many options, the main dining room is o.k depending on the menu.

We did two upcharge places:

The sushi was awesome. Really good selection of options. The seafood shack had great food but it took almost 30 minutes each time I ordered something, which was not acceptable.

 

I think you can search online for videoes of the roller coaster. There may even be a go pro video. 

I don't think it does but it goes up and down and goes fast.

[jamie717]

16 hours ago, Pellaz said:

They are still complimentary.  If you have Your Time Dining then they are officially part of your evening dining experience -- and your Sign and Sail card will even say so.  🙂 

We have assigned dining, does this impact the availability to us? I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly. 😐

[tpmartin]

20 hours ago, tx121 said:

We will hopefully be sailing on the Mardi Gras on Jan 22nd. Right now we are planning on going but would like to know what kind of "atmosphere " to expect during these "omicron" times. To those who have cruised recently, have all the shows / entertainment gone on? Are the pool decks filled with empty loungers? Do you notice a decrease in capacity?

 

I thought chibang and cucina del Capitano was included in the cruise fare but when I go on the Carnival website, it says additional charge. Can anyone confirm if those venues are still complimentary? 

 

Most importantly, what are the must dos on the Mardi Gras? 

 

We are very easy going people and as long as we make stops in 2 of the 3 ports we will be happy. Just praying not 7 days at sea 😳😳.any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

We are also on the Mardi Gras with you...

We were upgrade to a full suite as the current occupancy rate on the 1/22 cruise is 44% what they told us when they upgraded and said lots of cancelations pouring in for all ships.

 

[wareaglefan444]

 

We have assigned dining, does this impact the availability to us? I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly. 😐

 

i was on in October, if I remember right, if you had assigned dining, you had to wait until 8:00 PM, for Cucina and chibang, but you could eat anytime for guys pig and anchor

Edited January 12, 2022 by wareaglefan444

[stellarose]

was on new years.  hit or miss with masks. most yes.  many nose violators.  just be safe yourself.  miss my salad bar at serenity. 

[K_e_short]

5 hours ago, jamie717 said:

We have assigned dining, does this impact the availability to us? I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly. 😐

 

If you have assigned dining you are only allowed to make reservations in the app after 745pm for Cucina and Chibang.

 

I had anytime dining so I could book my reservation any time after 5:30pm for either the main dining room, or Cuchine, or Chibang.

 

And when I say reservation I mean going in the app and booking a table and by the time I went from my room to the restaurant the table was ready.

[Pellaz]

13 hours ago, jamie717 said:

We have assigned dining, does this impact the availability to us? I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly. 😐

 

As others have stated, with assigned dining you can't make a reservation at Chibang or the Cucina until 7:30-8:00...I thought it was 7:30 but others differ. 🙂    There are no reservations required at Guy's Pig and Anchor Smokehouse for dinner.  

You might want to change over to YTD if possible unless you truly prefer assigned dining and having the same wait-staff each night (my mom always did 🙂 ).   After all, with YTD you can always go eat when you would have before, but your options are somewhat -- and officially -- expanded with YTD on the Mardi Gras, more so than any other ship in the fleet right now.  

10 hours ago, stellarose said:

was on new years.  hit or miss with masks. most yes.  many nose violators.  just be safe yourself.  miss my salad bar at serenity. 

Oh, yes indeed!  

The salad bar met my exacting requirements to be a good salad bar:  they had green olives as part of the salad bar.  😄  

Now if only they could install a windbreak so the lettuce isn't flying all over Serenity.  🙂  

 

8 hours ago, K_e_short said:

And when I say reservation I mean going in the app and booking a table and by the time I went from my room to the restaurant the table was ready.

 

It was that way for us in October, and probably more so now with ships at lower capacities due to cancellations.  We had a short wait -- 15 minutes -- on the first cruise elegant night in our MDR (the aft dining room,  for us; this varies between sailings), but that was it.  

[Pellaz]

On 1/11/2022 at 11:16 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

K_e, we have anytime dining.  Will you please rank the dinnertime options based on your experience?

I'll toss in our experiences there also.  For complimentary options, Cucina first, then the MDR, then Chibang!, then Guy's Pig and Anchor.  

The Cucina was actually good enough that my friend John, who is actually from Italy, thought it was great...and we returned on a second night.  We DID conclude that the Nonna's Meatball wasn't as good as John's meatballs.  Sorry, Nonna!

We liked our MDR food fine and we ended up getting a really good wait-crew on our second visit, so we asked for them thereafter.  Naturally we rewarded them on the last night.  

I'll slot Chibang third because, although we never got there for dinner, it probably couldn't have been worse than Guy's was for us.  (My stir-fry bowl for lunch at Chibang was one of the best meals I had on the entire cruise, though.  Don't miss going there on a sea-day.)  

Guy's...is loud.  There was a band -- with horns! -- performing on the stage there so we asked to be seated over in the Heroes Bar section, which was a bit quieter.  Service was a bit sluggish thereafter but we were okay with that; it was the food that was either mis-plated (wrong items on the wrong plates) or so heavily carbonized -- burnt -- that my friend John couldn't spear his order of ribs with a fork.  When we showed the maitre'd he apologized and took a photo of the offending charcoal to shame the chef.  😮   

It was especially puzzling because, like Chibang, you fill out an order card.  Then, at Guy's, they bring it to you from a buffet setup on the other side of the restaurant.  Seems like it would be hard to get an order wrong, but...they got several wrong.  Mine was plated correctly and tasted good, but with so many problems, we did not return.  

 

On 1/11/2022 at 11:16 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

Does any part of the Bolt ride actually swing out over the water?

Yes, as I recall it swings out very briefly over the water.  

I really enjoyed it, and I got to ride it twice because my "cycle" got stuck and they kindly let me go again.  (The really nice attendant said it happens a few times per week.)   

As you walk up the stairs to the Bolt, see if you notice something a bit different on the staircase to your left.  🙂  

 

[Lem_On_Ade]

We're on this cruise also, and just last night decided to throw caution to the wind and sail (pending negative covid tests next Thursday).