Our Marvelous Mardi Gras B2B (with pics!) - April 23rd, 2022

[Jamman54]

Patti looks down at the Tides Pool and Hot Tubs…..

 

 

 

 

We have left Port Canaveral behind…..

 

 

At this time we went back to our cabin to relax and unpack our bags. We found that there was more than enough storage and space to unpack everything, and the empty suitcases fit easily under the bed.

 

As is our custom now on ships that have them, our first dinner was going to be at Pig & Anchor. You can’t request a table on the Hub App for this venue, so you just show up and check in. When we got there we could see that it was quite busy, so when we got to the desk they told us that it would be a 30 minute wait. We said no problem and they gave us a buzzer.

 

There were a couple of seats open at the bar so we grabbed them and ordered some drinks. Patti took this time to take some more pictures of the Tributes Lounge…..

 

 

 

 

 

It even has its own ice cream machines…..

 

 

Here is the first sunset of our cruise…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The Backyard Band is playing at the Pig & Anchor……

 

 

Our buzzer went off, so we checked back at the desk and we were immediately seated. We ordered, and our meals came fairly quickly. Patti had the cedar plank salmon with mac and cheese, baked beans, and fries…..

 

 

I had the BBQ sirloin, mac and cheese, baked beans, and cole slaw…..

 

 

We both had the apple cobbler for dessert…..

 

 

After dinner, Patti wanted to check out the shops, and I was going to try to go to the 8:30 comedy show at the Punchliner, but the line was crazy long, so I went to the Center Stage Bar and watched the show from there…..

 

 

 

 

 

Patti joined me there for a drink or two, and then we picked up our free water bottles and made our way back to the cabin for the night.

 

Coming up next: A great sea day, Bonsai Teppanyaki, and Jamman on stage!

[Cruise, J.D.]

Can you eat at the bar at the Pig & Anchor?

[Knights on the Beach]

15 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

After dinner, Patti wanted to check out the shops, and I was going to try to go to the 8:30 comedy show at the Punchliner, but the line was crazy long, so I went to the Center Stage Bar and watched the show from there…..

 

In December we loved the bartenders (Melissa and Patcha) at the Center Stage Bar so we watched a lot of the shows while sitting at the bar. 

[sp2]

Well I’m a couple of days late but so glad I stumbled upon this review and we’ve only just boarded (virtually, that is)! Excited to accompany you and Patti through your photos and great writing style! This is going to be an awesome two weeks!

[arctickitty]

8 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

Patti tells me that the white stuff was conditioner. As for towels, when we were last at the Spa on the Splendor in 2019, there were towels at the T-Pool.....

 

 

Towels out in the hallways.....

 

 

Towels in the locker rooms....

 

 

 

 

You can get as much as you want! 

 

That is what meets the definition of “we have towels everywhere!”

 

Nice to see conditioner!  It was just missing its label…simple human.

[MistyRo76]

15 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

The next time we are at Buc-ees, Patti will take pictures of the Ladies Room to document just how clean they are! 

 

YES! That would be amazing! 😁

[Jamman54]

11 hours ago, Cruise, J.D. said:

Can you eat at the bar at the Pig & Anchor?

 

I'm not really sure, but my guess is no during dinner hours, since the bartenders are too busy to take and serve food orders, but probably okay during BBQ lunch and late night snacks. 😎

 

11 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

In December we loved the bartenders (Melissa and Patcha) at the Center Stage Bar so we watched a lot of the shows while sitting at the bar. 

 

They made really good drinks there, and was Patti's favorite place for making her Mocha Chocolate Getaways. Bad of me not to remember their names! 😖

 

10 hours ago, sp2 said:

Well I’m a couple of days late but so glad I stumbled upon this review and we’ve only just boarded (virtually, that is)! Excited to accompany you and Patti through your photos and great writing style! This is going to be an awesome two weeks!

 

Thanks for reading once again, and for your kind words! 😀

[pirate4me2]

I'm late to the party, but better late than never!! Enjoying your review as always, Jeff! Makes me want to sail on MG. :) 

[Jamman54]

3 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

I'm late to the party, but better late than never!! Enjoying your review as always, Jeff! Makes me want to sail on MG. 🙂

 

Hey Stephanie! Glad to have you back on board with us once again. You need to book it! 😁

[MistyRo76]

12 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Patti made her way back to the Red Frog Tiki Bar to meet me for sail away. It’s getting a little crowded now…..

 

 

We’re hanging out with John, (chipster 2), and his wife Gerry…..

 

 

Aswan lets everyone know that bar service has stopped for the Safety Briefing…..

 

 

Once the Safety Briefing is over, the drinks start flowing again, and Cruise Director Lee Mason and the Fun Squad get the Sail Away Party started…..

 

 

 

 

 

I had never seen such a large, loud crowd at the sail away party before…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

Man - Those sail-a-way pics have me totally aching to get back on a cruise ship again! Only 155 days to go! 

[Jamman54]

4 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

Man - Those sail-a-way pics have me totally aching to get back on a cruise ship again! Only 155 days to go! 

 

The Valor is one of the few Carnival ships we have yet to sail on. We expect a report from you when you get back! 😁

[pirate4me2]

29 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

Hey Stephanie! Glad to have you back on board with us once again. You need to book it! 😁

I think I am going to! We have been doing some land vacations since all the craziness began, and that is the plan for this year, and I have the Sunshine booked for next fall and spring 2024, as well as building a new house,  but I think I need to sneak in a Mardi Gras cruise too! Haha. 

[obx_fintoo]

12 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

The Backyard Band is playing at the Pig & Anchor……

 

  This band was awesome!  We saw them play several times.  A good mix of genres and the lead singer has some pipes!  😍

[Jamman54]

9 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

I think I am going to! We have been doing some land vacations since all the craziness began, and that is the plan for this year, and I have the Sunshine booked for next fall and spring 2024, as well as building a new house,  but I think I need to sneak in a Mardi Gras cruise too! Haha. 

 

I believe you need to book it now! 😁

 

5 minutes ago, obx_fintoo said:

  This band was awesome!  We saw them play several times.  A good mix of genres and the lead singer has some pipes!  😍

 

We enjoyed them as well, though I believe they left the ship when we did after our second cruise. 😎

[MistyRo76]

28 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

The Valor is one of the few Carnival ships we have yet to sail on. We expect a report from you when you get back! 😁

I definitely plan on writing a trip report - In fact, I've started a Word Document detailing how the cruise came to be and our (my!) planning efforts. Second time on the Valor for me, but it's been years. But this will be our first sailing out of NOLA! So that will be a fun experience! 

[bmcole760]

Thank you so much for putting so much time and love into this review! We're not sailing on Mardi Gras until January but i am SO excited to continue reading this!

 

This is also our first cruise since all the c-word madness so to say we are extra excited is an understatement 😂

[floridagal83]

Thank you so much for the detailed review and all the great pictures! I sailed on Mardi Gras in February and will definitely do it again.

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, bmcole760 said:

Thank you so much for putting so much time and love into this review! We're not sailing on Mardi Gras until January but i am SO excited to continue reading this!

 

This is also our first cruise since all the c-word madness so to say we are extra excited is an understatement 😂

 

Glad to have you with us, and be sure to take notes! 

 

4 minutes ago, Vikequeen123 said:

Thank you so much for the detailed review and all the great pictures! I sailed on Mardi Gras in February and will definitely do it again.

 

Thanks for following along! She is a great ship! 

[Jamman54]

Day # 2 (April 24th)  -  Fun  Day  at  Sea  # 1. 

 

Good morning everyone!  We were up at 6:30am to a beautiful sunny day. The temperature would reach the mid 80’s today, and the seas are fairly calm. Here are the views from our mid ship “hump” extended balcony looking forward…..

 

 

Our view looking aft, as the Mardi Gras sails towards San Juan, Puerto Rico….

 

 

Here are today’s “Fun Times”…..

 

 

Since we are sailing south, and our cabin is on the port side, we will get to see the sunrises the next couple of days. Here is this morning’s sunrise…..

 

 

 

 

I forgot to mention that when we met our room steward (Antonius) yesterday, we told him that we just needed evening service. We like not feeling like we have to vacate the room before we are ready so he can clean, so this works for us. We went up to the Marketplace for breakfast around 8:30. It was crowded, but manageable, and we had no problem finding a place to sit down and eat. The aft section of the Marketplace was definitely less crowded then the forward section. I went through the buffet line and got my traditional breakfast plate…..

 

 

Patti got herself a cheddar and tomato omelet…..

 

 

Afterwards, I made my way to the Red Frog Tiki Bar to have a few drinks with my new friends. Patti was going to head to the Mardi Gras Theater for the Fun Aboard, Fun Ashore show. She got these pictures of the Casino Bar as she made her way down there…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Caps_Shield]

I came here just looking for what you thought of Fishlips since we will be going there next month.  8 pages later I find myself looking forward to the next post.  You are doing a great job.  

[Jamman54]

She made it down to Deck 6 and stopped to take a few pictures of Piano Bar 88…..

 

 

 

 

 

She went across the way and took a picture of the Punchliner Comedy Club from the opposite side that she took yesterday…..

 

 

The “PG” shows were performed in the Limelight Lounge, and the “R” and “EXPLICIT” shows were performed in the Punchliner Comedy Club…..

 

 

Here are the first two comedians of our cruise. They performed the first three nights…..

 

 

 

The next two nights the comedians were Jersey and Vince Morris, and the last two nights were Vince Taylor Jr. and Jason Blanchard. Each pair performed one night at the Late Night Comedy Showcase at 11:15pm in the Mardi Gras Theater.

 

Patti has made it to the Fun Aboard, Fun Ashore show, hosted by Cruise Director Lee Mason…..

 

 

 

Here is our itinerary and the protocols for the ports we are visiting. San Juan is missing here, but it basically was the same as the others.

 

 

 

 

In reality, mask wearing and social distancing was nearly non-existent in all three ports.

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

4 minutes ago, Caps_Shield said:

I came here just looking for what you thought of Fishlips since we will be going there next month.  8 pages later I find myself looking forward to the next post.  You are doing a great job.  

 

Thanks for hopping aboard. Glad to have you! We like Fishlips and it's very popular, but there are also other good places along the water there. Gator's, Rusty's, and Grill's come to mind. 

[Jamman54]

At 10:30 I left the Red Frog Tiki Bar to head down to Center Stage to get some close seats for “The Wave”, or Morning Show as it used to be called. We started going to these shows on our Hawaii cruise on the Splendor. It's a great way to meet and get to know the entertainment team on board. It started at 11, and Patti met me there…..

 

 

The show is hosted by Lee and Tyler, who is the Bingo Host aboard the Mardi Gras…..

 

 

 

They have three guests this morning, the first is the shopping expert here on the Mardi Gras….

 

 

The second guest is someone we know from our cruises on the Splendor. His name is Amith, or Mr. A as Lee calls him. He was once a Maitre’d, but has been promoted to Food and Beverage Manager here on the Mardi Gras. He stopped and said hello to us when we ate at Rudi’s Seagrill later in the week…..

 

 

 

The last guest was the Brew Master at the Pig & Anchor. He talked about the tours of the brewery that he gives each cruise…..

 

 

 

Afterwards, Patti went exploring while I went to the casino to play some blackjack. First, I went to the cashier to pick up my $25 in free play chips, which are given to Platinum and Diamond members since there are no slot or blackjack tournaments at the present time.

 

I sat down at a $10 table with a bunch of nice people. I lost a little bit but had a great time. I made a new best friend with bar server Oliver, who kept the double Bacardi and colas coming!

 

Patti got these pictures of some of the lunch offerings in the Marketplace…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went up to Guy’s Burger for a Plain Jane and loaded it up at the fixings bar. I took it over to the Tiki Bar to wash it down with a Thirsty Frog Wheat.

 

Afterwards, I made my way back to the cabin to relax before dinner. Patti was already there, relaxing on the balcony.

 

To be continued…..

Edited May 20, 2022 by Jamman54

[Megan_Strick]

22 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

You can get as much as you want! 

 

Music to my ears!