Willdra's Massive Carnival Mardi Gras Apr 30- May 7 Review

[Megan_Strick]

On 5/31/2022 at 7:33 PM, willdra said:

Sunday Sea Day

I got up around 8. I wanted to hit Emeril’s before it got too popular. W wanted to sleep a little longer, which was fine. I could have all of the bathroom time that I needed while he slept. No pressure or deep sighs from the corner. Perfect.

 

It took me about an hour to get presentable enough, which just means I didn’t look like someone who eats Flaming Hot Cheetos, and drinks Sprite for breakfast. Hopefully. The plan was for me to go down, order, and get a table, then W would get there eventually. He woke up right at 9 as I was leaving. I reminded him where I’d be, and dipped out.

 

The ship was waking up when I stepped out. Bodies were in motion. The line at Emerils was short. There was one other person in front of me. In line, I quickly pulled up the menu in the app, cuz it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know what else I wanted other than the beignets. I settled on the Shrimp and Grits, and a Latte. At Emeril's they give you a number to put on your table, then bring the food to you. Juan was the server bringing out the food and drinks. He was super nice. The Shrimp and Grits came out first. I dug in. It was everything! The grits were as smooth as unicorn fur, and the sauce was just as magical. I swear I saw stars, and heard heavenly harps playing as soon as I put it in my mouth. W came up as I was eating, and placed his order. He got the Croissant Breakfast Sandwich. That thing was colossal. It was a whole lot of food, even for W. My beignets came out, and I was definitely not disappointed. They were warm, soft, tender pillows of fried dough sprinkled with a combo of powdered sugar and pixie dust. Ngl, I think I like these better than Café Du Monde. Gasp! I know. Don't come for me, my Nola fam. It took a lot for me to make that decision, and it's not one that I made lightly. If you've never had beignets, (what are you even doing with your life?) you gotta know that it's almost impossible to eat them and not look like a bag of powdered sugar exploded on you. They are messy, but so worth it! Get 'em.

 

 

 

Shrimp and Grits

 

Beignets

 

 

 

 

Now, I must say that being from the south (Georgia) I am a shrimp and grits snob. Those look really good!

[Megan_Strick]

18 hours ago, willdra said:

We were filled to the brim when we left. We got out just in time to catch Family Feud. We didn’t get there early, but we had good enough seats. The game was really funny. Definitely a "must do" evening activity. They had an adult version (18+) later on as well. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show, but I snapped a few when we first sat down.

After the show, we walked through Java Blue on the way back to the cabin, so I could get water for tea. I drink chamomile tea before bed just about every night to help me turn off my brain, and sleep. W went to the casino for a little while, and I read a book.

 

 

Before I fell asleep, I thanked God for my hair braider. I’ve gotten so many compliments on my hair during this cruise. My girl has them hands y'all!

Y'all are just the cutest ever. I swear hubby and I are twinning with you and W!

[bunnyette]

@willdra I don’t let hubby do anything himself except pack…he got lost in Rome once.  Great review so far!

Edited June 2, 2022 by bunnyette

[willdra]

7 hours ago, SenatorsFan said:

Happy to say I'm all caught up and, as usual, really enjoying the trip! Great pictures and stories, @willdra. 🥰 How special that you were able to meet @Jamman54 and Patti. #goals

 

Thank you! It was truly an epic cruise, and meeting those 2 was the icing on the cake! ❤️❤️❤️

[willdra]

On 6/1/2022 at 4:25 PM, scoobysnacks70 said:

Ya'll are so cute!  Love your shirt!  Can't wait for the review ❤❤

 

Thank you!! 😍

[willdra]

4 hours ago, sthrnbll said:

Now, I must say that being from the south (Georgia) I am a shrimp and grits snob. Those look really good!

 

They hit the spot for sure! Emeril's understood the assignment and delivered! 😋

[willdra]

4 hours ago, sthrnbll said:

Y'all are just the cutest ever. I swear hubby and I are twinning with you and W!

 

Awwww thanks!! 😁

[willdra]

3 hours ago, bunnyette said:

@willdra I don’t let hubby do anything himself except pack…he got lost in Rome once.  Great review so far!

 

LOL, you feel my pain!! 😆

[willdra]

Cruising into Costa Maya

W put his hand on my shoulder at 9:06. My alarm had been going for a full 6 minutes, and I never heard it. That’s how tired I was. I got up unenthusiastically. We had things to do, and places to be, so I pushed through. I can sleep late at home for free!

 

Our only breakfast option was really Lido. W was of course ready before me, so I sent him to go stand in a line somewhere. I knew he would want eggs, and that would take a minute. He also had to switch out his towel at the towel station, since Jason came before we got back from Paradise Beach the day before. Armed with a mission and purpose, W left me to finish getting ready at my leisure. Sweet silence.

 

When I was mostly ok to be seen, I went up to the Lido. It was wonderful to just walk up 2 flights and ding, you’re there. I spotted W right away in the omelet line. I found our table, but a better one was opening up, so I moved our stuff there. Next I went to collect some food. Bacon was back on the buffet, so I got some for both of us. This was also pancake day, and I paired it with a blueberry compote that looked promising. I got our coffee last, and went to wait for W. It took him some time to get done. I was eating and minding my business, when I looked up just in time to see W passing me. I don’t know how he could miss this purple and light bright pink hair on my head, but he did. I jumped up to try to catch him, but he was walking too fast, and the aisle wasn’t exactly empty. He finally turned around to walk back, and he saw me then. We sat down and ate. Everything was good.

 

W had to go back to the cabin before we got off, so I took that time to use the facilities. Go when you can. Especially if you can go in the comfort of your own cabin. Respect the lactose.

 

 

 

[willdra]

To get off of the ship, we walked forward on 14, and took the elevator down to the gangway on deck 3. It was a little congested, but manageable. We dinged off of the ship, then went down the long pier to go through the shopping area. They’ve changed it up some, and now you have to walk further down to the left to get out. There is a big truck blocking the old exit, which forces you to pass all of the shops before you can leave. Then once you pass that first layer of shops, there’s another layer to get through. I’m sure I’ve said and thought it before, but this really is a hostage situation. They want to make absolutely sure that you see every single thing for sale before turning you loose. This makes me so not want to buy anything. Let ME decide what I want, and when I want it please. Nevertheless there were people stopping everywhere, in the middle of the walkway to “window” shop. Ok I’m getting annoyed again, let’s move on.

 

So we finally fought, (hands were thrown) our way out of the melee. Once you make it out, there’s a long taxi line. It’s basically a swap meet for rides. There are "managers" who tell you where to go, and what cab to get in. You can’t just grab a cab on your own. You have to tell the "manager" where you want to go, and they talk to the drivers. There are several things wrong with this system. 1. They will pack as many people as possible in a car/van. 2. They don’t really care where you say you are going. 3. They will try to sell you on going somewhere else. We stood there awhile and after we didn’t like any of the options presented to us, we remembered that we could just walk a few feet outside of the gates, and get a hassle free, worry free cab. So that’s what we did. We walked out, and there were cabs outside of the gate a little bit.

We were asked right away where we wanted to go, we told them, and we were in a big taxi van a minute later. I'm so glad we walked out. That was a mess in there. I think it was $8 for the ride. Now on the way to the beach, our driver had to keep waiving people off, cuz they were trying to get him to drop us off to buy stuff. Scary. When visiting Costa Maya, just stick to your guns. Have a plan. Don’t deviate or seem unsure. If you don’t want to venture out, say that. Not that I think it’s unsafe, you may just spend more money than planned. The vultures were circling overhead for sure.

 

Our destination was Yaya Beach Club. I pre-made the reservation months prior. I got the deluxe package for $45/person, which includes a shaded lounger, open bar, and lunch. When you arrive, you check in at the bar with Sam. Then you get your wristbands and menu. You have a dedicated waiter for the day, who first allows you to choose your resting place. We had Carlos, and he did his thing that day!

 

 

[willdra]

I started with a Rum Punch, and W got a Dos Equis. Carlos brought W out a koozie for his beer can, and I was super jealous. It was cute! Every time my drink was almost empty, Carlos showed up with a refill. I was pacing myself that day tho(I thought). The Rum Punch at Yaya has always been heavy on the rum, light on the punch. It will definitely have you making horrible decisions, which could permanently end up on the innanets. Nobody needs that.

 

 

Carlos bringing drinks

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Our oasis for the day

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Now the bad thing about being on this beach, is that you will be saying "No Gracias", "No thank you", and just plain "No" all day to the vendors that pull up. It’s funny cuz it’s mostly the same ones that do the rounds and come back. They also travel in groups. One right after the other. Then break for 10 minutes, and repeat.

 

We sat out and enjoyed watching the people on the beach. We got in the water also for a little while. It was nice and warm plus you could see your feet. Bonus. Somewhere around 2pm we asked for the food. They have a standard platter of chicken tacos, cheese quesadillas, chips, salsa, and guacamole. When you request the food, they bring each person the platter. It was plenty of food, and it was yummy.

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Remember when I said I was pacing myself? Didn’t happen. I lost count of how many Rum Punches Carlos brought me. I slowed him down after I started to see 2 of everything, and everything that W said was funny. That's how I know I've had too many! We ate and laid out the rest of the day. We were as useless as the letter g in the word "lasagna". I decided that we would head back at 4.

 

When that time was getting close, we gathered our things and started to get ready to fight our way back through the fray. We walked back to the street behind Yaya. There were taxis back there waiting. We quickly got one, and we were driven back to the pier. It was $8 to ride back as well. We got through the pier a little faster this time. We took a few pictures along the way. As W was trying to take a picture of the ship, he paused, pushed his hat back then 1/2 second later his hat flew off and over the side. All we could do, was watch it. And laugh. Our dinner neighbors from the steakhouse walked up right when he lost his hat. They tried to pay a young man $5 to jump in after it, but he valued his life more than W’s hat. Go figure. We laughed all the way back onboard. Poor W, he has awful luck with hats, and some other stuff. But we won't kick him while he's down. This time. 

 

 

 

W's last photo with his hat

 

 

W without his hat. Tragic. 

 

 

 

[willdra]

After we dinged ourselves back in, we went back to our cabin to put down our bags, and to have a quick funeral for W’s hat. He'd had it a long time (for W), and it was like a friend to him. Pitiful.  

 

Alrighty, more importantly, GBJ was open still, so we went there for a quick burger and fries. It hit the spot. Y’all already know I was falling asleep in them fries. We made it back to the cabin, and I snatched the curtain closed, cranked up the AC, then got all the way in the bed. When I woke up, W had showered, dressed, and was ready for dinner. It was almost 8 o’clock.

 

We decided on MDR that night. W checked us in, and the wait was less than 10 minutes. We wanted to go for the Beef Tenderloin and Bitter n Blanc. We were taken to table 641 immediately upon arrival. There were lots of empty tables. The MDR on Mardi Gras is almost an afterthought.  It has to compete with so many other popular choices. I feel bad for it. We sat down, and as soon as we got water, it was showtime. By 8:30 we’d ordered tho, and we had the bread. I ordered the Mango Cream along with the Tenderloin and Bitter n Blanc. My Mango Cream came out, but I didn’t get a spoon, so I just waited. Our entrees came out a few minutes later. I asked the server for a spoon. He apologized profusely and said he would get it. I sat there another 5 minutes or so, and when it was apparent that no spoon was coming, I ate my entrée. The server came back  later and asked if I didn’t like my Mango Cream. To which W and I replied, “there is no spoon”.  Again more bowing and apologizing occurred. The spoon magically appeared right before dessert.  We filled up our tanks, then got out of there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I wanted to stop by the gift shop before the Love and Marriage Show, which started at 10:15. When we got out of the dining room, Deal Or No Deal was on Center Stage. This area spans 3 decks and is really in the middle of the action. There are lots of good seats, but you still have to be there a little early for the popular shows.

 

When Deal Or No Deal was over, some people left but not many. We spotted some familiar faces in the crowd during the show change. We got a far away shot of Jamman54 and Patti leaving after Deal Or No Deal. Wish we were close enough to say hey!

 

W and I grabbed a couple of nice seats quickly. Love and Marriage was hilarious as usual. I love the "off the cuff" humor that you get with that show. The CD really has to be quick on their feet to get the jokes off. Lee did a good job! We were not mad that we went. 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Love and Marriage ended around 11:15. I was worn slap out after that, so we went back to the cabin and called it.

 

Before I fell asleep, I said a prayer thanking God that W lost his hat. Don’t tell him, but I low key didn’t really like that hat, so I was not exactly sad to see it go. Goodbye tan old man hat! You will not be missed!

 

God loves me, and destroying that hat proves it. Good looking out Big Guy! 

[mexicobob]

Really enjoying your review. You speak good words, which is not common these days. 

[purpleally]

We were as uselessas the letter g in the word "lasagna".
 

OMG, hilarious!!!!!!!

[karmamule]

This October will be our first time on Carnival, and it will be on the Mardi Gras. Reading this has been a delight and adds more fuel to the fire for looking forward to that cruise. Thanks so much for taking all this time to post!

[crewsweeper]

"as useless as the letter g in lasagna"   GREAT LINE!!!🤣

[Hogladyrider]

@willdra.....please share where you buy your bathing suits, love them!

[rmh661983]

I am laughing so hard I have tears coming down my face. The way you and W interact sound like me and my hubby. I swear that man wouldn't survive without me. LOL I can't wait to read the rest of your review.

[willdra]

23 hours ago, mexicobob said:

Really enjoying your review. You speak good words, which is not common these days. 

 

Thank you! 😁

[willdra]

15 hours ago, karmamule said:

This October will be our first time on Carnival, and it will be on the Mardi Gras. Reading this has been a delight and adds more fuel to the fire for looking forward to that cruise. Thanks so much for taking all this time to post!

 

Thanks for liking my review! You are going to have so much fun on the Mardi Gras. Definitely a great choice for your first! 🥰