A quick review of the Mardi Gras

[cruisinqt]

5 hours ago, blueskadoo said:

Just curious how full the ship felt during your cruise? Did you feel like there was space to spread out? Any concerns about crowding and covid during your cruise? Thanks

There were times it felt crowded and then times it felt spacious with hardly any crowds at all. It just depended on where you were. Like anytime after 8:00 pm the area around the pizza place was a madhouse and super congested. Also, if there’s bingo in the main atrium on deck 6 then expect super long lines for cards and lots of congestion. The pool area and lido were always pretty busy. But on deck 7 from the alchemy bar all the way back to the Palm restaurant it was always very quiet and spacious. There are lots of comfy sofas and the bar never had more than a couple people at it. We loved that area. The adult serenity area (deck 18) was very spacious and quiet after dinner time. We loved hanging out in the hot tub there later in the evening. Emeril’s was never too busy and had beignets very comparable to what you’d find in New Orleans. And don’t get me started on their jambalaya or sizzling shrimp skillet. So, like most ships, if you stay away from the really popular areas then you’ll find lots of spacious areas to relax in that aren’t crowded at all. This is a huge ship so there were a lot of uncrowned areas we found and loved. I was really surprised because our cruise was sold out and it was the summer crowd with lots of kids but it wasn’t that noisy or crowded if you knew where to go.
I didn’t notice anyone sick or having covid related problems. The workers were wiping down the insides of the elevators, the tables, the doors, I mean they were going out of their way to keep things clean. And this ship has automatic doors on all of the public restrooms. Just wave your hand and the door automatically opens for you from the inside and outside too. So I felt pretty safe about my health. Of course I used my hand sanitizer like crazy but I’ve always done that. 

[cruisinqt]

5 hours ago, Bahbert said:

 

Great review, thanks! One question about the above: Does this apply to all assigned dining, regardless of time? We usually get late dining but one of the reasons I might want to make reservations for a specialty restaurant is to eat earlier in order to catch a show we might otherwise miss due to our dining time.

I think it applies to all assigned dining guests. It wouldn’t let me make any reservations on the hub app until after the unassigned dining guests had time to finish dinner. I think they’re trying to keep the restaurants open and free of lines for those people to dine. But if you want to make reservations at a specialty restaurant that requires a flat fee to dine you can normally do that anytime. We made reservations at the steak house and the Teppanyaki place ahead of time before our cruise. But it looked like you could reserve those restaurants on the ship via the app if they had any openings. It just won’t let you make reservations at the free places like Chibang or Big Chick or at the ones that had small fees per item like at Emeril’s or the sushi place.Those are alternative dining areas for those with unassigned dining. Some of them charge so they are still considered specialty restaurants.  But I would strongly recommend making your (for a fee) specialty restaurant reservations ahead of time. They will likely be sold out by the time you cruise. For our cruise in February the Bonsai Teppanyaki place and steak house are already sold out. I found the dining menus and calendar of events for our cruise beforehand so I could figure out what days to book the specialty restaurants. I’m glad I did because those two restaurants had the best meals on the ship and I’m glad we tried them out. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by cruisinqt

[markkw07]

19 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

They left a card in our mail slot next to the door with a pretty good offer. It was $100 per person for a balcony cabin. We just couldn’t pass it up, especially on such a fantastic ship like this one. 

OH WOW!..I hope we get that same card! hahaha...No way to pass that offer up!

 

Thanks for the info....

 

 

[Djford75]

22 hours ago, blueskadoo said:

Just curious how full the ship felt during your cruise? Did you feel like there was space to spread out? Any concerns about crowding and covid during your cruise? Thanks

We went during Christmas, the ship was not at capacity.  Our cruise leaves Saturday, I think it's sold out so will see!!!

[kitten816]

Now that the 1 year has ended, did chibang/italian/pig and anchor no longer free options? 

[Mr305]

How fast was the internet?

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, kitten816 said:

Now that the 1 year has ended, did chibang/italian/pig and anchor no longer free options? 

It was free on our cruise a couple weeks ago

[whitneypb85]

3 hours ago, kitten816 said:

Now that the 1 year has ended, did chibang/italian/pig and anchor no longer free options? 

Currently on Mardi Gras and they are still free. 

[cruisinqt]

3 hours ago, Mr305 said:

How fast was the internet?

The internet was much better than the other ships. There were a few times I had to sign out then sign back in again to get it working properly. It was normally after being in port then once I got back on the ship my internet was slow and nothing was loading. I would just completely sign out of the hub app with the WiFi and everything then sign back in again like a new user and everything would be quick again. It’s a glitch I’ve noticed with carnival. But overall the Wi-Fi’s a lot better. I was on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, watching videos without any issues. 

[txin1]

Thanks for the info!

[peteandpris]

Great review thank you.

[Michelle236]

Sailed the Mardi Gras in June and will again in October.  Hands down my favorite Carnival ship and I cant wait to be on her again.

 

My favorite was the Pig and Anchor, food was amazing, drinks were great (I think my favorite was the spicy Watermelon Martini), and the atmosphere was fun.  And if you like Bloody Marys, dont miss them from here.  We are huge football fans, GO STEELERS!!, and cant wait to catch some games during our October cruise.

 

Also, dont miss the Fortune Teller Bar.  The drinks and bartenders were amazing.  My favorite was the "Golden Galaxy".  I typically dpnt like sweeter drinks, but it was really good 🙂