Underwhelmed by the Mardi Gras

[aml3679]

Don’t get me wrong, the ship is stunning. Our cabin was in the perfect location. The service was outstanding. The food was great. I think because the ship is so big, we miss the personalized feel we felt when we are on the Freedom in October. ..

 

We did not experience the main dining room, except for breakfast a couple of times. Our meals in the steakhouse and that Rudy Seagrill were amazing.

 

 

[south-carolinagirl]

Is this a joke?  Ship great, cabin great, food great ...I'm confused 

[beshears]

I'm glad you posted this. I was thinking of this ship for next year, but with having 6,000 or more people on board, I think that is way too many people (even if it was a tad less) for the 8 of to deal with.

[mz-s]

The first time I sailed on Sunshine, I bemoaned the larger size vs. Fantasy and wanted to go back to the Fantasy. Now that I've gotten used to Sunshine and Conquest class ships, I'm more open-minded to bigger ships and couldn't imagine going back to a Fantasy-class ship at this point.

[ObstructedView2]

Hi 🙂

 

Just adding your recent Mardi Gras review to your newly created thread. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

🍹

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, aml3679 said:

I think because the ship is so big, we miss the personalized feel we felt when we are on the Freedom in October. .

I'm curious what personalized feeling you felt on the Freedom? You didn't mention any issues with your cabin attendant, so the only other area where you would get to know the staff is in the MDR. Since on the Mardi Gras you never had dinner there that would account for the difference. If that's not what you meant, then please explain so others can understand what you're trying to say.

[aml3679]

The Freedom was half the size.  There were no long lines for anything.  The entertainment was great.  Trivia was great.

[mz-s]

One thing that stood out to me about the Freedom was just how many lounges and public spaces there were. I need to cruise on a Conquest class ship again, my cruise was during the masking and social distancing rigamarole so it was tough to judge people flow etc. I mean I never had to wait for an elevator once that entire cruise.

[hurricane0226]

I liked your pics with the monkeys, we done the same excursion and loved the monkeys

[lazydayz]

For an underwhelming cruise, it looks and sounds like you had a pretty good cruise.  To each their own, but if the worst thing I can say about a cruise is it wasn’t personalized, I call that a good vacation.

 

To others who have not yet experienced an Excel class ship who want personalized service, rent a Loft 19 cabana.  In my opinion, it’s the best place on the ship for warm, personal service. 

[gkbiiii]

How much are the Loft 19 Cabanas?

[aml3679]

Loft cabanas $500 a day

[kwokpot]

10 hours ago, aml3679 said:

The Freedom was half the size.  There were no long lines for anything.  The entertainment was great.  Trivia was great.

So it seems compared to your Freedom cruise on your Mardi Gras cruise it was very apparent the additional amount of guests on the ship which caused more queuing and waiting to do various things. Fair enough assessment. Thank you for the clarification. 

[kdr69]

13 hours ago, beshears said:

I'm glad you posted this. I was thinking of this ship for next year, but with having 6,000 or more people on board, I think that is way too many people (even if it was a tad less) for the 8 of to deal with.

if you interacted with more than a couple hundred of them at any given time though i would be surprised.  Its not like 6,000 people will be in the pool with you,  lined up in front of you for meals, going on the same excursion as you, sitting watching the same shows.  Its a very big ship.  Your town has more people. The crowds at a Costco are worse i think than on board. 

[coondog99]

13 hours ago, beshears said:

I'm glad you posted this. I was thinking of this ship for next year, but with having 6,000 or more people on board, I think that is way too many people (even if it was a tad less) for the 8 of to deal with.

 

We sailed on a fully booked Mardi Gras before Christmas and the only time it felt busy was at peak meal times eg Guy's, Shaq's and the MDR entrance. Other than that, it seemed less busy than on other smaller ships we have been on. The service on the MG was also the best we have experienced.    

[Pellaz]

On 5/11/2023 at 7:29 AM, kdr69 said:

The crowds at a Costco are worse i think than on board. 

 

Yep.  On a Sunday it's like a cross between a football scrimmage line and Christmas Eve at Macy's.  😄  

[Butterbean1000]

I'm not a fan of the mega ships either.  I am sure they are beautiful and full of many things to do.  I get a little overwhelmed thinking about being in the middle of the ocean with so many people.  I know most people love them and that's great, just not for me.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 5/11/2023 at 7:29 AM, kdr69 said:

if you interacted with more than a couple hundred of them at any given time though i would be surprised.  Its not like 6,000 people will be in the pool with you,  lined up in front of you for meals, going on the same excursion as you, sitting watching the same shows.  Its a very big ship.  Your town has more people. The crowds at a Costco are worse i think than on board. 

Many Carnival cruisers have the same mind set.  They obviously have never sailed on one of the newer builds from NCL or RCI that are bigger than the 133.5 K of the Vista Class or substantially bigger that the 110 K tons of the Conquest Class.  When the ships are bigger, you obviously deal with more people but at the same time you also have more space to spread these people out and you also have more options regarding things to do.

 

The passenger to space ratio is better on the Oasis Class than the Excel Class, but all of the options on the Excel Class raises the bar compared to the rest of the ships in the fleet.  Some cruisers are happy with the ships they have had good past vacations on and don't want to change.  As a stock holder, this makes me happy. 

 

On the other hand, some cruisers like to evolve and hopefully they try out the Excel Class before they move on to other lines.  With all of the options added compared to the rest of the fleet, they're missing out if they don't cruise on one of them at least one time.

[Butterbean1000]

1 hour ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I'm not a fan of the mega ships either.  I am sure they are beautiful and full of many things to do.  I get a little overwhelmed thinking about being in the middle of the ocean with so many people.  I know most people love them and that's great, just not for 

Another thing I would like to mention. It seems to me that you would lose the perspective of even being on a ship.  It's so big and it's made up in "neighborhoods".  On smaller ships you can see the ocean in places, even if it's through a window.  I love feeling of being at sea. I just seems to me you wod miss that on a mega ship.  

 

Does anyone else feel like this on a mega ship?

Edited May 14, 2023 by Butterbean1000

[SRQbeachgirl]

31 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Another thing I would like to mention. It seems to me that you would lose the perspective of even being on a ship.  It's so big and it's made up in "neighborhoods".  On smaller ships you can see the ocean in places, even if it's through a window.  I love feeling of being at sea. I just seems to me you wod miss that on a mega ship.  

 

Does anyone else feel like this on a mega ship?

 

For a mega ship, Carnival has done a good job of still giving you a sense of connection to the ocean. There are a lot of places around the ship with large floor-to-ceiling windows. The Grand Central is the most conspicuous of these areas, but the Excel class was not left wanting of areas to either see outside or be outside.

 

[CruizinSusan70]

5 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Another thing I would like to mention. It seems to me that you would lose the perspective of even being on a ship.  It's so big and it's made up in "neighborhoods".  On smaller ships you can see the ocean in places, even if it's through a window.  I love feeling of being at sea. I just seems to me you wod miss that on a mega ship.  

 

Does anyone else feel like this on a mega ship?

When you're on a larger ship, it's up to you to see the ocean or not.  As SRQbeachgirl showed in her previous post by the picture she downloaded, there are certain areas of the ship that even though you're inside, you can still she the ocean.  If you prefer the feeling of being at sea all of the time you can stick to the 100 K or smaller ships, but I feel that the larger ships provide more things to do, have more entertainment options, more food options and more bars.  The last time we were on a ship under 100 K was over 12 years and 30+ cruises ago on the Spirit doing the Mexican Riviera.  There is no right or wrong answer, but for us at this time the smaller ships are in our rear view mirror.

[jetsfan58]

This is just my personal take. I have been working all of my teen and adult life. I have taken many Carnival cruises and have yet to be less than satisfied. This is fantastic vessel and I hope you try her again. We have sailed her twice with a third upcoming.

 

Make you own happiness; that's the on;y way to become a true Carnival Cruise Nut!         

[icft]

6 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Another thing I would like to mention. It seems to me that you would lose the perspective of even being on a ship.  It's so big and it's made up in "neighborhoods".  On smaller ships you can see the ocean in places, even if it's through a window.  I love feeling of being at sea. I just seems to me you wod miss that on a mega ship.  

 

Does anyone else feel like this on a mega ship?

We feel the same way. We want to feel like we are at sea. We love the rough sea days.

 

To each their own. A surprisingly large number of cruisers get motion sickness and don't really want to be at sea. The big ships are perfect for them.

[Drazil65]

 I love feeling of being at sea. I just seems to me you wod miss that on a mega ship.  

 

Not at all!  I see the ocean from my balcony every day when I wake up or walk into my cabin.  I see the ocean while I enjoy my coffee each morning as I watch the sunrise or pull into port.  Look out any window as you are walking around, eating in MDR, relaxing on serenity deck or in the casino on MG and truthfully it feels like that on every cruise we have been on. 

 

One of the benefits of a bigger ships is there are more common space areas on the decks to see and feel the ocean, many places to choose from.  We loved being on MG last December and will sail her again later this year and next.  We also enjoy the larger ships on RCCL as well, its all good!

[Butterbean1000]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

When you're on a larger ship, it's up to you to see the ocean or not.  As SRQbeachgirl showed in her previous post by the picture she downloaded, there are certain areas of the ship that even though you're inside, you can still she the ocean.  If you prefer the feeling of being at sea all of the time you can stick to the 100 K or smaller ships, but I feel that the larger ships provide more things to do, have more entertainment options, more food options and more bars.  The last time we were on a ship under 100 K was over 12 years and 30+ cruises ago on the Spirit doing the Mexican Riviera.  There is no right or wrong answer, but for us at this time the smaller ships are in our rear view mirror.

Ok. You enjoy your cruises on the ships you like and I'll do the same.  To each their own.  🙂