Mardi Gras vs Anthem of the Seas

[sparks1093]

Good morning Cruise Critic! We will soon be embarking on our next adventure- Mardi Gras in April. I have been stepping up my research now that we are under 90 days and recently read a comparison of these two ships, since we have sailed on Anthem before. If you've been on these two ships (or even any ship in Anthem's class) how did the two compare? I would also post this on the Royal forum, but this isn't a thread designed to help us make a choice since we're already booked. Just wanted to get people's thoughts on the two different classes. So, good, bad or ugly what do you think?

[bar1068]

Well...We've been on both MG and Anthem...Been on Celebration also and will be on Jubilee in a couple of weeks...all 3 Excel class ships within10 months!! But i digress.,,,

 

Unfortunately I probably won't help much. For us, we've experienced little to no.."bad or ugly' on any of our 30 or so cruises...we just don't sweat the small stuff.....

 

Most of what I could say you've probably found doing searches..ship sizes, #of passengers, space ratios etc. I do think MG has more food options at no additional cost...probably saw that also. 

 

As we know, the Excel class is a total departure from past Carnival ship designs, things feel more "spread out" on Excel class,...but some placements of venues make you go...hmmmm...what were they thinking. The Alchemy bar comes to mind. Anthem seems to fit Royal promenade focus and branches off from there. That about all I can think of!!

[sparks1093]

19 hours ago, bar1068 said:

Well...We've been on both MG and Anthem...Been on Celebration also and will be on Jubilee in a couple of weeks...all 3 Excel class ships within10 months!! But i digress.,,,

 

Unfortunately I probably won't help much. For us, we've experienced little to no.."bad or ugly' on any of our 30 or so cruises...we just don't sweat the small stuff.....

 

Most of what I could say you've probably found doing searches..ship sizes, #of passengers, space ratios etc. I do think MG has more food options at no additional cost...probably saw that also. 

 

As we know, the Excel class is a total departure from past Carnival ship designs, things feel more "spread out" on Excel class,...but some placements of venues make you go...hmmmm...what were they thinking. The Alchemy bar comes to mind. Anthem seems to fit Royal promenade focus and branches off from there. That about all I can think of!!

Yes, I have found comparisons about ship size, passenger load and the like. I am looking for people's actual experiences onboard I guess. From what I have read I would expect Mardi Gras to be competitive with Anthem in the overall experience, but of course each ship has her differences. Mardi Gras has Bolt, Anthem has bumper cars, etc. We are also kind of laid back when it comes to cruising so little things aren't an issue (and there are always little things).

[bar1068]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Yes, I have found comparisons about ship size, passenger load and the like. I am looking for people's actual experiences onboard I guess. From what I have read I would expect Mardi Gras to be competitive with Anthem in the overall experience, but of course each ship has her differences. Mardi Gras has Bolt, Anthem has bumper cars, etc. We are also kind of laid back when it comes to cruising so little things aren't an issue (and there are always little things).

Hmmmm.....one thing that we feel is different is the ships...vibe....Last May we did a...and I'm calling it a back to back..cause..well...the cruises were back to back! On the Harmony of the Seas and then Celebration. From sail away to the all the activities, the Celebration was much livlier, and noisier!! RCI tends to feel more..."formal", less lively. Although one of or favorite places on the 2 times we sailed on Anthem was the Schooner bar...more or less the piano bar on Anthem...Matt Yee was on both times and hanging there was a great and rowdy time!! The other venue we frequented...and I can't recall the name....was a music and dance place....First time we sailed Anthem there was a Bon Jovi cover band that were very good...second time was a Led Zeppelin cover band that were pretty good.

 

The 270 area in the aft of the ship was a nice place hang out....the shows back there were the only ones we went to and were very enjoyable...only went to maybe 1-2 show across both sailings in the main theater. Plus 270 was near the deli that served those awesome roast beef sandwiches!!

 

One thing we feel lacks on the RCI ships we've been on is the comedy shows, the venue's they have them in not the same vibe like the Punchliner or Limelight lounges on MG and Celebration. Comedians were usually pretty good though...on Harmony last May there were 2 guys that alternated, but they were on the entire cruise, no change over like we've seen on Carnival.

 

An yep, they have the bumper cars!!! We did those a few times...loads of fun. Of course they have the flow rider and that parachute simulator. The always mostly indoor pool is nice...had a sea day on one of the Anthem sailings that was pretty cold, so was nice to have the indoor pool to hang at.

 

The forward solarium area is nice...We had breakfast most mornings on both sailings at the Solarium Bistro as it had a nice variety of breakfast options, without the relative insanity and higher noise level of the Windjammer...we don't do MDR's for breakfast..barely do them for dinner...so the bistro was a nice alternative. Although, the Windjammer...not bad....there's a seating area in the Aft outside the WJ that was nice to sit out and have breakfast. We also had dinner at the bistro a few times...same thing nicer, "calmer" venue for dinner...most times they had dinner options that we enjoyed. 

 

HTH...bout all I can remember clearly!!

 

[sparks1093]

11 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

Hmmmm.....one thing that we feel is different is the ships...vibe....Last May we did a...and I'm calling it a back to back..cause..well...the cruises were back to back! On the Harmony of the Seas and then Celebration. From sail away to the all the activities, the Celebration was much livlier, and noisier!! RCI tends to feel more..."formal", less lively. Although one of or favorite places on the 2 times we sailed on Anthem was the Schooner bar...more or less the piano bar on Anthem...Matt Yee was on both times and hanging there was a great and rowdy time!! The other venue we frequented...and I can't recall the name....was a music and dance place....First time we sailed Anthem there was a Bon Jovi cover band that were very good...second time was a Led Zeppelin cover band that were pretty good.

 

The 270 area in the aft of the ship was a nice place hang out....the shows back there were the only ones we went to and were very enjoyable...only went to maybe 1-2 show across both sailings in the main theater. Plus 270 was near the deli that served those awesome roast beef sandwiches!!

 

One thing we feel lacks on the RCI ships we've been on is the comedy shows, the venue's they have them in not the same vibe like the Punchliner or Limelight lounges on MG and Celebration. Comedians were usually pretty good though...on Harmony last May there were 2 guys that alternated, but they were on the entire cruise, no change over like we've seen on Carnival.

 

An yep, they have the bumper cars!!! We did those a few times...loads of fun. Of course they have the flow rider and that parachute simulator. The always mostly indoor pool is nice...had a sea day on one of the Anthem sailings that was pretty cold, so was nice to have the indoor pool to hang at.

 

The forward solarium area is nice...We had breakfast most mornings on both sailings at the Solarium Bistro as it had a nice variety of breakfast options, without the relative insanity and higher noise level of the Windjammer...we don't do MDR's for breakfast..barely do them for dinner...so the bistro was a nice alternative. Although, the Windjammer...not bad....there's a seating area in the Aft outside the WJ that was nice to sit out and have breakfast. We also had dinner at the bistro a few times...same thing nicer, "calmer" venue for dinner...most times they had dinner options that we enjoyed. 

 

HTH...bout all I can remember clearly!!

 

Thanks!