Mardi Gras 2/3-2/10 Review

[aborgman]

A real short one - if you're interested in any elaboration, just ask:

 

Travel to Ship and embarkation: 2/2-2/3

Flew DTW to MCO, and flight was full but easy on in DTW and no problems in MCO (no checked bags). Caught the hotel shuttle to the Residence Inn Airport, checked in, and ran over to pick up a couple bottles of wine at the liquor store next door.

 

Next morning we got up to a notice that our embark times had been shifted 1:30 due to the ship getting in late, so figured we'd be waiting around a while at the port to get on the ship. Catch our scheduled shuttle with Cruise Control and head to the port.

 

Embarkation lines were super disorganized, but they started letting everyone use any line ("just get in a line no matter what your scheduled time is") - and appeared to have brought in extra staff to move things along. We ended up on the ship slightly AHEAD of our scheduled time, went and did muster - then grabbed a bucket of beers and started looking for our friends.

 

Picked up lunch at Blue Iguana - really good tacos, with a really good salsa selection.

 

Found everyone, and ended up at Chibang for dinner. Had the worst and weakest Paloma I've ever been served with dinner. Food was... pretty meh.

I had the carnitas appetizer, which was good... and the Camarones Diablo entree. It was basically flavorless and completely and utterly un-spicy.

 

Day at Sea: 2/4

 

A day of exploring the ship, eating here and there, and sitting in a Serenity Hot Tub drinking.

 

Breakfast at the Pig and Anchor buffet - less selection, but similar food to Lido buffet. We ate here most mornings because it was the convenient, quick place to get coffee when going from our room (11491). Just a quick jaunt down a couple flights of stairs and you were at coffee with open seating right outside looking off the stern.

 

Boat was listing a bit due to strong winds, but nothing significant - although it did freak my wife out a bit.

 

Grabbed some Blue Iguana for lunch, and it was elegant night in the MDR.

 

Food must have been just OK - because I literally have no recollection, good or bad, of what I ate.

 

Watched the 60's Rock Revolution show in the Mardi Gras theater. Pretty meh (not my thing) - and no bar/drink service in theater, and with a horrible bathroom situation.

 

Cozumel: 2/5

 

Don't land until 10am, so we don't have really significant plans.

 

We caught a taxi down to Money Bar, had a few drink and some ceviche, and just hung out - because the waves were too nasty for snorkeling. Headed into town, did a little shopping, and headed back to the boat to do dinner.

 

Had the Grilled Swordfish and the Bitter and Blanc. The Bitter and Blanc was spectacular. Swordfish was ok... not great, but not bad either.

 

Right around this time we also found out we wouldn't be leaving Cozumel due the winds/waves, and would be missing the next stop in Roatan (the only place we had an excursion scheduled).

 

Caught "DJ Cooch" comedy show in the Punchliner. A bit over crowded, but a really good show.

 

"Bonus" Day at Sea: 2/6

 

Spent most of the day lazing around the Lido pool loungers and drinking. Wife ate some sushi Bonsai (said it was ok).

 

Ate dinner in the MDR - had Roast Leg of Lamb and Banana Cream Pie. The pie was very good. The lamb was BAD. Very bad. Do not get.

 

Hit another comedy show in the Limelight Lounge. It's even smaller than the Punchliner, and fills up FAST.

 

Roatan: 2/7

 

Overdid it a bit the previous night, so just spent the morning chilling on 8 aft and drinking coffee from Pig & Anchor. Caught some chicken from Big Chicken - really good, and the spicy honey sauce on the breakfast biscuit is good.

 

Wandered off the boat for some lunch - Mahogany Bay is real crowded, and not very exciting. Grabbed some ceviche and a couple Salva Vidas and people watched for a couple hours before getting back on the ship.

 

Dinner in the Steakhouse. Definitely the best meal of the trip. Had he Caesar Salad, Strip Loin, and Cheesecake for dessert. Got the wine pairing - all very good.

 

After the previous night and being old - I was in bed at 10pm.

 

Sea Day: 2/8

 

Rode Bolt, did the ropes course, and played a bunch of mini golf. Then spent the afternoon hot tubbing on Serenity.

 

Had Guy's Burgers for lunch - I thought it was just OK, but my wife really liked it.

 

Elegant nigh #2 in MDR. Had the Crawfish Alfredo, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and Creme Brulee. The crawfish was very good, the Cordon Bleu was very good, and the Creme Brulee was just ok. Also ordered a coffee with dessert - it was literally the worst coffee I have ever tasted.

 

Caught the comedy show in the Punchliner... and got to watch security roll in 6 deep, and take some women (no idea WHAT she did) out of the comedy club through the side door.

 

Sea Day: 2/9

 

Hung out around Pig & Anchor/8 aft just enjoying the water and having a few draft beers. The APA they brew is pretty tasty.

 

Dinner was Cucina Del Capitano - Cured Tuna, Farfalle al Pistachio, and Baba Napoletano. Everything was absolutely wonderful. Second best meal of the trip.

 

 

Debark and travel: 2/10
ODL.

 

Debarkation was great, right up until you got off the ship. Lots of employees yelling... and none of them knew what they were doing, and the louder and more certain they seemed in their directions the more likely they were telling you the wrong thing.

 

Sat around the parking garage for an hour waiting on our shuttle (my fault).

 

Then we get to MCO... nice and early, about 6 hours before our flight. It's sheer insanity. Nowhere to sit, crappy food court, won't let you through security until 2 hours before your flight (with a 45 minute security wait), and when you get to the gate there is about 50 seats for a gate serving a 200 passenger plane.

 

Worst airport I've ever dealt with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aborgman]

Final Thoughts:

 

General -

 

1) Ship is too big for my preference.

2) Not too bad to get around if you use stairs. Elevators a nightmare. Good thing I don't mind stairs.

3) Need bigger theaters for entertainment - particularly comedy shows. Had to line up 45 minutes early for a chance at a seat.

4) Need some drink availability in Mardi Gras theater

5) Boat literally needs 2x as many public bathrooms. There were regularly lines for men's rooms. In 7 days, I don't think I ever saw a single unoccupied stall in a men's room.

6) I walk with a purpose... and there are lots of folks who just seem to be either entitled or completely oblivious to their surroundings. Don't block whole hallways/walkways/stairways to have a conversation. Move to the side if you're slow. Don't sit in a group of 5 people eating your lunch on a stairway landing.

 

Food -

 

Steakhouse: great - and get the wine pairing

Cucina: really good

Shaq's Big Chicken: great chicken, nice and juicy

Blue Iguana: Good tacos. Lots of salsa selection. Some actually for real hot.

Guy's Burgers: Liked the fries.

MDR: hit and miss. Some good, some bad. Don't get the coffee.

Chibang: Meh.Ok, but nothing special.

Buffets: Significantly less stuff, and slightly worse quality than my last cruise in 2019.

Free Coffee: Actually pretty good. Much better than my last cruise. Didn't mind drinking it.

 

...and if anyone knows what happened with that woman getting tossed out of the comedy club, I'd love to hear it.

[Journey11]

Thank you for taking the time to prepare this very interesting review.⭐️

I’m glad that overall you enjoyed your cruise.

[Frank12]

I agree with you on the free coffee. It's much better than it used to be!

[mz-s]

I third the coffee on Carnival is better than before.

 

Used to it would give me heartburn to my kneecaps. I've enjoyed it for the past few cruises!

[aborgman]

17 hours ago, mz-s said:

I third the coffee on Carnival is better than before.

 

Used to it would give me heartburn to my kneecaps. I've enjoyed it for the past few cruises!

 

I was quite amazed - last cruise I could barely choke it down with breakfast, and had to have something from JavaBlue if I wanted anything that wasn't bad. This time I could just drink the free coffee, and it was even palatable black.

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, aborgman said:

 

I was quite amazed - last cruise I could barely choke it down with breakfast, and had to have something from JavaBlue if I wanted anything that wasn't bad. This time I could just drink the free coffee, and it was even palatable black.

 

I don't know if they've changed brands or just started making it differently. But it is a good change either way. I am not fancy at all with coffee - Folgers or McDonald's is absolutely fine for me!

[ninjacat123]

Did you try Street Eatz? Or Emeril’s? Big Chicken is soooo good!!

[aborgman]

20 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Did you try Street Eatz? Or Emeril’s? Big Chicken is soooo good!!

 

We did not.

 

A couple folks in our group ate at Emerils and enjoyed it.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for doing the review.  Appreciate the concise way you did it.  We will be boarding her this Saturday.  MCO has become the busiest and worst airport in Florida.  WAY too busy.

[jimbo5544]

Ok, I will bite, why was the woman tossed from the comedy club?

[jimbo5544]

4 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Thanks for doing the review.  Appreciate the concise way you did it.  We will be boarding her this Saturday.  MCO has become the busiest and worst airport in Florida.  WAY too busy.

well.....maybe other than MIA

[aborgman]

13 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Thanks for doing the review.  Appreciate the concise way you did it.  We will be boarding her this Saturday.  MCO has become the busiest and worst airport in Florida.  WAY too busy.

 

It's pretty obviously carrying way more traffic than it should - the aisleway between gates at DTW is wider than the terminal at MCO serving the same plane.

 

Detroit serves about half as many passengers, and I think the airport is twice the size.

[aborgman]

18 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Ok, I will bite, why was the woman tossed from the comedy club?

 

I actually have no idea... I was hoping someone else on the forum was there and saw what happened.

 

All I saw was 6 security people roll in, the comedy MC walk over and point her out to them, and they escorted her out through the non-passenger door.

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

It's pretty obviously carrying way more traffic than it should - the aisleway between gates at DTW is wider than the terminal at MCO serving the same plane.

 

Detroit serves about half as many passengers, and I think the airport is twice the size.

At one time (and it was a while ago) it was the showcase of all of the airports in Florida.  Clearly not now.  I have not seen the data on passengers going through.

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

I actually have no idea... I was hoping someone else on the forum was there and saw what happened.

 

All I saw was 6 security people roll in, the comedy MC walk over and point her out to them, and they escorted her out through the non-passenger door.

Ouch.  That was ugly.

[aborgman]

1 minute ago, jimbo5544 said:

At one time (and it was a while ago) it was the showcase of all of the airports in Florida.  Clearly not now.  I have not seen the data on passengers going through.

 

#8 in the USA in passenger boardings at ~24 million

#9 in the USA in total passengers at ~50 million

 

 

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

#8 in the USA in passenger boardings at ~24 million

#9 in the USA in total passengers at ~50 million

 

 

Thanks, those numbers seem about right.  MCO has some baggage requirements (close times to flying, think it is a little less than an hour, where they will not allow you to do check bag and check in desk,  Not sure if other airports do this, but have NEVER seen it posted before. 

[PlanoTim]

Thank you for the review.  I’ve never done the wine pairings in the steakhouse.  Can you please elaborate some on the experience?  Did you get a pairing for the dessert as well (like maybe a port)?  Did you have Cheers or do you know if this works with Cheers?  Thanks,
Tim

[MEUB1112]

15 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I don't know if they've changed brands or just started making it differently. But it is a good change either way. I am not fancy at all with coffee - Folgers or McDonald's is absolutely fine for me!

I honestly think that,  prior to the vid, they got the coffee from Cisco foods. I've had that before. Last couple of cruises it's much better!

[aborgman]

8 hours ago, PlanoTim said:

Thank you for the review.  I’ve never done the wine pairings in the steakhouse.  Can you please elaborate some on the experience?  Did you get a pairing for the dessert as well (like maybe a port)?  Did you have Cheers or do you know if this works with Cheers?  Thanks,
Tim

 

It doe snot work with Cheers.

 

There is a pairing for the appetizer, entree, and dessert.

 

Depending on dessert it was either port or a sparkling wine.

 

This menu is pretty close to what our was:

https://profcruise.com/carnival-menus-2024/#steakhouse

 

[jimbo5544]

28 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

It doe snot work with Cheers.

 

There is a pairing for the appetizer, entree, and dessert.

 

Depending on dessert it was either port or a sparkling wine.

 

This menu is pretty close to what our was:

https://profcruise.com/carnival-menus-2024/#steakhouse

 

Interesting post.  I am not sure which cruise we were on but our waitress in the steakhouse basically talked me out of the wine pairings.  She said people were unhappy with the amount of wine and the rigidity of the program.  

[aborgman]

27 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Interesting post.  I am not sure which cruise we were on but our waitress in the steakhouse basically talked me out of the wine pairings.  She said people were unhappy with the amount of wine and the rigidity of the program.  

 

I would say the opposite about the amount of wine. I thought the three ~3-4oz pours were a good deal for $23. I definitely don't expect full pours at that price.

 

As for rigidity - it's a wine pairing, you don't get to pick.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

11 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

I would say the opposite about the amount of wine. I thought the three ~3-4oz pours were a good deal for $23. I definitely don't expect full pours at that price.

 

As for rigidity - it's a wine pairing, you don't get to pick.

 

 

I get it.  I was actually looking forward to it but shied away from it when she described it.  Maybe another time’

[sparks1093]

Thanks for the review, we'll be onboard in 64ish days. Question on Bolt- how fast is it? It doesn't look like it does anything crazy and I'm not generally a rollercoaster fan, but am thinking about it so I can say I've been on one at sea (well, other than the ship I happen to be on in rough seas).