Live from the Mardi Gras02/17/24 cruise. It is Mardi Gras time (well close), come on along for the ride.

[ninjacat123]

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not even close.  Almost walked out, my better half calmed me down.  Without a doubt, THE worst MDR experience we have ever had.  

Yikes!!  I must have missed that part of your review.  Did you have a word with the Hotel Manager or what ever powers that be regarding this? (Sorry if I missed that as well😔)

Edited February 25 by ninjacat123

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yikes!!  I must have missed that part of your review.  Did you have a word with the Hotel Manager or what ever powers that be regarding this? (Sorry if I missed that as well😔)

I did.  He was everythig he should have been, apologetic, trying to make it right, had the reasons.  I understand all of it, just not our problem (kind of was….but).  I will make sure those we know will hear our side.  Best I can do.

[Knights on the Beach]

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not even close.  Almost walked out, my better half calmed me down.  Without a doubt, THE worst MDR experience we have ever had.  

 

This is disappointing to hear. We've been on Mardi Gras 4 times and are booked again for September. Unfortunately, MDR has been the biggest disappointment of the cruise each time. Our first time on MG, we went to the MDR twice (hoping the first time was a fluke). Second MG cruise we went to the MDR once and not at all on the next two cruises. We had the opposite experience on Celebration in December. We ate in the MDR 4 times I believe, and food and service were great each time. I was really hoping MG would get it together by now. If Celebration can make it work, Mardi Gras should be able to as well. Fortunately, there are a lot of other food options on Mardi Gras so I'm sure we won't starve but it's just a shame.

[Journey11]

Jimbo5544, thank you for this very informative and interesting review.⭐️

Questions: Do you think the Pool Cabanas on Amber Cove are worth the increased $500 cost?

Did you have any problems with non Cabana people using your pool loungers?

Do you know if small kids are counted as part of the 8 allotted to the cabana? The two in our group are too young to use the zip lines which are part of the Cabana perks.

 

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, Journey11 said:

Jimbo5544, thank you for this very informative and interesting review.⭐️

Questions: Do you think the Pool Cabanas on Amber Cove are worth the increased $500 cost?

Did you have any problems with non Cabana people using your pool loungers?

Do you know if small kids are counted as part of the 8 allotted to the cabana? The two in our group are too young to use the zip lines which are part of the Cabana perks.

 

I should have talked more about them.  Are they worth it?  Good question.  For us the answer is yes.  We had the first one as you came around the bar,  The check in was easy, and the staff, both the guy assigned to us and the server wre nothing short of outstanding.  Coming over several times asking if we needed anything , getting me an umbrella, really good.  While people without the wrist bands walked thru, we never had an issue with “our” stuff.

[Journey11]

10 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I should have talked more about them.  Are they worth it?  Good question.  For us the answer is yes.  We had the first one as you came around the bar,  The check in was easy, and the staff, both the guy assigned to us and the server wre nothing short of outstanding.  Coming over several times asking if we needed anything , getting me an umbrella, really good.  While people without the wrist bands walked thru, we never had an issue with “our” stuff.

THANK YOU. I think we will reserve one.

[jimbo5544]

17 minutes ago, Journey11 said:

THANK YOU. I think we will reserve one.

Let us know your thoughts when you return

[pblack]

On 2/21/2024 at 9:01 AM, travelinjess85 said:

I had been thinking about booking Rudi’s for our cruise. It looks delicious! We always love the steakhouse and teppanyaki so deciding if we should do a 3rd specialty dining. 

I was on the Mardi Gras in January of 2022 and while i'm not a seafood fan, the steak I had at Rudi's far surpassed the steak I had at the steakhouse. The rest of my party did order seafood and all raved about their food as well. I would highly recommend!

[jimbo5544]

5 hours ago, pblack said:

I was on the Mardi Gras in January of 2022 and while i'm not a seafood fan, the steak I had at Rudi's far surpassed the steak I had at the steakhouse. The rest of my party did order seafood and all raved about their food as well. I would highly recommend!

Funny you should say this.  One on our party is not a sea food lover and basically said the same thing.

[travelinjess85]

6 hours ago, pblack said:

I was on the Mardi Gras in January of 2022 and while i'm not a seafood fan, the steak I had at Rudi's far surpassed the steak I had at the steakhouse. The rest of my party did order seafood and all raved about their food as well. I would highly recommend!

Awesome thanks for another recommendation! We have $500 onboard credit so might as well use it for some good meals 😝

[Knights on the Beach]

8 hours ago, pblack said:

I was on the Mardi Gras in January of 2022 and while i'm not a seafood fan, the steak I had at Rudi's far surpassed the steak I had at the steakhouse. The rest of my party did order seafood and all raved about their food as well. I would highly recommend!

 

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Funny you should say this.  One on our party is not a sea food lover and basically said the same thing.

 

I'm allergic to shellfish and don't eat any seafood at all. I had the steak at Rudi's in December 2022 and it was definitely better than the steakhouse on Mardi Gras 9 months earlier. 

[Mike0980]

On 2/19/2024 at 7:25 AM, jimbo5544 said:

This IS what happens when you go on a spring break cruise.  We have done many.  

This is why the Thermal Suites are worth it. 

[jimbo5544]

11 hours ago, Mike0980 said:

This is why the Thermal Suites are worth it. 

There are ways to minimize the crowds, and that sure is one way.  Another is Havana cabins and area (not the same as Vista class, but defined area that is just for those cabins).  We were traveling with our kids and some of our 15 grand kids.  They cannot stay in those areas, we wanted to be with them.  We know about how busy these sailings are and our kids grew up on them.  This date was the only option for them (spring break week), and we were cruising to be with them.  My point was that if it were just us, you can pick a different (relatively) close date, have a much less crowded ship and sail at a fairly significant lower price.