Mardi Gras 5/11-5/19

[AZDivers]

Our first experience on Carnival. We have well over 25 cruises on mainly RCL, Celebrity and a few on Norwegian. We decided to give Carnival a shot with friends that lived in Orlando. Rather than a long rant on experiences I will simply do a pros and cons. We are a 40's mixed couple, upper middle class and drink reasonably. Not big gamblers but we will drop a couple hundred when we cruise. We opted not to have a drink package on this trip. We had a Spa Cove Balcony that comes with spa access.

 

All in all the ship is an excellent ship and its beautiful. The people were friendly. The ports were great other than Amber Cove. I will attach a few pics and vids as well.

 

PROS:

Food selection - variety, number of venues

 

Chibang and La Capitano first visit complimentary and we really enjoyed both!

 

Guys burger is best burger we’ve had at sea. Went twice.

 

Shaqs Chicken was really good. We went twice.

 

Blue iguana had really good burritos for breakfast. 

 

Grand central shows are excellent with some cons

 

Multiple comedians show available each day (with some cons)

 

Coffee is good and readily available

 

Alchemy and fortune teller bar made amazing drinks. Possibly the best we had at sea.

 

Puerto Rico port was docked in old town allowing easy on/ off around town. ONe of our favorite ports always as the cocktail scene and food is amazing here.

 

Multiple pools but extremely crowded

 

Many venues for music

 

Gym nicely appointed with quality equipment

 

They allow you to bring onboard 12 pack soda

 

Boat very smooth, only felt rocking a couple times

Guys pig and anchor is best bbq we have had at sea

 

Our cabin steward Pei was very good.

 

Spa was very nice, gets incredibly crowded. Could use water station inside spa along with better drainage near rain showers. Also we were there @ 8 am when opened and steam rooms not working yet. Loved level 5 immensely as its perfectly located however I don't think paying extra for the spa was worth it.

 

Beds were decent. Pillows lumpy.

CONS:

Weird hours of some restaurants (street eats)

 

Casino really crowded, smoke comingles with non smoking in the center but still smoke handled better than on many other ships.

 

Only one craps table for a ship of this size is insane. Tried for 7 days to get in on it. No chance.

 

No Texas Hold em tournaments

 

Horrendous number of morbidly obese people in wheelchairs. While you always see this on cruises, it gets depressing to see literally hundreds of them. Sadly many of them were super rude as well which just makes it worse. Seeing hundreds of people with type 2 diabetes, gout and lesions on their bodies driving around with a plate full of sweets is just a rough thing to watch. So be prepared its on another level on Carnival and I wasn't quite prepared.

 

Grand central theater has best shows on ship but poor seating options
 
Mardi Gras theater choreography for shows was weird, seating was small, no bar service.

 

Comedians are plentiful, but mostly black and racist. All of their comedy was race based and almost every one of them spent their show making fun of white people. Really weird deal.

 

Casino drinks were hard to come by.

 

Main dining room food was terrible. They even managed to screw up lobster tails. Very dissapointed.

 

Lido buffet was small and below average quality. We don't typically eat at the buffet but went a couple of times.

 

Amber Cove was a terrible port and could not handle volume of people from two cruise ships at one time. We got off 30 mins after gangway opened and zero chairs available. No shade, no chairs, pool packed, opted to just get back on boat.

 

People - lots of first time cruisers, power drinkers, and gamblers who got their trip for free. The demographic was probably 25% black, 70% white, 5% other. So proceed accordingly. Everyone was very nice but this was the loudest group of people we have ever been around and it felt like a Miami Beach party the entire time. Not exactly our vibe and nothing like previous ships we have been on. No we are not bougie.

 

Couldn’t get drink service in dining, but always offered shots that you could pay extra for
 
High tea service - what a disappointment. Offered multiple options, failed to tell people that they were charging for anything other than Lipton tea. Macaroons were hard and stale.

 

Gym really to small for ship of this size

 

Closet placement terrible. If someone is in closet you can’t get in/out of bathroom or room

 

No outlets by bed, had to have extension cord

 

Tv channel selection is minimal (3 non carnival) stations. We don't cruise to watch TV but when you get back to your room at night its nice to have a few options to browse through.

 

Elevator are small, and super hot with no ac (major complaint from everyone we met)

 

Bolt was down most of the trip (we expected based on previous reviews).

 

Small balcony. Probably the smallest we have ever had. I did like being under the life boats however as they block the sun.
 
Pillows were awful, way too firm and lumpy.

 

Piano bar player was awful, limited crowd interaction and could not sing a tune. Really weird that he was able to get that job to be honest.

Edited May 20 by AZDivers
added

[Frank12]

We love the Mardi Gras but agree with you on several of your Cons.  The size of the casino and availability of tables is completely ridiculous for that many passengers.  Two $10 blackjack tables (14 seats) for 6,000 pax. 

Elevators are terribly slow and always super crowded.

Buffet food on Lido deck was not good at all.  Thank goodness for Street Eats, Guys, and Big Chicken.

Piano Bar (Brad) was terrible. I saw several reviews where folks said how great he was.  They have obviously never been to a great piano bar!😜

 

We did have really good food in the MDR.  You must have hit a bad week.

 

And yes, Alchemy and Fortune Teller bar have fantastic drinks!

[AZDivers]

44 minutes ago, Frank12 said:

We love the Mardi Gras but agree with you on several of your Cons.  The size of the casino and availability of tables is completely ridiculous for that many passengers.  Two $10 blackjack tables (14 seats) for 6,000 pax. 

Elevators are terribly slow and always super crowded.

Buffet food on Lido deck was not good at all.  Thank goodness for Street Eats, Guys, and Big Chicken.

Piano Bar (Brad) was terrible. I saw several reviews where folks said how great he was.  They have obviously never been to a great piano bar!😜

 

We did have really good food in the MDR.  You must have hit a bad week.

 

And yes, Alchemy and Fortune Teller bar have fantastic drinks!

 

We had 5 dinners there and 1 was excellent. 3 were terrible and 1 was so so

[daveo6313]

Thanks for your honest list.  Some of those cons make me not want to go on the Madi Gras at all.  I wonder if that is a port location deal or just a bad week.

[AZDivers]

5 minutes ago, daveo6313 said:

Thanks for your honest list.  Some of those cons make me not want to go on the Madi Gras at all.  I wonder if that is a port location deal or just a bad week.

Kinda the main reason people post reviews IMO. I realize that some people might only get a chance to cruise every few years or something and some of us cruise multiple times a year. Also depending on a persons interests and their demographic and vibe is a big deciding factor.

 

Its a beautiful ship. Its just this Cruise line is not for us, personally. Im glad we did it and im glad it was this ship.

[Chet Rhodes]

Having just got off the sister ship Celebration, I have to say that most of your comments are spot on for us as well. I don't believe I will ever cruise that size of a Carnival ship again. Prices remain the same, but ships are totally understaffed.

 

Having just been at Amber Cove and Grand Turk five years ago, I was looking forward to those stops again. I was sorely disappointed. Jack's Shack was nothing like it used to be, and you'll go broke sitting there and paying the current prices. Magaritaville was nothing like a laid back Caribbean atmosphere, but a ghetto nightclub at 3:00 in the morning. What a letdown at Amber Cove when the main entertainment at the pool that day was a twerking contest.

[AZDivers]

2 minutes ago, Chet Rhodes said:

Having just got off the sister ship Celebration, I have to say that most of your comments are spot on for us as well. I don't believe I will ever cruise that size of a Carnival ship again. Prices remain the same, but ships are totally understaffed.

 

Having just been at Amber Cove and Grand Turk five years ago, I was looking forward to those stops again. I was sorely disappointed. Jack's Shack was nothing like it used to be, and you'll go broke sitting there and paying the current prices. Magaritaville was nothing like a laid back Caribbean atmosphere, but a ghetto nightclub at 3:00 in the morning. What a letdown at Amber Cove when the main entertainment at the pool that day was a twerking contest.

You nailed it.

[wrcjr98]

When you're used to RC, there are several "quiet" areas on their ships, especially like the "Central Park" area.  However, on my most recent Carnival sailing, the quiet place was my balcony!  

[audcc77]

On 5/20/2024 at 2:44 PM, Chet Rhodes said:

Magaritaville was nothing like a laid back Caribbean atmosphere, but a ghetto nightclub at 3:00 in the morning.

LOL. This the best and most accurate description I have ever seen.  

 

The idiotic lady DJ talks throughout all the songs. 🤷‍♀️

 

It was a once-and-done for us.  

[wrcjr98]

1 hour ago, audcc77 said:

LOL. This the best and most accurate description I have ever seen.  

 

The idiotic lady DJ talks throughout all the songs. 🤷‍♀️

 

It was a once-and-done for us.  

Jimmy Buffett is probably rolling over in his grave as they say, since it's at a "Margaritaville".  

[Knights on the Beach]

We love Mardi Gras and agree with a lot of your pros and cons. We are not fans of the MDR - I think we had dinner in the MDR 3 or 4 times in 4 cruises on MG in 2021 and 2022. It was just not good and we gave up on it. On Celebration in December we had the opposite experience - we had dinner 4 nights in the MDR and everything we had was very good.

 

I love the Center Stage area but we often sit at the bar to watch the shows. 

 

Alchemy and Fortune Teller are great bars but our favorite is Brass Magnolia. 

 

The best thing about the TVs on Carnival is there's a good variety of free movies. We too wish there were more "normal" channels.

 

 

 

 

[Elaine5715]

On 5/20/2024 at 6:55 AM, AZDivers said:

Our first experience on Carnival. We have well over 25 cruises on mainly RCL, Celebrity and a few on Norwegian. We decided to give Carnival a shot with friends that lived in Orlando. Rather than a long rant on experiences I will simply do a pros and cons. We are a 40's mixed couple, upper middle class and drink reasonably. Not big gamblers but we will drop a couple hundred when we cruise. We opted not to have a drink package on this trip. We had a Spa Cove Balcony that comes with spa access.

 

All in all the ship is an excellent ship and its beautiful. The people were friendly. The ports were great other than Amber Cove. I will attach a few pics and vids as well.

 

PROS:

Food selection - variety, number of venues

 

Chibang and La Capitano first visit complimentary and we really enjoyed both!

 

Guys burger is best burger we’ve had at sea. Went twice.

 

Shaqs Chicken was really good. We went twice.

 

Blue iguana had really good burritos for breakfast. 

 

Grand central shows are excellent with some cons

 

Multiple comedians show available each day (with some cons)

 

Coffee is good and readily available

 

Alchemy and fortune teller bar made amazing drinks. Possibly the best we had at sea.

 

Puerto Rico port was docked in old town allowing easy on/ off around town. ONe of our favorite ports always as the cocktail scene and food is amazing here.

 

Multiple pools but extremely crowded

 

Many venues for music

 

Gym nicely appointed with quality equipment

 

They allow you to bring onboard 12 pack soda

 

Boat very smooth, only felt rocking a couple times

Guys pig and anchor is best bbq we have had at sea

 

Our cabin steward Pei was very good.

 

Spa was very nice, gets incredibly crowded. Could use water station inside spa along with better drainage near rain showers. Also we were there @ 8 am when opened and steam rooms not working yet. Loved level 5 immensely as its perfectly located however I don't think paying extra for the spa was worth it.

 

Beds were decent. Pillows lumpy.

CONS:

Weird hours of some restaurants (street eats)

 

Casino really crowded, smoke comingles with non smoking in the center but still smoke handled better than on many other ships.

 

Only one craps table for a ship of this size is insane. Tried for 7 days to get in on it. No chance.

 

No Texas Hold em tournaments

 

Horrendous number of morbidly obese people in wheelchairs. While you always see this on cruises, it gets depressing to see literally hundreds of them. Sadly many of them were super rude as well which just makes it worse. Seeing hundreds of people with type 2 diabetes, gout and lesions on their bodies driving around with a plate full of sweets is just a rough thing to watch. So be prepared its on another level on Carnival and I wasn't quite prepared.

 

Grand central theater has best shows on ship but poor seating options
 
Mardi Gras theater choreography for shows was weird, seating was small, no bar service.

 

Comedians are plentiful, but mostly black and racist. All of their comedy was race based and almost every one of them spent their show making fun of white people. Really weird deal.

 

Casino drinks were hard to come by.

 

Main dining room food was terrible. They even managed to screw up lobster tails. Very dissapointed.

 

Lido buffet was small and below average quality. We don't typically eat at the buffet but went a couple of times.

 

Amber Cove was a terrible port and could not handle volume of people from two cruise ships at one time. We got off 30 mins after gangway opened and zero chairs available. No shade, no chairs, pool packed, opted to just get back on boat.

 

People - lots of first time cruisers, power drinkers, and gamblers who got their trip for free. The demographic was probably 25% black, 70% white, 5% other. So proceed accordingly. Everyone was very nice but this was the loudest group of people we have ever been around and it felt like a Miami Beach party the entire time. Not exactly our vibe and nothing like previous ships we have been on. No we are not bougie.

 

Couldn’t get drink service in dining, but always offered shots that you could pay extra for
 
High tea service - what a disappointment. Offered multiple options, failed to tell people that they were charging for anything other than Lipton tea. Macaroons were hard and stale.

 

Gym really to small for ship of this size

 

Closet placement terrible. If someone is in closet you can’t get in/out of bathroom or room

 

No outlets by bed, had to have extension cord

 

Tv channel selection is minimal (3 non carnival) stations. We don't cruise to watch TV but when you get back to your room at night its nice to have a few options to browse through.

 

Elevator are small, and super hot with no ac (major complaint from everyone we met)

 

Bolt was down most of the trip (we expected based on previous reviews).

 

Small balcony. Probably the smallest we have ever had. I did like being under the life boats however as they block the sun.
 
Pillows were awful, way too firm and lumpy.

 

Piano bar player was awful, limited crowd interaction and could not sing a tune. Really weird that he was able to get that job to be honest.

 

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"Dancing Guy" was obnoxious 24/7 and excessively familiar to crew.  Never saw him drink but his behavior was very much attention seeking.

[AZDivers]

13 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

"Dancing Guy" was obnoxious 24/7 and excessively familiar to crew.  Never saw him drink but his behavior was very much attention seeking.

I heard he was confronted after some inappropriate behavior towards some females later in the trip.

[AZDivers]

On 5/21/2024 at 6:46 PM, wrcjr98 said:

Jimmy Buffett is probably rolling over in his grave as they say, since it's at a "Margaritaville".  

That's a fact. I felt like I was in a bad Atlanta nightclub at 2am.

[abbeydoo]

What does this mean please, the proceed accordingly part? 

 

The demographic was probably 25% black, 70% white, 5% other. So proceed accordingly.

[AZDivers]

5 hours ago, abbeydoo said:

What does this mean please, the proceed accordingly part? 

 

The demographic was probably 25% black, 70% white, 5% other. So proceed accordingly.

It was just letting people know the demographic of the cruise. I probably should have typed that differently. lol.

 

I meant to say something more along the lines of "in case that data is pertinent to you or desirable"

[eroller]

Thanks for the balanced review.  Definitely paints a picture.