Carnival Mardi Gras (Nov 2021)
⚓ EMBARKATION:
Very smooth. We had the 10-10:30am check-in time, and got the terminal around 9:30am. They let us in to the terminal around then (9:35am) to start the check-in process. Cruised with my 6 year old and his covid test at the terminal was seamless. They had a staff member escort us to the testing area, got done including negative test result within 15 mins, rejoined our group then few steps away to GS desk in the terminal to finish off the check-in. Had the A01 boarding zone and we were right after the Suites.
⚓ CABIN:
Had a Cove balcony (love them) in the Aft and compared to other Coves had (Vista, Magic..) the balcony itself felt a little narrower from the door/window to the glass, but love how it was mostly glass viewing. It also felt a bigger distance between us and the water compared to other ships had Cove on. As for the cabin itself, long but narrow. Didn’t have to walk sideways between the bed and the TV but I can see a bigger person may have to. Bathroom small and that TP position, have to play a little yoga to turn your body to reach it while sitting on the toilet. 😂 Liked the glass shower door, no more shower curtain sticking to you. Also liked the USB and light by the bed, and the faint/night light in the bathroom, enough to see in middle of the night without having to turn on the full lights and blinding you. Mini-fridge was great, kept whatever have in there nice and cold. Oh, our Cove was the perfect spot to view the Pilot Harbors at all 3 ports! Got to see them literally right underneath us, with the ladder and Pilot transfer from MG ship to Pilot Harbor boat and all. Very cool!
⚓ AROUND SHIP:
– Ship itself is beautiful and huge ofcourse (I averaged anywhere between 15-20K steps/day). Our sailing had ~4800 guests (out of 6500 max), so ~74% full.
– FOOD: Tons of options! We ate in Steakhouse, Rudi’s Seagrill, Bonsai Teppanyaki, Emril’s Bistro, Cucina del Capitano, Chibang, Shaq’s Big Chicken, Guy’s Burger, Pig & Anchor, Street Eats, Pizzaria, Piazza Panini, Palm Restaurant, and Lido Marketplace. YTD was the way to go for us so we can check-in for any of the restaurants (Chibang, Cucina, MDR..) at whatever time we wanted 5:30-9:30pm, instead of being restricted to only after 8pm for Chibang/Cucina if we had Early dining. For the free dining options, Chibang was our favorite. Excellent service and delicious food! Steakhouse great as always. Rudi’s…. food was delicious, but the service was lacking for us (1.5 hours in, still waiting for our entrees, and they thought we were done and asked us if we were ready for dessert) 🤦🏻♂️
– BOLT: My daughter and I loved it! Got 2 laps for the $15/p. The acceleration first starting took me by surprise. Use of boost button is nice, especially at the right time!
– ROPES COURSE: 48” minimum. My 6 year old barely met that height (49” or so) and is brave and wanted to get on, but it was difficult for him because he couldn’t get the rope/clamp thing on the top to move smoothly and I had to stay close and help him. The zipline part was my favorite part!
– WATERWORKS: There is 3 main slides. “Twister” (long and spirling water slide), “Blue Lightening” (312 foot tube side that you use a mat), and “Orange Thunder” (229 foot drop slide), besides ofcourse a SplashZone, Mini Racer slides for younger kids.
– ENTERTAINMENT: Between Center Stage, Mardi Gras Theater, Limelight Lounge, Punchliner Comedy club… there is no shortage of options. My favorite as always is the Punchliner – there was comedy every single day of the cruise. 6 comedians total in our 7 day (know/seen 5 of them before). We had Jorge Solano, Jason Blanchard, Spike Davis, Cee Jay Jones, Chris Wiles and Manny Oliveira. I was there every night multiple shows (must have watched at least 15-20 different shows). It was nice seeing the comedians around the ship as well, got to chat with them a bit. One day I saw all 6 of them sitting together at Emril’s had to take a picture with them. They were happy for me to take a pic, but they put on their mask on for the pic, and when I asked they said “oh we have to for pictures, Carnival rules; we can be naked but we have to have it on”
– PLAT PERKS: No complaints here. Got our Platinum stuff without an issue (chocolate delight via Room Service call, free drink at Sea day brunch, big water bottles from any car, pins and gift from Pixels, Laundry service). Also the $25/adult casino free-play for my wife and myself from Casino Cashier, and Arcade Warehouse $5 cards for both kids (this was my 6 year old’s first Platinum cruise so got his too), also from Casino Cashier.
– EMRIL LAGASSE: He was onboard and got to see him in person officially cut the ribbon to his restaurant! He also was also on one of the Morning Shows and chef in one of the Carnival Kitchen cooking classes.
⚓ PORTS:
– We had San Juan PR, Amber Cove, and Nassau (replaced Grand Turk).
– San Juan: My daughter and I did a private Surfing lesson! Had a blast and we were able to stand up on the board and ride small waves!
– Amber Cove: Did a Bubble Tour with my 6 year old to Monkeyland! It was fun and worth the $ in my opinion. While we did that, my wife and daughter enjoyed the pool/port area.
– Nassau: We did Bubble Tour (because of our 6 year old) to Blue Lagoon Island for the beach and Dolphin Encounter. We personally chose this since we had this exactly 10 years ago with just my daughter and thought it would be nice to re-live or experience that again, this time with our son as well. The beach and water in the Dolphin Encounter was cooold, but didn’t stop us from having a great time.
