Carnival Mardi Gras Review
Carnival "missing in action" regarding their "hyped" Covid protocols.
Rating by category
Additional details
Carnival literally INUNDATED passengers booked on the August 7 sailing of Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral about Covid protocols & masking. Even went so far as to claim masking onboard was MANDATORY, but it turned out to be complete hype. During embarking & disembarking masks were required, but once onboard it turned into a complete non-issue. Non-maskers wandered about every deck & in/out of every venue without masks & totally unconcerned about NOT wearing a mask. Over 7 days we NEVER saw a single, solitary Carnival crew member "direct" a passenger to mask. Only the Piano Bar entertainer, to his singular credit, directed audience members to mask. Non-maskers casually strolled about with ZERO masking concern. We understand & recognize why crew members are afraid to confront passengers due to fear of retribution from Senior Carnival Management or Mardi Gras Officers. Yet the TOTAL lack of concern by Mardi Gras Officers &/or Senior Crew Management was absolutely shocking. This total lack of concern put passengers & Carnival's own crew at huge unnecessary Covid risk. I just finished watching a You Tube video of 1 couple who came down with Covid while docked at Mahogany Bay & had to spend the rest of the cruise quarantined in their cabin. Yet Carnival made Z E R O mention of this fact & kept this information unknown to others who could have been exposed. This is a BLACK MARK on Carnival Management AND the Senior Officers & Senior Crew Management on Mardi Gras. Since the cruise only ended yesterday, I fully expect additional "Covid" news to begin appearing regarding the August 7 Mardi Gras sailing. Shame, Shame, SHAME on Carnival for "hyping" mask protocols that turned out to be nothing more than lip service to burnish their image.
Cabin Review
Mardi Gras proves that bigger is not always better. Carnival had the opportunity to move to a higher quality image with this ship, but went small instead. Major kudos for replacing shower curtains with doors, & there is definitely adequate storage capacity. Unfortunately this genius did not continue throughout overall cabin design. Whoever thought it was a good idea to attach the TV to the wall in front of the beds without any adjustment capability, which prevents viewing from the sofa, made a huge design error. The HEAVY stool underneath the counter was already broken & coming apart at 1 corner on only the 2nd voyage of Mardi Gras. Some may like the VERY FIRM mattresses, but would not be our selection. Lovely balcony, but 1 leg on both chairs was already missing a cap so the chairs constantly rocked back & forth & made noise with every ship or wind movement. The large makeup mirror above the counter was dirty when we arrived & remained dirty until we cleaned it on the 2nd day of the cruise. The litter on the floor upon arrival remained on the floor until a vacuum was finally used on the 6th day of the cruise. Overall noise levels were OK but perhaps we just had very considerate neighbors?