We are well experienced cruisers who love cruising & have done 114 cruises, 68 on Carnival. We did a back to back on the Mardi Gras. The ship is very large. Our extended balcony cabin was at the very forward of the ship. We would not recommend cabins in this location. While the balcony was larger, with a wind shield to easily open your balcony door, the base was metal, not glass, so you had to stand to see the ocean. These cabins overlook a crew outdoor smoking / relaxation area which was not an issue for us. It was not noisy or smokey. The bathrooms are VERY small but the shower door, no curtain, was a plus. We discovered that you can tap the top of the light switch for full light in the bathroom & tap the bottom of the switch for low light. This low light was ideal for those half asleep bathroom trips in the night. There is plenty of closet space, drawers & convenient slide out shelving in the cabin. I counted 400 steps from our cabin to the very aft of ship so opt for mid ship location when possible.

The service throughout was excellent with the staff very friendly, welcoming & professional. The food was very good throughout with a lot of free, convenient options with no wait times at 60% capacity. Flamingo restaurant for Anytime dining was small & unattractive, cafeteria like. Beware of step into Flamingo, poor design. The food at Rudi's was delicious with wonderful presentations. Fahrenheit 555 was not as good as usual. Shaks Chicken, pannini venue & pizza were good & we liked Pig & Anchor, loved Chabang & Cucina too.Live music throughout was great especially the Center Stage Band in atrium nightly with Cocoa & Calvin. We recommended to Hugo, Entertainment Manager, to have a dance floor here as there is ample space & it would enhance the whole venue & experience. Patrick in Piano Bar was fun. Playlist Production cast was worst we have ever seen with frequent off key & screeching vocals. Production shows were mediocre high school quality, mediocre sets, not good. Many guests walked out. Our second cruise had Celestial Strings productions one night in atrium which were good. Playlist Production shows on Carnival Horizon were GREAT so maybe Carnival Execs will take note & make the necessary changes. We were very disappointed with shows especially since this is now their newest, premier ship. Magician mediocre, juggler mediocre, watching Family Feud was fun, lots of trivia games, 6 comedians each week were very good & getting to venues 15 - 20 minutes before showtime worked well. Be aware of steps in Punchliner. Carpet pattern hid step & many peope tripped until we & other guests warned them of step. Heroes Lounge was comfy & great big screen tvs for watching sports. Band & guitarist in Pig & Anchor were great! Strings, who performed throughout ship & jazz band in Magnolia were wonderful. We loved Serenity deck & pool with plenty of loungers, shaded seating, bar & Fresh Creations salad bar on sea days. Summer landing pool & loungers with limited seating & shade was wonderful especially on port days. The ship has 4 pools & plenty of hot tubs. We didn't ride the Bolt Rollercoaster but family did & were underwhelmed at $15 for 15 seconds. A second go around would have been better. The gym was well equipped & not crowded. Casino non-smoking area was large but slot machines were very tight. Spa massages were good. Overall, we loved the ship & had a great time. We already have 5 more cruises booked on the Mardi Gras & look forward to sailing her again.