Carnival Mardi Gras Review
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After being on several Carnival ships, I had been dying to sail the Mardi Gras since it was under construction. It did not disappoint. Absolutley beautiful from top to bottom, but be very prepared for A LOT of people! Carnival did a fantastic job spreading the various venues out to distribute the people as evenly as possible, as there was truly something for everyone, but any way you slice it, 6000+ people on a ship, is STILL 6000+ people on a ship. We had spectacular service everywhere we went, and avoided the crowds easily by hanging out in the thermal suite most mornings. Enjoyed most of the food. Found a new favorite bar & drink...(Brass Magnolia...Bayou Lemonade!) The elevators were quick, plentiful, and although crowded at peak times, never an issue for us. Many people complained about the kids and teens on our cruise, saying the were everywhere and rude, but we never encountered this. We were a couple traveling without children, so we generally weren't where children were, but still found all the children we encountered to be delightful, and well behaved.
Kydall Fire was the Cruise Director, and while I normally couldn't care less about this, she was BY FAR the best cruise director we have ever experienced. She seemed to be everywhere at all times, and it looked as if she talked to EVERYONE. I swear she had to have clones running around the ship for all that she did!
We found the food by & large to be good to great. Guys burgers are still some of the best burgers you will find ANYWHERE, but we were disappointed in Shaq's Big Chicken. (I think we are spoiled by Chic-Fil-A). LOVED Chibang so much we ate dinner there 3 separate nights. (Don't skip the kung pow chicken!) and the Farfalle Al Pistachio at Cucina Del Capitano was probably the best thing I ate all week! (I HAVE to get the recipe for that!) The Blue Iguana continues to be one of our favorites for both breakfast and lunch. The lido buffet was laid out differently, but I think it worked. Would have loved to try the Street Eats more, but we never seemed to get there! The Pizza is a favorite of my husbands, and the sandwiches from the deli were great, I just wish they offered something WITH them...chips, potato salad...something....
Cabin Review
Cloud 9 Spa Balcony
Our cabin 17232 was a spa balcony cabin. We LOVED being on this very quiet level. We found that most balconies on the Mardi Gras offered very little, if any privacy. This was not the case with our balcony. Now, we definitely could HEAR every pin drop on the balcony, but felt that we had plenty of privacy. Being just under the serenity deck was never an issue. We never heard anything from our neighbors or above. When the balcony door is LOCKED, it was very quiet as well. The BEST part of this location however was the "Secret elevator" directly down to the thermal suite on deck 5. You need your sail & sign card to access it, so you MUST be staying in a spa room for it to work, but it's GLORIOUS to be able to hop right down to the spa without waiting. Pro tip: If you are on deck 5 during the evening festivities, and find the elevator banks crowded, sneak through the spa, down one level and take that elevator right on up to deck 17! We did this a few times & it saved us the hassle of crowded elevators! The only negative (or maybe a positive...) is that there is no way to access this floor from the outside. You either have to go up or down a deck to get anywhere...but that may contribute to the quiet nature of the deck. There have been some complaints about the cabins being narrower than on previous ships, but we found the cabin felt quite roomy. The shower, with its glass door was a DREAM! No shower curtain sticking to your leg while you are trying to rinse the shampoo out of your hair any longer! Please pay attention to which cabin you choose if bed placement is important to you. Our couch was closer to the balcony. I would have preferred our bed be closer to the balcony, and some rooms ARE configured this way, this is a good thing to confirm with your personal cruise planner at Carnival prior to booking.