Carnival Mardi Gras Review
5.0 / 5.0
BIG ship -- still fun, but too many people
Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Mardi Gras
NeedToVacation
10+ Cruises • Age 50s
Rating by category
Cabin
Family
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details
Sail Date: Jan 2023
Cabin: Balcony
We chose this ship because it is newer and has the BOLT roller coaster! There were six of us traveling. We had three rooms on Deck 15: two balcony rooms and one interior across the hall. The Eastern Caribbean itinerary was a plus also, since my brothers had never been to any of those ports.
Embarkation: went as smoothly as it can when there are thousands of people all checking in at the same time (Port Canaveral terminal is not quite as user friendly as Miami, in my opinion)
Food: One reason we keep sailing Carnival is because of all the wonderful food options. We headed straight to Shaq's Chicken when we got onboard. Try the "Shaq Attack" -- it's the BEST!!! So tasty! And over the 7 days, we enjoyed Guy's Burgers & fries (YUM!), pizza, breakfast tacos at Blue Iguana, chocolate muffins on the buffet for breakfast, Hot Cocoa from the machine next to the coffee machine (delicious!), and some loaded fries one day.
Cabin Review
Balcony
We chose Deck 15 on the left side of the ship (even numbered rooms) because we wanted to avoid smelling the smoke from the Bar on the right side of the ship. (The bar is maybe around Deck 8, mid ship, I think.
All three of our rooms were spacious, with comfortable beds, nice cold mini fridges, and adequate bathroom space.
We asked our room attendant to fold over the partition between our two balconies, so we had one big balcony w/four chairs and two small tables.
Port Reviews
San Juan
We got off the ship early to go have breakfast in Old San Juan. Walked to Mallorca Cafeteria, a couple blocks over and a couple blocks up from port. Delicious, warm, sugary, buttery bread!!! Great service.
Walked back to ship to pick up more of our party of 6. Caught an Uber to El Morro Fort. Walked around the grounds. Very interesting, and good views of the water and coast.
Caught another Uber to Escambron Beach. Did a little bit of snorkeling. It was just OK. A bit windy, so water was murky.
Ubered back to ship. Nice day all in all.
Grand Turk
Rented a golf cart made for 6 for the day. Drove out by the lighthouse. Did a little bit of sightseeing. Saw some donkeys along the roadside. Stopped at a couple beaches. Snorkeled at the one right next to their little downtown (Cockburn) area. Had a great little liquor/ drinks store right there. Nice sandy beach with clear blue water.
Pulled the golf cart in by the Jack's Shack sign, and made our last stop at the beach there by the cruise ship. Ate at the little yellow shack down the beach a little ways. Had two plates of wonderful Curry chicken, and two plates of tasty Jerk Chicken. They had icy cold Pepsi too, which was a bonus!
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