SonoranDevil

4 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

If I could make one "special request", I would definitely be interested in seeing the menu for the brand new, two level poolside Tiki Bar... Thanks in advance...

I'll see what I can do!  The new 2 deck location looks really neat.  My chief complaint is how busy they tend to get, especially on sea days.  But Shani loves her Ting Mojitos!

14 hours ago, candigirl41 said:

I was on the Panorama for a week in February 2020 right before the pandemic shut everything down.  It was a beautiful ship.  I am sailing on her again on August 28th.  I am looking forward to hearing about this Mardi Gras sailing.  It will give me something to look forward to.

 

Candi

We were supposed to sail on the Panorama in December, which was rescheduled to March of this year.  That then was rescheduled to March of 2022.  We were on the inaugural sailing in December of 2019 and had a regular balcony room.  Loved the ship, but the 3 day sailing was not nearly long enough to see all of her!  We have a Havana extended aft balcony for March 2022 and we are SUPER excited about that.  When it came time to book a room on the Mardi Gras, that was the first place we looked.  We were disappointed to see that Havana is not aft on the Mardi Gras and was sold out for the 7/31 cruise.  

17 hours ago, stellarose said:

I plan on journaling in December when I board MG.  now by then no one will want to read or see a MG review. but it will cool to document it. 

I'm confident that what you share will be useful to many of us.  Thank you for planning to share a little bit of your life with everyone!

17 hours ago, hebbynan said:

We’re sailing her June 2022. Can’t wait for your review and pictures to add to the excitement! 

Thank you hebbynan!  I am the same way.  Reading about other cruisers experiences serves as a much needed morale boost as we prepare for future trips.  

16 hours ago, natefish95 said:

Not going to lie, I generally dislike when people start threads so far out, but I really like your style of writing and will be eagerly following along!

 

I'm really curious to see what the thermal suite and gym are like as well as how Serenity and the more exclusive sun deck compare. 

Thank you natefish95!  I definitely debated whether I should start this early.  Ultimately, I decided that given the uncertainty that our family is experiencing for this cruise, perhaps sharing that with others will in some minor way, provide validation and reassurance.  I will definitely be checking out Serenity as well as Loft 19.  I have to admit, the artist rendering of Serenity on the Mardi Gras is quite impressive.

7 hours ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

Most important question — at least in my mind — please let us know the cost to ride Bolt!  

Mission accepted.

5 hours ago, 2Shoes2Go said:

Nice! Following along too. We’re also onboard. Hump balcony on deck 9, I think . 😊❤️

Another fellow Deck 9er!  You'll have to make sure to stop by and provide your perspective too!

12 hours ago, amcankid said:

 

She has two excursions prepaid but is thinking of canceling them and use the obc instead.

If you could let us know if the Carnival Hub app. will let you book the excursions through your phone instead of having to stand in a

long, long line at the desk I would appreciate it.

 

Hi amcankid!   We will surely check, though gauging from early reports of Vista and Horizon cruisers, it doesn't appear the Hub app will have that capability.

Looking forward to hearing about your awesome adventures as well!  

10 minutes ago, ShaniBell said:

Since I am the resident Uber Planner and keeper of The Spreadsheet this is an unusual approach to vacation planning for me. 

"The Spreadsheet" is appropriately capitalized in this sentence.  It is another member of the journey. I'm surprised we don't have to pay for its airfare. There are few things that will undoubtedly raise my blood pressure as much as an Excel spreadsheet will.  As is my ability to open jars and dispatch assorted insects and arachnids is a large part of my relationship contributions, planning our adventures is hers!  As mentioned before, I'm a lucky man in many ways.

55 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Look forward to your review! 

Thanks Joe!

2 minutes ago, jperry2011 said:

Keep the mustache so I can find you and get a picture with a master cruiser😂

Enjoy the cruise.. I know we will be deck 9 front of the ship!

Oh, it's still there.  A little less red and a little more gray 6 years later!  

Greetings fellow cruisers!  Welcome to the introductory post for our full review of the brand new Carnival Mardi Gras, sailing on 7/31/21!  My family and I are eager to sail on the newest Carnival ship, sailing on her first, pre-inaugural voyage.  With a brand new ship, I'm sure people are going to want a glimpse into the fun this beauty has to offer.  We are just under 3 weeks out from embarking on this long overdue adventure.  Like many of you, we've had multiple cruises over the past 16 months that have either been scrapped all together or rescheduled.  We are excited to get the train back on the tracks!

A Little Bit About Us

We are a family of three from Phoenix, Arizona.  My wife, Shani, will undoubtedly chime in here at some point and introduce herself.  We also have a 14 year old child that does their best to keep us on our toes.  We'll be joined on this cruise by Shani's 74 year old mother and two of Shani's cousins.  We'll be occupying three different cabins on Deck 9 Aft.  Shani's mother is a frequent travel companion of ours and I'm fortunate to have an excellent relationship with my mother-in-law.  I'm lucky in so many ways.  

While we've enjoyed a few cruises in the past, I wouldn't call us cruise experts.  We're not married to any particular cruise line, having sailed with Disney, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival in the past.  Our cruising experiences have varied greatly, from Oceanview cabins on the former Carnival Imagination to a Penthouse Suite on Norwegian's Pride of America.  You can check out my review of the Carnival Imagination from 2018 (link at bottom of this post).  This will also help you get to know us a little bit better.  You can also check out my travel blog at www.havewifewilltravel.wordpress.com.

Rob and Shani on the Disney Wonder in 2014

Shani and the kiddo at Disney World 2020

Planning 

We had originally planned on traveling to Seattle the week of 7/31, to take our kiddo to a concert.  The concert ended up being rescheduled a few weeks ago, leaving us scrambling to figure out somewhere else to travel, before our child has to head back to school.  Shani jokingly mentioned that the Mardi Gras was scheduled for its first sailing during the same window and asked if I wanted to go.  What started as joking curiosity soon transformed into giddy excitement.  Within 48 hours, we had decided to jump in head first.  Not only would we sail, but we would book a brand new Aft Excel Suite.  If anyone is curious what the determining factor was in the decision to splurge on the suite, it was the hot tub on the wrap around balcony.  After 4 cancelled/rescheduled cruises, we decided we were going to go all out!  

What started as an intimate family trip for three, soon grew into doubling the size of our travel party.  Shani's cousins (mother and daughter) soon booked an Ocean Suite near ours on Deck 9.  Soon after that, we decided to bring Shani's mother along with us as well, grabbing a Balcony right between our two suites. A multigenerational cruise it is!

What to Expect

 What will the review include?  This won't be completely comprehensive.  I'm a traveler first, a writer second.  While you'll see a pretty complete account of our experiences, I'm certain that we will not experience everything the ship has to offer on a 7 day cruise.  While I'll do my best to capture menus and other details I know everyone is eager to read about, our first priority is to enjoy our vacation.  We will be offering our unique perspective as to what we experience.  With the focus on enjoying ourselves, it will not be a live review.  You wouldn't want me writing posts after hours and hours of maximizing the Cheers package anyway.  Well, maybe some of you would.  Regardless, the vast majority of the details will be updated AFTER we come back home to Phoenix.  But I promise, I'll make it as entertaining and valuable as I can.  

So stay tuned.  In the weeks leading up to our sailing, I'll be popping in to share details of our planning and preparations.  If any of you are joining us on this adventure, make sure to say hello and introduce yourselves.  You can also stop by the Roll Call for our sailing!  We are excited to leave the world behind, even for only a week, and enjoying several thousand people coming together and celebrating life with each other!

No curfew on your overnight in port!

 

We were on the 9/9 to 9/13 Imagination! We found Camilo and we enjoyed him and Margo in every way! We mentioned that he was an internet sensation on cruise critic! He totally remembers you guys, Robert and Shani!! Every bit of your review was head on accurate and we had SO much fun! If anyone is hesitant about booking this cruise, just do it! It’s a great little getaway and we thought the service overall we received was a 10! We would definitely do this again if the time and circumstance is there! Thanks again for your great review and hints-it definitely gave us a picture of what to expect.��

 

We're glad you had such a great time!

I personally believe that the Pride of America receives an unwarranted bad wrap. If you go in by level setting your expectations to the following key points, you are setting yourself up for a fabulous experience:

- It is a port intensive cruise, with over night stops in Maui and Kauai. There are no at sea days, unless weather dictates such with a port closing.

- Because it is a port intensive cruise, the ship will not have some of the recreational amenities found on newer ships that cruise to other parts of the world. There is still enough to keep people occupied when on the ship in the evenings.

- There is no Casino. Because the ship routinely finds itself in US waters or in port.

- There is no unlimited alcohol packages for the same reason.

- The average age of a cruiser is probably a little higher than other itineraries. Don't expect as much to be going on after 11 PM.

But for each of those expectation level sets, there are equally positive aspects:

- Each day of the cruise, you're in Hawaii. Because it's an US registered ship, it doesn't need to visit a foreign port.

- The entire ship was refurbished in 2016 and it was done well, in my opinion.

- It features all of NCL's regular specialty dining options

- It's a smaller, more intimate ship. It meshes very well with an enjoyable Aloha paced cruise around the islands.

- There are two over night stops, that allow you to experience the islands in a more culturally substantial way. Not worrying about making it back to the ship in time to leave definitely opens up your visiting options, making Maui and Kauai perfect options for more customized, private excursions and experiences.

If you approach the cruise with the right attitude, it's next to impossible to not enjoy yourselves. Hawaii is tailor made for variety of recreational options, spanning the entire relaxing/curious/adventure/thrill seeking spectrum.

I am loving your review so far! Thank you so much for sharing!

Last month on the Imagination, we had to retrieve our purchased alcohol the morning of debarkation (by 9:00AM) in one of the lounges on the Promenade Deck.

I've never been, and have no desire to go. If I were going I would simply list my occupation as local government employee. One of the nicer part's about being retired is that's pretty much all I have to say.

As a former LEO, I've listed on many documents that my occupation was municipal employee. I doubt there would be an issue if he did list his occupation as an LEO, but I can certainly appreciate the concern.

Looking forward to hearing all about it!

Thanks for the great review. You kept it light, positive and still managed to pack it full of awesome details! Great job.

Hello all!

I just remembered another handy tidbit of information to share about the Imagination:

Do not attempt to run the bathroom sink at the same time as the shower. It will cause the shower drain to stop working correctly. One morning, I decided to shave while DW was in the shower. Next thing I knew, I was standing in an inch of water. Once the sink was turned off, everything drained as normal.

we are hoping to get married on the panorama to mexico june 2020! I can't wait. So nervous this will the 1st for both of us! Cant wait!!

Congratulations!

Thank you very much for the review. I would if we go Disney again, my kids was crying when we left the ship. But I plan to book with carnival panorama for August 2020. I noticed you have two booking. Do you have any suggestion for the location? Each room would be 4 people, since our kids won't stay in their own room. Thanks again, and I'm hoping to see your next review with the panorama in dec 2019.

It's hard for me to give a recommendation, since I've never sailed on the Vista or Horizon, her sister ships. For the 2019 Inaugural sailing, we have a mid-ship balcony room on Deck 8 reserved. Our DD and my mother in law will be occupying the room next to us. For the December, 2020 sailing, we have booked a Havana Aft Balcony on Deck 6, the DD and MIL right next door.

Our 2020 cruise is a milestone birthday for my DW, and it will be a group sailing for us. I know know that some group members are looking at the Family Harbor rooms. It has extra amenities geared specifically towards families.

I just got back from the imagination, we arrived at the port around 11:15, we didn't have FTTF, we send our luggage with the porter, when we got in the terminal, they been calling zone number 4, we got zone number 6, we were onboard less than 10 mins, (only a few people there at that time) We did have a few problem, we had to see guest services before boarding, my passport keep showing up old number, my kids passport keep show up wrong expiration date, I called carnival tech to fix last month, but been told somethings wrong with their system, it will be fine, but it were not, staff at the port very helpful.

We got some candy for the kids, this morning my son open the box, he said the box open very easy, and the plastic inside we're rip open, the candy had been tamp. My kids knew, so they won't eat. They just sad, I will need to check the rest of the candy we got at the fun shop.

Penny, your room steward is super friendly, and he always there whenever we need him, I wasn't so lucky, my room down the hall, with different Steward.

Yesterday when we were about to leave, water were coming down from the celling at one of the room near my sister room, I think around E110, just a few door down right after the hallway. We didn't say bye to Penny, he were so busy helping the people in that room pulling out their stuff,

Thanks for sharing your experience. So, would you cruise the Imagination again?