Jamman54

Day # 15 (May 7th) - Debarkation / Hello Orlando! We were up at 6am just as the Mardi Gras was docking back in Port Canaveral. It is cloudy out and you can see thunderstorms in the distance. Here are the last pictures from our balcony…… That‘s the Carnival Magic way over there. She’ll soon be heading north to Norfolk and New York City for the summer….. Here is the General Debarkation Information…… Here is our Diamond Debarkation Information….. At 7am, Cruise Director Lee began the Express Debark process by calling several of the muster stations. We are doing the Checked Bag debarkation, so we’re not meeting at Center Stage until 8am. At 7:45am, we said goodbye to our room steward Antonius, and made our way down to Center Stage on Deck 6. When we got there, we were told that Diamond members had already been cleared, and were free to leave the ship. We were directed to the forward gangway since there was no line. We stepped off the ship at 8:10am. We just followed the traffic down to the baggage claim / customs area, and got in the “Passport” line, which moved very quickly. Went through the facial recognition process and we were done! We easily found our luggage in the Zone 1 area, but getting a porter was a bit of a problem. I had to go over to the other side of the building where the porters enter, grab one, and then escort her to our luggage. Once she loaded up our bags, she took them directly to our car on Level 2 of the parking garage. She earned a nice tip for her work. Thanks! It was now 8:45am, and looking over at the entrance, we could see that people were already lining up for the next cruise! It was quick and easy to get out of the parking garage and the port area. We stopped at a Raceway gas station to fill up and grab a coffee. We then began our hour long trip to International Drive in Orlando. Patti got these shots as we sped out of Port Canaveral……. To be continued……..

Thanks for reading!

Glad to have you aboard, and thanks for reading!

I see we're morphing into "Bean- Gate"!

Yes, we were very upset that our mac and cheese, apple cobbler, and vanilla ice cream were not scooped directly onto the plate! Killed the ambience.

Thanks for posting the height requirements. We dropped the ball on that one!

Thanks for reading! We try to make our readers feel like they are sailing along with us. Glad you enjoyed the review. Have a little more to show you, then of course our post cruise adventures! We like the Pig & Anchor for dinner. We ate there three times during our two weeks aboard.

We went back to the cabin to finish packing and relax before dinner. Tonight, we decided our last dinner was going to be back at the Pig & Anchor. We had to wait a few minutes for our table, so we sat at the bar and ordered a round of drinks…… Once we were seated, they took our order pretty quickly. At the risk of stirring up plate-gate again, here is what we had to eat. After dinner we decided to walk the Lanai on the port side of the ship. Here you will find the Pig & Anchor BBQ, which is open for lunch on embarkation day and sea days…… Walking forward you’ll find the outside seating for Rudi’s SeaGrill and Cucina del Capitano….. This is as far forward as you can go from this side….. We are looking up towards our cabin….. From here, we watched the last sunset of this cruise….. We went back inside and walked around the ship for the last time. We stopped at the Center Stage Bar for one last drink since Patti liked the way they made the Chocolate Mocha Getaways there. We decided to call it a cruise(s), and made our way back to the cabin to finish packing and put our suitcases out. Here is the final towel creation….. Coming up next: Debarkation and off to Orlando!

Here are a few more views of The Ultimate Playground…… I make my way to the Beach Pool, and though Groove for St. Jude has just ended, Cruise Director Lee is still partying with the crowd….. Back at the cabin I see Patti on the balcony soaking in the sun….. The VIFP party is scheduled today for 3:30pm in the Mardi Gras Theater…. Patti and I will not attend again this week. We will take the free drinks that they loaded onto our Sail & Sign cards, and head down to the Alchemy Bar…… We spent an hour or so there enjoying a couple of drinks, and listening to the Eureka Strings, who were playing right below us at the Fortune Teller Bar….. To be continued…….

I have made it up to Deck 18 aft and The Ultimate Playground….. Here is the mini golf course….. Here are the rules and equipment for mini golf….. Bolt is running. I finally get to see it up close….. Here is the entrance to Bolt….. Here is some Bolt information and the test car….. To be continued……

Around 10:45am I went down to Center Stage to grab our seats for the final edition of “The Wave”, hosted by Lee and Tyler….. After the show we posed for a picture with Lee and Tyler…… Here’s one of just Lee and Tyler. Tyler has since been promoted to Cruise Director. Congrats Tyler! We also posed for a picture with our Cruise Critic friends Bob and Ann. (jedi bobs)........ Patti and I went to the last session of bingo, as it was for a free cruise. The place was packed! It was a good thing that Patti had purchased the cards earlier this morning. We got seats against the railing up on Deck 7 which gave us a pretty good view….. We came close but we didn’t win. Afterwards, Patti went back to the cabin to pack, and to get some sun on our balcony. I wanted to go check out the upper decks since I hadn’t spent any time up there, so I took the camera with me. But first, I made a stop at Big Chicken. I got myself a chicken sandwich, fries, and potato salad, then took them over to the Tides Bar to eat….. After eating I began to make my way up to The Ultimate Playground. Here is a picture of the Tides Pool and hot tubs…… This is the seating area at the aft end of Deck 17, which overlooks the Tides Pool….. To be continued……

Day # 14 (May 6th) - Farewell Fun Day at Sea . We were up at 7am to yet another beautiful sunny day with calm seas, as the Mardi Gras makes her way back to Port Canaveral. For the final time, here are our views from our balcony….. Here are the last “Fun Times” of the cruise….. Once again I spent some time working on pictures for the review. Patti went to grab a bite to eat, and then made her way over to the Mardi Gras Theater for Lee’s Q & A session. Around 10am I made my way over to the Blue Iguana Cantina to get a breakfast burrito, and then took it over to the Red Frog Tiki Bar where I got a Thirsty Frog Wheat to wash it down. This is my breakfast of champions! Saying goodbye to my friends at the Tiki Bar….. Joel Joseph is playing those Caribbean sounds on the steel drums….. To be continued…….

I'm a Bacardi and coke guy, but I always make it a double, so they could use Royal Crown Cola for all I care! 😁🥃

From the pictures we took while on board, days 1 & 4 match up perfectly.

Patti went back to the cabin as she wanted to get a head start on her packing, and to lay out in the sun on our balcony. I went to the casino and spent a couple of hours playing blackjack. I did pretty well and decided to quit while I was ahead, and cash out my chips. I then went to the Alchemy Bar to celebrate my good fortune with several Pain Reliefs. Tonight for dinner we are heading back to the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse…… These were compliments of the Chef….. For our starters we both had the shrimp cocktail…… Patti also had a Caesar salad and I had the risotto…… For our mains, we both had the lobster. She added a baked potato, and I added the wasabi mashed potatoes and mushrooms….. For dessert Patti had the fruit plate, and I had the cheesecake….. Tonight’s food and service was spot on. Everything came out piping hot. It was a much better experience than last night. After dinner we stepped outside to catch tonight’s not so great sunset….. We continued to walk around the ship. The Playlist Production of Broadway Beats was playing in the Mardi Gras Theater. Marcus Anthony was doing his second night at Center Stage. There will be a Mega Deck Party later, followed by a Comedy Showcase in the Mardi Gras Theater. That’s past our bedtime. Back at the cabin we find that the laundry Patti sent out this morning is done and returned, and we find tonight’s towel creature…….. Coming up next: Our final day aboard the Mardi Gras! (for now!).

Afterwards, it was time for the Diamond Luncheon in the Flamingo Restaurant. We invited John and Gerry to come along with us…… Here is the Diamond Luncheon menu….. We have our drinks. We had several rounds during the event, and even had one to go! Patti had the lobster bisque and the Japanese sea bass….. I had the slow braised pork belly and the charred NY steak…… We both had the hazelnut and malted chocolate for dessert…… When we left the Flamingo Restaurant we saw the Eureka Strings playing at the Brass Magnolia…… To be continued……

Day # 13 (May 5th) - Fun Day at Sea # 5. We were up at 7am to a beautiful day, and the seas were fairly calm. Here are the views from our balcony looking forward and aft….. Here are today’s “Fun Times”…… We aren’t going to eat breakfast today because we have the Diamond Luncheon at noon. Patti puts together a couple of bags of laundry to send out, and I’m trying to catch up on Patti’s pictures for the review. Just before 10am Patti leaves to go check out the $10 “sales” at the Fun Shops. Patti later told me that it was a complete bust as chaos reigned supreme! I left the cabin at 10:30am to get seats at Center Stage for the Morning Show (The Wave), hosted by Lee and Tyler….. Their two guests were the watch and jewelry experts aboard the Mardi Gras….. To be continued………

Thank you so much for following along! Patti actually ordered it while we were in the car driving home from Florida, and it was delivered just a few days after we got home. She has been playing around with it since she got it, and so far so good. It's a bit heavier than the previous models, but the best part is that it uses the same batteries as her old one. The real test will come at the end of August when we board the Legend for B2B cruises to Bermuda and New England / Canada.

Sometimes you just have to look up Greg!

Usually from the Cruise Director. We have sailed with Lee quite a few times so he knows us, and we just ask him. It's public knowledge so if you see any officer, or Fun Squad member, they will tell you. Have a great cruise on the Mardi Gras, and if you see Lee, tell him Jeff and Patti say hi!

My first thought is that they will name this refurb the Carnival Brilliance, but do they really want to mirror another name of a Royal Caribbean ship? I say they should pay homage to the first "Super Liner", the Holiday!

Along with the occasional beach bag, camera, or cell phone!

Yes we did, and we posted them several times during the course of this review. I'll post three of them now so you don't have to search..... Usually when we take pictures of a venue, we like to take pictures of any signage that goes along with them. Somehow we failed to do this on the Mardi Gras for the Waterworks, so we apologize for that. Looking back at our Panorama and Horizon reviews, we've seen the "big" slides that have height requirements of 42" and 48". Hopefully, someone will see this and post these requirements for the Mardi Gras.

When we booked it six months prior to sailing it was $240. I wouldn't be surprised if the price has been raised since then. We are waiting for them to be available for our Freedom cruise in January. 😎

Sounds like you guys had a great time. Could be an option for us IF we can't get a Beach Cabana. 😎