Carnival Mardi Gras or Harmony of the Seas

[Tapi]

28 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Haven for thee same price is a deal

 

For the record, I still want to do Panorama in 2020. I just have to get government approval (the wife 😉). 

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

For the record, I still want to do Panorama in 2020. I just have to get government approval (the wife 😉). 

I am waiting patiently.   

[tinkr2]

Harmony is an amazing ship. It will never feel crowded. There will be so much to do. That being said , I am very loyal to Royal. When you walk on tonAllure for the first time , your jaw will drop. It makes all other cruise ships seem like tug boats. Mardi Gras does look fun and I would not count it out. As it is a new design , I would probably wait and see. 

I generally avoid booking ships when they are brand new because of the price but this year I have broken all my rules and am on 3 new ships. (Well Sunrise is kinda new😊).

I would book Harmony bc it is amazing and the do Mardi Gras as your next cruise. It is not like it will be run down by then.😄

[tinkr2]

Oh and if entertainment is important to you, you may never cruise Carnival again. Royal whomps everyone in that department. Their broadway shows are amazing and make Carnivals very enjoyable productions seem like local theatre in comparison. Combine that with the aqua shows and the ice shows and you will be wowed. And the shows are different on every single ship. I have cruised about 8 lines but love the entertainment on Royal.

[jimbo5544]

7 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

Oh and if entertainment is important to you, you may never cruise Carnival again. Royal whomps everyone in that department. Their broadway shows are amazing and make Carnivals very enjoyable productions seem like local theatre in comparison. Combine that with the aqua shows and the ice shows and you will be wowed. And the shows are different on every single ship. I have cruised about 8 lines but love the entertainment on Royal.

I will not degrade the post, but while I understand the point of view of your comment on entertainment, I have a totally different one.  If entertainment is having to plan on show times and doing things like going to DIsney (Ice show, off broadway redos, diving show etc) and then having to live to those schedules, then I would agree.  For me, cruising entertainment is much more about entertainment around the ships, which we enjoy so much more then the hustle and bustle, keeping a schedule...but that is just me.  Different does not always mean better, but the value of that is in each consumer, not one overriding view...

[Cruzaholic41]

Mardi Gras looks amazing. I’m very happy with the direction Carnival is going regarding the interior design of their ships. 

 

That said, I’m also concerned about crowding. The space ratio is 27 which is one of the worst scores in all of cruising. Like the others said, I would wait until that ship has sailed a bit to see what people are reporting. 

 

RCI Oasis ships are amazing and are expertly designed. Plus, as mentioned, their entertainment blows Carnival away. It’s not even close in that regard. 

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I will not degrade the post, but while I understand the point of view of your comment on entertainment, I have a totally different one.  If entertainment is having to plan on show times and doing things like going to DIsney (Ice show, off broadway redos, diving show etc) and then having to live to those schedules, then I would agree.  For me, cruising entertainment is much more about entertainment around the ships, which we enjoy so much more then the hustle and bustle, keeping a schedule...but that is just me.  Different does not always mean better, but the value of that is in each consumer, not one overriding view...

 

Agreed. If you say Royal has the best Broadway/theater shows, I'd say that's a tough one to debate. If you say Royal will entertain you better than anyone else, that is a different story. There is no offering in the history of man that works for everyone. Everyone has a different idea of what they find fun.

[hockeyguru32]

I think you are all jumping the gun a bit, you're comparing something that is on the seas and been out for 4 years. They have only announced a tad bit of information on what will be on the Mardi Gras. CCL is still working on other things behind the scenes that no one knows about except for them. To make an educated guess on entertainment I think you would have to wait and see what CCL plans are. I for one like the CCL product and am booked on the Mardi Gras. I'm hoping I am not too disappointed like I was with the Vista she was not my cup of tea

[cruzin Phillis]

21 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

I going to say, I have yet to cruise RCCL and I absolutely ADORE Carnival, and I had the Mardi Gras booked, BUT I changed my mind. I always try to go with an open mind but the more and more I looked at the space ratios on Mardi Gras the more concerned I got....it looks like it is going to be crowded. I was also really disappointed what they did with the Havana area compared to the Vista class. I will probably check the Mardi Gras out, but it will be after others have gone on it and reported back about what they think.

That is what I was looking at as well when I saw the deck plans. was hoping that Carnival would address the crowd issues but I will wait on the initial reviews. It seems like everyone will crowd in the central station area as it seems to be the biggest open space so far.

[xDisconnections]

Harmony 🙂

[rs45thompson]

15 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

Harmony is an amazing ship. It will never feel crowded. There will be so much to do. That being said , I am very loyal to Royal. When you walk on tonAllure for the first time , your jaw will drop. It makes all other cruise ships seem like tug boats. Mardi Gras does look fun and I would not count it out. As it is a new design , I would probably wait and see. 

I generally avoid booking ships when they are brand new because of the price but this year I have broken all my rules and am on 3 new ships. (Well Sunrise is kinda new😊).

I would book Harmony bc it is amazing and the do Mardi Gras as your next cruise. It is not like it will be run down by then.😄

That is what I had decided to do.So I booked the harmony and put a down payment on it. But then I did something really stupid.  An earlier poster had mentioned the Norwegian encore and out of curiosity I looked it up. Big mistake! I have now canceled my harmony cruise and I’m now booked on the encore with the drink package for the same price.  Wow that was not even on my radar. How things change.

[jimbo5544]

22 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

That is what I had decided to do.So I booked the harmony and put a down payment on it. But then I did something really stupid.  An earlier poster had mentioned the Norwegian encore and out of curiosity I looked it up. Big mistake! I have now canceled my harmony cruise and I’m now booked on the encore with the drink package for the same price.  Wow that was not even on my radar. How things change.

happy cruising, let us know your thoughts when you return.

[rs45thompson]

Will do Jimbo and I’ll be looking forward to your review of the Mardi Gras.

[Aquahound]

2 hours ago, rs45thompson said:

That is what I had decided to do.So I booked the harmony and put a down payment on it. But then I did something really stupid.  An earlier poster had mentioned the Norwegian encore and out of curiosity I looked it up. Big mistake! I have now canceled my harmony cruise and I’m now booked on the encore with the drink package for the same price.  Wow that was not even on my radar. How things change.

 

I don't think you made a bad decision, especially since you've already been on Oasis Class.  I cruised Norwegian Escape and loved it.  Granted, it was the most crowded ship on which I have ever sailed, but their entertainment was up there; perhaps just a slight notch below RCI.  Enjoy your cruise.  Check out the Waterfront.  It's really nice to eat out there in the evenings.  

[MrFunInTheSun]

Harmony of the Seas is simply amazing as are her three younger and older sisters too. Book it, you won't be disappointed. With that said I'm looking forward to sail on Carnival Mardi Gras, but that won't be until 2021, that's a long ways away. 🙂 Until them more cruises on Royal Caribbeans Oasis class ships. 🙂

 

Prior to cruising a lot with Royal Caribbean I was pretty loyal to Carnival.

 

 

Below is my last "Live" trip report with lots of pictures on Harmony of the Seas.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

4 hours ago, rs45thompson said:

Will do Jimbo and I’ll be looking forward to your review of the Mardi Gras.

You can count on it!

[wytygr8]

On 3/14/2019 at 9:20 AM, CruiseMomTX said:

The food is much better on Harmony

 

Given my one experience on Royal, I find this hard to believe. We were on a small ship though.

[MrFunInTheSun]

1 hour ago, wytygr8 said:

 

Given my one experience on Royal, I find this hard to believe. We were on a small ship though.

 

Food is so subjective though. It can vary from ship to ship, day to day. I've had good and not so good food on a Carnival ship and I've also had some good and not so good food on a Royal Caribbean ship. Neither line had better food than the other, it really has so many variables on a day by day, minute by minute and person by person basis. 🙂

 

That said Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the seas and her other two sisters Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas are simply amazing ships. 🙂

[tinkr2]

7 hours ago, rs45thompson said:

That is what I had decided to do.So I booked the harmony and put a down payment on it. But then I did something really stupid.  An earlier poster had mentioned the Norwegian encore and out of curiosity I looked it up. Big mistake! I have now canceled my harmony cruise and I’m now booked on the encore with the drink package for the same price.  Wow that was not even on my radar. How things change.

Now I am headed over to look at Encore pricing. he mentioned haven at same price which seems like crazy talk lol. I really enjoyed haven but not the price.

[SNJCruisers]

59 minutes ago, tinkr2 said:

Now I am headed over to look at Encore pricing. he mentioned haven at same price which seems like crazy talk lol. I really enjoyed haven but not the price.

Here's another hat to toss into the ring for your comparison.  The Yacht Club on MSC, specifically the Seaside if you're looking for Caribbean.  It's a ship within a ship concept similar to the Haven on NCL, but the Yacht Club even has economical inside cabins.

Still can't believe that Tapi has found a relatively inexpensive Haven cabin....thought they were like unicorns.

[tinkr2]

No interest in MSC after extensive research.

[SNJCruisers]

9 minutes ago, tinkr2 said:

No interest in MSC after extensive research.

Out of curiosity, was this extensive research done with the Meraviglia and Seaside, or their other smaller ships.

[Tapi]

4 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

No interest in MSC after extensive research.

After extensive research is how I found this amazing Aurea Duplex Suite on the MSC Meraviglia. It came with priority embarkation/debarkation, unlimited drink package, unlimited access to the Aurea Spa thermal suite, complimentary massages, access to a private “suite only” solarium, open seating in a reserved section of the MDR, Nespresso coffee system in-stateroom, and our own jacuzzi tub in our balcony. After a loyalty match discount and a Kids Sail Free promotion, we paid a little over $1K per person (taxes included) to sail in the Mediterranean. And the Meraviglia is an absolutely beautiful and amazing ship. Second in “wow” factor to the Oasis (in my humble opinion). 

 

Even thogh a lot of people say that the MSC Yacht Club is the only way to sail on MSC, the Aurea Experience provided a great cruise for us. Meraviglia is respositionig to Miami later this year. Maybe MSC deserves further research! 

[Emmabelle]

I'm torn between Harmony and Carnival Horizon for this October.  I know I'm comparing apples to oranges, I'm just not sure I won't feel overwhelmed on the Harmony.  We typically are bucket and bolts type of cruisers.  I do like a smaller ship though....   

[Tapi]

15 hours ago, rs45thompson said:

An earlier poster had mentioned the Norwegian encore and out of curiosity I looked it up. Big mistake! I have now canceled my harmony cruise and I’m now booked on the encore with the drink package for the same price.  Wow that was not even on my radar. How things change.

Glad I could mess up your plans! 😂 Enjoy the Encore!