csj092809 Posted October 4, 2021 #476 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Good morning! Sorry if I missed it, but what was your room number? I just realized that I booked a room under Grand Central and I am thinking I want to move..I don't like loud noises all night long, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwokpot Posted October 4, 2021 #477 Share Posted October 4, 2021 31 minutes ago, csj092809 said: Good morning! Sorry if I missed it, but what was your room number? I just realized that I booked a room under Grand Central and I am thinking I want to move..I don't like loud noises all night long, lol. I was in Cabin 9363 and you definitely hear the entertainment going on at night but it doesn't go past Midnight. If you're an early sleeper, meaning turning in and going to bed before midnight, then there may be issues for you with the sound. Otherwise, I enjoyed the cabin and especially the giant balcony. I was able to have a lounger brought up to the balcony, and it was large enough to have the existing two chairs, table and lounger all on the balcony with plenty of walking room. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrak Posted October 4, 2021 #478 Share Posted October 4, 2021 2 hours ago, kwokpot said: I was in Cabin 9363 and you definitely hear the entertainment going on at night but it doesn't go past Midnight. If you're an early sleeper, meaning turning in and going to bed before midnight, then there may be issues for you with the sound. Otherwise, I enjoyed the cabin and especially the giant balcony. I was able to have a lounger brought up to the balcony, and it was large enough to have the existing two chairs, table and lounger all on the balcony with plenty of walking room. Did you just ask the cabin steward for the lounger? we have an extended balcony and was wondering if this would be possible. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwokpot Posted October 4, 2021 #479 Share Posted October 4, 2021 19 minutes ago, mrak said: Did you just ask the cabin steward for the lounger? we have an extended balcony and was wondering if this would be possible. Thanks! Yes, we were on the 5th sailing of the Mardi Gras, and there was no lounger when we arrived,. I did ask the room attendant and it arrived the day after I requested it. He apologized for not getting it the day I requested it but he said it had to be approved due to fire code issues. I assume that meant that safety officials had to deem that there's enough space to allow a lounger. I'm not sure whether it was removed for the next cruise. The attendant also implied that the adjacent cabin Aft to us would not have had enough space for a lounger. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 4, 2021 Author #480 Share Posted October 4, 2021 9 hours ago, csj092809 said: Good morning! Sorry if I missed it, but what was your room number? I just realized that I booked a room under Grand Central and I am thinking I want to move..I don't like loud noises all night long, lol. Our room was 5364. Right in the very center of the ship side to side, on a weird inside hallway within another hallway. There was no noise in that room, whatsoever, ever, day or night. It was pretty great, except that it managed to be about as far as humanly possible from any elevator. Being in the center of the ship, this means we were underneath the audience at Grand Central, not the stage, but I don't see whether that would have made any difference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 4, 2021 Author #481 Share Posted October 4, 2021 8 hours ago, kwokpot said: I was in Cabin 9363 and you definitely hear the entertainment going on at night but it doesn't go past Midnight. If you're an early sleeper, meaning turning in and going to bed before midnight, then there may be issues for you with the sound. Otherwise, I enjoyed the cabin and especially the giant balcony. I was able to have a lounger brought up to the balcony, and it was large enough to have the existing two chairs, table and lounger all on the balcony with plenty of walking room. It seems for some odd reason that the noise issue is a bigger problem above a noisy venue than below. Only basing this on my own experience and other reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #482 Share Posted October 5, 2021 After we had our excellent steakhouse dinner, DH and I finally were able to start exploring this vessel. We were excited to see Rock Revolution and we both liked it. The rest of the night we went to Punchliner and various other stuff as there was a lot going on and we were determined to have a lot of fun that first day if it killed us. We finally stumbled down to bed well after 1am which is insanely late for us (sometimes as early as 8, often 9, maybe 10 max at home). The good news is we slept well, but the bad news is we slept late on our first sea day which we NEVER DO . . some pics coming next post. Sooooo, Playlist Productions. Here's the thing. The performers are talented singers and dancers and they work very hard and they provide solid entertainment with what they are given. What are they given? Well. . . They are given ONE COSTUME PER SHOW - maybe they put on an additional wrap or hat or scarf or vest over it or the guys take off their shirts or something, but pretty much one costume per show. They are given PRERECORDED BACKING MUSIC TRACKS - which is okay but is, well, prerecorded backing music. It's not live musicians with instruments. This is obviously a huge cost savings for the cruise line. They are given MINIMAL SETS. They are given STYLIZED, SHORTENED VERSIONS OF MANY SONGS - not necessarily like you know it from the hit version you heard on the radio or the version like they sang it on Broadway. Aaaaand this is why a lot of people say they are not big fans of (most) Playlist production shows. Apparently a few have a little more oomph than others. On our first Carnival Cruise, 2017 on Triumph, they still had the live orchestra and a LOT of costume changes and we really enjoyed it, which is to say, enjoyed it more than the Playlist type of presentation. Our two most recent cruises before the pandemic were on RCI and they invest more in their live entertainment and it shows. We don't dislike Playlist shows, but I would say we don't consider them must-dos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #483 Share Posted October 5, 2021 First sea day we didn’t get out of the room and moving until around 10. The ship wasn’t full but I was amazed how many open loungers at midday. This is around the tides pool at the aft of the Lido Deck behind the buffet and on deck directly above. I took a ton of pictures of empty chairs because I was so astonished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #484 Share Posted October 5, 2021 Walking around one deck up from Lido. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #485 Share Posted October 5, 2021 We got to Sea Day brunch around lunchtime. DH had steak and eggs, I had Salmon Superfood Salad which was good and right-sized portions for zero waste, aka small but adequate, teen had signature tower with bagels and three kinds of fishy bagel toppings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #486 Share Posted October 5, 2021 We were now almost 24 hours on the ship but hadn’t hit any trivia, and our first sea day was well underway. First encounter with the infamous Limelight lounge for a couple rounds, then we had our cabin crawl mid-afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ColeThornton Posted October 5, 2021 #487 Share Posted October 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, KmomChicago said: We got to Sea Day brunch around lunchtime. DH had steak and eggs, I had Salmon Superfood Salad which was good and right-sized portions for zero waste, aka small but adequate, teen had signature tower with bagels and three kinds of fishy bagel toppings. Only five french fries? Is there a french fry shortage along with a bacon shortage? LOL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #488 Share Posted October 5, 2021 I was proud to show off my premium interior to people who all had 100% better staterooms. 😏 This is where I compared our space to the interior portion of a balcony room, and it was the same size, though in this case they had the opposite configuration; big bed near entry and couch bed near the far wall. And they had a big extended balcony which is of course more space. After, I tried a free little calzone at JavaBlue and it was not good at all. The crust was extremely tough like hardtack or something. The filling had almost no tomato sauce and the sliced sausage (pepperoni?) was too spicy. Still I hate food waste and ate more than half of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #489 Share Posted October 5, 2021 1 minute ago, ColeThornton said: Only five french fries? Is there a french fry shortage along with a bacon shortage? LOL. #foodwastereduction 😀We could have just gotten far better fries at Big Chicken anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #490 Share Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) Here’s our room. 5364. I had it all perfectly clean for cabin crawl but like a fool didn’t snap a pic until we scattered our stuff later. Edited October 5, 2021 by KmomChicago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #491 Share Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) I think this is the Caprese at Piazza Panini. We basically just snacked for dinner this first sea day. No seated meal. I don’t remember deets and while this was a very good sammie I wouldn’t have remembered without this photo in the sequence on the phone. We went to a lot of entertainment 2nd night but went to sleep much earlier to try and return to our normal schedule by Monday, day 3. Edited October 5, 2021 by KmomChicago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNJCruisers Posted October 5, 2021 #492 Share Posted October 5, 2021 3 hours ago, KmomChicago said: Here’s our room. 5364. I had it all perfectly clean for cabin crawl but like a fool didn’t snap a pic until we scattered our stuff later. Lived in is better than pristine any day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #493 Share Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) Monday we were in Cozumel but only got off the ship briefly and then had first dinner at Bonsai Sushi for the kiddo. Later DH and I had second dinner at the Smokehouse. Sushi was good but we didn’t find it a great value or much food for the $$ with so many other options available. We got Bento Box and Boat for 2. Custard for dessert was very good. Edited October 5, 2021 by KmomChicago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #494 Share Posted October 5, 2021 We watched one of the Family Feud matches and found it very fun and funny. We intended to watch more but too much to do on Mardi Gras. Chris was a great host. IMG_8394.MOV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #495 Share Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) Picture of Grand Central during the day with the view open. This is docked at Costa Maya. Edited October 5, 2021 by KmomChicago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #496 Share Posted October 5, 2021 I did a morning walk about through the Havana Bar. Pretty space. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 5, 2021 Author #497 Share Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) It was very hot in Costa Maya but we went onshore to visit a couple souvenir shops. While there, kiddo spotted the overhead paths of Aviarius, a little bird sanctuary. So we did it. The cost was around $12 pp. Edited October 6, 2021 by KmomChicago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pellaz Posted October 7, 2021 #498 Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 10/4/2021 at 8:05 AM, KmomChicago said: Hi, Pellaz. Thank you; this is helpful. Right now they are not offering FTTF. Mom and I, however, are staying in a Grand Suite so we may be able to get early boarding and try to beat some of the rush to the desk. Unfortunately I believe my husband and teen might then be stuck waiting longer in the terminal. All things considered I am thinking proximity to a bathroom might be of more concern than a strictly ADA compliant cabana. Mom can and does walk, but not fast or far. She has trouble with stairs but with help and time she can ascend and descend, and one of us will be with her at all times. In any case I will definitely try to get to the proper authorities as early as possible on embarkation day. There are, I think, two sets of bathrooms at HMC. One larger set not far from the tender pier and a second smaller set behind Cabana #9 or so. On 10/4/2021 at 8:05 AM, KmomChicago said: For your question, on my embarkation day I do not think they were open but cannot confirm 100%. The hub app did not indicate they were. However, remember we didn't get on the ship until nearly 2pm and then I was distracted for another couple of hours with issues, so it is possible we just missed it. . . and it was only the second sailing so could have changed by now. Sorry for not being able to help more with that. Thanks. I'll try to scope it out when we embark. If they're not open....well, I guess we won't starve. Not on THAT ship! 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray98 Posted October 8, 2021 #499 Share Posted October 8, 2021 What a wonderful review. We are booked in a couple months and this answered so many questions. Thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted October 13, 2021 Author #500 Share Posted October 13, 2021 On 10/7/2021 at 2:28 AM, Pellaz said: There are, I think, two sets of bathrooms at HMC. One larger set not far from the tender pier and a second smaller set behind Cabana #9 or so. Thanks. I'll try to scope it out when we embark. If they're not open....well, I guess we won't starve. Not on THAT ship! 😄 Please do update us on the details. . . whether here or on your own post for your own review of your own cruise. It's been a lot of fun to watch more reviews come in on Mardi Gras covering more questions and answers, as well as tweaks that are being made on the fly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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