Mardi Gras Not for Us

[rainbowflag]

5 hours ago, cruisin*tigger said:

I usually cruise in a balcony but decided to do a B2B at the very last minute, so had to change cabins.  I was trying to go budget so decided on an interior.  This is 10345, just a regular interior, sleeps up to 4.  It was horrid.  As you can see, the bunk beds are not recessed and hang out over the other beds.  That is a hard metal frame there, and if you are not careful sitting up, you will knock yourself out on that corner that sticks out.  Such a ridiculous design!  I had to constantly be aware when I woke up to roll over and out from under the frame and don't just sit straight up.  And the room is just very tiny, along with the tiny bathroom.  I honestly do not see how 4 people could legit stay there.  I initially had a king setup, but asked the cabin steward to switch to twins just so I could get my suitcase off the floor and get a bit more space.  I do like chilling in my cabin and I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic lol.  Back to my balconies.  🙂

 

My eternal resting place at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills has more room than this for cripes sakes! 

Edited October 11, 2021 by rainbowflag

[heidiatmn1]

On 10/10/2021 at 1:11 PM, jsglow said:

I just sailed Horizon for the first time.  At 50% it was really nice.  But I could sense what it would be like at 100%.  Nope.

Yes-Horizon was my least favorite Carnival ship due to the number of people-chaos at all times. Give me an older smaller version any day-either way I'm eating guys burgers, tacos, main dining room, and ice cream. Not that I'd pass up a good deal on any ship:)

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, heidiatmn1 said:

Yes-Horizon was my least favorite Carnival ship due to the number of people-chaos at all times. Give me an older smaller version any day-either way I'm eating guys burgers, tacos, main dining room, and ice cream. Not that I'd pass up a good deal on any ship:)

It was 'fine' at 2135.  But none of the venues were any bigger so when that ship is sold out.... watch out.

 

As I've mentioned, our next 5 CCL cruises are on Spirit, Conquest and Dream class ships.  All wonderful. That regular interior on MG? Never in a million years.

[TrqoisWtrs]

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Sounds like your bag was too big to fit under the beds?

Don't really know.  I just live out of my suitcase so I want it accessible.  

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 10/10/2021 at 10:20 AM, dbrucern said:

"Mardi Gras Not For Us" 

Sure to go down in infamy with other, similar, infamous quotes like Pliny The Other: "Invest in salt, Romans!  Gold has no value!", Horse Carriage Manufacturer's Ass'n: "Those cars are a passing fad.  Horse Drawn Carriages are the future!", etc.

[Guest BasicSailor]

On 10/10/2021 at 10:20 AM, dbrucern said:

"Mardi Gras Not For Us" 

 

 

Thanks for posting your opinion and I'm sure Mardi Gras won't be for everyone . Most people value an opinion without ridicule or criticism

[SNJCruisers]

As a point of comparison, the ONLY cabin category that is smaller on the Mardi Gras versus the other ships in the fleet are the basic inside cabins that are 158 vs 185.  Ocean View cabins are 243 vs 220.  Balconies are 205 + 44 versus 185 + 35.

[cruizinisthebest]

Not everything is for everybody. I've had a few cruises where I only saw the room steward once or twice. They still did their job. And yes some rooms are smaller on this ship, which has been known since the deck plans came out. Conversely, many of the balcony are bigger.

 

Sometimes too much anticipation can work against you once the actual cruise is here. Hoping that won't happen to us. We're so excited to board Mardi Gras after 4 cancellations and no cruise since January 2020. Doubt it will but there's always that possibility. 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by cruizinisthebest

[momof3cruisers]

15 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Sure to go down in infamy with other, similar, infamous quotes like Pliny The Other: "Invest in salt, Romans!  Gold has no value!", Horse Carriage Manufacturer's Ass'n: "Those cars are a passing fad.  Horse Drawn Carriages are the future!", etc.

What does this even mean? That she’ll be wrong about her own opinion in the future? 

[TerReuv]

On 10/10/2021 at 10:20 AM, dbrucern said:

Please don't get me wrong, the ship is absoutely beautiful and there is  plenty of places to eat and lots to do including getting lost but I don't know if it was the excitement of anticipation or the largeness of the ship but we were both saying by the end of the cruise that we were not so sure we would come back to this ship even though we are booked again for January 2022.  We also heard this from several other people that we met on the cruise. Let me start by saying we had excellent service from every crew member we met or came in contact with and showed our appreciation  however what was unusual is that we never saw our cabin steward but for a moment when we first boarded, which is a first for us in 34 cruises.  We were disappointed in the size of the balcony room which is smaller than on the other ships and who knew the bathroom could become even smaller although having the glass door on the shower was nice. Apparently unbeknownst to us we had  signed up for the "Karen" cruise which became very entertaining EACH day and it was not limited to any age group.  It was also amazing to us the number of people that do not read information on the Carnival site with regards to the protocols currently in place. One person missed the ship so they decided that they could just fly into Mexico and board at that time (it did not happen), families that signed up for excursions that they could not go on because the children were not vaccinated and had no idea about bubble tours which by the time of cruising were sold out and still attempted to get off the ship but somehow this was Carnival's fault.  Or the two elderly women that were fighting over a chair that was in the shade but apparently it was ok to just move things while one went to the bathroom even though the other person was told someone was sitting there.  Like I said each day it was something else.  We did meet a group of wonderful people and had a great vacation 

 

 

So, I was curious and went to look up the room sizes by SF.  I compared the Mardi Gras to the Conquest.  

 

Regular balcony - MG - 205 sf & 44 sf balcony vs. C - 185 sf & 35 sf balcony

Ocean View - MG - 243 sf vs. C - 220 sf

Interior - MG - 158 sf vs. C - 185 sf

 

It looks like only the interiors are smaller.  I didn't check the suites. 

 

[keels81]

On 10/11/2021 at 11:13 AM, mouche said:

Yea, when I booked the Mardi Gras I thought the regular interior cabin would be too small for us, so I booked the premium interior that also has the couch. This will be our first ever interior, so we will see how it goes. LOL!!!

I just got off the Mardi Gras on Saturday -- we cruised in a premium interior and loved it. Perfect amount of space for three ladies. The bathroom was a little tight, but that's to be expected.

 

The other bonus of the premium interior is they're on their own little corridor off the main hallway -- far less foot traffic and no hallway announcements! I think there were 6-8 other rooms in the corridor we were in.

[dbrucern]

20 hours ago, TerReuv said:

 

 

So, I was curious and went to look up the room sizes by SF.  I compared the Mardi Gras to the Conquest.  

 

Regular balcony - MG - 205 sf & 44 sf balcony vs. C - 185 sf & 35 sf balcony

Ocean View - MG - 243 sf vs. C - 220 sf

Interior - MG - 158 sf vs. C - 185 sf

 

It looks like only the interiors are smaller.  I didn't check the suites. 

 

The balconies are narrower than a standard on other ships, no room for a coffee table in front of the couch and the side selves beside the bed on the couch side would not hold my husbands CPAP machine so he had to place on the floor.  On my side it was not a problem if placed on lower self but would not fit on the top shelf

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, dbrucern said:

The balconies are narrower than a standard on other ships, no room for a coffee table in front of the couch and the side selves beside the bed on the couch side would not hold my husbands CPAP machine so he had to place on the floor.  On my side it was not a problem if placed on lower self but would not fit on the top shelf

According to the numbers the square footage of the room is 205, exactly like the new premium interior, whereas the rest of the fleet is at 185.  That extra 20 square ft has to be going somewhere, possibly some of it in the bathroom.  The balcony is almost 25% larger as well, going from 35 to 44, so even though it may be slightly narrower, it obviously is much deeper.

Of course the option is to never cruise on any of the Excel Class ships if you prefer a smaller cabin and balcony that is on the rest of the fleet.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

The hallway is definitely way narrower and we didn’t like having bed nearest the bathroom/hall.  Will look for opposite layout next time.  Shower much improved but overall bathroom did seem smaller.  Not sure where the extra sq footage came from as the room did feel smaller.  Maybe that was all because of placement of bed. 

[kwokpot]

11 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

The hallway is definitely way narrower and we didn’t like having bed nearest the bathroom/hall.  Will look for opposite layout next time.  Shower much improved but overall bathroom did seem smaller.  Not sure where the extra sq footage came from as the room did feel smaller.  Maybe that was all because of placement of bed. 

We had the bed by the balcony and it's definitely the best cabin layout. In terms of cabin dimensions and sq. footage I think it's probably deeper but narrower than previous balcony cabins. 

[kwokpot]

Just now, kwokpot said:

We had the bed by the balcony and it's definitely the best cabin layout. In terms of cabin dimensions and sq. footage I think it's probably deeper but narrower than previous balcony cabins. 

I will also say I enjoyed the storage space and liked the new storage organization tools such as the wire racks and shoe drawer.

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I will also say I enjoyed the storage space and liked the new storage organization tools such as the wire racks and shoe drawer.

Wow!  I didn't even see the shoe storage.  Your closet is so neat, I'm jealous 😄

[ray98]

As with all new things, some will be a bonus and some will be a compromise.  Yes the interior is smaller but the storage options should make things feel less cluttered.  Where I see the problem is with people who are booking an interior cabin for 4, they really need to do their research.  The upper bunks will drastically reduce the useable space as seen in the earlier photos.  I believe if you are booking one of those the main bed needs to be split into twins just to create some open floor space to make it work.  The rest of the categories are actually larger than the current standard.

[dbrucern]

4 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

According to the numbers the square footage of the room is 205, exactly like the new premium interior, whereas the rest of the fleet is at 185.  That extra 20 square ft has to be going somewhere, possibly some of it in the bathroom.  The balcony is almost 25% larger as well, going from 35 to 44, so even though it may be slightly narrower, it obviously is much deeper.

Of course the option is to never cruise on any of the Excel Class ships if you prefer a smaller cabin and balcony that is on the rest of the fleet.

Have you cruised the Mardi Gras?

[AHS123]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I will also say I enjoyed the storage space and liked the new storage organization tools such as the wire racks and shoe drawer.

 

 

As Mrs. Doubtfire would say: " so precise, dear. " 

[DAVLIB007]

On 10/10/2021 at 9:20 AM, dbrucern said:

Please don't get me wrong, the ship is absoutely beautiful and there is  plenty of places to eat and lots to do including getting lost but I don't know if it was the excitement of anticipation or the largeness of the ship but we were both saying by the end of the cruise that we were not so sure we would come back to this ship even though we are booked again for January 2022.  We also heard this from several other people that we met on the cruise. Let me start by saying we had excellent service from every crew member we met or came in contact with and showed our appreciation  however what was unusual is that we never saw our cabin steward but for a moment when we first boarded, which is a first for us in 34 cruises.  We were disappointed in the size of the balcony room which is smaller than on the other ships and who knew the bathroom could become even smaller although having the glass door on the shower was nice. Apparently unbeknownst to us we had  signed up for the "Karen" cruise which became very entertaining EACH day and it was not limited to any age group.  It was also amazing to us the number of people that do not read information on the Carnival site with regards to the protocols currently in place. One person missed the ship so they decided that they could just fly into Mexico and board at that time (it did not happen), families that signed up for excursions that they could not go on because the children were not vaccinated and had no idea about bubble tours which by the time of cruising were sold out and still attempted to get off the ship but somehow this was Carnival's fault.  Or the two elderly women that were fighting over a chair that was in the shade but apparently it was ok to just move things while one went to the bathroom even though the other person was told someone was sitting there.  Like I said each day it was something else.  We did meet a group of wonderful people and had a great vacation 

same here probably my least favorite carnival ship. public spaces were too small for such a large ship. there wasn't big open areas always felt closed in. when this ship  is at full max it is not going to be pleasant . as for the food very poor just my opinion. Steakhouse and Emerils were both very good.  

[Colorado Beach Bum]

13 minutes ago, DAVLIB007 said:

same here probably my least favorite carnival ship. public spaces were too small for such a large ship. there wasn't big open areas always felt closed in. when this ship  is at full max it is not going to be pleasant . as for the food very poor just my opinion. Steakhouse and Emerils were both very good.  

MDR food on par with every carnival cruise but all the additional dining choices we thought made for the best dining experience we’ve ever had for all meals and snack times.  Went on the Panorama two weeks later and definitely missed all the choices from the Mardi Gras. 

[Pellaz]

8 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

MDR food on par with every carnival cruise but all the additional dining choices we thought made for the best dining experience we’ve ever had for all meals and snack times.  Went on the Panorama two weeks later and definitely missed all the choices from the Mardi Gras. 

 

Concur.  We were very pleased with our dinner in the Cucina and so far the MDR offerings have been fine the other nights.  The only disappointment so far has been our dinner at Guy's Smokehouse, where several of our orders were mis-plated and my friend's BBQ ribs were tiny and completely carbonized, hard as a rock.  They were so bad the maitre'd took a photo with his cellphone to show the chef.   :)

[SNJCruisers]

9 hours ago, dbrucern said:

Have you cruised the Mardi Gras?

Not yet, but have it booked four times for 2022, a B2B in February and again over Labor Day.  It's a game changer for Carnival from everything I have read and seen on YouTube.

It's obvious you're having second thoughts about your 2022 booking, even though the balcony cabin as well as the balcony itself were both larger than on the other ships in the fleet.  205 & 44 versus 185 & 35 can't be disputed.  11% larger cabin and 24% larger balcony.

[john160]

I have never had a problem with the room sizes on Royal or NCL, I have not noticed them getting smaller. While I do not spend a lot of time in the room while cruising, as someone else mentioned above for the price you pay it would be nice to be able to move around the room.