Our Marvelous Mardi Gras B2B (with pics!) - April 23rd, 2022

[Jamman54]

Lanyards anyone?

 

 

Patti heads down to Deck 8. Here are a few Havana Bar views…..

 

 

 

 

 

DJ Clarks is spinning tunes to a pretty empty Grand Central…..

 

 

 

Patti heads aft on Deck 8 to Carnival Adventures……

 

 

 

Here is the Portside Liquor & Tobacco…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Here is the Pig & Anchor…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Heroes Tribute Lounge…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti checks out an empty Rudi’s SeaGrill…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right next door is the Piazza Panini……

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

This is Pizzeria del Capitano…..

 

 

 

Patti checks out an empty Fahrenheit 555…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I met up with Patti back at the cabin where we found a fruit plate and a bottle of champagne, compliments of the Hotel Director in honor of our B2B…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

At 4pm I went back up to the Red Frog Tiki Bar for sail away. Patti decided to stay at the cabin and watch from our balcony. There’s a lot of sailing, boating, and fishing going on nearby…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Victory Casino Boat is returning to port…..

 

 

 

 

The Carnival Freedom is sailing from Port Canaveral……

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

The Carnival Freedom sails by us. We all know the story about what happened to her since then. She’ll be fixed up and good as new in no time at all. Patti and I look forward to sailing on her next January…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mardi Gras sails for Cozumel, Mexico…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are some more pictures as the Mardi Gras sails from Port Canaveral…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mardi Gras is leaving Port Canaveral behind…..

 

 

We decide to head back to the Pig & Anchor for dinner tonight. Unlike last week, we were seated immediately. We had the same meal as last time. Patti had the salmon, and I had the BBQ sirloin. We both had the apple cobbler for dessert…..

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we went to get our free B2B picture taken……

 

 

 

 

Patti went to browse the shops, and then made her way back to the cabin to read. I went to the casino for a couple of hours and did well. I celebrated with a few drinks at the Alchemy Bar before calling it a night. Here is tonight’s towel creature…..

 

 

Coming up next: Back out to sea and a Rudi’s reprise.

[princess76021]

On 5/16/2022 at 12:06 PM, Jamman54 said:

Ahoy, Cruise Critic family! My beautiful wife Patti and I have just returned from another month long adventure. We spent three days in Port Canaveral / Cocoa Beach, then boarded the beautiful Mardi Gras for two weeks, then finished off our trip with six days in Orlando. Our first week on the Mardi Gras was a 7 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, stopping at San Juan, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk. The second week was a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean, stopping at Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Isla Roatan (Mahogany Bay). For us, this was the perfect rotation as the first two days of the first cruise were sea days, and the last two days of the second cruise were also sea days.

 

These cruises on the Mardi Gras were a long time coming. To tell this story let me take you back to January 2019. Bookings for cruises on the Mardi Gras were to begin at 10am on January 30^th. At this point no itineraries had been released, and only unofficial copies of the deck plans were in existence. At 7pm on the 29^th my PVP called me and said that we could book. Startled at getting the call, and not knowing what the itineraries were, we told him to book us on the first cruise out of Port Canaveral. Having seen the unofficial deck plans, we booked an extended balcony on the “hump”, as we loved our “hump” balcony when we sailed on the Explorer of the Seas.

 

The next day when the itineraries had been released, we saw that there was a 15 day repositioning cruise from New York to Port Canaveral. It had an awesome itinerary and was just what we were looking for. We changed our booking to that cruise, and we were able to keep the same “hump” balcony that we had originally booked. To say we were pleased would be an understatement. Now all we had to do was sit and wait for the ship to be built.

 

Fast forward to December of 2019, when Carnival announced that because of construction delays, the first eight sailings would have to be cancelled. We were devastated to say the least. The 25% Future Cruise Credit that was given helped soften the blow a little bit. Having our 2020 and 2021 cruises already booked, we chose our April, 2022 dates and booked her again. Three months later the nightmare that is the pandemic came, and is still here today, but I don’t want to dwell on it anymore, so let’s fast forward back to the present day.

 

We will be driving down to Florida once again. Being away from home for so long it just makes sense to have your own car down there. You can pack as much of your stuff as you want to, since you don’t have to worry about luggage weights and car rentals. Back in the day when our vacation time was limited, we used to drive straight through in one shot which used to take about 16 hours. Since we have the time now, we break it up into two days.

 

This is going to be a very long review so be patient with us. Patti took well over four thousand pictures during this adventure, so I have a lot of sorting, cropping, and re-sizing to catch up on. Even though I took my laptop with me and worked on the photos from time to time, there’s no way I could keep up with Patti’s itchy shutter finger! We also have to catch up with life, work, and such, so we may not post anything for a day or two from time to time, but just remember we have always finished our reviews.

 

As usual, our reviews start and end at home and cover everything in between. I know that some people like to get right into the cruise stuff and I understand that, but when doing these reviews we want to re-live the whole vacation, not just part of it. So, the cruise stuff may take a few days to get to, but once we’re on it, we’re on it! Our format will remain the same as our past reviews with a day by day account. As always, there will be many, many pictures with plenty of explanations and details. For those that are wondering, our go to camera is the Canon PowerShot XS720 HS, and our water camera is the Fuji FinePix XP60.

 

So, let’s get this party started! We strive to make you feel that you are cruising right along with us, so grab yourself a DOD, and hop on board with us and join the fun!

 

To be continued…..

I just got here! Graduations this weekend out me a week behind.  

 

I got my rum drink, my beach hat and definitely my flip flops!!

 

Let's get this party started!!! 

 

Thanks for taking us along!!  I'll be back when I catch up I'm 6 pages behind

 

Hugs

[Jamman54]

2 minutes ago, princess76021 said:

I just got here! Graduations this weekend out me a week behind.  

 

I got my rum drink, my beach hat and definitely my flip flops!!

 

Let's get this party started!!! 

 

Thanks for taking us along!!  I'll be back when I catch up I'm 6 pages behind

 

Hugs

 

We'll be here waiting for you! 

[crewsweeper]

Always found the Alchemy to get over crowded. Same with Fortune Tellers.  But the Brass Magnolia always had seats at the bar and music at the tables.  3 excellent barkeeps too!

[Jamman54]

4 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Always found the Alchemy to get over crowded. Same with Fortune Tellers.  But the Brass Magnolia always had seats at the bar and music at the tables.  3 excellent barkeeps too!

 

We were always able to get two seats at the bar at Alchemy. We never had a drink at the Brass Magnolia or Fortune Teller Bar. Don't know why really. 

[rmh661983]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:47 AM, Jamman54 said:

There are five ironing rooms on the Mardi Gras. Deck 4 across from 4320. Deck 5 across from 5390. Deck 9 across from 9394. Deck 14 across from 14396. Deck 15 across from 15393. 😎

Thank you for the info. I tried looking on deck plans and couldn't see anything.

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, rmh661983 said:

Thank you for the info. I tried looking on deck plans and couldn't see anything.

 

No problem.  

[Jamman54]

Day # 9  (May 1st)  -  Fun  Day  at  Sea  # 4. 

 

We are up at 6am to a beautiful day, and calm seas. Here are some views from our balcony looking forward and aft, as the Mardi Gras sails to Cozumel, Mexico……

 

 

 

There is a beautiful sunrise this morning…..

 

 

 

 

Here are today’s “Fun Times”…..

 

 

 

I was falling behind on working on Patti’s pictures, so I was going to spend some time this morning working on them. Patti left the cabin at 9am to get herself some breakfast, and then head over to the Mardi Gras Theater for the Welcome Aboard, Welcome Ashore talk, hosted by Cruise Director Lee…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

At 10am I went up to Big Chicken for some breakfast. I grabbed a chicken and biscuit, and took it over to the Tides Bar to wash it down with a Thirsty Frog Wheat. I met Patti at Center Stage at 11am for the “Wave”, (Morning Show), hosted by Lee and Tyler……

 

 

 

 

The first guest was the Shopping Expert who told us all about the “deals” on board the ship, and in the ports…..

 

 

 

 

The next guest was Marcus Anthony, who has been performing on Carnival ships for years, and is very good. He will be doing two shows tonight……

 

 

 

 

The next guest was Mr. “A”. He is a former Miatre’d who is now a Food and Beverage Manager……

 

 

The final guest was the Pig & Anchor Brewmaster, who told us about all the different beers, and about the tours that are offered on sea days…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

After the Wave, Patti and I went up to Pixels to pick up our free B2B pictures, and our VIFP gifts. Standing next to us at the counter were these three lovely lady “Bluebees”. A “Bluebee” is what Patti and I call anyone holding a blue Sail & Sign card. It is a term of endearment. Once we were given our VIFP gifts, we turned to those lovely ladies and gave our gifts to them. They were so happy and appreciative! It upsets me when I hear people complain about the VIFP gifts. If you don’t want them, give them to the nearest blue, red, or gold card holder. It will put a smile on their faces, and even on yours!

 

I went up to the Red Frog Tiki Bar for a couple of beers, and then back to the cabin to work some more on the pictures. Patti was there, but she left at 2pm to get a good seat for the 3pm bingo session hosted by Tyler from Boston……

 

 

Here is all of the bingo information that you need to know……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling hungry, I ordered a pizza, chicken fingers, and a few beers from room service. Twenty minutes later the food arrived piping hot. I also ordered more fruit and the VIFP Chocolate Delight, and those items would be delivered later in the day.

 

Patti came back to the cabin, and after she told me she didn’t win at bingo, went out on the balcony to read. I worked on pictures for a little while, and then took a nap. It was a very relaxing afternoon!

 

To be continued…..

Edited June 3, 2022 by Jamman54

[Jamman54]

Tonight, we are heading back to Rudi’s Seagrill for dinner. We have a 6pm reservation…..

 

 

 

We both got these shrimp something or other, compliments of the Chef…..

 

 

We both loved the scallops (Coquilles Saint-Jacques) the last time, so we ordered them again…..

 

 

We ordered some more starters. Patti ordered the Seafood Bisque, and I ordered the Seared Shrimp…..

 

 

 

 

 

For our mains, Patti had the crab cakes with red cabbage, and I had the crab stuffed lobster tail……

 

 

 

 

We both had the key lime pie for dessert…..

 

 

The food, once again, was excellent. Tonight, the service seemed a little bit off. The couple seated to our left, were seated about fifteen minutes after we were, but received all of their food before us. Not a big deal since we had no special plans, but it was just annoying. We still were out of there in an hour and a half.

 

To be continued……..

[Jamman54]

After we left Rudi’s, we went outside to watch tonight’s beautiful sunset…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped back at the cabin and noticed that our fruit and Chocolate Delight had been delivered…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Looking outside, we could see land off in the distance……

 

 

 

Looking at the map on the cabin TV, we could see that we were sailing right off the coast of Cuba…..

 

 

 

 

Back out walking around the ship, we stopped to watch some of the Marcus Anthony Show. He has a great voice and the band was great…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were back in the cabin at 10pm. We have to rest up for tomorrow’s activities! Here is tonight’s towel creature……

 

 

Coming up next: A wonderful day at Paradise Beach. Could there be a Willdra sighting? Stay tuned!

[Megan_Strick]

21 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Here are some more pictures as the Mardi Gras sails from Port Canaveral…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mardi Gras is leaving Port Canaveral behind…..

 

 

We decide to head back to the Pig & Anchor for dinner tonight. Unlike last week, we were seated immediately. We had the same meal as last time. Patti had the salmon, and I had the BBQ sirloin. We both had the apple cobbler for dessert…..

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we went to get our free B2B picture taken……

 

 

 

 

Patti went to browse the shops, and then made her way back to the cabin to read. I went to the casino for a couple of hours and did well. I celebrated with a few drinks at the Alchemy Bar before calling it a night. Here is tonight’s towel creature…..

 

 

Coming up next: Back out to sea and a Rudi’s reprise.

I'm not sure how I feel about those beans just on that platter. Looks a little unappetizing.

[Jamman54]

15 minutes ago, sthrnbll said:

I'm not sure how I feel about those beans just on that platter. Looks a little unappetizing.

 

It's just a big metal plate. 

[blarko]

56 minutes ago, sthrnbll said:

I'm not sure how I feel about those beans just on that platter. Looks a little unappetizing.

 

41 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

It's just a big metal plate. 

That’s how most BBQ places on land serve your meal, on those metal plates (trays).

[jedi bobs]

This is the day We met Patty and started to get to know her and you. It is always a good thing when you make freinds on a cruise, always happens.  By the way Tyler has been promoted and will be on the Escasy as her final cruise director and we will be on it with him 🙂

 

[Saint Greg]

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

It's just a big metal plate. 

Exactly. A lot of people use those.…in prison. 

 

[Guest BasicSailor]

31 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Exactly. A lot of people use those.…in prison. 

 

And we know this, How? 😁 But I agree those tin pans are quite unattractive to my digestive system😝.