Quick Review of Mardi Gras July 2, 2022 - brought back a covid souvenir

[ineed-a-vacation]

I have commented on several topics since returning from my Mardi Gras cruise last Saturday, but have not sat down to write a review.  At first I wasn't going to, then I read several reviews on other sites that were a little on the negative side so I decided I'd just give my two cents even though no one asked for it.  

It's been many years since I have sailed Carnival.  My two cruises this year have been on MSC and Royal Caribbean.  Although I found many things great on both of them, I also found a few bad things as well.  I really can't say that about the Mardi Gras.  From embarkation, ease of migrating the ship, cabin size, food, lines, there were very few things that we found lacking.  This was a full ship and from the time we arrived at the port to walking through Grand Central took us probably 45 minutes.  We never experienced lines anywhere.  Some of the shows filled up really fast and that could be disappointing but when you have 5200 people on board, you have to expect that.  We never ate at the buffet, but I can say for the MDR, Guys Burgers, Guys Pig & Anchor, Shaq's, Chibang, Cucina del Capitano and Fahrenheit 555 I did not have a bad meal.  Dinner at Cucina and one of the MDR meals was a little meh, but nothing was bad.  The only disappointing meal was I bought a lobster tail at the Seafood Shack and it didn't seem worth $15 to me.  There was very little lobster and it was more roll than anything. 

Although the ship is large, we never got lost and were able to find our way around from the first day because the layout is very manageable.  We always joke that it will take us days to find our cabins easily, but we never had any issues with that.

We really enjoyed the game shows Family Feud and Deal or no Deal.  All the comedians were very funny and we saw multiple shows both PG and R rated.  The Broadway shows would probably be my only negative of those.  I only saw the one with the Broadway hits.  It was very hit or miss.  It was odd that they didn't sing some of the bigger songs from the shows.  As for the second show I didn't get to see it due to being sick in the room but others told me it wasn't even as good as the first show so I wasn't disappointed that I missed it.  As for my souvenir, the test came back negative on the ship, but by the time we made it home, my entire family ended up having covid.  But for anyone considering going on Mardi Gras and hesitant because of the full ships right now, people are so spread out that you really don't notice the number of people, and you will have a great time.  I definitely want a do over for the two days that I missed out on, but with the uptick in cases, be weary that you could come home with a souvenir like we did.  Just very glad that we are all vaccinated. 

[cruisr]

Are any of you sick or are you asymptomatic?  I am about to cancel my August cruise as I do not like Covid as a souvenir especially if I bring it home to my family.  Thinking of replacing the cruise with a beach or mountain home rental.

[Sunset Lover 1971]

13 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Are any of you sick or are you asymptomatic?  I am about to cancel my August cruise as I do not like Covid as a souvenir especially if I bring it home to my family.  Thinking of replacing the cruise with a beach or mountain home rental.

Just a word of caution. We were scheduled to be on the Mardi Gras this week and are home instead. My daughter tested positive last Wednesday after coming back from a week at the beach. I think the current variant is just very contagious. We are sailing next month on the Freedom instead. I have to say Carnival was great and refunded me the difference between the cruises. 

[ineed-a-vacation]

We are all sick.  Not sure who gave it to whom, but on Day 5 of the cruise our youngest daughter became sick.  It only last a day so we thought it was just a stomach bug.  One Day 6 I became sick.  I had fever and chills and spent the next two days in our cabin.  We took several covid tests with us just in case we needed them.  My test came back negative.  On the ride home my wife was sick the entire ride and experienced the fever and chills.  Once we got home Saturday night we all tested and 3 of the 4 came back positive.  My older daughter tested positive on Tuesday.  We all have had congestion,  trouble breathing and coughs, but only my wife and I have had the fever and chills.  

[hapytobehr]

I also brought home the COVID souvenir from my Alaska trip in May.

 

It's a chance you take just leaving your house.

 

It will not stop me from cruising.

[ineed-a-vacation]

4 minutes ago, hapytobehr said:

I also brought home the COVID souvenir from my Alaska trip in May.

 

It's a chance you take just leaving your house.

 

It will not stop me from cruising.

Same here.  This was our third cruise this year.  We knew there was a chance of it happening.  That's why we took the tests with us.  Still planning to take another one for Labor Day.

[3smithboys]

DH and I were on your cruise too (2nd part of our b2b.) We loved the MG and both of us also came home with Covid. 

[csm5986142]

1 hour ago, ineed-a-vacation said:

but by the time we made it home, my entire family ended up having covid. 

 

It seems like so many people who traveled/cruised over the 4th of July ended up with covid (me included) but I wanted to thank you for your review.  We  have been on Mardi Gras twice and I totally agree with everything you said.  We loved it so much, we are already booked on Celebration and Jubilee.

And I couldn't agree more with your warning that if people choose to travel now, they should know that there is a good chance they could get covid.  Unfortunately it is just everywhere right now.

[chuckyb]

My family was on the June 25th to July 2nd MG sailing.  My BIL tested positive when he got home.  There were several people posting on the Facebook group, testing positive when they got home too.

[Honolulu Blue]

@ineed-a-vacation Thanks for the review.  I like your attitude!  I'm sorry your family caught the virus.  It's super contagious and near omnipresent.  Get well soon.  Virtual hugs for all.  I'd give you a real one if we were in the same neighborhood, but... I've got enough souvenirs. 😁

 

And the same for all of you who picked up something on this trip.  I hope it's not too serious, take care of yourselves, and get well soon.

[crewsweeper]

@ineed-a-vacation, Thanks for the review.  Hope you and your family recover quickly.

The Omicron BA.5 variant of COVID has an R0 value of 18.6 similar to measles.  That mean 1 infected person can transmit to 18-19 others.  The original COVID 19 had an R0 value of 3.3 meaning 1 infected person can transmit to3 others.  Also appears 3-5 days after inital infection but can hang around for up to 2 weeks before showing itself.  So very easily COVID today can sweep out of hand and go undetected.  Fortunately, for most (but not all) cases are relatively mild.

Edited July 14, 2022 by crewsweeper

[ineed-a-vacation]

27 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

@ineed-a-vacation Thanks for the review.  I like your attitude!  I'm sorry your family caught the virus.  It's super contagious and near omnipresent.  Get well soon.  Virtual hugs for all.  I'd give you a real one if we were in the same neighborhood, but... I've got enough souvenirs. 😁

 

And the same for all of you who picked up something on this trip.  I hope it's not too serious, take care of yourselves, and get well soon.

@crewsweeper  Thank you!  Virtual hugs back at you.  I agree.  Enjoy cruising, but everyone stay safe.

[we b cruzin]

Thank you for the quick review!!

[cruizergal70]

2 hours ago, ineed-a-vacation said:

We are all sick.  Not sure who gave it to whom, but on Day 5 of the cruise our youngest daughter became sick.  It only last a day so we thought it was just a stomach bug.  One Day 6 I became sick.  I had fever and chills and spent the next two days in our cabin.  We took several covid tests with us just in case we needed them.  My test came back negative.  On the ride home my wife was sick the entire ride and experienced the fever and chills.  Once we got home Saturday night we all tested and 3 of the 4 came back positive.  My older daughter tested positive on Tuesday.  We all have had congestion,  trouble breathing and coughs, but only my wife and I have had the fever and chills.  

Did you wear masks, used sanitizer,  frequent handwadhing, or distanced when possible? Did you take any precautions?

[ineed-a-vacation]

20 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

Did you wear masks, used sanitizer,  frequent handwadhing, or distanced when possible? Did you take any precautions?

We took masks, but did not wear them.  The hub app stated they were required in Amber Cove, but when we got off the ship we found that they weren't required. We have become very good at social distancing over the past 2 years and never congregated and stayed together, but when you're seated next to people in a theatre or in an elevator, we could have taken better precautions.  

[cruizergal70]

2 hours ago, ineed-a-vacation said:

We took masks, but did not wear them.  The hub app stated they were required in Amber Cove, but when we got off the ship we found that they weren't required. We have become very good at social distancing over the past 2 years and never congregated and stayed together, but when you're seated next to people in a theatre or in an elevator, we could have taken better precautions.  

Great info. Makes perfect sense and speaks to personal responsibility.  If one wants to decidedly avoid Covid, then take the well known precautions.  Even avoiding crowded elevators or theaters. People can still wear masks even if not required by the cruise line or country. 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

We, too, were on this sailing and I totally agree that the ship is easy to navigate.  I couldn't believe how quickly we were able to figure it out.

 

I'm sorry you got covid.  Happened to us in May/June after our cruise on the Panorama, so we were pretty sure we'd be safe on this one.  

[pcvtmom]

1 hour ago, cruizergal70 said:

Great info. Makes perfect sense and speaks to personal responsibility.  If one wants to decidedly avoid Covid, then take the well known precautions.  Even avoiding crowded elevators or theaters. People can still wear masks even if not required by the cruise line or country. 

I came down with Covid on the way home from our Horizon cruise in February. Masks were still mandated on the ship, at that point.  I STILL got it, although I was very vigilant. I rarely take an elevator on any cruise, wore my mask, and only sat with my husband during dinner. I could have contracted it anywhere to, from, or in Miami, for that matter. I was vaccinated and boosted.  It's just highly contagious, even with personal responsibility in place. Luckily, it was mild and over rather quickly.

[Knights on the Beach]

2 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

Great info. Makes perfect sense and speaks to personal responsibility.  If one wants to decidedly avoid Covid, then take the well known precautions.  Even avoiding crowded elevators or theaters. People can still wear masks even if not required by the cruise line or country. 

 

49 minutes ago, pcvtmom said:

I came down with Covid on the way home from our Horizon cruise in February. Masks were still mandated on the ship, at that point.  I STILL got it, although I was very vigilant. I rarely take an elevator on any cruise, wore my mask, and only sat with my husband during dinner. I could have contracted it anywhere to, from, or in Miami, for that matter. I was vaccinated and boosted.  It's just highly contagious, even with personal responsibility in place. Luckily, it was mild and over rather quickly.

 

Thank you for posting pcvtmom. I think your experience shows it's not always possible to "decidedly avoid Covid" even when all precautions are taken.

 

Ineed-a-vacation, thank you for posting - we've been on MG 3 times and can't get enough of it!

[cruizergal70]

2 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

 

Thank you for posting pcvtmom. I think your experience shows it's not always possible to "decidedly avoid Covid" even when all precautions are taken.

 

Ineed-a-vacation, thank you for posting - we've been on MG 3 times and can't get enough of it!

My comment still stands. Taking precautions show intent to avoid Covid. Not taking precautions is shooting the dice. No guarantees either way. Choose your own path.

[Knights on the Beach]

10 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

My comment still stands. Taking precautions show intent to avoid Covid. Not taking precautions is shooting the dice. No guarantees either way. Choose your own path.

 

I believe you may have good intentions but I just don't see the point in chastising the OP.