Pirate’s LIVE Mardi Gras Review…11/12/22-11/19/22

[mandilk]

On 11/13/2022 at 9:34 AM, pirate4me2 said:

 

 

 

 

Hey! That’s us in the clam! I wish I would have known about the coconut drink. We never did make it to Alchemy. 

[pirate4me2]

18 hours ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

I love this - your comments and the beautiful drink. ❤️

 

 

The Kung Pao chicken at Chibang is my favorite! I agree, the MDR on MG is definitely hit or miss - mostly a miss for us on the nights we went. But the good thing is there are so many great options for dinner, we didn't miss the MDR once we decided to skip it. And I have to remember that rainbow drink. Do you know what kind of alcohol it had in it?

 

Thanks so much for posting - I loved following along!

I will have to try the Kung Pao chicken on Celebration in February. I have a feeling we may skip the MDR most nights if they have the same setup as MG allowing us to go to the other venues. 

I do not remember all the ingredients in the rainbow drink, sorry. I wish I had made note, I want to try making it at home! 

[pirate4me2]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:40 PM, mandilk said:

On 11/13/2022 at 10:34 AM, pirate4me2 said:

 

 

 

 

Hey! That’s us in the clam! I wish I would have known about the coconut drink. We never did make it to Alchemy. 

Oh man you missed out! I’m now trying to recreate the drink here at home. So far, no luck 🫤

[cflips7]

On 11/14/2022 at 11:04 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Much to my dismay, Zoltan swapped ends of the bar with another Alchemist, Jakub, about 545. What?! How can you abandon me Zoltan??? Fine, fine, I’ll give Jakub a try. I asked him for a “sexy water” to help me rehydrate, along with a drink that was not too sweet, and refreshing. He asked me a few questions to see what I liked, then said he had an idea. Whatever he came up with (it’s blue) was good! 
As we were drinking, the string players were playing a deck below us, and wow…they are great! They went from playing Despacito to All of Me to Stairway to Heaven and more. They’re amazing!

At 6:21 we decided we needed food to soak up some alcohol, and we decided that Italian was calling our names. I checked us in on the Hub app, it said a 20-30 minute wait. That was wayyyyy better then Chibang, which was a 50-70 minute wait! At 7:10 we got the notice our table was ready, so we climbed up the 1 floor to Cucina. 
Saung was our server, and she was really sweet! I couldn’t decide between the caprese, which is my old favorite, or arancini for my starter, so I got both. The caprese disappointed me, it was not as delicious as I remember, but the arancini was great! I’m so glad I got it! For my main I got my old favorite, the chicken parm, with a side of spinach. That spinach y’all…just bring me a big old bowl of that and call me Popeye! It was garlicky and freaking amazing. The chicken parm was ok, not great….I remember it being thinner, and more tender, this one was thicker and a bit tough. I didn’t go hungry tho. I only managed to eat half of it! 
Now for the funny part. I ordered the tirimusu (however you spell it) for dessert. It came out and I went to dig in…but it was frozen! What. The. Heck. I took my spoon to it and was stabbing it like a mad woman, trying to break it apart, as DH stared at me in horror. Then he busted out laughing and I paused, spoon mid-air. What are you laughing at, turdhole? Think this is funny? Then I saw out of the corner of my eye a bar server staring at me and trying not to

laugh. Oh crap!

Luckily the server didn’t call security on the madwoman brutally stabbing her innocent dessert. He took my spoon and tested the dessert himself, then shook his head and took it to somebody wearing a top hat and asked if it was suppose to be that way. They whisked it away and he told me a new one was on the way, and when it came out, it was nice and soft. Yay!! 
 

We were on this cruise also and Zoltan, Jakub, Cornelius and Evan in the Alchemy were fantastic. We spent almost every night drinking the beautiful concoctions they came up with. Jakub made a variation of the Deal Closer that was so good at one point there were 6 of us at the end of the bar drinking it and now we are trying to recreate at home.

[pirate4me2]

14 minutes ago, cflips7 said:

We were on this cruise also and Zoltan, Jakub, Cornelius and Evan in the Alchemy were fantastic. We spent almost every night drinking the beautiful concoctions they came up with. Jakub made a variation of the Deal Closer that was so good at one point there were 6 of us at the end of the bar drinking it and now we are trying to recreate at home.

Was it the Deal Closer with the strawberry in it? If so I tried that one as well, it was delicious. But then again, nearly every drink I had from there was!

[cflips7]

Just now, pirate4me2 said:

Was it the Deal Closer with the strawberry in it? If so I tried that one as well, it was delicious. But then again, nearly every drink I had from there was!

Yes it was.

I just saw the picture of Jakub with the multi-colored drink and i think we were sitting right next to you guys at that point.

 

[shark&minnow]

What was the rainbow drink called & which bar was that at? I need to try it 😀

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by shark&minnow
wrong review

[pirate4me2]

19 hours ago, cflips7 said:

Yes it was.

I just saw the picture of Jakub with the multi-colored drink and i think we were sitting right next to you guys at that point.

 

HAHAHA small world!

That version of the Deal Closer was SO GOOD! 

15 hours ago, shark&minnow said:

What was the rainbow drink called & which bar was that at? I need to try it 😀

 

It was from the Alchemy, and it was just the rainbow drink...not sure if it has another name or not. You could probably show a pic to an Alchemist and they could whip it up! 

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Just finished your review and loved it!  We always get Cheers and bring Tums.🤣

 

We sailed on Sunshine two weeks ago - our first cruise since Sunshine September 2019 when we were supposed to go to Bermuda but went to Nassau instead.  Remember - you were there too!

 

Booked Mardi Gras for January 2024 but will probably do another Sunshine cruise before then.  So glad cruising is back in my life!

 

Kim

[pirate4me2]

2 minutes ago, LUVMYGSDOG said:

Just finished your review and loved it!  We always get Cheers and bring Tums.🤣

 

We sailed on Sunshine two weeks ago - our first cruise since Sunshine September 2019 when we were supposed to go to Bermuda but went to Nassau instead.  Remember - you were there too!

 

Booked Mardi Gras for January 2024 but will probably do another Sunshine cruise before then.  So glad cruising is back in my life!

 

Kim

Hey Kim! I saw your username pop up and was like "I remember that name!" And I do remember the cruise that was not-Bermuda-bound. I am trying to get back there this August, fingers crossed. 

I need to make myself a note to go get some more Tums, we sail Celebration in just over 2 weeks and have Cheers again....I def need to make sure I am stocked up! 

[kmp70]

On 11/9/2022 at 9:49 AM, pirate4me2 said:

Pre-Cruise Hotel Info:

 

On one of our land vacations to the Keys last year, we stopped in Cape Canaveral as a quick overnight to visit our favorite port to sail away from. We were itching for some yummy food from Fishlips, and we wanted to see our beloved ships in port...including the shiny new Mardi Gras! As is our tradition when in PC, we booked to stay at Raddisson Resort at the Port….we love that awesome pool, and every time we have stayed there it has been nice.

 

WOW……have things changed! The room we were put in was NOT up to standards. It looked like a cheap hotel you’d rent by the hour, if you know what I mean. I really didn’t want to lay down in that bed, for fear of bedbugs (which I checked for by the way!) and when I did it was squeaky, and the linens were scratchy. I refused to bring my suitcase in the room, for fear of creepy crawlies getting in it. The carpet was frayed and had stains in it, and the bathroom had stains in the toilet and tub.  I heard a few others complaining about the condition of the hotel as well, and even DH, who can sleep in a hammock between a tree for all he cares, said it was run-down and nothing like it used to be. The pool was still beautifully kept up, but they really need to invest some money into the rooms.

 

So, with that said, when I booked this cruise I did not even consider staying at Raddisson pre-cruise like in the past. I looked around online, and settled on trying out Home2 Suites by Hilton, which I THINK is kinda close to Raddisson. The address says it is at 9004 Astronaut Blvd, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. We shall see! I didn’t see a Park & Cruise package like Raddisson has (but then again, I was not sober when I booked….I discovered Absinthe and drank ½ a bottle of it as I was researching….word to the wise, absinthe is NOT your friend if you drink that much of it) so I very well may have overlooked it on their site. Oh well, I am not heartbroken about parking at the port….I actually like parking at Port Canaveral, it is easy peasy lemon squeezy, and when I hop off the ship I can just get in the truck and start zooming home!

I just found your review, great so far, we are on MG next Feb. we also have stayed at Radisson and one time had ants crawling up the walls 😬😕 , needless to say I have booked at Marriott for this next time around. It does look like they may be renovating but not sure.  Looking forward to reading the rest of the review. 🙂

[pirate4me2]

9 hours ago, kmp70 said:

I just found your review, great so far, we are on MG next Feb. we also have stayed at Radisson and one time had ants crawling up the walls 😬😕 , needless to say I have booked at Marriott for this next time around. It does look like they may be renovating but not sure.  Looking forward to reading the rest of the review. 🙂

Oh my gosh, its a good thing I didnt see any bugs, or we would have been outta there!!

[Jelly_Toast]

I have meant to post this for so long but keep forgetting. We cruised Mardi Gras the week after you and I asked for the creamy coconut martini on the very first day.  It became our favorite drink of the cruise and every time we were at Alchemy someone asked us what it was. Each day that went by we saw other people with this coconut drink.  My son enjoyed the mixology class so much that he turned it into a hobby that he really enjoys.  We took a cruise on Horizon earlier this month and it just wasn't the same.  I'm looking to book another cruise on Mardi Gras as soon as I can.  Thanks again for your great trip report!

[pirate4me2]

1 hour ago, Jelly_Toast said:

I have meant to post this for so long but keep forgetting. We cruised Mardi Gras the week after you and I asked for the creamy coconut martini on the very first day.  It became our favorite drink of the cruise and every time we were at Alchemy someone asked us what it was. Each day that went by we saw other people with this coconut drink.  My son enjoyed the mixology class so much that he turned it into a hobby that he really enjoys.  We took a cruise on Horizon earlier this month and it just wasn't the same.  I'm looking to book another cruise on Mardi Gras as soon as I can.  Thanks again for your great trip report!

I'm so glad you got to enjoy the creamy coconut martini!! We cruised on Celebration end of Fed/beginning of March, and I tried ordering one there....and it just wasn't the same. I was so sad! I am trying to master it here at home, but so far no luck. 

[ninjacat123]

22 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

I'm so glad you got to enjoy the creamy coconut martini!! We cruised on Celebration end of Fed/beginning of March, and I tried ordering one there....and it just wasn't the same. I was so sad! I am trying to master it here at home, but so far no luck. 

What's the alcohol in the creamy coconut martini?  Vodka? Rum? I'm looking up recipes online and there are quite a few variations.  TIA!!

[pirate4me2]

3 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

What's the alcohol in the creamy coconut martini?  Vodka? Rum? I'm looking up recipes online and there are quite a few variations.  TIA!!

I always asked for mine with vodka, and that’s what I have been using.