My family isn't any help !!!

[bnukem]

Trying to decide between the Mardi Gras and the Glory.  It will be me, my husband and 14 yr old daughter.  I realize that the Mardi Gras is a bigger ship with more things to offer, but is is worth an extra 4 hours on the drive each way?

[Sailin_Pirate]

No one here can answer that question for you.

 

Do you or your husband want to drive 8 extra hours for a bigger , newer and has more to offer ship?

[mkcurran]

The obvious answer here is to book them both. 😂🤷🏽‍♀️😂

Glory first, going up is easy, going from the flagship down, might not be easy.

[klfrodo]

It’s not about the drive time. It’s all about the time spent with the young lady who will fly the coop in just 3 to 4 years.

Take the newer/bigger ship with more road time for the family. Even if she just sleeps the whole way. That means she comfortable and feels safe.

[cruisinqt]

I’ve done both and it’s absolutely worth the extra drive time to be on the Mardi Gras. It’s such a different ship from what Carnival usually does. It felt more like I was on a Royal Caribbean cruise except it had Carnival's superior food and great late night comedy shows. On the older ships like the Glory there’s one comedy club with only a few shows a day which means super long lines, especially after dinner. The Mardi Gras had 2 comedy club locations with tons of shows scheduled. The lines weren’t bad at all. Plus the Mardi Gras has lots more restaurants to choose from for those late night munchies or just wanting to try something different for lunch. I also really liked the roller coaster, it was a blast. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

It’s not about the drive time. It’s all about the time spent with the young lady who will fly the coop in just 3 to 4 years.

Take the newer/bigger ship with more road time for the family. Even if she just sleeps the whole way. That means she comfortable and feels safe.

Great answer!

[IntrepidFromDC]

If you decide on Mardi Gras, and I highly recommend that you do, be sure to do lots of planning.  Things not to miss, besides the obvious Bolt...

 

Choose anytime dining so you can eat better-than-MDR food in restaurants the people who chose set time dining cannot for FREE.

 

Shaq's chicken sandwich is great.  So are two off-the-beaten-path free restaurants, Shawarma and Sea Dogs.

 

The atrium is amazing and in different ways, day and night.

 

These any many, many more reasons to choose Mardi Gras (I went in January and I'm doing my first ever B2B on her this coming February).

 

Or, go with Glory.  Please cover your mouth when you yawn.

[Joe817]

I can appreciate your pain for having to drive 4 hours each way, just to reach the port and back.

 

Consider this....we are obliged to drive 6 hours, each way, from Arlington, Tx to Galveston, Tx. Our only port of choice for several reasons....age, cost, etc.

 

Consider yourselves lucky. And I hope you have a fantastic cruise, 

[Honolulu Blue]

6 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

I’ve done both and it’s absolutely worth the extra drive time to be on the Mardi Gras. It’s such a different ship from what Carnival usually does. It felt more like I was on a Royal Caribbean cruise except it had Carnival's superior food and great late night comedy shows. On the older ships like the Glory there’s one comedy club with only a few shows a day which means super long lines, especially after dinner. The Mardi Gras had 2 comedy club locations with tons of shows scheduled. The lines weren’t bad at all. Plus the Mardi Gras has lots more restaurants to choose from for those late night munchies or just wanting to try something different for lunch. I also really liked the roller coaster, it was a blast. 

I didn't realize the MG had TWO small comedy club locations (I'm assuming one of them is not the main theater).  That's one way to reduce the infamous lines.  I wonder if they ever have two comedians at the same time in different locations.  

 

P.S.  I was just on a cruise (not on Carnival) that had ONE comedian and TWO shows for the whole week.  It made me think of how Carnival (at least as long as I've done business with them) have had multiple comedians with multiple shows on all their sailings.  One time I counted over 20 shows on a single sailing!

[Joebucks]

You haven't given us enough info. What kind of vacation are you looking for? Is the drive going to be 5 hours now or 16? 

 

Either way, I would lean heavily towards Mardi Gras. Especially with kids at that age, it is easier for them to get bored. Mardi Gras will make that harder.

[Drazil65]

We are driving an extra 4 hrs in 4 weeks to get on the Mardi Gras, we have ports that are much closer (we were on the Sunshine this past May) and less than half that drive time BUT...we are very excited to be on MG and the extra drive time has fallen way down the list of concerns...

[bnukem]

6 hours ago, Joe817 said:

I can appreciate your pain for having to drive 4 hours each way, just to reach the port and back.

 

Consider this....we are obliged to drive 6 hours, each way, from Arlington, Tx to Galveston, Tx. Our only port of choice for several reasons....age, cost, etc.

 

Consider yourselves lucky. And I hope you have a fantastic cruise, 

Not 4 hours, 4 MORE hours....10 hours to New Orleans...14 to Port Canaveral

[Drazil65]

Can you split the drive in half (or maybe a few hrs at least) and leave 2 days early (leave the afternoon of the first day to get a jump on the drive)?  

[Old Fart Cruisers]

You say"My family isn't any help !!!"  It seems like the obvious solution is to pick the cruise that you prefer.  Go solo, and leave your unhelpful family behind. 😁

Edited November 15, 2022 by Old Fart Cruisers

[ngrund]

1 hour ago, bnukem said:

Not 4 hours, 4 MORE hours....10 hours to New Orleans...14 to Port Canaveral

and flying is not an option?

[Joe817]

4 hours ago, bnukem said:

Not 4 hours, 4 MORE hours....10 hours to New Orleans...14 to Port Canaveral

Ahhhhh, I see now. My bad. I didn't read closely enough.

[skywalkr2]

Lots of pumping up the newest and greatest here.  That's all fine and good, but lets be truthul that many people like the more understated cruise ships like Glory.  It's smaller, less crowded, and provides more than enough for you to do on a 7 day cruise.  Depends on what you are looking for.

 

Personally I enjoy the smaller ships due to me being 48 and wanting to relax on my trip.

[cruisinqt]

11 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I didn't realize the MG had TWO small comedy club locations (I'm assuming one of them is not the main theater).  That's one way to reduce the infamous lines.  I wonder if they ever have two comedians at the same time in different locations.  

 

P.S.  I was just on a cruise (not on Carnival) that had ONE comedian and TWO shows for the whole week.  It made me think of how Carnival (at least as long as I've done business with them) have had multiple comedians with multiple shows on all their sailings.  One time I counted over 20 shows on a single sailing!

Yeah one was in the Punchliner comedy club and the other one was in a different place. They staggered the shows. It was 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30 etc all evening long. It was great because if the line was too long you could go get in line for the next showing. We never had long lines for the comedy shows because there were plenty to choose from all evening and they switched to new comedians halfway through the cruise. Carnival finally figured out how to do the comedy shows properly on the Mardi Gras. I hope they implement this routine fleet wide. 
 

Another thing I like about the Mardi Gras is the fountain drinks. You can fill up on soda at a fountain machine on the Lido and at Guys Pig & Anchor. Just swipe your card to pay by the ounce or if you have bottomless bubbles just swipe n go. It’s so much easier than standing at a bar waiting forever to get a soda. Plus the Mardi Gras has Emeril’s Bistro which was amazing and very cheap. I got a huge platter of red beans & rice for $5. It was enough to share with several people and very delicious. They also have beignets that were identical to what I’ve had in New Orleans that was just $4. My husband and I made the mistake of ordering 2 and it was way too much for one person. The prices were pretty good. The desserts were $4, breakfast items $3, and kids meals were $3. They offered market-priced seafood at reasonable prices and huge entrees that varied in price but I remember them being very inexpensive. We mainly went there to grab a quick breakfast when we wanted to avoid the crowds and get off the ship quickly while in port. Or for a sweet tooth craving or a snack. They were never crowded, there’s no reservations required, and every dish we had was above average. My husband says I should recommend the lemon ice box pie to you because he loved it. I’m not much into lemon stuff but he raved about it. 

[Honolulu Blue]

8 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

Yeah one was in the Punchliner comedy club and the other one was in a different place. They staggered the shows. It was 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30 etc all evening long. It was great because if the line was too long you could go get in line for the next showing. We never had long lines for the comedy shows because there were plenty to choose from all evening and they switched to new comedians halfway through the cruise. Carnival finally figured out how to do the comedy shows properly on the Mardi Gras. I hope they implement this routine fleet wide.

Thanks for the update.  It's very interesting that they staggered the shows that way.  I'll agree that it's something Carnival should consider implementing elsewhere, but do they have the extra room(s) available on the other ships?  

[skrufy]

17 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

If you decide on Mardi Gras, and I highly recommend that you do, be sure to do lots of planning.  Things not to miss, besides the obvious Bolt...

 

Choose anytime dining so you can eat better-than-MDR food in restaurants the people who chose set time dining cannot for FREE.

 

Shaq's chicken sandwich is great.  So are two off-the-beaten-path free restaurants, Shawarma and Sea Dogs.

 

The atrium is amazing and in different ways, day and night.

 

These any many, many more reasons to choose Mardi Gras (I went in January and I'm doing my first ever B2B on her this coming February).

 

Or, go with Glory.  Please cover your mouth when you yawn.

Glory is our favorite ship, sailed 5 times. Will be sailing the Jubilee in October of next year, our first Mardi Gras class ship. Getting back to your dilemma, take the young lady on a cruise she will remember the rest of her life. Weather I like the Jubilee or not I will always remember the experience of this luxurious cruise.   There's so much to do on the Mardi Gras.

[WildBlueYonder64]

28 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks for the update.  It's very interesting that they staggered the shows that way.  I'll agree that it's something Carnival should consider implementing elsewhere, but do they have the extra room(s) available on the other ships?  

If I remember correctly from our B2B in February on the MG, at that time the Limelight was exclusively PG shows, and the Punchliner was adult shows only. 

[cruisinqt]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks for the update.  It's very interesting that they staggered the shows that way.  I'll agree that it's something Carnival should consider implementing elsewhere, but do they have the extra room(s) available on the other ships?  

The older ships like the Spirit might not have the extra rooms but the newer ships definitely could do it. On the Dream class, Vista class and Excel class I’ve done trivia games in good sized lounges perfect for a comedy show. Our cruise director on the Mardi Gras told us it was kind of a test run of sorts and if it goes over well then Carnival might do it on other ships. We are going on the Panorama next week and I’m asking the cruise director there about it too. The Punchliner comedy club is one thing we really like about Carnival that we wish other cruise lines would do. 

[sunkey1]

Have been on both and without any hesitation I would choose Mardi Gras. Just took our two (adult - 20's) kids on and they had a blast.

[ProgRockCruiser]

Here's my opinion, FWIW:

 

If your closer port (New Orleans) is unlikely to get an Excel-class ship like MG for a while (and that is what I suspect), I would say go for MG.

 

You'll be able to sail Glory or similar out of NO for as long as CCL sails from there, I think.  

 

MG does offer a lot more to do than any of the smaller ships, and frankly we had a great time when we sailed on her in Dec 2021.  So I think you, your spouse, and your 14 yo daughter will enjoy it more.

 

But...

 

I doubt Glory would be disappointing.  And if 4 hrs is enough extra highway time to turn a long but OK drive into the roadtrip from heck...then that might be something to consider.  My max drive is usually about 10 hrs per day, these days, even with a second driver.  So for this point below, I'd have a hard time deciding.

 

On 11/15/2022 at 7:23 AM, bnukem said:

Not 4 hours, 4 MORE hours....10 hours to New Orleans...14 to Port Canaveral

 

[vwrestler171]

Personally, i would take Mardi Gras.  So much more to do for the entire family.  I'm not a fan of the Conquest class ships anymore and won't do anything older than the Dream class.