Our “Never Say Never” Mardi Gras Cruise – Live (Hopefully) May 27 - June 3

[SRQbeachgirl]

1 hour ago, balcony bound said:

This happened to me on the MG... it was my birthday every single night in every place I had dinner 😄  Took me a couple nights to learn, as I would order desert and next thing they are bringing me another and singing.

 

We outsmarted them tonight and headed to the Lido Marketplace. A salad is the only thing I want tonight, so now I won't be accosted by dessert-bearing servers who seem bent on sending me into a sugar coma before 8pm! 😅 

[Jamman54]

On 5/26/2023 at 7:59 PM, SRQbeachgirl said:

Don't you just love traffic? Yeah, me neither. Unfortunately we hit a bunch of it today. By the time we got to Cape Canaveral the ships were already leaving. We got to our hotel room just in time to look out the window and see the Disney Wish leaving port.

 

 

We decided not to go to Fishlips since we were already tired and not really hungry. Instead we drove down to Publix to get a couple of sandwiches for later. And since we were there, we figured we might as well get some Blue Bell ice cream. 😏

 

No y'all, we're originally from Texas where the happiest cows on the planet make the milk for Blue Bell ice cream. When we moved to the Frozen Tundra we learned we couldn't buy Blue Bell within 100 miles. How could we have made such a life-altering logistical error?!? 😱  Should have known then that we wouldn't be there too long.

 

Anyway, we took our sammies and Blue Bell back to the hotel. We're staying at Home2Suites on Astronaut Blvd. Here are some photos of our room, which by the way, is exactly like the Home2Suites room we spent 3 months in last year when we moved back to Florida, so we may or may not be experiencing a little PTSD right now. 🫣

 

 

 

 

And here are some photos around the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if y'all will excuse me for a bit, there's a gallon of deliciousness calling my name from the direction of the freezer...🤤

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loving your review! The Home2Suites / Hampton Inn is our go to spot now when cruising out of PC. Great hotel(s), Great location! 

[SRQbeachgirl]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

Loving your review! The Home2Suites / Hampton Inn is our go to spot now when cruising out of PC. Great hotel(s), Great location! 

 

Thank you, glad you're here! 

 

We agree on the Home2Suites/Hampton. That's the one we'll be using for the foreseeable future when we cruise out of PC.

[atticusthegreat]

fantastic, so happy that you got your dolphin swim! I did it for my 30th birthday, with an ex. he has the photos. we had a nasty break up. my now-husband asked for the photos, but they were "lost" somewhere along the way. contemplating doing it again for my 40th birthday, haha. 

[Beav1279]

Thanks for taking us along! I'm enjoying your Live review 🙂 

[SRQbeachgirl]

4 hours ago, atticusthegreat said:

fantastic, so happy that you got your dolphin swim! I did it for my 30th birthday, with an ex. he has the photos. we had a nasty break up. my now-husband asked for the photos, but they were "lost" somewhere along the way. contemplating doing it again for my 40th birthday, haha. 

 

You should definitely do it again and get the photos. You need those photos! Mr. SRQ said he can't remember when I've looked so darn happy in pictures! Usually I'm the one trying to hide behind someone or serepticiously lean out of the frame. 🤪

[SRQbeachgirl]

1 hour ago, Beav1279 said:

Thanks for taking us along! I'm enjoying your Live review 🙂 

 

Thanks for joining! We're having a blast! 

[atticusthegreat]

14 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

You should definitely do it again and get the photos. You need those photos! Mr. SRQ said he can't remember when I've looked so darn happy in pictures! Usually I'm the one trying to hide behind someone or serepticiously lean out of the frame. 🤪

This is the lone survivor, thanks FB 

[#55worktoplay]

Really enjoying this. Great writing.  Looking forward to more. 
 

When I was in PC in March that hotel was in the 500-600 per night out of my price range. Looks lovely though. We stayed at Residence Inn for 385 ish. Crazy!

[SRQbeachgirl]

10 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

Really enjoying this. Great writing.  Looking forward to more. 
 

When I was in PC in March that hotel was in the 500-600 per night out of my price range. Looks lovely though. We stayed at Residence Inn for 385 ish. Crazy!

 

Wow, that's crazy expensive. But also Spring Break so everything is sky high then. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending how I look at it), we have plenty of Hilton Points so this stay cost us nada. 

[SRQbeachgirl]

11 hours ago, atticusthegreat said:

This is the lone survivor, thanks FB 

 

Awwww, you look so happy! Glad you at least have one!

[SRQbeachgirl]

Being stalked by the Dream in Costa Maya today. I mean, if you're gonna be stalked, this is a pretty good way to do it. 😜

 

[Hogladyrider]

Cruised on Dream 3x when she first came out!

[vanislandcruisers]

Thanks for taking us along on your vacation...really enjoying it!!!

 

[SRQbeachgirl]

2 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

Cruised on Dream 3x when she first came out!

 

The Dream is the only one in the Dream class we haven't sailed. Love, love, love that class of ship and was disappointed when Magic left PC.

Edited May 30, 2023 by SRQbeachgirl

[SRQbeachgirl]

1 hour ago, vanislandcruisers said:

Thanks for taking us along on your vacation...really enjoying it!!!

 

 

Thanks for coming along! 

[Momma1980]

Great review so far! We love the Mardi Gras:)

[SRQbeachgirl]

Costa Maya

 

So, what can be said about Costa Maya? It's just...so...so....well, words escape me. Which, for anyone who knows me, is a rare occurrence.

 

The port area was having a power problem and most of the shops had no power. Which meant no lights in the shops. No air conditioning in the shops. And most critically, no Wi-Fi for credit card transactions in the shops. Or restaurants. Or BARS! Needless to say, nobody was happy there today! Even the flamingos got into an ugly brawl! Y'all, it was chaos! 

 

At least the pole flyers didn't need power.

 

 

And the flamingos eventually calmed down and made up...or at least stopped antagonizing each other.

 

 

We missed the trolley on the way back to the ship so we had to make the hike on foot, but we got to see some decent schools of fish behind the ship.

 

 

 

We had an excellent dinner at the Steakhouse tonight, where we sat next to a couple from the "other" coast of Florida and struck up a really nice conversation. Might have had something to do with the two watermelon martinis I had before dinner. Mr. SRQ says I get a bit outgoing and talkative when I drink. Like I need anything extra to get me talking... 🙄😆

 

The Love and Marriage show tonight was hilarious as always. Mr. SRQ has forbidden me from ever trying to get us entered into that contest. I think he's a bit traumatized from last year on the MG when I may or may not have had to do a Tarzan yell in front of the entire theater when they were selecting couples. 😳 But that's another story...

 

Tomorrow it's Cabana Time at Mahogany Bay!

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by SRQbeachgirl

[SRQbeachgirl]

3 hours ago, Momma1980 said:

Great review so far! We love the Mardi Gras:)

 

Thank you! She's a great ship!

[CeleBrat]

On 5/28/2023 at 3:26 PM, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

After bingo we went back to the cabin for a couple of minutes, which turned in to an hour, as we watched the coast of Cuba and Havana slide by. 

 

Woah! How did you get those amazing close-up photos of Havana?

[Tennessee Rose]

On 5/28/2023 at 9:22 AM, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

 

My plan for the next couple of hours is to watch flying fish and spend a little time with Carl Hiaasen. Yeah, it's rough, but someone's got to do it! 😁

Yes, to the Carl Hiaasen time! My favorite author for truly LOL reading! Thank you for doing this review....I'm loving it already. Love your humour and your writing style. Enjoy your cruise!

[SRQbeachgirl]

7 hours ago, CeleBrat said:

Woah! How did you get those amazing close-up photos of Havana?

 

We sailed closer to Cuba's coastline than we have ever done, plus our Samsung Galaxy S22+ phones have really great cameras.

[SRQbeachgirl]

6 hours ago, Tennessee Rose said:

Yes, to the Carl Hiaasen time! My favorite author for truly LOL reading! Thank you for doing this review....I'm loving it already. Love your humour and your writing style. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thank you for coming along!

 

Hiaasen is my favorite for that as well. He seriously knows how to capture all the quirkiness of Florida!

[kelkel2]

Oh my, that day in Costa Maya sounds dreadful. I’m sure the locals were disappointed too, I’m guessing a lot of revenue was lost today. That’s too bad…

[SRQbeachgirl]

7 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

Oh my, that day in Costa Maya sounds dreadful. I’m sure the locals were disappointed too, I’m guessing a lot of revenue was lost today. That’s too bad…

 

Yes, you could tell they weren't happy. They were doing their best with what they had, but it pretty much stunk for everyone. I felt bad for them having to sit in their sweltering shops all day knowing they weren't going to make much revenue.