Mardi Gras November 4-11 review

[maxandmolly]

We just got back from a week on the Mardi Gras!  It was myself and my husband. It was my 7th sailing and my hubby’s 4th. He hit gold this cruise. 
Embarkation:  Embarkation was smooth. There were lines of course but they moved well. We had a 12-12:30 check in time. We were on board by 12:30 easily. We headed to Bonsai Sushi for muster and we’re in and out. 
 

We got lunch from Blue Iguana and waited for rooms to be ready. At 1:30 we headed to our cabin on deck 15. It was directly under the Lido pool deck. We heard music several times and chairs being dragged once when I woke up super early. It didn’t ruin our cruise but it’s not a location I’d pick again. We did enjoy being just one flight of stairs away from the food in Lido. 
 

We puttered around the ship the rest of the afternoon, getting familiar with where things were and what was what. We found all the restaurants on deck 8 along with the bars. We’re not drinkers but did have Bottomless Bubbles.  
 

Dinner that night was in the MDR. I don’t remember what we had but it was decent enough. Service was very slow and our water glasses sat empty at times. 
 

I crashed early while DH went wandering around the ship after I went to bed. 
 

Sea day number 1 coming up next. 

[maxandmolly]

Sea day 1:  We headed to Lido for omelettes and juice. It was busy with a small wait at the omelette station. My omelette was very good. We went to get changed to head out to Serenity deck. 
 

Serenity was busy but there was always a lounge chair to be had. We got in the hot tub and had pleasant conversation with the others in the hot tub. It was hit so we went to check out the pool. It was freezing!  We sat on the edge with just our feet in. We got lunch, Big Chicken for hubby and Guy’s burger for me.  We changed into regular clothes and headed down to deck 8 to watch football. It was packed in Pig & Anchor and Heroes. I eventually managed to snag a chair but hubby had to stand. Watched the Vikings game. We eventually left and headed for first elegant night in the MDR. The filet was good, not great, and service was again slow. 
 

We watched M Theory I think that night in the Mardi Gras theater. It was a magic show and pretty good. We headed up to the cabin for the night after that. Once again, hubby went wandering after I went to bed. 
 

Sea day 2:  Once again it was hot and sunny. We headed out for breakfast on the Lido before once again going to Serenity. We spent the morning in Serenity and again enjoyed the hot tub and cold pool. We had Guy’s for lunch and then headed inside for most of the afternoon. 
 

Dinner that night was Cucina del Capitano. It was a 90 minute wait to be seated and slow service once inside. The food was decent but not worth the wait. We had capers for appetizers, then chicken Parmesan for me and veal Marsala for DH. We both had the spinach as a side which was very good. The chicken was a little tough but the veal was very good. Another early night for me and wandering for DH. 
 

coming up:  San Juan 

[maxandmolly]

Correction:  we had sea day brunch in sea day 2 and it was very good. The French toast was great. 
 

San Juan:  We had booked the Vivo Beach Club for this day. After a brief bus ride we arrived at the private beach club. There were two pools, bar service and the beach. We did not take the “with lunch” option as the lunch did not have good reviews.  We enjoyed sitting in and by the pool. It was not crowded and everyone was well behaved. A nice day. 
 

We headed back to the port after 4 hours. I headed back to the ship while DH did a little shopping in old town. 
 

We did ChiBang! for dinner. Short wait, better service than Cucina and MDR. Had the quesadilla which was not impressive. The sweet and sour shrimp was much better. The tres leches dessert was excellent!  We left full. 
 

Rock Revolutions was this night. It was a 60s rock themed show. A couple of the singers were very good. 
 

up next:  snorkeling in Amber Cove

[Drazil65]

Thank you for this review, we love MG and will be on her again in about 4 weeks.  Even after cruising for 20 plus years, 2 or 3 times a year, I still get those excited butterflies in the month leading up to embarkation.  Probably because now the lists are out and the suitcases will follow soon.  It is so much fun to read other cruise reviews in anticipation of our own.  Cant wait to read the rest of your review.  

[maxandmolly]

Day 4:  Amber Cove!  We decided to do the Deluxe Catamaran Sail & Snorkel. After a false start and bus change, we were on our way. DH was sitting in the window seat with the bright sun on him and got a little overheated during the hour long bus ride. He wasn’t feeling well for most of the excursion. We boarded the catamaran and sailed to a reef. There were plenty of fish and perfectly clear water. I struggled to keep my feet in the flippers in the water, they kept floating to the surface, making it hard to get around. So I mostly stayed in place and just watched the fish. DH got a couple videos of the fish but my waterproof case leaked in testing so I was camera-less. DZh is generally in charge of pics on vacation anyway so it was fine. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the fish. I got out of the water and lunch was served. It was a light lunch, potato salad, pasta salad and sandwiches, but decent enough. There was an open bar of rum, Pepsi and 7up. DH drank some 7up and started feeling better. It was a great day to be on the water, with bright sun and a nice breeze. 
 

We headed back to port and did some souvenir shopping. I bought vanilla for bff who cared for my cats and a smaller bottle for MIL. ILs informed DH before we left that they “didn’t want” coffee or rum cake, which is what they got from our last two cruises. I thought that was damned presumptuous and wanted to get them nothing but DH as usual felt obligated to get something for them. MIL had requested vanilla, so fine, whatever. 

We got back on the ship and I got some pizza while DH had a sandwich from the panini place.  The MDR didn’t have anything that interested us do I had more pizza than sat with DH while he ate at Guy’s Pig & Anchor.  I had apple cobbler which was very good. DH said his bbq was tasty. 
 

Coming up:  Grand Turk 

[sparks1093]

We're on the MG in April on the same itinerary, thanks for the review. Did you eat anything at the beach club in San Juan.

[maxandmolly]

Just now, sparks1093 said:

We're on the MG in April on the same itinerary, thanks for the review. Did you eat anything at the beach club in San Juan.

We did not eat in San Juan. 

[maxandmolly]

Grand Turk:  I decided not to do an excursion here, but DH had a tour/painting excursion he booked. He left and I slept in a bit.  Got a breakfast burrito and headed out to port to do some shopping. Originally I had planned on a beach day but I got a little burnt in Amber Cove and also it was unbelievably hot. I hopped off and briefly hit the shops in port, bought soap to give as gifts to coworkers who covered things for me and went back on the ship. I laid down in the cabin and just tried to bring my temperature down.  
 

DH enjoyed his painting excursion and brought back a decent painting that will go on my cube at work. 
 

We had reservations for Bonsai Teppanyaki this night. We were seated front and center at the big table. It was EXCELLENT!  The shrimp in the appetizer were not peeled but that’s the only thing I can think of for negatives. The tuna in the rocks, pork belly and miso soup were all extremely good. The fried rice had wonderful flavor. My main course of shrimp and filet was amazing. The shrimp were big and the filet was ultra tender. The yum yum sauce was a perfect complement to the meal. The service was very very good. An overall exquisite meal well worth the price. 
 

Coming up:  sea day 3!

Edited November 12, 2023 by maxandmolly

[maxandmolly]

Sea day 3:  I slept in a bit again and headed to Lido for breakfast. After that it was back to Serenity with DH. We sat in the hot tub and then hit the pool. We had Guy’s burgers for lunch and headed down to change. We wandered the ship for a bit then had steakhouse reservations at 6. 
 

Dinner in the steakhouse was just as good as teppanyaki. Service was excellent.  The stuffed mushrooms were incredibly tasty. The spinach salad was fresh. DH enjoyed his Caesar. He had lobster and I had the filet. The filet was good but not quite as good as teppanyaki. We were celebrating our anniversary and the server brought us two glasses of champagne on the house. We don’t drink but DH managed to choke down about half the glass, making faces every time he sipped. Insisted it was rude not to drink it. I couldn’t do it. Champagne is completely lost on me. Guess I’m not that high class, lol. 
 

Debarkation day:  We were sadly finished with our cruise yesterday. We ate in the MDR which was adequate with omelets and waffles for me. The waffle was a bit dry. Our number was called as we finished our meal so we headed out. We collected our luggage and went to meet our shuttle back to our off site parking. We were quickly greeted and seated on the shuttle. It was about a 10 minute drive from the port to the parking. 
 

We were greeted with a dead battery when we reached the car. Sigh. I called AAA and we were waiting when a car pulled up facing us. The new cruisers had jumper cables and offered us a jump. We took her up on her offer and set off for the auto parts store. We eventually made it home where one cat was anxiously waiting to greet us and the other hid for a couple hours after we got home. I haven’t unpacked yet and desperately need to do laundry but am currently procrastinating. I return to work tomorrow. Sigh. 

[maxandmolly]

Overall impressions:  The ship was clean and in excellent condition as expected for a two year old ship. There was constantly crew seen cleaning everywhere. The wait for the elevator was a bit annoying at times but to be expected with such a large ship. DH felt it was too big for him, he preferred the Magic which we cruised on our last cruise. I enjoyed the Mardi Gras and all of the options for food and entertainment. We aren’t the partying type so it was a very mellow vacation but that’s what we prefer. Any questions, I’m happy to answer if I can. 

[maxandmolly]

5 hours ago, Drazil65 said:

Thank you for this review, we love MG and will be on her again in about 4 weeks.  Even after cruising for 20 plus years, 2 or 3 times a year, I still get those excited butterflies in the month leading up to embarkation.  Probably because now the lists are out and the suitcases will follow soon.  It is so much fun to read other cruise reviews in anticipation of our own.  Cant wait to read the rest of your review.  

The anticipation is half the fun!

[hurricane0226]

Thank you for your review, we leave on Saturday, the 18th, a Thanksgiving cruise, it will be my

DW, DGS, DGD, And myself. We had done a Thanksgiving cruise before on Mardi Gras,

in 2021, my wife and I we enjoyed it, even though she says it is a big ship, she is like your

Husband, she loves the Magic, we have done eight cruises on the Magic, once again,

thanks for the review.

[maxandmolly]

8 hours ago, hurricane0226 said:

Thank you for your review, we leave on Saturday, the 18th, a Thanksgiving cruise, it will be my

DW, DGS, DGD, And myself. We had done a Thanksgiving cruise before on Mardi Gras,

in 2021, my wife and I we enjoyed it, even though she says it is a big ship, she is like your

Husband, she loves the Magic, we have done eight cruises on the Magic, once again,

thanks for the review.

Thanks for reading!  My bff is doing a Thanksgiving cruise on Mardi Gras next year. Should be fun for you and your family!

[pirate4me2]

Thanks for the review! We have sailed MG twice in the past year, she is a big ship for sure, with a lot to offer in a week long vacation. 

[maxandmolly]

56 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Thanks for the review! We have sailed MG twice in the past year, she is a big ship for sure, with a lot to offer in a week long vacation. 

Yes she does!  We didn’t get to everything. Next time. 

[nydney1]

Thank you for the review. It was very well written.

 

We have not yet been able to do the Mardi Gras but look forward to it

[maxandmolly]

18 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

Thank you for the review. It was very well written.

 

We have not yet been able to do the Mardi Gras but look forward to it

Thanks for reading!  It’s a great ship.