why so many bad reviews of the Mardi Gras?

[jxtgreek]

I want to book this ship but have been reading so many bad reviews of this ship?  Is it that bad?

[Theosprey247]

You need to take all review with a grain of salt (both positive and negative). And remember some reviewers have never been on the ship they are reviewing. 

[mfs2k]

This entire thread is full of people who love Mardi Gras.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2996220-need-help-deciding-between-vista-and-mardi-gras/

[bg2310]

What are you talking about? Gotta be seeking out negative reviews, because basically all I've seen have been positive and people love the ship.

 

Nothing out of the ordinary that you see from other popular ships anyway.

[RoperDK]

I mostly see positive reviews, also.  Mardi Gras is a beautiful ship.  I've been on her twice.  I have decided that Excel class isn't for me, but I think I'm in the minority.

[jxtgreek]

I went to read reviews for this ship on this board and that's where I saw them.  I still plan on booking this ship just was curious.  Thanks

[lazydayz]

We have cruised on the Mardi Gras five times and the Celebration twice. 

 

There are so many positives to the Excel class, I think you should book it and decide for yourself. 

 

We loved all of the dining and bar offerings, you literally could eat at a different place every day and still likely miss something. 

 

There are a ton of activities, and the ships are high energy.  

 

The Serenity area on both ships are beautiful and spacious.  

 

The staterooms are more modern. Some complain about the size of the bathrooms, but most rave about the generous size of the showers. Our recommendation is to go with the extended balcony category. 

 

The shows and talent are so much better than on the older ships.  

 

Because at times we are laid back cruisers and sometimes just want to chill, we are now alternating between the smaller ships sailing from our home port (Tampa) and the Excel class.

[mz-s]

In general people who have a positive experience don't take the time to write a review or fill out a comment card. It's only people who have a negative experience who will take the time to write a review.

[staceyglow]

If you read enough Cruise Critic forums, you are going to see good reviews and bad reviews of every single ship on every single line.

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

Goodness, I agree with everyone else on this thread. I’ve sailed Mardi Gras twice and I just loved her!  Would sail on Mardi Gras again in a heartbeat.
 

Remember, out of the general population (I”m not talking about us here on Cruise Critic) they will speak up online if they have something negative to say, but rarely if they have something positive to say. It was just like that when I worked retail as well.

[TN Roz]

I have cruised on the Mardi Gras and loved it! As previously stated, take any and all reviews with a grain of salt. Some people will give a negative review if dinner was slow one night or if their cabin attendant forgot to bring them ice one day. They let one negative ruin their whole cruise. 

[Elaine5715]

7 hours ago, jxtgreek said:

I want to book this ship but have been reading so many bad reviews of this ship?  Is it that bad?

I ♥️♥️♥️the Mardi Gras.  Been on her twice with three more booked.  

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, jxtgreek said:

I went to read reviews for this ship on this board and that's where I saw them.  I still plan on booking this ship just was curious.  Thanks

If you look at the reviews for any ship, in Carnival's fleet or in some other cruise line's fleet, you will see a good number of negative reviews. There will be thousands of passengers on Mardi Gras and each will have a different experience of the same sailing. Some will have a great time, some will have an ok time, and some will have a bad time. Oftentimes when something negative happens to someone it takes on larger proportions than it really is and it will taint the whole experience for that person. When I read a negative review I try to pick out what those dissatisfiers are and ask myself "would that affect me the same way as it did this reviewer if it happened to me". Most often the answer is no.

[Paelos]

I was on her a year ago. It's perfectly fine if you are okay with a huge ship mentality, which means you're reserving everything and there will be lines for popular items. 

 

The criticism mostly centers around things related to just that, people don't want to wait or when they have to wait they are more critical of that item. 

 

My view? The only thing that really sucked on the Mardi Gras is the buffet. It's truly awful and the selection is pitiful compared to older ships. That being said the other food options make it basically irrelevant. 

[kdr69]

When you say "so many" could you put a number to that? Did you read 1 thread? 5? 15? Did you just read the first post or did you read all the replies to the post?  Ive never seen a thread on a Ship review that had a 100% agreement with that review. Just curious how you arrived at "so many"

[sparks1093]

22 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

When you say "so many" could you put a number to that? Did you read 1 thread? 5? 15? Did you just read the first post or did you read all the replies to the post?  Ive never seen a thread on a Ship review that had a 100% agreement with that review. Just curious how you arrived at "so many"

They are talking about the review portion of Cruise Critic, not the forums. One can up or down vote a review I think but you can't comment. For grins I looked at the Mardi Gras review page (Here's a link if anyone wants it Carnival Mardi Gras Cruise Reviews (2024 UPDATED): Ratings of Carnival Mardi Gras (cruisecritic.com) ) and the first 10 reviews had 4 1 star ratings, 1 2 star, 3 3 star, 0 4 star, and 2 5 star. I think I would classify 5 negative reviews out of 10 reviews to be "many".

 

Edited March 15 by sparks1093

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, Paelos said:

I was on her a year ago. It's perfectly fine if you are okay with a huge ship mentality, which means you're reserving everything and there will be lines for popular items. 

 

The criticism mostly centers around things related to just that, people don't want to wait or when they have to wait they are more critical of that item. 

 

My view? The only thing that really sucked on the Mardi Gras is the buffet. It's truly awful and the selection is pitiful compared to older ships. That being said the other food options make it basically irrelevant. 

There are no reservations except for specialty dining on any Carnival ship.  No need to get in a line to go to a venue that hasn't opened to see a show.  

[ray98]

We were on the MG last month.  I think many negative reviews come from people who simply aren't prepared to deal with the crowds.  Our first time on her was in the reduced capacities after COVID and this was absolutely a different experience.  The sheer number of people slows everything down and with the size of the ship sometimes feels like you aren't even on a cruise ship.  I commented to my wife on board that you could sit at most of the popular bars and you might as well be in some random spot on land due to the lack of ocean views.  The ship is beautiful and has everything you could want but that has come at a cost of losing the 'feel' of being at sea for us.

 

It isn't bad....just different.

[elcuchio24]

Excel class probably the only CCL ships we'll sail going forward, enjoy.

[dbrucern]

We loved the Mardi Gras our only negatives and I mean ours were we felt the rooms were narrower and the bathrooms smaller but loved the glass door on the shower and they did fix the location of the toilet paper on the Celebration 

[Elaine5715]

2 minutes ago, dbrucern said:

We loved the Mardi Gras our only negatives and I mean ours were we felt the rooms were narrower and the bathrooms smaller but loved the glass door on the shower and they did fix the location of the toilet paper on the Celebration 

This is true.  

[Rollin Tide]

2 hours ago, dbrucern said:

We loved the Mardi Gras our only negatives and I mean ours were we felt the rooms were narrower

That was our negative too.  And the fact that our suite's balcony had no ceiling, meaning folks in the cabins above us just looked right down on us.  I can't blame Carnival, cuz we should've did a little more research on the suite we booked.  Now that we know, we've booked different suites.

[coondog99]

We sailed on the Mardi Gras in Dec '22 coming back on the Christmas Eve day. It was a busy ship but my favourite so far. Zero complaints about it.

Edited March 15 by coondog99

[csm5986142]

Add me to the list of people who love Mardi Gras (actually I love all the Excel class ships - we've done Mardi Gras twice, Celebration twice, and Jubilee once). 

Yes, there are more people on board, but these ships were with built with that in mind.  Embarkation day (before people can get into their cabins) is a bit crazy, but after that, I think the crowd spreads out fairly well.

[vwrestler171]

IMO, and its just that, my opinion.  I will not do another Excel class ship again. Too big for many of the amenities that they offer.  I sailed when it was still only 60% capacity and with the ship that empty, the piano bar was still crowded with many people not able to get in.  The comedy club was still packed with many people not getting in.  The casino was packed.  Many times at midnight, the line for pizza stretched back to guest services.  Royal has the same amount of people on their Oasis ships, but the Oasis class is a lot bigger than the Excel class.