why so many bad reviews of the Mardi Gras?

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

You are in line virtually and the effect is the same. You mentioned shows and the previous poster mentioned dinner. I didn't back up far enough in the convo, I guess.

I am sitting at the bar, waiting for the show to start and then I walk in.  

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, aborgman said:

 

On our sailing - there was no way you were walking into the club and getting a seat after that line entered.

 

There were times we were IN that line - and there were no seats when we got inside the doors.

Didn't say I got a seat.  There is always standing room.  

[aborgman]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Didn't say I got a seat.  There is always standing room.  

 

Not on a number of shows on our sailing.

 

There were a couple times they were turning people away at the door because the standing room was completely filled.

 

[sparks1093]

9 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

Not on a number of shows on our sailing.

 

There were a couple times they were turning people away at the door because the standing room was completely filled.

 

We've found that this is something that varies widely. On some sailing it's easy to get a seat. On other sailings you can't even stand and watch the show.

[asalligo]

This is complicated, First, every cruise there are a certain number of people who have buyers remorse. This cruise was awesome on day one and terrible on day seven because it is almost over and nothing but bills and memories are left.

 

Second, I love some of the features on the new Excel class ships, but it also has some serious faults. Cabins are smaller, venues are smaller even though the cruisers capacity has tripled in some cases, elevators are a mess, and people are everywhere. Combine that with the fact that everything from service to food has decreased in quality for people who experienced cruises five or ten years ago and some people are just not going to love it. 

 

I have cruised all three Excel class ships in the fifteen months, first Mardi Gras, then Celebration, then Jubilee. There are things about all three I really loved, but i still feel the essence of cruising, the things that make cruising really nice are better on the smaller ships. I was lucky enough to be on the Paradise two months after the Celebration and I noticed the things that I missed there. try finding a place by the window to just sit and relax and watch the water on the Excel class ships. There are 600 places to sit and watch the ocean roll by on the Paradise. Conversely there is no Street Eats, no Guys BBQ, no Chibang, no Cucina. 

 

So, know what you want from a cruise and what you are getting into and you will be fine. If your idea is to relax, Excel is not for you, but if you want twenty things to do and ten places to eat at any time and are willing to jockey for it, Excel is for you. 

 

 

[kew1031]

On 3/14/2024 at 5:07 PM, TravelBluebird said:

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.

truth. I worked in retail for MANY years. Customers, in general, are far more likely to voice a complaint than a compliment. Numbers were about 7 out of 10 would give negative feedback about their experience, only 3 out of 10 would bother with positive feedback about their experience.