LIVE from the Carnival Mardi Gras April 6th-13th

[GothOnAShip]

After Alchemy and the safety briefing, we unpacked and I fell asleep. lol. 
 

We had reservations at Bonsi Teppanyaki for dinner. It was AMAZING. John was the chef and he was so entertaining. The food was delicious. I had the filet. It was great! 
 

It started with appetizers spicy tuna, asparagus wrapped in pork belly, shrimp, miso soup and ginger salad. I only took pictures of the tuna; probably because I didn’t eat the tuna since I’m not really a tuna person. The rest of the appetizers were so phenomenal I forgot to take pictures. 

 

Then they gave us the rice. It was so, so, so good! Then veggies and entrees. Mr. Goth and I both did the filet. Again, it was phenomenal.

 

 

Then the desert bento box. Also fantastic! The desserts are green tea ice cream (The server told me it was wasabi ice cream and I totally fell for it, lol), pistachio cake, chilled pomegranate soup, a baby crème brûlée, a chocolate of some kind, and a chocolate covered strawberry. The baby crème brûlée was my favorite, but everything was wonderful. 

 

Now we’re at the piano bar waiting for the show to start. I’m very excited. I love a live piano player and we were never able to get a seat last time we were on the ship. 
 

I also booked a Steakhouse reservation because I want to try all the specialty dining on board if I can, just based on how amazing that dinner was… except Rudy’s. I can’t go to Rudy’s. The plates freak me out. 

[1st4our25th]

3 minutes ago, GothOnAShip said:

We had reservations at Bonsi Teppanyaki for dinner.

 

I also booked a Steakhouse reservation because I want to try all the specialty dining on board if I can, just based on how amazing that dinner was…

Post a comparison if you can. I loved the Steakhouse on Sunshine, didn't try it on Vista, but really want it this go round. But....I also want to try Teppanyaki. Problem is I'm not a fan of any fish/seafood (I'm a filet girl) and the desserts don't sound like anything I'm used to, so I don't know if it would be my cup of tea. But I want to try it for the experience. If I could only do one, I'm not sure which I'd pick. If they are good enough I would possibly do them both.

[Knights on the Beach]

31 minutes ago, 1st4our25th said:

Post a comparison if you can. I loved the Steakhouse on Sunshine, didn't try it on Vista, but really want it this go round. But....I also want to try Teppanyaki. Problem is I'm not a fan of any fish/seafood (I'm a filet girl) and the desserts don't sound like anything I'm used to, so I don't know if it would be my cup of tea. But I want to try it for the experience. If I could only do one, I'm not sure which I'd pick. If they are good enough I would possibly do them both.

 

I'm allergic to shellfish and don't eat any fish or seafood at all. I love Teppanyaki, we've been there twice on Mardi Gras. The desserts were just OK to me, but the rice, filet and chicken I had was so delicious. We also went to Rudi's (the other couple with us at the time love seafood) and I had steak. It was better than the steak I had in the steakhouse on MG.

[GothOnAShip]

The piano bar is good fun. Brad Alexander is the pianist the week. He’s wonderful. I could sit here all week. The bar staff is exceptional. 
 

I’m going to need a thesaurus to find more words to describe things this week. I’m running out of the ones that mean amazing, but so far everything has been great!!! 

[GothOnAShip]

Hi there People’s Republic of Cruise Critic! This is our first cruise with the Cheers! package (with the RU 4 code, not DOU, I don’t gamble) and I’m not sure if it’s of interest to anyone else but here’s what I drank today for the purposes of deciding if it’s worth it next time:

 

1 spicy chipotle martini.. $14

5, maybe 6 black cherry white claws in the Piano Bar… $7.75 each

3 cans of soda.. $3.25 each

2 small water.. $2.25 each

1 large water.. $4.95

1 soda “draft”… $3.25

1 lemonade (homemade blackberry syrup).. $9.25

 

I’m too drunk to math, but I think I broke even. Mr. goth on the other hand…

 

1 fountain soda… $3.12

1 small water.. $2.25

1 white claw.. $7.75

1 more fountain soda…$3.25

1 can soda… $3.25

 

We’re going for 1am pizza. Probably see you all tomorrow morning.. maybe early afternoon. 

[GothOnAShip]

We got pizza. They gave me two slices but I started eating before I remembered to take a picture. Carnival security was IDing people that looked like they were under 21 because of the curfew. Nothing says you’re almost 35 like Carnival security looking at you and saying “you’re good”. Welp.. I’m going to eat my pizza and watch TV in my room until I fall asleep like the nearly 35 year old that I am. Talk to you in the morning People’s Republic of Cruise Critic. 

[kelkel2]

I’m following along! Have a great cruise. 

[travelinjess85]

Loving your live so far! Living vicariously through you. We are going on the MG next March and it seems so far away 😭 Can’t wait to hear the rest of your trip! 

[grima625]

Following along!  I love the fact that you are excited to make it to red status. I also love the People’s Republic of Cruise Critic. Cracks me up. 

[GothOnAShip]

1 hour ago, kelkel2 said:

I’m following along! Have a great cruise. 

So glad to have you along! Welcome!

 

58 minutes ago, travelinjess85 said:

Loving your live so far! Living vicariously through you. We are going on the MG next March and it seems so far away 😭 Can’t wait to hear the rest of your trip! 

Great to have you here! You’re going to love the Mardi Gras!!! 
 

57 minutes ago, grima625 said:

Following along!  I love the fact that you are excited to make it to red status. I also love the People’s Republic of Cruise Critic. Cracks me up. 

Haha thanks! Welcome aboard! Glad you’re here! 

[GothOnAShip]

Good morning People’s Republic of Cruise Critic! 
 

Today is our first of three sea days. It’s about 10am and I just woke up about half an hour ago due to all the white claw and staying up until 2 in the morning. 
 

Mr. Goth and I talked about breakfast briefly, but nothing became of that discussion. Maybe we’ll just get coffee. Maybe we’ll wait until lunch. But I know you’re on the edge of your seat, so whatever happens, I’ll be sure to update you. 

[Robpuffdaddy]

10 hours ago, GothOnAShip said:

Hi there People’s Republic of Cruise Critic! This is our first cruise with the Cheers! package (with the RU 4 code, not DOU, I don’t gamble) and I’m not sure if it’s of interest to anyone else but here’s what I drank today for the purposes of deciding if it’s worth it next time:

 

1 spicy chipotle martini.. $14

5, maybe 6 black cherry white claws in the Piano Bar… $7.75 each

3 cans of soda.. $3.25 each

2 small water.. $2.25 each

1 large water.. $4.95

1 soda “draft”… $3.25

1 lemonade (homemade blackberry syrup).. $9.25

 

I’m too drunk to math, but I think I broke even. Mr. goth on the other hand…

 

1 fountain soda… $3.12

1 small water.. $2.25

1 white claw.. $7.75

1 more fountain soda…$3.25

1 can soda… $3.25

 

We’re going for 1am pizza. Probably see you all tomorrow morning.. maybe early afternoon. 

You got your money's worth for the day, your husband did not.  He has to up his game tomorrow.  But. if you add your total and his together, it looks like your total together paid for it.

[Knights on the Beach]

2 hours ago, GothOnAShip said:

Good morning People’s Republic of Cruise Critic! 
 

Today is our first of three sea days. It’s about 10am and I just woke up about half an hour ago due to all the white claw and staying up until 2 in the morning. 
 

Mr. Goth and I talked about breakfast briefly, but nothing became of that discussion. Maybe we’ll just get coffee. Maybe we’ll wait until lunch. But I know you’re on the edge of your seat, so whatever happens, I’ll be sure to update you. 

 

If you want specialty coffee, go to Bar Della Rosa on deck 8. That's where we head every morning when on Mardi Gras. The lines at Java Blue are usually crazy.

 

[GothOnAShip]

31 minutes ago, Robpuffdaddy said:

You got your money's worth for the day, your husband did not.  He has to up his game tomorrow.  But. if you add your total and his together, it looks like your total together paid for it.

I realized I forgot to add that he also had a $14 spicy pineapple martini, so didn’t get the money’s worth still, but certainly was a dent. Luckily with the RU4 promotion, we only paid about $200 each for the entire package . But definitely time to step it up on day 2 lol. 

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, GothOnAShip said:

I realized I forgot to add that he also had a $14 spicy pineapple martini, so didn’t get the money’s worth still, but certainly was a dent. Luckily with the RU4 promotion, we only paid about $200 each for the entire package . But definitely time to step it up on day 2 lol. 

So you two don't gamble but you got this RU4 promo.  Nice!!

[GothOnAShip]

16 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

17 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

If you want specialty coffee, go to Bar Della Rosa on deck 8. That's where we head every morning when on Mardi Gras. The lines at Java Blue are usually crazy.

 

Good to know. Thank you! 

[GothOnAShip]

So we fell asleep again and now it’s 12:30. At least now it’s an appropriate lunch time. I kind of wanted Blue Iguana and it turned out Mr. Goth had a dream about Blue Iguana, so that’s our next plan. Then maybe a strawberry daiquiri and then we will probably go watch auditions for family feud. We’re not auditioning, but it’s fun to watch. But first, tacos! 

[Robpuffdaddy]

I am disappointed that it appears that they do not have Mongolian Grill in the Lido area on the Mardi Gras.  I know that have the teppanyaki restaurant and already have our reservations for our cruise in June.  Really enjoying your live trip review.  Will continue to follow your posts.

[Knights on the Beach]

4 hours ago, Robpuffdaddy said:

I am disappointed that it appears that they do not have Mongolian Grill in the Lido area on the Mardi Gras.  I know that have the teppanyaki restaurant and already have our reservations for our cruise in June.  Really enjoying your live trip review.  Will continue to follow your posts.

 

They don't but Chibang has a pretty good lunch menu on sea days at no extra charge.

[GothOnAShip]

So we went to get tacos at Blue Iguana. The line was long, but moved quickly. The tacos were amazing. 

Then we went down to the Grand View bar to get a strawberry daiquiri. The blender wasn’t working, so we went to Java Blue and got black and white (chocolate and vanilla) milkshakes instead. They were delicious. Nice job Java Blue.

 

We brought our own straws, but wanted to try the candy ones just for fun. As candy they’re great, but I see how they may not be the most functional straw. With future milkshakes (of which there will likely be many), I’ll probably take the straw still wrapped and eat it separately. 
 

We went to watch family feud auditions, which was fun. All the families did a great job. It was also the first we had seen of cruise director, TJ, since we skipped the sail away party. He seems nice and very entertaining. He seems to take a little more of a backseat than our previous cruise director, Kendall Fire, but that lets some of the other fun squad members shine, which is also nice. 
 

Then we did super hero trivia. We got 18 out of 20, but they had the wrong answer for one question. Oh well, no biggie. It was still fun.

 

We came back to find this friend.

 

We named him Pumpernickel. 
 

We’re going to get ready for dinner. It’s formal night. We’re going to try Cucina tonight. We definitely want to see the magic show tonight. Maybe we’ll catch part of Celestial Strings as well if the timing with dinner works out. 

[GothOnAShip]

Maybe it’s because I’m fairly new to cruising, but I just saw a family finish at Cucina and literally the second they were out of view, five dining staff swarmed the table and it was completely reset within a 10 seconds. It was very impressive. 
 

Also, unpopular opinion, but I love cruise ships filled with kids. They’re cute and you get to over hear the funniest things such as a couple trying to get a small child hyped for a magic show, but he was having none of it and just wanted to ride the elevator. 
 

This is a strawberry Bellini and it’s delicious. 

[GothOnAShip]

We had dinner at Cucina del Capitano. Everything was excellent. We both had the caprese salad for the appetizer. I don’t get a picture, but I loved it. 
 

I had the chicken parm and a half portion of the penne pomadoro. Both very good. Mr. Goth had the braised short ribs, which he loved. Everything was served very hot, which was awesome. 

 

We both did the tiramisu for dessert… excellent again. Jay, our server was fantastic and food came out fairly quickly. Overall, great experience. 

[Knights on the Beach]

57 minutes ago, GothOnAShip said:

Maybe it’s because I’m fairly new to cruising, but I just saw a family finish at Cucina and literally the second they were out of view, five dining staff swarmed the table and it was completely reset within a 10 seconds. It was very impressive. 
 

Also, unpopular opinion, but I love cruise ships filled with kids. They’re cute and you get to over hear the funniest things such as a couple trying to get a small child hyped for a magic show, but he was having none of it and just wanted to ride the elevator. 
 

This is a strawberry Bellini and it’s delicious. 

 

What all was in that? Strawberry puree and champagne? I love Bellinis but I get mine with Peach Schnapps instead of peach puree. So delicious!

 

[GothOnAShip]

15 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

What all was in that? Strawberry puree and champagne? I love Bellinis but I get mine with Peach Schnapps instead of peach puree. So delicious!

 

Yep, it was strawberry puree and champagne. Your way sounds great! Maybe I’ll have to try that soon! 

[mamiamjo]

1 hour ago, GothOnAShip said:

Also, unpopular opinion, but I love cruise ships filled with kids. They’re cute and you get to over hear the funniest things such as a couple trying to get a small child hyped for a magic show, but he was having none of it and just wanted to ride the elevator.  
 

Hopefully you won't be hearing them running up and down the halls while you're trying to sleep 😉