My LONG Mardi Gras Story - Take Two! (with FunTimes)

[mlshum]

Hey there, Cruise Critic peeps!  We're back from our cruise on Mardi Gras and, as promised, I'll be uploading our "Story" over the next few days.  As always, the opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.  Someone else may have a different opinion of the very same event.  That's totally fine!  If everyone liked and agreed on all of the same things, the world would be a very boring place.

 

I'll do my best to answer any questions anyone might have but there are couple areas of the ship that I never really visit, the casino and the spa coming to mind.  I was traveling with a group of people so if I don't know the answer, perhaps one of them will.  We'll do our best at least!

 

By way of introduction, we are Ron and Michelle and we live in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, just a few miles from the Virginia border.  If you have ever driven south on I-77 and traveled through the tunnel on the West Virginia/Virginia border, then you were just a few miles from our house.  We are both real estate appraisers and own our own business.  That can be both a blessing and a curse when it comes to taking time off.  I've been told "you can take time off whenever you want" but it really requires a lot of planning to shut down the office for a week and we have to be financially prepared for the fact we won't get paid ANYTHING for the time we are gone.  We're used to it and have pretty much gotten it down to a science at this point.

 

This is not so much a "review" as it is a "story".  I am basically telling what happened leading up to the cruise and during the cruise itself.  It's rather long!  The first few posts are the things that happened before the cruise and during our travel time.  If you want to skip those parts, I'm certainly not offended but this is the kind of story I like to read and, consequently, it's also what I like to write.  I'll include a lot of pictures as I get into the story, but this first part will have only a few photographs.

 

If you're with me this far and STILL want to read, then you are MY people, and I present to you:

 

Mardi Gras – Take two!

 

What’s better than a group cruise?  A SECOND group cruise!  We had such a good time with all our friends on the Sunshine in 2023 we decided to do it again in September 2024.  This time we would sail on the beautiful Mardi Gras!

 

Ron and I had the privilege of sailing on both Mardi Gras and Celebration and we were excited to sail this class of ship again.  Love the Excel class ships!  This would mark our 15th cruise and our first cruise as Platinum.  I know it’s silly to be excited over having the silver card, but I can’t help it!  I don’t think I’ll live long enough or cruise long enough to be Diamond, so this is as high as it goes for me.  I get it that the perks aren’t that great and like I said, it makes no sense to be excited…but I am.  I’m easily amused like that.

 

We would be joined by Liz and Aaron.  Liz is pretty much our adopted daughter, and we’ve sailed with them a couple of times before.  She just did a sailing in the spring on NCL.  She was unimpressed with her NCL cruise and was ready to get back “home” to Carnival.  Aaron and Liz were also on Celebration last fall, but this would be their first trip on Mardi Gras.

 

Emory and Cami sailed with us on Sunshine.  They’ve sailed both on Royal Caribbean and Carnival.  Emory was looking forward to sailing on a larger ship but really wanted to do Icon of the Seas.  While I would love to sail on Icon someday, I just can’t bring myself to pay the price.  I looked at the rates once and got sticker shock!   Hopefully they can make that happen even if we can’t do it as a group cruise or if the price goes down at some point so we can all afford it.  Emory was really excited to know that Icon of the Seas would be joining us in port in Costa Maya.  If he happens to go missing in Costa Maya, we’ll all just assume he either stowed away on Icon or got arrested trying to get on board.

 

Derrick and Lucinda took their first cruise with our group on Sunshine.  This was supposed to be their second cruise. (That’s foreshadowing!)   If you remember, Derrick had a mission to “eat it all” on Sunshine.  He and Emory are “foodies” and were both really looking forward to some of the dining options on Mardi Gras.  Derrick was also looking forward to going snorkeling for the first time. We had made plans to snorkel once before but our stop in Bimini was cancelled due to weather.  Most of our group was going to visit sloths in Roatan but Ron, Derrick and I decided to snorkel until the last minute when Derrick decided to go see sloths, too.  I love snorkeling.  While animals in general are fine, I must confess that holding sloths, monkeys and the like really doesn’t have much appeal for me.  Liz is all about any animal activity and she was looking forward to the sloths.  She spent a few fruitless minutes trying to talk Ron into visiting sloths instead of snorkeling but quickly gave it up as a lost cause.

 

Kim and Bobby were also on the Sunshine cruise as their first cruise.  During the Sunshine cruise Kim had commented that she enjoyed the entertainment but as I was looking back, I realized that there weren’t any full production shows during that sailing.  For whatever reason they just kept canceling every show.  We had bad weather one day, but the other days seemed good.  No idea why.  It made me sad that our friends hadn’t actually seen any shows!  Time to rectify that!

 

Steven and Sarah would round out our group of twelve.  This was their first cruise.  They’ve done a lot of traveling, especially since Steven is a military contractor.  They have lived in Vegas but grew up in WV.  They have two small children and needed an adult get-away during Steven’s time at home.  This was their first sea vacation, and they were both really looking forward to the experience.

 

After choosing the cruise almost a year in advance and booking it, we all settled in for the LONG wait until it was time to go!

 

Three months before the cruise we decided it was time for a strategy session.  The girls all came to my house for an evening of cruise talk and cinnamon rolls.  Can’t have a get together without food!   We all go to church together and we know that “where two or three are gathered, snacks shall be served”.   (Not exactly sure of the reference but pretty sure it’s in the Good Book!)   Ron is an excellent cook and baker, much better than me, and he always makes these enormous cinnamon rolls for our get togethers.  Friends…fun…cinnamon rolls….sign me up!

 

 

The guys also decided to get together and grill some deer related protein.  I think seafood might have also been involved.  Like I said, a couple of them are foodies.  Ron deserted our house, headed over to Derrick’s and took cinnamon rolls.  Jamman talks about “husband day care” in his reviews.  This was more like “backyard camp out where everyone decides they’d rather be home when it gets dark” kind of situation. 

 

More to come....

 

 

[jimbo5544]

Great start, I am in

[Jamman54]

Great start to your review! We'll be along for the ride! 😃

[ninjacat123]

Yay!! I’ve never done a cruise with that many couples so this is gonna be fun!! And we will be on MG this June (Craig’s first time) so I want to hear all about it👍🥳

[cynt]

Aww man. I'm at the casino and I have gambled my allotment of money for the evening. So I'm in my hotel room looking for reviews to pick my spirit up and you tease me with one entry. 

 

Great start. Can't wait to read more.

[mlshum]

11 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Great start, I am in

Awesome!  Thank you so much!

[mlshum]

9 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yay!! I’ve never done a cruise with that many couples so this is gonna be fun!! And we will be on MG this June (Craig’s first time) so I want to hear all about it👍🥳

Hey, ninjacat!  Thanks for hanging out!  Hope he LOVES Mardi Gras!

10 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Great start to your review! We'll be along for the ride! 😃

So glad to have you join!  You “husband day care” cracks me up and had stuck with me!

 

9 hours ago, cynt said:

Aww man. I'm at the casino and I have gambled my allotment of money for the evening. So I'm in my hotel room looking for reviews to pick my spirit up and you tease me with one entry. 

 

Great start. Can't wait to read more.

 

[markmbsc]

I'm in!!! I'll be on the Mardi Gras in 25 days😁

[mlshum]

9 hours ago, cynt said:

Aww man. I'm at the casino and I have gambled my allotment of money for the evening. So I'm in my hotel room looking for reviews to pick my spirit up and you tease me with one entry. 

 

Great start. Can't wait to read more.

The casino can be a beast!  Hope you have awesome luck and I’ll do my best to get more up asap!

[ninjacat123]

Oh I know he will love MG and even more important, I will be reunited with Big Chicken AND Emeril's!! 🤣 Looking forward to more of your review!!😺

[we b cruzin]

I'm along for the ride. We were on the Mardis Gras in May of 2023 and loved it!!!

Looking forward to reading about your adventure.

[mlshum]

3 hours ago, markmbsc said:

I'm in!!! I'll be on the Mardi Gras in 25 days😁

So glad to have you along!

[mlshum]

3 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Oh I know he will love MG and even more important, I will be reunited with Big Chicken AND Emeril's!! 🤣 Looking forward to more of your review!!😺

Both good things!

[mlshum]

3 hours ago, we b cruzin said:

I'm along for the ride. We were on the Mardis Gras in May of 2023 and loved it!!!

Looking forward to reading about your adventure.

Thanks for hanging out!  Mardi Gras is a sweet ship!

[mlshum]

Our pre-sailing plans included an overnight at Raddison at the Port.  Ron and I have stayed there before, and it was a convenient place to stay when sailing from Port Canaveral.  After some lengthy phone conversations, we were able to book one of their packages that included a room, transportation to and from the airport and transportation to and from the cruise port.  All of that for less than $300.  That’s a pretty good deal!  We’ll take it!  Port Canaveral is about 45 minutes away from the Orlando airport  (MCO) so having the airport shuttle was a huge plus.

 

Hotel reserved… check!  It was time to turn our attention to flights.  After watching the prices of flights go down, we pulled the trigger on non-stop flights out of Charlotte at around $185 per person.  Not bad!  Liz would say I’m “bougie” and “extra” but not in regard to my flights.  I want the cheapest flight from point A to point B.  I guess I’m MAY be just a little “bougie” because I always want to choose my own seat.  Other that than, I don’t really care what airline or if I am in first class.  I just want to get there so the fun can begin.

 

Flights booked…check!  The heavy lifting was finished.  Time to wait, albeit impatiently, for our cruise to arrive.

 

Since waiting was difficult, we decided to get together at Sarah and Steven’s for a cookout.  We were all looking forward to getting together when….disaster struck.

 

 

Cookout goodies!

 

 

 

Emory supplied shrimp

 

Lucinda’s parents live in Michigan.  Her mom has had some health issues over the years however, her dad had been healthy until this time.  The week before our cookout he had a heart attack resulting in a triple bypass.  Lucinda immediately went to Michigan to help her parents.  Derrick came to the cookout, but we could tell his heart wasn’t really in it and he was worried about Lucinda and his father-in-law.  That same weekend they made the very difficult decision to cancel their trip since Lucinda was needed in Michigan.  Everyone was absolutely devastated.  It didn’t seem possible, but we all knew they didn’t have a choice.  Thankfully, they had trip insurance so there wasn’t such a huge financial loss.  It was too late for the rest of us to reschedule since we were well past the 90-day period.  We were only three weeks from sailing at that point.  With heavy hearts, we forged ahead with the plans, already talking about planning the next group cruise as soon as possible so we’d have Derrick and Lucinda on a sailing without delay. 

 

Let us talk briefly about trip insurance.  I personally always buy trip insurance.  Some do.  Some don’t.  It’s a totally personal decision.  For me, it’s worth the price for the peace of mind.  I’ve never had to use my insurance yet so I can’t say from personal experience how well it works.  I have gotten insurance independently and through Carnival.  I’ve heard horror stories about the Carnival insurance but that is usually what I get for simplicity’s sake. I have gotten other types of insurance over the years as well. 

 

When Derrick and Lucinda started through the process, it became clear that Carnival did not do a very good job of explaining the steps that someone should take to file a claim.  Lucinda was pulled in many directions and simply didn’t have the time or energy to deal with trying to unravel the whole insurance mystery.  I volunteered to help if I could.  Lucinda’s PVP is the same as mine, so I gave her a call.  At first, she made it sound like the only money that would be refunded was for the drink package and excursions.  After asking questions for a while, I finally was able to learn how to go about filing the claim WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY directly.  Reading the instructions in the paperwork is like reading stereo instructions but there IS a phone number and that is where you start.  I finally got our PVP to explain that part.  After that, it was time to talk to the insurance company directly.  Carnival refunded the drink package and excursions/activities in full in just a couple of days.  The rest would be up to the insurance company.

 

Derrick took over at that point.  He contacted the insurance company and got the appropriate paperwork.  Some of the things that were needed included information from the doctor to document the reason for the cancellation.  Once all the documentation was submitted, they would then decide and inform Derrick of exactly how much he would be getting back.  I’m happy to report that they were, indeed, refunded the full 100% minus the service fee as promised.  They had the money back in their account even before we sailed.  It doesn’t make up for missing the cruise, but it does help to have not lost so much of their hard-earned money.

 

One thing about shore excursions that I wanted to mention before I moved on from this topic was an excursion that was NOT booked through Carnival.  They had booked a private excursion in Cozumel at the Nachi-Cocom Beach Club.  They had paid a $25 deposit, and the remainder was supposed to be due when they arrived.  They were able to cancel however, they had to forfeit the $25 deposit unless the port stop was cancelled by the cruise line.  All in all, not a huge loss.  I’m certain the various tour operators have different payment and refund policies.  The moral of this part of the story is to check each one when you book independently so you’ll know exactly what you’ll get back and what steps to take.  I’m grateful they had done their homework!

 

 

I'll be back this evening and get into the beginning of the trip....

 

[ninjacat123]

So sorry for your friends and the health issues their family is going through. I always get travel insurance, primarily for medical evacuation and treatment but I have never filed a claim.  I'm glad they were covered financially and I hope the health issues are better. 🙏

[wendysue44]

Following along as I will be on the Mardi Gras in December. Very excited to read the rest of your "story".

[SonoranDevil]

Can I say that reading your review to this point has been a pleasure? You've crafted a true story, with character development. I am already invested in all of them. Great storytelling!

[mlshum]

4 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

So sorry for your friends and the health issues their family is going through. I always get travel insurance, primarily for medical evacuation and treatment but I have never filed a claim.  I'm glad they were covered financially and I hope the health issues are better. 🙏

Same!  I'm so grateful it worked out for them.  I was brokenhearted that they didn't get to go but it would have been so much worse to have lost a lot of money.

[mlshum]

4 hours ago, wendysue44 said:

Following along as I will be on the Mardi Gras in December. Very excited to read the rest of your "story".

Thanks so much!  I appreciate you!

[mlshum]

2 hours ago, SonoranDevil said:

Can I say that reading your review to this point has been a pleasure? You've crafted a true story, with character development. I am already invested in all of them. Great storytelling!

Wow!  Thank you so much!  You've made me blush.  LOL  I love writing the reviews.  I relieve the trip that way.  I'm truly honored that people are interested enough to take time to read it.  Thank you!!

[#55worktoplay]

Following, great write up. So sorry that your friends couldn’t make it but good they didn’t lose all of their money. 

[mlshum]

Now…on with the story!

 

It was time for check-in.  We all planned to “meet” on our group chat a little before midnight so we could, hopefully, all get the earliest possible time and get them all together.  Since this was our first Platinum sailing, I had already checked in.  I didn’t confess that at first.    I took the 10:30 to 11:00 option hoping that would line up pretty well with everyone else.  It worked like a charm!  Everyone got the 10:30 to 11:00 slot and, just like that, check-in was complete.

 

Those two weeks between check-in and leaving must be the two longest weeks of the year.  Can time possibly drag any slower?!?  I had a terrible case of “vacationitis” during my last few workdays.  Seems like work always gets more complicated during that time. Finally, I had successfully shut down my part of the office and it was time to pack.  It isn’t quite vacation yet, but I can see if from here!

 

 

 

September 13th – Travel Day (yes, we flew on Friday the 13th!)

 

Our plan was to leave by 6am for our 11:45 flight out of Charlotte.  I had planned to be up around 4:30 so I’d have plenty of time to get ready.  The alarm when off and I bounded out of bed.  It’s always like Christmas morning for me.  I noticed that Ron had a strange look on his face after looking at his phone.  The conversation went like this:

 

Me:  What?

Him:  I thought we were leaving at 6.

Me:  We are!

Him: Then why did you set the alarm for 5:30?

 

Eeek!!!   Oh no!!!  What have I done!!!!

 

I could have fainted!!  For some unknown reason, I set the alarm AN HOUR LATER than anticipated!  I freaked out!  I was nearly in tears as I ran around trying to get ready.  I just knew I had totally blown it!  Fortunately, my hair didn’t fight back at all that morning, and we’d already packed so loading the car was a quick process.  I threw my last few items in his open carry on and away we went.  We walked out the door at 6:07am.  That has got to be some sort of record for me!

 

 

It was dark when we left Princeton!

 

 

If you live in West Virginia, you know that no on-the-road breakfast counts if it isn’t a biscuit from Tudor’s.  They don’t just serve biscuits…they serve BISCUITS!  They are MASSIVE!  One of my favorite Tudor’s stories is from my son’s father-in-law.  While visiting, he decided to go to a nearby Tudor’s to get breakfast for the four of them.  He ordered two biscuits each, assuming they would be normal sized biscuits.  Mark said when he picked up the bag, he nearly dropped it because of the weight!   He loved the biscuits and never missed a chance to go to Tudor’s when he was visiting Ben, our son, and his daughter, Katherine, in WV.

 

Tudor's biscuits!  I don't allow myself to have them very often, but calories don't count on cruises!

 

On the road!

 

Biscuits acquired, we merged onto I-77 for the trip to Charlotte to meet our friends and catch our plane.  On the way out the door I had asked Ron to not tell anyone about my alarm snafu.  It didn’t take long for it to become funny to me, so I texted Liz to confess and later told everyone.  Steven looked impressed that I managed to get ready in 37 minutes.  Go me!

 

 

We know the way to the airport except for the last couple of turns.  Ron asked me to get his phone and turn on Waze.  I picked up his phone and was confronted with his face ID screen.  I just stuck it over in front of his face so it would see him and magically open.  The only problem with that is he was also driving!   Oops!    I knew he’d be OK!  He did look a little startled, though.

 

We usually fly out of CLT (Charlotte).  In the past few years, they have started doing reservations for long term parking.  It isn’t strictly required, but they won’t guarantee that they will have parking available if you haven’t reserved a spot.  Emory mentioned that fact just a few days before we left.  I had totally forgotten to do that!  We reserved our parking and when we arrived, we were very glad we had made that reservation because the lots were quite full.  The reservation was $12 a day and was well worth it.  Thanks for reminding us, Emory!

 

 

Pulling into CLT

 

 

Don't forget to book parking!!!

 

We made it to the airport, found our parking spot and boarded a shuttle to the terminal.  As we got to the terminal, we ran into Liz and Aaron and Kim and Bobby.  We all headed to the security line together.  I could feel my heart start beating faster.  I often seem to be selected for random searches and such.  I don’t look forward to the TSA lines!

 

 

Waiting for our shuttle...

 

The security lines were relatively long this time.  It took us about 30 minutes to get up to the agent.  Ron was in front of me.  He stepped in front of the camera, and, for whatever reason, it wouldn’t recognize him.  He had to also produce his driver’s license in addition to his passport and try again.  Fortunately, that time, he was allowed to move forward.  I went through without incident.  Go figure!  Step one was successful!   We got in line and started the process…..backpack in tray, shoes in tray, electronics larger than phone in tray, etc.  I had absolutely no problems on this day.  My halo was super shiny, and I sailed right through the process.  Yay!

 

 

This airport has been under construction for YEARS!

 

Liz, however, wasn’t so lucky.  In addition to her backpack and cell phone, she also was carrying a Nintendo Switch.  The first TSA agent told her to put the Switch in her backpack.  She did.  When her bag went through the scanner, she was pulled out of line and they had to take out the Switch for examination.  She was NOT a happy camper!  Maybe just a LITTLE salty.   It only took a few minutes for the process to be complete….and a few minutes longer for her to regain her composure…and we were finally on our way.  Emory and Cami and Steven and Sarah had arrived and made their way through security.   We had time to spare.  Whew!  What a morning it had been!

 

 

Liz.......This is the look of frustration

 

 

 

But after a quick conversation they got it figured out and we were on our way!

 

Since I’d had a biscuit on the way, I wasn’t really hungry, but in my mind, sweets are never a bad idea.  (I have to fight that internal persuasion ALL the time, but not on vacation.)    There is a store in CLT called the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company.  They had some massive cookies!  I got a butterscotch chip cookie from the case.  We didn’t see any chocolate chip, which is what Ron, Liz and Kim wanted.  Just as we were discussing what to get instead, a gentleman came from the back carrying a tray of chocolate chip cookies that were fresh from the oven.  We’d definitely lucked out!  I would have changed my mind and gotten that, too, if they hadn’t already bagged the butterscotch cookie.  We ate part of the cookie just before we boarded.  Mine was OK.  Ron’s was glorious and delightful.  We shared both cookies over the rest of the day but the one we eventually finished was his chocolate chip cookie.

 

 

Waiting for our plane, munching on delightful cookies!

 

 

 

This is MY tribe!

 

 

 

Our plane is ready

 

Away we go!

 

 

I'll be back to write more tomorrow!!

[mlshum]

6 minutes ago, #55worktoplay said:

Following, great write up. So sorry that your friends couldn’t make it but good they didn’t lose all of their money. 

Thanks so much for reading along!

[ninjacat123]

What’s a Nintendo switch?😄