Mr.Bill

Some good points 3 SIS.....I wondered if going from a different port would bring a different crowd type. WE made the mistake years ago by booking a cruise that happened to be Spring Break....( not enough space to tell the whole story OMG).  I guess a crowd is a crowd, so the smaller ships might be a bit better.

1 hour ago, Cruising Caribbean said:

@Mr.Bill I'm laughing at the "enormous mobs" part. I would imagine the buffet got super crowded during the peak dining hours. Did you experience long lines in the Lido area? I'm glad you ventured out and enjoyed all of the yummy options onboard. You can't go wrong with Shaq chicken! I experience the same thing with the lobster being so tough. I think the lobster is overcooked and then sits under a heating lamp for too long. It just turns so tough it's not even worth ordering. 

I didn't realize you could enter without some sort of evidence that you are a Diamond/Platinum guest. At least you enjoyed your time. I agree about the smaller ships. It's far too crowded when the ships become oversaturated with guests. I'm assuming you wouldn't cruise again onboard Mardi Gras?

WE're doing Celebration to round out the checked boxes. Probably go with Vista class ( horizon, Vista) on next bookings or dare I say venture out to other cruise lines. Disappointed in unruly cruisers, and actual shoving match between two people trying to get into the Diamond/Plat return party? All for cheap Chardonnay and Fruity Rum drinks. WE grew up with carnival....just seems to be a lost control element here. Open cursing, rude people, mobs of teens running crazy. Whew......

On 8/15/2023 at 7:58 AM, Cruising Caribbean said:

@Mr.Bill Thanks for letting us know! How was your cruise? Mardi Gras is such a lovely ship. I would imagine you had a grand time onboard! 

Had a great time on Mardi Gras.....I guess there is the problem on TOO BIG.....enormous mobs, but seemed to handle ok...just too many folks for us. Food was also good, Emril's a go to along with the Shaq Chicken, Lido was the LIdo...minimal entrees, just so/so. Steakhouse was fab...Chef even came around and asked about our meal. We did the TepanYake  (sp?)...very poor, lobster tough overcooked, shimp even worse....Won't be back.  Welcome back party has the usual Diamond/Platinum guests along with the same number of "crash the party" moochers....mob scene.  Overall, we prefer the smaller ships, but now we've done both Mardi and Celebration...so that box checked.

On 7/28/2023 at 4:37 PM, kefthecruiser said:

With all due respect and having cruised both, Carnival does have a cruise line for "the older crowd". It's called, wait for it,  ...........................................

Holland America

Or maybe Virgin AMerica...Margarite Ville.

On 8/18/2023 at 8:30 AM, Cruising Caribbean said:

@Mr.Bill I guess the ship really does live up to its party name. I hope it was censored hood music. That makes it family-friendly I suppose. I have noticed more and more "hood" music onboard, and I think it's pretty catchy. Maybe that's why the Mardi party crowd is a good time. Were you able to join in on the fun? 

Hard to bring 9 year olds to the party, when the Chorus line is something about a women's anatomy.

On 7/25/2023 at 2:37 PM, Maggie Mae Marentette said:

Dear person in charge, I may be old -fashioned I suppose but I thin a  lot of senior cruisers would give this idea a lot of consideration. How about using some of the older ships, the ones without wi-fi and charging stations, a face lift geared to the older crowd, They may want old time bands, dance music, not discos. Bingos, old movies, peace and quiet, no children running around and getting sick in the elevators because they ate too much. Pleasant walks on deck, dining experiences geared to the older palate. We don't need phone service , we cruise to get away from all that nonsense. You could open up a whole new cruising experience for us, exclusively ! How I could dream !  Wouldn't hurt to try , would it ?  

Good points...our last trip on Mardi was absolutely crazy.....the pool was blasted with Hood music, suggestive...Not so sure Carnival is the Family Friendly it used to be.

WE had sent documents via FAX....had an email, that we were missing pages, etc? I then sent same documents via email/attachments...got approved in 2 days. Strange......

Thanks...sent the email method....got a form that said it might take up to 1` week before cruise before notification. thanks...

The 305 for the ownership fax documents....not working? Another fax #?

Just got off Mardi Gras...highly recommend the Brass Magnolia Bar for the original Old Fashioned.......they make a good Hurricane too !!!!!!!!!

12 hours ago, FJB said:

One of the keys to a great Old Fashioned is a large single ice ball or cube. Bars that make one with the small cubes should be banned till they learn how to make one.  The World Class Bar on the Celebrity Solstice class ships know how to make an Old Fashioned. 

The bartender on Horizon at the BBQ place made the classic. Hand ground, Woodford Reserve Double Oak, Angostura bitters and one ice.....superb !!!

Our go to drink is the classic old fashion.....we've had good and bad on carnival cruises, best was on Horizon at the Pig BB Q.....didn't want the smoked Old Fashion, just the classic with Woodford Reserve.   Whats the best bar on Mardi gras for a great Old Fashion .?

This is on Mardi Gras...August 5 sailing. We have some friends going, but they did not receive the above. Not sure if I have to reserve or what?

Received from Carnival :

We do 3 cruises a year. Have done land based all inclusive type vacations...but they can't compete with being on the seas. I felt after a few days at the resort, it was generally the same thing over and over. With cruising, its always an adventure, different ports, things to see that change daily.

WE cruised from Miami a couple of  years ago.......at the time we were Platinum , later Diamond.   After the announcement of Diamond Boarding were announced, the next call was for Platinum ( about 5 minutes later), in exactly 30 seconds they called General Boarding slots. There were no gaps between Platinum and General Boarding....huge mess....looked like an old cowboy round up. Insane.....

Great I found it under the INVOICE on cruise manager. Thanks to all....

WHere can I find the amount of onboard credit I have? Can't find the link to make sure I am getting all the OBC entitled too...

On 6/26/2023 at 1:12 PM, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Mr.Bill I'm right there with you! Maybe you should save these rare memoir antiques to be resold online, years down the road, for a pretty penny. When did the welcome-back get so lame? I used to love the exclusivity and special details of it all but now it's an occasion I'm happy to skip. I miss the midnight buffet too! It was just enough food to keep guests excited about a little late-night treat. After an evening of excitement, a slice of pizza at 12 am was a highlight. I love the fresh fries the most. It would be nice if the cruise lines would continue to offer at least one or two staple items during that after-hours timeframe. 

I would think that having a small midnight buffet would result in more cruisers purchasing drinks, going to entertainment....just out and about....which translates into Spending...

Last but not least.....tlhe midnight buffet.....gotta be a long time since that showed up......

On 6/21/2023 at 2:09 PM, Cruising Caribbean said:

@Mr.Bill Got to love an included amenity like that! I guess you can't really avoid the glass being foggy in a steam room, but I bet the views would have been even better if you could see out the window. Wow, those Carnival Cruise Line loyalty perks sound amazing. Today's swag offerings don't even come close to huge duffle bags. You barely get a welcome-back drink anymore! Why do you think Carnival Cruise Line has significantly decreased its loyalty perks? Maybe these offerings got too expensive for the line with all of the loyalty members it kept incurring. I miss the towel animals and chocolates on the bed pillows! 

It's all about the $$, you get a certain amount of loyalty regardless of the trinkets.  I still have my nice Carnival Headphones, and all sorts of beach bags.   The welcome back party was over the top, now it's a  ho hummer.

Yes the windows were foggy.....but was a great experience and FREE.  Nothing funnier than an Asian doing the Moon Walk in the steam room of a cruise ship. We had a couple of drinks later....fabulous memory.  I guess we were fortunate to live in the golden age of cruising.....We had some pretty kool gifts for VIP members.....Nice Carnival headphones, huge duffel bags, and beach bags......today a lapel pin if you ask for it. I shoulda made a list of what was included in a 2008 cruise compared to today.....

I think we did the Valor 3 times....one of our all time favorites.  I would rank the CARNIVAL GLORY at the top of our favs. That had a real time STEAM ROOM....on board with windows to look outside while steaming. Just dont see this anymore.  Was along the lines of a large room with steam fogging up the whole place, held maybe 20 people or so.....We were onboard with some executives from a Korean company...first time in the USA....had the grandest time,  One of the Koreans announced he would like to show us his Michael Jackson impersonation....."Just beat it...."  Still laugh to this day...

Believe it or not.....we like the older ships...VALOR, FREEDOM......seem more personal and not the great hordes of cruisers.....A tip of the hat to Horizon, our so far favorite of the newer class.  , but Mardi Gras may move to #1 We have an October on Celebration, but it looks like Mardi Gras and Celebration are pretty much the same.

ON Carnival  Mardi Gras....been on 27 cruises total  Carnival, Norweign,RCL, ....Usually go with Carnival, too many perks to lose if we jump ship...hahah. We seem to get upgraded quite a few times. I would say not a tremendous amount of difference between the three main players.....Due to work schedules hard to do more than 3 a year......