twangster

Here is a perpetual motion animated GIF of the wake view. Plus another at night.

More 360° photos. In some of these I dropped a logo on the bottom since the tool I use to remove myself was messing up the floor and I didn't want people to think the ship's decking was that way in real life. Ignore the globe in the nadir (bottom of 360 sphere) or any artifacts from my touch up tool. Mardi Gras Serenity Predawn 360 Mardi Gras Serenity Seaday 360 Mardi Gras Water Park 360 Mardi Gras Bolt in Action 360 Mardi Gras Bolt in Action #2 360 Mardi Gras Bolt Funnel 360 Mardi Gras Deck 8 Hot Tubs Starboard Side 360

I've been processing some 360° photos but I have to host them on the 360 site Momento360.com since they won't embed on this forum. Here are some links: Mardi Gras Forward Balcony in Port Canaveral 360 Mardi Gras Beach Pool Deck 360 Mardi Gras Tides Pool 360 Mardi Gras The Patio Pool 360 Mardi Gras Wake View 360 Mardi Gras Serenity Pool 360 Mardi Gras Serenity Early Morning 360 Mardi Gras Funnel 360 Mardi Gras Water Slides 360 Mardi Gras Mini Golf 360 Mahogany Bay Dock in Roatan 360

Finally on Board! Now What?!?

Ship Time The ship remained on Eastern time despite time differences at each destination.

Here are some scans of various papers from my cabin or picked up from guest services. Health Advisory and Protocols MG Health Advisory 8-21-21.PDF Fun Times MG FUN Times 8-21-21.pdf Boarding Day Good To Know MG Good to Know 8-21-21.PDF Security Guide & Port Directory Carnival Security Guide and Port Directory.PDF

Cruise Summary Mardi Gras is a great ship. Carnival has done an amazing job with her decor and the multiple zones to spread guests out. Cruising with reduced capacity right now is amazing but we'll need to see how well she does at full capacity. I was very pleasantly surprised with my forward extended balcony. The wind was never so bad as I had feared and I really enjoyed having the same view or nearly the same view as the bridge. They may get a slightly better on the bridge view but I was able to enjoy adult beverages on my balcony. I really enjoyed the included food options and that's without ever eating in the MDR. Seeing the clean burning LNG through the full cruise was also pretty great and Carnival brands deserve a lot of credit for scaling the technology to this size of ship. Look Ma... no smoke! Serenity is a like a resort within a ship and at no additional charge for guests over 21. It's an amazing space that feels like there should be a charge... but don't tell Carnival I said that. Summer Landing is a like a resort within a ship and at no additional charge It's an amazing space that feels like there should be a charge... but don't tell Carnival I said that. Grand Central is another evolution for cruising and I often found myself just sitting down for a few minutes or grabbing a drink and enjoying whatever was going on in the moment. Bolt was a lot of fun but for such a short experience I think they need to put some additional thoughts around multi-use passes or lowering the price. At $15 I don't think I'd do it again even if another ship in the future also comes with a sea coaster. I really feel like Carnival put a lot of effort into rethinking the guest experience on Mardi Gras. With three family pools and one adult pool in Serenity there is space to spread guests out. With six zones there is space to spread guests out but we'll need to see how guest traffic patterns work once she is sailing at capacity. This cruise had approximately 3,680 guests on board. There are a lot of areas I missed while creating this thread but that's okay, it gives you all something to look forward to discovering. I don't think you can do it all over just one cruise on Mardi Gras because there is so much going on and in different zones. I hope you have enjoyed this picture intensive review from Mardi Gras and I thank you for viewing.

A quick note about the performance internet plan. Mardi Gras uses the older geostationary satellite internet for its internet connection. This was a bit disappointing to see. While speeds were okay often clocking in around 40-45 Mbps down and nearly the same up the problem is the latency or ping times associated with the older technology. I have two cell phones on different carriers and both support WiFi calling yet neither would connect for WiFi calling on Mardi Gras. This was unexpected as other cruise lines that also use legacy Speedcast technology do allow WiFi calling and while it isn't perfect it does work pretty well. Consequently I am curious why Carnival has chosen to block WiFi calling on Mardi Gras. Typical results over the week:

Our CD announced that the debarkation process would proceed based on muster stations. He urged everyone not to come down yet as it would only clog the deck 6 area so I went back to my cabin to wait. Fortunately right at 8am my muster zone A6 was called and off I went down to deck 6. There was a short line and we were scanned off the ship. I had all my bags with me as I didn't use the luggage tag service or place my bags out the night before. Terminal 3 has facial recognition scanners provided by CBP but they were offline on this morning. A CBP officer was present in each queue to look over passports. Without a US passport you can't use the facial recognition scanners and I have no idea how that process looked for those guests but for me I was outside in the parking garage 10 minutes after leaving my cabin.

Not long after the LNG tanker arrived ready to refuel Mardi Gras.

Not wanting to waste a good sunrise I grabbed some more Serenity photos.

On my way I spotted an interior cabin with the door propped open ready for arriving guests so I grabbed a quick pic. Today we pulled in and went straight to the pier. On most other occasions the ship has gone down to a turning basin and turned first. However today the aft was to the East where the sun was trying to rise. Another ship was coming into port. That's the MSC Divina who will start service in another month's time. She's been anchored off the coast recently and I have her booked soon so I was eager to get a good look at her.

The departure letter left in the cabin explained that debarkation would start at 8am for express departure guests - those carrying all their own luggage. Breakfast would be available starting at 6am. I went to the Lido Marketplace for some fresh fruit and out to Shaq's for one last Biscuit. Here's the O2 teens club area. Outdoor seating: Through a window I could see inside. I still had nearly 2 hours to kill so I went back and grabbed my camera after packing everything up at 3:30am. There was a hint of a sunrise starting.

We picked up our pilot under heavy clouds and entered the channel into Port Canaveral Then heavy rain. Back inside.

3am alarm. Stepped out on my balcony to see we were in thick clouds and some thundercells near us. After a couple closer lightning strikes I went back inside. Soon it rained pretty good. Watching the SpaceX launch on my phone it didn't take them for them to scrub it. Oh well. Back to bed.

I wanted to see where we were relative to Cape Canaveral in anticipation of a planned SpaceX launch at 3:37am. Out on my balcony I discovered we had broken out of the cloud cover and I could see quite a few stars between patches of clouds that we passed. It also seems as though the moon wasn't as bright right then. There were still some clouds in the area but they were small and passing by. Using an app I knew where the Milky Way should be and started focusing my efforts there hoping for a good break in the clouds. Soon enough I started to see it. Just need those wispy clouds gone. Despite some light pollution from land I started to have some better luck. And right above us where the app said it would be was the Milky Way. Finally, no clouds. That didn't last as some clouds returned but for a few brief minutes we were in the right place. Had the moon been in a new phase it would have been a truly spectacular picture. Just the same I am pleased with the results given a pretty bright moon. Things looked good for the 3:37am SpaceX launch so I set an alarm and went to bed.

After dinner a stroll out to Summer Landing with a nightcap. Another look and entertainment in Grand Central.

When I had first heard about Grand Central and the concept I wasn't sure what to expect but I get what they did now and I think it's a great idea. There is often something going on and it's a great place to hang out for a bit without a multi-hour commitment involved with a main theater show. The video wall is pretty stunning as well. Tonight... "The World Works Here". I wanted to try Cucina Del Capitano one more time so I used the app to make an instant reservation. Once again within seconds I had a table with my name on it. On my way! Bread. Arancini to start. Pork Chop. Apple Crostata for dessert. Great service again and another perfect experience in this complimentary dining venue.

As we were passing along the Florida Keys the ship slowed and turned. A guest had reported seeing something that could have warranted a rescue or assistance. We reversed course to have another look. After a brief search of the area nothing was found. There were many small cabin cruisers and personal fishing boats given our proximity to the Keys so after doing some due diligence and following rescue protocols we continued on our way. I used my camera gear and forward view to scan the horizon but other than several small boats that were under power and clearly not in need of assistance nothing was spotted.

Day Seven - Sea Day Our progress: Seas are up ever so slightly. Think we're catching the extremes of Tropical Storm Ida (at that time). No Shaq's on my next several ships so taking full advantage while I can. Besides, when the buffet bacon is on Ba-Cation there's always bacon at Shaq's on the Biscuit and Egg they offer. Breakfast with a view. Luggage tags available in the deck 16 elevator lobby. Another morning look for Grand Central and Center Stage as I make my way to Bar Della Rosa for my morning latte.

On my way to Summer Landing I spotted pizza and while I had other plans for dinner who doesn't love cruise ship pizza pics? Backyard Band was performing again. Seriously good music. Pig & Anchor Melt. Four sauces available. Apple Cobbler. To the Punchliner for some comedy. More entertainment on Center Stage as I walked by.

Forward balcony views on a beautiful sea day.

11am on a sea day. It really is a great time to cruise.

More attempts at funnel photography. Jogging track. Seven laps equals one mile.

The Bolt check in area and entrance on starboard. Training car you can sit on to get the feel. Throttle on the right and not shown on this training car is a boost button on the left handle for a brief surge in extra power. 52" and under 300 pounds to ride.