Yes, that’s right, we are back on the high seas again – this time it is a wonderful family affair aboard the Carnival Mardi Gras, a darn big ship that just launched in 2021 with a passenger capacity of 6,500. I actually booked this one just before our cruise on the Carnival Sunshine last year, hoping that our first-time cruisers Karina, Jason, Wyatt and Owen would want to sail again. And they did, joined this time by Bethany and Alex. It was truly a magical time for everyone as you will see from the many, many pictures (and check out the video: Mardi Gras Magic ).
So before we get started, just a few updates on our non-sailing adventurous days. The RV is still in the driveway awaiting the ladder repair. This has been a bit of back-and-forth with the repair dealer about ordering the correct ladder, but I think we finally have a ladder ordered and final install soon.
We had a short visit by Nashville family Judy and Craig with the planned highlight being an ebike trip into town. That started off just fine, but Doug’s ebike developed a “communication error” and would not power up the motor for the return back home and he pedaled off ahead of everyone back home. Unfortunately, a heaved section of sidewalk got the better of Jackie as she swerved to avoid it and instead went up and over the handlebars. Pretty banged and scraped up, she rode an ambulance to the hospital, went into a level 2 trauma unit to get scanned and x-rayed and ultimately stayed the night. The result was quite a bit of road rash on arms, shoulder and knee and lots of internal bruising, but no serious internal injuries, thank goodness.
Jackie’s pulmonologist was good about explaining how she will have a few months of recovery for her internal healing and full lung capacity to return, but everything was moving in the right direction. Yes, we kept John’s accident in the back of our minds and were thankful for the very thorough medical exams and diagnostic equipment available to us.
So on to the fun adventure. These trips to Orlando and Port Canaveral are always a bit of competitive fun. Alex, Bethany, Jackie and I were in car #1 and Jason, Karina, Wyatt and Owen were in car #2, heading in the same direction but two different starting times and points. Alex and Karina kept texting fake locations and travel points to each other (rest stops, state lines, lunch stops) so we all were never quite sure who was in the lead. Not that it was a competition. But I did hear it when we arrived at the hotel just five minutes after Karina’s group (yes! We beat Dad).
And the next morning was the big reveal – a straight shot drive to the pier to see the massive ship waiting for us to board. Cruisers will tell you this is always the big “gasp” moment of excitement, followed by the trek from parking to check-in with a few bags in tow, passing through security, passport control and the gauntlet of photographers to join 6,499 of your fellow passengers. But then you have that first look aboard, gathering family and for some of us that first drink (for which you had to do the muster station checkpoint first) and “let’s eat!”
Ok, but what about the fun? Where did we go, what did we do? Well, this cruise was all about family and making memories, not as much about the shore excursions.
Aboard Ship and Sea Days
Where to start? This is a huge, 20 deck ship and some of us were in the Family Harbor section on deck 4. That made it easy to get to the kids club, also on that level, and a small area with food, coffee, drinks and games for families. Very easy to grab breakfast and afternoon bites but harder to snag an elevator. Jackie was moving a little slower around the ship due to her recovery, but didn’t miss out on anything. Alex and Bethany booked a room in the Havana District, which featured their own pool and a porch with swing. They had ready access to the Havana Bar, too.
Sea Days were understandably crowded around the pools (kid soup as Jackie put it), but lots of fun on port days with far fewer onboard. Our crew didn’t spend much time ashore other than Mahogany Bay, so we took advantage of that. Wyatt and Owen absolutely loved the pools and waterslides – in fact both did the Blue Lightning waterslide their first chance. That one had a head-first mat that you used. Wyatt later told me he did the Orange Thunder drop slide, but I said I didn’t believe him. So of course he grabbed my hand and marched me up the stairs to show me – how brave! That meant following him down, too. This was all about family and making memories, so everyone was splashing around together and having fun.
Several of us braved the ropes course on the top deck, even the short but breathtaking zip line section. It might not look like much, but the step off the ramp out and over the water was a scare for sure. Alex, Bethany, Karina and I all did it though, even with rain and dark clouds threatening nearby.
And then Bolt: the roller coaster at sea. After some technical glitches delayed the action for a few days, Alex, Bethany and I managed a reservation and a two loop trip on this wild ride. It did a good job of launching you forward and around the track, with a few power boosts along the way. Definitely worth the extra $15 per person. Didn’t let you take GoPro shots, so no first person video.
First Stop: Cozumel
Jackie and I stayed onboard to hang out with the grandsons as the rest went ashore to check the shops. It was very hot and not too breezy that day, so it was a quick shopping trip for most. But as I mentioned, it made it a good day for splashing at the pool decks. Owen and Wyatt have come such a long way with their water sense, having had swim lessons this year and growing confidence. In the pool they were holding their breath underwater for me to count how long … a big difference from last summer. We were spending so much time in the pool that I said they were waterlogged. Wyatt declared “I’m not waterlogged, I’m a kid!” So true, but your hands are pretty wrinkled up.
Next Stop: Costa Maya
While this stop is a big shopping plaza, it does have a generous salt water pool in the center that you can use. Two other pools with lounge chairs require that you purchase food and drink, so that was a “no thanks”. Once again, the boys got wet and loved it. We all watched the ritual of the Papantla Flyers perform high above us, marveled at the dolphins, flamingos and tropical birds all around and just enjoyed a few hours ashore.
We were the only ship in port for the morning and as we disembarked onto the long pier Jackie was encouraged to ride the tram. We ambled on down the pier, soon to be passed by the tram with Owen seated beside Jackie, grinning from ear to ear. For the trip back, Wyatt made sure not to miss out and rode along, too. Great choice. The rest of the afternoon was more pizza and pools. I was surprised that both boys knew what a Vespa was, so we had to stop and get some pictures.
Last Stop: Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras
This was really the only beach stop. Each day before this the boys had their buckets and shovels ready for the sand, only to be disappointed when we told them “no beach today”. But this was a beach that had bits of coral and shell to discover and lots of water to splash around in. From the pier you had a choice of walking through a tropical botanic garden or riding the chairlift to the beach (Jackie and I chose the chairlift). Even though this is Carnival’s pier and beach, food and drink are not included, although the chicken fingers were quite good and reasonable. This was a really beautiful day and we totally enjoyed bobbing in the water, holding the collected bits, dumping and refilling buckets … all good fun.
Back aboard and showered off we set sail into a very windy sea, with the mountains of Honduras on the horizon. The last two days were very calm sea days – extremely flat water.
Green Eggs and Ham!
Of course we had to try the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast with all the Dr. Seuss characters and a very colorful (and sweet) assortment of food. While some of us had fun at breakfast, Alex and Bethany were taking a tour of the ship from the laundry on deck 0 to the navigation bridge and time with the captain. That seemed to be a really special tour that was truly “behind the scenes”.
Food, Drink and Impressions
I think we all agreed that the dining choices, from main dining to casual eats and ice cream, were varied, delicious and fun (well, Lido buffet for breakfast was the usual zoo). Bars were plentiful and creative, with lots of specialty drinks. The Fortune Teller, Brass Magnolia and Alchemist bars in the French Quarter were especially fun. Havana bar near Alex and Bethany had a distinctive Cuban feel and in the Italian District you had themed selections at Bar Dela Rosa. And that was next to the pizza, panini and Italian restaurant. Jackie and I had breakfast one morning in Emeril’s Bistro: a plate of bananas foster crepes with a side of beignets. Yummy and a nice quiet spot. And banana splits got a big thumbs up.
Entertainment was all around, with live music in the corners of most bars and great musical events in the central Atrium, which actually was along the starboard side of the ship. One show featured a magician, several had aerialists, all had song and dance (and loud). The younger among us went to dance parties and glow parties on the Lido pool deck, we hit several trivia contests and a few main stage shows.
The grandsons did their best to consume massive amounts of pizza and ice cream cones, with a few trips to the candy shop Cherry on Top. Guys Pig and Anchor Smokehouse was a big hit for barbecue pork, chicken and brisket – plus they brew their own beer aboard. Shaq’s Big Chicken had generous chicken sandwiches and chicken fingers, Guy’s Burgers had big sloppy burgers with the fixings, Street Eats had variations of loaded fries, bao buns, stir fry and noodles, but was not open as often as we wanted. We dined at Cucino’s Italian and ChiBang Mexican/Chinese and celebrated Jackie’s 70th birthday. Alex and Bethany dined at Rudy’s Seagrill for lobster and seafood, and we all made sure we were at the Palm main dining for the second formal night. Somehow our server knew I would appreciate two lobster tails, which were just about the best I have had (well, except the one from the Harmony).
The only glitch we had was making the table request on the two formal nights. You used their Hub app to request a table, then had to wait for the notification that your table was ready before proceeding to the dining room. That wasn’t clear to most folks and the result was a logjam at the dining entrance (and a very long wait the first night). Service overall was adequate, but it was clear there were many new crew members and not the usual depth of experience. Getting there, but not quite pre-pandemic – and people are definitely cruising in big numbers.
I have to add some post-cruise notes: what should have been a 7 hour trip back home took over 10 hours, it being the start of July 4th weekend I guess and everyone leaving Florida? And our son Alex had a one-day turnaround to repack for a 2 week business trip to Vietnam. Poor guy, I know he wasn’t looking forward to another long travel day.
And we won’t speak of the casino. They had one craps table, fairly high minimum and it was not nice to me, so not a lot of time spent there.
So as we unpack, do laundry and gather our memories, I realize that we have just two days before it is check-in time for our next cruise to Alaska in August. And I just learned the RV ladder is ready to be installed just in time for next week’s local camping on Lake Allatoona (a camping adventure for the grandsons). Who planned out this summer? Were they nuts? Oops, guilty – this fun is self-inflicted. So if I find a moment, I will edit our video from Mardi Gras and probably post about our Alaska cruise once back home. That one grew from just Jackie and I to my brother and sister, their spouses and a cousin – seven of us heading from Vancouver to Anchorage. Wheee!
Adventures with Doug and Jackie 
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