Mardi Gras: Day 2
Good Morning! Today is the first of three sea days this cruise.
They have a lot of information on the room TVs.
Here is today’s schedule of events.
I normally sanitize my room as soon as I get in it. My Clorox wipes were in my suitcase yesterday which I didn’t get until I was heading to dinner so it totally slipped my mind. I just found some hair in my bathroom that isn’t mine so we’re going to take care of that right now.
Now I can start to think about coffee and breakfast.
Carnival prefers you to leave your dirty plates in the hallway with a napkin over them. The reason is because they have people who go around and pick them up. If you leave them in the room the steward gets stuck with it and that’s not their job. I like to take my pizza plate to the buffet so the stewards aren’t dealing with it and I’m not leaving it in the hallway for people to look at like this. I usually have a room on lido or within one floor of lido so that makes it easy for me. I’m heading that way for breakfast anyway.
Shaq’s Big Chicken is one of the new food venues and I want to try their chicken biscuit.
This is a chicken biscuit with honey butter and really good seasoned fries. I like it. These breakfast fries are different than the fries they had at lunch yesterday. They should serve these fries all day.
They have these big signs by the elevators which is nice.
Bar Della Rosa is open in La Piazza. One of the tips I got on this ship is I can get my mochas here instead of waiting in the line at Java Blue.
Then you can step right outside those doors and enjoy the view with your coffee.
I took a walk to the back of the ship.
I’m going to work my way from the back of the ship to Della Rosa. This is the side I didn’t get yesterday when they started refueling and said you couldn’t use electronic devices on open decks.
The Watering Hole is the bar just outside of the Hero’s Lounge and the Pig & Anchor.
Then we have a seating area and loungers.
Now we are coming up on the Italian section.
This is the outdoor portion of Bar Della Rosa.
Just past the Bar Della Rosa is a smoking area. That’s why it’s so crowded. The walkable area ends after the smoking section. Then further down is the exclusive Havana area but you have to go into Havana to get to it.
I’m not a smoker but this is a huge improvement over the outdoor smoking areas on other Carnival ships. Normally it would be up above lido deck where it’s really windy. Here they are right off of the promenade, there’s a bar right here, food just inside, and it’s not windy at all.
I’m heading back inside. They have a couple of fancy staircases on this ship and this is one of them.
A painting of the original Mardi Gras.
This is what the Java Blue coffee line is like. I like the Bar Della Rosa option better.
They have self service coffee stations down at the end.
I got the Caribbean coffee which has rum in it.
After coffee it’s bloody mary time. Pig & Anchor has the best bloody marys on the ship. They were tough to get on Panorama because they didn’t open until 10:30. It’s 9:30 and they’re open here so I’m happy.
I think I’ll get another.
I decided to carry it over to the Hero’s Lounge. This is going to be your main sports watching area. There’s quite a glare on the TVs and I don’t see a shade on that window to get rid of it.
It’s interesting that the QR code on that table is for the Watering Hole bar outside. I wonder if that means you don’t get Pig & Anchor service here.
This is the soda fountain like the ones they have in the buffet where you can swipe your card and pour. It tells you how many ounces you’re pouring and how much it costs. Since I have cheers, it’s covered.
I am up on lido deck as it’s getting close to lunch time. Another new food venue I’m excited to try is street eats.
I stopped by the bar and ordered a Thirsty Frog Red beer. Now I was wearing a mask so maybe he couldn’t hear me very well, but he thought I ordered a Virgin Sea Breeze. What?
I love the Philly cheesesteak fries.
Sea Dogs look good in the buffet.
Shawarma is another new location inside the Lido Marketplace. It looks good so I think I’ll give them a try.
I went with beef.
Gelato and cake station.
New York Cheesecake
It looks like they have a dance class going on in Grand Central.
Here is the early afternoon lido deck view. This ship has 3,916 people on it this week. Maximum capacity is over 6,000 so it may be a little more crowded once things are back to normal.
Bolt is the world’s first roller coaster at sea. It costs $15 to ride. I heard you got to go around twice for that price but it doesn’t look like that’s what’s happening to me.
I didn’t get this half of mini golf yesterday because people were on it.
I stopped by the Tiki bar for a Pina Colada.
I’m heading down to the Alchemy for opening. They normally open at 4pm on sea days. On this ship they open at 2pm on a sea day.
The Remedy
Pain Relief
I went back up to the Tiki Bar and got a Banana Colada. This is where I found my old alchemy friend, Maria, from three years ago. I tried to fool her with the mask on. I figure it’s been three years and I grew my hair out but it didn’t work. She blew this air horn that’s right by me and banged that big gong.
She likes this Bumbu rum so she gave me some to try. It’s pretty good.
Mai Tai
Mudslide
I headed down to the watering hole to try their watermelon crush drink.
It’s pretty good.
It looks like they’re about to have auditions for Family Feud in Grand Central.
One of the new things on this ship is Chibang!, Cucina Del Capitano, and the Pig & Anchor are all included in the Your Time Dining options. And they serve a limited number of Main Dining Room items along with their normal menus. Tonight is lobster night in the MDR so I’m going to try getting it in Chibang! which is closer to my room.
Here is the modified Chibang! menu that includes the lobster for tonight.
This is the what the menu would’ve been in the Main Dining Room.
One thing about eating in Chibang! on elegant night is I get to try some Chibang! appetizers and sides while still getting the lobster from the MDR.
Pot Stickers
Lobster, broccoli, mushroom risotto
It’s kind of crazy. I have been here for 40 minutes and I have heard them sing happy birthday at four different tables.
You gotta be kidding me!
I hear another birthday. I wonder if everyone on the ship who had a birthday in the past year and a half is celebrating it on the first elegant night.
Coconut Tres Leches. this is a Chibang! dessert I wouldn’t have been able to try in the MDR.
I hear another birthday.
I was talking to these ladies at the table next to me. We had talked about the birthday thing. When they left I told them I was just going to wait until the next birthday before I left. They told the waitress it was my birthday. I had to pull out my ID to get out of it.
After I got out of that I headed to the comedy club for Jim Brick’s adult comedy show. It’s five minutes until showtime and there’s space available in here.
After I got out of the show there were 18 in line to get into the next show. My experience is that even though there’s a line this early, you don’t have to get in line this early to get a seat at the show. I’m going to check out this Broadway singer, Chuck Wagner they have performing in Grand Central.
This guy was on General Hospital for a couple years in the 80’s. Apparently he was briefly something called Automan. He was on broadway quite a bit and the best man at his wedding was David Hasselhoff.
He’s a very good singer. But yes I left 15 minutes early to hear an old guy tell colonoscopy jokes.
I came in right at showtime. Four people were already in line for the next show. It’s weird. I’m on a couch that probably holds 25 people and there are only four of us. This is how people think it’s more crowded than it is sometimes.
This is a picture of the comedy club manager coming to tell me I’m not allowed to take pictures in here.
On my way out I counted about 65 people in line for the next show. There’s also a line outside of the piano bar. I’m guessing it’s full and as people come out, they let more people in. It looked like about 30 people in line to get in.
The center stage band is playing now.
Rock Revolution is the main show happening in the theater tonight. I saw it on Panorama so I’m not going to watch it again. If you would like to know more about it, I have the song list on my Playlist Productions page. I also have some pictures and video clips of the show on Panorama: Mazatlan.
I’m back at the comedy club. This is the comedy club manager Andy on stage. It’s going to be a full house.
This guy sitting to the right of me. I can see him out of my peripheral vision. When he laughs he snorts. And every time he laughs he looks at me. I know this guy is looking to see if I’m laughing so I’m not laughing even if it’s funny. And now he’s picking his nose. This is the kind of guy that’s going to be pushing that buffet door button before me.
By the end of the show I was practically in the lap of the lady on the other side of me. I think her husband was wondering what was going on. I won’t sit where that guy was sitting at any future shows. I don’t know where he was wiping that stuff. Either on himself, his wife’s back, or the seat. Either way I’m not sitting there again.
I got out of there as soon as the show was over. I was out of the club before anyone else got out of their seat.
There’s an 11:45 comedy showcase in the main lounge. Each of the comedians gets 15 minutes but I decided to hit the pizza place and call it a night.
There was no line for pizza. This is the quattro which is like a cheese stick. It has no sauce.
Good night!
