01Ports vary by sailing, Multiple destinations
Mardi Gras
Six zones, a rollercoaster on the top deck and open water.
02The story
Mardi Gras is arranged less like a ship than like a town that happens to float. Six zones divide it into places with their own manners: Grand Central rising through the atrium, the French Quarter for jazz at The Brass Magnolia and Creole cooking at Emeril’s Bistro 1396, La Piazza for the Italian tables, Summer Landing at the stern for the long afternoon, the Lido for the pool and The Ultimate Playground for everyone who came aboard to be busy. Above the top deck runs BOLT, the first rollercoaster at sea, an open-air course ridden on an electric motorcycle you steer yourself. The scale, which sounds daunting on paper, is the entire point: a party of 12 can spend a day completely apart and still be at the same table by eight.
Six zones, six moods
Carnival gave Mardi Gras a geography, and it changes the way a day behaves. Mornings tend to belong to the Lido and the open decks. The afternoon drifts aft to Summer Landing, where the stern is quieter and the wake does the entertaining. The evening moves forward into Grand Central and the French Quarter, where the jazz bar and the Creole kitchen keep going long after the last show has emptied. Nobody in the party has to agree on any of it, which is the argument for a ship of this size.
Where the cabins sit
Deck plans matter more here than on a small ship. A cabin high and forward is a long walk from the aft pool at midnight, and one directly beneath the Lido hears the deck being set at six in the morning. For a family, adjoining cabins on a middle deck near the lifts settle more arguments than any amount of square footage. We read the plans before proposing anything and place a group so that the youngest and the oldest have the shortest walks.
BOLT and the extras
BOLT is the ship’s headline and worth the queue at least once: an open-air track above the top deck, ridden on an electric motorcycle whose speed you control, with the ocean turning underneath. It carries a charge, as do the speciality restaurants, the teppanyaki counter and several of the bars, and it keeps its own operating hours and restrictions. Knowing which pleasures sit inside the fare and which sit beside it is the difference between a holiday that runs to plan and one that surprises you at the end.
03Highlights
What sets it apart.
The signature moment
Late afternoon at Summer Landing, the wake unrolling white behind the stern and a drink sweating on the rail. Somewhere above, BOLT goes past with a shriek that carries down two decks. Dinner is at eight, and nobody has agreed yet on where.
- 01Six themed zones
- 02BOLT, the first rollercoaster at sea
- 03Emeril’s Bistro 1396
- 04The Brass Magnolia jazz bar
- 05Summer Landing at the stern
04Carnival
What a preferred sailing brings.
- 01
Onboard credit
Credit to spend on board on eligible sailings with our cruise partners, on whatever the voyage suggests, from the spa to a day ashore.Onboard credit for the steakhouse, the spa or a day ashore.
- 02
Selected cruise offers
Selected offers on eligible sailings, opened through our cruise partnerships and set beside the fare for the voyage you have in mind.The Carnival offers running on your dates, shown beside the fare.
- 03
Your place on board
Guidance on deck, cabin and suite from someone who has studied the plans: where the ship is quietest, where the light falls, where your party fits.Cabins placed for the party: adjoining, quiet and near the lifts.
- 04
Your fare, explained
A plain account of the fare before you reserve: what the voyage includes, from dining and drinks to excursions, and what remains yours to choose.What the fare covers, and what BOLT and the speciality tables ask.
- 05
The voyage, end to end
The sailing set within the whole journey: the night before in port, the car to the pier and the days ashore that deserve to be kept.The flights, the hotel the night before and the drive to the terminal.