On our New Year's Cruise on Carnival Mardi Gras, we booked Cloud 9 Spa Staterooms. What differentiates a Cloud 9 Spa Stateroom from a regular stateroom is unlimited access to the Thermal Suites, proximity to the spa, Cloud 9 spa bathrobes and slippers, upgraded Elemis in-stateroom toiletries, as well as a number of redeemable spa benefits.

We've booked Spa staterooms before on Norwegian Cruise Line, so we've appreciated perks like these in the past and had a prior spa stateroom experience to compare to.

The Carnival Mardi Gras is a relatively new ship, and the staterooms felt fresh in decor, and for the most part well-maintained.

Wow - the new year is upon us, and I still haven't gotten around to reviewing our New Year's Cruise on Carnival Mardi Gras! Rather than skip the review entirely, I figured I'd challenge myself to review our experience on the Carnival Mardi Gras before we embark on our Christmas Cruise this year (spoiler: I didn't meet my goal)! And in a heartfelt attempt to actually meet that goal, I'm going to change up my style of review a little from a day-by-day trip report to more of an overall summary with anecdotes. Also, if you'd like to hear about this cruise, I sat down with Doug Parker to talk about our time on the Carnival Mardi Gras on the Cruise Radio Podcast.

To decide which cruise and itinerary to sail to ring in 2025, we created a spreadsheet comparing ships, itineraries, and prices. When comparing price/value, Carnival was the clear winner - either the Celebration out of Miami or Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral. Ultimately, we went with the Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral because the dates/itineraries worked slightly better.

The last time I sailed Carnival was in 2014 on the Carnival Breeze. It was a promotional free cruise offer that I had received, and I remembered having a really great time. Landon had also recently sailed on Carnival out of Galveston for a Bachelor Party Cruise and raved about how great it was (of course, I'm sure the company and celebratory occasion probably had a lot to do with that). My parents and Rachel had last sailed Carnival in 2010 on the Dream, and this was Aaron's first time cruising with Carnival.

I really enjoy every cruise that I take and consider them an excellent vacation from "the real world."  However, people often ask me to compare different cruise lines and ships, and I often find myself at a bit of a loss because I have wonderful memories from all of them.  Therefore, I have decided to begin evaluating and 'ranking' the cruises that I take based on ten components of a cruise vacation which are important to me - itinerary, ship novelties, pools, activities, entertainment, dining, bars+lounges, service, design+aesthetics, and cabin.  I have ranked the Carnival Breeze 8-Day Southern Caribbean cruise taken on March 15, 2014 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest possible ranking) in all ten categories to come to an overall percentage or cruise rating.

Please note that these rankings are completely based on my own opinions, experience, and personal bias.  I am in no way affiliated with any cruise line.  I also understand that every person on each ship sailing has a completely different experience, as well as values for what makes a good cruise vacation.

This is my personal reflection on decisions that I am happy I made and things that I wish I had done differently on my March 15, 2014 sailing on the Carnival Breeze 8-Day Southern Caribbean cruise out of Miami.  Please note that these are my own opinions, and I am in no way affiliated with any cruise line.  I also understand that every person on each ship sailing has a completely different experience, as well as values for what makes a good cruise vacation.

Glad I Did / Glad I Did Not

I'm glad that I did not buy Faster to the Fun.  Faster to the Fun is a package that Carnival sells for $50 per cabin.  You can purchase it online where you buy excursions, and note that although it is listed as $50 per person, only one person per cabin needs to purchase in order to get everyone in your cabin the benefits.  Benefits include priority check-in and express boarding on embarkation day (after VIFP Club Platinum & Diamond members), stateroom ready as soon as you board, express luggage to your room on embarkation day, express guest services (dedicated phone number and line), priority main dining room and specialty dining reservations, tender priority (at tender ports), debarkation priority.  There is limited FTTF availability, and we didn't book the cruise soon enough to be able to purchase the package.  However, I saw little benefit for our cruise.  It actually turned out that priority boarding was delayed for our cruise, and I heard reports from other people that the standard line was actually moving quicker.  None of our ports were tender ports, so there was no advantage there.  We didn't eat at a specialty restaurant (but they sent me an invitation to my room for Fahrenheit 555 with a reservation, anyway).  And our assigned debarkation time was fine for us.  If we wanted to leave later, we could have just left later.  Faster to the Fun just isn't something that I think we needed or would have really benefited from for this sailing.

Sunday, March 23, 2014 - Good-bye, Breeze!

We had an early departure time of 8:15 AM. Max and I decided to eat breakfast in the dining room because it was convenient to our room and allowed us to avoid the craziness of the Lido Buffet with suitcases.

When we were finished in the dining room, it was past our scheduled time of departure, but when we arrived in the atrium, we learned that they were a little behind schedule. Our timing was perfect, though, because we were the next group to be called, and were able to walk right off the ship without waiting in a long line.

Since we didn't have a lot of bags, we didn't need a porter (with my family, we always use a porter). The customs line wasn't very long. Max was in front of me (usually he gets behind me for things like this), and when the officer took his passport and asked Max where he was born, Max was unprepared for that question. "Uhhhhhh....." He looked at me, and I was thinking come on, Max, you can do it! "Ohio." I really wanted to laugh. After that, the customs officer gave him a bit of a hard time. "Who are you traveling with?" "Her." "What did you buy?" "I bought a watch..." "Did you buy that watch?" (pointing to watch on my wrist) "No, not on this cruise." "Where is the watch you bought?" "In my suitcase." "Okay, you're good."

After clearing customs, we found our car in the parking garage.

Saturday, March 22 - A Fun Farewell Day at Sea

Are you sad? Because I'm sure sad!

We started off our final day at sea with the Seaday Brunch in the Blush Dining Room.

Friday, March 21 - Fun Day at Sea

Max and I were hoping to find chairs in Serenity, but it looked like the people who were there had been staked out for hours - there was no spot for us! Luckily, there was plenty of availability on the pool deck.

We got a little hot and had to cool off on the water slides.

Thursday, March 20, 2014 - Curacao 

Our only plan for Curacao was to go to the beach and perhaps do a little shopping (Max still searching for a giant bottle of Grey Goose).



I didn't research any beaches and was just planning to go wherever the cab drivers wanted to take us. "You want to go to Mambo Beach?" "Uhhh... sure. Sounds good!" It was another $5/person cab.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - Aruba

Max requested to eat breakfast in the dining room - that's something I haven't done in several cruises! It turns out that Max paid a great deal of attention every evening when Subrata would tell us what was in store for dining the next day because he always knew where the special food was.

We wanted a table for two and had to wait a bit for it, but the view was well worth it...



Service felt rushed and impersonal. When we were ordering, I asked for an omelette with scrambled eggs. "Do you want an omelette or scrambled eggs?" I couldn't have both? I was caught off-guard and told him just the eggs.... big mistake!!!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - La Romana, Dominican Republic

It was another early morning for us as we had booked the Dune Buggy excursion for 9:30 AM. There was a morning and an afternoon session of this tour, and we decided to do the morning so that we would be able to shop in port or perhaps go to the beach after.

The buffet was ridiculously crowded that morning. I regretted not pre-ordering breakfast to the room.

Getting of the ship for a 9:30 AM excursion was a nightmare, considering that we arrived in port at 9:00 AM and almost all excursions were scheduled for 9:30. I complained to Max after we finally made it to dry land that I have been on much larger ships, but crowds have never been that bad. Or perhaps I've just never been trying to leave the ship at peak time before...

Finding the Dune Buggy excursion was a bit of a struggle. The signs directed us to a parking lot full of buses, but unlike in Grand Turk, there was no Carnival Rep pointing us where to go. Perhaps she just wasn't set up yet. We split up, and Max went to look around the parking lot to see if he could find our bus, and I went to wait in line at an information desk to see if they could help. The information desk line was at a stand-still, and I heard Max's whistle before I ever moved forward.

It was about a ten-minute ride from the port to the Dune Buggies. It turns out that the Dune Buggy tour and ATV tour are actually run by the same company, but the Dune Buggies have much higher ratings on Carnival's website.

As soon as we arrived, they brought out bandannas and sunglasses for sale. The bandannas were $5 each, and sunglasses ranging in price from $6-8. I had a cheap pair of sunglasses with me, but Max did not. I am SO GLAD that we decided to purchase the bandannas and sunglasses for Max. It would have been absolutely miserable had we not. I don't think Max would have even been able to drive without sunglasses because of all of the debris that flew on us throughout the excursion. Now, unfortunately, their sales pitch and overpriced bandannas caused Max and I to spend all of our small bills which resulted in no cash to tip them with at the end, but I guess that's the breaks.

After securing our bandannas, sunglasses, and safety helmets, we got into the tiny dune buggy. Max was driving because I had absolutely no desire to. However, the steering wheel and pedals were so close that he could hardly fit his legs in. Max is almost 6'1" which I suppose in on the tall side, but nothing near abnormal. I am guessing that the steering wheel and pedals are so close so that short people like myself are able to reach.

I made sure that this time my selfie included Max....

Monday, March 17, 2014 - Grand Turk



We had an early morning because of our scuba excursion in Grand Turk. We were scheduled to arrive at 7:00 AM but were warned that the gangway would close shortly after around 7:30 AM due to another ship coming into port. They suggested that everyone with excursions at or before 8:30 AM be prepared to exit the ship before the gangway closed to be sure that we didn't miss our excursion. However, we didn't make it off the ship before the closing of the gangway.

I think it was too early for breakfast in the Lido Buffet to be very crowded. We were able to eat quickly, and luckily for us, the gangway had reopened so that we could exit the ship. There was a Carnival representative pointing people towards their excursions which was very helpful.

When checking in for our excursion, we had to sign a waiver which basically said that if we get injured or die, Oasis Divers will not take responsibility. It's a little nerve-wrecking to sign your life away like that.

Sunday, March 16 - Fun Day at Sea

We had set our wake up call and were up early, ready to fight for deck chairs. And then Max remembered.... he didn't want to risk getting a sunburn the day before he had to scuba dive. A sunburn would be really uncomfortable with a wet suit and scuba gear. Me... I wanted to get my tan on because I was sick of people mistaking me for Casper. But Max's logic did make sense, so we decided to refrain from laying out in the sun and instead do other things on the ship.



The free drink is really the only thing you get as a red VIFP member. No more welcome back party for people who have completed less than 5 cruises (or have less than 25 cruise points). I guess I can't complain too much... I did get a free cabin.

Saturday, March 15, 2014 - Embarkation 

I woke up that morning as the sun was rising and decided to take the opportunity to get a few more long exposures from our balcony.

Friday, March 14, 2014 - We're Coming, Miami!

I did contemplate flying to Miami, but decided on driving. I've done the drive a few times before, as has Max (he's gone to both Orange bowls that Clemson played in while in school). We decided to leave at 5 AM in hopes of getting to Miami in time to enjoy dinner and the hotel. The difference between leaving with Max and leaving with my family is that when I leave with Max, we actually leave on time...

5 AM wasn't a good departure time, though, because it was timed perfectly for us to hit both Atlanta and Miami rush hours.

As we drove through Atlanta, I began shouting at Max to take photos of the skyline.

Welcome to my 2014 Spring Break Cruise trip report!

I feel the need to start every cruise review with a little ‘disclaimer.’ This review will be told in a journalistic style with lots of photos. With the exception of this first post, I don't expect there to be too many posts with only paragraphs and paragraphs of text – I rely greatly on photos to tell the story. I also don’t take myself too seriously, and you shouldn't either. There will be a lot of fun-poking and maybe a little sarcasm, and you’re all invited to join in on the fun! I encourage you to post comments to share your thoughts and experiences, or just tell me who you are!

My Traveling Party

Well, I guess this time it's just a travel companion...

My boyfriend, Max, is a civil engineering major at Clemson University, and you might recognize him from my Norwegian Epic Western Mediterranean review on Cruise Critic. This was his second cruise and his first Caribbean cruise. Max finds joy in the simplest things in life and is eager to share his enthusiasm with others. That being said, he's very fun to travel with because has an opinion about the smallest of details and is really good at pinpointing exactly what he likes and what he wishes was different. I think his observations will add a lot of value to this cruise review!

If you're wondering about my sister, Rachel, don't worry! She went on a cruise of her own with her friend and my mother on the Norwegian Dawn and had a fabulous time. You'll see more of her (and Max) on our Disney Fantasy cruise in May!

Choosing the Cruise

I had many different ideas of what I wanted to do for my final spring break. My first thought was Vegas because Max has really expressed an interest in going and accommodations are so affordable. However, after a bit of research and calculations (not to mention experience from previous trips), I realized that a week in Vegas was going to cost us much more in entertainment, and we weren't going to Vegas to sit by the pool all day. By the time I added in airfare and cabs, it was really starting to push our budget.

I started looking into cruises because it was freezing in South Carolina (We had two different weeks during which we had snow in Clemson!) and I wanted a tropical escape. Norwegian had great prices - the Epic was starting at just under $400pp for an inside stateroom, but I was a little in love with the Getaway which was around $600-700pp for an inside stateroom. Both had great onboard credit offers. Then I noticed an extremely good price on the Allure of the Seas (around $600pp inside), and Max fell in love with the ship. We were watching the price and preparing to book....

And then I went home one afternoon because I needed the box to return a camera lens I had rented. I was standing in the kitchen talking to my mother and mindlessly flipping through the mail when I noticed an envelope addressed to me from Carnival Cruise Line.

Let's face it - ever since we have returned to school after Christmas break, the topic on everyone's minds has been spring break.  When you're looking at another semester of school beginning with a few months of cold and no football to help get you through, spring break is something to look forward to.  And for the under 21 crowd, a logical solution is to leave the country, and an easy (often airfare-free) way to do it is on a cruise.