Well, today was an interesting day, to say the least, onboard Carnival’s Mardi Gras. The fourth day of this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise started with the ship arriving at our second port of call, Costa Maya, Mexico, shortly before 8 am. The weather was not in our favor as it was raining and we had pretty strong winds which, according to the ship’s information displays, were around 68 km/hr or roughly 42 mph. While alongside the pier, the ship’s thrusters were being used to keep her secure to the dock in addition to ropes.
A little after 8 am the gangway was open and guests who wanted to head out in the rain or those with shore excursions started to disembark. Then at around 9:30 am, an announcement was made that due to large swells, disembarkation was temporarily suspended. Unfortunately, that suspension turned into something different around 11 am when we were told that for safety, the ship was going to be departing and today’s call in Costa Maya was being called out. Calls went out to the excursion groups to return to the ship, and once all were back onboard, we departed around lunchtime.
As you can see in the photo below, waves were washing over the dock making it very unsafe for people to use going back and forth to and from the ship.
Additionally, with the rain and heavy cloud cover Internet service was out for much of the morning. Elon Musk may be able to launch rockets and build electric cars, but he hasn’t figured out a way to make StarLink work in adverse weather!
A letter apologizing for the canceled port of call was delivered to everyone’s stateroom and port fees and taxes, which amounted to $18.86 per person, were refunded as an onboard credit.
The last-minute, unscheduled cancellation events to keep everyone occupied were quickly put together and pushed out to the Carnival HUB app for people to have an updated list of things to do. They also opened the casino and nearly all the bars and restaurants which were supposed to be closed which resulted in many crew members being called to work early. For example, one bartender who works at a bar that is open from 5 pm to midnight was called to work at 11 am and had to work until closing.
The weather remained miserable for the rest of the day and into the night. The rough sea and high winds made conditions onboard a bit rocky. Taking a shower resulted in bouncing off the walls. Things finally calmed down later in the evening.
Speaking of the evening, let’s get to it.
The main production show in Center Stage was another Las Vegas-themed show, this time featuring the ship’s resident musicians and aptly named, “The Residency.” Out of all the shows so far this week, this was by far the best. The band and singers put together a high-energy show featuring a wide range of songs that showcased their talent. My only complaint… it was only 25 minutes in length. Just when the audience was getting into it, it ended cold. It didn’t have an anticipated ending, as the final song came to an end, so did the show with an announcement saying “Thanks for coming.” With most shows lasting 45 minutes, we kind of just sat there thinking, “Is that it?” Unfortunately, it was.
After the show, we decided to go to the main dining room for dinner. For those that follow me, you already know where this is going. For those new, I hate the food in the main dining room on Carnival. But I figured, what the heck… I’ll go.
Where to begin? Well, it started with the five of us being sat at a table for 10. Less than three minutes after we sat down, our waiter arrived to take our order. I said to my friend across from me, “My ass isn’t even in the chair yet and he’s taking our order?”
Yes, he was. Well, he attempted to.
He started to take the first order on his handheld device and after all the selections were made, he just walked away. We all were like, “What the hell just happened?” His device wasn’t working so instead of letting us know he was having an issue, he just left. He returned with a pad of paper to start over again. But didn’t ask any of us what we wanted to drink. I caught him before he left to put the order in and asked for a glass of wine and others put their drink orders in.
While one of my traveling companions was ordering the strip steak, he asked for it to be prepared medium. Our server said that the steak is only cooked two ways “medium rare or medium well.” That was it. No other options. So blue, rare, or well-done lovers, you’re out of luck.
Once our order was taken, those who ordered soda got their drinks right away, however, my glass of wine was MIA and so was our server. After about 15 minutes of waiting, I walked out of the dining room, over to the bar at the ship’s steakhouse, ordered a glass, and returned to the table as the appetizers started to come out.
I started with a shrimp cocktail, which consisted of four very small shrimp and a dollop of cocktail sauce.
When it came to mains, the menu didn’t have anything that screamed “eat me,” so I went with the $23 “Steakhouse Selections” surf and turf upgrade that consisted of an 8oz filet and a lobster tail. While it has the “steakhouse” monicker it doesn’t come from the ship’s steakhouse. I asked for the filet to be cooked blue but it came out closer to medium with very little pink – far from blue. Overall, the quality of the filet was not the same as the one served in the steakhouse and the lobster was fine. It’s important to note that this wasn’t served with any type of starch or veg. Just the tail and filet on the plate. Since there aren’t any side dishes to order in the main dining room, you would need to order an actual entree if you wanted say, the pasta as a side that night.
My love-hate relationship continues with Carnival’s MDR. For as much as I’d love for it to be an option that serves good food and has great service, it’s always a letdown for me. The food isn’t that great, the new menus which were introduced a few months ago don’t appeal to me, and service can be hit or miss.
Our third and final port of call is tomorrow and we are scheduled to dock at the Mahogany Bay Cruise Port in Isla Roatan, Honduras – a Carnival-owned and developed destination port. More from there tomorrow, thanks for following along.
Fun Times for Day 4:
The Fun Times for December 12, 2023 can also be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.