If you've been following along, one of the highlights of this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival's Mardi Gras has not been the weather.  Even though we have been out of hurricane season for a month now, a storm making its way through the gulf and up the East Coast…

With yesterday’s stop at Costa Maya, Mexico called off on account of weather, many onboard Carnival’s Mardi Gras were hoping that today’s stop in Isla Roatan, Honduras would not be met with the same fate.  While the weather was not cooperative, the ship was able to dock and spend the…

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…

The third day of this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival’s Mardi Gras saw us visiting Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is an island across from the country’s mainland and is pretty much a stop on almost every Western cruise. We arrived around 8 am and along with Mardi Gras, the port…

It's Sunday onboard the Mardi Gras and on this second day of this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise, we're spending the day at sea as we head towards our first port of call, Cozumel, Mexico.  Since it's a sea day, many decided to sleep in, go to Sea Day Brunch, and…

I recently returned from a 21-day cruise on Holland America's Rotterdam. Now, I'm embarking on another cruise, this time on Mardi Gras, a unique ship in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet that is distinct for not having "Carnival" in its name. Mardi Gras, the first vessel of Carnival's Excel-class, is…

Well, it finally arrived.  The last day of this 9-day Southern Caribbean Seafarer Cruise on Holland America's Rotterdam and the final day of this 21-day adventure where the ship took us through the Panama Canal, to the "ABC Islands," Columbia, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas.  To say it's been quite…

Day 8 of this 9-day Southern Caribbean Seafarer cruise on the Rotterdam found us at sea heading to our fourth and final port of call - Half Moon Cay.  We also set the clocks behind one hour so we finally bid adieu to Daylight Saving Time on the ship. As…

This has been quite an adventure, and this 21-day journey is quickly coming to an end!  The next two days will be spent at sea as we make our way towards Holland America's private island in the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay on Saturday followed by our return to Fort Lauderdale…

The final stop through the "ABC Islands" in the Southern Caribbean saw us docked in Oranjestad in the country known as "One Happy Island" - Aruba.  Our ship, Holland America's Rotterdam docked around 7:30 am and we were clear to go ashore shortly before 8 am.  Unlike our call in…