Boarding OUR FIRST EVER Carnival Cruise - We were SURPRISED! 

Click here ritual.com/CRUISE20 and use code CRUISE20 to get 20% off your first month with Ritual! #ritualpartner

So you know that you watch a LOT of Ben and David videos when someone says the word "salad" and you hear Ben in your head saying "Sa-Lod"! lol Love these two!!!!!

I just adore you guys. I am 69 and most of the cruises I’ve been on have been on Holland America and I don’t think I will ever go on these big party ships, but it doesn’t matter. I still watch every one of your videos because I feel like you two are my friends, and I’m so entertained by seeing you enjoying yourselves so much! Your happy, positive vibe and your excitement are contagious. By the way I do hope you will say something about the cleanliness not being up to par. That really is not okay. Looking forward to the next vlog and that roller coaster!

I am sorry for the loss of your step father. This tribute to your step father honors the memory of a loving family man.

I have enjoyed all my Carnival cruises. You can go where it is loud and fun or to serenity area where it is quiet. Food is always good ❤️Guy’s burgers too. Ships go to same places for fraction of the price. This allows me to travel more!!!!!!!

This may seem a little overboard, but I always carry wipes with me on my cruise. When I enter the room, I give it a once over with the wipes. Only takes minutes and I feel better. I’ve only done this since Covid.

I just got off the Mardi Gras yesterday September 17th so I want to thank you for making this video because I think cruise vloggers that have a big reach with their audience need to make sure they cruise at least once on the major cruise lines so that they can give their honest opinion because there's so much uncalled for hatred for Carnival from people who have never cruised with Carnival before so to see people like you do an honest review and seeing how pleasantly surprised you are with the overall experience might help to change the minds of some haters and maybe they'll decide to actually try it for themselves and make up their own minds. Great video! Thanks again from a Carnival enthusiast 👍

I've never taken a cruise, and I doubt I ever will, it's just not my thing, but I can't stop watching you guys! You are so much fun!

I love you guys’ attention to detail! The little things always make a big difference on a cruise so it’s great to see such an honest and thorough review and look around. As usual you didn’t disappoint ❤️

Carnival - my favorite cruise line. I love the fun atmosphere they have with all the extras they offer. Enjoy!

We loved the Mardi Gras it was a nice change from NCL n Royal the food offerings are fabulous we ve done 45 cruise cruises with other lines n this ship was refreshing and 90% of food venues free

I'm so happy you guys are able to go on a Carnival Cruise. My family and I absolutely LOVE Carnival and have been following you guys for a long time. Looking forward to more Carnival Cruise reviews.

That cabin was NOT clean. You didn't sound fussy at all. You are always so kind.

It really looks like a fun vibe. Our NCL Spirit we are on now is quiet and relaxing, but feels like a Retirement Home and we are in our 60's and 70's! Love your content so much!

Thanks for your honesty regarding the cleanliness of the room. That would bother me also!! Love you guys!

You two are so dang adorable! I hope my son finds someone as wonderful as both if you are! I hope you had a smashing time.

Dear Ben & David, So sorry to hear about your lost luggage. I am so glad that you were able to purchase 2 Samsonite Suitcase at Macy's and some clothes at Target that didn't break the bank. I so enjoy watching your videos. My husband is a brit and we were in England for a family wedding in July (Ely, Cambridgeshire) and had such a great trip. We were so happy to be able to travel again. My husband Andy has a suppressed immune system due to an autoimmune disease, so no cruising. I have loved watching your travels and wish I could be there with you both. You are such lovely gentlemen. You produce first class video's. My husband is impressed with your camera/video equipment. You both make me smile and feel happy watching you interact with each other. I love your British sense of humor. Safe and happy travels where ever you roam.

Great review! The XL Class of ship for Carnival is a real game changer! It is a huge step up for Carnival!

Sorry to hear the cabin wasn't clean. I've cruised CCL many times and never had a dirty cabin and I'm very fussy as well. Hopefully customer service fixed the problem. Let your hair down and have fun! Safe travels & smooth seas.

Ben had me laughing so hard! With his puns describing the room/bed!! 😂🤣😂🤣😂😂🤣

So fun to watch you on Mardi Gras for your first Carnival Cruise. My happiest cruise trip was by chance getting on Mardi Gras for the inaugural sailing. We had such a great time, and great to see you have Cruise Director Chris. He's a great CD.

Thanks for doing this trip guys. Carnival is definitely not on my radar, but I like to see what they do well.

You both are my favorite cruise content creators. Please keep the videos coming, cheers!

This video reinforces why Carnival is not the cruise line for me, but I love the enthusiasm, authenticity, attention to detail and honesty in your cruise reviews - well done. The dirty cabin, poor quality pillows and too much junk food were off-putting.

Me and my wife are going on our 7th carnival cruise in June. We're taking the kids on their 2nd cruise. For families, Carnival is the best route to go, that's still affordable. It's full of fun and entertainment for everyone soo there's always something to do. And the food is great. When you eat in the restaurants, you can order more than 1 thing at a time, not just 1 appetizer, 1 entre and 1 desert

We’ve only taken one carnival cruise, we’re just happiest on Royal Caribbean we are a lot older, so we go to relax. And relax we do. But I love watching you guys and you make us laugh with All your honesty each cruise you take. Missed you!! Donna & Danny

3 of my 4 cruises have been on Carnival. I’m excited to see your review. You remain so positive even when discussing things you didn’t care for.

You guys are so adorable together. Enough reason to watch your videos, plus cruising info.

DH and I have considered going on Mardi Gras for our first Carnival cruise so I am excited to watch how your cruise progresses. I’ve heard good and bad about this ship. Your dirty cabin is its first demerit. 🤣 Thanks for being so detail oriented. We appreciate your honesty. 😊

I love you guys so much. I was so happy to meet you guys on the ship. I love your positivity and sense of humor, it truly makes a difference. 🥰

Hi Ben and David ~ Another brilliant video/vlog ~ rehabilitation is going well ~ but I never thought learning to walk and to use my arms again would be so hard ~ if ever I get better I would love to go on a cruise with you both because you both make me smile and make me feel better and I think it would be a great adventure ~ Sending love and hugs ~ Xxx Xxx

Love to see you both do a season down here in Australia. You'll find it's a different experience to that of the US and Europe.

Love Carnival and you guys absolutely cracking me up. We did a suite once-my kids first cruise too-had to tell them it won't always be "suite life" lol

OMG..the innuendo bingo game is STRONG on this one lol Love watching you guys. I've cruised only Carnival so far in my cruising career and definitely looking to branch out on my next. I have Cunard booked next! It's really fun watching someone new to Carnival experiencing it for the first time. I'm fairly disillusioned with them lately, myself, but happy to see you guys having fun. The staff IS overstretched. A lot of things have really gone downhill from 10 years ago when I first went and loved them.

Loved it - probably not for us, but really enjoy your enthusiasm and, as always, your honesty in telling us how it really is.

Probably the complete opposite to what I enjoy (that much FUN looks frankly terrifying 😂) but still absolutely loved the video! Wow, that level of grubbiness was not good....I'd be worrying about things that weren't visible to the naked eye ....especially in the current climate 😳 Can't wait to see the rest!

Please keep up your great blogs!!! You both make my day so much better after a long day at work. As a gay man myself, it’s even better to get to watch the both of you interact. Such a wonderful pair!!! Keep the clogs coming! No pun intended. 🤣

Of all your videos this is my favorite. The pure enthusiasm shows. Two comments stood out,,one about Ryan Air and "he calls me donkey "

Hello Ben and David! So exciting to see you all on your very first carnival ship. I am so super happy you both are doing a vlog on this cruise ship because you guys definitely keep it real lol 😂 and I need someone like this who will keep it real about the rooms and the ship because I am in the process of deciding what new ship I would like to go on for my 31st birthday in January of 2023 so I’m super excited to see the rest of the blogs of this cruise! I hope you all have a safe trip and enjoy the many exciting activities there are to do on the cruise ship 😝😝❤️

We cruised the Mardi Gras in February and absolutely loved it! Going back December 2023. Neither of us were impressed with the theater area. Really hard to see parts of the shows because of the way it is set up. Like the traditional theaters much more.

Hi guys, WOW, never realized you have not sailed Carnival. I have done a few of their older ships and The Panorama out of Los Angeles, which is one of their newer ones. Have not been on Mardi Gras yet, but have been dying to. I love how you are experiencing Carnival from a fresh perspective. Ben glad you liked Guy’s burgers, they are so good. SO looking forward to your videos of this ship! As far as the rude staff at the terminal and the slightly dirty cabin, I hope you guys mention that in your post survey.

It's great to see your excitement every time

Call the steward and have him redo the cleaning. I would freak out! Especially in a suite I would think you have top of the line towels and sheets. I personally would get the chief cabin steward to come in and see the dust and dirty towels before the sail away.

Love that you finally get to experience Carnival! Can’t wait to see the rest. Hope you really enjoy the Fun ship!

Just disembarked Zuiderdam last week. For a 20 year old ship was sensational. The bathroom fixtures shone like new and the crew must be treated well because they were VERY happy :))

Thanks for confirming why I will never cruise Carnival.🤦‍♀️

The Mardi Gras is amazing!!! I hope you love it!! Have a great cruise!!❤❤❤

Only cruised Carnival once that was enough, poor food, bad entertainment and people over drinking. My brother always cruised Carnival a few weeks ago he went on a short cruise, he said the food was awful, poor entertainment and pool closed due to a drunk throwing up in it. He had a 8 night booked for Nov but canceled after this experience. We love Royal and will stay with them. Good luck guys.

We had a Ocean Suite for our family of 5 and it was perfect for us. 3 teens ok sofa bed and bunk camp down from ceiling. Perfect!! Loved it

My first and last cruise was a Carnival cruise. It was too “party” for me. I enjoyed the food and entertainment, but it lacked the finesse other ships we have been on have had. Maybe the newer ships are different. Thank you for the vlog; I always love watching you both!

You are such a cute couple. I really enjoy your content. Look forward to the next one.

The napkins are what a mechanic at at US garage would use to check your oil...so not wash cloths more like oil rags

Carnival is usually hit or miss. I appreciate the honesty. Great video.

Thank you for giving Carnival a try --- I love the fun ships :) Best wishes and happy cruising!

I love you guys. You are so fun to watch and very informative. I am a platinum Carnival guest and we love the rooms, fun, ports of call and the fun time. Glad you have been a part of the Carnival cruise line.

So excited to see how you gents feel about a Carnival Cruise ! Thanks greatly for this !

On HAL Rotterdam last week I saw them even wiping around the outside of the door trim in the hallway! Very clean!

We are Carnival cruisers (and no, we aren’t big partiers) and we cruised on the Mardi Gras in an ocean suite last April. We thought it was really nice. I’m sorry your cabin wasn’t cleaned thoroughly. We didn’t experience that thankfully, and if we did, I would have said something. That is not the standard. We have always felt well taken care of on Carnival. My only “complaint” is that I felt their MDR and one of their other specialty restaurants wasn’t very good - not bad - just not great. We enjoyed all the more casual spots to eat especially the BBQ. Overall, we really enjoyed it! We already booked the Jubilee for 2024!

I’m a diamond status on carnival cruises. I recommend to cruise on 8 days or longer. For a 55 year old man like me. I love fun not folks that think they all that.

For a brand new ship, the amount of dust you two found does not speak well for Carnival.

Love sailing Carnival! I'll be coming to the UK for the Celebration to make her debut! I'm so excited - 1st time in the UK and 1st Transatlantic

Love your guys banter. I havent watched for a while and loving catching up

You always make me smile! My husband, child, and I wound up at the wrong port for our sail off on Carnival. They said if we can get you on this ship, would you take whatever room is available and no cash exchange, and we said yes of course. They found us a nice room and it wound up being a 10-day long cruise vs the 7-day we had booked! I'm still so grateful to them for not turning us away!

Love your energy! Y'all are a hoot! Glad you're still in a good mood after airlines lost your luggage. Thanks for your honest review, especially about the dirty room and the substandard linens and bath towels. Carnival was always known as the cruise line with diarrhea outbreaks. In last 2 years it's known as the cruise line with passenger fights and suicides. Still avoiding Carnival, sorry to miss out on dancing fun. 💃🤸 The food looks great!

You guys are adorable. We also had the problem of our room not being ready on time on the Mardi Gras, and after debarkation I understood why; it took us two hours longer than expected. The problem seemed to be the terminal, as there were only two customs agents working that entire ship full of people. I can imagine it would be hard to get everything ready on time, when you can't get people off the ship.

My favorite thing to have on embarkation day is a Guys Burger. Absolutely amazing

Hi Ben and David, cool your first ever Carnival Cruise and your usual detailed review. Very awesome! And David is carrying the Disney Cruise Line bag, lol God Save The King

My very first cruise ever was on the Mardi Gras on March 2023. I loved it! I think I could’ve done much more, but all in all I enjoyed it immensely! I learned a lot and will be better prepared for my next cruise. Your videos are so helpful and informative. TFS

My first Carnival cruise was completely clean. The one I took in April was a bit dusty. I think it's because they had an 80% of the usual occupancy for guests but not even 70% of the usual crew. Even now, COVID is keeping a percentage of the crew out of circulation while they're sick and/or still testing positive. I can see how some things will fall to the wayside until they can be fully crewed again. It's one of those things where I'm annoyed at the line for selling more passages than they can correctly support but then again, they've lost billions by not being able to sail for a year and a half and only getting all ships up again recently. So I'm annoyed but I can't blame them.

Regarding your lost suitcases, get an Apple Airtag and stick it to the inside wall of the bag. That way, you can track your luggage. Just a thought.

Real talk on the cleanliness, appreciate it

I’m always here for the innuendos. This episode is full of them!

I just got a new bed, and Thursday night I went to a Zoom meeting from the bed. Every time I leaned back one of the lights shut off. I finally just used a different light. Now I’ve moved the bed over to eliminate the problem. Love the new bed!

Thanks for sharing. It’s been over 20 years since I’ve been n Carnival. And this ship Marci Gras temps me to try again!! Enjoy your cruise!!! I look forward to all the adventures you two will have on this ship!!

When you're on Deck 9 and you were talking about all the fun don't forget drunk bar fights

Love watching y’all so cute! I just did my first cruise on RC to Alaska now I’m hooked:) I have two new ones booked ! A quick trip in April with my girlfriend to Ensenada and then a New Year’s Eve cruise next December on The scarlet Lady with my husband! So excited ! Thanks for showing me what’s out there and to go have fun❤️

Long time viewing, first time commenting 🎉. I love that y’all tried Carnival. They are “FUN” ships! Come to Galveston.. it isn’t the prettiest when leaving but the totally worth it when you get in the Gulf.

So glad you guys are on Carnival because carnival to me other than on my wish-list…. and I truly trust your opinion🙏👼🇨🇦🇨🇦 and I’m glad you’re staying in the suite because I always travel on any cruise ship and suites

WOW! You guys are FANTASTIC!! Love the honesty and the humor..... Keep up the great work. First time watching and love your content!!

I am watching the video and you both are cracking me up!! I love the video. It actually feels like I am experiencing this day with you both. I am laughing and smiling..lol Ben, yes, those are napkins not table rags hahaha. Love you guys :)

23:50 - not good, these things need to be clean, at least I would expect it to be !

So glad you are enjoying Carnival Mardi Gras! I haven't sailed on her yet, but Carnival IS the Fun cruiseline!

Omg loving this video !! You do such great tours of the rooms. Made me double sure I’m ordering the apple tags for my bags !

I just adore the two of you! You brighten my day.😁Thank you for sharing your adventures with us, your viewers.

I've been on a Carnival cruise, still have the water bottle sitting on my desk! Unfortunately it was cold and drizzly, but you know, I had a delightful time. Went with my partner's family (one of them didn't want to come so my partner was asked to select a friend to bring, and I was so lucky they wanted me to join!) and whilst I had a delightful time, there is one thing that still sticks in my mind. The apple juice. From the same area with the plant-pot cups, and I grabbed some to have with my breakfast as I do love apple juice. As it turns out, I do not love all apple juice. This apple juice tasted, and the best word I could come up with was this, used. It tasted like someone had it in their mouth already. Didn't taste like it had gone through the whole digestive process already per se, but it tasted like someone had it in their mouth. Guy Fieri's burger joint was excellent though. I myself just had plain chips, and they were excellent but I more fondly recall the chap who served me my meal. I asked for just plain chips, he clarified, and he then, with the biggest grin, placed a singular chip on my plate and asked if this was good. We had a good laugh as he proceeded to load up my plate after a moment. I have more delightful memories, but I've talked long enough :P

I get terrible motion sickness so I don’t think I can ever go on a cruise, but I love watching your videos and living vicariously through y’all !

I did Mardi Gras in July. I had fuuuun!!! That ship is huge! Food was good but it kinda got boring. I had options but I didn’t want to spend $ for something else. No money.. I’m always broke 😅 If you are reading this and you want to go carnival big, Mardi Gras it is!!

Congratulations on your first Carnival Cruise. That is a massive storage for clothes. Etc. Always great videos. Cheers.!

Love your channel!!! The innuendo was classic. Thank you for the laughs and the thorough review!

I love watching you 2 have fun. Thanks for the honesty and observation’s

So one small misconception which is a common thing a lot of people think. Suite guests are NOT or have NOT ever been guaranteed their staterooms were ready as soon as they board. Before covid, Carnival had a thing called Faster to the Fun (or FTTF). FTTF was the ONLY thing that guaranteed your cabin was ready as soon as you boarded the ship. Otherwise all cabins are ready at 1:30 PM but suite guests and Platinum and Diamond guests can drop off carry on luggage and leave them come back

You two were in rare form for this one, tasticle 😆 🤣 😂

The Iona seems to dedicate alot more space to pools and sunlounges. The Mardi Gras Ultimate Playground is great but the relative lack of pools isn't fun when in the blazing Caribbean heat. It would be great if you do a video comparing the differences of the 2 ships.

I just LOOOOVE David’s eyes 😍

I only cruise Carnival. Each cruise has been fantastic.

You did take their newest ship and are in a suite so the experience might be a bit skewed toward the good compared with a regular cabin on an older ship. Hope it’s a fun time for you both.

I'm a fan of HAL CRUISE LINE. My first Carnival cruise was miserable. I hope your cruise is wonderful.

🤣🤣🤣 “it’s more relaxing boarding a Ryan Air flight” …. Damn! 🤣

We loved that ship. We did have a balcony room on the top floor so it was shaded and private. You can see down in everyone else’s balcony. You guys are awesome!

You guys have the life. Wow!! Always on vacation. Love it!!!