The little baby on your table was from a King Cake. It is totally a New Orleans thing. The King Cake is made at MardiGras time as part of the celebration. Whomever gets the baby in the cake slice has to make the cake next year for MardiGras! Just a fun little tradition. Great video as always B&D! Cheers.
Loved that you called the full pool "people soup"! I thought I was the only person who called it that! I so appreciate your candor about the good and not so good. 👍😊❤️
I’m a firm believer if you’re going to have ships with a lot of white paint, you absolutely need to keep on top of cleaning them. Those rust streaks make the ship look aged and run down.
I've done the same number of nights on both Royal and Carnival, and I have to say that Carnival service is usually much faster, and much friendlier. They were extremely short staffed at the time you took your cruise. Actually I was on a Royal cruise around that time, and I waited 45 mins after my appetizer being collected to my main course being served. I had a server who took my drinks order, another took my food order, someone else came with my food, and honestly not one of them said hello, and I never saw them again. But, I knew that this particular Royal Ship was short staffed so I didn't hold that against them. Carnival are going through the same just now unfortunately, although they recently announced it's getting better.
I so enjoy your videos. You guys are a hoot! So fun! Hurry up and post your next Mardi Gras video! We will be on it in June after rescheduling 3 times due to Covid and a cancer diagnosis. But I am cancer free and ready to cruise! 😊
We love the Mardi Gras and I know u will to he spoke of waiting 40 minutes for a meal we waited a lot longer on the royal carribbean for our food we missed several shows and even had to skip dessert to make it to some of them
We love staying on board when everyone goes to the private islands. No people, lots of booze, lots of food, easy access to washrooms and the swimming pool and hot tubs...the best days for sure to stay onboard.
I never laughed so hard as when you guys were describing that huge drink that you shared. I have never seen anything like it. Poor Freedom. Keeps getting abused but she's still hanging on. Didn't realize the Mardi Gras was so enormous. Thanks for the wonderful tour.
@Wanda Pierce - the Mardi Gras is a Mega-Ship similar to Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class ships. Carnival has two more Mega-Ships coming soon, the Jubilee and the Celebration.
I would love to run into y'all on a ship and have a drink or two with you. I just discovered your videos yesterday, and have been doing a bit of binging. Great content!
Oh boy, you really went in on Carnival Freedom. I can't recall laughing harder at any of your other videos: "Always check outside before to see if there is another ship in the way, because this ship, the Carnival Freedom, this massive, sorry to say it again, massive hunk of junk. Look at the state of it, there's rust and stuff everywhere. She's fallen to bits, bless her! Ugh." And BEN went on in Epic form from there. "Duct tape and drunken regret" 😂 Loved it.
We cruise Carnival quite a bit because you can’t beat the price, but you do get what you pay for. I’ll take a little rust if I get a week of sunshine & ocean 😆
I have to say, love love love the honestly. I tried Carnival years ago, seems like things haven't changed much. Royal Caribbean and Princess are my favs. Hang in there, guys, the next one will be better.
Yup. Cruised Carnival years ago. Once and never again. For R & R and quality food/entertainment/service, Disney is my favorite. I don't gamble or drink much so, factor that into my review.
Completely agree, cruised Carnival once and that was more than enough. They just are not my cup of tea. We love Royal it is a definitely a step up from Carnival.
During Mardi Gras they serve King Cake, and the “baby” like the one you found on the table is hidden in the cake. The person who finds the baby in their slice of cake will have luck and prosperity. Although, I don’t know if you finding will bring luck if you didn’t find inside the cake. 💛💚💜🤔🤔🤔
I wish you had tried Carnival prior to COVID. Your complaints about the service are spot on post COVID. Prior to COVID it was such a better standard. Since the restart it's as you say, it feels strained and understaffed. I feel that while I understand why they're packing the ships full even when they don't have the staff for it from an economic sense. I feel that they're doing their brand irreparable harm.
OMG Ben I laughed so hard my eyes watered when you spoke of walking onto the balcony facing a Carnival ship and all the commentary regarding the Carnival Freedom which followed. Your quips, while sometimes corny are always funny. I love you guys and your content. Thanks guys!
The plastic baby at 26:28. It's all good. For Mardi Gras in New Orleans it's a tradition to bake a small plastic baby into a "King's Cake." Whoever finds the plastic baby in the cake will be blessed with good luck and prosperity for the next year. 😊
I went on Carnival Panorama in June. I loved the fast food/quick service options like Guys Burgers. I also loved the melting chocolate cake in the MDR- best cruise dessert ever!! Carnival really is fun- they’re not pretentious or judgmental. Go dance the night away at a deck party and make friends with the Fun Squad.
We love your videos. You both are so much fun to watch. And I really appreciate your honesty. There are too many content creators who try so hard not to upset a certain cruise line fan base. I understand why that is important but also really appreciate you telling us how it is. So thanks and keep on keeping on!
Carnival veteran here. Also of several other lines over the years. Most of your negative reviews reflect in one way or another that Mardi Gras is clearly overbooked and short-staffed. You should probably wait a year and do a return visit. Closer to home, give Carnival a break and review Carnival Pride in Europe next summer on a cheap ticket, She's an old tub but we love her.
The Carnival Freedom is long due for the outside to be painted with their new livery. We sailed the Carnival Glory in 2017 before it got its new paint job and the hull was dirty and rusty. However, the interior was very clean and comfortable. The food and service was fantastic. Carnival also has been overhauling their old ships to the point where they rename them because of how much work they have done. The Sunrise, Sunshine, Radiance are prime examples. They were nicely modernized and look new. Don't be afraid to try an older ship.
Thus far I've only cruised Carnival and have enjoyed it. I don't care for the cruises with snobbish people. I like to socialize and interact with others. But i do want to try Paul Gauguin. The Tahitian itinerary looks so appealing! The fact that you two are British and haven't cruised Carnival until now, is what makes your review so good. Thanks
@@patriciautley3824 I've been on one NCL, some 9 Carnival, and 6 RC ships and if it weren't for the fact that it costs 30% more for an inside room, I'd only sail Carnival. I'm into the fun!
You should of done the zip line! So fun, I was 60 when I did it and afraid of heights and my husband managed to talk me into it and I loved it! We did a 5 line zip in Hawaii. I’m so glad I did it. Love watching your videos !
This is the first video I watched of you two 3 days ago and now I'm officially hooked! I just love you both!!!! I plan on binge watching all your videos!!! Thanks for the wonderful content. 💜
Unbelievable that Carnival Freedom and RC’s Freedom of the Seas were both built in the same year. The difference in the conditions of both are insurmountable 😮
I love Carnival, we have two cruises booked this year, one in April out of New Orleans, we are going with my parents,iIt will be my moms 100th cruise with Carnival. We also have one in October out of Charleston SC for our anniversary as we live in NC. I really want to go on the Mardi Gras now. Thank you for your videos they are both informative and funny.
Mardi Gras was our only Carnival cruise. We didn’t like any table service dining but feel they win over Royal and NCL for the counter / quick service options. Shaq’s Chx, Street Eats, Blue Iguana, Guys and the buffet were all pretty good! Carnival isn’t our vibe, though. We prefer NCL.
I love watching and listening to the both of you. Such good feedback about cruises. Haven'y been put off any of them but am aware what to look out for. You are also the cutest couple and look so good together.
I've always skipped the specialty meals for the free food, just felt they had more flavor and less wait times, I'll take a burrito from Blue Iguana over a steak at the Fahrenheit. Glad you liked Amber Cove, it was the original port I visited on my first Carnival cruise.
Fahrenheit was disappointing, but on my last cruise, jiji's Asian restaurant was definitely worth the money. We did it on the carnival Vista and that was my favorite of carnivals restaurants. Our food was so delicious.
"Relatiochip"!🤣"It's got pink things, red things, green things!"😂"It's not a natural drink!"😆"She's held together with duct tape and drunken regret!"🤣"That's so toe-sucking fabulous!"😘I adore you two! Happy sailing!
I really enjoyed your review. You two are hilarious! We are supposed to go on Mardi Gras in the spring so this was a great preview. BTW, on Carnival...if you are in a suite, you get free laundry service (2 times for the week). Just pack the paper sack they leave you in your cabin and your steward will take your laundry and bring it back when cleaned. At least your laundry was still on your balcony when you returned...My swimsuit blew off the balcony on my last cruise-- so I assume it's somewhere in the Atlantic! 😀
Love ur review of the Mardi Gras. As former cruise director with Carnival and now creator of Cruise Control you did a great job reviewing the ship. Well done!
On our 2nd or 3rd cruise (probably around 2007) one of our ports was Casa Del Campo in the Dominican Republic. We arrived early and I went out on our balcony. We were on the dock side and greeting me were about 20 soldiers in uniform, carrying machine guns, patrolling the dock and surrounding area. I took video of it while singing the theme song from “Cops”. 😆 We only ventured out to the immediate area. We were not impressed. We’ve avoided the DR ever since.
We have seen soldiers with heavy weapons in Europe, never bothered me one bit. We have sailed many times to the DR, Mexico and most of the Caribbean, where did I get robbed? In Lisbon, Portugal!!
Ben makes the absolute best reactions when he doesn’t like something “Holy Crapsticks!” Will be going in my vocabulary, awesome! I’m still waiting to use ”That tastes like Door!” When something that was supposed to be good shows up dry and flavorless
Hey Ben and David. I forgot Shaq’s chicken had breakfast. Oh give me that cheesey omelette and hopefully they had bacon 🥓. Sooo looking forward to riding bolt. No line. Wonderful. But there’s reservations? 1 or 2 can ride? Lovely private cabana. $500/day? For fruit and nonalcoholic drinks? Could’ve had a 1 or 2 drink minimum. Nice they bring snacks and food. Was in Amber Cove in July. The bikes were complimentary but we tipped $20 each way. Oh zip lining. Nice. 3 shots in that drink 🍹. Omg. I don’t drink the shots, I put them in the drink😂. Didn’t know they had a pool. It was so hot we walked around the shops. Got mojitos, beer, empanadas, yuca fries and went back. The Deli, pizza, tortillas looks great. Agreed. The lido marketplace is crowded. Street eats looks great. These drinks so interesting outside Emerils. I’ll go Mexican. Seasick Ben. Oh no. I’ve sailed Norwegian, Royal, Celebrity and Carnival and usually the crew is fun and personable. Maybe they are a bit understaffed and stressed. Presentation of food does make a difference as we first eat with our eyes. Oh Ben. I know what you mean. Some portions too big. Some too small. I get seconds. Yes. Carnival used to have 2 turndowns. Now just one. Thanks for your review. Waiting to hear Emma’s critique on Carnival Magic. Thanks for sharing and see you next video.
Great vlog, as ever, Guys. I went on a chocolate experience tour while at Amber Cove in February (on the Carnival Horizon), it was a memorable day. Loved Blue Iguana Cantina, are so many burritos over the course of the week.
We really like the fun vibe of Carnival. I have not ever seen overly rowdy or overly drunk partiers on any Carnival cruise I have been on. It's too bad that you went when they are short staffed. I promise you that Carnival offers just as good service as Princess and Royal. They have the best drinks out of all the lines we have sailed on; Celebrity, Royal, NCL and Princess. Their food isn't as good as Princess or Royal in our opinion. We really loved Mardi Gras and would sail on her again. We didn't like Chibang, either. The service was slow, the server was rude (probably because he was exhausted) and the food was not good. We liked the included venues and we also like the Emeril restaurant. The seafood place was probably our other least favorite. It just wasn't great. We are Diamond with RCCL and Platinum with Princess but we do enjoy Carnival. I say that you give them another try. Ships like the Breeze and the Dream are a great choice. The Freedom was the first Carnival ship we sailed on in 2009 and we loved it. It sure does need a good sprucing! LOL
It’s good you have never run into what many of us have on Carnival, people that drink in excess, poor entertainment and food that was just so so. My brother always cruised Carnival just came back from a short one and he was so disappointed. Pool was closed, a drunk had thrown up in it, food bad, entertainment subpar and people that acted badly. I was surprised because like I said he always sailed Carnival. He had an 8 night coming up in Nov that he canceled. I told him we prefer Royal, which I think he will sail next. Hope you never run into this on Carnival. Have a good cruise the next time you go.
@@danasandoval624 I would think that the short cruises are different from the 7 plus nights. We never had any problems in the past. Mardi Gras will be our first Carnival cruise since 2018. We have been loyal to Royal. Hope your brother has a great experience.
We were just on Carnival Glory a couple weeks ago, and of the six nights we did the Your Time Dining, only one felt like they were really slow getting food to us. Otherwise, they seemed to be pretty efficient, and on every night the staff was polite and professional... Hopefully as they are getting more fully staffed, some of the issues y'all experienced will be worked out... We'll be on Celebration, Mardi Gras's sister ship, next September, and we're really looking forward to it.
$500 for a day or $1,000 for the whole Cruise your best off paying $1,000 even if in all you have to do is use it twice to be able to make your money back so if you use it a third time that's icing on the cake
Amazing video as usual ❤. It was because of you two that I fell in love with the idea of cruising during the lockdown and I am going on my first cruise this November ❤.
I just found you guys. I adore watching your videos. You both are so to the point and informative. I have learned so much from you both. I can not wait to catch up on all you videos. Love you both! Your new friends Rick and David.....
Back in May, we were on the Oasis of the Seas and while there wasn't a storm, the ship was moving so much I felt like I was drunk. We later found out the waves were caused by hurricane-force winds. It was crazy, so I can imagine what it was like for you guys.
You can film the roller coaster if you place a few GoPros and strategic positions to capture it without them seeing it and then you retrieve the GoPros later and when you believe the ship you go ahead and upload it
Guys, I’ve written about my terrible experience on my one and only cruise. Carnival was that cruise line. It was many years ago, and am open to try another cruise. So I’d like to suggest you put a cruise trip together so that folks like me could go on a cruise and maybe share with other like minded people. I know it’s not easy to do something like this, but I for one love your vlogs and it would be fun. Anyways, just a hopeful suggestion. Russ
I was on her inaugural cruise, one and only time on Carnival. Ghastly glitzy interiors, like a dime disco, but really good service, great food in the restaurant and the best deck food of any ship I’ve traveled on. Quite a large cabin as well, in a more subdued and relaxing colour scheme compèred to the main public areas.
I just love you guys! You are just the most joyous couple, your videos are wonderful to watch. Ben you crack me up “that’s not gonna put hairs on my chest, it’s gonna take them off”
I think the Carnival Freedom is the other ship that sails out of Port Canaveral, and I don't think it's had the proper funnel for years. I think I can remember as far back as 2017 it didn't have the usual funnel, and when I remember seeing it it was in bad condition anyway. The only reason I know is because it's been in port at the same time as The Disney Fantasy when I boarded it.
Looks like the tofu you ordered 31:30 is called mapo tofu, a classic Szechuan spicy dish. Normally the tofu is cut into smaller cubes, not those large slices, and it's never fried.
Our first cruise years ago was on a smaller size Carnival ship, while on one of the islands we were talking to a couple that had cruised for years, they were on Norwegian. When we said we were on Carnival his comment was “I’m sorry “ which was so true. I didn’t tell them but I hated it, I almost never cruised again. My idea of fun is not a large bar with people that have drunk too much and the entertainment doing a sing a long around this. Our next cruise was with Royal on a ship that had loads of things to do besides drink too much. Don’t get me wrong I like a drink and enjoy a buzz even at times but that’s not my idea of my major reason for cruising or vacation. So like we were told about Carnival “I’m sorry “ that you were on that Carnival ship. Carnival is known for less expensive cruises and lots of heavy drinking. Love your videos
While true for almost all of their ships, the XL Class for Carnival is a huge step up for them. We were om the Mardi Gas last fall and had an incredible time!
Again thank for your honesty….. Carnival ship has never been on my wish list and I think I will continue that thank you but no thank you Carnival….🙏🙏👼👼🇨🇦🇨🇦
I used to see the Freedom-era Carnival ships (usually the Triumph or Victory) in port all the time when I was in high school. They looked nice, modern, and clean then... 20 years ago. Shame to see them not aging so well.
I travel with travelsize bungee clotheslines and hang them up either in the room or on the balcony using my wall hooks. When you're travelling for 10+ days, I have to do laundry at some point to prevent overpacking.
