Mardi Gras Trip Log Day 3: 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise – At Sea

Trip log, day three. At Sea.
7-Night Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida 
March 13, 2023

FUN TIMES – Day 3

Mondays at sea are preferred over Mondays on land! Day 3, at sea, started off with a trip to the omelet bar while Emily was at the gym before settling in my “office” until the battery depleted to the point that I had to go in the room to plug in as there are no outlets on the balcony.

The onboard internet was not bad, and it connects you through Miami, Florida which is helpful for anyone with remote connection limitations preventing connections from foreign countries.

HOWEVER, as Carnival’s Wi-Fi FAQ states, VPNs are not supported and they recommend you discuss your VPN limitations with your company’s IT department if you are planning to work while sailing.

Overall, the Carnival Wi-Fi Internet service was about the same as I’ve encountered with the new internet service at Disney. I didn’t put it through any series of tests such as streaming or video chatting, but it served it purpose for the week. Could it have been better? Absolutely, but it’s cruise ship internet and as long as you don’t expect greatness you should be good to sail. The service level we chose was for just 1 device at a time, but the login process was simple to use to switch between devices. Simply login on a second device and confirm you wish to disconnect the first device.

Did I mention it was a sea day? Well, not much was happening in terms of our onboard schedule, but this is not a result of a lack of things to do. For the most part, we all were taking this cruise to relax, and get away from schedules. There was a lot of time spent on the balcony working, reading, napping, talking, just enjoying life. To be fair, the weather did play a role a bit as it was not really warm and the pools were chilly.

We did a few different trivia around the ship and Tri-bond trivia was a blast! They gave you three different words and you had to say how they were all connected. We got 19 out of 20 correct, and someone won with 20. So close! Carnival’s trivia was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the different themes and variety. Most take place in Summer Landing, which was our favorite spot.

For lunch, we tried the BlueIguana Cantina which is similar to Donald’s Cantina on the Disney Wish, and is based on the concept of custom order burrito, tacos, and bowls.

There were plenty of options, including an expansive hot sauce and fixings bar.

A couple of our friends were eating in the Lido Marketplace where we joined them at a table. I hear there was carrot cake… Carrot Cake is something I will go out of my way to get, if it’s good. This unfortunately was not the case as the internal layers of frosting were less than appetizing. However, kudos for serving slices for full cakes.

As we were walking around, we walked past the RedFrog Tiki Bar on the lido deck and spotted a Funnel Sipper which we picked up with the drink of the day of sorts that no one in our group wanted to consume. This is not uncommon for us, as we are not sweet drink fans, but we had to have the souvenir sipper!

We went over an took a tour of our friend’s verandah stateroom (junior balcony category). The couch was near the stateroom entrance with the bed near the balcony sliding door. The closets were more than spacious for the two passengers in this room.

For dinner, we skipped out on our main dining room to try one of the alternative options onboard, Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse | Brewhouse. There are some restaurants that are included and some where there is an additional fee, dinner at Pig & Anchor is included at no additional cost with the exception of some up-charge items. Worth mentioning, the main dining room menus have also had a section of up-charge items.

Once seated, our server presented us with a paper menu which doubled as our order form. Simply check the items from the various sections and the food will be delivered to your table. While we ordered the entire meal at the beginning, they did hold the desserts until the end.

After a barbecue meal, we went for an evening stroll on the upper deck passing by the Dive-In Movies at Carnival Seaside Theater, this is what they are calling the big screen above the beach pool. Tonight’s double feature started with Lyle, Lyle Crocodile at 7pm film followed by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at 10:30pm.

Our plan was to play some mini golf and this time of day proved to be idea as there were just a few other groups with the same idea. During the day, this was a popular spot. They are using amostGOLF golf balls which are a limited flight foam-like practice balls. They worked just fine for mini golf once you get used to them.

This evening, we planned to attend Harry Potter Trivia in the Punchliner Comedy Club… Well, this was a really popular trivia event with a passionate crowd. I was not shocked at all to see Megan was the winner of the Harry Potter trivia session.

There were other guests who arrived mid-trivia session to get a spot for the next trivia session which was themed around The Office. Trivia across the ship was a popular event as there was alway a big turnout.

Souvenirs and other various Carnival Cruise Line merchandise onboard is regulated mostly to a small shop roughly the same size as the deck 3 FWD version of Sea Treasures onboard the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. There were a few items, but the one that really stuck out was a floating Bluetooth speaker in the shape of a Carnival cruise ship. Out of the water it sits on a pedestal, and in the water it will float around. Change the ship design and colors, add a second funnel, and I bet Disney Cruise Line would have a hard time keeping them in stock even at double or triple Carnival’s $70 price tag.

There was also some Dr. Seuss themed merch available in the candy shop, Cherry on Top. Rather than the traditional Thing 1 and Thing 2, there were items with Cruiser 1 through four. That might have been an unintentional rhyme, at this time, but it’s fine.

‘You were here’ mugs are quite popular and the Mardi Gras had their own version available at the JavaBlue Café adjacent to the candy shop. For those looking for Carnival Cruise Line merchandise, may I suggest looking at the cruise line’s online store. There were a few items we ordered while on the ship for less than they were selling for on the ship and the order was delivered the day we returned home from the cruise.

As we were turning in for the night, I noticed a light switch behind the pillows on the headboard that when flipped illuminated the back wall. Well, obviously, I had to replicate this at home… Of note, the beds in the suites have pillow top mattresses and upgraded bedding and were very comfortable. Stay tuned for tomorrow when we reach our first port of call, San Juan!

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