Carnival Mardi Gras Cruise: How Much Does It Cost To Go On This Cruise?

Have you heard of the Carnival Mardi Gras cruise ship? It’s one of Carnival’s newest and largest ships in its fleet. We decided to make the Carnival Mardi Gras our first cruise ship to board as family in June of 2022. We took a 7 day cruise and loved every single minute of it…for the most part.

This was the first ship that my entire family has been on together.

In this post, I will give a run down of how much it cost my family to go on the Carnival Mardi Gras Cruise. I will also share a couple of things we would’ve done differently to save some money next time around.

How much money did it cost to go on the Carnival Mardi Gras?

In short, it ended up costing our family of 4 around $5,500 for a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Mardi Gras.

This included premium meals at the on board steakhouse Fahrenheit 555, the Italian restaurant Cucina Del Capitano, Emeril’s Bistro 1396, alcohol (not within the drink package), 2 tickets for the Bolt rollercoaster, Build a Bear, on board laundry service, trips to the on board candy store, premium coffees and lattes, Rudi’s Seagrill, bonsai sushi, excursions, and way too many games at the arcade.

This did not include the cost of the hotel where we stayed the night before boarding at Port Canaveral, the cost of gas to and from on our road trip, and any other food on our trip.

Admittedly, we indulged. But, after years in the house, we were happy to share this experience with our family,

However, there were plenty of choices we could’ve made to make the trip cheaper if we wanted to. Keep reading to find out more.

Where does the Mardi Gras start from? What Port is Carnival Mardi Gras located?

Carnival Mardi Gras leaves from Port Canaveral in Florida. It is easily accessible by car. We drove there as a family and stayed over night at the Hamilton Inn in Brevard County. It was about a 25 minute drive to the Port Canaveral Carnival Terminal.

Family Fun At Foxwoods Casino

Do you need a passport to go on a Cruise?

This is a very complex question with no quick answer. Before we booked our trip we reviewed the Travel.State.gov website for the latest information for Cruise ship passengers. I also reviewed Carnival’s website for the latest travel document requirements.

Not all cruises require a passport, but we all had our passports so we had no issue getting on our 7 day cruise.

Where’s the best place to park at Port Canaveral?

There were several large parking lots available to park your car for the duration of the cruise. Based on the length of your cruise your parking fee will vary. We parked at the one closest to the Terminal and it came out to be around $130 for our 7 day cruise.

It’s best to do a little research before arriving at your terminal. If there was one thing I wish I’d done differently, it would be this. I could’ve potentially saved some money on our parking fees.

What’s unique about the Carnival Mardi Gras cruise ship?

The Carnival Mardi Gras is a large XL Class ship with the capacity to hold over 6,500 people. The Mardi Gras has the first roller coaster on sea. It is called the BOLT and travels at speeds of over 40 miles per hour over the seas. It is now the second largest Carnival ship in it’s fleet. The recently launched Carnival Celebration is Carnival’s largest cruise ship.

The Mardi Gras also features a variety of themes and restaurants over 17 passenger decks. There are also different zones on the ship. Each zone were set up to be themed areas and will help enhance your time on the boat.

There is the french quarter, grand central, summer landing, la piazza, lido, and the ultimate playground.

You can often find live music in the grand central area or random corners of the cruise. It is truly one of the most entertaining of the carnival ships.

Located on the outer deck area called the ultimate playground, you will find the first rollercoaster built to run on the sea. Carnival has since added one to it’s more recent cruise ship, the Carnival Celebration.

Carnival Mardi Gras was one of the most fun ships we came across during out research. This is what made us choose this as our first cruise after being in the house like so many others for so long.

Ways To Save Money On The Carnival Mardi Gras Cruise

When we checked out and looked at our bill, we realized we pretty much ate and drank our way through the entire cruise. We tried almost every single restaurant on board. Almost! There were a couple I would definitely try if we go again.

We tried Guy’s Burger Joint, Guy’s Pig & Anchor, and just about every one of the included dining experiences. We also ate in the main dining room and pizzeria del capitano.

We could have surely just ate at all of the included restaurants and been happy. But, we wanted to have the full experience, so we booked reservations at the premium restaurants.

3 Tips To Save Money on Dining Experiences on the Carnival Mardi Gras Cruise:

#1. Eat at the Steakhouse on the first night on board:

On the first night on the ship, you can get a free bottle of wine when you ask about it in the Steakhouse. We were offered other wine options, but they gave us a free bottle of house red wine once we asked.

#2. Ask if your Family Stateroom Come with Special Menu Prices for the Kids:

We stayed in the Family Staterooms, made specially with families in mind. However, we were not aware of the perks included in the booking these specific rooms. One is free or reduced cost meals for kids who are staying in the staterooms. There are age restrictions for children (I believe up to 12), but the waiter made the adjustments on our bill with ease.

#3. Eat at the Palm Restaurant in The Morning:

We waited much too late into our trip to eat at the Palm Restaurant in the morning. The serve a branch which was better than any buffet or breakfast options we had on any other morning. Everything was delicious and you could order as many plates of food as you’d like.

On our trip there seemed to be normal occupancy. However, this would probably be comparable to pre-lockdown normal compared to the reduced capacities practiced recently. So, in full transparency, it was more like full guest occupancy.

Because of this, I do recommend using the Carnival app to make a reservation to any other this restaurants.

While on board, we also enjoyed the mini-golf course, anchor smokehouse brewhouse, and street eats. All of these were mostly included.

The entire cruise was delightful and thankfully, we all came back safe and well. The staff and crew members were all so nice. The entertainment venues were plentiful and the menu items were mostly delicious.

We were able to have brand-new experiences as we sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. It was truly an innovative ship and sort of spoiled us for other cruises.

However, I would absolutely recommend carnival’s mardi gras cruise for the family.