My First Carnival Cruise | Mardi Gras Boarding Day Chaos

6,891 views · 88 likes · 18 comments · Feb 20, 2026 · 14:52 · Long
Open on YouTube

This was my very first Carnival cruise ever — and we did it on board Carnival Mardi Gras. In this video, we take you through boarding day at Port Canaveral, our first impressions of Carnival’s Excel Class ship, and what immediately surprised us. From a chaotic embarkation process to exploring our balcony stateroom, checking out the buffet, Bolt roller coaster, Serenity adults-only area, and experiencing Carnival’s high-energy main dining room, this was a full first-day experience. As someone who frequently sails other cruise lines, I was genuinely curious what Carnival would feel like — and day one definitely gave us a lot to talk about. In this video: • Boarding process at Port Canaveral • First look at Carnival Mardi Gras • Balcony stateroom tour • Buffet and lunch impressions • Bolt roller coaster pricing • Serenity adults-only retreat • Main dining room “dinner show” experience • Honest first impressions Planning a Carnival or Royal Caribbean Cruise? If you’re researching cruises and want to see what onboard attractions, staterooms, and experiences are really like before you book, I share real, unfiltered walkthroughs and POV videos to help families plan with confidence. I’m an independent cruise travel advisor and help families compare ships, choose the right staterooms, and understand what’s worth it before they book. Get a no pressure quote or planning help here: 👉 https://getbyzach.com Zach is an independent contractor for MEI-Travel (mei-travel.com) #carnivalcruise #carnivalmardigras

#Carnival Mardi Gras#Carnival Mardi Gras review#Carnival Mardi Gras boarding day#My first Carnival cruise#Carnival vs Royal Caribbean#Carnival Excel Class#Carnival cruise vlog 2026#Port Canaveral cruise#Carnival balcony stateroom#Carnival embarkation process#Carnival dining room party#Carnival Serenity adults only#Carnival Bolt roller coaster#Carnival buffet review#Carnival first impressions#GetByZach#cruise vlog 2026#Carnival Mardi Gras tour

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are popular. It sets cookies and sends your IP address and browsing on this site to Google. You can turn it off at any time.