Ecstasy Review 1/3/11 with lots of pictures

This is the 4th time I've been on the Ecstasy, and I am going try to include several pictures in this review.

A little background--DH and I are in our mid-40's, DS is 15, DD is 7. 11th Carnival cruise for me, 9th for DH and DS, and 7th for DD.

We live about 30 mins. from Galveston, so we just headed out in the morning. In the past, we have parked at EZ Cruise, but tried Galveston Park N Cruise this time. Their parking lot is right on Harborside Dr., across the street from the cruise terminal. No shuttle buses or waiting--you walk across the street. We first dropped of our luggage off with a porter, and then drove our car to the lot. The lot is closest to the ship entrance side of the terminal vs. the far end where private lot shuttle buses drop you off. We had a couple of small carry-ons. It couldn't have been easier.

The terminal was like a ghost town--no waiting at all. No one in front of us at security. No one in front of us in the VIP check-in room. We were seated in the VIP boarding area by 11:30 am. Very different than in the past.

VIP waiting/boarding area in Galveston. There was only about a dozen of us waiting in that area. A wedding party boarded first and we were on the ship by noon.

Our balcony cabin (U75-first opening after the shadow of the gangway). You can see the difference of the regular balconies and the extended balconies. We still saw people boarding the ship at 3:30 pm!

The ship was empty.

Adult-only Serenity area.

More to come...

Can't wait. I love this ship!

OooOhhh I can't wait. I am so excited for this review, as we are going on this ship in 269 day, LOL.

Can't wait. I love this ship!

Me too!!!:D

MORE MORE MORE PLEASE! We sail in 220 days...wanna bang my drum!:D

Oh I can't wait to see more.....

Me and my girlfriends are going on the 31st!!!

Was on the exact same cruise and time as you. Enjoy to see the rest of your review!!

nice pics

Great so far....keep it coming. Luv your pics!!

Looking forward to more, we will be on her in 24 days!:D Will be our 4th time to sail on her, but 1st time since drydock and we snagged one of those new AFT balconies!!:D

So excited for this review!!! Great review so far & wonderful pictures!!! Thanks so much for sharing, I look forward to seeing more!!

Leaving in 12 days! :D Not on this ship, but a picture review is a picture review when you're waiting on a cruise!!! ;)

Love it! Keep it coming! I'm cruising on her in 99 days WOOT!

A few day before the cruise, the upsell fairy called. We went from an OV to the Grand Suite. I was eyeing the balcony cabins the whole time until I saw them all go and the cruise no longer visible on carnival.com due to being sold out (about 10-12 before the cruise date). My PVP said she'd put my name on a "list" to be called for an upsell if it happens. I got the call from the Promotions dept. It was $120 more than the regular balcony cabins that I was watching. We took it. Regular balcony cabins are 185 sq. ft. vs. 330 sq. ft. for the Grand Suite. I asked the Promotions dept. why I was chosen for an upsell. She said she has a list and the phone numbers are auto-dialed to be random and fair.

The cabin was great (U75)! Mirrors everywhere!

Walk-in closet.

Bathroom with whirlpool tub.

Loads of counter/vanity/storage space (I don't know how we ever made due!). There was a little refrigerator and several wine and champagne glasses available for use. It was nice having not to ask the cabin steward or go to the bar to get glasses for our wine we bought aboard.

Beside an electrical outlet along the vanity, there was an outlet in the far wall by the master bed (center nightstand light used one of the outlets). I was able to plug in my little fan here. Also, no problem bringing a power strip aboard. I bought a 3-outlet power strip from Amazon that had a blue glowing light built-in that doubled as night light. Several of my electronics can now be charged via USB, and as long as I had my laptop, multiple outlets wasn't as important.

70 sq. ft. balcony.

Considering this was the 4th time on the Ecstasy (2nd time in six mos.), I planned on enjoying time in the cabin and balcony. Having my laptop, I finished the "Band of Brothers" CD series. :-) I don't know how often we would splurge of this type of cabin, but it was wonderful. Now, my teen was expecting it to be bigger. On one of our RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas cruises, we met someone who had the Royal Owners Suite (or whatever it's called). It's the one that has the baby grand piano in it...

Did I say I really loved the cabin???

Cabin at night.

More to come...

My gosh that is a big space and luxurious to boot! Man I want one of those;)

My gosh that is a big space and luxurious to boot! Man I want one of those;)

I wish we could afford one every time!

Was it 120 total or each? Enquiring minds want to know. :p

Was it 120 total or each? Enquiring minds want to know. :p

No problem--It was $120 total (for 4) go from a regular balcony to a Grand Suite.

Great pix, Lisa! Family & I are all 1st time cruisers & are planning a cruise on this ship in March..... apologize if I'm extra dumb sounding, but do you find it better to call or use the online booking? We're trying to determind what size room will suit best w/0 spending an arm & a leg, of course.... it'll be DH & me, & 2 DDs, 17 & 7. Any wisdom for me?

No problem--It was $120 total (for 4) go from a regular balcony to a Grand Suite.

Wow! Awesome deal! More great pics & review! Thanks!

Great pix, Lisa! Family & I are all 1st time cruisers & are planning a cruise on this ship in March..... apologize if I'm extra dumb sounding, but do you find it better to call or use the online booking? We're trying to determind what size room will suit best w/0 spending an arm & a leg, of course.... it'll be DH & me, & 2 DDs, 17 & 7. Any wisdom for me?

Well, as to calling vs. online, your pricing SHOULD be the same. If you have a lot of other questions, you might want a real person to talk to. You might want to fiddle online, and then call once you have a good idea how you want to divide the cabins, if at all.

Probably the cheapest would be 1 quad. Do you want an inside or ocean view (window)? Is money a big factor? I'm pretty sure all insides and OVs are the same size on the Ecstasy. Do you and your hubby want privacy (2 cabins then)? 2 insides or an OV for you and inside across the hall for kids? 2 OVs?

Besides this one time, we always had a OV quad and an occasional balcony (like Spirit in Alaska). We did do connecting cabins (door connecting the cabins from the inside) once when we brought my dad along (3 in one OV cabin, and 2 in another OV cabin--not very many of these). That made us feel like there was a lot of room.

Here's what the connecting cabins looked like.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

I'll be there in 4 days! Can't wait to see what else is in store for us!

Here's a few fun random events:

Eggs Benedict with chicken sausage in the MDR for breakfast. DD enjoyed eating in the MDR and didn't have a problem waiting. As she said, "I'll wait for good food."

Obligatory mini-golf up top:

DD and I went to the Shopping talk on the first sea day. I caught a pearl necklace that the host (Martin Cunningham) threw out (DD wore it every day!) and DD received a great bag of Del Sol gifts for pulling out the winning name for a tanzanite jewelry set (I think?). We actually ended up going to Del Sol and buying more sun changing hair clips to add to what we got in the gift bag. As you can see, we always need something for her hair. We also redeemed the coupon for the free charm bracelet from Diamonds International. DD got a charm bracelet for Christmas and was interested in getting another. Once you got the bracelet, for $5, you got a charm and you could collect 3 other charms at 3 other DI shops. Usually we don't do stuff like this, but $5, 4 charms, and all the shops on the way to the taxis (this was in Cozumel), it made a nice, cheap souvenir for DD.

Our little princess with Freddy on Elegant Night (she has those pearls on!). She loves Freddy and was telling me his girlfriend, Francine, is on another ship and ice cream is his favorite food. :-)

My favorite dessert "Bitter and Blanc" (a white and dark chocolate bread pudding with a vanilla sauce that they pour on top in front of you) was served on Elegant Night. The description wasn't too exciting to the kids, but I knew once they tried it, I'd be lucky if I got one to myself. Both asked to see if it was available on other nights. Sadly, it's wasn't.

Thanks so much for the pictures, Lisa. Counting down until I'll be there...in U75!!