Chillin’ on the Ecstasy: 6/20/16 Nassau, Freeport, Pics, Food, Travelogue

Hi, all!

DW and I just returned from a 5 night cruise on the Ecstasy. The last few reports of any length have not been very positive. We had a different experience.

The title explains it all, we relaxed a lot, and did not do any excursions. If you like long, meandering reports with ship photos, and food porn; then you’re in the right place. :)

I’m not a photographer, I only used my camera phone. I’m also not a techie. I’ve had trouble in the past with photos; I’m trying a different site this time – tiny pic. Hopefully, it will like me better.

Please feel free to join in if you were on this cruise, or have anything to add. Or, just to let me know you’re here. :)

I should mention that I’m a local to the South Carolina Low Country and get to visit Charleston often. I'm still getting organized, so let’s pretend we arrived in town early and had time to visit for a day.

How about if we start with one of the many ways to tour downtown Charleston:

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I can't wait to read your review! We sail on 8/15 with our 2 sons. Not our first cruise but it is theirs so I can't wait to see their reaction to it.

Following........I go on her September 3rd with my daughters. This will be my 4time on Ecstasy. A great little ship.....looking forward to your review.

Woot Woot! I'll be boarding July 4th. Please continue with your review.

I can't wait to read your review! We sail on 8/15 with our 2 sons. Not our first cruise but it is theirs so I can't wait to see their reaction to it.

How exciting for you! How old are your sons? I hope at an age they will enjoy the Waterworks area.

Thanks for reading.

Following........I go on her September 3rd with my daughters. This will be my 4time on Ecstasy. A great little ship.....looking forward to your review.

She is a great ship, isn't she? Having already been on her, I'm glad to have you along for the ride.

Woot Woot! I'll be boarding July 4th. Please continue with your review.

I see you're from NC, that was the state with the most passengers on our cruise.

Are you driving to the port or shuttling in from a hotel? Either way, I should have parking/embarkation up in a few days. And a little more before you leave - it's coming up soon!

It takes a lot of work to do a report and that crazy job-thang gets in the way of the storytelling. But, it's what pays for the cruise, so I guess it all evens out.

Continuing with our day in Charleston, let’s have lunch. How about some Low Country favorites!

Crab cakes:

And……Shrimp and Grits:

These are from Fleet Landing. This restaurant is on the waterfront, right next to the cruise terminal. Here’s a pic taken last year when the Fantasy was in port:

Doesn’t that get you excited to be boarding a ship soon?

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Lastly, it’s time for some shopping around the City Market:

Hey, let’s head on over to the candy store on the corner. Don’t these look good?

How about some fresh made Southern Pralines?

And, um – take your pick:

Thanks for sticking with me. Soon, I’ll be able to get on with the real report.

Until then, I thought I would share my cruising history to show I can appreciate what this class of ship has to offer.

I was lucky enough to go on a couple of cruises as a teenager back in the 70’s. I’ve cruised on ships 1/3 the weight of the Ecstasy. In the last few years, I’ve been cruising more often and have been on larger ships such as the Liberty, Conquest, Dream and Sunshine. I was also on the Paradise, a Fantasy class ship, back in 2002. On Carnival, I’ve also been on the Carnivale and the Celebration.

DW and I were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed the Ecstasy after not being a ship of this size for a while. We felt it brings together the best of what old-time cruising was and what the cruising of today is.

I will be doing a lot of ship comparisons along the way.

Coming soon: The A-maze-ing parking process in Charleston

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We were getting off the Ecstasy the day you boarded! Looking forward to your review!

Kim

We were getting off the Ecstasy the day you boarded! Looking forward to your review!

 

 

Kim

We looked closely at going on your cruise; I love Half Moon Cay. But, this one just worked out a little better for us.

Thanks for reading.

I'm following along. Your review if off to a great start. Your pictures are fantastic considering they were taken with a phone.

The Ecstasy is a wonderful ship. We had the pleasure of cruising on her twice when her home port was in Galveston, TX.

I'm looking forward to reading more about your cruise!

Enjoying the excellent photos!

Great review so far and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for the chillin report.

Great photos.

Keith

I'm following along. Your review if off to a great start. Your pictures are fantastic considering they were taken with a phone.

 

The Ecstasy is a wonderful ship. We had the pleasure of cruising on her twice when her home port was in Galveston, TX.

 

I'm looking forward to reading more about your cruise!

Thanks for the nice comments; I'm glad to hear there's more Ecstasy love out there. :)

Enjoying the excellent photos!

Great photos.

 

Keith

Thanks to both of you for reading and for the positive comments.

My phone camera does great at normal range and at a distance. It doesn't do well with close-ups and when there are lighting issues.

I promise, there are a few clunkers I'm including just for completeness of the report. There might be a few later today. LOL

Great review so far and I'm looking forward to reading more.

I'm glad you are enjoying, I'll be posting more in just a bit.

Thanks for the chillin report.

Thanks for "getting it". ;)

With lots of relaxing time and my camera phone with me at all times, it's easy to take a lot of pics. Speaking of which, it's time to get started!

Great start! I am going to check out the picture web site...as I have always wanted to learn how to upload pics to a thread:)

We've eaten at Fleet Landing and loved it....love Charleston and seriously thinking of booking another 5 day next year on the Ecstasy...we just sailed the Elation in May...love all the Fantasy class ships...

Thanks so much for doing this review...DH has not been on the Ecstasy but I sailed her out of Galveston a few years ago with a cruising friend from Texas:D

Monday, June 20th: EMBARKATION DAY!!!

Parking and Embarkation in Charleston

Oh, oh, oh……where to begin. Parking in Charleston is definitely.......different. I’ve heard it was horrible, some people would never do it again; the unfortunate delay when the Sunshine recently came out of dry dock and I also heard of people that said once you’ve done it that it’s not as bad as you think.

Here’s our experience step-by-step.

First of all, please follow the directions from Carnival or from the Ports Authority. They have great signage and purposely keep you off the main tourist streets to decrease traffic tie ups for you, other tourists, and the locals.

When you arrive at the port, you check in with Security. Note: you can drop off luggage as early as 9:00; we arrived around 10:15:

Then, you enter and go around the corner to drop off your luggage:

So that’s how they get the luggage to the ship!

From the luggage drop off, you see this:

Next, you make an “S” in the parking lot maze - arriving at the white check-in tent. Here, you show your boarding passes and passports. We had stickers placed on our windshield; but noticed not everyone had. I think it was related to the fact that we had FTTF and maybe because we have a handicapped tag.

We arrived before they were ready to start parking, so we were directed to “take a right” – back onto the city streets. We lucked out and were able park right next to the entrance, which is how I got the good picture at the Main entrance.

When word comes thru, they let you into the parking line. Keep in mind, you are going back in the entrance. This time, you bypass the luggage drop-off, but still have to go thru the maze to the white Security tent again. See, because even though you and the cars around you only need to park; the cars in front of you are doing the initial check in – so there’s a slight hold up. (Confused yet?)

Now, if you arrive after they have started the parking line, I’m guessing you only go thru the maze once – but I’m guessing with more of a crowd?

So, this is the first place where FTTF helped. At the white Security tent (the 2nd time) – we didn’t have to show papers again – we were directed to the FTTF line on the left. We followed the lanes until we reached the area where you pay to park. Note, you’re not parking yet – you are just in line to pay for it. LOL

We were about 5 cars back. They walked around and collected money while you waited. In Charleston, parking is free for those with a handicapped tag. We waited in this spot for about 30 minutes – it still wasn’t time to head to the terminal. The good part is you were in your air-conditioned vehicle. The bad part is there is only a single Porta-Potty if the need arose.

When they started parking cars, the FTTF line started first. We were so close to the front so I don’t know how many cars went thru before they let the other lines start.

We take a turn and then….we’re outside the gate again. Oh, no – where are we going. LOL

The handicapped parking garage/converted warehouse is on the left; I believe the regular parking garage/converted warehouse is on the right? (This would be the building on the right in the picture above, you just have to go outside the gate to enter on the other side.)

Inside the handicapped garage, we boarded a van that took us to the ship:

It seems I heard in the past people sometimes had to wait outside in the sun waiting for the vans? If so, this is a nice improvement

I’m not sure if regular parking has their own vans or if you have to walk to this area. Someone feel free to correct me on that and the location of regular parking.

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Still with me? So, we’re finally on the van to the terminal.

When I took this picture, I did not notice the people leaving the small white tent, some with their luggage.

Here is a picture looking back from the terminal. You can see Fleet Landing – with the orange umbrellas – where we had our imaginary lunch. ;)

Hey, the “walking people” have multiplied!

I’m guessing these are people being dropped off by shuttle or locals with some choosing to carry their luggage? Otherwise, someone please tell me where all these people came from. LOL

We had to wait until they all entered the terminal before we exited the van.

The gentleman holding the front door was helpful telling people if they had FTTF (or remember – Platinum and Diamond); to “look for Phil” when you get inside; “he has a purple tie”. So, the tie was blue, but he was easy to find in the sea of people. He then directed us around the corner to security. This time, the line on the right is the one for FTTF – with no line.

After Security, you get in line for your S&S card. They were very observant and grabbed the people coming from the FTTF security to get them in the FTTF check-in line. There was not a separate check in area, it was basically a separate “front of the line” line.

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, I'm not a line or crowd person; glad that’s done.

Now it’s time for a

****SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN****

CHARLESTON has just been announced as the next port to have Staggered Check-in Times (along with Baltimore). The have given less than two weeks warning – it starts July 9th!

We were early birds, at the front of the line. I have NO IDEA how Carnival thinks this is going to work here. Look at what it took to get to and thru the terminal. How can you plan that around a time frame? If they don’t start parking until they are ready to start boarding the ship; how can this work? And, if you are being dropped off by a shuttle from a hotel – are they really going to start running shuttles from 10 am until 2PM for each and every hotel that does this?

I see total chaos ahead.

This change does not affect FTTF/Platinum/Diamond. I’m glad I’m turning Platinum soon.

Now, back to your regular programming…. ;)

Like most terminals; no photos are allowed. Except for one.

Does this look like somebody ready to go to the Ba-HAAAAAM-as!

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We’re getting closer, here’s a picture as you get ready to head up the gangway.

There’s something in this picture as well, that I didn’t realize when I took it. I know I didn’t know this when I was on the Paradise. You can see the Upper Deck in the picture – it’s the deck below the red line. I never knew that on this deck the ship was originally built with a few balconies!

We entered the Lobby on Deck 7 right at noon. Overall, that’s not too bad; the same time we boarded the Conquest on our last cruise. We immediately headed to the stairs to go down one deck to head to our cabin. Carnival ships of this era are known for their over-the-top Vegas styling that has gone out of fashion. Here is a typical elevator landing:

OK, it’s a little loud. But, for us, this area is the main one that stood out a bit much. I'm not sure if the picture captures it, but the carpeting is designed to look like city buildings.

Coming soon: our cabin

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