Ecstasy Cruise March 5th, 2011 U87

[laurierocs]

Musicgal, is there a talent show for the guests on the Ectasy? I did one of those many years ago on the Fantasy, really was a lot of fun. I'm a drummer and we played "Wipe-out"...and this was on the last day and seas were REALLY rough. So, rough you had to walk with your hand on wall to wall. Also, were there hairdryers? One more question, was the ship time the same as both port times? Central time, I believe???

 

Thanks, loving your review! Getting me more excited about our upcoming cruise!

[musicgal]

Aww, thanks for the compliment!

 

Thanks for the rest of your review, I really enjoyed reading all of it. I can't wait for my turn on the Ecstasy. :D

 

For the Behind the Fun tour, how much is it for the Ecstasy? DH & I almost did it on our Conquest cruise, but didn't end up doing the tour. Not sure if my mom would want to or not for the Ecstasy, but you never know.

 

Meyer- the cost is $55 per person and a great value IMO. We walked up and down a lot of metal staircases in the crew area- that would be a factor if one had limited mobility. In our group, there seemed to be only one lady bothered by it.

[musicgal]

Can't wait until we are on the ship next month, how were the shows onboard?? and how was the weather comming back home? Were the seas pretty smooth or kind of rough?

 

tickles- We saw the first (Welcome Aboard) show- and it was fine. DS and DDIL are newlyweds and not comfortable with the costuming for the later shows. I would have liked to see Steve Cassel fiddle for the Country show- but we watched him on a recording in our room... play Vivaldi. He is really very good- Carnival has a real asset in him.

 

Seas were pretty good coming back from Cozumel. On the Ecstasy, you are always going to feel what's going on (even if it's minor), but you are either used to the rocking by then or you are laying down in bed. :D

 

I think that in the Spring- the seas will be at one of their calmest points... now that cold fronts cease coming down from the North and before hurricane season. Happy cruising!

[musicgal]

Musicgal, is there a talent show for the guests on the Ectasy? I did one of those many years ago on the Fantasy, really was a lot of fun. I'm a drummer and we played "Wipe-out"...and this was on the last day and seas were REALLY rough. So, rough you had to walk with your hand on wall to wall. Also, were there hairdryers? One more question, was the ship time the same as both port times? Central time, I believe???

 

Thanks, loving your review! Getting me more excited about our upcoming cruise!

 

Hi laurierocs- Yes! There is a talent show on the Ecstasy. Sign-up occurs on the first day(s)... and there is limited space in it, so if you guys want to participate- read your FunTimes as soon as you get into your stateroom.

 

Our roughest sea days on Ecstasy were no comparison to our Alaska cruise once we exited the "inside passage". HELLO Pacific Ocean!:eek: I hope you have good weather for your cruise. Makes it so much more enjoyable.

 

The hairdryer situation varies from room to room. Our suite had the little white attached hose hairdryer in the bathroom, but I still used my travel ConAir because it was more efficient. Not all of the rooms have the hairdryer- you can find out if they do in the room descriptions on carnival.com. I'm pretty sure that from Ocean View... down in category, you should bring your own.

 

The time situation stays the same as when you leave Galveston in both Progreso and Cozumel. We never had to change our watches... as folks out of Florida did. Happy cruising!:)

[musicgal]

Immediately upon embarkation, I put up some Mardi Gras decorations with some 2 sided reusable sticky tape (did not leave a residue on the door). The 3-D pom pom DID help us find our cabin in the long row of cabins on the upper deck. I also had a ton of beads from last year, and every night- I hung a few on the door. They disappeared every day at different times of the day. I really did end up having to give them away towards the end of the cruise. People weren't taking enough;)

 

We also had a really cute episode where our neighbors borrowed one of our corkscrews (I know you are probably shocked that we carry more than one:p). Our neighbor asked for it over the balcony partition- it had seen better days and decided to break when she used it. Anyway, she was mortified and tried to compensate us for our loss- which of course we refused, having a plethora of every type of corkscrew ever invented in the gadget drawer at home. Well, on the last day, we had a really nice note from them slipped under our door- thanking us. How nice:)

[mar1972]

Thank you so so much! Your review of the Ecstasy has done a world of good for me. My mother and I set sail on 4/11/2011.

 

We have a suite w/obstructed view V21. Anyway, thanks again I learned alot.

 

:cool:

[musicgal]

Thank you so so much! Your review of the Ecstasy has done a world of good for me. My mother and I set sail on 4/11/2011.

 

We have a suite w/obstructed view V21. Anyway, thanks again I learned alot.

 

:cool:

 

 

mar1972- You're welcome. I see on the galveston cruise cam that Ecstasy is back in port this morning. Sorry I haven't worked on finishing the review... been caught up in following the news from Japan.

 

Our drug store pictures from Passion Island came back so I'm going to try to put some thumbnails on here- click them for a larger view.

 

I like the pic with the Ecstasy and Glory behinf us on the Cozumel dock. We are soaking wet from the twister ride. Fun

[amberc]

Hi Musicgal...love the review! Wish I could have met you at the meet and greet, but the rocking that day did me in!

Just wanted to comment that we were in an Ocean View and DID NOT have a hairdryer. I grabbed mine as an afterthought, I assumed there would be one in our room and I'm so glad I did!

 

I did find this cruise to be one of the roughest, motion wise. We've been on the Fantasy twice, and I really don't remember rocking that much! I'm still "rocking" today and it's Monday, my hubby thinks I'm crazy, but I'm still feeling it!:eek:

[musicgal]

Hi Musicgal...love the review! Wish I could have met you at the meet and greet, but the rocking that day did me in!

Just wanted to comment that we were in an Ocean View and DID NOT have a hairdryer. I grabbed mine as an afterthought, I assumed there would be one in our room and I'm so glad I did!

 

I did find this cruise to be one of the roughest, motion wise. We've been on the Fantasy twice, and I really don't remember rocking that much! I'm still "rocking" today and it's Monday, my hubby thinks I'm crazy, but I'm still feeling it!:eek:

 

Yes, I know what you mean! My nervous system has been messed up in some subtle ways since Thursday (not to mention the digestive system). Sorry you felt woozie! Down in the crew's bar, there was a laquered table showing pictures of Ecstasy during Hurricane Rita! Mama Mia!!! Now that looked like a ride:D

[musicgal]

By the last day at sea, a lot of folks are showing the effects of late nights, lots of drinks, too much togetherness, etc. :o On the Ecstasy as on the Conquest- this is a day of intense shopping, with many people buying up the sale items for souvenirs or gifts. We took advantage of good prices and bought a Citizen watch for DS. No liquor for us though as we still had over 3/4 of an untouched bottle of Crown Royal in the room.

 

On board jewelry shopping is fun, although you are at a disadvantage as it pertains to comparison prices. You can't readily check price against price online like you can on land. I saw some pretty tanzanite pieces that I think I can get or a better price on land. It's very tempting though;)

 

Having a grand suite as opposed to a balcony room? Well, I liked the extra room because DS and DDIL came in and sat with us for awhile almost every day. And the price difference for this short of a trip was very small anyway= worth it, in my opinion.

 

Food on the Ecstasy- very good. Not excellent by the standard of a frequent traveler- and my favorite restaurant is Brennan's in Houston. But I know that they have hundreds of meals going out at any given moment and I am impressed that the meals are as good as what they are. Things that stand out- the mushroom soup, chateaubriand, ribs, prosciutto with melon and a very good, basic caesar salad. We ate pizza on the Lido- it is worth ordering and waiting for a better pizza... ie. not cheese or pepperoni. If you have a DOD cup, you can use it for discounted refills or use it as we did, to carry our own Crown and Coke or wine on the public decks.

 

On the last night, you are wise to start packing before dinner- you may want to go to a show or club after dinner and the process of repacking is tiring... something you may be tempted to put off until right before debarkation- which is not a good idea for several reasons. One reason is, you pack tired and may overlook something like a camera or jewelry lodged under the felt in the safe. Another reason is that you might be tempted to self-debark just because your bags weren't ready to be picked up during the night- and you may end up with too much on your hands... even though you think it's manageable.

 

Our bags arrived and departed in good condition. We used the zone debarkation method and were in a zone far separated from the boy and girl, who emerged from the terminal 15 minutes after we did. I think we ate ALL the bacon available on the Lido that morning- moe later.

[musicgal]

Debarkation is always going to be a waiting game. On a smaller ship like Ecstasy it is usually going to be a shorter wait than the one we had on the Conquest. Any frustration will come from people who do not do what they are requested to do (over and over again) by the ship crew and CD. We left the instructions on the ship's tv going so we could be sure that we knew what they wanted us to do. Their attitude, is one of benign acceptance- repeating common sense instructions that they know will not be followed by a certain percentage of the passengers.

 

For example- the girls in line in front of me who had not filled out their customs slip. Smile. A little funny until there is a gap in front of them that they are unaware of... continually. We all have so much time to do that- why do it in line and cause big gaps in the lines? One also knows that you need documents at customs- of course their are people frantically looking for cards, passports, etc. Pretty common stuff.

 

We use passports at customs and were out of the building in a flash. The guy who checked them said that everyone else would take a little longer- and joked- that in itself was a reason to use a passport. We had to wait for the kids who were in another zone, but they were some of the last to debark and DS said they just leisurely walked off the ship with nary a line at all. Also joked that there were several lone bags in the zones 1-6 pickup area, presumably seasoned cruisers who were just going to wait until all was clear.

 

As you guys know, we got home quickly after debarkation. Boy and girl picked up the dog and got back home around 5pm- boy worked the next day. It was a great short trip with them... and I'd like to do a Bahamas cruise with kiddos and in-laws in the not too distant future. Happy cruising!

[musicgal]

Galveston cruise cam shows Esctasy leaving! Despite the short trip not being our "style" I know why people love her. Sweet, little ship- be blessed on your trip:)

[capndinghy]

Thank you for taking the time to write your great review. You are exactly right when you say they do need to revamp the marketing demographics somewhat. I did notice on our last voyage aboard Ecstasy quite a few first time Carnival Cruisers and most had big smiles.

 

If anyone is interested here is a review I did on our Valentines Day Ecstasy Voyage.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1366626

[musicgal]

Hi capndinghy- thanks for reading the review!

 

We really did enjoy our short cruise on Ecstasy- :)

The romance marketing thing (as well as a kid cruise theme)... I have to imagine that's been "floated" before in corporate, and either turned down because of limited appeal or test-tried with no success. But it would seem there might be more of a niche for these type of themed cruises as the cruising public expands. Especially if they go to different ports! I know Food Network is promoting a cruise online- and what fun it would be to do a food/wine/romance cruise to sample the different cuisines of the islands. 10 days of that would be great... and smaller ships like the Ecstasy could actually charge a little more for an experience that pared down some of the other expenses like shows and parties. People would be willing to pay a little more in order to experience a more homogenous demographic.

 

I think that is also true of a totally informal cruise, where no one was expected to dress up in the MDR. Just open the Lido for everyone and charge for the MDR and folks can come in as they want to- just seated as they do by staff in areas reserved for their attire- as it is done in many nice waterfront restaurants where people come in dressed in various styles. Shorts and caps in one corner... Khakis in another, etc. Of course, this is already done at open seating... but it is not advertised.

 

I think people must get tired of the same ports when leaving from a specific embarkation point. But, I can imagine a day when Cuba is open for general US tourism again- what a boon that would be to Caribbean travelers and to that nation. Galveston must be considered a very strong port for them to move "Magic" here- and I can foresee the day when both Galveston and Bayport are sending our ships with different marketing plans... instead of the one size fits all approach they take now in our area.

 

A kid's cruise out of Bayport would be very successful on a small ship, I think with Kemah being in such close proximity- it wouldn't be such a problem not to fully open the casinos and serve a full menu of drinks as quickly as a Galveston departure. At any rate- with our ships packed to the gills every 4-5 days, I'm sure the business model won't change soon, but I wish it would:)