Carnival Ecstasy or Liberty of the Seas?

[cwnhokie]

Maybe total strangers can help me decide since my family is no help. I'm about to put the options in a hat and pick one. Here they are:

4 night Liberty of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale to Cozumel

4 night Carnival Ecstasy out of Port Canaveral to Nassau and Freeport, with a couple days at Disney first (We go to Disney about once every other year and have some leftover tickets so if we sail out of Port Canaveral might as well stop by and see the mouse for a little while)

 

We have 3 boys ages 4, 9, and 11. The 11 year old wants the Liberty, the 9 year old wants the Ecstasy with Disney, and the 4 year old wants just Disney because he's afraid of us leaving him in the kids club. And we may drag Grandma and Granddaddy along with us for whatever we do.

 

Any insights would be wonderful!

[rdevine10]

I have no experience with either of these ships, but I am guessing you would probably have a good time on either of them. That being said, I would vote for the disney time & then the cruise. I think it makes a great vacation! We are looking at the ecstacy for a future cruise too, but want to go to Half Moon Cay. :)

[cb at sea]

With kids in that age range, I'd vote for a Disney/cruise combo! I love Disneyworld!

[okiegirl07]

I have been on the Ecstasy and we had a great time! We didn't take the kids though. We are finally taking the kids on their first cruise in less than 2 weeks and we are going with carnival. When we were aboard the Ecstasy, while the camp carnival was closed they gave us a tour and we decided that our kids would probably have more fun than us! I haven't cruised with anyone else, but whichever you go with Im sure they will have a great time!

[dc-snoopy]

I was on the Ecstasy. I was unimpressed by the ship and crew. It was the weakest cruise of the four that I've been on. After 2 cruises with Carnival, I'm not a fan of their product and will not be going on another Carnival cruise. I would definitely pick the Liberty of the Seas cruise.

[cwnhokie]

We have only cruised with out the kids and on Carnival's older ships. We didn't pay any attention to what they had going on for kids, wish we had. I kind of want to try a bigger newer boat and try out a different line, but being in Florida and not stopping by Disney World would be tough. I need to decide soon!

[Maxiecat3]

I agree that a combo Disney/Cruise would be great; but why wouldn't you consider doing the Liberty OTS after Disney. From your original post it looks like you are limiting yourself to Carnival if you do Disney? Also, since I have not sailed Carnival, I can not speak about the Ecstasy, but we really exjoyed our cruise on the Liberty OTS.

 

EDIT: Forgot to ask; how are you getting to FL (driving or flying)?

 

Gregg

[tgunth]

I was in the same situation as you, though my kids are a bit younger....3 and 6, and we decided on the Liberty. Doing an extensive look at both boats....it looks like there is so much more for the kids to do on the Liberty. I do have to say I'm not that big of a fan of Carnival for some of the "partying clientele", but strictly looking at activities for the kids, Liberty appeared to have so much more. The H2O Zone looks awesome. This is our kids first cruise as well, though we got carried away this year and have also booked the Disney Fantasy for September! Anyway, my vote is for Liberty.....comparing all facets, food, entertainment, rooms, activities, shows....RCCL IMO does it better all around. Why not stop at Disney on the way back....or before? You're going to be passing by anyway, right? Good luck....isn't it such a fun decision to have! Enjoy whichever cruise you decide to take.

 

Tammy

[lesleyswimcoach]

We did the Sensation last spring with our kids 5 and 8 and they had a blast. I was actually looking at Ectasy(to Nassau and Half Moon) and Liberty. We decided on the Jewel out of Tampa. I would have been happy to do Ectasy but my husband didn't want to do Nassau. I like the western ititerary. I liked the Liberty but I am saving the bells and whistles for my 1st 7 day!

[kimmimom]

you like the ports. I am going on Ecstasy Sat and have been on smaller ships (Celebration, Fascination) and actually prefer them with kids as it is easier to keep track of them. If you go western, check with your pediatrician for needed shots. I was shocked when we came back frmo Western that 2 ports disqualified me from donating blood; just kind of scary to me that my kids were there even though risk was low.

[cwnhokie]

We will be flying, so if we do Disney first we will have to rent a car and drive the 4 hours to Ft. Lauderdale rather than the 1 and a half hours to Port Canaveral. My husband seems perfectly happy with that idea. I'm afraid it will be too much, but we always do too much, you only live once right? The kids have off of school Friday and Monday, we will have to take them out for a few days to get it all in, but they will be fine catching up.

[sharktums]

Liberty is a fantastic ship. It's not even in the same league as the Ecstasy. There's tons of stuff for the boys on Liberty, the kids club is great, you'll be spoiled after sailing on her!

[3prettykidz]

We went on Liberty of the Seas with our kids last Spring. They were 7,8, and 11. They had a blast and are begging to go again. We are looking to go again this Fall. I highly recommend Royal Carribbean...they were top notch.

[kimmimom]

last Thurs. This was Ecstasy. They have been on Fascination and Miracle as well. They LOVED it and are ready to book the next one and want to go back to a 7-day again (Fascination and Ectasy were 5 nights each).