Short Cruise - Long Review - Ecstasy 4-14-2012

[ElvisAndretti]

 

We went back to our cabin to find it already straightened up for us. Dave, our steward, was fantastic. Greeted us by name each time he saw us and seemed to anticipate our every need. We rarely had to ask for anything, he was always one step ahead.

 

 

While we were hanging out on the balcony (we did that a lot) we saw a small boat heading right for us! It was either pirates (arrrr) or the pilot. Turns out it was the latter. The pilot boat pulled alongside for a split second and he was aboard. This was our signal to prepare to disembark. We got our stuff together and headed back upstairs to watch the crew bring her in.

 

On the way into port we passed the Dream, they had to drop off a passenger due to a medical emergency.

 

We were able to see dolphins swimming along the bow of the ship as we approahed Key West. (Ok, that's just spooky, the in house PA system at work just played Margaritaville...)

 

 

 

 

Lunch break is over, more later. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. Hope those of you who are waiting to sail on the Ecstasy have as much fun as we did.

[ElvisAndretti]

It took a little while to get off the ship, maybe having people pose for photographs right on the gangway isn't such a great idea. But never mind that, we're in Key West.

Whitehead street should be right over there... where that giant hotel is. OK, so I haven't been to Key West since 1990 and some things have changed. We adjusted our course to get around the new hotel/condo/timeshare or whatever and found Whitehead Street, right where it belongs.

 

It's about a 9 block walk to the Hemingway house, our objective for the day. Hope has wanted to see it since she was a little girl and first heard about the polydactyl cats that live there. Whitehead street is also mile 0 for US 1 and the county seat for Monroe County Florida. Which means a courthouse and lots of law offices. Hope speculated that her firm might want to open a branch there, probably lots of estate work in Florida after all.

We walked along soaking up the atmosphere and the heat. The Hemingway house was great, full of fascinating artifacts from his travels throughout the world as well as from his literary career. As it turns out, only half of the 40 or so cats have six toes, and they all seemed to be hiding from us. After exploring the house we walked around the grounds and did a little shopping in the bookstore. I got a copy of "To Have and Have Not" the only book he ever set in Key West. Also, one of the few I had not already read. We also got our first refrigerator magnet of the trip.

 

Heading back out into the gardens we met this guy:

Six toes and all. He came right over to Hope to say Hello. She was thrilled. Day Made and it's just getting started.

[All4fun&fun4all]

I am really enjoying this review. Love all the pictures!

[ElvisAndretti]

After the Hemingway house we headed to Duval street to do what we do when we travel: Eat, drink, shop and just sort of take it all in. One of my favorite shops from my previous visits was "Fast Buck Freddie's", happy to report it's still there and just as eclectic as ever, perhaps more so.

http://www.fastbuckfreddies.com/

As we proceeded we came across Jack's Seafood Shack. The place was empty but I was ready to bite a passerby so we got a table and ordered up some oysters, shrimp and drinks. I tried the local craft brew, a very nice IPA.

We proceeded to explore Duval Street, checking out the shops until we found Fat Tuesdays. I love Fat Tuesdays, be it on South Street in Philly or in NOLA or Las Vegas, a stop at the booze slurpee machine usually results in an afternoon of frivolity and good humor.

http://www.fattuesdaykeywest.com/

 

 

We ran into two of our tablemates there and got caught up on the Flyer's game, equipped ourselves with some insulated souvenir water bottles and set out to shop a bit more.

 

 

 

By the time we got to Mallory Square I was feeling a bit rubber legged. Some bottled water sorted me out though, and we continued to explore for a while. But the crowd was really getting intense so we headed back toward the ship. On our way back to the ship we found a shop called "The Saltwater Angler" which had all kinds of cool stuff. I found a pair of khakis (cheap) and a messenger bag type thing (it's a satchel !!) and Hope found a sun dress.

 

 

 

 

Back on board we headed back to our balcony (yes, we did spend a lot of time there, it was my favorite spot on the ship) to watch the sun set and prepare for dinner.

Dinner was wonderful again, the food was good (alligator fritters, yum!) and the service was attentive without being intrusive.

After dinner we returned to our cabin to watch the sea and listen to some music.

[jamona2311]

Loving your review but poo I've been anxiously awaiting your next post all after noon. I know be patient! Lol I just get so tickled when I see an ecstacy review. Helps to pass the time.:rolleyes::D

[gapearl]

Very nice review so far!

[ElvisAndretti]

Day Three - A fun day at Sea

We tried to sleep late but I am afraid I'm not very good at that when I'm on vacation. So I got up early and tried to scare up some OJ to make Hope a Mimosa with the leftover Champaign. No OJ to be found at any price (just concentrated Orange Juice beverage like substance) so I grabbed two oranges and took them back to the room, ready to make my own. I have never seen an orange without juice in it before, but I was barely able to get an ounce of juice from each orange. Turns out not to be much of a problem though, there wasn't nearly as much champagne left over as I thought. So I made half a mimosa.

(Didn't take a lot of photos on day three, some of these are a bit random.)

We headed up to the dining room for breakfast, got there just in the nick of time. We were seated with a couple from Ontario and had a nice time talking about cruising, Phish and Canada. (We ran into a LOT of Canadians on this trip. Lovely people one and all.) They told us that they had friends who were renewing their vows later that day in the Library and asked if we would like to come. Ever the romantics we agreed, they needed to check with the woman who arranged it (as a surprise for her husband). They confirmed it was OK and left us a note. Somewhere during the morning we watched the movie "J. Edgar", I think it was before breakfast but it's kind of fuzzy.

We had lunch in the MDR as well, mainly because the Lido buffet lines were on the long side. We had fairly slow service in the MDR at lunch, but we were in no hurry. After lunch we returned to our program of sloth until it was time to dress for the marriage re-dedication ceremony in the Explorers Club. I tried out the semi jacuzzi type bathtub to see if it would help my back but the jets were in the wrong place for to be of much use. The scalding hot water did help some though.

We changed into our semi-formal getups and headed up. The ceremony was very nice, the couple were lovely people and were very gracious. The Captain was nice and the staff did a great job of setting the whole thing up.

[ElvisAndretti]

 

We spent some time exploring the ship and there's really a lot to see.

 

We had origianlly discussed going to "tea" during the time we spent at the wedding vow renewal, but given they hosted in the neon lounge I suspect it was not a traditional British tea time.

 

Afterward we returned to our cabin to prepare for formal night. The nifty new vest I bought for my tux didn't fit, so I had to wear it without benefit of vest or cummerbund. Nobody noticed and I was a lot more comfortable. We went around and got our pictures taken, checked out all of the other folks who got dressed up. I didn't see any other tuxedos though. I don't care, I paid for the damn thing, I'm going to wear it every chance I get.

We ran into the Captain again, I don't think he recognized us though. :rolleyes: Maybe the costume change threw him off.

 

 

 

 

 

We did see more than one case of what could best be called "Jersey Shore Formal" which is a really nice clean Don Ed Hardy t-shirt and a big gold chain. To each their own, but I noticed each of these guys was accompanied by a woman who had obviously put a lot more effort into getting dressed for the occasion. Once we were in the dining room I didn't see anyone who wasn't dressed up.

 

Dinner was very good, I did have to request a second lobster tail as they were on the small side. But they were tasty little suckers, so it's all good. After dinner I decided to play some craps and did managed to hold the dice for a quite a while, but once I lost them I started losing my money too and stopped.

Then we ran into some of our table mates who were headed for the comedy club, we figured why not? We sure didn't want to go to bed early again.

Turns out it was John Wesley Austin, the comic from the welcome aboard show again, but it was the late night 'adult show' and he was actually funny as hell. (Needs to tune his guitar though.) He did a song about working for Carnival "Thank god I'm a Cabin Boy" that was stuck in my head for days.

We were having a great old time, but for the running commentary of a lady with us at the bar how had been "over served". There was some sort of exchange between her and our new friends and then she spoke with my wife. I heard not a word that was said. When she got up to leave she apologized if she had offended my daughters! Imagine my surprise. I told her I had never seen any of those women before in my life. I later learned my wife had told her the girls were our daughters! I'm hoping she had forgotten it all by the next morning.

[ElvisAndretti]

Day four was a big one for us, did a lot, saw a lot and it might take a while for me to get it together. Stay tuned.

[Silent Penguin]

This is the best review I've read in ages, and I almost skipped it because of the words "long review" in the title. You lured me in with pictures. I will read anyone's review if includes pictures.

[ElvisAndretti]

This is the best review I've read in ages, and I almost skipped it because of the words "long review" in the title. You lured me in with pictures. I will read anyone's review if includes pictures.

 

 

Once we get through the review and going over the 3000+ photos we took (isn't digital photography wonderful / a huge pain in the aft?) I'll post a link for the photobucket albums.

 

We left our good cameras at home so we wouldn't have to lug a ton of gear around. Probably would should have brought the big stuff. I missed some good shots by not having a wide angle lens in particular.

[newdestination]

Very nice review and photos!

[MeeiMeei]

My first (only) cruise was on the Ecstasy out of Galveston October 2010, so your pictures bring back great memories. I can't wait to see and read more. :D

[stacycakes1]

Loving your review so far! I know how time consuming it is so thank you for all of the hard work!

 

Me, my DH, my sisters and a bunch of our friends will be cruising on the Ecstasy in November and this is helping pass the time until it is our turn.

 

Also glad to see you are sold so far on cruising, this being your first cruise and all, it is so the best way to travel and can be VERY addicting.

[TriciaEMTB]

I am loving your review! I'm so glad you guys decided to go and I'm thrilled to see you guys had such a good time!

 

Your pictures are making me nostalgic for my first cruise. Seems like it wasn't even a year ago! Oh duh, it wasn't! :P

[ElvisAndretti]

[quote name='TriciaEMTB']I am loving your review! I'm so glad you guys decided to go and I'm thrilled to see you guys had such a good time!

Your pictures are making me nostalgic for my first cruise. Seems like it wasn't even a year ago! Oh duh, it wasn't! :P[/quote]


We are certainly going to do this again. (A lot, I hope) But we must also see places that are not accessable by ship. I think Paris is next for us. Then the Alaska cruise. (This was just a practice run you see, we needed to know we could stand being on a ship for a few days.)

I can't believe it's over already. I'm working on an angle to do another warm weather cruise as soon as possible. Hell, I would settle for just being back in Florida for a few more days.

[ripjerry95]

Thanks so much for the first part of your review. We are sailing the Ecstasy in June. Carnival was our introduction to cruising..and we have been hooked ever since. :D

[ElvisAndretti]

My wife just got our UPS shipment from Orlando. We elected to ship all of our souvenirs home rather than entrust them to the airline (and get charged for having them smash or steal stuff). Hopefully the menu from the Chef's table is in there, I sure can't remember the names of all those dishes.

Nassau and Chef's table later tonight or tomorrow if all goes well

I'm not going to stop when we get back to land either, I think you're goign to have to hear about the KSC, Daytona and Orlando.

[stacycakes1]

[quote name='ElvisAndretti']We are certainly going to do this again. (A lot, I hope) But we must also see places that are not accessable by ship. I think Paris is next for us. Then the Alaska cruise. (This was just a practice run you see, we needed to know we could stand being on a ship for a few days.)

I can't believe it's over already. I'm working on an angle to do another warm weather cruise as soon as possible. Hell, I would settle for just being back in Florida for a few more days.[/quote]


If you want to see Paris you should do what we did! We had the time of our lives last year on our honeymoon in Paris and then on a cruise mostly through Italy. It was AMAZING!!!! Here is my review of our trip if you are interested:

[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1597451&highlight=magic[/URL]

Thanks again for the great review!!!

[ElvisAndretti]

[quote name='stacycakes1']If you want to see Paris you should do what we did! We had the time of our lives last year on our honeymoon in Paris and then on a cruise mostly through Italy. It was AMAZING!!!! Here is my review of our trip if you are interested:

[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1597451&highlight=magic[/URL]

Thanks again for the great review!!![/quote]

I will definitely read teh review as soon as I can. I don't think Paris and a cruise are in the cards for the same trip though, it's hard to get away from work for a whole week, let alone more than one. I do want to cruise the Cote D'azur, Italy and Croatia someday though. Bucket list material for sure.

[jamona2311]

Yay!!! I cant wait to hear about KSC. we are including a day for that when we go for our cruise in september. I would die to see the Harry Potter wizarding world but DH wants KSC. I guess so, he at least agreed to the cruise finally after 14 years :eek: lol

[ElvisAndretti]

[quote name='jamona2311']Yay!!! I cant wait to hear about KSC. we are including a day for that when we go for our cruise in september. I would die to see the Harry Potter wizarding world but DH wants KSC. I guess so, he at least agreed to the cruise finally after 14 years :eek: lol[/quote]

The post cruise attractions where all my wife's choices. KSC is so easy, we were on the ship at 9:30 and parking at the space center by 10:30. We cheated a bit, took a cab back to the rental car place. But I digress.

Kenned Space Center is better than ever, in spite of not a whole lot of manned space exploration going on these days. The tour we took included a chance to go inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, it was amazing. The Apollo exhibit is also pretty awe inspiring.

By the way, her other choices were Universal Islands of Adenture, mainly for Harry Potter world, and gatorland because she wanted to see some old school Florida tourist attractions and we couldn't find an open grove stand.

[ElvisAndretti]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Once again we were awakened by the sunrise, followed shortly by breakfast being delivered. We had our meal on the balcony as the sun came up and then got ready for Nassau. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1440.jpg[/IMG]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Another beautiful sunrise. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1446.jpg[/IMG]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Hope enjoying breakfast al fresco. (She will probably kill me for posting that photo, but life has been good.)[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1448.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Ecstasy follows the Monstrousity of the Seas into port. But I kid!Actually I do think the names of some of these ships are bit much. But I must say that is a very pretty ship, as was the Disney ship we were alongside during the first night. It is possible to build these things big without making them ugly. Somebody tell Norwegan that before the build another "Epic". [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1485.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]We had scheduled an excursion to the Blue Lagoon private island so we had to get in the line again and get off the ship as quickly as possible. The operation went much more smoothly this time and we were lined up, signed up and off to the island on a little boat with really LOUD music which was half Soca and half something I was not familiar with. (I later learned it's called rake and scrape or ripsaw music, got a CD in Freeport)[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1497.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]We arrived at the island, Hope staked out a pair of loungers while I explored and obtained a little coke. Good stuff too, 100% cane sugar instead of HFCS. Normally I'm a diet pop sort of guy, but this was too good to pass up.[/SIZE] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1649.jpg[/IMG][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[ElvisAndretti]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]The Blue Lagoon Island was pretty much exactly what we expected. There was lots of stuff to do, if you're inclined toward doing stuff. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1577.jpg[/IMG][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I was tempted to go snorkling but I sat down in the shade and the impulse passed. Same thing with the Kayaks. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_2443.jpg[/IMG][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri] We hung out, I played in the water (cold) and read my Hemingway book ... funny thing, the story involved a bank robbery in Key West and the bank that gets robbed is now a tourist trap that we had visited while we were there. After a few hours of relaxing we hiked over to the dolphin encounter area to watch people encounter dolphins, it was pretty entertaining. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]
[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1596.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1562.jpg[/IMG]

[SIZE=3]We found a hammock under a tree and hung out for a while, until it was time to head back to Nassau.[/SIZE]
[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1645.jpg[/IMG]

Lots of happy, tired people on the boat ride home. They were playing more familiar music, if not my personal taste. (Is anyone really happy to hear YMCA these days?)

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1661.jpg[/IMG]

[ElvisAndretti]

[SIZE=3]The boat returned us to a different spot than where we were picked up. We passed the Ecstasy and Fantasy and Monstrousi[/SIZE][SIZE=3]ty on the way back.[/SIZE]



[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1680.jpg[/IMG]


[SIZE=3]Our cabin is on the middle level, third from the left in this photo.[/SIZE]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1686.jpg[/IMG]


[SIZE=3]They dropped us off at a dock right near the straw market and Senior Frogs. We tried to get some lunch at Senior Frogs, but there was a 30 minute wait and we didn't have time to waste. [/SIZE]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1705.jpg[/IMG]

[SIZE=3]We then hit up the straw market for a little bag for Hope's Aunt Selma. [/SIZE]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1703.jpg[/IMG]


[SIZE=3]Next we visited Bay Street, they have jewelry stores there, did you know? Lots of them. [/SIZE]

[IMG]http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u420/ElvisAndretti/Bahamas%20Cruise%20Day%204/IMG_1707.jpg[/IMG]

[SIZE=3]I was looking for a watch. (I'm usually looking for a watch, unless I'm looking for a guitar. They didn't have guitars.) By far the best place for watches that we found was a store called John Bull. They had the skeleton faced watch I had been looking for, but I couldn't actaully read the time, there was too much other stuff going on. But they had another that Hope pointed out, some apertures to show the works, but you could still tell the time. And it was a really cool copper color. When they saleslady told Hope the price she blurted out "What's wrong with it" and then realized what she had said and apologized. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I have a very nice new watch, but what's the point of having luck if you're not going to push it, so I suggested we check out the Rolex and Cartier counters. Didn't work. Maybe next time. ;)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]We stopped in a few more places, I got a whole bunch more Coke with real sugar to replace the red bull I had already consumed.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=3]Back on board we got cleaned up (hosed off the sunscreen and sand) and dressed for the Chef's table. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]