Ecstasy Review 4/28/05

[pboedeker]

Remembering that being on a cruise is always better than being at work.....

 

Family Reunion of 19 people ranging in ages 40-78.

31st cruise for me. I cruise all types of cruiselines.

 

Drove to Port. Parked at EZCruise, very convenient. Arrived at 12:30. Embarkation took 10 minutes. Welcome aboard photo (nice background). Dropped off bags at cabin. Vacation officially begins!

 

Panorama Grill for lunch on Lido deck - appears to be A/C issue here. Pretty warm with lots of big fans set up? Headed to the deli counter for a sandwich. Yumm.

 

First Day Ritual - tour the ship. Took the deckplan map I rec'd at embarkation and started scoping out the ship. Really impressed with the public areas. For a 14 year old ship - she looks great. Especially impressed with Spa and Gym. Beautiful with great equipment. Elevators are all working, traffic is flowing nicely...things couldn't be better. Life boat drill is about 45 minutes later than scheduled? (Quick and painless!) Set sail for Cozumel right on time!

 

Cabin - we were in E115 (inside). Typical Carnival. Cabin shows some wear but not anything exceptional. Most impressed with bed and linens. WOW! These appear to be very similar to the new SOE upgrades on HAL ships. Enjoy! Nice assortment of toiletries in bathroom. Deck towels are in the room for pool use and excursion use. Wish they would upgrade the safes so you don't have to track down the cabin steward to get a key. Met cabin steward - asked for additional pillows and to have the beds moved together. She seems polite and accomodating.

 

Wind Star Dining Room - Table 172 and 174 (big group here) Our waiter was sick; however, still working. UGH! Coughing alot! UGH! He was not our favorite waiter. He was short with us and impersonal. We ordered several bottles of wine over the 4 day cruise..and always ended up having to do the pouring ourselves. He would just sit the bottle on the table and walk off? He also spent a few minutes each evening telling us what "NOT" to order, (ie. "Chateuabriand is chewy", "you will dislike the stuffing in the stuffed quail"). Odd, most waiters would chose to recommend other items, than trash things on the menu. Had one meal served off temperature. Asst. waiter was excellent. Next time - I'll skip the dining room. Most in our party didn't return after the second night....not a great experience.

 

Casino - several of the quarter slots were broken or not working? Our group had several big gamblers and they either broke even or came out ahead. Lots of tournaments throughtout the cruise. Plenty of bar waiter throughout the ship. Especially enjoyed the Metro Bar (non smoking)

 

Dancing - Chinatown has an excellent band in there. They play to the audience depending on the audiences likes. Stripes is the disco - loud and fun, draws a little younger crowd though. Pool band - not my favorite and way too loud!

 

Karoake with Patrick - this was a great way to start the evening. Some great talent here. Except for our family's rendition of "We are Family!

 

Cozumel - went to Paradise Beach. Nice beach - water was ugly though?

 

Disembarkation - all done inside the pier, not in Sapphire Lounge as previously read. Off about 10:00am.

 

Overall, we had a great time. Family and cruising is my favorite. Ship cabins could use new carpet and our waiter needs a vacation.

 

Cruise grade A-

[Stevie17]

We were on this sailing of the Ecstasy too, and this was our first cruise with Carnival. Overall, we had an average cruising experience, however, I too thought that the ship was in great shape for her age. I was really disappointed with the food on the ship. The food in the main dining room (Wind Star) was good, but not exceptional, and the buffet was the worst that I've ever experienced. I found the selections to be very limited (maybe six-seven different dishes.) I was also really disappointed that there was no "sail-away" party. This was our fifth cruise, and I guess I've just come to expect some sort of fanfare at sail away.

 

All in all, we liked the ship, but probably won't sail with Carnival again. The little disappointments or differences from the other cruises that we've taken were enough to sway our decision.

[colette5479]

It still sounds as if you made the most of your trip. And I liked your review...you gave the good along with the bad:) . I don't think I would have liked a sick waiter, either:o I'm going on the Ecstasy in Dec and bringing a friend who has never cruised before. I hope we have a great time.

[corina27]

It looks like you tried to make the best of it.Thanks for the review.I will be cruising on her in October.:)

[sawtheirhornsoff]

I'll be cruising her in July with my wonderful girlfriend who has never been on a cruise before, and hopefully we're going to have a great time.... Either way, with her it will be GREAT!