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Quick Ecstasy 6/27/2013 review

BubMunkeyBles

By BubMunkeyBles,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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BubMunkeyBles

BubMunkeyBles

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We've been really busy but I wanted to leave a quick review of my latest Ecstasy sailing. I sailed her back in April and I have to say I though my April sailing was better (even with the power outage).

 

I found the new entertainment staff to be pretty boring. I've never seen such boring staff truthfully. The cruise director was ok, Matt was way better in my opinion though and is more visible.

 

I again booked FTTF. Still worth the money to get on and have the room ready, quick disembarkation and for priority tendering at HMC.

 

We got to Port Canaveral around 10:15, got right through and boarded around 11. That ship never seems to disembark very early because we were delayed AGAIN getting off just like back in April.

 

We ate in the MDR all 4 nights. Food was good. Some of the nights it was a little harder to find something (but I love red meat and don't like the every day menu steak). We had anytime dining. The service was pretty bad. Not sure why but my husband who is way easy going even noticed. We still had a blast and enjoyed all our meals. Lots of kids but truthfully the boat was pretty quiet. Never saw a line accept when leaving HMC.

 

The first port day was Nassau. We wasted way too much money doing the Atlantis Beach Day through the ship. We only booked because in all our trips to Nassau we'd never gone. We didn't get lunch like they said we would and we got there so late there was no shade. Biggest waste of money ever and I would never do it again. I may contemplate taking the kids just to the front part with the aquarium but I'd do it on our own and not use Carnival. The amount of time to get people lined up and organized is ridiculous.

 

HMC we got a cabana. We reserved #10 and it was great. Further down than the #4 I got last time but it was great for DH and I and further away since it was summer. I love HMC and it's my favorite port in the Bahamas for sure. I don't think I'd ever go without a cabana. I have temperature regulation issues since doing chemo and the cabana really helps in allowing me to be at the beach all day.

 

Sea Day was pretty dull. I'd never seen so little options of things to do during the day. I think there was a dance group on board so that may be why. But everything was by the pool and a few trivia options, but even most those were on the Lido. We laid in bed a lot of the day truthfully (we have toddlers at home so any relaxation is good by us).

 

We saw both the Brits show and the Motor City show. I still LOVE Motor City. It makes me happy to see everyone in the atrium. It's obvious that they're now down a lead singer. The other lead singer is great though and we really enjoyed it still. Saw both comedians. One was way funnier than the other but I don't even remember who we had.

 

Guess that's about it. :) Looking forward to our Glory cruise next year but this was a good tide me over until then. It's obvious there's been cuts to things, but rates are dirt low and I think the value is definitely still there. As long as their rates stay low I'm sure we'll continue to cruise them.

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MalleyCat

MalleyCat

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We were also on this cruise and noticed that service in the dining room (dinner and breakfast) was horrible. We got seated right away with YTD, but had to wait for EVERYTHING. In our opinion, aside from the Hasbro Show and the comedians, the "entertainment" was horrendous. We always head to Junkapoo Beach on our own in Nassau. We did a little more exploring this time as well. Loved Half Moon Cay. We didn't get a cabana, but were lucky enough to find chairs in the shade. Even with the "negatives", we still had a great time and booked our next cruise. We looked into other lines, but Carnival has our heart. :)

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combatboots2jimmychoos

combatboots2jimmychoos

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I'll be on the same itinerary on 8/8 with FTTF and anytime dining. With FTTF did you just go to the guest services when you were ready to go to HMC? And going back from HMC- did you just skip the tender line? That's the main reason I purchased FTTF so I didn't have to waste vacation time standing in line.

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sarmat1

sarmat1

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We saw both the Brits show and the Motor City show. I still LOVE Motor City.

 

For the production shows, are these just soundtracked and lip synced, or are there live aspects to them? Put differently, are the performers actually singing and is there any actual live music? About how long are these two shows?

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BubMunkeyBles

BubMunkeyBles

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The music was live and like I mentioned it was obvious one of the main girls was missing. Shows were 30-40 minutes I would say.

 

Joseph was still the Maitre'D but I didn't see him at ALL this cruise and he was so visible on our last. The MDR was just not run as well this time which was disappointing because two months ago it was the best run out of all my Carnival cruises (I'm at 9 now on Carnival).

 

There's no priority tendering back to the boat. We actually had trouble tendering back because the tide was bad. They actually had to move the ship further out to make it safe for people to get on and off the tenders.

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nodogkisses

nodogkisses

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Does anyone know if the Ecstasy have the regular MDR breakfast/lunch or are they offering the Punchliner Brunch? I know some of the ships that are not yet 2.0upgraded do have the Punchliner Brunch without the comedy. Just wondering about Ecstasy.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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SkyMaster

SkyMaster

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Does anyone know if the Ecstasy have the regular MDR breakfast/lunch or are they offering the Punchliner Brunch? I know some of the ships that are not yet 2.0upgraded do have the Punchliner Brunch without the comedy. Just wondering about Ecstasy.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

When I last did "Ecstasy", (March I think) they still had the regular breakfast in the dining room on sea days. No Punchliner Brunch.

 

"SKY"

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nodogkisses

nodogkisses

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When I last did "Ecstasy", (March I think) they still had the regular breakfast in the dining room on sea days. No Punchliner Brunch.

 

"SKY"

 

Thank you. I had heard they were changing over to the brunch in May, but I haven't seen any postings confirming that they did. I'm assuming Ectasy still has the regular breakfast in the MDR and I like that--brunch starts too late for me to be able to get a good spot out in the sun for the day.

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  • 2 weeks later...
disneylover89

disneylover89

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Does anyone know what night is Elegant night on the 4 day Ecstasy cruise? I'm getting different responses when searching. Thanks.

 

 

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I heard it is the first full day. For my 4 day cruise it is Nassau

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