Carnival Ecstasy - Review of my first "small" ship.

[peekinglemer]

Hi Fellow CC members.

 

I just got back from a 4 night cruise on Carnival Ecstasy. This cruise was a Christmas gift from my husband and dad to my mom and I. Our cruise left on January 12th and we returned January 16th.

 

My mom and I are both experienced cruisers, taking 1 or 2 cruises per year. We have sailed most of the "big name" lines, but agree we enjoy Carnival the best. To us, it really is the "fun ship".

 

We were a little nervous however about sailing on such a small, older ship. But since this trip was a gift, choosing the ship was out of our control. Let me say, we worried for nothing. Our trip was amazing from start to finish.

 

We had purchased FTF for this trip because we like to get on the ship early and head up to our room to unpack. However, a week before we sailed we got a call from the upsell fairy for a Jr. Suite for an additional $100.00 total. We canceled FTF so we both only had to kick in an extra $25.00. We typically book balcony rooms for our family vacations, but this trip we were booked in an inside on deck 11. The Jr. Suite was also on deck 11 so we felt like we scored a great deal.

 

We arrived at the port VERY EARLY as we were both too excited to sit in our hotel room one minute more. (We flew into Miami from NY 2 days early). We ended up arriving at the port just before 10:00. Our Jr. Suite got us priority check-in so we sailed through the "non-existent" line and were waiting in the Captains Lounge by 10:15. Everyone at the port was so friendly! Just after 11:00 we were able to board the ship. We were one of the first people on board. We were greeted by Carnival staff singing and dancing and clapping for us as we made our way on the ship. We were off to a great start.

 

Since we canceled FTF we decided to go to the poolside grill for a quick lunch and a drink. We bought the CHEERS program but the systems were not up yet for us to sign up so we ended up charging our first drink to our room cards. Once we purchased CHEERS however, those charges were zeroed off our account.

 

There were plenty of places to sit and eat/relax during embarkation. We took our time and by noon we were ready to explore the ship. We decided to go up to deck 11 and just see if by chance our room was ready. It was! There was also a note in the cabin welcoming us aboard and talking about FTF. Even though we had canceled when we got the upgrade, it appears Carnival still had us listed as FTF in the system (it was not on our cards however, but we got FTF disembark info on our last night too). We unpacked our bags, checked out our cabin (really nothing more then a typical balcony cabin with a very very small, obstructed view balcony) and went off to explore the rest of the ship.

 

Even though this ship is old, it is very clean and very well maintained. Our cabin was deck 11 forward but we were the very first cabin by the elevator and stairs. Ideal location. And since this ship is so small, we never felt like we were far away from anything.

 

The one thing that really stood out about this ship for me was the staff. What a bunch of hard-working, professional, friendly people. After one meeting, we were always addressed by name, with a big smile. The people on this ship really made our experience outstanding.

 

Below are a few of the things that me and my mom did on the cruise with a brief rating about each.

 

Cheers! - My mom and I enjoy a mimosa in the morning, some drinks by the pool, wine with dinner and maybe a shot at night. We are not normally big drinkers, but on vacation we like to live it up a bit. Cheers worked out great for us. All the servers were very friendly even with us using Cheers (we did always leave an extra tip which may have helped). Unlike some ships, Ecstasy had a lot of drink servers roaming around the lido deck, by the pool and on the sun decks. We never had to "search" for someone to get a drink. Also, this ship felt almost empty at times. We never waited for more then a few minutes at the bars for a drink, and on those occasions the bar staff apologized for the wait. It was great. My mom and I were both allowed to sign for each others drinks too, so only one of us had to go up to the bar.

 

Lido deck (pool and hot tub) - We spent a lot of time at the Red Frog bar on the Lido Deck by the pool. There was always two empty seats for us to sit down, and Randy, the bartender, was awesome. The pool was small but perfect for this size ship. The water was warm (and so was the weather) but there was never more then a handful of people in the pool at any given time. There are two hot tubs on this deck (and two on Serenity). During our sea day the hot tubs got a little crowded but were able to enjoy them (with our Mimosas) in the mornings. The best part was that we NEVER had a problem getting a deck chair on the Lido deck anytime of the day. Even on our very warm sea day, we were able to get two deck chairs right by the pool with no problem. We didn't see a lot of chair saving or hogging. It was great.

 

Main Dining Room - We had early dining and when we first got on the ship we went down and requested a table for two which they were able to accommodate. Our dining room staff was very friendly and we had no issues getting wine with dinner in a timely manner. The food in the dining room was pretty average for cruise ships now. Good but not spectacular. However, we did enjoy lobster night and they were great about giving us second servings. (Royal told us only 1 per person when we cruised with them last time). We noticed a lot of empty tables in the dining room on any given night.

 

Buffet - We really enjoyed the breakfast buffet every morning during our cruise. Since we are early risers, we were always the first ones in line for the egg station. However, unlike other cruises we have been on, the lines for the buffet never got long. Again, we are attributing it to the smaller ship. The longest lines we ever saw were for the poolside grill at 1:00 after everyone got back from Key West. The 24 hour pizza was pretty good (very thin crust just the way I like it) and the deli was great. The only complaint we really had was that the options on the lunch buffet were very limited.

 

Taste Bar - We loved the taste bar. Every night at 5:30 my mom and I would grab a drink and head to the taste bar. The small samplers were delicious and it was a great way to start the evening before dinner.

 

Casino - My mom and I both enjoy gambling and spent some time in the casino. This cruise was booked with a casino rate and we both had money coming to us when we checked in at the casino desk. This casino is very small with some slots (that is what we play), some table games and a few other games. The first night I did pretty well in the casino. After that...NOTHING. Those machines were tight. The casino had very little traffic the whole cruise and I'm wondering if it was because the pay-outs were so bad. We never saw or heard of anyone hitting anything big. Not even a few hundred bucks. We did enter the slot tournament which was fun. We both qualified for the finals but neither of us won. It was still fun. We received chocolate covered berries in our cabin twice from the casino which was nice. However, since we were both doing so badly, we spent a lot less time in the casino then we normally would.

 

Entertainment - My mom and I both enjoyed the variety of bars on this ship. Red Frog on the Lido was our favorite but there were a lot of nice, little bars all over the ship. One thing we both really enjoyed was the Piano Bar. We had so much fun requesting songs and singing along with Aaron (the piano man) and the rest of the guests. Aaron was great at getting everyone to join in and we all felt like family by the end of the night. We also did karaoke one night with a very fun, lively crowd, and we took in 2 comedy shows. The adult show and the family show. We both agreed that the family show was much funnier then the adult show. We also joined in a few contests like the bean-bag toss (made it to the second round) and trivia (where I won my very first ship on a stick). They have Hasbro the Gameshow on this ship but we didn't attend. I think they also had a few song and dance shows but they are not really our thing so we never went.

 

Shopping - The shopping on this ship is VERY limited. I'm talking just a few shops. I did buy a nice watch at the $20.00 sale and a chain for a pendant I bought in Cozumel at "inch of gold". My advice...buy gifts in the ports.

 

Ports - This cruise visited Key West and Cozumel. We have been both been to Key West once and Cozumel many times. At Key West we had very little time in port (7:30 - 1:00). We decided to just walk around town. We went down Duval street and ended up at the Southern Most Point. We took our time walking back and hit up some shops and a few bars. They have amazing art galleries in Key West. The weather and the locals were perfect. So friendly. Key West is so beautiful and peaceful (although we were the only ship in port). I felt so relaxed and de-stressed. I really want to go back when we have more time.

 

We had all day in Cozumel. We did the Salsa and Salsa and Margarita tour (DO IT!) and then spent some time shopping in the plaza across from the port. AUGH. Don't waste your time or money shopping here. Everything was overpriced. $40.00 bracelets you could buy for $8.00 on another part of Cozumel. Really not worth it. It ended up saving us some money though.

 

GYM - My mom and I went to the gym just so we could say we went to the gym. LOL. However, if we DID plan on working out this vacation, then this gym would have been perfect. Lots of new equipment and a great space. The gym is located in the spa area.

 

Debarkation - We had an early flight out and were self assist. The night before, we received two notices in our cabin. One was for early flights out and the other was for FTF and self assist guests. We went to the lounge for the FTF and self assist guests. We told the person in the lounge we did not have FTF but had an early flight and self assist. They let us off with the first group of people. They started letting people off a little after 8:00 and we were in our cab and on our way to the airport by 8:20.

 

To wrap it all up, we really liked our experience aboard this small ship. The service felt very personal, there was never any crowds or waiting in line, and it was easy to access every part of the ship.

 

We are sailing with the whole family in May on Glory and it will be interesting to see how I feel about that ship after sailing on Ecstasy. My favorite ship so far is Carnival Dream, but Ecstasy gave it a run for the money.

 

If you are new to cruising and don't want to feel rushed (but still want to enjoy some of what the bigger ships have to offer like water-works for the kids, serenity deck and comedy shows) then this is a great ship for you.

[Debowah]

Thank you for your review. We are leaving on this ship Jan 26. We also received an upsell/upgrade phone call for an extended Grand Suite and we also took it. Counting down the final week is really a little stressful/enjoyable mix. Glad you had a great time, hoping we will have the same fun times to report.

[smac67]

Thanks for posting. Going on the Ecstasy in April for the 2nd time. Cant wait. Red Frog was not on this ship the last time we sailed. Looking forward to trying that.

[cruisexlife]

Thanks so much for your review, I really appreciate it! Glad you had fun!:D

[radgal72]

Thanks for the review. I am sailing February 16th. I got a call to upgrade from my balcony to a junior suite for 300.00. I turned it down.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[violetsmile]

Thanks for the review! This is our second time on the Ecstasy (she was our first), but we've been on bigger ships since, and I wasn't sure if we'd be as star-struck this time around! Your review makes me certain we'll love her all over again!

 

Thanks for posting. Going on the Ecstasy in April for the 2nd time. Cant wait. Red Frog was not on this ship the last time we sailed. Looking forward to trying that.

 

We're on the same sailing. I haven't seen a roll call yet, but we're counting it down eagerly!

[thecruiserofships]

The Carnival Ecstasy (at the time M/S Ecstasy) was my first cruise ship.

 

Thank you for sharing your review! It makes me miss the ship.

Edited January 19, 2015 by thecruiserofships

[JMHAM1]

Such a nice review. Ecstasy was my first cruise ever so many years ago, 4 day from Miami with stops in Key West and Cozumel.

 

I really need to go back to Key West. I am a sandal wearing fool, wearing sandals practically every day of the year. I LOVE visiting the Keno Sandal Factory whenever I am in Key West. Sadly, my last pair died a couple of years ago.

 

I'm glad to hear that the Ecstasy is going strong!

[peekinglemer]

It's no surprise that so many people have loved this ship. She really is a GEM!

 

I also think that a lot of people that cruise Carnival tend to be easy going and "roll with it" folks. Put me on a ship in the middle of the ocean and just TRY and ruin my good time. :D

[Mabks0412]

Thank you for your review. We are looking into the smaller ships to sail this year (going on the Beeze in 2016). So this was helpful.

[LeisaH3067]

Hi Fellow CC members.

 

I just got back from a 4 night cruise on Carnival Ecstasy. This cruise was a Christmas gift from my husband and dad to my mom and I. Our cruise left on January 12th and we returned January 16th.

 

My mom and I are both experienced cruisers, taking 1 or 2 cruises per year. We have sailed most of the "big name" lines, but agree we enjoy Carnival the best. To us, it really is the "fun ship".

 

We were a little nervous however about sailing on such a small, older ship. But since this trip was a gift, choosing the ship was out of our control. Let me say, we worried for nothing. Our trip was amazing from start to finish.

 

We had purchased FTF for this trip because we like to get on the ship early and head up to our room to unpack. However, a week before we sailed we got a call from the upsell fairy for a Jr. Suite for an additional $100.00 total. We canceled FTF so we both only had to kick in an extra $25.00. We typically book balcony rooms for our family vacations, but this trip we were booked in an inside on deck 11. The Jr. Suite was also on deck 11 so we felt like we scored a great deal.

 

We arrived at the port VERY EARLY as we were both too excited to sit in our hotel room one minute more. (We flew into Miami from NY 2 days early). We ended up arriving at the port just before 10:00. Our Jr. Suite got us priority check-in so we sailed through the "non-existent" line and were waiting in the Captains Lounge by 10:15. Everyone at the port was so friendly! Just after 11:00 we were able to board the ship. We were one of the first people on board. We were greeted by Carnival staff singing and dancing and clapping for us as we made our way on the ship. We were off to a great start.

 

Since we canceled FTF we decided to go to the poolside grill for a quick lunch and a drink. We bought the CHEERS program but the systems were not up yet for us to sign up so we ended up charging our first drink to our room cards. Once we purchased CHEERS however, those charges were zeroed off our account.

 

There were plenty of places to sit and eat/relax during embarkation. We took our time and by noon we were ready to explore the ship. We decided to go up to deck 11 and just see if by chance our room was ready. It was! There was also a note in the cabin welcoming us aboard and talking about FTF. Even though we had canceled when we got the upgrade, it appears Carnival still had us listed as FTF in the system (it was not on our cards however, but we got FTF disembark info on our last night too). We unpacked our bags, checked out our cabin (really nothing more then a typical balcony cabin with a very very small, obstructed view balcony) and went off to explore the rest of the ship.

 

Even though this ship is old, it is very clean and very well maintained. Our cabin was deck 11 forward but we were the very first cabin by the elevator and stairs. Ideal location. And since this ship is so small, we never felt like we were far away from anything.

 

The one thing that really stood out about this ship for me was the staff. What a bunch of hard-working, professional, friendly people. After one meeting, we were always addressed by name, with a big smile. The people on this ship really made our experience outstanding.

 

Below are a few of the things that me and my mom did on the cruise with a brief rating about each.

 

Cheers! - My mom and I enjoy a mimosa in the morning, some drinks by the pool, wine with dinner and maybe a shot at night. We are not normally big drinkers, but on vacation we like to live it up a bit. Cheers worked out great for us. All the servers were very friendly even with us using Cheers (we did always leave an extra tip which may have helped). Unlike some ships, Ecstasy had a lot of drink servers roaming around the lido deck, by the pool and on the sun decks. We never had to "search" for someone to get a drink. Also, this ship felt almost empty at times. We never waited for more then a few minutes at the bars for a drink, and on those occasions the bar staff apologized for the wait. It was great. My mom and I were both allowed to sign for each others drinks too, so only one of us had to go up to the bar.

 

Lido deck (pool and hot tub) - We spent a lot of time at the Red Frog bar on the Lido Deck by the pool. There was always two empty seats for us to sit down, and Randy, the bartender, was awesome. The pool was small but perfect for this size ship. The water was warm (and so was the weather) but there was never more then a handful of people in the pool at any given time. There are two hot tubs on this deck (and two on Serenity). During our sea day the hot tubs got a little crowded but were able to enjoy them (with our Mimosas) in the mornings. The best part was that we NEVER had a problem getting a deck chair on the Lido deck anytime of the day. Even on our very warm sea day, we were able to get two deck chairs right by the pool with no problem. We didn't see a lot of chair saving or hogging. It was great.

 

Main Dining Room - We had early dining and when we first got on the ship we went down and requested a table for two which they were able to accommodate. Our dining room staff was very friendly and we had no issues getting wine with dinner in a timely manner. The food in the dining room was pretty average for cruise ships now. Good but not spectacular. However, we did enjoy lobster night and they were great about giving us second servings. (Royal told us only 1 per person when we cruised with them last time). We noticed a lot of empty tables in the dining room on any given night.

 

Buffet - We really enjoyed the breakfast buffet every morning during our cruise. Since we are early risers, we were always the first ones in line for the egg station. However, unlike other cruises we have been on, the lines for the buffet never got long. Again, we are attributing it to the smaller ship. The longest lines we ever saw were for the poolside grill at 1:00 after everyone got back from Key West. The 24 hour pizza was pretty good (very thin crust just the way I like it) and the deli was great. The only complaint we really had was that the options on the lunch buffet were very limited.

 

Taste Bar - We loved the taste bar. Every night at 5:30 my mom and I would grab a drink and head to the taste bar. The small samplers were delicious and it was a great way to start the evening before dinner.

 

Casino - My mom and I both enjoy gambling and spent some time in the casino. This cruise was booked with a casino rate and we both had money coming to us when we checked in at the casino desk. This casino is very small with some slots (that is what we play), some table games and a few other games. The first night I did pretty well in the casino. After that...NOTHING. Those machines were tight. The casino had very little traffic the whole cruise and I'm wondering if it was because the pay-outs were so bad. We never saw or heard of anyone hitting anything big. Not even a few hundred bucks. We did enter the slot tournament which was fun. We both qualified for the finals but neither of us won. It was still fun. We received chocolate covered berries in our cabin twice from the casino which was nice. However, since we were both doing so badly, we spent a lot less time in the casino then we normally would.

 

Entertainment - My mom and I both enjoyed the variety of bars on this ship. Red Frog on the Lido was our favorite but there were a lot of nice, little bars all over the ship. One thing we both really enjoyed was the Piano Bar. We had so much fun requesting songs and singing along with Aaron (the piano man) and the rest of the guests. Aaron was great at getting everyone to join in and we all felt like family by the end of the night. We also did karaoke one night with a very fun, lively crowd, and we took in 2 comedy shows. The adult show and the family show. We both agreed that the family show was much funnier then the adult show. We also joined in a few contests like the bean-bag toss (made it to the second round) and trivia (where I won my very first ship on a stick). They have Hasbro the Gameshow on this ship but we didn't attend. I think they also had a few song and dance shows but they are not really our thing so we never went.

 

Shopping - The shopping on this ship is VERY limited. I'm talking just a few shops. I did buy a nice watch at the $20.00 sale and a chain for a pendant I bought in Cozumel at "inch of gold". My advice...buy gifts in the ports.

 

Ports - This cruise visited Key West and Cozumel. We have been both been to Key West once and Cozumel many times. At Key West we had very little time in port (7:30 - 1:00). We decided to just walk around town. We went down Duval street and ended up at the Southern Most Point. We took our time walking back and hit up some shops and a few bars. They have amazing art galleries in Key West. The weather and the locals were perfect. So friendly. Key West is so beautiful and peaceful (although we were the only ship in port). I felt so relaxed and de-stressed. I really want to go back when we have more time.

 

We had all day in Cozumel. We did the Salsa and Salsa and Margarita tour (DO IT!) and then spent some time shopping in the plaza across from the port. AUGH. Don't waste your time or money shopping here. Everything was overpriced. $40.00 bracelets you could buy for $8.00 on another part of Cozumel. Really not worth it. It ended up saving us some money though.

 

GYM - My mom and I went to the gym just so we could say we went to the gym. LOL. However, if we DID plan on working out this vacation, then this gym would have been perfect. Lots of new equipment and a great space. The gym is located in the spa area.

 

Debarkation - We had an early flight out and were self assist. The night before, we received two notices in our cabin. One was for early flights out and the other was for FTF and self assist guests. We went to the lounge for the FTF and self assist guests. We told the person in the lounge we did not have FTF but had an early flight and self assist. They let us off with the first group of people. They started letting people off a little after 8:00 and we were in our cab and on our way to the airport by 8:20.

 

To wrap it all up, we really liked our experience aboard this small ship. The service felt very personal, there was never any crowds or waiting in line, and it was easy to access every part of the ship.

 

We are sailing with the whole family in May on Glory and it will be interesting to see how I feel about that ship after sailing on Ecstasy. My favorite ship so far is Carnival Dream, but Ecstasy gave it a run for the money.

 

If you are new to cruising and don't want to feel rushed (but still want to enjoy some of what the bigger ships have to offer like water-works for the kids, serenity deck and comedy shows) then this is a great ship for you.

 

Great review! The Ecstasy holds a special place for us, our first cruise on our honeymoon in 1992. John Heald was the cruise director and the ship was just huge!! lol. I was thinking today that we should cruise on her again.

[cmecruise1962]

I am cruising with my Mom on May 18 and cannot wait! I hope I get the upgrade call...I just checked and it would be an additional $420 for a suite. I think I would go for it, if it was less than $300. I have no interest in an obstructed view though! CANNOT WAIT!! :D

[mandmcruise]

I too would love a call from the upgrade fairy. It would make a nice surprise for my 21 year old daughter. She is recovering from a tonsillectomy, not an easy recovery at her age. What area code etc does this come from as I have a tendency not to answer my phone from a number I do not recognize, but would if I knew it was the upgrade fairy.

[SkyMaster]

Thanks for taking the time to review "Ecstasy". I sailed her for the first time, in a LONG time last year, and concur with your review 100%. WOW, what a great staff this ship has, and they do indeed know how to make the guests feel special, and they know how to have FUN, FUN, FUN. I personally, always enjoy the Fantasy Class ships, and "Ecstasy" is certainly at the top of the list. My only complaint is that she doesn't do longer cruises. Guess I'll just have to do B-2-B cruises on "Ecstasy". :cool:

 

"SKY"

[xrosario]

Thank you for the review! I'll be going on my first cruise next month, your review has been very helpful.

[gigito2]

Thank you for your review. We are leaving on this ship Jan 26. We also received an upsell/upgrade phone call for an extended Grand Suite and we also took it. Counting down the final week is really a little stressful/enjoyable mix. Glad you had a great time, hoping we will have the same fun times to report.

 

So how was it? Do you have a trip report somewhere?

Hope you had a great time.