Ecstasy Review! 11/2/15 – 11/6/15

[GreytRacer]

Thank you so much for the review!

Thanks for reading and posting!

[GreytRacer]

Thanks for your review on the Ecstasy. I did this same cruise with friends October 12-16. We had a great time. I just love the Fantasy Class ships.

Next time you get back to Cozumel be sure to go to Paradise Beach. That is what we did on our port day in Cozumel and it was so much fun

Yes, next time it will be Paradise Beach or Toucan Sailing!

 

We also love the Fantasy Class ships. Our first Carnival cruise was on the Sensation, way back in 1996. It seemed so big then!

 

Thanks for reading! :)

Edited November 18, 2015 by GreytRacer

[GreytRacer]

I'm loving this review. I'm leaving on Sunday for this cruise! Another Hoosier leaving IN for FL. Not a BOILER fan though. GO HOOSIERS!

Woo Hoo! Hoosiers cruising! Hope you have a great time!

 

Actually, DH and I are both HOOSIERS, we just happen to live in Boiler country. ;) I hear that might be snow on Saturday. Sounds like you're getting out just in time!

Edited November 18, 2015 by GreytRacer

[matondo]

Enjoying your review! Keep up the good work.

[GreytRacer]

Day 6---Day at Sea!

We love days at sea! If they had a 7 day only-days-at-sea cruise, we would book it! Forced relaxation, a chance to enjoy the ship—we love ‘em!

 

So, as you might suspect, we were back on the Serenity Deck again! As I mentioned earlier, there was never a problem getting a lounger and it was lovely!

 

We enjoyed the sun and the view until around noon and then we headed to the Sea Day Brunch. The brunch was in the Wind Star, which was the same dining room as YTD. In the past, we’ve had some pretty bad service at the Sea Day Brunch, with waiters ignoring us, drink orders not being filled and a packed to the gills dining room. Not on the Ecstasy! Once again, service was fast, friendly and gracious. The servers addressed us by name. We got our VIFP drink orders filled quickly and our food came fast and hot. We got the pop-over basket (yay!). DH had Steak and Eggs and a side of mac and cheese and I had the Funnest French Toast and a side of cheese grits (yummm!). We enjoyed it all!

 

 

 

 

We headed back to Serenity and relaxed until a pop-up shower drove us back under cover. We gathered up our things, but by the time we walked back to the main pool, the rain had stopped. We considered hanging out there, but it was louder than we wanted, so back to Serenity we went!

 

We met a great couple during all that Serenity time and we arranged to meet them for dinner and go to the show together. Before dinner, we wandered around the Fun Shops and they had a number of items in the hall for the Clearance sale, including some cologne and perfume. DH was looking for a new fragrance, so I encouraged him to like something off the table. ;-) Unfortunately, we couldn’t buy it yet, as they register wouldn’t ring it up with the sale price until 8pm.

 

We headed to dinner and had another great meal with wonderful service. At 8pm, DH dashed out to the shop to make his purchase and I ordered his dessert.

 

My birthday is in November, so when I booked, I said we were celebrating it with this cruise (thought it might help with our room assignment! :-) On formal night, the waiters brought me a piece of cake and serenaded me with their one-of-a-kind Happy Birthday! Much to my surprise, on the last night, they did it again! This time I got baked Alaska! It was fun; you can never have too many Happy Birthday wishes!

 

After dinner, we headed to the 8:30pm show, The Brits. Once again, they had a preshow at 8:15pm. This consisted of a “British Trivia” game where 2 kids ran around the audience trying to get answers to the questions. I’m glad we got there when we did, as we were still in the very back. This was a cruise ship full of show-goers!

 

I had seen the same show on the Breeze and I wondered how they could make it work on the smaller stage on the Ecstasy. They definitely modified it! But, it was still good, and if I hadn’t seen it previously, I wouldn’t have felt like I was missing anything. Once again, the lack of strong singers was noticeable, which seems so odd with all the people in the world who want a job as a singer.

 

After dinner we wandered down to the atrium, which was hopping, took some pics and said good-bye to our new friends. We went back to our cabin to finish packing and then we went back out for a bit more music.

 

We spent some time at the Chinatown Lounge listening to the Latin band (Mambo Magic). Wow, are they good! It was fun to watch all the guests dancing, as well; they had the moves! We then went to the casino bar and listened to House Party. They were doing an ‘80’s set at 10:45pm and DH wanted to relive some of his misspent youth. ;-) They were very good and had a great crowd every night that they played.

 

Another note about the music: There was a live Steel Drum band on this cruise! We didn’t realize it at first, but eventually we saw them and really enjoyed it! Check your Fun Times if you’ve been missing this from your Carnival Cruises! They were on the Lido Deck or in the Atrium, depending on the day and time. They weren’t playing on Embarkation Day, but DJ Cruz was playing some great music when we boarded that gave us that “cruise” feeling without blasting us out of the atrium.

 

 

We headed back to our cabin to another great towel animal and our last night in the comfy Carnival beds. Sad day tomorrow. They’re making us get off the ship.

Edited November 18, 2015 by GreytRacer

[GreytRacer]

A note about the new Turn Down Service options/cards. The Ecstasy is one of the ships trying this new program. You can choose if you want service a.m., p.m., or both. The robes were already in our room, so there was no need to choose that.

 

As we had gotten in our rooms right at noon on embarkation day, there wasn’t any paperwork in the room yet (VIFP Welcome letter, etc). The Service card wasn’t there either. But, when our Steward came and introduced himself to us later in the afternoon, he asked us what services we would like. Luckily, I had read about it on CC, so he didn’t really need to explain anything to us. We opted for just p.m. service, as we’re pretty neat cruisers and DH always says he feels guilty that they have to come to our room twice! We also asked for an ice bucket and for it to be filled daily, which he did. Even with just one service, he still came in and filled the ice bucket during the day.

 

For us, this new option was fine and worked well. If we needed anything, they were always in the hall and available for us to talk to. We sent out one bag of laundry and it came back right on time, clean and fresh. We’ve learned the trick to this is to not stuff your bag full, as everything in the bag gets put in a giant laundry bag and washed all together. They then fold it and put it all back in the same paper laundry bag it came in. When you send too much in the bag, it can come back still slightly damp, not very fresh and very wrinkled.

Edited November 18, 2015 by GreytRacer

[GreytRacer]

We had some great sunsets this cruise! Here are a few pics:

 

Sailing away from Miami

 

Sailing away from Miami

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JimAOk1945]

Wow! What a fantastic review! And your pictures are wonderful! We had the pleasure of cruising on the Ecstasy twice and enjoyed both experiences.

 

Thanks also for explaining about the new Turn Down Service options. It sounds like a reasonable idea.

 

Happy cruising wherever you may go!

[GreytRacer]

Last Day---Time to go home…

As Platinum guests, we didn’t have to be out of our cabin until 9am. Such an improvement from our early days of cruising when everyone had to be out by 7am! We were able to sleep in a bit and then we headed to Lido for breakfast. I meant to have ice cream, but I forgot! :rolleyes: Dang it!

 

We had put our luggage out the night before, but we didn’t need to be off the ship as early as a Zone 1 tag, so we hung out on Lido until we were ready to go.

 

They were trying a new Self-Assist Debarkation method on the ship. I didn’t pay that much attention, as it didn’t apply to us, but it seems like they did it both by deck and also fore, middle and aft (but I could be wrong about that). The biggest change was they blocked off the forward elevators and they could only be used by Self Assist guests. No more schlepping your bags up or down a million steps! Since this was a shorter cruise, and the elevators were available, there was a lot of Self Assist! They didn’t start calling Zones until about 9am.

 

We went down at about 9:15am, and I’ve never gotten off a ship so fast in my life! We weren’t sure how long everything would take, as the last time we cruised into Miami it took an hour for the Zone 1 bags to show up on the carousal. But, our bags were circling when we got to the carousal, which was a relief. However, there was a very long line to get through Customs. For some reason, they weren’t using the computers. They were just looking at passports and taking the declarations paper. Our agent was on his cell phone the entire time and we wondered how closely he was checking, as people passed by him and into Miami.

 

I had booked us on the QLS shuttle back to the FLL airport. I called to let them know we were ready and I was given a bus number to watch for. Somehow, we almost missed it, as it pulled past us at some moment we weren’t looking. But, we got on fine, checked in, and after circling by the other ships that were in port that day, were on our way to the airport.

 

We flew Allegiant back home, and other than an annoyance at check-in, there were no issues or disappearing flight crew. ;)

 

We had a great time on this cruise and would highly recommend it! If you’re booked, go and have fun! Enjoy the sun, the awesome crew and the great bands and music around the ship! Try new things in the dining room and share a bucket of beer out on deck!

 

If you have any questions, I have the Fun Times and I’ll be happy to answer what I can.

 

Thanks for reading and following along on my first “big” review!

[GreytRacer]

Wow! What a fantastic review! And your pictures are wonderful! We had the pleasure of cruising on the Ecstasy twice and enjoyed both experiences.

 

Thanks also for explaining about the new Turn Down Service options. It sounds like a reasonable idea.

 

Happy cruising wherever you may go!

Thanks so much for the kind words! As I sat here typing, I wondered how many were actually reading. It's nice to know you enjoyed it! :)

Edited November 18, 2015 by GreytRacer

[tw67]

Thanks again! I can't wait until next month! Since you have the Fun Times, do they mention a talent show for the kids? Thanks again!

[thabyrdman]

Great review....theres so many mixed ones...You really cant tell whether its going to be a lousy cruise or a great one....You really wont know till your the one writing the review....I hope my experience on the Ecstacy next month is as great as your was....

[GreytRacer]

Enjoying your review! Keep up the good work.

 

 

Thanks so much!

[homeofthedogs]

Thanks for taking the time to write your wonderful and informative review. Great job!

 

Glad John Heald sent you something. I follow him on facebook and he is a great guy.

 

We are excited to see the Ecstasy is coming to Charleston soon. We love the fantasy class ships and have never sailed on her. I have booked a January cruise and will be sailing on the Fantasy one last time before she moves on.

 

Love cruising!! Thanks again!!

[jpm1973]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences and pictures. My first cruise was on the Ecstasy so she will always have a special place in my heart. :-)

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

[jaw7373]

Woo Hoo! Hoosiers cruising! Hope you have a great time!

 

Actually, DH and I are both HOOSIERS, we just happen to live in Boiler country. ;) I hear that might be snow on Saturday. Sounds like you're getting out just in time!

 

The weather doesn't sound like it will be too great. I live about 30 miles south of Lafayette, In. I am near Boiler country as well.

[ALWAYZCRUISEN]

Great review!!! Thank you!!

[GreytRacer]

Thanks again! I can't wait until next month! Since you have the Fun Times, do they mention a talent show for the kids? Thanks again!

 

 

No talent show at all on this cruise. They might have something through Camp Carnival though.

[GreytRacer]

Great review....theres so many mixed ones...You really cant tell whether its going to be a lousy cruise or a great one....You really wont know till your the one writing the review....I hope my experience on the Ecstacy next month is as great as your was....

 

 

That's true! Luckily, we've always had good experiences, some even better than others. This one was really good and I hope yours is too! :-)

[GreytRacer]

Thanks for taking the time to write your wonderful and informative review. Great job!

 

 

 

Glad John Heald sent you something. I follow him on facebook and he is a great guy.

 

 

 

We are excited to see the Ecstasy is coming to Charleston soon. We love the fantasy class ships and have never sailed on her. I have booked a January cruise and will be sailing on the Fantasy one last time before she moves on.

 

 

 

Love cruising!! Thanks again!!

 

 

Thanks so much for reading! I truly appreciate it!

 

I love JH! I think he has a huge heart and is really funny. We had him as our CD on the Splendor a few weeks before they had the fire onboard.

 

The crew on the Ecstasy was one of the best we've ever had! Hope you have lots of good sailings on her in the future!

[GreytRacer]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences and pictures. My first cruise was on the Ecstasy so she will always have a special place in my heart. :-)

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

 

Nothing like the love for the "first ship"! :)

 

Thanks for reading!

[GreytRacer]

The weather doesn't sound like it will be too great. I live about 30 miles south of Lafayette, In. I am near Boiler country as well.

 

 

Bummer about the weather . :(. I'm headed to FL for the weekend and it doesn't look so good there either. Hope you have fun, regardless, Neighbor!

[GreytRacer]

Great review!!! Thank you!!

 

 

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[lifeisgoodPat]

Thank you so much for this fantastic review. I so appreciate all of you that give such wonderful informative reviews. I will be on this ship on December 11th and am looking forward to sailing her again. Thanks again….

[wrigley80]

Great Review....thanks for sharing your cruise with us