Ecstasy November 18 - 23, Live

[vacationlover16]

Great review! Thanks for bringing us along!

[indygirl76]

Another very good dinner in the MDR with service from Igor and Co. We also found out why the assistant waiter, Lester, has been exceptionally happy this week - he leaves the ship the same time we do! (His contract is over.) 

 

We had "crab soup" that mystifyingly had a beef base but was a very tasty not-crab soup, meatballs, veal parm, and lamb shank. Or as the assistant waitress hilariously put it, "laaaaamb shank." I laughed so hard at that joke - bear in mind the cocktail schedule today - that I forgot to take pictures of the main courses. #reviewfail Cheesecake with strawberry sauce poured tableside for dessert was also quite good, very firm, not that silly jello-based stuff. 

 

Dinner was followed by a 90s music review in the atrium. Highlights: a grandma that won the twerking contest, a gorgeous Marine that alternately humped the railing and then acted out the "king of the world" thing with the cruise director (both male, and I'm pretty sure the CD was dyyyying), and a 17(!!!) year old who knew all the words to Ice Ice Baby. I now have hope for the future, thank you Taylor! 

[indygirl76]

Closed out the night with several Alchemy drinks (repeats, so no pics). Quest is going on in the adjacent lounge. Several ladies in a row, loudly and creatively faked orgasms on the microphone. #shiplife

[marshhawk]

Thanks for doing this-we are traveling with non beach folks, so your adventure in Nassau sounds good.  Keep on writing, oh, and thanks for the food porn-off to work now, but I had to catch up. 

[indygirl76]

1 hour ago, marshhawk said:

Thanks for doing this-we are traveling with non beach folks, so your adventure in Nassau sounds good.  Keep on writing, oh, and thanks for the food porn-off to work now, but I had to catch up. 

You're welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying it! 🙂 There's lots of non-beach, historical stuff to do in Nassau, if you're into that. We've just done most of it and wanted a lazy day. (Although the walk from the ship to the shops was not for the faint of heart. Yikes.) 

[indygirl76]

So, sea day brunch was kind of a clusterfudge today. They were PACKED. We had a cheese danish, honey butter biscuit (served, to my utter sadness, without honey or butter), and steak and eggs. I took a repeat picture of the steak and eggs, because my plate was missing the tomato. Horrors!! 

It was under the steak. So that's another review fail. I wonder how many we're up to?? 

 

[Mliddon]

4 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

(Although the walk from the ship to the shops was not for the faint of heart. Yikes.) 

 What happened?!?!

[indygirl76]

1 hour ago, Mliddon said:

 What happened?!?!

Sorry, nothing dramatic! It was just a super long walk. There were three ships in port, and we were the furthest one. 

[indygirl76]

I just did the Alchemy Mixology class. I am tipsy as all get out, despite purposely pacing myself beforehand, and it was so much fun!! It's an invite-only thing on the last sea day. Not even listed in the Fun Times - I favorited a natural remedy class happening at the same time, in the Hub app, to have the alarm reminder. (That meets in the gym, so there was zero chance I'd forget and think I was actually doing that!) 

 

You learn how to make four cocktails from the Alchemy menu. Lots of failures, some inside jokes that I won't repeat, and a hellaciously sticky bartop from amateurs trying to use the shakers and strainers. 😍 😍 😍 

[amyotravel]

Hi,

 

How much does this cost?

 

Thanks!

5 minutes ago, indygirl76 said:

I just did the Alchemy Mixology class. I am tipsy as all get out, despite purposely pacing myself beforehand, and it was so much fun!! It's an invite-only thing on the last sea day. Not even listed in the Fun Times - I favorited a natural remedy class happening at the same time, in the Hub app, to have the alarm reminder. (That meets in the gym, so there was zero chance I'd forget and think I was actually doing that!) 

 

You learn how to make four cocktails from the Alchemy menu. Lots of failures, some inside jokes that I won't repeat, and a hellaciously sticky bartop from amateurs trying to use the shakers and strainers. 😍 😍 😍 

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by amyotravel

[indygirl76]

1 hour ago, amyotravel said:

Hi,

 

How much does this cost?

 

Thanks!

 

It's $15, plus a 25% discount if you have Cheers. (But just to reiterate, it's invite-only and very space limited. We had ten, and I would think you could mayyyybe do 12, tops.) 

[blarko]

2 minutes ago, indygirl76 said:

It's $15, plus a 25% discount if you have Cheers. (But just to reiterate, it's invite-only and very space limited. We had ten, and I would think you could mayyyybe do 12, tops.) 

 

How does one get invited?

[indygirl76]

19 minutes ago, blarko said:

 

How does one get invited?

🤷‍♂️ I go to Alchemy a lot, I'm always nice (underrated skill on a busy ship), and I tip on top of Cheers. But I've done all of those for as long as Alchemy has been a thing - at least my last three cruises, maybe more - and this one was the first time I scored an invite. It makes sense, since the space is so limited. After I got the invite last night, I searched and there are a handful of CC threads on past classes. 

[indygirl76]

Last dinner tonight (😭 😭). We had the most delicious broccoli cheese soup I've ever had, a canneloni with great sauce but terrible filling (peas? in a canneloni?), the lobster from the steakhouse selections menu, and grilled mahi. I haven't reviewed pics yet - I usually do that right when I'm uploading them for the review, I'm totes professional about this sucker - but I think I forgot at least one?? One more fail for the road! 

 

We had a different server team tonight. Igor's section was full, and we were trying to get some food in Karen while she was feeling halfway decent. (Seasick had her down again this afternoon.) The hostess found us a table "next door" to their section, and we took a slow moment to slip them some extra cash. Those few of you following this review because you're cruising Ecstasy soon, request Igor if you have ATD. His team is fabulous. 

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review.  Great idea about moving the beds - looks like much more space.

[indygirl76]

3 hours ago, jimbri said:

Enjoying your review.  Great idea about moving the beds - looks like much more space.

Thanks! I've never had separate beds that weren't in the L to begin with. But when we left our cabin this morning, and all the doors were open, all of them had that weird initial setup. Must just be how they do it on this ship?? Sorry, cabin guy!! 

[indygirl76]

One last pic from last night, another of Zoran's creations. No idea what was in it - helpful, aren't I? - but it was absolutely fantastic. I might have had three when the first one was supposed to be my last of the night... 

[blarko]

6 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

Thanks! I've never had separate beds that weren't in the L to begin with. But when we left our cabin this morning, and all the doors were open, all of them had that weird initial setup. Must just be how they do it on this ship?? Sorry, cabin guy!! 

 

It’s not just that ship. When I cruised Elation, the beds were set up side by side like that as well. I wish I would’ve thought to move them into the L shape. I cruised the Imagination a few years ago and the beds were set up in the L shape, so I was surprised when I saw them side by side on Elation last year. I like the L shape much better as it provides some much more floor space and makes the room feel bigger.

[indygirl76]

Exactly!! 

[Shaded Lady]

On 11/22/2019 at 4:20 PM, indygirl76 said:

 

Just wondering what day of the month November 22th falls on!!! LOL!

[indygirl76]

3 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

 

Just wondering what day of the month November 22th falls on!!! LOL!

Hahaha! That's hilarious, bless his heart. But his English is wayyyyy better than my Bosnian, so... 😁

[indygirl76]

Random notes and closing thoughts, in no particular order, but mostly about food:

 

* The edible straws are a hard pass. HARD. PASS. They need to provide a bamboo stirrer or something for frozen drinks. I literally saw a guy ask for and receive a piece of spaghetti for the olives in his martini. So if you read that here like I did, and thought it was a joke, it wasn't!

* The "country urn o'butter" is an utter embarrassment; I don't have germ issues, but it's (very, very) tacky. They should just fill small ramekins.

* People waiting in line for burritos for twenty minutes, while ignoring an empty taco line, were my best friends this cruise.

* Lido was remarkably uncrowded on this ship. I usually avoid it like the plague after embarkation lunch, but we stopped almost every day for a snack. 

* Room service was crazyfast, and really very good! I'm just sad I forgot to order any until late the last night. Did that for review purposes, of course. And then forgot to review it. Sid, Greg, and Jamman, how do you remember all this stuff??

* Our room steward was kind of iffy this time. Never brought the flat pillows we asked for, took away the towel animal every day (we sit them out of the way, and like to collect a menagerie), hit or miss with emptying trash, etc. Not terrible or complaint worthy, but iffy.

* Forgot to mention it at the time, but I expected to pay a cancellation fee for the Nassau excursion. Excursion staff didn't even mention it, just refunded in full immediately when I said (truthfully!) that we were canceling because Karen was sick.

* Spent no time at the spa this cruise. They never had spa flyers / specials, which was a first time for me. We were planning to spend HMC day in the spa, and wound up just blowing it off.

 

I think that's everything I had to ramble about. 🙂 Great trip overall; now I'm just shopping on Amazon for upgraded anti-seasick meds!!

[marshhawk]

Again, thank you!  Glad you are home-where to next?

[indygirl76]

3 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Again, thank you!  Glad you are home-where to next?

You're welcome, glad I could help or at least be amusing! I have a land trip to Clearwater Beach in three weeks* and then Karen and I are booked on the Norwegian Breakaway to Costa Maya and Great Harvest Cay in May. TBD whether we'll go, after this year's experience with seasickness. We have until February 1st to decide. 

 

* I'm going to get all the laundry done from the cruise this weekend, and just put all that same stuff back in the suitcase! Never even put the suitcases in the closet once I got home - what's the point?? 😁 

[marshhawk]

My non cruising friend used the patch, and it worked well for her.

You were lucky to have such great service and "knowledge" in the dining room.  Think I will stick to the main breakfast menu.  Personally the thing I loved about Carnival when we started cruising, is that it was all inclusive (except for drinks)  now they offer something that sounds tasty but you have to pay extra.  They should just go back to tasty, and not have to pay more for it.

 

Again, thank you, and happy travels.

 

9 more days til we cruise!