Condition of Ecstasy vs Elation

[DrSea]

I am thinking about saving money by sailing the Ecstasy. 

 

My question is what are people's recent experiences on the Ecstasy and/or Elation? When I sailed past the Ecstasy in January, it looked really bad. I could see the rust and it just looked like it was in bad shape. The entire ship just creaked when floating. Trying to decide on how cheap to be. Haha. It is about $75 cheaper per room to sail on the Ecstasy vs the Elation. Any thoughts are welcomed. Thanks.

[Itried4498]

I'm pretty certain the Elation and Paradise were fully refurbished, including the staterooms (now featuring Vista-class décor; USB plugs are shown on the Paradise), whereas the Ecstasy was not.  I doubt there's much of a material difference between public areas of ship, but if you're somebody who's bothered by age, go with the Elation.

[Guest BasicSailor]

She ( Ecstasy)won't be getting any face lifts that's for sure.

[mz-s]

Elation was drydocked just before COVID.

 

Ecstasy will be gone by the end of the year so they're probably doing bare minimum to keep her seaworthy at this point.

 

Personally I'd sail Ecstasy despite the warts because you won't have the option to sail her at all forever in a few months. Whereas Elation will be around for several years to come most likely.

[ledges1]

10 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I am thinking about saving money by sailing the Ecstasy. 

 

My question is what are people's recent experiences on the Ecstasy and/or Elation? When I sailed past the Ecstasy in January, it looked really bad. I could see the rust and it just looked like it was in bad shape. The entire ship just creaked when floating. Trying to decide on how cheap to be. Haha. It is about $75 cheaper per room to sail on the Ecstasy vs the Elation. Any thoughts are welcomed. Thanks.

I sailed on the Ecstacy April 11th. I had an inside room on the 6th floor in the back. There is a reason it is being scrapped. The maintenance is mainly superficial.  For example, the steps going up on the Lido deck stage has rust on the metal and wood rot. When porting and the side thrusters turn on, the whole ship shakes. If you are in the back of the ship, it is very bad day to sleep late. There were water leaks In the Casino and buckets were placed to catch the water. One night we received a notice that the fresh water in the rooms would be turned off for a few hours for maintenance and we should let the water run in the morning to remove the sediment. If not, you would brush your teeth with brown water. Also, some slot machines were removed due to the water dripping in the casino.  This was one cruise. Did this occur on others, do not know. I have another cruise planned in June on the Ecstacy due to the extremely low price. Maybe low pricing is the only way to reach a decent capacity.

[mz-s]

4 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

I sailed on the Ecstacy April 11th. I had an inside room on the 6th floor in the back. There is a reason it is being scrapped. The maintenance is mainly superficial.  For example, the steps going up on the Lido deck stage has rust on the metal and wood rot. When porting and the side thrusters turn on, the whole ship shakes. If you are in the back of the ship, it is very bad day to sleep late. There were water leaks In the Casino and buckets were placed to catch the water. One night we received a notice that the fresh water in the rooms would be turned off for a few hours for maintenance and we should let the water run in the morning to remove the sediment. If not, you would brush your teeth with brown water. Also, some slot machines were removed due to the water dripping in the casino.  This was one cruise. Did this occur on others, do not know. I have another cruise planned in June on the Ecstacy due to the extremely low price. Maybe low pricing is the only way to reach a decent capacity.

 

The really weird thing is Sensation was drydocked in early 2020, a few months before COVID. Why they scrapped her before Ecstasy is so strange to me.

[DrSea]

1 minute ago, ledges1 said:

I sailed on the Ecstacy April 11th. I had an inside room on the 6th floor in the back. There is a reason it is being scrapped. The maintenance is mainly superficial.  For example, the steps going up on the Lido deck stage has rust on the metal and wood rot. When porting and the side thrusters turn on, the whole ship shakes. If you are in the back of the ship, it is very bad day to sleep late. There were water leaks In the Casino and buckets were placed to catch the water. One night we received a notice that the fresh water in the rooms would be turned off for a few hours for maintenance and we should let the water run in the morning to remove the sediment. If not, you would brush your teeth with brown water. Also, some slot machines were removed due to the water dripping in the casino.  This was one cruise. Did this occur on others, do not know. I have another cruise planned in June on the Ecstacy due to the extremely low price. Maybe low pricing is the only way to reach a decent capacity.

That was very helpful. 

 

Did the ship smell? How was the food? I presume it will be the same kind of food across all fleet (minus the XL class) for all ships that do 3-5 day itineraries.

 

It seems like the Ecstasy prices will continue to fall the closer to sailing. I have about a month to book, and I doubt it will fill. Thanks

[DrSea]

12 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

I sailed on the Ecstacy April 11th. I had an inside room on the 6th floor in the back. There is a reason it is being scrapped. The maintenance is mainly superficial.  For example, the steps going up on the Lido deck stage has rust on the metal and wood rot. When porting and the side thrusters turn on, the whole ship shakes. If you are in the back of the ship, it is very bad day to sleep late. There were water leaks In the Casino and buckets were placed to catch the water. One night we received a notice that the fresh water in the rooms would be turned off for a few hours for maintenance and we should let the water run in the morning to remove the sediment. If not, you would brush your teeth with brown water. Also, some slot machines were removed due to the water dripping in the casino.  This was one cruise. Did this occur on others, do not know. I have another cruise planned in June on the Ecstacy due to the extremely low price. Maybe low pricing is the only way to reach a decent capacity.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this on their sailings?

[bobbismith]

16 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

I sailed on the Ecstacy April 11th. I had an inside room on the 6th floor in the back. There is a reason it is being scrapped. The maintenance is mainly superficial.  For example, the steps going up on the Lido deck stage has rust on the metal and wood rot. When porting and the side thrusters turn on, the whole ship shakes. If you are in the back of the ship, it is very bad day to sleep late. There were water leaks In the Casino and buckets were placed to catch the water. One night we received a notice that the fresh water in the rooms would be turned off for a few hours for maintenance and we should let the water run in the morning to remove the sediment. If not, you would brush your teeth with brown water. Also, some slot machines were removed due to the water dripping in the casino.  This was one cruise. Did this occur on others, do not know. I have another cruise planned in June on the Ecstacy due to the extremely low price. Maybe low pricing is the only way to reach a decent capacity.

We have a July 5 day cruise due to unbelievable5-day deals. We will enjoy her and wish her well as she sails into the sunset. Any day on vacation is a good day. 

Bobbi

[ledges1]

The Ecstacy did not smell. The staff were constantly cleaning and the service great. The MDR menu was the same as the other cruises I have been on. The Cruise Director did a very good job.

[ledges1]

We sailed on April 11th at about 70% capacity (1400/2000).

[DrSea]

2 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

The Ecstacy did not smell. The staff were constantly cleaning and the service great. The MDR menu was the same as the other cruises I have been on. The Cruise Director did a very good job.

Thanks for letting me know. I will keep my eyes posted for deals. I think it can drop to $50 for the 5 day cruise. 

[Itried4498]

6 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Has anyone else experienced anything like this on their sailings?

 

There are plenty of reviews for recent voyages on this ship, including several on YouTube.  Only a few are negative, and the ship appears to be in very good shape.  Some people are inherently bothered by age... if that's you, book another ship.

[ledges1]

3 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Thanks for letting me know. I will keep my eyes posted for deals. I think it can drop to $50 for the 5 day cruise. 

Blerk also cruise on this same date and he wrote some reviews. He mentioned the water being turned off. I am sure you can find his review.

[DrSea]

I cannot believe my lying eyes. The cruise literally dropped $10 within the hour. Haha! It's now $80 for 5 days. 

[ledges1]

I paid $78.60 per day for the June 20th 5 day cruise about 3 weeks ago.

[DrSea]

5 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

I paid $78.60 per day for the June 20th 5 day cruise about 3 weeks ago.

Great deal. 

 

Did the water taste funny? I saw some video right now of people saying that the water was yellow...

[ledges1]

Just now, DrSea said:

Great deal. 

 

Did the water taste funny? I saw some video right now of people saying that the water was yellow...

It was yellow but did clear up after running the water. I do not drink the water in the rooms. I do not know if they cut the water off to the Lido deck dispensers and kitchen. I think it was only to the rooms. I am not sure if it was all rooms. However, my room was cut of for a while. I think the non potable water continued to work. I did not get up in the middle of the night to verify.

[evandbob]

I stopped sailing this old class of ships 2 decades ago.  They were OLD then.

[Itried4498]

5 minutes ago, evandbob said:

I stopped sailing this old class of ships 2 decades ago.  They were OLD then.

 

Old at 10-years-old... again, if you're obsessive with age, pick another ship, but from all reports, it's in great shape.

[DrSea]

36 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

It was yellow but did clear up after running the water. I do not drink the water in the rooms. I do not know if they cut the water off to the Lido deck dispensers and kitchen. I think it was only to the rooms. I am not sure if it was all rooms. However, my room was cut of for a while. I think the non potable water continued to work. I did not get up in the middle of the night to verify.

Thanks for all the clarification. 

 

Was the water clear when getting water at the drink station? Someone said that the water was yellow when they got it from like the Lido deck. 

[ledges1]

I get up early each morning for coffee. Lido deck coffee is too strong. I mix it with half water, half coffee. I did not notice yellow water. Maybe they were drinking from a yellow plastic cup.

[40yearcruiser]

We were on the Elation a couple weeks ago. The ship interior was in good condition for an older ship. I'm not fond of the layout of the public areas on that ship. The atrium had some nice music, but there was no place to sit (except at the small bar) on any of the decks around it to enjoy the music. Other music venues also seemed to be poorly planned. As a plus it has the largest library I've seen on a ship in years. I haven't been on Ecstasy so don't know if it has the same layout. Unfortunately, on our last sea day on the way back to Jacksonville we had very high winds and rough seas and bounced around like a cork. Many passengers were seasick and the pool (only one on this ship) was drained. For what we paid we aren't complaining, but it definitely is not the same experience you get on a larger ship.

[F27TW]

17 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

She ( Ecstasy)won't be getting any face lifts that's for sure.

 

It would take a lot more than a new face to make this old scow presentable at this point. 

[aggie182]

Going on the Ecstasy in a few weeks.  Mostly to say we've been on her, and partly because it was cheap.  I am really looking forward to it.  I think we have our expectations of the ship in the right spot to really enjoy it.

 

I  was pressing my wife to take the Ecstasy's last trip in October, but the summer works better for us so we decided to go for it now rather than later.