ECSTASY 10/7/06 REVIEW - Long

[Grannygirl21]

This was our second cruise...the first was with the Celebration/2002.

We live close to Dallas so we chose to drive to Galveston Saturday morning. Left around 6:00 am, stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and arrived at EZ Park around 11:00 am. Had to follow them to their second parking lot and then was loaded (with luggage) onto a nice bus and driven to the Cruise Terminal. Found a Porter, gave him our luggage (tipped $1 per bag) and headed for embarktion. We had filled out all our forms and Fun Ship passes before so we were moved pretty fast through the whole process. Was on board the ship around 12:30. Went to find our cabin U130 (inside room) and was told that it was not ready yet. Much to my surprize, it was decorated with streamers and a fruit basket was given to us by the Casino Host. (thanks to the tip found on this board, I emailed him 2 weeks prior to our sail date).

Found the Lido deck and started with a few drinks of the day and a wonderful hamburger from the Lido Bar & Grill. Noticed that we had 8:30 dinner seating so at 1:30 went to the Wind Star dining room and changed to earlier seating with no problem.

Muster drill was very easy as we only had to go to the Lido deck and sit outside in chairs to wait for the drill to be over. However, we did miss being able to watch the sailing off from Galveston as the muster drill was not over until around 4:45 or so.

First night we ate in the dining room 6:15 seating in the Wind Star table M123 with some very delightful dinner partners. Loved all the food....order two of everything that I wanted. Our waiter was kind of rude and did not like the idea of us ordering two of things and you could tell that he was a little put out. On formal night, brought a bottle of wine to share with our dinner partners (willing to pay the cork fee) and our waiter repremanded me for bringing the wine and embarrassed me in front of everyone. He said he would have to charge me the cork fee (thats fine) and that I could have purchased a bottle of wine from them for nearly the same price. Well, I was just beet red by that time and he still seemed put out when we ordered lobster and prime rib so we did not go back to the dining room again and promptly removed his tips. Now everyone, don't go off on me...I was looking forward to eating in the dining room EVERY night and I am not that picky of a person...EXCEPt when I get embarrased in front of others. With that said...we loved eating in the Panorama Bar & Grill and the service and food was great!!

Our Cruise director was Stuart Dunn and he was wonderful. Our room Steward was the best we had ever had, she really took care of us. The Casino host was very gracious and the drink waiters were very handy!

Enjoyed the Park West Art Auction, the Karaoke, the Casino, laying by the pool and the new and improved TV and channels in the room.

 

Cozumel was great - we tendered in and it wasn't bad as we did not have a tour booked so we took our time and did not try to tender until around 9:45am. We ate a Poncho's Backyard and did some shopping. Water was beautiful and weather was hot but nice.

 

Progresso - I keep reading mixed reviews but here is mine...keep in mind that I have been to several Texas border towns and pretty much knew what to expect....NOT. Bus ride is ok into town IF you catch one that has air conditioning as it will sit there until it is full. There were taxi's but don't know how much they cost. I did find the shopping at the port to be cheaper than Cozumel so save your money until then. Also, several were taking the tours offered by individuals at a much less price than booking with Carnival and never heard anything but good things about these tours. When we got to town..we were deposited by the market. You walk two blocks to the beach and will be hounded by the shops all the way there. The beaches are not as nice as Cozumel but they are very pretty and kept clean (we saw people walking up and down the beach cleaning all day long). We ate at St Bonnet and the restrooms were awful (no commode seats so you can only guess what I had to do) and very dirty. I was very dissapointed in the resturant as I had read so many good things about it. My husband got some spoiled shrimp (smelled awful) and got sick from them.

 

We did the assisted debarktion and sat our luggage out around 9:30 or so. Next morning had a early breakfast and watched the Ecstasy make a complete turn around in the Galveston Bay. If you have never seen this...make a point to be out on deck around 7:00am and experience this wonder.

 

Waited on the Lido deck until our color was called. Got a Porter and was through customs and to the car by 11:30.

 

Stopped on the way out of Galveston at a fresh fish market on the left hand side of the road for 5 dozen of the best shrimp ever to take home(they ice it down for you) and headed back home. Pretty good at $8.00 lb.

 

We made our usual stop at Woody's BBQ in Centerville....if you have never stopped there it is only 7.95 lb for anything you want and you get free beans and tea!!! Also, several items to purchase like pickled okra and such and a great meat market.

 

All in all had a great time....did notice that there were seveal kids on board the ship running around all hours of the night, and would take it again but with excrusions planned.

 

Best Tips used from this board:

collapsed laundry hamper

emailing Casino Host two weeks prior

going to Maitre D at 1:30 to change seating on first day

take exstension cord thing

take alarm clock

EZ Parking

Using Porter for arriving and leaving

Getting on ship around noon

ordering two of anything in dining room

tying bright colored bandanas on my luggage at debarktion

 

Thanks for all the great advise, the Ecstasy is a beautiful ship, met several very nice people and we can't wait to go on the Conquest in 2007!

[mrdood]

Just a couple of comments:

 

You should have spoken to the Maitre'D about your waiter, and hopefully you wrote down his name and table you were at and detailed his performance on the comment card!

 

Those two things would have had the most impact.

[petro772]

First night we ate in the dining room 6:15 seating in the Wind Star table M123 with some very delightful dinner partners. Loved all the food....order two of everything that I wanted. Our waiter was kind of rude and did not like the idea of us ordering two of things and you could tell that he was a little put out. On formal night, brought a bottle of wine to share with our dinner partners (willing to pay the cork fee) and our waiter repremanded me for bringing the wine and embarrassed me in front of everyone. He said he would have to charge me the cork fee (thats fine) and that I could have purchased a bottle of wine from them for nearly the same price. Well, I was just beet red by that time and he still seemed put out when we ordered lobster and prime rib so we did not go back to the dining room again and promptly removed his tips.

 

Good for you! I would have done a lot worse. ;)

[cathyoo]

On our last cruise the waiter told my BIL he could not order two at one time. He could order one and when that was finished they would bring the other entree. If my waiter was terrible I would ask to have my table changed. My DH and I love the atmosphere too much to have someone force us to eat at the buffet.

 

How was the entertainment?

[Grannygirl21]

I know, I should have but even though it sounds like I can cause a stink..I really don't like to. We made friends with the other dinner guest and met up with them frequently and they too had the same problem with him. And then my husband got sick from the food in Progesso and he didn't really eat for a couple of meals. But if anyone does eat the buffet...don't pass up the soups. They are wonderful, escpecially the Clam chowder!!! The ice cream, the deli sandwiches, the fresh fruit every day. I can't really complain...I did eat well and was stuffed all the time.

 

Sorry, I did not make it to any of the shows....the Casino kind of had my attention at that time of night. Next time, need to go to the shows for sure.

[Stircrzy]

Just a couple of comments:

 

You should have spoken to the Maitre'D about your waiter, and hopefully you wrote down his name and table you were at and detailed his performance on the comment card!

 

Those two things would have had the most impact.

 

And if you didn't, you can still write a letter to Carnival with your sailing date and table number. They want to know about this kind of thing...and it helps the rest of us not have to suffer through something like this.

 

He was totally wrong to treat you that way. He could have certainly done this in a nice way instead of embarrassing you. I'd have removed his tips, too.

[rvrgirl]

And if you didn't, you can still write a letter to Carnival with your sailing date and table number. They want to know about this kind of thing...and it helps the rest of us not have to suffer through something like this.

 

He was totally wrong to treat you that way. He could have certainly done this in a nice way instead of embarrassing you. I'd have removed his tips, too.

 

I agree! I would certainly write them a letter. that was totally uncalled for.

Good thing you did not pre pay your tips;)

[sammy b]

THANK YOU for the review we sail out in Jan and enjoy reading as much as I can!

 

Too bad about your waiter.....please write carnival and let them know about your experience the good and not soo good. Glad inspite of the dining room incident you had a nice vacation!

 

Does anyone out there have a price list of the wines offered at dinner?

 

[tkportersat]

This was our second cruise...the first was with the Celebration/2002.

We live close to Dallas so we chose to drive to Galveston Saturday morning. Left around 6:00 am, stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and arrived at EZ Park around 11:00 am. Had to follow them to their second parking lot and then was loaded (with luggage) onto a nice bus and driven to the Cruise Terminal. Found a Porter, gave him our luggage (tipped $1 per bag) and headed for embarktion. We had filled out all our forms and Fun Ship passes before so we were moved pretty fast through the whole process. Was on board the ship around 12:30. Went to find our cabin U130 (inside room) and was told that it was not ready yet. Much to my surprize, it was decorated with streamers and a fruit basket was given to us by the Casino Host. (thanks to the tip found on this board, I emailed him 2 weeks prior to our sail date).

Found the Lido deck and started with a few drinks of the day and a wonderful hamburger from the Lido Bar & Grill. Noticed that we had 8:30 dinner seating so at 1:30 went to the Wind Star dining room and changed to earlier seating with no problem.

Muster drill was very easy as we only had to go to the Lido deck and sit outside in chairs to wait for the drill to be over. However, we did miss being able to watch the sailing off from Galveston as the muster drill was not over until around 4:45 or so.

First night we ate in the dining room 6:15 seating in the Wind Star table M123 with some very delightful dinner partners. Loved all the food....order two of everything that I wanted. Our waiter was kind of rude and did not like the idea of us ordering two of things and you could tell that he was a little put out. On formal night, brought a bottle of wine to share with our dinner partners (willing to pay the cork fee) and our waiter repremanded me for bringing the wine and embarrassed me in front of everyone. He said he would have to charge me the cork fee (thats fine) and that I could have purchased a bottle of wine from them for nearly the same price. Well, I was just beet red by that time and he still seemed put out when we ordered lobster and prime rib so we did not go back to the dining room again and promptly removed his tips. Now everyone, don't go off on me...I was looking forward to eating in the dining room EVERY night and I am not that picky of a person...EXCEPt when I get embarrased in front of others. With that said...we loved eating in the Panorama Bar & Grill and the service and food was great!!

Our Cruise director was Stuart Dunn and he was wonderful. Our room Steward was the best we had ever had, she really took care of us. The Casino host was very gracious and the drink waiters were very handy!

Enjoyed the Park West Art Auction, the Karaoke, the Casino, laying by the pool and the new and improved TV and channels in the room.

 

Cozumel was great - we tendered in and it wasn't bad as we did not have a tour booked so we took our time and did not try to tender until around 9:45am. We ate a Poncho's Backyard and did some shopping. Water was beautiful and weather was hot but nice.

 

Progresso - I keep reading mixed reviews but here is mine...keep in mind that I have been to several Texas border towns and pretty much knew what to expect....NOT. Bus ride is ok into town IF you catch one that has air conditioning as it will sit there until it is full. There were taxi's but don't know how much they cost. I did find the shopping at the port to be cheaper than Cozumel so save your money until then. Also, several were taking the tours offered by individuals at a much less price than booking with Carnival and never heard anything but good things about these tours. When we got to town..we were deposited by the market. You walk two blocks to the beach and will be hounded by the shops all the way there. The beaches are not as nice as Cozumel but they are very pretty and kept clean (we saw people walking up and down the beach cleaning all day long). We ate at St Bonnet and the restrooms were awful (no commode seats so you can only guess what I had to do) and very dirty. I was very dissapointed in the resturant as I had read so many good things about it. My husband got some spoiled shrimp (smelled awful) and got sick from them.

 

We did the assisted debarktion and sat our luggage out around 9:30 or so. Next morning had a early breakfast and watched the Ecstasy make a complete turn around in the Galveston Bay. If you have never seen this...make a point to be out on deck around 7:00am and experience this wonder.

 

Waited on the Lido deck until our color was called. Got a Porter and was through customs and to the car by 11:30.

 

Stopped on the way out of Galveston at a fresh fish market on the left hand side of the road for 5 dozen of the best shrimp ever to take home(they ice it down for you) and headed back home. Pretty good at $8.00 lb.

 

We made our usual stop at Woody's BBQ in Centerville....if you have never stopped there it is only 7.95 lb for anything you want and you get free beans and tea!!! Also, several items to purchase like pickled okra and such and a great meat market.

 

All in all had a great time....did notice that there were seveal kids on board the ship running around all hours of the night, and would take it again but with excrusions planned.

 

Best Tips used from this board:

collapsed laundry hamper

emailing Casino Host two weeks prior

going to Maitre D at 1:30 to change seating on first day

take exstension cord thing

take alarm clock

EZ Parking

Using Porter for arriving and leaving

Getting on ship around noon

ordering two of anything in dining room

tying bright colored bandanas on my luggage at debarktion

 

Thanks for all the great advise, the Ecstasy is a beautiful ship, met several very nice people and we can't wait to go on the Conquest in 2007!

When did you go in 2002? My first sailing was also on the Celebration 9/28/02, I also just went on the Ecstasy - 3 weeks ago!

 

Sorry you had problems with the waiter, I think you had every right to remove the tips in that situation - but definitely let Carnival know of the situation, they DO really take your comments seriously.

[AKB10]

Thanks for the review. My first cruise is in 16 days on the Ecstasy - can't wait.

[Shea]

Much to my surprize, it was decorated with streamers and a fruit basket was given to us by the Casino Host. (thanks to the tip found on this board, I emailed him 2 weeks prior to our sail date).

 

What did you have to tell the casino host. sorry new to cc havent read all the tips

[Grannygirl21]

When did you go in 2002? My first sailing was also on the Celebration 9/28/02, I also just went on the Ecstasy - 3 weeks ago!

**************

Wow...small world...that is when we went as well on the Celebration. We went to Coszumel first and got to stay there until midnight. Then we docked at Calica and went to Playa.

 

I have the wine prices as I took a menu of all the drinks and prices.. What are you interested in. You can take your own wine on board though....corking fee is $10.00 and they bring the leftowver wine to your table chilled every night.

[tkportersat]

When did you go in 2002? My first sailing was also on the Celebration 9/28/02, I also just went on the Ecstasy - 3 weeks ago!

**************

Wow...small world...that is when we went as well on the Celebration. We went to Coszumel first and got to stay there until midnight. Then we docked at Calica and went to Playa.

 

I have the wine prices as I took a menu of all the drinks and prices.. What are you interested in. You can take your own wine on board though....corking fee is $10.00 and they bring the leftowver wine to your table chilled every night.

Celebration is what got me hooked!! Glad you had fun :)

[monakayk]

Can you explain about this: "emailing Casino Host two weeks prior". In doing so....you received the bon voyage decorations for free or what?

Thanks!:)

[232271]

Can you explain about this: "emailing Casino Host two weeks prior". In doing so....you received the bon voyage decorations for free or what?

Thanks!:)

 

Ditto

 

I am interested in this as well:)