Ecstasy review 11-03-07

[Bassic]

Well, I finally have a few minutes to write a review...so here goes...

 

My new wife and I got to the terminal at about 1100, after she stressed a LOT over the motorcycles. We parked at our travel agent's parking lot, which is only a few blocks away, and they loaded our luggage and ourselves into a van and whisked us off to the terminal. When we got there, there was a good line of porters waiting to assist us with our luggage. We tipped the porter, and he got our bags out of the van, and directed us to the escalators leading to the line upstairs. There were only about 20 people in front of us, and as we got upstairs through security, we saw that they were getting some wedding parties aboard. I heard there were four weddings, we'd already taken care of that two days prior! So after waiting about 10 minutes or so in the check-in line, we were set to go. We went over to a small waiting area, where about 80 people were seated. There was a port guy there giving a brief talk about the boarding process. He was mildly hilarious, and everybody was laughing and having a good time. After maybe five minutes of sitting, we had our passports and docs in hand, we were told to stand up by section and make our way into the line. As we got up to the fake Mayan ruin they use for your embarkation photo, they opened the line on the right, and we jumped into that line. A family from New Zealand were right behind us, and we talked for a bit, they had an adult son with them who appeared to be mildly autistic, I overheard his name, Shawn, and I filed that away for later use. Really nice people, and we ended up being buddies on the ship. Whenever we'd see them, I'd always greet him by name, and he really seemed to enjoy that, and would wave and smile.

 

We were onboard and on the Lido deck, eating, by 11:30. Our room,U188, was ready by about 1:30. We met our steward, tipped him in advance, and our room was always neat and tidy whenever we returned, even if it was only a few minutes. I like the description that Goose had- they're almost invisible, and they actually live under the bed! ;):D Certainly seemed that way! The boat drill has changed- you carry your life jacket up to your muster station (ours was the Starlight Lounge in the back), they show you how to put it on, then you take them off, then they actually lead you out to your lifeboat and queue you up. Sailaway actually occurred during the drill, and we were moving by the time we got out on deck. :mad: Oh, well.

 

We ate in the dining room, the WindSong in the back, 8:30 seating. We had no tablemates! Nobody else was seated with us, which was fine by Debi. I'd have preferred to have had at least one other couple to talk to, as I am a social guy, but we "made do". There is almost no dress code the first nite, as they know some people don't have their luggage until after first seating, only rule is no swimsuits.

 

For breakfast most mornings, we ate in the Panorama Grill. I usually had eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, fruit, bread, and a cocktail of some sort- all the major food groups! ;) The first sea day was spent mostly on Lido, but we wandered around the ship some. The crew was REALLY friendly and nice, best of any cruise we've had so far.

 

I'd like to point out that this is our second time on this ship, and the upgrades they did to it after Katrina were subtle, but effective. The horrid orange carpet is gone, the neon seems to be less garish, but the ship is still fun. The Panorama Grill got a new ceiling, and the neon in there seems a little darker blue than the last time. The aqua colored booths are still there, but seem less nauseating than the first time we were there. Overall, it seems a little more refined than the last time, when I felt it had a tired, dated, worn-out look. She certainly was clean this time!

 

Formal nite was neat. My bride wore a pinstriped black suit, and looked stunning. I wore my full-length brocade coat with matching vest and pants. I love getting the chance to wear it, which is next to never, it's very dramatic. A couple of guys said they wanted to be my bodyguards, but I told them they needed sunglasses and coiled earpieces to do that...:D We took several photos that nite, including the Christmas backdrop- they'll be our Christmas cards this year! Later that nite, after dinner, the ship started rocking quite a bit, and Debi got hit with seasickness pretty bad right about 10pm. It hit her like a ton of bricks, so that was the end of our nite out.

 

Next morning, we ate breakfast, then went to the front of the ship to watch our arrival in Cozumel. Once we were close, we headed to the cabin to get our backpacks, then it was off to wait in the line to get off. Debarkation was smooth and easy, very quick. We walked down the pier, then headed into the shopping area to rent a Jeep. We had no plans, but the Jeep thing turned out to be really inexpensive ($90 total, including gas and insurance for the day). Top down, cruising along the only road around the island, clear skies, ocean breeze in our hair, does it get any better? Once we got to the eastern side of the island, we stopped at a little roadside stand to admire the waves, bought some trinkets, then it was off to lunch at Coconuts. We were the first patrons that day, they didn't even have the bar set up. We were greeted by the hostess, Vanilla, who was VERY friendly, giving us kisses and allowing us to stroke her before showing us to our seats at the bar. (Vanilla is a dog, BTW) The restaurant and bar are located on a little limestone cliff overlooking the Gulf, and the waves were crystal blue and white, just gorgeous. We drank our first drinks at the bar, then Vanilla took us out to our table on the edge of the cliff and seated us. It was really cute, she kept looking over her shoulder to make sure we were following her! Once seated, her cohort Margarita came over, and the two of them took their places under our chairs, making sure the sand remained free of small bits of food that were *inadvertantly* dropped. After a great meal of conch for Debi and tacos for me, we ambled off toward the middle of the island. We stopped at another stand off the side of the road for souvenirs, then found the turnoff to the San Gervaisio Mayan ruins. We didn't go through the whole thing, as time was getting short, but it was pretty there. Back to the Jeep to head into town and get gas before turning it in. The Pemex station was sheer chaos, total madness! We eventually got into the pump with the help of an attendant, who held a car from cutting us off and pumped our gas for us. We returned to the car lot and turned in our Jeep, but there wasn't enough time to go into town this trip. We did a little shopping at the pier, then went back to the ship. Someone had too much to drink, and was yelling "Viva Mexico! Viva la Raza!" at all the cops and Mexicans he could find, being loud and belligerent... we let them go ahead of us, detouring into a shop for about ten minutes. We were walking to the ship when we spotted them, the drunk guy pounding on the Mayan Indian's drum as he was trying to perform! They ended up behind us in the security line, causing enough of a scene that we were able to carry our bottles of alcohol right in! Leaving Cozumel, the ship was really rocking and rolling, the winds were pretty stiff, and the waves were big and choppy...Debi got "that look" again, so I made her eat some mashed potatoes and took her out on the boat deck, port side, to watch the lights over on the shore. This gave her a frame of reference, so the Bonine had a chance to work. It was really nice being away from people for that hour or so until we passed Cancun and started our turn to the west, where I correctly predicted that the ship would smooth out.

 

Next day was Progreso. The pier there is 5 miles long, and you dock out at the very end of it. The run buses every 15-20 minutes. The water there is shallow until you get out to the end of the pier, this is due to the fact that the Yucatan is a huge limestone shelf that sticks out in the water that far! So we got off in the little flea market there, then struck out on our own, walking to the town square, then to the beach, then realized we didn't have enough cash to last the day there. We hit the ATM at the BanaMex bank, then exchanged the pesos for US dollars. We figured out a way to get the street vendors to leave us alone- tell them you'll buy their stuff, then whip out your credit card! Apparently, they aren't connected enough there to have CC machines. Even the Le Saint Bonnet couldn't process our cards! Speaking of which, this was the place we ate lunch and hung out in for most of the rest of the day. I had nachos, which were massive- I couldn't finish them all! Debi had the whole fried fish, and was in heaven! Highly recommended as a great place to eat lunch, the manager is really nice as well, he's a Canadian transplant. We talked to him for a while.

 

After we got back to the ship, we stayed topside on Lido for a while, then ate yet again. Went to the piano bar one of the nights, don't recall which, Angela is pretty good. Went to the Starlight Lounge the last night to see the Party Favors band, who were cruising as well, they were quite good.

 

Debarkation was really painless, what used to be a total mess has really been cleaned up quite a bit. We arrived in Galveston around 7:45, then got cleared to debark at 8:15. Did the self-assist, which I highly recommend. We made our way back to the Society Lounge to wait for our number to be called, which was called at 8:30 or so. We got down to the Empress deck, stood in a very short line, then final swipe of the S&S card, and down the gangway to the Customs line. It was a long line, but it seemed to move OK. The Customs agent's line we were assigned seemed to have the slowest agent in it, but when we got to the front, he only took a few minutes, asked us if we had bought any alcohol on board, we said yes, it was strapped on the outside of one of our bags, we got ready to pay the $2.85 a liter duty, but he said "Nah, don't worry about it." Asked if we brought back medicine and Cuban cigars, of course we said no, and we were waved on. Went outside and found a cab, tipped the driver extra for the very short run, only a few blocks, told him to hurry and get back in line to get a better fare, he was very nice and wished us well, then hauled butt back to the ship to get another fare. We dropped the bags at the house at 10:30, then picked up the dogs at the kennel, we were all back home by 11:15! All in all, a great honeymoon!

[firefly333]

Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed it. We too had the Windsong, I think, the one in the aft?

 

Sounds like you had a good time, in spite of having a dining table all to yourselves. We like to eat with others at dinner as well.

[emaksb]

Glad to hear you enjoyed her. We are sailing on her Oct. 08 it's still a long time from now but still can't wait. This will be are 4th cruise and love it..

[julee407]

We must have been in the same customs line as you! He took forever, as others in other lines were passing us by. :(

[LambKnuckles]

Thank you!!! It's great to hear your reveiw!!!

 

We're on Ecstasy in Feb. The shuttle to town, is there a charge? Can it handle a wheelchair? Is Le Saint Bonnet obvious once you're off the shuttle, or will I need directions?

 

Wow! To live that close to the port... It really must be a joy to cruise... Home by 10:30 -- BRAGGART!!! :D

 

Happy maried life!

LK

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the review, Bassic.

[AKB10]

Thank You for the great review. I cruised exactly 1 year from your cruise. I remember driving into Galveston and seeing all of those bikes. Your review let me relive the fun. Thanks again. :)

[Capt's SweeTart]

Nice review!!

 

We too were on the Ecstasy the same time you were. We had a great time!

 

I have some pics posted on myspace if anyone cares to take a look.

 

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=102838056

 

Just click on the view pics.

 

I agree on the rough spots after we left Cozumel. I think I finally got my land legs and mind back today. :D

[cathyoo]

Congratulations on your wedding. Best wishes for a wonderful journey together. Thanks for the nice review.

[Bassic]

Why, thank you!

 

One thing that I should mention is that the Ecstasy can be a bumpy ride in weather...the stabilizers aren't all that effective. On Conquest, Debi never got seasick, but on Ecstasy both times, she did. Not saying that people will definitely get seasick (I never do), just a word of warning for people who easily get it, or are prone to it to make sure you take something before you get on this vessel. I talked to a guy who said he never gets seasick, and coming out of Cozumel, he got a case of the Urps...:eek: