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My Ecstasy review, Oct. 28th sailing

jhale

By jhale,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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jhale

jhale

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Getting there - I live in Houston, so I'm used to the chaotic traffic. Prepare for looooong waits at the red lights going into the pier.

 

Getting On - I've sailed out of Galveston 3 times previous to this, and this was the longest wait I've ever had. The good news is, once you're through at the counter, it moves rather quickly.

 

Getting in the room - We were in M236, it's an inside that sleeps 4. However we were only 2 so I can't comment on the bunks, lol. The carpets and linens were new. I am, however, wondering how long the beautiful white duvet covers will last. The shower did flow over the 2 inch piece meant to not allow just that. But it only did it right when you turned it on, weird! Great goodies in the bathroom, ie - razors (his & hers) Tylenol pm, floss, toothpaste, etc.

 

Getting Drinks - As another person that reviewed this trip stated, there did seem to be a shortage of bartenders. There was VERY little waitstaff roaming around, with the exception of in the casino. ATTENTION ALL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LOVERS!! GO TO THE SOCIETY BAR, THERE YOU WILL FIND THE NICEST BARTENDER EVER, WHO JUST HAPPENS TO MAKE THE STRONGEST DRINKS ON THE SHIP, LOL. Needless to say we spent a lot of time there. Drinks of the day were the standard fruity drinks, however the best "Fun Ship" drinks (aka strongest) can be found at the bar located in the Panorama Grill, next to the cranky sandwich maker. I heard there were Cokes on the ship, I however never saw one, hehehe.

 

Getting Photos - Dear lord, what a mess! They are displayed in a VERY narrow hall, not suited for us over eaters. It tends to get very crowded really quickly. We never found our gangway pics from Cozumel, but other than that, the ones we did buy came out great.

 

Getting to Shows - We only went to the newlywed not so newlywed show, which as usual was hilarious! Having gone on 5 other Carnival cruises, we just skipped most of the broadway style productions. Other guests did seem to enjoy them though.

 

The FOOD! - Pizza was great as usual, the husband was upset thought that the "24 hour Pizzeria" was closed numerous times when he was hungry. This happened mostly during the day. The Panorama Grill buffet was on par with other trips, nothing spectacular, but adequate. I did enjoy the breakfast buffet. In the dining room, dinner was good. The filet mignon was a little bit of a let down, but the prime rib, lobster, sirloin, and excellent appetizers made up for it. Good desserts as well. The guy making the sandwiches in the Panorama Grill was cranky, and did things his way. The sandwiches themselves however were quite tastey!!

 

Getting great service - With the exception of the non-existant bar service people, we had an excellent waiter, Rodolfo in the Windstar. His assistant never did introduce himself, but always had bread on the table, and our glasses full of whatever we were drinking. Our cabin stewerd was great! We were a pretty ambitious group, and he played right along with us. Casino dealers were ok, there were a couple that stood out, Monika the Fun 21 dealer was a riot.

 

Getting off in port - Well, we did no excursions and set out on our own. Starting at Carlos and Charlie's at 10:30 am. Anyone who's been there knows where this is going. After a few yard glass margaritas, it was off to Chakanaab Park. BEAUTIFUL! It was 12 us dollars to get in and 8 us dollars to rent snorkel gear. The snorkeling was great, lots to see. It is a roped off area, and there are lifeguards. I don't think that they take the job to serious though as we managed to climb up into the lifeguard stand with them and our margaritas and sit for a while, lol. There are also dolphins shows, and other marine features to see. It was far worth it, we go there every time and will go back. On the way back to the ship, we found the Fat Tuesday's at the end of our pier. I'm guessing you've figured it out by now, more yard glass drinks. Good times had by all, we hit the duty free shop on the way back to get a bottle of Goldschlager. After we waited in the 300 deep long line of people, we got to the security check point where we were told to go drop our bottle off at the pursers desk. Yeah, we took it to the room.

 

Getting paid (in the casino) - We were disappointed to find the craps table minimum is now 10 dollars up from 5, but that was the only major change in the casino. Lost alot at roulette, loved Fun 21, again see Monika. Slots were pretty tight, so we didn't play those much.

 

Getting your groove on - There was music for everyone! Stripes was the late night dance club, current hip hop music.There was awesome karaeoke in the Starlight Lounge every night. Chinatown has a live band nightly, as well as numerous little side bands and singers strewn about the ship.

 

Getting SPOOKED! - Halloween was fun! We didn't bring costumes this year, but many people did. One that stands out in my mind is the 6 foot tall Dallas Cowboy's cheelearder, that was a guy! Very funny! They did have a contest, it was held in the Stripes lounge.

 

Getting off the ship - As if it wasn't sad enough to be leaving, we had the usual customs hoopla. Getting picked up is a NIGHTMARE! It was raining, no wait FLOODING and there was mass chaos. I love sailing out of Galveston on Carnival, but the newer Royal Carribbean terminal is much easier to get in and out of. To many busses, to few lanes for cars, only one lane that is actually moving. Hopefully with more ships coming into this port, they'll adjust this area.

 

Overall - The ship is beautiful, a little super neon disco. (think Austin Powers) It does rock a bit, come on people, it's still a moving vessel what do you expect, lol! And a great time had by all! Hopefully I'll be able to get some pics uploaded tonight, and I hope my review was helpful, if not a little entertaining for you! And my apologies to anyone in the Society Bar on the last night, I guess our game of "I Never" got a little out of hand, hehehe.

 

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5604623&uid=2197569&members=1

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karlanee

karlanee

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As long as the rocking and rolling isn't anything near what the Jubilee was last year - meaning I can walk in a straight line and my dinner glass doesn't jiggle at the table - we'll be fine. LOL

 

Thanks for the awesome review! You've made us very happy people.

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jhale

jhale

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Cantwait - "I Never" goes like this... You all sit around a table, someone starts out with something like "I've never been on a cruise." Then anyone who has been on a cruise has to drink, if you haven't you're safe.. for a while anyways. It's definantly a funny way to find out strange thins about your friends, and usually gets a little crazy towards the end. I recommend a bucket of beer for this, as some people just like to pick on others, lol.

 

Seven - Thank you! I'll be 25 on Nov. 20th, go scorpio's! My mom started my addiction to cruising young.

 

Tjohn - the CD was Larry Garlutzo

 

Glad you guys enjoyed to review! I hope you all have a good time!

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