Carnival Ecstasy Review

Carnival Ecstasy - Western Caribbean

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Ecstasy
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First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2005

First Time cruiser please read: This was our first cruise. After comparing an all-inclusive vacation to Cancun to an "all-inclusive" cruise, I decided to take the cruise. I've never taken a cruise before and the thought of being on a cruise, being catered to sounded appealing. I envisioned a nice, luxurious boat, nice eating areas and rooms, I envisioned being totally pampered. I was Wrong! I was one of over 2,500 guests. When you book your cruise you are told that alcoholic beverages, soda and bottled water are NOT included; however, the charges for those items really add up. On this 4 day cruise, I spent an additional $350.00 dollars on gratuities, sodas, water and drinks. RIPE-OFF!!! The rooms on the cruise were very basic dorm-like cabins. It was just a room. Not good when you compare it to a 4 or 5-star room in Cancun for about the same price.

The cruise was OK, nothing spectacular. Now I can say, "I've done that and probably never again." The food in the formal dining room was great, but all other food was just your average buffet food w/literally hundreds of people serving themselves w/the same utensils, sharing all kinds of germs. (Imagine the food and pushy people at the Golden Coral or Sizzler Restaurant, like that but worse because you have about 2,500 guest on the boat.) The drinks available were tea (it tasted awful), lemonade, tap water, coffee and O.J. Besides the Coffee and O.J. - all tasted weird/different and left you dying for bottled water. ($$$$) Overall the boat and rooms were very clean. The staff was friendly enough. Plenty of entertainment. (not always what you may want, but plenty of things going on if your willing to participate in games and trivia, bingo (at extra cost), gambling (drinks are not free when you gamble at this casino)) .

What I really Hated about this cruise - - Out of the 4 nights I was on the boat, I was only able to enjoy Caribbean waters for about 5 hours. Once docked at your destination, you have a few hours to sight see and take tours. Not enough time to enjoy the beautiful waters and beaches. The best part of the cruise was the beach and water in Cozumel, unfortunately we only spent a few hours there. Next time I'll just go directly to the source of what is beautiful about Cozumel/Cancun - The Beaches, sand and water. I won't waste my time on a boat where all you really do is eat, drink and lay-out in the sun. This is fun, but not for 3 full days. I love to sight see, take tours, snorkel, lay out on the BEACH, take a swim in the beautiful ocean waters, every day of my vacation. This is not an option on a cruise. A typical day on the cruise- Wake up eat breakfast, layout and watch people run around (lots of kids), listen to music, get bored, eat lunch, layout again, get ready for the formal dinner (this was the highlight of our cruise), watch a show, gamble (because nothing else was entertaining enough for us) then time for bed. One night we watched a comedy show/club. This was expensive, even though the entertainment was free, the drinks weren't. After 4 days of this, it was Boring!

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