My husband and I booked our very first cruise on the Carnival Ecstacy last year for the Carnival Live! program. Our sole purpose in booking the cruise was for our favorite performer, Gavin Degraw. We were also excited to experience cruising. If you are interested in Carnival Live!, this was one of the best shows we have ever been to, given the intimate venue and front row VIP section.

As for the cruise, I was never bored! The food was good for us, and the drinks were great too. I am a huge picky eater and never had trouble finding something to eat. Dining room service can be a bit slow, but staff is entertaining. We are laid back and don't let little things bother us. We rush too much in regular life anyway, so it's nice to slow down and enjoy every moment. We went to Key West and Cozumel and had beautiful weather the entire time. The only thing lacking was the pool. It's very tiny and totally packed. We did have fun on the waterslides though. The staff is wonderful, and we couldn't have asked for better service. We were overcharged for Internet use and guest services promptly took all charges off for the inconvenience. There were a few people on the ship that mentioned the ship being small and not as updated as other cruises they have been on. However, being that we had nothing to compare it to, we thought it was awesome. One of my favorite memories is watching the sun sink into the ocean. Absolutely beatiful. After shopping around some other cruise lines, we have booked a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Glory coming up this August!