Carnival Ecstasy Review

3.5 / 5.0
1,057 reviews

Girlfriends' cruise really delivers lots of fun

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Ecstasy
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MoCookies
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Mar 2009
Cabin: Interior

This was my first Carnival cruise, and I'm pleased to say that almost everything was better than I was expecting. The service we received in the dining room (thanks Richard!) was top notch, and far better than my other two cruising experiences (NCL and RC). Being on one of the older Carnival ships definitely had its downsides: the pools were very small, and the design/decor/layout felt very dated compared to my trip on RC's Liberty of the Seas. We loved Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, took about a thousand pictures at Chichen Itza, and I managed to make it a week without being sunburned. Overall, we had a great time on our 5 day cruise, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well Carnival matches up against Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.

The Ship: If you want a ship with all the amenities of the newest ships (bowling alley, ice skating rink, etc.) then this ship isn't for you. However, we just wanted to have a good time with our friends, so the Ecstasy was just right. I have to complain a little bit here because the age of the ship is definitely a downside. The art/lighting in the hallways was truly ugly. The "art" in the stairwells should be burnt (it might be an improvement). The carpets are awful looking too. Getting around the ship is a bit tricky because of the layout. Getting from one end of the ship to the other isn't as easy as you would think. The dining rooms should also be renamed; many people were getting confused about the WindStar vs. the WindSong. The first night we were among the hordes who went to the wrong dining room, and had to spend 5 minutes making our way to the other one. Being on the Ecstasy really helped me appreciate how far shipbuilding has come in the past 15 years.

Embarkation: It was a cinch, and I'll definitely consider sailing out of Galveston again simply because it was so easy. Anyone who doesn't check their luggage at the curb is nuts. It was delivered promptly to our rooms, and it really saves a lot of work not lugging it around through the security lines. Checking in was extremely fast for those that got all of their paperwork filled out online. If you plan on booking excursions when you get on the boat, definitely try to arrive as early as possible. The line for the shore excursion desk was massive later in the afternoon. The lifeboat drill took ages, for no apparent reason, which soured our mood a bit for the sail out.

Cabin Review

Interior

Cabin 4B

R141 - Despite being next to the elevators, it was very quiet. Its also ideal for getting on and off the ship quickly at the ports. There is a pole in the middle of the room, which would probably make it impossible to put the beds together. However, we had tons of floor space because of the way the beds were arranged, which made our room the perfect hangout place for our group.

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