This was our first cruise and 3 generations. My in-laws decided they wanted to do a cruise and brought the kids (us) and the baby, my 3 year old niece. Since half live in Virginia and the other half live in North Carolina this was a easy drive for both of us.
The Ecstasy was a fine boat, it was obviously older and we were aware of that before hand, it wasn't anything fancy but was clean and well maintained. Our cabin was bigger than I expected and I loved being on the Empress Deck near all the action.
Adam, the Cruise Director was AMAZING!!!!! I cannot express that enough, he was funny and a damn hard worker. He was everywhere all the time. Kuddos to him and the rest of the entertainment team on the Ecstasy.
Charleston is a newer port and isn't really up to par yet. It is in need of much work. I would not feel comfortable parking my car there. We did a stay and sail at a local hotel and left the car there for the week.
LOVED IT HERE! Water was a little chilly but we still got in. It was a beautiful place and all I wanted to do was lay there and look around with my drink in my hand. Drinks were very pricy there though-more than on the ship.