Carnival Ecstasy Review
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We booked two cabins, one for my DH and I and one for our two teenagers and their Aunt. We were on board to celebrate my DD and Sister's birthdays. We will be sailing on a seven day cruise aboard the Carnival Dream in December so we kept calling this our Appetizer Cruise (little but fun!).
GETTING ON AND OFF: Waiting to board was very easy, just long. We got to the port around noon and so did everyone else it seemed. We waited in a large wrap around line for about an hour. I think the process moves slower than other ports due to the way they set it up. Muster Drill was very lax compared other lines. It started 45 minutes late, they never did a head count but it was fast and we were sailing before they finished. Normally the ship won't sail until muster is over and that gives you time to get up top for sail away. As for getting off, we decided upon self debarkation. That means grab your own luggage, go to breakfast and sit and wait for them to call your deck. We were delayed in docking but just talked and enjoyed our coffee. The ship should have docked around 8 am but it didn't until almost 10 am.
THE SHIP: The Ecstasy is the one of Carnival's oldest and littlest. Everything was in good shape for her age and kept clean. The only wear and tear we saw was in the halls where the cabins are. The walls had lots of large scratches and dents most probably from luggage and cart banging. We did notice little bits of rust around some of the window edges but that is not a bad thing. She's a ship, she's a little older gal and has earned her "freckles". Our room was very comfortable and the pillows perfect. The steward cleaned and then changed our sheets every single day. DH loved the size of the shower and felt it was better than our Princess and Disney cruises. We never smelled foul odors as others had previously posted. Its a smaller ship than we have sailed at other times but that was sort of a good thing. It was easier and faster to learn our way around, there were fewer decks so easy to take the stairs vs waiting on an elevator and we found eachother easily after going in separate directions. We did notice more movement when sailing most likely due to its smaller size. I wore a patch behind my ear and was just fine. DH took nothing and did comment he was starting to "feel" things from time to time. It was never rough but you could often tell you were on a ship.