A group of 4 other ladies and I sailed to Cozumel and Calica Jan. 15, 2005, on Carnival's Ecstasy. We kept trying to remember the main reason was to NOT be doing cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc., and for that alone, the cruise was a success. Carnival could improve on a few EASY things and make our cruise a fantastic one instead of "okay." This was my 5th cruise, 2nd on Carnival.
Sailing in Jan., it was chilly outside when windy (most of the time) and they only had 1 working HOT tub on the ship. Someone would "call somebody" every time we reported another not hot, but none ever were fixed.
The food (8:00 seating) was adequate, but never hot, and the beef never tender. If we tried it, we would almost always ask for a different entree (which they're more than willing to bring you.) However, we highly recommend the butter pecan ice cream. It became a table favorite. However, there's a pizzeria/fresh sandwich deli at the back of the buffet dining room that is great!