After cruising on the Dream last year and finding that ship to be overloaded with kids and the lines to do everything very long, we wanted to give a smaller ship a try. Enter the Ecstasy! Sure, she is considered to be an older ship in the cruise line industry, but we thought it well maintained and very clean. The crew and staff were exceptional and went above and beyond in my opinion.
We ate dinner in the main dining room every night. I thought the food was good, not served "hot" but acceptable in my opinion. I had the Flat Iron Steak twice and really liked it. We tried the "did ya ever" every night and had a lot of fun with that. It always amazes my the our wait staff knows our names on the first night and by the second knew exactly what we wanted before we asked for it. My kids REALLY enjoyed the waiters singing and dancing and they even joined in on the "apple bottom jeans dance".
We ate the buffet for lunch when on ship or as a afternoon "snack" after returning from port. I don't understand people complaints, because we enjoyed it. I had the Mongolian Wok one afternoon and it was very good, had the rotisserie chicken another time (also VERY good). I want to make special note about the deli at the back of the ship. BE SURE YOU GIVE IT A TRY! I had the hot pastrami sandwich and it was the best thing I ate on the entire trip. Here is a tip, you can order this from room service if the lines are long.
Nice cabin with room for the four of us. The balcony was great.