The boat swayed, rocked and rolled even in calm waters. Smelled like sewage the whole trip. Even when we were docked the boat vibrated like driving down a dirt road. Seemed the bars were always understaffed, wait time could be long. Not sure why they would wait for your pizza order before they would make a pizza, line was long and they made pizza when you ordered It instead of a pizza buffet. Daycare was great, my 3 year old loved it! this was a great kid cruise other than the smell and swaying. I would take Carnival again but not this boat. I also didn't like the drink package, it was time consuming having to provide a drink card so they could swipe it and you had to sign a ticket afterwards, I prefer the all inclusive "free at Sea" cruises, NO Hassle! The Charleston port was kinda dingy as well compared to other ports but we could drive there saving on the costs of flights. But the drink package as about the same as our flight cost would have been so that's a wash. Read Less

This was my first time on a cruise and did not have any expectations to speak of. I had heard many pieces of advice from friends, but decided to go with the flow. The overall experience was terrific - everyone (with the exception of one worker ) was gracious and friendly. The dining room staff was very nice as were the servers in the buffet. The ship was very clean and the house keeping staff were wonderful. The food choices were good although the last day I did notice substitution's in my meal and the wait staff offered to exchange it but it was tasty the way it was made so I said no. Our suite served us with plenty of room and the beds as well as the sofa were comfortable. The balcony was larger than expected although we did not spend much time there it was a nice addition. We enjoyed shopping on Nassau, I did not care for the straw market , I felt they were pushy and it was overwhelming. I did enjoy food and browsing the shops the locals were very nice and helpful in suggesting cafes. I would definitely take another cruise and was very pleased with Carnival. Read Less

Chose this cruise because it was 5 days and at a port not too far from where we lived. Easy drive. Embarkation went smoothly. Cabins weren't ready until 1:30pm so we went to Lido Deck buffet. When we got to the cabin, our room attendant came in and asked us when we wanted our room made up. Morning, afternoon or night. We chose morning. That means they don't appear again till the next morning. Surprise. No more evening turn down. The ship, the Ecstasy, is old. And it shows. Outdated décor, so much paint, you can count the layers. The ship smelled bad, especially afternoons and evenings. Other people commented on that too. We were on the 4th floor. It smelled like a nursing home. We ate the first two nights in the dining room. We had dine when you want. We were seated promptly. The first night we ordered salmon. Overcooked as was the baked potato. The food was not hot. The second night we had prime rib. It was okay, but again it was cold. The other nights we ate in the buffet. The food was at least hot up there. The best thing about the food was the desserts. They were great. Guy Fiery's hamburger joint was also good. We have been on many cruises and always looked forward to lobster night. Well, no more, That will cost you $20. I also got a glass of wine the first night. $11. I can buy 2 bottles of wine for that. The entertainment was good. Their private island is beautiful. We didn't take any excursions from the ship. Too expensive. You can arrange sightseeing off ship for a lot less. Overall, we were very disappointed with the condition of the ship and activities. Thank God they had a place where adults could go. IT's at the back of the ship. Disembarkation went smoothly. Read Less

We picked this cruise because DW, niece and nephew had never been on a cruise and we wanted to make sure everyone would be ok locked in on the water. Embarkation went very smooth in spite of us being late (or maybe because of it, the world may never know) we had 11:30-12:00 check in but didn't arrive till about 1:00 and walked right on. Well after going through security and all of course. Guy's burgers were real good and the kids liked the hotdogs from the deli. Lido buffet seemed to be lacking in my opinion. Oh the food was good just seemed to be less verity than what I remember from my last Carnival Fantasy cruise. This could be from 1) my failing memory, 2) there really is less verity or 3) a combination of the two. We had anytime dining in the Golden Olympian and it was great. No lines, no waiting either night. Sorry if I offended anyone wearing my jeans on elegant night but we had decided while we were packing that we would eat on Lido that night but DW decided otherwise on the night of. Good thing it was cool the morning we left home or I wouldn't have had any long pants. DW did keep saying "I just don't understand the allure and all the hype of cruising" but as we were sitting discussing what we were having for dinner last night she said "too bad we can't just go to lido and pick up something, I miss that ship" so I think she is hooked. I see more cruises in our future! We only saw the America Rocks show which was pretty good, but if you go to the Venetian Palace to see a show, try to avoid the back seats on deck 3. The overhang from deck 4 will block part of your view and you may not be able to see the entire performance. Not sure about deck 4. The kids, 5 and 13, loved the kids clubs and didn't want to leave. Even the very shy 13 year old made friends. Now the 5 yo can make friends with a signpost so we knew that wasn't going to be a problem. Most people say not to take a 3 day weekend cruise, it's just a party cruise with a bunch of rowdy drunks, but I didn't see a lot of that, just pax having a good time and mostly respectful and polite to each other. Overall great cruise I just don't think I will do another short one. Just to much work (packing, driving, unpacking, etc) for the amount of relaxation time. Read Less

We had excellent service from Alam’s dining room service team and Adi’s attention to keeping our room neat and complete with fresh towels and always cute towel animals. Hong’s personality always kept us laughing as we sampled his creative after dinner shots. How do the serving staff get up on the tables and dance? We were completely entertained. The shore excursions were well suited for a 4 day cruise. Our day at Princess Cays was just as we remembered. The beach volleyball is always my husbands favorite part of the trip. Unfortunately, one of our group was pushed into a sea urchin by a wave while he was snorkeling. The lifeguard was very helpful getting him help quickly. The lines for the shuttles back to the boat always move too slow and get extremely hot and uncomfortable due to making sure they’re “loaded to capacity.” The unlimited bubble cards weren’t accepted at the bars on the island even though the bar was staffed by ship employees? Minimal areas for improvement. Thank you for thinking of everything to make our short cruise enjoyable. Read Less

Cheers package- we had this and it cost us about $617+ for my husband and I. Drinks range from $6.85-$15.00 each. So I’m thinking it’s been worth is as you can purchase water bottles through this as well as coffee (that’s not in main dining and other drinks alcoholic or non) for whatever the reason- drinking water seems really far away the entire time lol. They only have water spouts in the main dining and the rest is for purchase. I learned after late in the 2nd day you can ask for water bottles at the bar with your cheer package so basically if you don’t have cheers each water bottle will cost you $1.25 (or 3.75 for the ones in your room) OR you purchase a 12 pack for 4.50 before you board which we also did but ran out. Cheers is good and we would do it again. It’s sort of like a peace of mind thing. Faster to the fun is a MUST and makes everything better. It took my husband and I about 15 minutes to check our bags and we were on the ship - in that 15 minute period. Getting off the ship was still good and only took about 30 mins. You also get off first at each port (or mostly). The service team will place letters in your cabin to let you know when and where your supposed to do what. We had a balcony cabin which was really nice. Only issue is that A LOT of people break the rules and smoke off the balconies. It sucks because it goes right into your room and unfortunately there’s no way to report it because you can’t see anyone doing it specifically but you know it’s happening! It’s sad but true the food is NOT that great. Guys burgers is good and Always has a line- Unless you get there a little before people come back from the time off the ship. Blue iguana is actually really great! The main dining room is like hospital style food ....but it seems like it gets better further into the trip. However, we couldn’t tell if it actually was getting better or that we were just getting used to it. HA! We were assigned the imagination dining room- ‘your time’ and that worked out OK. We would say the food is about 7% better than the food in the main dining- there is a wait and usually it’s 30mins - 1 hour. The service is great and they will accommodate you. For example- I really hate sitting in the very middle of anything right next to others I don’t know...any time I had an issue they had no problem giving us an empty corner booth or table and actually didn’t role their eyes or anything. I know my request can be super annoying. The wait staff are responsive but I recommend getting a drink while you wait and bring it with you. The bar drinks inside the restaurant are slow but only because the place is packed. All the servers were really nice. Entertainment was interesting also a bit cringy at times- 2 dudes lead the whole ship and you can tell they are working hard to make improvements- the biggest issue that we had and number 1 down side is that we sort of didn’t have anything to do while at sea- I feel like we spent A LOT of time walking in circles. They try and have shows or different activities throughout but the main event is laying out by the pool or walking in circles unless you like to gamble. The comedy club is fun. They did a carnival quest scavenger hunt the last night and that was REALLY Fun and hilarious. We wish they would have done it the first or 2nd night though because we may have been able to meet other couples/friends. The scavenger hunt makes you team up with a group of 12-20 so it’s a perfect ice breaker game. They should really do it every night it is THAT much fun! We purchased a Nassau hopping tour- but not enough people showed so they cancelled it. 26 were needed and we had like 17. They gave a full refund. So We Just walked around the town which was OK but not great. If you don’t like being haggled don’t do this! We Ended up at Senor Frogs and it was a BLAST!! It may sound weird but it was probably the best time we had. it’s pricey and you need to get there no later than like 11:30am to be able to fully enjoy. Half Moon Cay was beautiful- UNTIL everyone got there lol. There’s NO direction on what to do so everyone just sprints for a chair etc. There are blue cabana shells towards the back - they are $29.99 for the whole day and they make everything better!! It’s private and you get some shade. Otherwise good luck to you. I found that the furthest you are from the entrance the less people there are but it’s a walk. Again - unless you love smoke (previous smoker here too) there are tons of people that just want to smoke all up in your face so we had to move a couple of times. The lunch they served on the island and was pretty Good and better than the ships main dining. Water shuttle leaves every 30 mins or so to get back to ship and if you go back early - no lines. Overall the trip was good- The service was really great and they have outstanding organizational skills and procedures in place to manage the amount they have to. We gave it a 3 because there was just not enough to do for people that had no kids or older kids. We kind of wandered A little too much. Read Less

This was my and my husband’s 2nd cruise, but first for our boys (9 & 11). Getting on board was easy and quick. We were in room 1295. It was clean, so no problems there. Occasionally the shower drain would get backed up and overflow into the bathroom, but thankfully there’s a drain next to the toilet, so it wasn’t too bad. Our bags arrived quickly and we grabbed some food. The buffet usually had a nice variety and everything seemed fresh. Pizza was made to order and tasty. My boys loved the burgers at Guy’s. I had a half sandwich at the sandwich shop once, but the line was usually long, so after that I opted for other things. BBQ pork and Mac n cheese were good. I didn’t care as much for the Mexican spot. I got chicken tacos and the chicken seemed dry. I’m not a big Mexican food fan though. We ate in the dining room twice, but service was a bit slow. Food was tasty. Only one thing I had issue with was the crab cake. It came with a few little dots of sauce alongside it that seemed as though they had been sitting out for a while. I’d give the dining room maybe 3.75 stars. The first day was overwhelming - so many people and kids and with the party on the Lido deck the noise was overwhelming. I never saw any bad behavior, but my boys wanted to enjoy sitting in the hot tubs and couldn’t bc kids were splashing around like they were swimming pools. They also didn’t like that the pools were salt water. We didn’t do much in the way of entertainment, but we did attend a few all ages comedy shows which were funny despite being all ages. My boys checked out the kids club, but weren’t that impressed, so they didn’t go back. I didn’t think there was anything bad about it, they just hate that kind of thing. No biggie - we let them do their own thing as long as we knew where they’d be, but most of the time they stayed with us. The ship itself is starting to show its age a little, but they’re doing a great job of maintaining it and keeping it clean. Common areas are nicely decorated and not nearly as dated as the Sensation which my husband and I sailed on a few years back. Service was great everywhere we went. Our favorite waiter was Danny from Peru. He was incredibly patient with my kids ordering and so friendly to us all. Our room steward, Harry, from Guyana, was fantastic. Always taking the time to stop and chat with us about our day and see if we needed anything extra. He also gave us some tips on things to check out at our ports. We’d definitely sail with Carnival again as a family. Read Less

This ship is small, outdated, and poorly kept. Stateroom feels like staying in an old camper. We experienced a disgusting septic backup in our bathroom and guest services refused to offer anything other than a credit for a $50 bar tab. Beds and bedding are cheap and uncomfortable. Ship was cold with no heat available in room. No specialty restaurants are available. The food offerings are repetitive and boring. Free drink selection was limited to water, coffee and rancid tasting "tea." No indoor pool or solarium available in case of inclement weather. The outdoor pool, hot tubs and sundeck are ugly and overcrowded. The onboard shops were very limited and tacky. Very limited tv options in room. Other than the Atlantis excursion in Nassau, there is nothing to see or do in either Nassau or Freeport. I will not ever sail with carnival again. We were very disappointed in the condition of the ship and the ports of call. Read Less

This was our eighth cruise and it was terrible. There was something being drug overhead and banging noises on things outside of the ship all hours of the night. My husband woke up around four in the morning and was met with the floor outside the bathroom being flooded. Called customer service and they sent someone down to check. Had to put up with fans in the room and the hallway drying the floor. Also they came in and caulked the floor in the shower and we had to put up with the smell for the rest of the cruise. This was the same thing that my other family members in the adjoining rooms experienced. Obviously from the review I just read it was not just our two rooms that we affected. Dining was not what we expected. Food options were limited and when we asked for the table for four we were shoved in between other tables. I am a avid tea drinker but did not drink tea on this cruise as it was nasty. I have tried to maintain my loyalty to Carnival but after this experience I am not so sure. Bad thing is I was planning another cruise in December. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we received an offer on a reduced room rate. Also as we live near Charleston, it just seemed right. This was our second cruise with Carnival, and it was enjoyable. The Ecstasy has some age on her (1991), but she is a good ship. There are rust and mechanical issues, but... What really impressed us was the staff. They were first class. The day at Princess Cay was a nice beach-day. The lunch line-wait seemed a bit long. and the tenders were interesting. In Freeport we took the City Tour. It was a Sunday, so many stores were not open. Carnival "works" with the local vendors to open on Sunday. The tour bus we were on was not in the best condition (interior). Our driver was quite entertaining. I took the "Behind the Fun" tour - do not miss it if you like to see how Cruise ships operate. We are starting to plan our next Cruise on the Sunshine. It is just so nice to drive to the dock and gat on the ship! Read Less