Not my first cruise, so I expected of few things to not be perfect. This ship should be retired! We had an extended balcony suite, so size was great, but bathroom was being held together with a poor caulk job. Curtains were torn and overall appearance was worn out. Rust stains on ceiling above bed were gross. Ship hasn’t been updated in a very long time. I heard a passenger say it looked retro, I didn’t have he heart to tell them it was just old. Every bar and restaurant had long lines and was understaffed. With our suite came “priority” seating was was great until we were seated in the middle of the dining room in a cleaning area. Food was good, better than expected, but only because everything else was as so poor. Kids area seemed dirty. I would let my kids go with their age groups because it seems like a poorly managed operation. The music being played in the pool was a bit too adult for my 8 and 12 year old which wasn’t a problem most of the time because the pool is so small we never stood a chance of getting in it during normal hours. At every turn there were empty cocktail glasses and food plates in the halls, again understaffed to handle everything. What crew we did see working always smiled and seemed nice, hey just couldn’t keep up demand. I’ll never travel on his ship again and will think long and hard about Carnival. The convenience of the port in Charleston doesn’t make up for the crappy cruise. Don’t waste your time and money! Read Less

Short answer is that I would take my family again on this ship with the same crew. 1. Express check-in is a must. Takes you to the front of the line and you are on the boat quickly. 2. I did not meet one Carnival employee who didn't appear to love their job. Always helpful, always asking if you need anything. Internet posts/blogs suggesting most of the workers make very little and rely mainly on tips. These men and women work very hard. 3. Not a big fan of the food, but I can be a bit of a food snob so take that comment with a grain of salt. 4. Wayan and Chris were our cabin stewards. Simply awesome! You need anything, they make it happen. 5. Gary the Cruise Director - I can't put into words what this guy does. Someone in Hollywood missed the boat not signing him. Absolute talent! I hope he makes it big one day. Go see his shows, you won't regret it. 6. Lee, Mr. Bingo - I never went to Bingo, but I heard he was great. We saw him at every production with Gary. Lee will be Cruise Director soon no doubt and he too is an incredible talent. 7. The dancers and singers were great. High energy shows that were very entertaining. Live singing while they are running and dancing all over the stage...not sure how they do it. 8. The boat is old, but very clean. Staff is cleaning all the time. 9. Our family only had one negative experience, and that was our excursion to Atlantis. Carnival let's Atlantis staff handle all arrangements from getting you off the boat to taking you to Atlantis. They do a horrible job. Very unorganized and takes forever to get to the resort. Once you are there, Atlantis staff are not helpful in showing you around. Water rides didn't open until 10 am. Then the staff didn't show up and we waited until 10:20 am. At $200/person, we were disappointed. The food voucher was a joke. It didn't cover several of the dining areas near the pool. The water rides had an 1 1/2 hr wait. Carnival does so well with customer satisfaction, so it was surprising to us that they let this excursion be handled by people who do the exact opposite. There is so much wasted time. 10. Joavan - I believe he said he had worked for the cruise line for 31 years. He is from India, has kids/wife back home, family man. Talked with him every day. He was always working either the pool deck or show lounges taking drink request or cleaning tables. Great at his job, but just good people. He made you feel at home around him. Read Less

Overall, this was a very nice, short getaway for a birthday celebration. Just me, and my wife, no kiddos. We came out of Port Canaveral, which I had never sailed from before. We stayed the night ahead at the Radisson Resort at the Port. A very nice hotel for a quick stay. Pool area looked fantastic, but we didn't have time to really enjoy it. Looked very cool though. QUICK TIP: When choosing your transportation method to get over there from Orlando Intl Airport, there are a lot of options. Uber, Lyft, private shared ride shuttles, Cruiseline shuttles, etc. We flew in the night before and chose to do a one-way car rental from the airport, dropping off in Cocoa the next morning. It ended up being about the same price as an Uber, and less than the cost of the cruiseline shuttle for 2 of us. Plus then we had the freedom to hit Target in the morning for last minute stuff and a couple bottles of wine. We did the same thing on the way back too, so we could enjoy a day in Orlando. Embarkation went fantastic. We DID pay for the Faster to the Fun option which is ALWAYS worth it to me. We breezed through the document checks, went up to the waiting area, and within 30 minutes, we were boarding the ship. And of course with FTTF we were able to go straight away to the cabin to drop off our carry-ons. The cabin was just fine. Very clean, nice sized. Typical Carnival decor, oranges and corals for color. Plenty of space for all we needed it for: sleeping, changing, and storing our stuff. Always very happy with the amount of storage space in Carnival rooms. 2 big closets to hang stuff in, 1 with shelves, dresser space, and the beds are open underneath making the perfect spot to stash the suitcases. We went for a walk to check things out and go get a bite. The decor of the ship is very nice. It follows a Mediterranean type decor. Wrought iron accents, and beautiful candelabras and chandeliers along the promenade and atrium. Lighted up by these really fun color-changing bulbs. I could really just enjoy watching those for hours. Really cool following their patterns. The ship was kept nicely clean. Perhaps a bit of dating to it, but not overly so. Has all the newer amenities, Blue Iguana, Guy's Burgers, Alchemy Bar, etc. No Red Frog pub though. Kind of a bummer. That's a nice space we have enjoyed on other boats. Clean Lido, great Serenity area. Truly Overall, the ship was very nice. Dining: In our 3 days, we really did try about everything at one point or another. Guy's Burgers. Always a win. Decent burgers, good fries, fresh grilled and fried. No warmer trays letting the burgers get all soggy or gross. Nice crust, good flavor. Excellent selection of condiments and toppings. Really good option for lunches. Blue Iguana. I feel THIS is the real winner on the Lido deck. The tacos are good, the Taco SALAD is dynamite. A lot of folks love their burritos as well, but I've never done them. This place KILLS IT at breakfast. The breakfast burritos are amazing, and I personally have their Arepas every morning. Just great. Lido buffet was fine. Wide assortment of course. They did a good job keeping everything well stocked and clean. Attendants were on top of it, it seemed. Deli service was nice. Good sandwich, pretty quick order fulfillment. We did NOT do the pizza, sushi, or Seafood shack on this cruise. But we have on previous ones. They're always good. Sushi is totally worth the additional cost. The pizza is fine, but maybe not worth the typical wait it takes. Seafood shack is good, but unless you're really dying for some right then, it may not be actually worth the upcharge. MDR: This is really a spot I think Carnival needs to work on. The menu is the SAME. EVERY cruise... It's just getting pretty tired. I have pics of the menu from our honeymoon, 14 years ago, and it the same stuff still. Just getting a bit bored with it I suppose. It's all good, but there is nothing great, nothing exciting, no WOWs. Just pretty hum-drum. In all honesty, The best things on the menu every night are probably the Indian Vegetarian Curry plate (a ton of food, but pretty spicy), or the every day steak (much better than the Prime Rib even). Service was fine, but not exceptional. But I think there's a few things at play there. 1- on the shorter cruises, I just don't think the staff in general invests as much into getting to connect with you. You're going to be gone in a couple days anyways. But on a 5-7+ day cruise, It adds a certain charm to the experience, and probably helps THEM get through the long days as well. 2- We got seated at a 2-top table. I was ecstatic since it was just the 2 of us. However, I think iut harms service. Now you have a head waiter and assistant trying to manage 7-8 small tables, all of which are at different stages of their meal, instead of really caring for 2-3 large tables that are more synced up. They seemed distracted and perhaps a bit out-of-sorts. Diamond Steakhouse: Went on first night. TOTALLY WORTH the $35 per person. The food is incredible, perfectly executed, and the staff is on top of the game. Wife got Filet and Lobster tail. I got a rib-eye. I'm a big dude. But I could only eat half of my steak. It was ridiculous. But so perfect. And for dessert we got the Art-at-the-table. A chef came out and prepared an incredible work of art in plating right on our table, explaining every sauce, every little dessert treat he was plating. It was delicious, but the presentation was an absolute stunner! QUICK TIP: If you're going to do the steakhouse, you can reserve before you cruise online! Grab a spot, you'll be glad you did. Also, if you book for first night, you get a free bottle of wine with dinner. The entertainment was nicely varied and very good all around. The music acts were energetic and engaging. The DJ was on point keeping the vibe rolling wherever he was. My favorite though was a violin duo. They played such a diverse program through the 3 day cruise. Classics, newer age things, and the violin takes on modern pop songs. Terrific performers. The main stage had a good assortment of shows for a 3 day cruise. We took in the show Flick. (had already seen the other 2 review shows on a cruise n October). The show itself was beautifully choreographed and designed. Effects were stunning. Loved the subject material. You should see it if its on a cruise you are going on. Really nice show. Only complaint was that the male vocals were BAD... Really pitchy, kind of made me wish their parts would end so we could get back to the very talented female cast. They were STRONG vocal performers. Very talented dancers all, and commanded the stage and effects well, but a real mixed bag on the vocal talents. Hasbro gameshow is always a fun watch. Didn't get on stage this time but have 2 other times. It's a blast. Perhaps the Biggest 5 star experience on the ship though was the staff at the Alchemy Bar. The girls Marija and Kat were absolute stars. Incredible drinks, fantastic originals, great on-point recommendations, and that perfect mix of polite service and sass you want to have in an amazing bartender. We spent a lot of time there enjoying the beverages and just marveling at their work. I work in the specialty beverage business myself, so I appreciate their craftsmanship. These ladies were dynamos and I was impressed that they were assigned to a short itinerary ship. We did not take a scheduled Shore Excursion for our day in Nassau. Instead we just took it pretty easy. We grabbed a couple beers at Pirate Republic Brewery. Just 2 block up the road to the right as you exit the port terminal. Right by the big Harley store. Craft brews and bites. We did not get any food but the Conch Fritters looked really good. The beer is very nice. Maybe not something to write home about but still very good. Especially when you've been trapped on a boat with little crafty selection. We then walked a couple block to Bahamas Cookin Kitchen. A little restaurant. Quite a few local were hanging in here, and just a few tourists like us. The food was terrific. Conch Fritters, check. Cracked Conch, check. Steamed chicken, check. Yum all around. QUICK TIP: Theres a lot of choices for sides on your bahamian dishes. The Potato salad is boring old mustard potato salad. Don't bother. Fried Plantains are always delicious. In the Bahamas they tend to use darker ripe ones, so they are more sweet than starchy. And Rice and Peas is a must. It's not your typical sweet green peas. These are Pidgeon Peas, which are a bit bigger and more starchy. More like a bean. So its closer to red beans and rice than what you may think when you read Rice n Peas. We then strolled up to Junkanoo beach for a soak in the water till we decided to wander back. The beach was well tended and pretty clean. A bit of refuse like you would expect at a beach front this busy, but nothing to the degree I would call it dangerous, gross or bad. Just a couple aluminum bottles or cans here or there, but not a lot. And we saw folks actively trying to keep it cleaned up. The public restroom and changing area was VERY clean. The whole time we were there they had multiple staff there who were in constant action staying on top of it. It was one of the cleaner public restroom facilities I've ever seen at a beach. Domestic beaches included. Disembarkation was a nightmare as always. But I really don't think it is the ship's fault. It really come to us as the guests, just needing to be more patient, less pushy, and build in the time that we can do the ZONE check out. It is the self assist that turns into a rat race and slows EVERYTHING down for the entire rest of the process. Everyone just needs to be a little more calm, and have some chill. :) So, all in all, we had a great time. Tremendously relaxing. I had fun and loved spending my 40th birthday somewhere where no land was in sight. The experience of a cruise is hard for me to beat. I just love them, and will always look for reasons to be happy with them, as opposed to finding things to nit-pick. However, the bad vocalists, and the really tired menu in the MDR make me only give 4 out of 5. I love you Carnival, and I loved the Liberty. Don't worry, I'll be back. Read Less

I was told by family and friends that cruising is very enjoyable and relaxing experience. So I gave it a try for the first time on the Carnival Ecstasy. I am driving home now and want to share my experience to keep others from wasting their money. When I got off the ship today I felt like I had been released from a jail cell. This was the most stressful, nerve racking and unrelaxing vacation I have ever taken. The first day I was sprayed with mayonnaise at the hamburger restaurant after waiting in a long line to get a mediocare burger. Then had to wait in another long line to get a hot soft drink. After lunch the tinyest cabin ever was supposedly ready. The cabin was hot, humid and smelled like mold and mildew. The shower had mildew all around the edges and the bathroom just stunk! That night I tried to sleep in the hot humid cabin in a bunk style bed but hit my head every time I tried to roll over on a ledge about 6 inches from my face. The next day we waited in yet another long line for an elevator to go to the only pool to find no available chairs and the tiniest pool ever. The pool was so crowded you could not even move. I again had to wait in line to get a hot soft drink at the bar from a bartender who only wanted to serve alcohol purchasing guests who left big tips. The rest of the week was even worse than the first day. I spent most of the time waiting in line for an elevator, waiting in line for horrible buffet food, or hot soft drinks. The last straw was one night about 11pm the cabin toilet starting shooting out water all over the floor that contained green algae looking stuff. I called the room steward but could reach no one. I then called guest services but got a recording about extremely high call volume. I put the phone down but stayed on the line and ran all the way down the hall to the other end of the ship to find an employee to help me. I did finally find one and he called housekeeping. By this time the cabin carpet was all wet. Housekeeping came to clean up the mess. After an hour holding on the phone for guest services I hung up and explained to the housekeeping supervisor that I could not reach anyone by phone to help me and I am extremely upset. By this time it was midnight and they were trying to get all the water out of the cabin carpet. The supervisor tried contacting guest services on the cabin phone again and got the recorded message too. She held for awhile then decided to call room service to get a person to answer the phone. The supervisor told me guest services would call me. Which they did and I requested to move to another cabin. I could not take this filthy stinking wet humid cabin any longer. Guest services said there were no other cabins available so I hung up. The housekeeping supervisor offered to shampoo the cabin carpet the next morning meanwhile we had to sleep in that nasty room. I have never been so disappointed in the customer service I received on this ship and feel the health, safety and convenience of my family was completely disregarded. I not only wasted over $2000 on this trip but a week of hard earned vacation time. To top off this experience the last morning I went to wash my face in the cabin bathroom and the water from the sink was brown! They did credit my account $120 for the inconvenience??? I need a vacation!!! Read Less

I have been cruising with Carnival since 2002. This week was the worst. They need to park this ship(Ecstasy) it needs some major updating as well as the entertainment and food. Had it not been for Guys burger joint and the nice gentleman making omelets in the mornings it would have been a very long week for food. We (my family of 5) got dressed for dinner nightly only to be disappointed in the Wind Song dining room. Natalhly and Jeffrey were awesome and can only work with what their given to serve. Something in our room made my husband sick and he kept a headache and upset stomache from the very first day we arrived and spent each day in bed inside . With two credit cards on file for two rooms both cards were over charged one by $200 and the other by $188 but this seems to be our fault not Carnivals for not doing their jobs properly. We will get our overcharged refunds back in 5 business days. Not acceptable! Carnival always advertises that they are a kid friendly ships my two teenage girls had a whole lot of nothing to really do besides walk the ship, putt putt and lay by the pool. The shower curtain in my room looked dirty and stained all over the bottom as well as hanging down on top left where it was broken from the rod. My room steward Michael was great and very helpful if I needed him . I missed the Las Vegas shows that are normally on the ships we go on. I missed all of the beautiful tiles and chandeliers as well as the delicious food that’s normally served in the dining room at night. Also went in to use one of the restrooms before dinner there were 2 stalls to be used one with no toilet seat but no sign up to say out of order .My favorite vacation is Cruising because I actually get to take a break and let someone else take care of everything for a change. I think it’s time to look for a new Cruise line because on this trip it was an EPIC FAIL. I give this ship a 2 out of 5 stars. Very unhappy and disappointed Carnival Customers. Thank you Greenway1 Read Less

We booked three cabins to celebrate my upcoming birthday. The cruise left Charleston right on time and we had remarkably good weather the entire trip with only a few brief showers. It is an older ship, but kept in very good condition and very clean. We are experienced cruisers so the excursions didn't really appeal to us. Pros: Entertainment: Gary, the 26 year old cruise director was excellent. I don't easily pass out praise but he really kept the party going. You'd swear that he had an identical twin on board the ship as he'd be in the lounge one minute and then on the Lido Deck in an entirely different outfit the next. The evening shows were top notch with amazing talent. The comedy acts were really good and I'd say that we hit almost every show and the sets provided by the two comedians were never repeated. Food: We had 5 grandchildren from ages 1 to 5 so we learned to bypass the 2 hour evening dinner experience after the first few nights and took to the buffet on the Lido Deck. Food overall was average but two areas really stand out... Guy's Burger Joint was awesome and the fries were simply amazing! The Pizza Pirate made really good pizza and served generous portions. Rum drinks on the private island were lacking in alcohol compared to those served on the ship. Cons: It took a very long time to get our food in the Wind Song Dining Room. We had 5 small children at early dining and the wait staff (as friendly as they were) kept bringing us baskets of bread when what we really needed was FOOD. Deck 9 is the main public enclosed passageway that runs the length of the ship and houses the casino and several lounges so it was always a busy place to be. But, you'd always get a good whiff of cigarette smoke (which is permitted in several areas of Deck 9) anytime you were there. Read Less

Just got off the elation it was a great trip, what surprise me was the food was amazing on the ship, the best I have had in 12 cruises, I had an obstructed view suite and wont do that again, we had crew members outside the cabin early in the morning and often. The Jr Suite are not suites just balcony cabins and the sofa/bed was unbearable to sleep on, they never resolved that issue and the air condition through out the boat was poor. Overall the boat was extremely clean had good comedians and other than that was entertainment was so-so. The itinerary was at sea-nassau-half moon- at sea which was great. The anytime dining was always backed up I would recommend either early or late if you want to eat at a certain time. This is a great cruise and was very relaxing, It seemed that there were smaller groups on the boat. Read Less

My family and I were apart of a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas traveling with a party of 65 people. My husband and I along with my 11 year old son and mother in law joined us. Let me first start out by stating that me, husband and son have cruised before on the Disney Dream several times. I must say that you get what you pay for. I talked my husband into going knowing his only point of reference for cruising is on the Disney Cruise Line. In my earlier years (20's), I've traveled on the Carnival Cruise before and I must tell you, I think that experience was far better back then. The embarkation was smooth however the one representative that I encountered was not as friendly and appeared to be very upset that our boarding documents were printed on the front and back of the paper. This was a huge no..no! I was scolded for that and had to wait in line while she printed a new ticket for me. Once that was done, we proceeded to board the ship. It was smooth sailing after that. While on the ship, we arrived to our cabin at 1:30pm. We had a balcony view cabin. We didn't enjoy it much because the windows of the balcony was so cloudy and dirty, we couldn't really get a good view of the beautiful ocean and sites. We stood up most of the time looking over the cloudy window. We could tell that they didn't clean the windows nor did they clean the floor of the balcony due to the accumulation of dirt in the corners of the balcony floor. Our bed was a King size bed that was pretty comfortable until I rolled into the center and felt the crease. I then realized that I was sleeping on two twin beds pushed together. That tells me that the lining used on the bed was either thin or missing. I made sure not to roll in the center of the bed avoiding the crease in the center. Our cabin steward was very nice and kept our room clean. I never complained to him or anyone on the boat as I didn't want to appear to be a cruise snob. The dining was nice, food was good not great. Waiters were nice and accommodating. I came down for dinner once, and I didn't have a good experience so I opted to have dinner in other places on the boat. Entertainment and activities for children were lack luster. My son begged me not to leave him in camp carnival as I had him registered. My son is 11 years old and when we arrived to camp carnival, we saw a few dinosaurs and lock blocks on the floor. Some monitors with no wifi and a few children younger than his age group. He slightly tugged at my shirt and gave me the look and I read his lips...PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ME HERE!. I knew why and we left. Carnival should have more activities and things to do for that age group. The Entertainment for adults were okay! The comedian on board was funny but other than that, the night club was overcrowded and the waiters there would take your order and swipe your card then go on break. We had to track down the only waitress in the place and explain the situation. She was so upset by her coworker's actions but she remedied the situation, brought us our drinks and apologized. The service at the Blue Iguana Bar was horrible as was the service at the Seafood Shack onboard the ship. The crew members that serviced those areas appeared to be over worked, bothered by taking orders and dealing with guest. They lack customer service skills and just out right rude. Ports and Shore excursions - well we couldn't wait to get off the ship and head for the Atlantis so we could spend the day there and away from the Carnival Victory ship and it's staff. I must say, this was a good experience for my husband to experience other cruise lines other than Disney Cruise Line however, I created a beast! We could never cruise with this line again with our son who was like his dad...vowed to never return to Carnival again. Read Less

I was traveling as a “Girls night out” vacation. We had 3 women in our 30s. This ship was a lot of fun! I normally travel on Norwegian and Royal Caribbean but I think I’ll be switching to carnival now. We had a balcony overlooking the back of the ship on deck 8. The room was great! The balcony was huge! Easily double the size than I am normally accustomed to. The beds were comfortable and there was ample storage. The only downside was the shower area wasn’t as nice as other ships. There was a gross curtain instead of the spa doors. But other than that it was ok. The muster drill was a complete failure. It was hot, it was crowded and disorganized. You couldn’t see or hear any instructions and they had us packed in so tight that a woman actually fainted. Not one staff member came to assist the poor woman. There’s got to be a better way to take care of this requirement. This was by far the worst experience on any ship I’ve been on. The lounge areas were nice. The club was a lot of fun and had good music. The pool areas were also a good time. I didn’t see any of the shows so I can’t comment on that. The dining experience gets mixed reviews from me. The food in the dining room was really good! We had any time dining and never had to wait for a table. The waiters were all very good and entertaining. The rest of the ship was hit or miss. It felt like every time I wanted to eat, everything was closed. I did not see the Mexican taco place open once the whole time. The burger place was mediocre at best. The sandwich shop was disgusting. The buffet had good food but it was closed more often than not. The pizza place never closed but the pizza was completely tasteless. Literally it tasted like dry cardboard. But unfortunately that seemed to be the only spot open for food for most of the trip. Overall I had an awesome time! I’m going to take a week long cruise on the same ship in August so I’m hoping that the dining experience will be different. Maybe the restaurants are open more for longer trips? Read Less

I wasn't super impressed with the cleanliness of my room, to be honest. There seemed to be some dust, or maybe mold - the first night, my nose was going crazy. Also, aren't cruises supposed to have a ton of entertainment? I feel like I was waiting for events the whole time. The food was okay. The breakfast was great, even though my girlfriend didn't really bother eating most of the stuff that was served. The dinners we found to be great. We weren't exactly "impressed", but we at least enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, so we have nothing really to complain about this. My girlfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed the music! There were live bands, and we actually got to hang out with one of the guitarists after their set. He was super cool, and he kind of made the trip worth it. We also appreciated the nearby parking with Instapark once we got back to the mainland. Overall not a bad time, but not really impressed, to be honest. Read Less