Overall, we had a great time on this ship and once again, I am impressed with Carnival's ability to offer a fantastic time at a ridiculously low price.

While I can see what the negative reviews are getting at, you have to be realistic about what you have signed on for before you book - This is a short, budget Carnival Cruise with most rooms costing well below $100 per person each night, including all your food and entertainment, so you should frankly expect something less than the Four Seasons. And you should expect that a lot of your fellow passengers are the type who go for lots of food, tend to be a little cheap about things like tipping and alcohol prices, and who don't understand the concept of "formal night" (or even "appropriate indoor attire"). I think if you sail on the SS Ecstasy with those thoughts in mind, you will have a great time.

Embarkation: We went for a last minute upgrade to a grand suite with extended balcony (which easily fit two lounge chairs, two armchairs and a few tables) and it included "VIP check in" - basically, they whisk you into a private room to sit while they check you in, print your sail and sign, etc. Otherwise, it was a 10 min or so counter wait for that. Then, you go to a second room where they hand you a ticket with a number and call you in as groups (again, we walked right pass this room with our VIP thing, so I am not sure how long these people were waiting, maybe another 10 minutes). Third room is Customs, where they take your picture and sent you on the ship. This room was pretty crowded but once again, we got to skip to the front of the line, so we were feeling pretty cool at that point. We arrived around 11:30 and were on the ship in less than 15 minutes. Once you get on the ship, expect it to take them several hours to get your luggage to you (in all my cruises, this seemed like the longest wait, but we still had our luggage by 3:30 pm). Read more