Just back from Ecstasy with new elegant night menu

I have been sailing with Carnival for many years and have many cruises under my belt.

I LOVE cruising!!! I have also sailed with several other cruise lines.

I am platinum and just mention it in case anyone has questions about it. MY favorite perk is priority embarkation and disembarkation.

Before Carnival moved the Imagination, I cruised on that ship several times. Living close to the port makes it easy to get on a shorter cruise. I liked the Imagination even though it is an older ship. For me, the shorter cruises are for relaxing and enjoying the ports.

I had never been on the Ecstasy which replaced the Imagination recently and was curious how it would compare to the Imagination.

This was a 4 day cruise to Key West and Cozumel as were most of the cruises on Imagination.

From the moment I stepped on Ecstasy, I liked it. Like I mentioned, relaxing on a ship is important to me, and I got the relax vibe from the ship.

The ship is in very good shape and it is kept very clean. Had a wonderful room steward who took very good care of us and kept the room really clean. The crew worked very hard and it showed in how the ship was taken care of.

Elegant Night-- OK here is where there was some disappointment, but for me it was minor.

I read that there was no more lobster being served on elegant night and I had seen the replacement menu. I was interested to experience the new menu. I ordered the sea bass and scallops and my partner ordered the blue crab ravioli and sea scallops. The sea bass and blue crab ravioli were a big disappointment. For us, and I know food is subjective, but they were inedible. Sea bass had too much of a fishy taste and the ravioli had to much dough and not enough crab. The scallops were very good. I say BRING BACK LOBSTER!!

Again for me, it is minor in the scheme of things because most dinners we go to the Lido.

Other then Elegant Night, overall I thought the food was good.

The Serenity is my favorite place to hang out. The aft view cannot be beaten.

They changed the BINGO. I think it is fleet wide. They call it Pirate BINGO. I prefer the former BINGO instead of pirate BINGO.

Played in the blackjack and slot tournament. Did not have luck in either one(damn) LOL.

Overall, the cruise was very enjoyable and fun!! I would go back on the Ecstasy in a heartbeat.

Happy Sailing!!!

thanks for the review and the feedback on the new elegant night menu items.

I am not a fan of sea bass already, so will not be ordering that, but the ravioli was somewhat appealing. I plan to try the scallops and the ravioli, just to see for myself when I cruise Victory next month.

Sounds like a great cruise though, glad you enjoyed.:)

Good to know, thanks for the mini review!:D

What were the changes to bingo other than the name?

What were the changes to bingo other than the name?

Now in addition to your money they take your watch, rings, phones, etc. at bingo :)

The changes were how they run the games, basically it is a pirate theme.

You kinda have to be there to get the flavor. Think they are trying to add more fun.It was 3 games for each session.

Thanks for the review. I was wondering how the new elegant night menu was going to turn out.

Can you please tell me on which day does elegant night take place?

There isn't Lobster on formal night?

Even on a 7 night cruise?

Wow! My daughter will be upset, that's her favorite .

There isn't Lobster on formal night?

Even on a 7 night cruise?

Wow! My daughter will be upset' date=' that's her favorite .[/quote']No lobster on five night, or less, cruises. Still there - for now - on seven night cruises.

Thanks for your review! We will be on the Ecstasy next month! :D

Could you tell me what the shows were? Also, who was the CD and how did you enjoy him/her?

Thanks for the update on the Elegant Night menu. I've enjoyed the Sea Bass in the past, but didn't care for it on our last cruise (June 2015). Wonder what's up with the fish or if they have a new supplier?

now in addition to your money they take your watch, rings, phones, etc. At bingo :)

Good one! LOL!

This will be our 1st 4 night at Xmas so can you tell me is Elegant night the 2nd night like

always? if so it will be Xmas Day as we board on Xmas Eve:)

Now in addition to your money they take your watch, rings, phones, etc. at bingo :)

And then throw you overboard?

I suspected the crab ravioli would be mostly pasta.....to do away with lobster as a cost saving measure, they could not replace it with anything equally expensive. The introduction of the pay restaurants on the ships was the beginning of the end of great food in the dining rooms.....Add those costs to the base fare and the real cruise costs goes up quite a bit. But, it's an option, if you want higher quality food, will now pay more for it. Will be interesting to see where it all ends.......

DH & I just got off this cruise yesterday. We, also, are Platinum, so have much CCL dining experience. We enjoyed the scallops, as well and didn't really enjoy the ravioli either. But, DH enjoyed the Prime Rib & I enjoyed the Duck, so, for us, the change was for the better. The "lobster" was always not a go to for us, as Maine lobster is what we're used to. YMMV :)