Rachel16

Probably maneuvers.

How was your cruise? Can you please provide your experience?

Food, cabins?? Was the weather warm enough to enjoy the beach?

Did you have any problems that needed attention?

Any advise for us soon to be Ecstasy cruisers?

If you choose Breezes please come back and let me know what you think.

 

Thank you![/quote

 

I would be happy to. Still on the fence about Nassau independent beach location. I am trying to get over the fact that all cabanas are sold out in Half Moon Cay----if only Carnival hid a few cabanas for dreamers like me.

We were able to get a hotel room in Mt. P and leave our car for free there and Uber to port cheaper than it was to leave our car in port for a week. Just an FYI. :) - I know you weren't asking me and that was for the OP, but wanted to share our experience.

:p Silly MEEEE,,,thank you for your experience also.

I forgot to ask the following:

What time to you suggest arriving at the port.

We purchased the Fast to the Fun thingie , I noticed you arrived around 1030am and were on the Lido around 11-1115am. What time do the line start to move folks to allow them on the ship? Would you please give a brief parking daily cost and ease (or not) of parking at Pier.

And last but not least how were the seas????;) Was the water warm enough to enjoy it in Nassau and Half Moon Cay?

Thanks again for taking your time to answer the questions. I am go glad you had a great time. Gotta check out their chili :D

Not really interested in writing a full multi-post review with photos (I didn't really take any of the ship anyway), but instead I'll just write my thoughts as someone who has cruised out of Charleston, and on the Ecstasy, several times.

 

Embarkation: Probably worse than it was last year. One employee said to go here, the other said no you need to turn around and go here, it's disorganized chaos until you get into the terminal where things are better. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing because there's a new staff at the port for basically every cruise. This is one of those things you just have to grin and bear as a Charleston cruiser. It likely won't improve until the port authority has a reason to improve it. Staggered checkin doesn't appear to have made any difference. The terminal employees, being Carnival/permanent port authority employees, are better and have a good system in place. It's the parking and traffic teams that need serious work, and the same holds true now as it did when we first cruised out of Charleston almost 3 years ago.

 

Ship cleanliness: I was on the Ecstasy in May of last year, when she was relatively new to Charleston after years of weekend booze cruises out of Miami. Toilets routinely broke, at least 25% of the elevators were always out of service, A/C in the cabin was busted, rust and weird smells/stains everywhere. None of this is true now. The ship is now as beautiful as ever. Clean, clear, in good repair. Of course this makes sense as she was just released from dry dock a few weeks ago. We'll have to see how the cleanliness is maintained as she gets farther from dry dock.

 

Cabin service: Never met the steward, but they did do a very good job of keeping the cabin clean. Both services were done every day with no issue. I think the steward stopped by once in an attempt to meet us on the third day, but we were still in bed so we just asked them to come by later.

 

Food: I said last year after we left the Ecstasy that other than entertainment, the food was the best part of the cruise. The food continues to be a high mark on the Ecstasy. The dining room was consistently hot, fresh, and perfectly cooked. This is my first experience with American Table and I was left impressed. The food was excellent and the dining room looked awesome. Service was slow one night but we brought it to their attention and it was quickly corrected. Lido food was also excellent - including the new additions of Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. If I tried I couldn't think of an improvement to be made in this area. My only complaint is hamburgers, chili, and fries are no longer served during the late night snack buffet - replaced with grilled ham and cheese, potato chips, and grilled onions. Not a big deal, but I do love Carnival's chili.

 

Entertainment: My Ecstasy cruise last year left a high bar here. I found the shows (albeit the same shows: Brits and Motor City) to be better than last time with better talent, but the promenade band wasn't quite as good as last year. The piano bar player was okay, and the solo guitarist was somewhat bad. The Fun Squad was good. The cruise director, Benjamin, was just as he was last year which is to say he made the ship rock. Full of energy, gets people excited and loose, and all in all makes everything fun.

 

Bar Service: I have heard complaints of some people having trouble finding a bar waiter in the lounge on other ships. Not so on the Ecstasy. The bar waiters were constantly making their rounds, and kept you full on drinks if you needed them. The bar waiters in the bars were also excellent. The new Alchemy bar is a great addition to the ship.

 

Overall, I had a fantastic time and everyone we sailed with also had a great time. I have very few complaints and none of them would cause me to not book another cruise out of Charleston on the Ecstasy.

I was hoping that you would post your experience. Thank Goodness you have.

MUCH appreciated.

Thanks for the answers.....

Looking into breezes tomorrow as an option also. It's Either Melia or Breezes.

Hilton is mehhh to me.

Would someone be able to answer a few additional questions about the Melia Day Pass?

Why did you pick Melia verses all of the other options, Hilton, Breezes, Blue Lagoon or other excursions?

How far from port?

Walk, or taxi? and cost of taxi approx.

Cost of day pass per Person?

Thank you in advance. Goodness we are just looking to have some beach time in Nassau. Maybe hit Sr. Frogs for a quick drink then back to the ship without paying 300.00usd for 3 people for a boat ride to Blue Lagoon or Balmoral island

We were on the Ecstasy the sailing just after the dry dock upgrades. Our favorite places on the ship were Serenity area, Alchemy Bar, Guy's Burgers, and Blue Iguana.

 

Area around the casino was VERY smoky, enough that we didn't frequent that area.

 

Would I say we hated the ship? No, we didn't hate it, we were on a cruise. What I will say is that it was our least favorite cruise out of 8 total, 6 on Carnival and 2 on Royal. Ecstasy was not our favorite ship. That would be the Legend.

 

If you have specific questions, I will try and answer them.

Thanks SOOOO much for your offer to answer questions. We are pretty easy to please not one of those 'it rained, it was cold, the eggs were like rubber, the bathroom was small, kids didn't like this or that, so WE didn't like the cruise"

(we have cruised on Carnival before--not this ship)

Our hope is the seas are not too rough and we don't freeze in April and all of us remain healthy during the trip. THEN we will be good.

If I think of something I will ask.

Thanks again !! :)

I spoke to a Rep from Carnival who reported the Ecstasy also had room corridor carpet replaced during this very recent dry dock. Early Winter 2017. In addition to the above added Restaurants and Candy Shop..

Additionally, I asked the Rep when was the last time bedding was replaced? She told me 3 years ago. That would take it back to 2014 perhaps?

Truthfully I am looking forward to some posters on here who are sailing right now, for their feedback IF they decide to post.

From everything I am seeing (youtube) and reading on here there is a either you love it or hate hate hate this ship. It is not they hate it a little but they dislike everything. :(

Soon enough I will find out for myself too. And report back.

Rachel - Thanks so much for the post, that helps a lot!

Your welcome. :)

I have cruised twice from Charleston and Jacksonville (very close in proximity). Every cruise, we could feel the movement a little the first night, but that was it.

 

**Our last cruise from Charleston was rough heading back the last day, but that was due to us being delayed looking for the lady that went overboard, but they had the ship in the wind to make up time.

-------------

Thank you for your first hand observations.

OH MY GOODNESS you were sailing during that tragic event? No words... :(

Hi

Maybe this will help you with a little more info. What I have found is the following.

Cabins with a picture window do have Pullman's or formally known as upper berths. They are the beds that during the day are flush with the wall. At night they pull down similar to a top bunk bed and a ladder is provided with maybe 4 rungs.

Most Ecstasy inside cabins do NOT have upper berths any longer. There are a few located forward and aft. Very few. This is a change from years ago. It appears they are doing away with Upper berths.

So, now passengers who want inside cabins AND a Upper berth are stuck in the Aft location :( . OR given no other choice but to go with Outside/picture window at slightly higher cost.

Upper berths reduce clutter and tripping, banging around if someone must use the bathroom during the night. I understand a passenger can request a topper for the trundle which is a roll away with fancy name as well as a topper for the single sofa bed. I would call Carnival and notate the record AND as soon as your arrival to your cabin request the same with your room attendant.

I do wish they would bring back uppers for families. The topper may help.

Happy Cruising!!

We sailed her in March and its gonna be a little rocky until you get more south; sailing within the islands usually has very little roll but that first day and a half expect some noticeable movement. I would guess 6-8' seas so f you get sea sick come prepared because odds are you won't be walking a straight line down the hall.:D

 

We enjoy every cruise but that was our least favorite - no balconies - which meant with the colder weather the first and last 1.5 days, everyone was driven inside. And with no couch in the room, we had no where to escape for quiet time. So expect that the Lido deck may not be warm enough to use comfortably at the front and back of the cruise, and so the ship will feel more crowded.

THANK you for taking your time to reply. I do appreciate it!!

We sailed on the Ecstacy last March on that itinerary and we experienced slightly rough seas the first night. My DH was up all night and couldn't sleep because of the rocking, but it was pretty tame compared to other stories I've read on here! The rest of the cruise was very calm though! Enjoy your cruise, we loved the Ecstacy, she's a very charming ship!

Thank you for sharing yours and your husbands experience. I believe that we will also agree to it's charm.

:)

THANK YOU for your quick reply.

It sounds like you have sailed out of Charleston at various times of year.

I bet your excited for your upcoming trip !! Plus the recent dry dock changes and additions will be nice to check out!!

Have a great time and thank you again.

Rachel

Hi everyone,

My last cruise on the Atlantic to Bahamas was on Premier Cruise lines in the early 90's named The Big Red Boat. Does anyone remember that ship? Rough going out of Port Canaveral. By todays standards The Big Red Boat looks like a elongated tug boat ;)

Anyway we are strongly considering Carnivals Sailing from Charleston to Half Moon and Nassau April 2017.

For anyone who has sailed out of Charleston during this time frame I pose the following question.

1. How are the seas?

We have sailed to the Eastern and Western Caribbean in the past during March April and May. Lovely most of the time. A little choppy arriving back into Tampa. Nothing to complain about.

It appears the Ecstasy has a love it / hate it relationship with passengers. We know going into this sailing the ship is from the Fantasy Class and actually we do prefer a smaller passenger capacity.

Your feed back is appreciated in advance. Thanks:)