Opinions Please! Ecstasy or Liberty?

My Annual February Royal Caribbean cruise got cancelled due to dry dock schedules (not mad, it happens:D). None of the cruises Royal offered as a replacement however work for me so I am now looking at either the Carnival Ecstasy 5 day out of Charleston, or the Carnival Liberty 4 day out of Port Canaveral.

Both have the exact same itinerary but the Ecstasy has one extra sea day. Both ports are drivable for me and the price is almost the same. I have only ever been on the Conquest so far, and I have the Sunshine coming up in a couple weeks, so I don't have much Carnival experience.

We always do the drink package, dinner in the Steakhouse and Chefs Table. We have been to the Bahamas many times so we don't always get off the ship anymore. We are travelling with no children so kids clubs need not factor in to it.

Based just on the ship, which one would you choose? :D

My Annual February Royal Caribbean cruise got cancelled due to dry dock schedules (not mad, it happens:D). None of the cruises Royal offered as a replacement however work for me so I am now looking at either the Carnival Ecstasy 5 day out of Charleston, or the Carnival Liberty 4 day out of Port Canaveral.

 

Both have the exact same itinerary but the Ecstasy has one extra sea day. Both ports are drivable for me and the price is almost the same. I have only ever been on the Conquest so far, and I have the Sunshine coming up in a couple weeks, so I don't have much Carnival experience.

 

We always do the drink package, dinner in the Steakhouse and Chefs Table. We have been to the Bahamas many times so we don't always get off the ship anymore. We are travelling with no children so kids clubs need not factor in to it.

 

Based just on the ship, which one would you choose? :D

If it is a deal-breaker for you, the Ecstasy does not have a steakhouse. I, personally, enjoy the Fantasy class ships, though. They are small enough that they are incredibly easy to navigate. If you prefer more ship, though, go with the Liberty.

Liberty for sure

Bigger and newer ship with more bells and whistles

Based on ship, Liberty. You can compare them on the Carnival website but here are some things Liberty has that Ecstasy doesn't:

Seafood Shack

Steakhouse

Ol'Fashioned BBQ

Mongolian Wok

Skybox Sports Bar

Seaside Theater/Dive-In Movies

If the water park is important to you Ecstasy has it and Liberty doesn't.

Liberty is a good ship - same deck plan as Conquest. However, I prefer longer cruises. Not sure how I'd feel about only 4 nights.

Liberty is a good ship - same deck plan as Conquest. However, I prefer longer cruises. Not sure how I'd feel about only 4 nights.

Oh I totally agree!! I have a 14 night scheduled later in the year, this is just for a quick getaway from the cold in February. Since the ports are drivable, I don’t mind the short ones, I would never fly to port for just a 4 day...maybe!! [emoji12]

My Annual February Royal Caribbean cruise got cancelled due to dry dock schedules (not mad, it happens:D). None of the cruises Royal offered as a replacement however work for me so I am now looking at either the Carnival Ecstasy 5 day out of Charleston, or the Carnival Liberty 4 day out of Port Canaveral.

 

 

 

Both have the exact same itinerary but the Ecstasy has one extra sea day. Both ports are drivable for me and the price is almost the same. I have only ever been on the Conquest so far, and I have the Sunshine coming up in a couple weeks, so I don't have much Carnival experience.

 

 

 

We always do the drink package, dinner in the Steakhouse and Chefs Table. We have been to the Bahamas many times so we don't always get off the ship anymore. We are travelling with no children so kids clubs need not factor in to it.

 

 

 

Based just on the ship, which one would you choose? :D

While Liberty is a better ship by almost any measure, I’d take 20% more cruise, on E. Especially from NC. And as you have another cruise coming soon, maybe a “meatloaf” cruise is order. (My Mom once said you have to have meatloaf once in a while so you don’t get tired of the things you like).

For the record we once had to choose between 9 days in an OV on E or 7 days in a balcony on Conquest (back when both were in TX). We went for the 9 days and had a wonderful time.

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Liberty is a new and nicer ship.

You couldn’t get me on a Carnival ship with a crane. I’d stick with Royal or Celebrity.

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You couldn’t get me on a Carnival ship with a crane. I’d stick with Royal or Celebrity.

 

 

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why post on carnival forum just to say that?

Would choose the Liberty.

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why post on carnival forum just to say that?

Never understood people coming on a Carnival cruise board when they never cruise on that line.

Liberty hands down....

Liberty. I live 20 minutes from the port of Charleston but will not be on Ecstasy any time soon. Fantasy class are old, tired with dated looking decor.

Fantasy class are old, tired with dated looking decor.

I wouldn't exactly consider Liberty a modern trendsetter with decor. ;)

But that said, I would still choose Liberty.

While Liberty is a better ship by almost any measure, I’d take 20% more cruise, on E. Especially from NC. And as you have another cruise coming soon, maybe a “meatloaf” cruise is order. (My Mom once said you have to have meatloaf once in a while so you don’t get tired of the things you like).

 

For the record we once had to choose between 9 days in an OV on E or 7 days in a balcony on Conquest (back when both were in TX). We went for the 9 days and had a wonderful time.

 

 

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This is exactly my dilemma!! Liberty looks like a better fit ship wise, but an extra day on a cruise??? How do you not take that!!??!!;p

And I love the idea of a "meatloaf" cruise! Great analogy.

This is exactly my dilemma!! Liberty looks like a better fit ship wise, but an extra day on a cruise??? How do you not take that!!??!!;p

 

And I love the idea of a "meatloaf" cruise! Great analogy.

If it were me I'd find the 5-day Liberty cruise and pay a little extra for 5 days on the better ship.

If it were me I'd find the 5-day Liberty cruise and pay a little extra for 5 days on the better ship.

Its actually not the money, its more the time. Since I am only a couple of hours from Charleston, I can drive in same day. With the drive to Port Canaveral I have to take an extra day off and come in the day before. Since I use every bit of my vacation time, taking an extra day is sometimes a deal breaker.

I've taken the Fantasy out of Charleston when it was home ported there. (Plus I lived in Charleston at the time) It's not a bad little getaway. That class of ship is old and doesn't have the bells and whistles, but it was still a good trip.

This is exactly my dilemma!! Liberty looks like a better fit ship wise, but an extra day on a cruise??? How do you not take that!!??!!;p

 

And I love the idea of a "meatloaf" cruise! Great analogy.

I'd take the extra day honestly! We went on the Fascination out of San Juan and even though she didn't have the 2.0 upgrades, we still had a blast. Ecstasy at least has the upgrades so more food options!

The Ecstasy is a great ship. We sailed on her last year before it went to Drydock. We were very impressed by the staff. Some of the best service we have ever had on a cruise ship. Food was very good and now they have even more options to choose from since Drydock. Ship never felt crowded and we really liked the layout. You will not be disappointed with this ship. 5 days at sea is always better than 4.

You couldn’t get me on a Carnival ship with a crane. I’d stick with Royal or Celebrity.

 

 

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The Ecstasy is a great ship. We sailed on her last year before it went to Drydock. We were very impressed by the staff. Some of the best service we have ever had on a cruise ship. Food was very good and now they have even more options to choose from since Drydock. Ship never felt crowded and we really liked the layout. You will not be disappointed with this ship. 5 days at sea is always better than 4.

Staff/Service is really important to me...one of the reasons we love our annual Majesty of the Seas cruise, the staff on that ship is amazing even though they are not the biggest or best ship in the fleet. So I am happy to hear this!! Thank you!

You couldn’t get me on a Carnival ship with a crane. I’d stick with Royal or Celebrity.

 

 

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If you have not sailed Carnival (as your post implies) you have nothing to add. If you have no intention of sailing in the future you have nothing to gain.

May I ask what you are doing on this board?

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This is exactly my dilemma!! Liberty looks like a better fit ship wise, but an extra day on a cruise??? How do you not take that!!??!!;p

 

 

 

And I love the idea of a "meatloaf" cruise! Great analogy.

At the risk of pushing my “meatloaf” analogy too far: Meatloaf night was never a disappointment because we had different expectations on those nights and could still look forward to steak night.

If you know you go in on E that it’s a smaller ship with less bells and whistles but that you are getting the most bang for your buck on a per day basis (and have a shorter drive with a simpler debark port), I sincerely doubt you’ll be disappointed and think you might even be pleasantly surprised.

At least that’s how it worked out for us when we chose E over Conquest.

Here’s our fairly ancient review of our E experience.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=53980

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