off of Ecstasy today....questions?

Just got off the 5 day trip to Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay. Will do a full review soon, but thought I would post a few of my opinions.

- ship was very nice, no complaints

- we had a grand suite, very nice. About the size of a standard hotel room

- buffet food (good eats) and pizza were awful

- grill and wok were decent

- main dining room was very good. My Time Dining was such a great option and our wait staff was awesome!

- fellow cruisers did seem to be a more varied bunch than I have saw in past cruises but no noticable 'drunks' running crazy

- HMC was nice but I have been to as nice or nicer public and other private islands, I didn't find it to be exceptional. Tender getting back on board was ridiculous!!! That will be why I never do an itenerary with HMC again would rather not waste hours just trying to get back on ship.

- staff was some of the best I have experienced

- we really enjoyed all ports minus the tendering situation with HMC

- embark/debark were easy and quick

- entertainment was a bit cheesy but I didn't expect broadway

- main pool was too deep for 2 of my 3 kids but still ok

- slides were fun

Overall we would do Ecstasy again with a different itenerary...maybe a shorter trip (got board of same food daily). No real complaints, just every cruise works for a different vacation, reason, group of people, etc. It was obvious CCL was made the move to be the budget line to appeal to more people. Maybe we would also try a longer cruise on a newer or bigger ship to compare.

If you have a specific question let me know!

My kids didn't really enjoy the kids program... :(

There was one lady that seemed to 'scare' them that worked there. They would ask to go a few times and then when they went in if they saw her they would immediately cry and ask to leave, it was no biggie since we enjoy family time during family vacations, but it did seem like there were lots of fun activities going on in the 2-5 group that they were in.

My oldest went to the 6-8 group one time for 1 hour and that was it!

They do not do daycare so that might be why, but there were many kids with tears when they were dropped off. :(

did you keep any of your daily event papers if so can you scan and post them

You already know I was on your cruise from roll call, LOL. But were you up on Lido on sea day when the 4 year old girl got lost? The family was actually on lounge chairs next to us on the top deck near the mini golf and the little girl was talking to us a few times and then a little later her grandparents I guess had her and she was lost for 45 minutes. All of us friends got up immediately and were running around helping search for her - one of them finally found her on the other side of the top deck sitting there crying (no idea how she got there). The mom was frantically practically throwing up while all this was going on and another girl in our group was trying to calm her while we all ran around and searched. It was very scary! All I know is I have a 3, almost 4 year old (though he was home with DH) and if he was missing I would have wanted the whole ship helping to look for him so we all jumped up to help immediately.

How was the band Mellow fusion? I believe that is what they are called! Glad you had a good time and thanks!!

Just got off the 5 day trip to Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay. Will do a full review soon, but thought I would post a few of my opinions.

 

- ship was very nice, no complaints

- we had a grand suite, very nice. About the size of a standard hotel room

- buffet food (good eats) and pizza were awful

- grill and wok were decent

- main dining room was very good. My Time Dining was such a great option and our wait staff was awesome!

- fellow cruisers did seem to be a more varied bunch than I have saw in past cruises but no noticable 'drunks' running crazy

- HMC was nice but I have been to as nice or nicer public and other private islands, I didn't find it to be exceptional. Tender getting back on board was ridiculous!!! That will be why I never do an itenerary with HMC again would rather not waste hours just trying to get back on ship.

- staff was some of the best I have experienced

- we really enjoyed all ports minus the tendering situation with HMC

- embark/debark were easy and quick

- entertainment was a bit cheesy but I didn't expect broadway

- main pool was too deep for 2 of my 3 kids but still ok

- slides were fun

 

Overall we would do Ecstasy again with a different itenerary...maybe a shorter trip (got board of same food daily). No real complaints, just every cruise works for a different vacation, reason, group of people, etc. It was obvious CCL was made the move to be the budget line to appeal to more people. Maybe we would also try a longer cruise on a newer or bigger ship to compare.

 

 

If you have a specific question let me know!

What was wrong with your tender back from HMC? We got on one at about 3:30PM and walked right on it and it left 5-10 min later and we went back. No problems for us there. And I totally agree, the pizza wasnt very good - (being from NY and pizza one of my favorite foods!). The mongolian wok was very good, if the lines werent so long. I got it right away on the 1st day, possibly before everyone knew it was there. ON sea day it was a looonnng line!

No I did not keep the any of the papers. Are you looking for aomething specific? Maybe something i can recall from memory?

We were up and down on the deck all day. I didnt see that happen! I bet that was scary!!!! We had a 2, 5 & 8 yo with us and i did not let them out of my sight! Do you know why they kept calling foe those same two passengers over the loud speaker the first few days?

Is that the band on Lido? I thought the live pool music was good. I dont recall other bands but we only went to one show.

What was wrong with your tender back from HMC? We got on one at about 3:30PM and walked right on it and it left 5-10 min later and we went back. No problems for us there. And I totally agree, the pizza wasnt very good - (being from NY and pizza one of my favorite foods!). The mongolian wok was very good, if the lines werent so long. I got it right away on the 1st day, possibly before everyone knew it was there. ON sea day it was a looonnng line!

The tender line streched back to the beach! And then people were cutting to the front of the line which made the wait even longer! It was not very fun standing in that heat with 3 little kids ready to be out of the sun. We sat in the shade a while to let the line go down a bit but it was still pretty long.

No I did not keep the any of the papers. Are you looking for aomething specific? Maybe something i can recall from memory?

 

We were up and down on the deck all day. I didnt see that happen! I bet that was scary!!!! We had a 2, 5 & 8 yo with us and i did not let them out of my sight! Do you know why they kept calling foe those same two passengers over the loud speaker the first few days?

 

Is that the band on Lido? I thought the live pool music was good. I dont recall other bands but we only went to one show.

- I kept some of my papers, Im a brochure-keeper lol. I will try and scan and post them to my review tomorrow.

- It was very scary, even for us who had just met the girl. I dont know how it happened but they were there then a little later the grandpa came running up to us telling us she was lost and they were running around asking everyone if they saw her. We immediately got up and split up running and looking, and finally like 20 minutes later they finally made an announcement to everyone that a little girl was lost? (We were amazed they didnt make an announcement immediately). One of my friends and another lady finally spotted her about 40 min later on the complete opposite side of top deck crying. The mom was practically throwing up over the side of the deck while another girl from our group tried to calm her. As a mom, I was terrified myself. But at least she was found ok! We had to get a round of drinks after that experience:rolleyes:.

- And no, I never noticed any names being called the 1st 2 days so I have no idea why.... I did hear names being called at 4:25PM on Nassau day though, guessing they were still down at Senor Frogs lol.

Sailing on Ecstasy in 2 weeks!! Did they do any kind of midnight buffet? Were there any adult comedy shows?

Nice review! Thanks for taking the time to share with us!:)

Sailing on Ecstasy in 2 weeks!! Did they do any kind of midnight buffet? Were there any adult comedy shows?

-I was on this sailing also:

There was a midnight buffet the one night of the deck party - the theme was Mexican. I didnt eat anything, but 2 of the girls in our group did and they said the food was just ok.

And there was adult comedy shows we watched one and it was pretty funny.

- I kept some of my papers, Im a brochure-keeper lol. I will try and scan and post them to my review tomorrow.

Thanks for your review! Sailing the Ecstasy soon and would love to see the Fun Times for your cruise :)

Like she said above...there was a midnight buffet Mexican themed one night. There was also the 'Good Eats' buffet on Lido open from 11:30pm to 1:30am.

Lots of Comedy showtimes for adults and family friendly.

Sorry i dont ever keep the Fun Times but if you are wondering about something specific i may recall from memory.