Carnival Ecstasy - Never Again

My husband and I boarded the Carnival Ecstasy on 1/3/08 from Galveston and we were really excited about taking another cruise (first was with Disney). I read that this boat was recently updated but we felt that we were stuck in the 70s with the decor. If this were the only problem with the boat - it would be easy to overlook but that was only the beginning.

The boat not only reeked of cigarette smoke but the haze was so thick it seemed that you could cut through it. We smelled like smoke just walking through the casino, etc. The library even smelled like cigarettes.

A few other issues were the quality of the food which was not close to the superiority of Disney’s dining experience and food. Interestingly enough – we overheard much talk about how disappointed passengers were regarding Carnival’s food. We expected much more! My husband and I joked that passengers should definitely try the Fruit Loops – that was the best thing on the breakfast menu.

To make things worse the boat was not properly air conditioned. It was very hot everywhere except for our cabin. Speaking of the cabin – it was sufficient.

The staff often looked like they just woke up and went to work. Many were not pleasant to be around.

We did not cruise with our son, 16, but saw many long-faced teenagers lounging in windows around the boat. I felt horrible for them. Younger children, which there were many, were occupied but events seemed to be lacking for older kids. Unfortunately the boat also did not have an adult only pool. I assume this is because of the SMALL size (70 ton) of the boat. Disney (85 ton) had many adult only areas.

I prefer to stay cancer free so will definitely never sail on Carnival again. Instead I’ll sail on Voyager of the Sea (130 ton) if leaving from Galveston because "beginning January 2008, smoking is permitted only on cabin balconies, on the starboard side of open decks and in the designated smoking areas of public rooms. Any passenger caught smoking in a cabin will be charged a $250 penalty"

I'm sorry your cruise on the Ecstasy didn't meet with your expectations.

True, smoking is permitted on all Carnival ships but I've never once had a problem with it and certainly not to the extent that you described. Some people are more sensitive to smoke than others.

Thanks for letting us know about your experience and I hope you enjoy your next cruise, regardless of which line you select.

The staff often looked like they just woke up and went to work. Many were not pleasant to be around.

Well if you had the commute that the crew has to work every morning you would be tired and cranky too. :D

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. It can be a big dissapointment.

Personally I wouldn't choose an older and smaller ship because I know I would be dissapointed. Some people really enjoy the smaller ships. Maybe next time if you ever try Carnival again (which it doesn't sound like you will) you should try a larger newer ship.

I'm sorry you had a such a crummy time. I've cruised on the Ecstasy twice. I think it's a great little trip. It's such an easy trip, and my experience with the crew has always been stellar.

To each is own...

Sorry your experience wasn't the best....but I do think it was a little unrealistic to expect the same quality of food as you had on Disney, when you paid a fraction of the price Disney would have cost you???

I totally agree about the smoke. Hopefully, Carnival will wake up and realize it is 2008 where smoking is concerned. I mean entire countries like Ireland and even FRANCE have banned it indoors. ;)

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your trip, we've always enjoyed the Ecstasy. I could be wrong but I thought smoking was already limited to certain areas on Carnival ships? I know you can smoke in the cabins, piano bar, casino, disco, aft bar (cigar bar) and one side of the ship on the Ecstasy. Perhaps the smoke in the library was someone simply not following the rules. Unfortunantly if everyone doesn't follow the rules it can make cruising uncomfortable for others.

My husband and I boarded the Carnival Ecstasy on 1/3/08 from Galveston and we were really excited about taking another cruise (first was with Disney). I read that this boat was recently updated but we felt that we were stuck in the 70s with the decor. If this were the only problem with the boat - it would be easy to overlook but that was only the beginning.

 

The boat not only reeked of cigarette smoke but the haze was so thick it seemed that you could cut through it. We smelled like smoke just walking through the casino, etc. The library even smelled like cigarettes.

 

A few other issues were the quality of the food which was not close to the superiority of Disney’s dining experience and food. Interestingly enough – we overheard much talk about how disappointed passengers were regarding Carnival’s food. We expected much more! My husband and I joked that passengers should definitely try the Fruit Loops – that was the best thing on the breakfast menu.

 

To make things worse the boat was not properly air conditioned. It was very hot everywhere except for our cabin. Speaking of the cabin – it was sufficient.

 

The staff often looked like they just woke up and went to work. Many were not pleasant to be around.

 

We did not cruise with our son, 16, but saw many long-faced teenagers lounging in windows around the boat. I felt horrible for them. Younger children, which there were many, were occupied but events seemed to be lacking for older kids. Unfortunately the boat also did not have an adult only pool. I assume this is because of the SMALL size (70 ton) of the boat. Disney (85 ton) had many adult only areas.

 

I prefer to stay cancer free so will definitely never sail on Carnival again. Instead I’ll sail on Voyager of the Sea (130 ton) if leaving from Galveston because "beginning January 2008, smoking is permitted only on cabin balconies, on the starboard side of open decks and in the designated smoking areas of public rooms. Any passenger caught smoking in a cabin will be charged a $250 penalty"

Are you saying that Carnival should refuse boarding to anyone who smokes? I'd be for that, but stockholders would likely be upset about it. Oh, and if 'ya didn't like the food on Carnival, better avoid RCCI because it isn't as good IMHO. As for Disney; never had the pleasure, and likely never will. I simply can't justify spending three times as much to cruise with Micky and Pluto, but if the food is much more to your liking, perhaps that's the line you should stick with. As for me, I've cruised Carnival 14 times; never had a problem with smoke because I avoid the casino and the "smoking" side of the ship. Oh yeah, I have found the food on Carnival to be as good as any cruise line on which I have sailed. Perhaps the chef was on vacation the week that you cruised, lol.

 

I prefer to stay cancer free so will definitely never sail on Carnival again. "

Oh crap! We are going on our 7th Carnival cruise Friday...better make an appointment with the doctor upon my return! :rolleyes:

As far as the teens sitting around with nothing to do. I think Carnival has a great teen program but the problem is with the teens. The younger kids are more open to meeting new friends and doing activities. I noticed on our last cruise my 13 year old son who always love the kids club in the past seemed to think he was too cool to do the "boring activities" and just wanted to hang around. My 16 year old nephew never bothered going to the teen club on his cruise because he didn't know anyone and didn't give it a chance. I think they are just typical teens.

As far as the teens sitting around with nothing to do. I think Carnival has a great teen program but the problem is with the teens. The younger kids are more open to meeting new friends and doing activities. I noticed on our last cruise my 13 year old son who always love the kids club in the past seemed to think he was too cool to do the "boring activities" and just wanted to hang around. My 16 year old nephew never bothered going to the teen club on his cruise because he didn't know anyone and didn't give it a chance. I think they are just typical teens.

Yes, those are difficult ages. They can't decide if they want to have fun or be cool. Thankfully both of my boys always elected to have fun!!

Carnival is lacking in the 18-21 age area. Not so much a dedicated director is needed, but some scheduled meet and greets through out the cruise would be nice.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your trip on the Ecstasy.

Sounds like a completely different ship than the one I went on last September. I am fairly sensitive to smoke and didn't have a problem with it except in the Casino which is clearly listed as a smoking area (so I only played the slots in the mornings and stayed away after it started getting busy and smokier). I thought the food was great and the staff was outstanding.

My mother and I enjoyed it so much that we are going again next September, same ship, same cabin.

having worked in hotel disputes where if someone is caught smoking in a non smoking room i know the fine is next to impossible to collect the few times it is imposed.

id be VERY surprised if rcl imposes this charge as often as they catch folks smoking. cabin stewards will want to protect those tips ets.

iv also read on a disney message board how many cruisers on disney swear the balcony experience is ruined for them, because disney has the same rule as rcl put in place that you have to go out on you balcony to smoke. ... so more snokers are on either side of you if you do want that balcony on disney etc

i agree ecstasy is older. i think the update you are referring to was mostly bedding, coverlets etc. in 2006. i loved the "new" bedding.

have only been on ecstasy once and agree about the decorating, but the price is right if you live in texas. i think you should have picked a newer ship to compare to disney

You picked one of the older ships Carnival has to offer, then you want to do a review of Carnival versus Disney? Would you go to Disney World and ride space mountain, then go ride the Dumbo ride and complain how the Dumbo ride wasn't exciting? I don't like smoking either, but surprisingly I've never encountered a problem with smoke with the exception of the casino. Try one of the newer Carnival ships before you write off the entire line.

Sorry your experience wasn't the best....but I do think it was a little unrealistic to expect the same quality of food as you had on Disney, when you paid a fraction of the price Disney would have cost you???

 

I totally agree about the smoke. Hopefully, Carnival will wake up and realize it is 2008 where smoking is concerned. I mean entire countries like Ireland and even FRANCE have banned it indoors. ;)

Actually I have read that many people feel that Carnival has the best food of all Cruiselines...Even the poster "Grandma 4x mom 4x" who compared Disney to Carnival Glory said that Carnival food was much better than Disney food (And she was not very pleased with anything else on the Glory).

I have only sailed on Carnival and loved the food, but I can't compare to other cruise lines...but the common theme through out Cruise Critic seems to be that Carnival has better food that most Cruise lines.

I drug my 16 year old in to the teen club and introduced her. She was so imbarassed at first but later thanked me. She had the time of her life and made many friends. The first step is hard but just like the small children they break the divides fast. If a child has a buddy they are more eager to dive in. When they are tag alongs with the parents sometimes we have to give them the shove they need. Sorry about your disappointment in Carnival. So far I have had nothing but good experiences.

I'm one of those who loves the Fantasy-class ships I've sailed.

However, I did have a terrible problem with the smoke on the Elation in the casino. You do NOT have to walk through the casino to get from one end of the ship to the other. You walk past the casino, but not directly throught it.

On the Spirit-class ships, though, you must walk through the casino. Fortunately, the air quality on the Miracle was miles better than on the Elation. So although you had to walk through the casino to traverse Deck 2, the smoke was really negligible.

As far as teens, DD was 15 on her 1st cruise. She just completed cruise #6 at age 21. We're planning on sailing again next December. The only time she sailed with someone her age was our 1st Fantasy cruise (4-days to Bahamas) as I took her best friend as their high school graduation present.

She always finds things to entertain her. She did complain that no one was dancing in the disco on Miracle, but she always went to the teen disco in the past.

Crowds vary from week to week. Sometimes you get a "good" group of people with whom you have no problems interacting, sometimes there isn't so much of a connection.

My only problem with the food on this last cruise was the quality of some of the steaks and the fact that they were overcooked. Oh, and the scrambled eggs on the buffet. But the omelets were superb and I sure didn't go hungry!

I drug my 16 year old in to the teen club and introduced her. She was so imbarassed at first but later thanked me. She had the time of her life and made many friends. The first step is hard but just like the small children they break the divides fast. If a child has a buddy they are more eager to dive in. When they are tag alongs with the parents sometimes we have to give them the shove they need. Sorry about your disappointment in Carnival. So far I have had nothing but good experiences.

The boat not only reeked of cigarette smoke but the haze was so thick it seemed that you could cut through it. We smelled like smoke just walking through the casino, etc. The library even smelled like cigarettes.

 

A few other issues were the quality of the food which was not close to the superiority of Disney’s dining experience and food. Interestingly enough – we overheard much talk about how disappointed passengers were regarding Carnival’s food. We expected much more! My husband and I joked that passengers should definitely try the Fruit Loops – that was the best thing on the breakfast menu.

 

I prefer to stay cancer free so will definitely never sail on Carnival again. Instead I’ll sail on Voyager of the Sea (130 ton) if leaving from Galveston because "beginning January 2008, smoking is permitted only on cabin balconies, on the starboard side of open decks and in the designated smoking areas of public rooms. Any passenger caught smoking in a cabin will be charged a $250 penalty"

Apparently this persons distain for smoking ruined the cruise. I really love the "perfer to stay cancer free" part. Obviously living in a world of her own.

If you didn't like the ship, that is fine. Never step foot on it again. But I have decided that when a reviewer "overheard" all these other people complaining about something it immediately goes in the not crediable bin. I think it is like the emails you get telling of some dire problem with the blurb to send this to everyone you know immediately.

I just read a review of a cruise I was on. It seems "everybody" was sea sick. Well, noone in my group or anyone I spoke to seemed to have a sea sickness problem. "everybody" was also complaining about the unfriendly staff and the horrible food. My group was on 3 different decks and noone have an unfriendlyness problem and the food was as good as it gets. Of course for our taste it was bland, but we like mega seasoning on our food so we are used to that.

My husband and I boarded the Carnival Ecstasy on 1/3/08 from Galveston and we were really excited about taking another cruise (first was with Disney). I read that this boat was recently updated but we felt that we were stuck in the 70s with the decor. If this were the only problem with the boat - it would be easy to overlook but that was only the beginning.

 

The boat not only reeked of cigarette smoke but the haze was so thick it seemed that you could cut through it. We smelled like smoke just walking through the casino, etc. The library even smelled like cigarettes.

 

A few other issues were the quality of the food which was not close to the superiority of Disney’s dining experience and food. Interestingly enough – we overheard much talk about how disappointed passengers were regarding Carnival’s food. We expected much more! My husband and I joked that passengers should definitely try the Fruit Loops – that was the best thing on the breakfast menu.

 

To make things worse the boat was not properly air conditioned. It was very hot everywhere except for our cabin. Speaking of the cabin – it was sufficient.

 

The staff often looked like they just woke up and went to work. Many were not pleasant to be around.

 

We did not cruise with our son, 16, but saw many long-faced teenagers lounging in windows around the boat. I felt horrible for them. Younger children, which there were many, were occupied but events seemed to be lacking for older kids. Unfortunately the boat also did not have an adult only pool. I assume this is because of the SMALL size (70 ton) of the boat. Disney (85 ton) had many adult only areas.

 

I prefer to stay cancer free so will definitely never sail on Carnival again. Instead I’ll sail on Voyager of the Sea (130 ton) if leaving from Galveston because "beginning January 2008, smoking is permitted only on cabin balconies, on the starboard side of open decks and in the designated smoking areas of public rooms. Any passenger caught smoking in a cabin will be charged a $250 penalty"

There will still be smoking in the Casino on Voyager.

Wow, I have been on this ship 4 times and would gladly go again.

Neon-I can't figure out why this bothers so many people? It seems bright, fun and happy to me. But to each their own. The bedding and flat screen tv's added to each stateroom in the last 2 years is a nice upgrade as well.

Smoke- I hate cigarette smoke, but have only noticed it as a problem in the casino - and that is ANY cruise ship casino you will pass through.

Food- While I have never been on Disney to compare food quality because I refuse to pay their prices, I have always been more than satisfied with my Carnival food. It beats have to cook myself and I am by no means a gourmet eater. I guess some have fancier palates than myself. I could survive on the chocolate melting cake alone if I had to.

Air- I have hardly been able to remove my sweater on this ship, brrrrrr. The only time I have been hot is laying by the pool.

Staff- Hmmm. Most of their spouses and families are living back at home in India, Jamaica, Honduras etc. and it is the holiday's. I think I can forgive a little crabbiness.

Teens- The word alone should say it all, but my kids have always enjoyed Carnival's and RC's teen programs. I barely see them they have so much fun and they still call their new friends after the trip ends. So, don't feel sorry for them....they just got a free cruise, it is a luxury.

I am sorry if my response is slightly sarcastic and I realize people save up for the chance to cruise, but was your trip really that awful? If it was I am truly sorry it didn't live up to your expectations and hope you have a better time on your next trip.

My husband and I boarded the Carnival Ecstasy on 1/3/08 from Galveston and we were really excited about taking another cruise (first was with Disney). I read that this boat was recently updated but we felt that we were stuck in the 70s with the decor. If this were the only problem with the boat - it would be easy to overlook but that was only the beginning.

 

The boat not only reeked of cigarette smoke but the haze was so thick it seemed that you could cut through it. We smelled like smoke just walking through the casino, etc. The library even smelled like cigarettes.

 

A few other issues were the quality of the food which was not close to the superiority of Disney’s dining experience and food. Interestingly enough – we overheard much talk about how disappointed passengers were regarding Carnival’s food. We expected much more! My husband and I joked that passengers should definitely try the Fruit Loops – that was the best thing on the breakfast menu.

 

To make things worse the boat was not properly air conditioned. It was very hot everywhere except for our cabin. Speaking of the cabin – it was sufficient.

 

The staff often looked like they just woke up and went to work. Many were not pleasant to be around.

 

We did not cruise with our son, 16, but saw many long-faced teenagers lounging in windows around the boat. I felt horrible for them. Younger children, which there were many, were occupied but events seemed to be lacking for older kids. Unfortunately the boat also did not have an adult only pool. I assume this is because of the SMALL size (70 ton) of the boat. Disney (85 ton) had many adult only areas.

 

I prefer to stay cancer free so will definitely never sail on Carnival again. Instead I’ll sail on Voyager of the Sea (130 ton) if leaving from Galveston because "beginning January 2008, smoking is permitted only on cabin balconies, on the starboard side of open decks and in the designated smoking areas of public rooms. Any passenger caught smoking in a cabin will be charged a $250 penalty"

(wrong quote)

iv heard more complaints about food on disney. rcl folks all post the food on disney just doesnt stack up to the food on rcl with the exception of palo. palo, the $30 dining experience is so hard to book, folks have made a tickler to remind them and iv read of folks who stayed up to 3 a.m. their time, so they could book palo. its that hard to book. the rest of the dining folks complain is too slanted to kids etc and not up to the quality of other cruislines.

i think food is subjective and wouldnt assume just because carnival is cheaper the food is worse just because the op says so.

check out the dis board

For what it's worth the Ecstacy was my 3rd cruise. It is one of two Carnival ships I will never sail again. But since then I have been on 7 more Carnival cruises. Why? Because I believe every ship and experience will be different regardless of cruiseline. And for us it has. I won't comment on the food because I'm not a big fan of any cruislines food. It is or miss IMO.

Good luck on your next cruise!

Apparently this persons distain for smoking ruined the cruise. I really love the "perfer to stay cancer free" part. Obviously living in a world of her own.

 

If you didn't like the ship, that is fine. Never step foot on it again. But I have decided that when a reviewer "overheard" all these other people complaining about something it immediately goes in the not crediable bin. I think it is like the emails you get telling of some dire problem with the blurb to send this to everyone you know immediately.

 

I just read a review of a cruise I was on. It seems "everybody" was sea sick. Well, noone in my group or anyone I spoke to seemed to have a sea sickness problem. "everybody" was also complaining about the unfriendly staff and the horrible food. My group was on 3 different decks and noone have an unfriendlyness problem and the food was as good as it gets. Of course for our taste it was bland, but we like mega seasoning on our food so we are used to that.

So are you saying this cruiser was lying? Maybe the food was not up to par. Maybe she did here other passengers complaining about the food. Don't judge unless you were there.

She obviously had a problem with this cruise...maybe her expectations were too high or maybe there really was a problem.

I loved my only cruise to date on an "OLD" Carnival ship, but I am not blind to the fact that it was Old. There were some problems, but it was still a great vacation. I will be back in May on a "Newer" Carnival ship. I hope to be on many more Carnival Cruises in the Future. But if my Cruise does not live up to expectations...I will come here and talk about it.

We all have our different Likes and dislikes...If you disgree with what someone says, don't make an uninformed statement that they are not "Credible". You don't know this person...They could just be telling the truth.

The truth is that this "two-time" poster will always find the littlest thing to complain about until her return to Micky and Pluto. I have no doubt that she will find many thing that bother her if she does ever cruise on RCCI. I'll wager that the 1st thing is, not the food and not all the activities that she could care less about and not that the ship was just tooooooo big but how they were not enforcing the smoking rules well enough:rolleyes: Of course I could be wrong it might be the closet sized rooms:eek:

But seriously, I really do hope she finds a cruise line that fits her and her family because it will be away from me!