Ecstasy Review 2/7/05 (LONG)

[TXRoo]

I tried to bold a few parts that I thought might be particularly helpful. I hope this will serve as a review.

 

 

CARNIVAL ECSTASY 2/7/05

 

GETTING TO GALVESTON

 

We drove to the terminal from Corpus and it was about a 3 hr drive down 35. Terminal was easy to find as the Ecstasy dwarfed all the buildings.

We drove over to EZCruise Parking ( www.ezcruiseparking.com ) and showed them our email confirmation and were able to park immediately. $35 for a 5 day cruise and they shuttled us and our luggage to the terminal. Very quick and extremely friendly. They let us off, told us where to go and where they would pick us up when we came back. Great experience.

 

EMBARKATION

We had a Verandah floor room so we were part of the Skipper's Club. Only advantage to me was that we didn't have to wait in line, they had a small waiting area where we could sit on couches to wait. A couple rode over with us on the same EZCruise Parking shuttle and they weren't Skipper's Club and they got on the ship before. I don't think it really makes a difference one way or the other. I would do fine with or without it. We arrived at the terminal at 1:15 PM and we were on the ship by 1:45. We weren't required to stop and take the embarkation picture...I'm not sure if that is normal or not, they just waved us past the line.

 

We did get our sign & sail card and a Ving card. The Ving card is for your room key and the S&S card is for all your charges on the ship.

 

The ship pulled out of port at approximately 4:30 PM (30 minutes late) due to a couple who had a Carnival air package being delayed at the airport. We watched them board the ship. No biggie.

 

Lifeboat drill was short and to the point. I can't see why anyone would ever miss one intentionally. It is to save your life.

 

STATEROOM

We had room V23 which is considered an obstructed view balcony. There was an inflatable life boat in front of our balcony but it did not deter our view except to our right (aft) facing out from the ship. Never once was it a problem seeing the ocean or the port. People like to complain about these rooms alot but I found ours to be just fine. It was so nice to be able to go out on our balcony whenever we wanted and the view of the stars at night was fantastic. The room itself was very clean. Shower big enough to fit two people...a toiletries basket that included men and ladie's razors, some shampoo and conditioner samples, a gel sample, 4 toothpaste samples, a toothbrush (new & wrapped), and a floss brush (new & wrapped). We had two bars of Lever soap and it was very nice. The bathroom is a good size with plenty of bars/handholds. No sewer smell or anything like that. We had 2 robes in our room and 2 Carnival towels. Plenty of room and hangers to hang stuff. I only wish they had drawers someplace, but the shelves were fine. The linens were always clean and nice. Great duvet and 4 pillows. Some scuffs in the wallpaper and the carpet was showing a little wear, but it only seemed so in our stateroom. The carpet on the rest of the ship looked pretty clean. Certain things are dated but it didn't mess up our cruise or anything like that. The balcony was a bit small..in the future I will be looking for larger balconies, but for our first time it was great.

 

Just a quick note, the in room safe is operated with a key that you get from your room steward. It is tiny...and I mean really TINY. It fit my wallet, our passports and my digital camera...that was it! Nothing bigger. I think it would be a stretch to say it was maybe 6" x 4".

 

Our room stewards (Marlon from Costa Rica & Grzegorzh from Poland) were outstanding. They made us towel animals and were there whenever we needed them. We saw them several times a day and I adore them. We made sure to tip them well when leaving the cruise.

 

DINING

The food in the dining room was very very good. My family has a history working for upscale hotels (Hyatt & Wyndham) and the food far exceeded anything I have ever had in any of those hotels. So I was very surprised and very happy. The smoked salmon was delicious! The beef entrees were delicious. We tried the escargot and it was fine. They tasted sort of like pepperoni flavoured mushrooms. Not something I would pay a substantial amount of money to eat on a regular basis, but certainly not bad. Some of our desserts were delicious, some were so/so. Our waiter and waitress (Ioan from Romania & Ivana from Slovakia) were absolutely delightful! We would go back on the Ecstasy if only to see them again! Overall I was extremely impressed with the food in the dining area. We did leave a tip for our servers and the Maitre'd(sp?) and Asst.

 

It was nice to see so many people dressed up. Alot of people (on these forums) had the impression because it is a smaller, cheaper cruise that the people would dress down. They certainly didn't. I saw many very nice cocktail and everning dresses. More suits than tuxes though.

 

The buffet is another story, with the exception of the day they had Indian food, the food was not very good. On the day they had indian food I was only too happy to chow down on the chicken tikka. I could smell all the curry and being a person who craves curry I couldn't help myself! It was delicious. It seemed everything else on the buffet was seriously lacking. The cole slaw was good though.

 

The deli guy was not grumpy or rude. I think he was more just straight to the point. I can see how he might put some people off though.

 

We did not eat lunch or breakfast in the dining rooms with the exception of the last day.

 

We ate sushi once and once was one time too many....the person making the sushi made the rice very mushy and it was not very edible. We eat sushi quite a bit, so trust me on this one. Leave the sushi to people who are experienced at making it. Don't eat it on the ship.

 

PUBLIC AREAS

Everything was clean and in good shape. I must say, even for being on this ship for 5 days and it being a relatively small ship, it was still very hard to see evrything this ship had to offer. I was please with the size of the ship and the public areas are nice. They had 2 hottubs open on the ship almost the whole time...one on the Lido deck and the other one at the back of the Verandah deck. Alot of people miss the aft pool and hottub because they never go to the back of the ship and up the steps. We didn't use either pool or hottub...there was just too much to do and see. There was a kid's pool but I think it was closed the whole time because they were refinishing the inside of it.

 

The magic show and comedian were allright. Not bad, but not outstanding. I missed Hey Mambo which is the show I really wanted to see. The Dream Voyage show was nice, but not my cup of tea.

 

The casino was fun and entertaining for what it was. My hubby played blackjack well and we ended up with enough to tip everyone very well.

 

They took alot of pictures on the ship, but the photographers were not aggressive or rude if you said no, they just let you go on. That was nice especially considering how much we spent on pictures. *oye vey*

 

The spa area was beautiful. Hubby and I had a couples massage and I have to say that it was a definite highlight of the cruise. They are not cheap...without a discount it was $242...but they were gving $30 off on the last day so it came out to $212. The massage itself was very good. The girls were much more gentle than our massage therapist at home. The used very warm oil and used just the right amount of pressure where needed. The massage was finished off with a glass of orange juice and a nice hot shower. It was truly heaven, especially considering I was a little seasick the last day of the cruise.

 

SERVICES

Just a few words about the services...we don't drink at all and ended up with almost $1100 on our sign & sail card. We bought some things in the gift shop, one shore excursion, some pictures and our massages. We also made 2 ship to shore phone calls. I learned my lesson on that one. They are $7 per minute and we had $100 in phone calls. *choke* DON'T CALL FROM THE SHIP. Do it in port. You'll break the bank if you don't.

 

I had one experience with the pursers desk and it was handled promptly. We switched credit cards mid cruise and they had no problem at all. Just so you know, they do put a hold on your card and it is not removed until a few days after the cruise ends. Beware of that if you are expecting everything to be done immediately. Chrages all take a few days. We did not have any problems with being chraged for services we didn't use. Avinash from India was a great help and a lovely person to deal with.

 

COZUMEL

Cozumel was lovely...we got off at the port and ran the gauntlet. The car rental places are in the mercado as you come off the ship. We rented a Jeep with a stickshift...it came to about $95 USD after taxes with full coverage insurance. Just a note...the absolute fastest speed limit on the island was 70 km per hour...so watch your speedometer carefully. Most places are 60 or 40 km per hour. I drove out of the terminal are and south down the island to explore. We missed El Cedral which was really upsetting. I really wanted to see that...so it's definite for the next trip. We drove around the southern tip and up the east side (wild side) of the island. The view is absolutely incredible. It's truly amazing that so little of the island is inhabited. We stopped at Mezcalito's for lunch and I had the super shrimp. It was delicious and the mexican rice was great...way better than the TexMex stuff up here. Then we took off and went west towards San Miguel and ended up at the San Gervasio ruins. Some people really shun these ruins saying there is not much there. They are wrong. I was absolutely surprised at actually how much ruins there are there and they are beatiful for what they are. If you get a chance please visit them.

 

We finally left after about 1 1/2 of hiking around the ruins and went west into San Miguel and looked for the Cozumel Mini Golf. Finally found it and played a great 18 holes. Some are REALLY hard but the course if beautiful and refreshing and it is cheap. Not only that, they will give you walkie talkies and will bring you drinks on the course if you need them to. I HIGHLY recommend them. Don't fret over parking...on the Calle 1 side there is parking behind a little shop that belongs to the mini golf. It is not well marked so you have to look carefully. We left there and went down towards the bayfront only to find out alot of the bayfront street had been blocked off for Carnival. So I turned around, went back to one of the Avenidas and folled it down to Calle 11 which took me to the clear are of the bayfront street. I took that down towards the cruise terminal. There is alot of progress and what looks like rebuilding going on on the island. There was a HUGE catamaran on the bayfront was absolutely stunning to look at. We finally drove down and went past the cruise terminal to Playa San Francisco. This was really my only gripe. They start the hustle as soon as you arrive. Normally it doesn't bothre me, but they were more aggressive than I am used to on the border towns here. They said a few things about the beaches next to them charging and a few things I knew weren't true so I just ignored it. A quick note here...if you are from the south and used to warm water, take a wetsuit or a spring suit. The water is COLD compared to what I am used to. I would say the water was maybe 75 degrees tops. We did NOT swim and there were quite a few people there in wetsuits. Funny thing was, the locals we talked to thought the Americans were loco for going in water that evern the Cozumelenos think is too cold in this part of the year.

 

As someone who drives in Mexico frequently just across the Texas border, I cannot even begin to express to you how much easier it was driving in Cozumel. The people are friendly. The taxi drivers are way better and the roads are great! Everything was marked fairly well and we had no problem at all driving in rural areas and San Miguel. The island was FAR....BY FAR cleaner than anything right on the border in Texas. I've heard quite a few people mention on these boards how they thought Cozumel was dirty, they must not have anything to compare it to. All I can say is it was alot cleaner than some places I have seen in the USA.

 

CALICA/PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Quite a few people complain about the port. Get over it. It's a caliche pit. Big deal. I am of the opinion that lazy Americans (yes us) want to get off the sip and have everything handed to us. God forbid we have to pay a taxi driver to get anywhere. *extreme sarcasm* People, get real.

 

That being said, we went to Xcaret. Loved it, so much to do and so little time to see it all. I loved all the wildlife and almost froze to death going down the underground river. Thank God for spring suits. You know the water is cold when a native Mexican jumps in and yells at the top of his lungs "Aye!!! Mi Cajones!!!". :D The average year round temp in the cenotes is 62 degrees!!! It is not an easy float like people seem to believe...you do have to work at it, but it is beautiful! I can't say enough good things about this park. I was very disappointed that we had to leave before the evening show though.

 

We were late pulling away from Calica because of something to do with a lady with a stroller. I am not sure if she had her documentation. I think they eventually let her on the ship, but I am not sure if her hubby made it on.

 

As we sailed away we watched the ships on the horizon docked at Cozumel. It was a beautiful sight.

 

OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN :mad:

 

*sigh* short rant...forgive me. People, CONTROL YOUR KIDS. For the most part they were well behaved, but one group of boys on the ship were pains in the butt. They were riding up and down on the atrium elevators laying all over the floors and generally being a horse's patoot. Then, so yayhoo kid decides to get in the elevator and as the door closes his friend tries to pull it open causing the doors to malfunction. So the elevator is stopped, the boy inside is crying the the stupid one on the outside has one foot against the wall and is trying to pry the doors open. Thakfully the hubby is a shipboard electrician and was able to keep the stupid one from having his fingers severed off between the doors. He finally got the kid loose from the door and then the doors shut and then opened again. What did the stupid one do? Jump in the elevator without so much as a thank you and head down and up and down and up in the elevator. *sigh* Whoever those kid's belong to....you're crappy parents. The ship is not the mall nor even a babysitter. I am quite sure if your precious little (stupid) darling had his fingers severed off you would have been trying to sue Carnival and it was your fault as an absentee parent. Someone needs to give you a good swift kick in the pants.

 

DISEMBARKATION

Disembarkation is a bit confusing. I did NOT want to get up before 7am. That really sux (pardon me). In fact, if I could have I would have figured out a way to live on the ship.

 

We had orange tags but we ended up going with the second group through customs because we didn't feel like getting out of bed. Everything was smooth. The line was short and we were through very quickly. We then went to breakfast. Don't eat the scrambled eggs. I think they are an egg substitute and in Texas, that is sacrilege. BLECH!!! Everything else at breakfast was very good. After we left there we went to the lounge. and were quickly called to get off the ship. It took maybe 15 mins and we were on the shuttle back to the cruise parking. Not bad at all!

 

PARTING THOUGHTS

Overall, it was a great first experience. I will do it again and we will go on this particular ship again. No seasickness at first as the sea was relatively calm. Felt a little wonky getting use to the rise and fall of the ship but nothing bad. Last sea day I ended up sick. (only 7 ft. swells) I'm such a wussy. Those little wristbands REALLY do help with the nausea!

 

Note to Carnival...you are sailing out of Texas, in the south where we know what real, fresh brewed, iced tea tastes like. What in God's name were you thinking to use Nestea Tea Mix as your iced tea??? FIX IT...PLEASE, before I have to start a mutiny!!!

 

If you have any questions, please let me know and I will answer them best as I am able. I will post pics as soon as I get a webshots album up and I will post them to this thread as an update. I have pics of our cabin and "obstructed" balcony that should be of some use to some on the forum.

 

Adios and Vaya con Dios, Y'all!

 

TXRoo

 

[TXRoo]

Forgive my spelling and grammar...it's 1 AM here. :(

[TXRoo]

Forgot to say...there is only one plug in the bathroom. In the stateroom though there was 1 internationl plug and 2 regular plugs at the desk area and there was another regular plug at the end of the bed on the entertainment area...next to the mini fridge.

[SevenVII]

DArn TXroo, you guys went to town :d I do drink and those were the only additions to our Sail/Sign(we only paid about $200 and some, and we tipped over minimum). I was very upset that you have to buy the original 8x10, to then get copies of it. So I busted out my digital camera and took pictures of the pictures....they didnt turn out excellent, but were still very good :D

 

I was tempted many a time to make that call on board, but the 6.95 per minute just scared me too much.

 

I really wish we would have met up, I would have loved to hear about your trip to Xcaret, and compare it to ours at Xel-Ha. Oh well though, glad you and hubby had a great anniversary!

[karenh1127]

What a great review! Thanks for all the info----good & bad! I am a fresh-brewed tea drinking freak! If they have instant I am gonna puke!! What if I brought a little 4 cup coffee brewer and made my own tea? Is that acceptable? Is there boiling water onboard where I could bring my own tea bags? Also, what is a spring suit? Never heard of that. I am so afraid it will be too cold to swim at Xcaret but I bet my boys will not have a problem getting in. What age was the boys playing elevator? Mine are 8 and I will no way on God's green earth let them go anywhere alone on the ship! Well if you think of anything else....I'm not leaving until 3/7 on Ecstasy.

[rockwallroses]

Hi there,

We are going on the Ecstasy March 10th on a Cat 12 Suite. We are so excited. How smooth does the " ez parking" process work. I have always used the Galveston Parking shuttle where they take you back to your vehicle and then you have to drive back to the terminal to get your family and luggage. So how quick does " ez" get you back to your vehicle with the family and luggage in tow. Do they have a lot of shuttles or are people hurriedly trying get on the shuttles?

 

Thanks

[north texas]

Thank You for your review....

 

We sail on her March 12 -

We were on her in 1992 when she was just new.

 

Not sure what we are going to do in Cozumel -

we will have our 9 month old granddaughter with us.

[TXRoo]

SevenVII, I am so sad we missed y'all and dwell!! I am glad to hear you had a good time. I am not sure about your age group, but I am 29 and the hubby is 41. I hope you didn't feel too alienated by people. :(

 

Hi Karen...a wetsuit is generally a full suit that covers your arms and legs. A spring suit (also called a shorty) is a wetsuit that normally has short sleeves and legs that stop at the knees. I found the springsuits to be perfect because as you go down the cenote, the water on top is cold and the water down by your feet is warm. I don't really know about the tea brewer. Coffee on the ship is decent, or so says my coffee drinking hubby. You can have hot water brought to you by room service. I had hot chocolate every morning and they brought hot water separate and I had to mix it myself...so if nothing else you could get it that way. The boys playing in the elevators were all in the 10-13 age category...right at that age where they need to be tied up and gagged. :D

 

Rockwall, we paid over the internet and I was incorrect about the price. It was actually $30, not $35. The manager sent us an email confirmation and we drove up and showed it to the attendant who gave us a yellow tag. We drove around to the other side and parked...there was a shuttle over on that side and they took our luggage and packed it for us on the shuttle. We waited a few minutes for another couple and then went to the ship. Less than 15 minutes total from the time we arrived at EZ till we arrived at the terminal. The unloaded us, told us where to go and where to be picked up. When we came back, they were clearly visible, we had to wait maybe 2 minutes for a shuttle...we caught the shuttle and it took less than 10 minutes tops for them to load us at the terminal and unload us at our parking. We were extremely pleased that we did not have to drop off our luggage and all that stuff like some did. I would recommend them a 100 times over. I was VERY happy with their service.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful time! We did. :)

[SevenVII]

We are both 25.....and no we didnt feel too alienated. But my normal ice breaker is "Hey there, where are you guys from" and 98% of the time I got the same response, "Texas, how about y'all" :D

[TXRoo]

Ha! Well, at least we're a friendly bunch! :D

 

The only part that got me was this ship was about 95% full of Texans and someone from Maine won the $100 off or free cruise from the comment card thing. OYE!!!

[karenh1127]

Hi there,

We are going on the Ecstasy March 10th on a Cat 12 Suite. We are so excited. How smooth does the " ez parking" process work. I have always used the Galveston Parking shuttle where they take you back to your vehicle and then you have to drive back to the terminal to get your family and luggage. So how quick does " ez" get you back to your vehicle with the family and luggage in tow. Do they have a lot of shuttles or are people hurriedly trying get on the shuttles?

 

Thanks

 

Are you sailing in 2006? Because March 10 of this year the Ecstasy will be docked in Playa del Carmen. We dont get back to Galveston until the 12th. Perhaps thats what you meant. We also have a cat. 12 suite and cannot wait! I loved this big long review because it was so detailed. I will be sure and post a detailed review when I get back. Happy cruising!:D

[JenX]

Thanks for your review! We leave on our first cruise--Ecstasy as well--in ten days. We're not very excited :D.

 

Well, I was really looking forward to some sushi but I had a feeling it might be about like what you said. That's too bad!

 

My biggest concern is about the water being too cold...we are taking our 7 year old and really want him to be comfortable in the water. We'll see!

[SevenVII]

Oh, didnt notice the Sushi comment. I ended up eating sushi every night, except formal night, and I rather enjoyed it. I have only had it a few times, but the California roll and Cucumber roll reminded me of how I had them at other places. I would at least give it a try, maybe TXroo just got a bad one....or is just used to the good stuff.

 

There was only one I didnt enjoy, cant remember name but it had lots of red Roe on it. Like I said, I'm not an expert on sushi by any means....but what they had on ship was very pleasing to me :D

 

I missed Hey Mambo which is the show I really wanted to see.

 

I didnt think it was that good. The voyage one was loads better than Hey Mambo. The main actor guy just doesnt portray a "latin sex symbol" very well, and that I think was the key to forming the relationship of the "gloria estafen" lady. It was still enjoyable, and I am glad I went....but the costumes and main actors/singers didnt sell me on the show.

[batman4279]

"A quick note here...if you are from the south and used to warm water, take a wetsuit or a spring suit. The water is COLD compared to what I am used to. I would say the water was maybe 75 degrees tops."

 

What are you nuts? This is the Caribbean. Every time I've been the water is always warm. BTW 75 is a warm water temp. Maybe you never had a geography lesson but Mexico is further South than the U.S. Do you go swimming in Jan in the south in the U.S.? How could it be warmer? Man...

[SevenVII]

Wow, I am sure TXroo apprecaties your highness coming and gracing her with a geography lesson, and also teaching her the universal temperature at which water is comfortable.

 

She was simply letting people know that the water might be colder than one might believe, hardly worthy of calling her nuts.

[batman4279]

I didn't mean to sound like that, but my point is that it is the CARIBBEAN. As far as water temps go, it does not get much better than that. I think alot of people would agree with me.

[Aero247]

I know I'm a wuss but 75 degrees is arctic to me. I live in South Florida and I won't get in my pool until it's at least 82 degrees. I will be cruising in the Western Caribbean next month and I will be getting in the water whatever the temp. I will smile and tell my kids to "suck it up, it's not that bad" while thinking to myself "**** this is cold!"

[MomofFour]

Thanks, TXRoo for your post! I really enjoyed the read since I will be taking the Ecstasy in March. I appreciate the time you took out to give everyone (especially me) your expierence on the Ecstasy. I didn't think it was too long...

MomofFour :)

[amos3]

THANKS!!! What a great review. I'm still laughing. Too cute. We leave next Saturday and WE'RE READY and so excited!!!!

 

Amy

[TXRoo]

SevenVII, we do indeed get very good sushi from a Japanese couple. :) Thanks for letting me know about Hey Mambo...now I don't feel so bad. :D

 

Aero, you hit it spot on. Our water temps here on the Gulf of Mexico are about 50 in the winter to about 87 in the summer. I don't swim unless the pool is at least 85 degrees. I am not from a cold climate...in fact, I abhor any weather under 60 degrees...so relatively speaking the water was very cold to me.

 

Batman, thanks for your oh so kind response. And thanks for the geography lesson. I LIVE on the water in South Texas. I am well aware what most of us in the SOUTH find as acceptable temps vs. what those in the NORTH consider a comfortable temperature. Our room steward wass from Poland and he said that they swim in water in the 10 degree celsius range, so obviously the water is not cold to him...that's why I added the caveat of:

 

A quick note here...if you are from the south and used to warm water, take a wetsuit or a spring suit.

 

Now, if you don't mind I have an appointment at the Warm Water Looney Bin.

[bigccaptain]

We sail on the Ecstacy in August. This will be our first cruise.

 

I didn't know you go through customs before you go and eat. I thought customs would be the last stop before you get off the ship. That is why I read these boards. To learn before I set sail.

[SevenVII]

Depends on which color you are, if you are one of the earlier colored tags its a good idea to do customs before you eat. But if you are a later colored tag, its a good idea to grab a bite to eat and just relax at the dining room, or lido deck until your color is called.

[colette5479]

"A quick note here...if you are from the south and used to warm water, take a wetsuit or a spring suit. The water is COLD compared to what I am used to. I would say the water was maybe 75 degrees tops."

 

What are you nuts? This is the Caribbean. Every time I've been the water is always warm. BTW 75 is a warm water temp. Maybe you never had a geography lesson but Mexico is further South than the U.S. Do you go swimming in Jan in the south in the U.S.? How could it be warmer? Man...

 

 

Nice:rolleyes:

[colette5479]

SevenVII, we do indeed get very good sushi from a Japanese couple. :) Thanks for letting me know about Hey Mambo...now I don't feel so bad. :D

 

Aero, you hit it spot on. Our water temps here on the Gulf of Mexico are about 50 in the winter to about 87 in the summer. I don't swim unless the pool is at least 85 degrees. I am not from a cold climate...in fact, I abhor any weather under 60 degrees...so relatively speaking the water was very cold to me.

 

Batman, thanks for your oh so kind response. And thanks for the geography lesson. I LIVE on the water in South Texas. I am well aware what most of us in the SOUTH find as acceptable temps vs. what those in the NORTH consider a comfortable temperature. Our room steward wass from Poland and he said that they swim in water in the 10 degree celsius range, so obviously the water is not cold to him...that's why I added the caveat of:

 

[/b]

 

Now, if you don't mind I have an appointment at the Warm Water Looney Bin.

 

Great review! It is making me very anxious for December to hurry up and get here! I was on the Ecstasy when she was in Long Beach and we loved the crew to death.

 

And thanks for setting the water temp debate straight:D

[Txcruisers04]

Note to Carnival...you are sailing out of Texas, in the south where we know what real, fresh brewed, iced tea tastes like. What in God's name were you thinking to use Nestea Tea Mix as your iced tea??? FIX IT...PLEASE, before I have to start a mutiny!!!

 

 

 

Glad you had a great time on the ecstasy!We thought that the ecstasy had NASTY tea!We were soooo surprised!On all of our other cruises with carnival the tea was really good!