New Ecstasy review 2/17 - 2/21

[camreesmom]

Ecstasy Review: WARNING, very, very long!!!!!!!

 

Parking: We parked at the EZ Cruise parking lot. This is the second time that we have used EZ Cruise and there were absolutely no problems this time around. I booked this online for a $5 discount (total price was $30). The website is: www.ezcruiseparking.com. We dropped our luggage off at the pier first and then went to drop off the car and catch the shuttle. We arrived at the EZ Cruise parking lot around 11:30 and we were on the ship by 12:15.

 

The reason that we dropped our luggage off first and then went to park the car was because in September when we used EZ Cruise, we sailed on a Sunday and there were 2 ships in port. The parking lot was crazy and we ended up waiting over an hour just for a shuttle. We shouldn’t have worried about it this time because the Ecstasy was the only ship in port. We left on a Thursday and returned on a Monday so we were the only ship both days. I would recommend dropping off your luggage first if you are cruising on a Saturday or Sunday when there are at least two ships in port.

 

Embarkation: After the quick trip on the shuttle, we arrived at the port and entered the terminal. The Carnival terminal is a bit nicer than the Royal Caribbean terminal but the RCCL folks win on the service side with embarkation. We went up the escalator and got in the check in line. There were several Carnival employees walking around just looking at us while we were waiting in line and didn’t offer to help anyone. We checked in, gave our credit card information and received our Sign and Sail cards and our Ving (room key) cards. Then we went through the security (xray) line and then took our embarkation photo. Then we walked a little bit further until we took our picture for the Sign and Sail card. After this, we walked right onto the ship.

 

Day One: Our cabin was already ready so we went to drop off our carryon and look around the ship. We booked an IS guarantee and ended up with a 4E cabin. We were on the Empress deck, cabin 5. It was very convenient being on this deck since this is where we entered the ship. The purser’s desk, shore excursion desk and photo gallery are all on this desk along with the Atrium bar.

 

As soon as we entered our cabin, we noticed the smell of cigarette smoke. Our toilet was not clean and there was a dirty glass in the medicine cabinet. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that the sodas and water left in the "minibar" were covered in dust so we really think that this cabin just had not been used in a while.

 

We went up to the Wind Star dining room to check on our table assignment. We have been on one other Fantasy class ship (the Fantasy) and we were seated in a booth on that cruise. We really did not enjoy dining in a booth especially on formal night. Anyway, we found out that we were assigned to a booth again and so we requested to be switched to a round table. We were moved without a problem to a round table that seated 10.

 

We then went up to the Lido deck to grab a bite to eat. We ate breakfast and lunch at the Panorama buffet every day except for one when we had lunch in the Wind Song dining room.

 

We took the spa tour and were very impressed with the variety of fitness equipment and the spa services that were offered. I wish that I would have reserved a hair appointment for formal night but I didn’t think of it until Friday afternoon and of course, they were all booked.

 

The show this night was the Welcome Aboard show and was very entertaining. The comedian this night was Tim Harkleroad and he gave us quite a few laughs. We walked around a bit after the show and then went to bed since we were really tired.

 

Day Two: I spent the morning relaxing and sleeping late. DH roamed around the ship for a while until I woke up and then we went to lunch at the buffet. Day two was also formal night on this cruise. This evening, we went to watch the Hey Mambo show in the Blue Sapphire theatre. The costumes and sets were very impressive. The Gala buffet is also on formal night and Tim Harkleroad had a midnight adults only comedy show.

 

Day Three: We arrived in Cozumel and docked at the Puerta Maya pier. We had breakfast and then got off the ship around 10 am. We had booked the Atlantis submarine tour through Cozumel Insider online for $79/pp instead of the $99 that Carnival wanted. We caught a cab for $6 to the Atlantis office. After a brief safety demonstration, we caught the boat to the dive site. The submarine seats 48 people. It was a snug fit but not uncomfortable. We went over 100 feet underwater and saw many, many different fish. We even saw several sharks. This was an interesting tour but not something that I would want to do again. If you want to see the different varieties of sea life without getting wet, it is definitely worth it. After the excursion, we caught a taxi from the Atlantis office to Chankanaab Park for $9. We grabbed a quick bite to eat. The food wasn’t outrageously expensive. We shared a shrimp cocktail that was full of huge shrimp and I had a large pina colada served in a whole pineapple and hubby had a Salty Dog and our total was $23. I spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach with my drink and a magazine while DH snorkeled a bit. Then we went back to the pier and browsed through the shops and watched some folks make fools of themselves in Fat Tuesdays before going back to the ship. The lines were crazy to get back on the ship because we waited until 4:15 to go back and everyone was supposed to be back on the ship no later than 4:30. The Sensation out of New Orleans was docked right next to us so all of their passengers were trying to get back on also.

 

We went up to the Sun Deck to watch the sail away. We were supposed to leave Cozumel at 5 but it ended up being 5:40 before we left. We later heard that it was because the Sensation was having some mechanical problems and some of the crew from the Ecstasy were trying to help them with the repairs.

 

We seriously thought about skipping the dining room for dinner this night because we were just wiped out from the sun but we didn’t only because the Grand Marnier souffle was on the dessert menu and that is my absolute favorite. I ended up having 2!

 

The entertainment this night was a variety show presented by the cruise director, Larry Garlutzo, and a comedy show by a comedian named Tony Stone who we picked up in Cozumel. He switched places with Tim Harkleroad. Tim went to the Sensation and Tony came from the Sensation to the Ecstasy. Larry sang several songs and played the guitar and then Tony Stone came out for the comedy show. There was only one show at 10:30 this night.

 

After the show, we headed up to the Lido deck where they were having a Mardi Gras party and throwing out beads. There was a Caribbean buffet and lots of games out on deck.

 

Larry had said that he would be playing an acoustic set in the Chinatown lounge around 12:30 along with Patrick the guitar player who normally plays rock and roll in there every night. We went up there around 12:25 and the place was already packed. We had to stand for about 20 minutes until a few people left and opened up some chairs for us. Larry and Patrick played for about an hour and many of the crew members came in to listen. Larry announced that he only had one more cruise and then he would be retiring from Carnival to start performing in Las Vegas on a regular basis.

 

After this, we were ready to call it a night.

 

Day Four: Another wonderful sea day. I slept in again. We decided to have lunch in the dining room this day because the menu looked really good. I had the fish and chips which were delicious and DH had the baby back ribs. We both had bread pudding for dessert. We played bingo in the afternoon and listened to a high school jazz band that performed out on the Lido deck. We skipped the evening show this night because we hadn’t packed yet and we needed to get our bags out so they could be picked up. We did go for the midnight adult comedy show put on by Tony Stone. He was good but not as funny as he was on his first night.

 

Debarkation: We had blue tags and we were called right at 8:45 to go to Immigration and Customs in the Chinatown lounge. It was a trick though because although the line outside the Chinatown was not very long, we had to zigzag all through the Chinatown lounge and then through the Stripes disco and then through a back hall before we actually ended up in the Starlight lounge. It only took about 25 minutes though and then we went up to the buffet for breakfast. We took our time and then walked off the ship right at 10 am before they even called our colors. Our luggage was all stacked neatly TOGETHER in the terminal and the EZ Cruise shuttle was waiting outside and we were on our way home.

 

Overall impressions: This was a great weekend getaway. We scheduled this cruise around the President’s Day holiday so we only had to take 2 days of vacation for a 4 day cruise. The entertainment on this ship was just amazing. The decor was a bit gaudy but the City Lights promenade is really pretty at night all lit up. Our last two cruises were on Royal Caribbean and the atriums on those ships are just gorgeous but for the price, this cruise was great. Our cabin was all the way forward and on deck 7 but even though we could feel a bit more movement, it really didn’t bother us. If anything, it rocked me to sleep even more. We were right under the Blue Sapphire lounge so I was expecting the noise to bother me but it didn’t. We could hear the ships thrusters when we arrived back in Galveston since it was early morning but other than that, it was not bad. Larry the cruise director was awesome so it is kind of sad to hear that he is retiring. There were quite a few kids on this ship but none of them were obnoxious or unruly. They seemed to be very friendly and respectful. Our servers in the dining room were Vijay and Pavol. They were really great. On formal night, Pavol dropped the quail on one of the girls at our table while he was clearing. The dining room staff were there immediately and offered to have her gown cleaned and brought her a bottle of champagne. We are taking our kids on the 5 day cruise on this same ship in July and we know that they are going to enjoy it.

 

Sorry this is so long but I was trying to cover everything. Please let me know if you have any questions at all. :)

 

Julie

[karenh1127]

Thank you for the review! We sail March 7th and I hate to hear that the CD will be gone. Do you know who is replacing him? I hope it is someone good. Glad you had a good time!

[camreesmom]

No, we never heard who is replacing Larry Garlutzo as CD. We would love to know since we're taking the kids on the Ecstasy in July. If anyone knows, please share! :D

[KrisKC]

We were on this same cruise :)

 

I would say overall for the price it was good. I think the boat moved way to much. Compared to Royal Carribean it was awful. My DS got motion sickness almost ever day. There is a children's pool at the back of the boat that is approx. 3 foot deep but only has about 1 foot of water in it. The last day the boat moved so much the kids thought it was a wave pool & water was literally splashing out over the sides.

The food was good, service was good, drinks were good :D

We went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel and had an awesome time. There were 4 adults and 3 kids, we all ate lunch, the kids had cokes and the adults had 2 buckets of beer and 3 pina coladas - our bill was only $97!! Antonio was our server and he was the BEST!

[postalgrrl]

I am thinking of taking this cruise but have only cruised on Royal Caribbean. Does anyone have any photos of the ship and cabins??? I would like to see any photos. I am thinking of booking a oceanview so any photos of that catagory of cabin would be great. Thanks

[corina27]

After reading your review, im really excited about my first cruise.I still have a while to wait.:)

[lilmsonry]

Thanks for the detailed review, not too long in my opinion, was very descriptive which is appreciated for us 1st timers who are waiting so impatiently to go!

 

Question for everybody reading: What is a caribbean buffet. I have seen this mentioned a few times and would love to know what it is all about. Thanks so much, and thanks again for posting the review!!

[rockwallroses]

KARENH1127

 

We will be in the same room as you, but leaving March 12 !!!!

We have an 8 yr old and a 5 yr old and they love Camp Carnival.

You won't be able to let us know how the room is though since we board when you get off.

Are you excited as well?

 

Rockwall Roses

[karenh1127]

KARENH1127

 

We will be in the same room as you, but leaving March 12 !!!!

We have an 8 yr old and a 5 yr old and they love Camp Carnival.

You won't be able to let us know how the room is though since we board when you get off.

Are you excited as well?

 

Rockwall Roses

 

OMG!!! Yes! I am so excited and scared too!:D :eek: We are really getting down to the wire now but I cant bring myself to start packing yet. I am nervous too because it is our first cruise but thrilled too. My boys are 8 (twins) and I hope they wont be too nervous for me to leave them at camp because it sounds like fun stuff. Maybe I could leave you a note or something with some tips and reviews. I could leave it in the room safe or a drawer. I will try to remember that. I was hoping someone that just got off of the Ecstasy yesterday would post a review. Wish yall were sailing with us so our kids could play together. I havent had any replies to my roll call so I have no idea how crowded the ship will be. Well have a great time!

[rockwallroses]

I think that this around our 10th cruise. We have gone out of Galveston 4 times so far and it is nice to not have to do the flying part to go. We live up in a suburb of Dallas called Rockwall. We are bringing along 3 families that are friends of ours. 2 of the families have never cruised before and they are so excited. We actually love going to both of the ports of this cruise. Cozumel is alot of fun and Calica(Playa del Carmen) lets you experience some of old Mexico charm. If you have any questions or if you just want to chat about the cruise let us know. By the way , you have nothing to be scared about. If so what is it?

 

Stacy and Tim

aka Rockwall Roses

[camreesmom]

We didn't notice too much movement on the ship. It did move but I took Bonine before we even boarded and never had a problem. There was one girl at our table in the dining room who came to dinner the first night and left without even eating because she had motion sickness. I actually had more trouble after we came back on land. I was still feeling like the boat was rocking yesterday!

 

The Caribbean buffet was nothing much in our opinion. They had several kinds of tacos, including fish. Lots of spicy food.