Ecstasy 4 Day Cruise March 31st KeyWest & Cozumel

[cruisingbajan]

Be careful with that BajanKeith, I've heard some horror stories, renters renting out a room, running a mini-brothel, no locks on the bedroom doors, and so on. The name stands for airmattress, so go figure!

 

Thanks for the info Tracey/Thom. I will certainly keep it in mind when making our decision.

 

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[BarJen]

Thanks for posting, this helps me pacify the time until our cruise on the Ecstasy!

 

And..hi Keith!

 

Barry :)

 

 

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[cruisingbajan]

Thanks for posting, this helps me pacify the time until our cruise on the Ecstasy!

 

And..hi Keith!

 

Barry :)

 

 

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Hi Barry:)

 

Yup....this review is just what the doctor ordered.

 

You will be sailing in 2 weeks....looking forward to reading your review as well.;)

 

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[oneboysmom]

Knowing we wouldn't dock in Cozumel until early in the afternoon, we took advantage on sleeping in a little. I have always wanted to try the Dining room for breakfast, so my Son and I went. I had the eggs benedict for my first time, wasn't too impressed, but it was too salty for my liking. Very filling though!!

After Noah left for kids club, I decided to wander around and take some pictures of the boat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping these pictures are turning out. After I will post a direct link to my photobucket account and hopefully you can get a better look!

 

So here are some pics of around the ship. Grabbed a nice light lunch knowing that we would be going to Mr. Sanchos all inclusive with unltd food and drinks! My son, of course, had his fill of at least 5 ice cream cones by this time.

[oneboysmom]

http://s102.photobucket.com/user/beckymichie/library/?sort=2&page=1

 

So here is the link to hopefully have bigger pics!! Went up front on the ship to watch us pull into Cozumel. Such a beautiful port with the bluest water i've ever seen.

Well, sorry, it doesn't seem as my pictures want to be attached. So, please use the link above. On our way in, we passed one of the Disney ships, then came along side the Glory and 2 Celebrity ships. We were able to disembark at 1:30 and boy was the line long!! We continued to meet up with a group from our roll call and we all headed to Mr. Sanchos. Did the obligatory pictures in port of the men dressed up and the fountain. We were able to get a cab/van for 8 of us to go. It was $32 I believe, so we rounded it up to $10 per couple for a tip.

Once we arrived at Mr. Sanchos, we were shown a table and where everything was. Was such a beautiful day, little cloud cover and a very nice breeze!

We saw the Glory sailing away later on in the day. We were at Mr. Sanchos until 5pm local time, which was 7pm ship time. Was a great time, and would definitely go back again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oneboysmom]

My son and I decided to do some shopping after coming back to port. Unfortunately I was a little tipsy due to all the unlimited Dos Equis and Te killers that I had, but I made it! AFter getting our souvenirs, we watched the beautiful sunset, then got back on the ship.

My son, of course, ran off to the kids club, and I had made plans with Judi and Amanda to join them in the Main Dining room for dinner that night. They had late time seating, and their table was always missing 2 people, so they so no harm. It was really nice to experience the difference in the same cruise. I liked how familiar you were able to get with your waiter, that was really nice. The food was good this night? i think.

After was the mexican deck party. Up on lido deck they had everything cleared out of the way and the dancing was going full-strength. Did the conga, other line dances and was a great time! Mexican buffet was also open, but I did not partake in that. After the deck party settled down, it was time to go to bed. Next day, day at sea and last day :(

 

 

 

 

[nowitall]

"There is no outdoor theater on the Ecstasy."

 

That's one of the things I love about that boat. Cruised on the Magic a couple weeks ago, and my ears are still bleeding from the volume level on the Lido Deck, where that screen is located.

 

We've cruised on Ecstasy out of Miami and Galveston, and loved each trip. On our last Ecstasy cruise, the boat parked beside one of the Carnival ships with the screen, and the sound from that thing really washed over Ecstasy.

 

OK, y'all can post about how I'ma old fuddy-duddy now! :D

[AZmike480]

I just looked at cruises on the ecstasy there cheap right now!:D

 

AZmike480

[cruisingbajan]

How was the food and portion sizes at Mr. Sanchos? We are considering either this or the Pasion Isla excursion through the ship?

 

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[oneboysmom]

How was the food and portion sizes at Mr. Sanchos? We are considering either this or the Pasion Isla excursion through the ship?

 

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The food was ok...the coconut shrimp was really really yummy :). Portion sizes were ok, but it was unlimited so order all that you like!! I know a few people who did that excursion through the ship and really enjoyed it. More review to come later!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Ah yes, I took this same sailing on imagination back in December of last year for my platinum milestone cruise. The ecstasy is a nice, albeit old and small vessel. I see you mentioned key west as your first port of call, and I found that to be incredibly shortsighted on carnival's part. The day in eyw is so short because of the long distance to cozumel, it would imo be a better idea to do a sea day on the way to cozumel and stop in key west on the way back to Miami on the last day. I have done that before on a cruise from port Canaveral and although you have to go thru immigration there, you get more time in key west to explore. Other than that, I have been to cozumel multiple times and only this time actually decided to do a tour of the island outside of the port area. We debated what tour to take and where but we settled on a city cab ride around the entire island. It was great, we had a friendly and informative driver and it only cost us about $40 a person with tip. It was a flat rate ride so if we had gone earlier in the day and had other people in the cab with us, it would have been cheaper per person. Lots to see there and outside of the very remote areas on the south side, a very safe place also. The food on the ship was your average carnival fare, with one night being atd for everyone in the mdr due to the late departure from cozumel. The wok and rotisserie station are scrumptious though. Everyone has to try them out. I chronicled the entire journey with a few pictures and the link is in my signature if you want to check it out and compare experiences. I'm not a pro with photobucket either, and it took me forever to figure out how to post photos to there and then here so don't feel too bad lol. Anyway, good review and thanks for sharing.

[oneboysmom]

Ah yes, I took this same sailing on imagination back in December of last year for my platinum milestone cruise. The ecstasy is a nice, albeit old and small vessel. I see you mentioned key west as your first port of call, and I found that to be incredibly shortsighted on carnival's part. The day in eyw is so short because of the long distance to cozumel, it would imo be a better idea to do a sea day on the way to cozumel and stop in key west on the way back to Miami on the last day. I have done that before on a cruise from port Canaveral and although you have to go thru immigration there, you get more time in key west to explore. Other than that, I have been to cozumel multiple times and only this time actually decided to do a tour of the island outside of the port area. We debated what tour to take and where but we settled on a city cab ride around the entire island. It was great, we had a friendly and informative driver and it only cost us about $40 a person with tip. It was a flat rate ride so if we had gone earlier in the day and had other people in the cab with us, it would have been cheaper per person. Lots to see there and outside of the very remote areas on the south side, a very safe place also. The food on the ship was your average carnival fare, with one night being atd for everyone in the mdr due to the late departure from cozumel. The wok and rotisserie station are scrumptious though. Everyone has to try them out. I chronicled the entire journey with a few pictures and the link is in my signature if you want to check it out and compare experiences. I'm not a pro with photobucket either, and it took me forever to figure out how to post photos to there and then here so don't feel too bad lol. Anyway, good review and thanks for sharing.

 

Hey FlyingCruiserNJ, thanks for following along! I remember reading your post as I was trying to prepare for my cruise! Maybe after my next cruise I'll have photobucket all figured out! Hopefully my link worked and you could see the pictures that way. I think they're pretty self explanatory.

[oneboysmom]

Woke up feeling a little bittersweet. Knowing it was a full sea day, however, knowing we would have to pack up as well. We have now been gone for 9 days, so was a little excited to get home to my house, my own bed and my cat's! I wanted to do the sea day brunch and use my drink coupon, so my son and I headed out around 9:30 to get breakfast.

I ordered the fresh fruit, and the steak n eggs and then the cheesecake. The steak was a little overcooked for my liking, but was still good. I didn't eat the eggs as they were sunnyside up when you ordered and I don't care for this type. The cheesecake was amazing, but a little too sweet for that early in the morning for me. I should've seen if I could take it to go. Oh well, note for next time!! I also had a mimosa, what a perfect way to start your day!

My son had the honey nut cheerios encrusted french toast. Also, way too sweet for my liking, but he seemed to enjoy!

After this, I told him that he was free to go for the entire day. His kids club opened around 12 and I didn't see him again until nearly midnight. I mean, he is 12 and I knew he couldn't go to far!!

My parents had grabbed 4 loungers by the back buffet as these were the only seats and it was very windy on the higher decks. Did the normal sea day activites, ice carving, hairy chest contest, groove for st judes.

Decided should take a little break from the sun and went down to the room to start packing.

 

 

 

 

 

[oneboysmom]

After saying goodbye to our Amazing Cabin Steward Dony, was time to enjoy the last evening on the ship.

 

 

I went to the shops to buy the last minute gifts and alcohol purchases, I continued to go to the Motor City show. Last year going to this show, I don't remember too much, however this year, they continued the party out into the Atrium. I have read about this before, and it did not disappoint. It was fun and lively and lots of participation!

After the show, met up with Judi and we continued on to the Comedy show. Went to see the house band, and they were partying it up in the Casino Bar!

Time to pack it in for the night as we have an early morning.

We decided to check our bags out the night before, and we were in Zone 10, so not too bad. This way, we could take our time leaving in the am and not be too rushed to run away from this amazing vacation. Our flight wasn't until 2:30pm out of MIA, so no rush to get to the airport either. We enjoyed our last breakfast and just hung out waiting. The process was pretty seamless and we were off the boat just a little after 10am through customs by 10:30 and on our way to the airport.

 

Final thoughts: I love the Ecstasy ship. It was also nice getting on board and knowing exactly where you were going. The staff, crew, officers, everyone were friendly and helpful. The food was good, I'm not a big complainer since I didn't have to make it or clean it up!! Being a single Mom, that falls on me everyday!!

I'm not a person who cares too much about the big production shows. One night, I honestly couldn't decide where I wanted to be more. I like having those options.

I would do this cruise over in a heartbeat. The price was perfect, our room location was awesome.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask! I hope you all enjoyed and I loved being able to go through my vacation one last time writing it down and reliving the experience!

[lovermonkey]

Thank you for posting. We are going in Nov. Love the photos, thank you again.