4 days in Ecstasy: FlyingCruiserNJ's Solo Fun - December 8-12 from Miami

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Well, good evening cruisecritic! It is that time, time for The Flying Cruiser of NJ to share yet another Carnival cruise adventure with you all. Quick background if you haven't read any of my reviews - I am a single guy, 33, from the Philly (NJ) suburbs, and have been on 12 previous Carnival cruises with this being my second solo journey. I like to tell the complete story of my cruise adventures, pre-cruise prep and travel to post-cruise trip back home, so my reviews can get pretty lengthy but they are detailed and I like to include many pictures to illustrate my experiences (I have somewhere between 70 and 80 to share from just this four-day cruise). I had some vacation time to spend before the end of 2014, and I saw a ridiculously low rate for this cruise that I just could not pass up. I booked this cruise about a week before, and got an inside guarantee cabin and although I did not get the single supplement waived, the rate was still insanely affordable. I had cruised this very ship on this very itinerary back in May, and I have been to both Key West and Cozumel many times so this cruise was just for relaxation rather than exploring. This was my 3rd and final cruise for 2014, with an 8-day Breeze southern Caribbean cruise in September being the main highlight of the year for me. I just got back this morning from this cruise and I may as well get this party started while my experiences are still fresh in my mind. So anyway, with that out of the way, here comes my review. I do hope you enjoy this and feel free to add your comments and any questions about ports or the ship or the overall experience I had.

DAY 1: EMBARKATION DAY

So, the day has finally come. I checked in a few days prior and received my cabin assignment, an aft interior cabin on Empress deck and printed out all my paperwork so I was all set to go. I had packed most of my stuff beforehand, but as always, you always seem to think of something at the last minute so I spent the last few hours before leaving home getting that all together. I had worked very late the evening before (gotta pay for these cruises somehow) so I got very little sleep before heading right back out for the airport to catch my flight but I did wake up somewhere around 0430 to head out into the 23-degree frigid December night. I travel very light, and was able to fit more than I even ended up needing into just a 22-rollerboard suitcase and a backpack so I didn't have to worry about checking bags in or waiting at baggage claim when I got to Florida.

I got on my pre-dawn flight from Philadelphia (KPHL) to Fort Lauderdale (KFLL), sat down toward the back of the plane so I could get my own row to myself on this not-full Monday morning flight and took a little nap shortly after takeoff. In addition to being a cruise addict, I am also a Flying Cruiser (aka geek) and I tend to enjoy the flight to the cruiseport nearly as much as the cruise itself sometimes. Well, not quite but it is fun to me at least. I got a couple really nice photos from my flight and will post them along with the rest of the pics I got throughout the day in the next post, as there is a picture limit per post and I have quite a few to share. The flight was pretty smooth and we even got to land a few minutes early in FLL, due to the rare early morning land breeze allowing us to land from the east on Runway 28R and not have to fly a long downwind leg to land from the other direction.

At approximately 0930, I got a little breakfast from one of the airport concourse restaurants and called SAS Transportation for my ride to the Miami cruise port. Although it is getting better with slow but steady construction, FLL airport is still way too small and antiquated for the volume of traffic it sees. They have opened a new runway (10R/28L) at quite a cost to taxpayers, and are working on a new international concourse, but as of now, it really is still in need of fixing up. With that out of the way, I went downstairs to baggage claim and picked up the SAS shuttle right in front of Terminal 2 baggage claim. Although it is recommended that you call ahead to reserve a seat, you don't have to and I didn't today as I called as soon as I got off the plane and they were there 15 minutes later to get me. I was actually the first person he got, as we had to wait a while for some other people to get off their flights and claim their bags before we filled our van and were on our way. The cost is $15 per person or if you are in a group of four or more, $13 per pax. Of course this is much more reasonable than Carnival's funship transfers and a lot more convenient and comfortable than their buses. We were on our way sometime between 1000 and 1030, next stop Port of Miami.

We dealt with a little bit of mid-morning traffic on Interstate 95 on the way to Miami, but since we had a full van of people, we could go through the carpool/HOV lanes that they have designated and the ride did not take too long. It was a nice day in Miami, although cool by Florida standards, about 65 and mostly cloudy. We were dropped off by the front door of the cruise terminal at about 1100 and I made sure the driver knew when I would be getting back off the ship later in the week so I could get a ride back to FLL. I paid and tipped my driver, and was quickly inside the terminal. I am a Platinum, and arrived very early, so it took me about two minutes to get through security and up to the Captain's Lounge, to get my sail and sign card and wait for boarding to begin. All passengers have to fill out a form verifying that they have not been in contact with anyone with Ebola or been to any countries where there has been an outbreak before they can even enter the upstairs part of the terminal.

I got my sail and sign card and hung out in the lounge for a little while, until boarding was called. Diamonds, Platinums, Faster to the Fun, all get to board before the general population which is cool. I dropped a cash deposit for my onboard spending when I got my sail and sign card and before I even got a chance to log into the Port Of Miami wifi, boarding was called. There was probably 50 or so of us in the lounge and I was among the very first group of people to board the ship, sometime around 1130. I got my embarkation picture taken and went up through the glass boarding jetway they have, and DING! I was onboard.

I was actually on the ship so early, that the lido lunch buffet wasn't even open yet. LOL!!! They were also still fueling the ship for the voyage so a lot of activities were curtailed or delayed until that was complete a little before noon. I got a plate of Mongolian Wok shrimp and mei fun noodles and green peas, stir fried in Szechuan sauce and a lemonade and hung out with my bags on lido until the cabins opened up sometime around 1230. Actually, the cabins were not open for everyone until after that, but Platinums usually get their rooms prepared first so they are ready first and the Carnival staff member directed me to a secret entrance to the corridor where my cabin was. I dropped my stuff off and headed back up to lido to get a hot dog, fries and some chicken tenders from the lunch grill on lido. I also bought the Bottomless Bubbles program here, which is an unlimited soft drink package that is sold on the first and I believe, second day of the cruise. It costs around $7 per day with 15% gratuity, but it is worth it as each single soda bought costs $2 each if bought individually. You do have to pay tax on any sodas bought in US waters, but it is only 11 to 13 cents a soda, depending on what city you are docked in at the time.

At around 1430, I went up to the sports deck and just hung out while talking to a few people from back home on the phone and headed back to the cabin to unpack. I was tired and figured I could get a quick nap before the muster drill and sailaway. BIG mistake, haha. I fell asleep sometime around 1500 and awoke to a ship officer knocking on my door telling me I had to go to the muster drill RIGHT THEN, as it was beginning around 1600. I got up, apologized to them for oversleeping and headed up to the comedy lounge for the drill, which all things considered, only lasted about a half an hour. They do the safety briefings in both English and Espanol, so that is why it takes a little longer. I would rather them be more thorough and take their time with them, as safety is a major factor at least to me. We got the sirens to signal the drill was over and the horn sounded around 1630, and the cruise has officially started!

I walked around on the lido and sun decks a few times just to watch the sailaway as we left the port at about 1645. In port with us today were the Norwegian Sky and the Carnival Victory. I almost booked the Victory for this week but decided my schedule didn't work as well for a Saturday return to Miami, so I stayed with the Ecstasy. As we headed out through the channel, towards South Beach, we got to see all the traffic backed up on the causeway that runs parallel to the port. Sucks to have to work this week, huh?

Once we got out past the super-luxury condos and the little park that would be our last view of Miami for a few days, all of a sudden a little drone appeared above the ship. I assume it was a remote-controlled drone, but I have no idea who was controlling it and where it was from. It was flying really, really low over the ship as it kept circling around the ship. Most people thought it was cool but I am not too okay with little UFOs such as drones flying in the vicinity of a vessel with thousands of people onboard, so it did freak me out quite a bit. Eventually it left, as did the Miami-Dade police boat that always escorts vessels until they get to the sea and then a black helicopter began hovering a few hundred feet over the ship. Whatever. It didn't stay long and we were on our way. It being December, I got to see a really nice sunset behind the ship as we sailed away from Miami at about 1730.

The activity died down some after that and I got to sneak a nap in the cabin at about 1800. I got up again around 2000, and headed to dinner. As always, I requested and got a late seating in the Wind Song dining room, at the aft of the ship on Atlantic Deck 8. They usually relax the dress code on the first night of a cruise, so I didn't have to worry about changing for the event this evening. I did have a little trouble finding my table, but I eventually found it and was actually the first person seated there, at about 2030. It was a round 10-top and eventually 7 other cruisers showed up. Whew. I was afraid I would be sitting by myself here, as I have almost had to do on past cruises. That is no fun.

My tablemates were a mother and a father from northern Florida with two adult children, a single lady from Miami whose birthday fell mid-cruise and a couple from Baltimore. We all got to know each other quickly and we really had a good time all cruise long. Our head server was Jasah, and he and his team did an adequate job taking care of us all week. I will be honest and say their job was not easy with a table full of hungry people haha.

I got a shrimp cocktail for my appetizer and beef brisket and fried chicken for my entrees with what else but a warm chocolate melting cake and orange cake for dessert. On Carnival, pax can order as much as they want because the food is cooked earlier in the day and if they don't serve it, it will just get thrown out at the end of the night. I also ordered a coca-cola tonight and nowadays, the wait staff handles soft drink requests. There is still a bar guy but he only handles alcoholic drink sales. And yes, our table did get some stuff from him later in the cruise. We discussed our late evening activities and most of the folks at the table said they were going to the Punchliner comedy lounge for the comedy shows at 2200 and 2300. I usually hit the hot tub before dinner, but didn't tonight and so after dinner, I went for a dip instead of a laugh. The lido whirlpools were literally cold tonight so I went to the Serenity deck at the back of the ship instead and went there every evening after that. I hung out there for a while, and got out around 2330 where I went upstairs to get some late night pizza and hot dogs along with a soda before bed.

The pizza is open 24 hours and they offer fresh-baked thin crust pizza, pepperoni, plain, four cheese and proscuitto. You can also get a Caesar salad here. I got a few pieces of pepperoni pizza here and although it isn't as good as what I am accustomed to at home in NJ, it was decent and when I was done, I headed back to the cabin to check out the next day's Funtimes in preparation for our stop in Key West. It was an early day there, so I got to bed as early as a late night owl like myself can.

That's it, hope you are enjoying so far. I will have pictures from day 1 posted in just a minute. Upcoming sometime soon hopefully will be DAY 2: KEY WEST. Thanks for reading and happy cruising!

Edited December 13, 2014 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

My ride down to FLL. Very early in the morning indeed, got to see sunrise and moon at the same time. Nice flight.

 

 

On short final to FLL RWY 28R. Landing from the east, we get to cross right over the beach and past the FLL Cruiseport, and we I got a shot of a few ships parked there, ready to head out again with a new shipload of people.

 

 

My first lunch onboard. Mongolian wok. Really good stuff, made to order. The line was no longer than 10 minutes all cruise long, which is unusual but I was glad. Lemonade from the machine right next to the buffet also. Water and iced tea available at lunch also.

 

 

My baggage. Just a rollerboard and a backpack. Took this on debark day but still, that is all I had. It is possible to pack shoes, clothes, toiletries, etc for a cruise in just a carry on.

 

 

My cabin. Built for up to 3, but plenty comfortable for one person.

 

 

Leaving Miami cruiseport. The Victory was right next to us and left right after us. I almost booked the Victory for this week but decided against it.

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Norwegian Sky. Never sailed NCL but am going to sail them to Alaska this coming May.

 

 

Me, a selfie. It was cool with the breeze so I actually wore a sweatshirt to sailaway. Miami in the background.

 

 

The famous causeway. Look at all those suckers caught in traffic coming home from work on a Monday. haha.

 

 

One of my favorite pictures from the entire cruise. Sunset off the aft of the ship, Miami getting further away. Too bad I didn't get a pic of the drone I talked about earlier, but it was moving too fast to photograph.

 

 

Brisket and fried chicken. The brisket was way better.

 

 

Turndown and my first towel animal. I would end up with an entire towel animal family by the end of the week. My steward did a good job all week, unfortunately I do not remember his name now.

 

[May2894]

Keep it coming please! We leave jan 5th. Thanks for the reviews

[jpm1973]

Thanks for the review! Was on the Ecstasy for my first cruise this past June and loved it.

 

I'm also one of those geeks who loves the plane ride as much as the cruise part of the trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[prad]

Thanks for the review, the Ecstasy was my first cruise back in 1996! will be sailing her on 3/15. Please post pictures of fun times, interested on the Latin Band playing on your cruise. thx

[SkyMaster]

I too, did "Ecstasy" last month, and had a FANTASTIC time aboard. Ran into some crew members that I'd sailed with before, and they made the trip truly memorable. Look forward to the rest of your review.

 

"SKY"

[MrsPhoenix91]

The Ecstasy will be our first cruise ship (May 29th), so I am lovin' your review! Where else can you eat on Elegant Night if you don't feel like dressing up?

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Keep it coming please! We leave jan 5th. Thanks for the reviews

 

Part 2 is coming soon. I just haven't been able to sit down in peace and quiet and write a story the last few days as I've been unpacking, doing laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, working lol. Thanks for reading. The ecstasy is a good ship to cruise to nearby ports for a long weekend or 5 days or so, but it is beginning to show its age and is quite a bit behind the times in terms of amenities. However, it still is a nice little old ship with plenty of character. Have fun on your ecstasy adventure and stay tuned for my next upcoming installment.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the review! Was on the Ecstasy for my first cruise this past June and loved it.

 

I'm also one of those geeks who loves the plane ride as much as the cruise part of the trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for taking the time to read the opening part of my review. I do enjoy writing theem and I hope people enjoy reading them just as much. I have learned quite a bit about the finer points of cruising from reading member reviews on cruise critic. I sailed this ship on an identical itinerary back in May and got to see a Martina McBride concert onboard for free in addition. That was fun. I also sailed this ship from port Canaveral a few years ago on a 7-night sailing. Airplanes and flying have always interested me and there is quite a bit of similarity between maritime tradition and aviation tradition. I get to do both when I cruise - fly on planes and cruise all over the place. It's funny though, you either have the cruising and aviation bug or you don't and those who don't have it look at those of who do like we have 3 heads or something. Lol.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Enjoying your review. Great start!

 

Glad you are enjoying. Part 2 is hopefully upcoming in the next day or two. I am looking forward to sitting down at the computer and banging it out. I did have a good time in key west, that's for sure.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the review, the Ecstasy was my first cruise back in 1996! will be sailing her on 3/15. Please post pictures of fun times, interested on the Latin Band playing on your cruise. thx

 

I will try to get the funtimes included in later posts. I'm glad I always keep all of mine from past cruises. I have also begun saving all my sail and sign cards although there are a bunch I just can't seem to find. I only started cruising 8 years ago but the changes that have happened during that time are incredible. Ecstasy was delivered in 1991 so I'm sure it was still relatively new and state of the art in 1996. I have to say that although there was no steel drum band on deck, there was a guy playing live guitar music on lido during the afternoon. I don't remember who the Latin band was but I will go back and check on it. I thought the music was pretty good overall though.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I too, did "Ecstasy" last month, and had a FANTASTIC time aboard. Ran into some crew members that I'd sailed with before, and they made the trip truly memorable. Look forward to the rest of your review.

 

"SKY"

 

I don't remember any crew members on this ship from past cruises but that doesn't mean I didn't come across any. The service was good outside of a significant drainage problem in my bathroom but after I brought it up with my steward, the problem was fixed. I will get into that when I chronicle the rest of the days of the cruise though. Our wait staff did a good job considering there was a table full of hungry cruisers at our table all week, I will talk about that later also. For what I paid, I got a very good value from this cruise.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

The Ecstasy will be our first cruise ship (May 29th), so I am lovin' your review! Where else can you eat on Elegant Night if you don't feel like dressing up?

 

You will be totally overwhelmed the minute you get onto the ship, I guarantee it. The ecstasy is a good ship for first time cruisers, as there is enough to do to stay occupied and entertained but not so much that you go into sensory overload haha. I promise you will like it and want to cruise again and again after your first cruise. I have met very few people who cruised and said they hated it and would not want to do it again.

 

In terms of dining options, there is a 24-hour pizzeria onboard along with room service that you can get at any hour (tips are customary although the service is free). There is a lido dinner buffet also but it has gotten progressively worse in recent years ( in my opinion at least), however you can get dinner there as well. Lunch and breakfast are way more casual and varied and there are multiple options to choose from. At dinner, you can choose to go either at 6pm or 815pm in the sitdown dining room or do anytime dining in the other main dining room. Anytime allows people to go on their own schedule but you don't get to sit at the same table every night with the same people are the same waiters. That is the good part about assigned dining times. On the ecstasy, there aren't any premium upcharge restaurants but the bigger ships have places such as Italian and steakhouse style choices that run anywhere from 15 bucks to 35 or so per person. Now, they say they have a dress code but it is loosely enforced most of the time. My tablemates showed up in t-shirts a few nights, no problem as long as it is tasteful and not offensive to others. On formal night just a nice golf shirt and slacks works for guys and women don't really have to go crazy either. Plenty of people do dress in suits and even tuxedos, usually on longer sailings. So you don't have to worry about dressing up too much to go to dinner, even on formal night.

[cruiser fanatic]

Great review so far! I miss the Ecstasy in Galveston!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Here is the long-awaited Day 2 of my Carnival Ecstasy December 8-12 vacation review. Today we visited the wonderful Conch Republic of Key West, Florida. Without further delay....

DAY 2: KEY WEST

I have been to Key West numerous times in the past, both on land trips and on cruises, so there was really nothing new to see here for me. However, since it is such a neat place, I absolutely still got off the ship and walked around town, just to experience the place again. Having never been to New Orleans but hearing many things about it, I gather Key West is like a miniature version of the place. Anyway.

Today was a very early port visit day. I have ranted and raved about the early departure times and how much they suck in past reviews so I won't get into it again here but it is annoying. We docked somewhere around 0700 here in Key West. I could hear the thrusters lining us up with the dock as we approached, although it wasn't enough to get me to actually get up. Being at the very back of the ship, I could feel engine vibrations quite a bit in my cabin and in our main dining room for that matter. Not that a self-proclaimed geek like myself would be bothered by that stuff anyway. One thing I have to say is that when you are in an interior cabin, it is easy to lose track of time because there is no natural light getting in. It is important to carry a watch and have another clock close by to keep track of time. I also like to leave my cabin tv on the lido camera or the bridge view camera to get an idea of what it looks like outside.

So I dragged myself out of bed around 0900, because I wanted to spend at least a few hours of the port visit actually out and about and off the ship. I cleaned up and went upstairs about 1000 to get some breakfast at the lido. I got my usual sausage, potatoes, and some bacon to go with a glass of orange juice and a glass of guava passion fruit juice for breakfast. The Bacon Police are still out but they will give you as much as you want as long as you ask them nicely. I got off the ship sometime around 1045-1100, by going downstairs to deck 0 and exiting via the gangway.

Many people were already off the ship by this time, the line wasn't long. We again parked at the Navy pier today, as the much larger Carnival Magic was parked at the lone gate for cruise ships in Mallory Square, downtown. Since it is far from the city and it is Navy land, people are not allowed to walk on their own into town and thus they contract with local trolley and tour companies to shuttle people back and forth from the ship. It is never a long wait for a shuttle, especially at the time I got off and the ride is only about 10 minutes to the drop off point, at the Old Town Trolley station. No photography is allowed since it is federal land, and yes, it is an active military base right now.

We rode through the Truman Annex, which is or was part of the Navy base, housing for soldiers but I cannot remember if those homes have been returned to local civilian control. It is really quaint and most of the structures in Key West are original, a hundred years old or more. I have been on entire island tours in the past and learned a lot about the history of the place, but I won't get too deep into that here. But if it is your first time going there, as a few of you have said in your comments so far, definitely book a tour through one of the local tour companies, like Old Town Trolley tours. Don't book them through Carnival either as they mark them up over a hundred percent. Just go to their ticket booths and buy the tickets directly from them. Much cheaper and the same exact experience. Most of the drivers are locals, or transplants from other areas of the country who live in Key West or nearby keys and they are really enthusiastic about their jobs and the area. A lot of fun.

Only having a few hours until the final 1230 boarding call for transit back to the ship, I figured I would just walk up Duval Street and check out some local bars that I haven't been to on past visits. I have to note that the restaurant, called Red Fish/Blue Fish, that I had chronicled in the past, is now closed. Bummer. The signage was still up so I assume it closed recently but the building was all ripped apart and they were doing construction work inside and out so who knows. I wonder what it will be in the future. I continued walking up Duval Street and past a number of shops offering varied goods for sale. In Key West, there are a lot of local eateries and stores, but the chains like to get into the act here too and you see all kinds of fast food places, stores, etc. I guess the locals go to these places but if you are a tourist here, if you go to a Wendy's, puhhhlease give me a break. LOL. I got about 5 blocks up and finally decided to go a bar that had just opened at 1100 and was offering 2 margaritas on the rocks for $10. Win....

The place I settled on was called Willie T's and I had never been here before. Nice outdoor bar setting and the bar did have a food menu although I didn't get anything from it. The bar was not crowded and the bartender was cool and got me my margaritas, one at a time with salt on the glass. I got caught up with texting with some friends and family back home as Key West was the only place I would be able to do this while on vacation and my 4G network and nationwide text plan was in effect. That is one thing I like about visiting that place while on a cruise. As I was finishing my second margarita, I talked with a few people who are transplants in the area, from other places in the USA. Life is different here for sure. More carefree, less stressful. Where do you think Jimmy Buffett came up with Margaritaville and all that stuff? I did not go to the Key West Margaritaville today by the way. I did think about it though. After paying and tipping the bartender, I headed out to my next place to visit on my little bar hopping mission.

I walked across the street and headed about a block down the street on the way back to the ship and hit a place called Rick's Key West bar. I had to go to the place that offered the "best drink prices in Key West," right? They advertised a 32-ounce rum drink "trash can" for $12. You have to be kidding me but I went for it, of course. It was not crowded in here either as it was not even 1200 yet but apparently this was a stop on the official Key West barhopping tour, which I believe is offered as an actual excursion through Carnival. A bunch of people were leaving as I headed in and another group came in while I was there. I ordered the rum special, which comes in a 32-ounce plastic bucket with just a little bit of ice, and it was strong but good. I thought about ordering a refill, for something like another $8 but I was afraid I might be spending some more time in Key West than I had planned on if I did if you know what I mean. There was live music, and the guitar player was very friendly and entertaining.

I had mentioned that it was a cool day for Key West standards, and it was only in the mid 60s with a general overcast and the bartender had said that the winter months were really the only good times of the year for that area as the rest of the time it is just too hot for his tastes. Anyway, I mentioned where I was from and the guitar entertainer told me he was from a neighboring town like 10 minutes from mine. I know he was legit because he was mentioning local streets and places that only a person from our area would know. Awesome. I have always met someone from the Delaware Valley each time I have gone to Key West. Must be a very popular place to move to. So, I wished all in the bar a good day and headed off to try to hit another place on the way back to the ship. It was about 1215 by this point. I thought about Margaritaville, which was close by but settled on stopping in Sloppy Joe's Bar yet again. I have been here before but the atmosphere is awesome and the drinks are good. It was very crowded here and I squeezed into the bar area and got myself a sledgehammer frozen drink. About $8.75 plus tip but it was good. And strong. The lady at the bar actually carded me. I don't look that young do I? HAHA. It was cool. "Ah, a Jersey boy!" She asked me if I was on one of the cruise ships and I was like, yeah. By the time I had finished the sledgehammer and wished her a good afternoon, I was kinda in lala land. I was only a few blocks from the bus terminal here so I kind of wandered my way back to the ship. There is a nice CVS across the street from here, and it is a great place to stock up on snacks and necessities that arise while on the cruise but I didn't have to stop in here today. They are also doing construction of either a new CVS a little further down Duval Street or they are planning on moving this one to that new location. Hopefully they don't move as it would be a mistake in my opinion. They are in a very good location where they are now, no need to fix what ain't broke.

Based on past experiences, I know that although they make final boarding calls for 1230, many, many people want as much time in town as possible so if you get back there a little past that time, you won't get left. But they have to tell people that so they don't screw around in town until 1315 and expect the ship to wait for them and a 1330 scheduled departure. You know there are people like that. Anyway, I got in line at about 1240 and it was still wrapped halfway around the building at the time. I got on the 3rd trolley that stopped in to pick people up and we headed back for the ship at around 1250. When you get to the gates for the base, all pax have to show ship card and government issued identification, such as a driver's license or passport. Once we are cleared by base security, we got back to the ship at about 1300 and queued up to re-enter the ship. If you don't believe me that many people push returning to the ship to the limits, I have photo evidence of this and will show it when I post some pics from this day later on. When I got back on around 1315, there were still trolleyloads of people returning to the pier. As long as you are back to the downtown meeting area wiithin reasonable time, they won't leave you.

So, in my happy state I headed up to lido to get lunch around 1330. The elevators were never crowded on this cruise although there could be a long wait at times. I got Caribbean rice and island stew along with jerk chicken and I think Caribbean theme is my favorite lunch offering on most shorter Carnival cruises. The food is tasty and very varied and plentiful. I try to never miss it. I got a soda at the aft bar and happily paid my 11 cents local tax for the privilege. I finished my food and hung out upstairs to watch sailaway from Key West. I got a few pics, sent some final texts and checked some final stuff on the interwebs on my phone, and put my phone back into cruise ship mode (airplane mode) for the rest of the trip as the 4G only works a few miles out into the ocean here. I walked around and played a round of mini golf all the way up on sun/sports deck 12 here as we sailed away. Note: people can take putters and balls and play all they want here, but if you take something out, put it back when you are done. Each time I played during the week I ended up picking up at least a few putters and balls just laying on the carpet around the deck that people were too lazy to put back after use. Not only is that lazy but it is dangerous. Be considerate. I have to say the views are great from this deck as well as you can see everything all around you as you sail. It can get windy here while the ship is moving though.

I went back downstairs at about 1430 to get a dish of Mongolian wok and today's meat theme was pork and calamari. I got some pork with my usual noodles and peas and got some Thai barbeque sauce instead of szechuan today. As always, there is someone in line who is new to the experience and has a question about the process and I am always happy to answer them. I almost always see these same people in line again and again for the wok later in the cruise. lol. After lunch, I figured out that I was tired and needed to recover from my early day fun in Key West, so I went back to the cabin and got a nap sometime around 1500 until I think 1800 or so. I got up, headed upstairs to get a piece of pizza and a soft drink, and went to the hot tub at Serenity for a while until dinner. I had a hot tub to myself tonight which was nice, as that is usually not the case. I got out at around 1930 as you really aren't supposed to stay in the tubs for more than a half hour or so (although everyone does it) and headed back through the promenade to peoplewatch before getting ready for dinner. Tonight was formal night and it being Christmastime and the holiday season, the atrium was decorated and they were doing a bad Christmas sweater competition along with some really fun Christmas caroling. Many people attended. I wish I had gotten a few more pics of the setting.

I got ready for dinner, got somewhat presentable for dinner and headed out to the dining room. I am not used to being the first at my table, haha but I was the first one here again tonight. The folks from Baltimore went all-in tonight as it was her first time on a cruise ship and that is always a very special and memorable experience. The rest of us were seasoned cruisers so we didn't get all dressed up for this short cruise but still everyone looked good. I got minestrone soup I believe, and lobster and ribs for my entrees. I love the ribs on Carnival and the lobster is OK too. I actually like the tiger shrimp they serve with the lobster just as much. I do not like the prime rib and just prefer not to order it although other people do like it. Not my taste. Not enough mesquite smoked taste for me. I got wcmc and I want to say black forest cake for dessert tonight. My tablemates did some shots of some fireball combination but I didn't take any. They said they were very good and you get to keep the glass as a souvenir. I joked that they should take the extra ones they don't want for themselves and re-gift them for people at Christmas. I am sure someone would like to have one or a few. My only complaints with our waiters all cruise was that it took forever to get a soda and sometimes I had to ask a few times to get a first drink or a refill. On the Breeze and other recent cruises, the waiters were right on it and always had my glass filled without my asking.

Now, I had received reports from people who had sailed this stretch of water between the Keys and Cozumel a few days before that the seas were very rough and they were right. Granted I had been through much worse at sea on past cruises but a few of our tablemates and others in the mdr had major seasickness problems this evening. The Baltimore couple had to leave before finishing dinner because she was not feeling well due to the rocking. I mentioned that with the stupid new American Table they are rolling out on other ships, how are they going to keep the silveware and glassware from sliding around everywhere when we hit bad seas? Anyway, not to get too graphic but a guy a few tables over from us didn't make it out of the dining room before he lost his lobster. Nasty and I heard that the public bathrooms in the hallway outside were pretty awful too as many people were having problems. The rocking doesn't bother me but I am surely sympathetic to people who do have issues.

After dinner, I went to the casino for a little while and blew 10 bucks on the one armed bandit (aka penny slots). Granted I was up to almost $20 at one point but I was enjoying myself and lost it all back again over the course of the next half hour. I did finally set up a Carnival player's club account and although I am far from a high roller, maybe it will pay off later with a free cruise if I am lucky. It is also easier to play as you can just draw a few bucks from your sign and sail account rather than having to carry cash around to play in the machines.

The 2200 performer was Jodi White, and she was funny. Like I have said before, she used a lot of graphic language in her routine but it was funny, in good taste and used in good context. I mean, it is an 18 and above show. Duh. I ordered a Punchliner drink, which is exclusively sold in the comedy club and sat down for the show. I guess my earlier activities had finally caught up with me and instead of hanging in for the 2300 show of Percy Crews (who I had seen before anyway), I went upstairs to get a piece of pizza and finish my Punchliner drink and head back to the cabin with a few ibuprofens and make it an early night in bed. I got my Carnival platinum gift, which was a logo toiletry bag (I have one already but still useful) and my towel animal and headed off to sleep around midnight.

That is it for day 2. I will get some pics posted in a minute, and will get to Day 3, which was a visit to Cozumel, Mexico sometime in the near future. (probably tomorrow if I am lucky). Hope you are enjoying so far.

　

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

This was one of my margaritas from Willie T's. Two for ten bucks and nice atmosphere.

 

 

This was my 32-ounce rum "trash can" from Rick's, which is right down the street from Willie T's and not far from Margaritaville and Sloppy Joe's. Below it is a picture of the outside of the bar.

 

 

My sledgehammer drink from Sloppy Joe's. Pretty good. They have good wings, conch fritters and margaritas here as well. I got a souvenir pint glass from here a few years ago and I still use it often to this day.

 

The shuttle trolley stop, where we meet to ride back to the ship. This is where they sell tickets for the Conch Tour Train and I believe the Old Town Trolley. Also a little snack bar and gift shop inside the building.

 

Once we got back to the ship. Long queue, huh? It moved pretty fast though. It was not too warm here today either, so it was a comfortable wait to get back onboard.

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Caribbean lido buffet day. Rice, jerk chicken, island stew. Good stuff. Got two helpings.

 

Leaving Key West. Right on time. Also a view of the Carnival Magic, parked alongside us in Mallory Square. One day I will get to cruise the Magic.

 

 

 

 

The Rotisserie buffet. Between the burger grill and Mongolian wok. A lot of people miss this. Good carved stuff, mashed potatoes, etc.

 

Formal night dinner. Ribs and lobster. Ribs very tender and tasty tonight.

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Our dinner waiters. They put on a show every night.

 

Punchliner drink. Google the ingredients. Good stuff. Only in the comedy club. Order it at the bar, it is better and not as watered down if it is freshly made.

 

 

Comedy club pre-show.

 

Evening turndown and platinum toiletry bag.

 

 

Pizza.

 

I will get to pics of the daily funtimes in the next day's summary. Hopefully you are enjoying so far and happy cruising.

[prad]

Keep it coming, your right about the short time in Key West.

[Jamman54]

Enjoying your review and pics. I love the Fantasy Class ships on the shorter cruises. Thanks for sharing!

[SunshineCruiser24]

Ah! I love the Ecstasy, it was my first ship. Loving your review, nice pictures! :-)

[crazycatlady82]

Loved the ecstasy!! We sailed her twice and adored the small ship.

[boaterette]

I am enjoying your review as usual. Thanks

[S.C.]

I'm enjoying your review! Subbed to your breeze review and will start reading it tomorrow 3:12 am here now.