Ecstasy so expensive!

[KmomChicago]

I have to ask what is hmc? Or where lol

 

 

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Half Moon Cay a/k/a Little San Salvador Island is a port stop for certain cruises owned by Carnival corporation, which includes several cruise lines in addition to Carnival Cruises. It is a private tropical island and a very popular cruise port.

[SpaceCowboy9]

I love the old clunker! The Fantasy class ships are awesome! Less is more and as long as they have the Blue Iguana, I'm happy.

 

The higher price out of Charleston is less than airfare to FL. Also, I wouldn't go through the expense of flying to take a four night cruise. It's nice to be able to take a short getaway. Though when we do fly, I like flying to San Juan, you can get some different destinations and less sea days.

 

Also, my mother-in-law is 89. It's very hard logistically to do car, plane, cab, etc. With Charleston, one and done & and I don't have to deal with the TSA nonsense.

[proudpatriot07]

This is why we booked it. Shortest drive for us. No other reason lol

 

We live here and that's why we did it. Easiest vacation ever because we debarked at 8 AM and were walking in the front door before 9 AM.

 

Still, we're grateful to get a bigger ship next year, and I wish we had a bigger port and more ships.

[NYHartChapp]

We live here and that's why we did it. Easiest vacation ever because we debarked at 8 AM and were walking in the front door before 9 AM.

 

Still, we're grateful to get a bigger ship next year, and I wish we had a bigger port and more ships.

 

Ditto. Also fond of Fantasy class.

[Ralphinsc]

I'd drive down to Jacksonville and go on the Elation. It's an additional 2 hours driving (for me) but worth it. It goes to HMC.

 

I was on the Ecstasy in Dec 2017 and Elation in Dec 2016. This December I'm back on the Elation out of Jacksonville.

 

My opinion is that Elation is a little nicer. And now it even has upgrades, so it's even better.

 

Also, of course, Elation is less expensive most of the time.

Happy cruising.

 

That's exactly what we are doing next month. A slightly longer drive for some cost savings and a newly refurbished ship in the same class.

[salty dingo]

We've been on Elation and had a great time. We have also cruised twice out of Charleston. It is an easy 3 hour drive from Charlotte, so the airfare savings offset any higher cruise price. However, when we booked I did not notice the fares any higher than in Florida, but we do wait for deals usually.

 

Charleston is a nice town for a pre- or post-cruise stay. There is also indoor parking right next to the ship. It was a hassle-free experience and a lot less trouble than flying in a day ahead and/or getting a hotel room.

[mz-s]

Charleston cruises are expensive because it's the only port in that area of the country. No ships go out of any other port of the Carolinas, Georgia, or Virginia (except the 6 or so sailings out of Norfolk).

 

That said, every time we've booked a cruise we have compared the cost of driving to Charleston vs. flying to a different port. Usually it's a wash, but sometimes it's much cheaper to pay the higher fare and cruise out of Charleston. That is for interior rooms - we don't book balconies or other higher class rooms. I'm sure if you're a balcony or suite cruiser, the difference is more stark. Those rooms are always way more expensive on the Charleston voyages, likely because there are so few of them on the Ecstasy and they fill quickly.

[apcci2]

along with the previously mentioned issues with Charleston, they are also restricted in the number of ship calls per year.

[SNJCruisers]

I'm looking for a cruise that will take us to HMC.

Conquest out of Fort Lauderdale doing 4 or 5 days....Elation out of Jacksonville and Sensation out of Miami doing 5 days....Pride out of Baltimore doing 7 days. All Summer 2018.

[salty dingo]

We usually fly to a cruise port, and sometimes that means getting a pre cruise hotel.

 

Being 3 hours away, it is easy to get there day of the cruise.

 

When you factor in the savings for airfare and hotel, Charleston cruises are not expensive at all, even when you add the parking.

 

Carnival is just charging what people will pay for the convenience and savings of driving vs. flying.

[SNJCruisers]

Carnival is just charging what people will pay for the convenience and savings of driving vs. flying.

IMHO, it all comes down to competition. In Charleston, Norfolk and Baltimore, Carnival dominates the market and I believe only an older Royal ship in Baltimore is their competition. Because of this Carnival can get away with and people will pay the higher prices for the convienence. With so much competition in Miami and FLL, the pricing needs to be a bit more competitive.

[apcci2]

IMHO, it all comes down to competition. In Charleston, Norfolk and Baltimore, Carnival dominates the market and I believe only an older Royal ship in Baltimore is their competition. Because of this Carnival can get away with and people will pay the higher prices for the convienence. With so much competition in Miami and FLL, the pricing needs to be a bit more competitive.

 

 

Valid points. I think the whole deal is a mixture of issues and opportunity

[2 rednecks]

We’ve cruised from New York, Charleston, Florida, and just booked Baltimore. In the past the “drivable” ports were more expensive but no airfare made up the difference. However for our upcoming cruise Baltimore was the cheapest that worked with my vacation time. I was surprised booked so I didn’t have to fly with the 5 of us

 

 

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[Oh Not Him Again]

Drive another 90 mins to Jax....save a few hundred $$$$

[Purvis1231]

the cost is supply and demand. When the Ecstasy was sailing out of Port Canaveral, she was one of the least expensive in the Carnival fleet.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I'm looking for a cruise that will take us to HMC. One thing I’ve noticed is that cruises out of Charleston on the Ecstasy are a couple hundred dollars more. Why is that? The Ecstasy isn’t a premium ship, unless I’m missing something.

 

 

 

Given a choice of Charleston vs any Swamplandia port, the obvious choice for a nice pre/post cruise stay certainly may have something to do with price differentials that find ships out of Charleston more expensive.

 

 

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[jayscore]

Being curious, expensive for a how many day cruise? I'm only guessing, but, shorter cruises seem to cost more per day than others.

If this isn't the case, my point is null!;)

[banzaii]

Ecstasy so expensive

Say no to drugs!

Cheers

[eaglerider2000]

Been on the Ecstasy twice. Still my favorite ship!

 

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[crazyfrazee]

Elation from Jacksonville is just as bad as Charleston. No other ships to compete with. My brother booked the Elation for a 7 day in an OV and paid the same price I did to sail in a Balcony on the Oasis for the same amount of days. Oasis class with RC or a 20+ year old worn out CCL ship for same price? Shouldn't be a hard decision.

[Oh Not Him Again]

Elation from Jacksonville is just as bad as Charleston. No other ships to compete with. My brother booked the Elation for a 7 day in an OV and paid the same price I did to sail in a Balcony on the Oasis for the same amount of days. Oasis class with RC or a 20+ year old worn out CCL ship for same price? Shouldn't be a hard decision.

 

You have been on the Elation? The Elation just came out of drydock with 2.0 Upgrades, so how is it "worn out"? :confused:

[crazyfrazee]

You have been on the Elation? The Elation just came out of drydock with 2.0 Upgrades, so how is it "worn out"? :confused:

 

Yes, I've been on it. It was not rebuilt, just simple upgrades.

[Oh Not Him Again]

Yes, I've been on it. It was not rebuilt, just simple upgrades.

 

I didnt say it was rebuilt. It received upgrades to rooms, balcony cabins, new restaurants and bars....does that constitute "simple"?

[crazyfrazee]

I didnt say it was rebuilt. It received upgrades to rooms, balcony cabins, new restaurants and bars....does that constitute "simple"?

 

Yes if compared to something like they did to the Destiny. I guess you've recently been on it.

[Oh Not Him Again]

Yes if compared to something like they did to the Destiny. I guess you've recently been on it.

i have been on the Elation both prior to and after the upgrades. Even prior to the 2.0, she was no where near "worn out". Now after the upgrades, worn out doesnt remotely apply to that....Now you do have the subset of cruisers that only said "newer and bigger" ships. You can ask them why, but they dont know. All they know is "we sail the newer and bigger ships". My point is just because a ship is 20 yrs old, doesnt mean its "worn out"