Back from the Carnival Ecstasy - 8/17/19 sailing

[Jamman54]

Ahoy Everybody!  My son Ryan and I have just returned from our yearly father and son cruise. This year we sailed on a five day cruise aboard the Carnival Ecstasy from Jacksonville to Princess Cays and Nassau, with sea days on both ends.

 

I will not be doing a full blown out picture review of this cruise. Frankly, I just don’t have enough time. In three weeks Patti and I will be doing a B2B on the Carnival Sunrise from New York to Bermuda and New England / Canada, so our focus now is to prepare for those cruises. I did however, take plenty of pictures. I also have the Fun Times and other stuff to scan and share with you. Once I get that done, I will upload them to my photo hosting site, then come back and provide you with a link if you want to see them.

 

The Carnival Ecstasy. We love cruising on the Fantasy Class ships from time to time, as they give you a more intimate cruise experience. Yes, they don’t have all the bells and whistles of the newer ships, but they never feel crowded, and it’s great to get to know most of your fellow passengers and crew members. More than one crew member told me that after working on the Vista and Horizon, they couldn’t wait to come back to a Fantasy Class ship. These ships are great for the shorter Bahamas, Western Caribbean, and Baja California runs, especially when a tender port is involved. Would you rather tender ashore with two thousand of your fellow passengers, or with the four thousand plus passengers that the bigger ships carry? Yes, I know that the tenders are now called water shuttles, but screw that, I’ve been cruising since 1985 so they will always be tenders to me! 

 

The Carnival Ecstasy. I have only cruised on her one time before, and that was twenty eight years ago in 1991 when she was brand new. She is exactly as I remembered her, a Joe Farcus acid induced design with enough glitz and nonsense to cause a sensory overload. I love it!  Many people today will say she is outdated, garish, and just plain ugly and outlandish. I say it’s nostalgic and it brings me back to my cruising roots, however the ships that I first sailed on with Carnival are long gone.

 

She will going in for a short dry dock in October which will only involve some cosmetic stuff, sprucing up, and the usual hull work. To tell you the truth, I didn’t see anything major that needed attention, nor did I smell any funky smells. To me, she seems to be in pretty good shape.

 

We booked this cruise with a Hot Streak casino promotion. This gave us a great casino rate for an inside cabin, DOU for both of us, and $500 OBC (not free play!). We also purchased the Cheers program for those out of the casino moments, and besides, we had to spend that OBC somewhere!  We knocked it out of the park with Cheers. We maxed out every day, plus had plenty of coffees and sodas. Looking back, it turns out that only 30% of our drinks came from the DOU cards, and the rest were covered by Cheers.

 

We drove down from New Jersey the day before the cruise, and as is our custom, we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites in Kingsland Georgia, which is off of Exit 3 on I-95. From here it is about a thirty minute drive to Jaxport. The next morning, after enjoying the hotel’s free breakfast, we arrived at Jaxport at 10 am. I immediately noticed two major changes from when we were here last year. First, the parking lot is now to the right on the opposite side of the terminal from where it used to be. This now puts the parking even closer to the terminal itself, which is a good thing. Parking is still $17/day or $85 for the five day cruise.

 

The second thing is that they have built a ramp so that you now embark into the Atrium Lobby on Empress Deck 7, instead of boarding on Deck 3 forward. Great job Jaxport! 

 

Check in was a breeze, and after a short wait in the Captain’s Lounge we were the first to board the ship after a pretty large wedding party. I know that we were on before 11 am. We were in cabin E85 which was just a short trip down the hall from the Lobby. Our Sail & Sign cards were waiting for us, wedged behind the cabin number plate. There aren’t any mailboxes on Fantasy Class ships. The cabins are outdated, but they are clean, the beds are comfortable, and everything worked. There are no mini fridges, and the cabin safe was the keypad type. One other thing to note. If you are an early or light sleeper, this location would not be good for you. Even though they close the heavy doors at 9 pm to cut down the sound of the music and buzz from the Atrium, it can still be heard pretty far down the hall.

 

Here are some notes about our cruise, as much as my alcohol infused brain will allow me to remember. Ryan and I never saw the dining room. We ate all of our meals on the Lido, even though we had been comped steakhouse selections from the casino one night.

 

Other than to take pictures, I never went to the Blue Sapphire Lounge, which is the main show lounge on the ship. For those that want to know, the Playlist Production Shows are  Motor City and America Rocks.

 

Ryan and I did go to some of the comedy shows which are held in the Starlight Lounge, which is the aft lounge on Promenade Deck 9. The two comedians on this cruise were Derrick Eason and Steve Burr and they were very good. They performed the first night and on the two sea days. On port days, in the evening, they showed movies, since there are no Dive In Movie screens on the Fantasy Class ships. The night we left Nassau, Carnival Quest was held back there at 10:30 pm. What happens at the Quest stays at the Quest, but it was great as usual. 

 

The Diamond Event (12 Diamonds), and the VIFP Party (around 60 D/P) were also held in the Starlight Lounge. Both were a lot of fun!

 

I won the blackjack tournament and frankly, it was like taking candy from a baby. As is usual for these types of cruises, there were a lot of newbies on board. For our final table it was me and six newbies that had never played in this type of tournament before, including this gentleman who had never played “jack black” in his life. After two hands I knew what these players were trying to do, so I just bet the minimum, sat back, and watched the carnage. After five hands, four of them had busted out and the other two had $500 or less remaining. I was sitting with the $2000 I started with. Game over. BTW, Mr. “jackblack” came in second! They all were a great bunch of guys, and I think most of them learned something tonight.

 

Both sea days were sunny and hot. There were plenty of adults in the pool, and kids in the hot tubs. Walking by, If I had wanted to find a lounger it wouldn’t have been a problem.

 

When we arrived at Princess Cays, they were experiencing severe thunderstorms. I thought at first that the Captain would be skipping this stop, but he simply waited for the storm to pass. Tendering started about an hour late. It rained until mid-morning, but even after it stopped, it remained cloudy all day. Ryan and I had never been here before, so around noon we took the tender over to check it out. We walked around taking pictures, had the BBQ lunch, had some beers at the different bars, and then went back to the ship. It looks like a nice fun place, but I still like HMC better.

 

In Nassau we had no plans to leave the ship, which was a good thing since it rained all day until just before sail away. I felt bad for those who booked this cruise for the ports, and hope the rain didn’t “dampen” their spirits! 

 

The people that cruise from Jacksonville are some of the nicest people you want to meet. What a diverse group. Everyone was polite, friendly, respectful, and just plain fun. All I saw were smiling faces! As I said there were a lot of blue and red cards on board, I think Carnival has won them over!

 

I can’t say enough about the crew on board the Ecstasy. All were friendly, smiling, energetic, and true assets for Carnival. I wish I could name them all, but my two standouts were Catherine (Cat) from the Atrium Bar, who would serve my 15^th every evening, and William at the Red Frog Rum Bar who started my every day by pouring me a Red Frog Wheat to go with my breakfast burrito. Kudos to all the casino staff, and the bar waiters there, who would never keep us waiting for a drink. Thank you all so much. 

 

Debarkation was also a breeze. We were in our car and on our way back to New Jersey at 7:55 am.

 

I think that’s it for now. If I think of anything else I’ll add on. I guess the million dollar question is would you sail on the Ecstasy again? The answer is a resounding “YES”. If you have any questions I’ll be sure to answer them. For now, may you all have calm seas and clear skies! 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Jamman54

[indygirl76]

Great review, Jamman, and I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures and the Fun Times. How late did the noise from the atrium carry? I'm in E129 in November, but we stay up relatively late, so I think we'll be okay??

[wajowander2011]

Jamman54,

Thank you for the review,  we will be going on the Ecstasy in September.  Looking forward to your photos.  Always love your reviews as they are so informative.

Joe & Wanda

[PhillyFan33579]

During the blackjack tournament, I assume they kept a scoreboard updated with the top 7 scores during qualifying?  That has been my experience during normal blackjack tournaments. However, I recently did a $10K blackjack tournament and they didn’t show any scores until qualifying was over. I thought that was a much better system. When talking to one of the blackjack hosts she said they normally post scores during the regular blackjack tournaments to “encourage” people to play more than once. 

[carolinablonde81]

I'm eagerly awaiting your Bermuda review!  All of your many Pride reviews convinced me to book the Pride for October 2020, and then when I read your Bermuda review last year I told myself the next cruise I booked would be to Bermuda.  So imagine my (happy) surprise when I was alerted a few months ago that my previously scheduled Pride cruise to HMC, Grand Turk, and Freeport was being changed to 2.5 days in Bermuda.  I'm ridiculously excited and already researching - even though I still have over a year to go.

[Crusin Karen]

BRAVO!  What a wonderful and special tradition you and Ryan share!  Sounds like you had your usual FANTASTIC MASKELL VOYAGE. Congratulations on the casino tournament win.   Only thing I am scratching my head over is skipping the complimentary steakhouse dinner.  Now you can repack your bags for the Sunrise.  😎  Bummed we won't be joining you, but I am trusting you both will leave us enough beer and spirits for OUR cruise on her!  🍹🍺 Looking forward to seeing your pictures.  If I could, I would love to cruise on another Fantasy class ship!  

[jimbo5544]

Hey Jeff, I believe you posted “live” from the Ecstasy here on CC during your trip.  The Ecstasy holds a special place in our hearts, was interested as to how she treated you.  The Fantasy class sure does not owe Carnival anything at all, they have gotten their monies worth out of all of them.  Shame you did not get to fully use Princess Cay, am looking forward to your pics.  Enjoy your B2B on the Sunrise, cannot wait to hear your thoughts.... 

Edited August 23, 2019 by jimbo5544

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

Great review, Jamman, and I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures and the Fun Times. How late did the noise from the atrium carry? I'm in E129 in November, but we stay up relatively late, so I think we'll be okay??

 

I'm going to try really hard to get those items scanned and pictures uploaded by the end of the day tomorrow. The music in the Atrium usually wrapped up by 11:30. I believe that your cabin is far enough aft so you shouldn't have an issue anyway. 😎

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, wajowander2011 said:

Jamman54,

Thank you for the review,  we will be going on the Ecstasy in September.  Looking forward to your photos.  Always love your reviews as they are so informative.

Joe & Wanda

 

Thanks for the comments. Enjoy your cruise on the Ecstasy. 😎

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

During the blackjack tournament, I assume they kept a scoreboard updated with the top 7 scores during qualifying?  That has been my experience during normal blackjack tournaments. However, I recently did a $10K blackjack tournament and they didn’t show any scores until qualifying was over. I thought that was a much better system. When talking to one of the blackjack hosts she said they normally post scores during the regular blackjack tournaments to “encourage” people to play more than once. 

 

Yes they did. I was the top qualifier with 8,000 which is pretty low to be the top. The dealer was hot all night so it was hard to rack up a lot of chips. 😎

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, carolinablonde81 said:

I'm eagerly awaiting your Bermuda review!  All of your many Pride reviews convinced me to book the Pride for October 2020, and then when I read your Bermuda review last year I told myself the next cruise I booked would be to Bermuda.  So imagine my (happy) surprise when I was alerted a few months ago that my previously scheduled Pride cruise to HMC, Grand Turk, and Freeport was being changed to 2.5 days in Bermuda.  I'm ridiculously excited and already researching - even though I still have over a year to go.

 

That’s a great itinerary change!

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, carolinablonde81 said:

I'm eagerly awaiting your Bermuda review!  All of your many Pride reviews convinced me to book the Pride for October 2020, and then when I read your Bermuda review last year I told myself the next cruise I booked would be to Bermuda.  So imagine my (happy) surprise when I was alerted a few months ago that my previously scheduled Pride cruise to HMC, Grand Turk, and Freeport was being changed to 2.5 days in Bermuda.  I'm ridiculously excited and already researching - even though I still have over a year to go.

 

You are going to love Bermuda. We are excited to be going back there in three weeks! 😀

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

BRAVO!  What a wonderful and special tradition you and Ryan share!  Sounds like you had your usual FANTASTIC MASKELL VOYAGE. Congratulations on the casino tournament win.   Only thing I am scratching my head over is skipping the complimentary steakhouse dinner.  Now you can repack your bags for the Sunrise.  😎  Bummed we won't be joining you, but I am trusting you both will leave us enough beer and spirits for OUR cruise on her!  🍹🍺 Looking forward to seeing your pictures.  If I could, I would love to cruise on another Fantasy class ship!  

 

Hey Karry! Always glad to hear from you. Super glad that you are going to be sailing on the Sunrise this year. We will leave her in good shape for you. 😀

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Hey Jeff, I believe you posted “live” from the Ecstasy here on CC during your trip.  The Ecstasy holds a special place in our hearts, was interested as to how she treated you.  The Fantasy class sure does not owe Carnival anything at all, they have gotten their monies worth out of all of them.  Shame you did not get to fully use Princess Cay, am looking forward to your pics.  Enjoy your B2B on the Sunrise, cannot wait to hear your thoughts.... 

 

Hey Jimbo! While keeping in touch with Patti via email I would stop in and check out what was going on. The internet worked really well on the Ecstasy. We are really looking forward to our cruises on the Sunrise. 😎

[Crusin Karen]

3 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

Hey Karry! Always glad to hear from you. Super glad that you are going to be sailing on the Sunrise this year. We will leave her in good shape for you. 😀

Some "other things" have "come up" but we are keeping fingers crossed and depending on Irish luck to get us up that gang plank lol.   And if it doesn't work out, at least we will have your reviews and Patti's pictures to look forward to!!! 

[elklemi]

Will be on Ecstasy in January and when you arrived at the port at 10:00AM did you have to wait to get into the  parking lot?  Seem to recall someone said they did not open until all the other vehicles have left. Always  enjoy your reviews thanks.

[Jamman54]

7 minutes ago, elklemi said:

Will be on Ecstasy in January and when you arrived at the port at 10:00AM did you have to wait to get into the  parking lot?  Seem to recall someone said they did not open until all the other vehicles have left. Always  enjoy your reviews thanks.

 

We didn't have to wait at all. I wouldn't get there any earlier though. 

[elklemi]

Thanks that is the info I have been looking for.

[MSarahM]

Thanks so much for posting! We are cruising on her 3 weeks from right now, and we can't wait! We've been a little worried due to the mostly negative reviews of the Ecstasy, but you've allayed our fears. Have a great time on your B2B!

[Crusin Karen]

Hey, Jamman, I know you and Patti want to "sail the fleet."  I applaud and approve of your hobby! 😉  I was reading another thread about Alaska vs. Caribbean cruises.  Just curious and nosy: (lol) have you and Patti ever considered an Alaskan cruise?  

[Jamman54]

48 minutes ago, Crusin Karen said:

Hey, Jamman, I know you and Patti want to "sail the fleet."  I applaud and approve of your hobby! 😉  I was reading another thread about Alaska vs. Caribbean cruises.  Just curious and nosy: (lol) have you and Patti ever considered an Alaskan cruise?  

 

We have discussed it a little. We do not have anything booked for 2021 yet, so it's very possible. What I would like would be a 14 day Journeys cruise from Long Beach to Alaska like the Splendor did a year or so ago. 

[Jamman54]

Here is the link to our photos from our Carnival Ecstasy cruise. Enjoy! 

 

Carnival Ecstasy - 8/17/19

[elklemi]

Wondering if you noticed if they sell any local Bahamian beer on Paradise Cay like Kalik or Sands?  Know you enjoy a cold one and figure you would notice, thanks for the pictures and info will help for my January trip.

[Shaded Lady]

Great job on the review AND the pictures, Jeff! Giving Patty a run for her money as the family photographer!

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you for the review and all the photos!

 

Question, how were the lines for breakfast, did you find it long because people were waiting for the bacon?

 

I was on the Elation this February and Breeze in May other than the first day lunch they never had a meat carving, did they have a daily meat carving at the lunch buffet?  Any vegetables besides the salad bar?