Carnival Ecstasy Mar 10 to Mar 14, 2022

[Tradestock]

Embarkation Day- We had a 10-1030 arrival time appointment, with priority boarding.  We were notified by Carnival with less than 24 hours to go that the ship was returning to port late.  We were advised that we should arrive, en masse, between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m.  We were disappointed with this, as well as others, that with slightly more time for a notification we could have cancelled our hotel reservations and easily drove to the port the same day.  We had a hotel check out of 11:00 a.m. and headed towards downtown Mobile.  We found a free parking spot on the outskirts of town and walked to downtown.  We visited the Cathedral and walked through the set up of Festival of Flowers.  This took until between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., so we decided to try and park and wait at the port because we had prepaid for terminal parking.  The traffic heading to port was log-jammed and the police were not allowing anyone to park at the terminal.  It was suggested we circle the port for at least another hour.  We headed back to the free parking spot on the outskirts and walked back downtown for lunch.  After lunch, we headed back to the port and met the same response-No parking at the terminal and continue to circle for another hour.  We headed to a nearby building and parked our car and waited for the hour.  After the additional hour wait, we headed back to port and were met with the same response, continue circling.  It was now well past 4:00 p.m. and we spoke with an officer at the end of the terminal and were advised to park our car under the bridge.  We did just that, hoping it would not be towed during the duration of the cruise.  We do not know why over flow parking at the Civic Center was not available, but it made for a stressful and additionally expensive start to a cruise.   In fairness, it looked like overflow parking was open for the arrival of passengers on the next cruise departing March 14.  Hopefully, this situation is working itself out.

We walked to the cruise terminal and embarkation was a breeze.  We were on the ship slightly before 5:00 p.m. We dropped our bags at the room and were greeted by our room steward.   We had a snack and drinks on the Lido and watched as passengers continued to arrive until approximately 7:30 p.m. The ship departed port around 8:30 p.m.  We were eating dinner in the dining room and noticed we were moving.  Dinner was good and we watched Jeff Shaw, the comedian, later in the evening.  Jeff did a nice job and is always enjoyable to see.

Sea Day 1-We ate MDR brunch and thought it was very good.  We headed to the open decks to use the slide and get some sun.   It was VERY windy.  The drink service by Aristotle was excellent.  He was able to deliver drinks as Poseidon took his due on the receipts, the tops of drinks, hats, hair, towels, and any other unsecured items.   It was announced that we would be arriving into Cozumel later than expected and would stay until 7:00 p.m.  The wind was taking a toll on ship speed, too.  It was elegant night in the MDR, and we chose to not dress formally and eat at the Lido buffet.  Our seafood choices for Lent were oysters and striped bass.  The oysters were very rich, and the bass was average.  I enjoyed the mushroom bisque.  We spent the rest of the evening in the casino and listening to an excellent band at the casino bar.

Cozumel-We are late risers and typically enjoy the later riser buffet.  On the Ecstasy, late riser breakfast on port days is non-existent.  So, no breakfast and a large amount of people milling around waiting for the ship to dock.  We headed back to the room to wait for lunch. The ship docked at Cozumel around noon and was due to depart at 5:30. We headed to lunch and the Serenity area.  We enjoyed the day, but could see a storm heading into Cozumel.  We exited the Serenity just in time to avoid the down pour.  We got ready for dinner and headed to the MDR.  One of our favorite dishes is the ox tongue, and we enjoyed it very much.  We ordered the beef tenderloin, rare, and were served medium well and well.  We realize you can’t un-cook a steak, so enjoyed our meal.  The downpour continued outside, the wind was EXTREMELY strong, and the roller coaster ride continued all evening.  We enjoyed it very much.

Sea Day 2-We ate at MDR brunch and had steak and eggs. We thought it was a good meal and the spinach side dish was very good.  It was cold, so we stayed indoors and played cards and used the Cheers program.  Throughout the day, it was announced the ship would not port at Mobile until 1:00 p.m.  Also, $50.00 was posted as an OBC to everyone’s account for the reduced cruise experience.  Dinner in the MDR featured another of our favorites, frog legs.  Delicious.  We both had the Indian vegetarian dish and it was good, too.  We always order the cheese plate for dessert so cannot comment on the other selections. We listened to the casino band and enjoyed the evening.

Mobile- The weather cleared, and we ported earlier than expected.  We went to MDR breakfast and had a nice meal.  We headed back to our room and waited for the call to disembark.  We heard a few requests to not wait in the disembark area, but the call never came to begin the process.  We had to ask the steward, after noticing most of the rooms vacant, if the debark process was underway.  We headed to floor seven and were off the ship and to our car quickly.  The March 14 passengers were arriving at the terminal and lining up around 10:00 a.m. It looked like terminal and overflow parking were open, as we loaded up and exited the bridge area.  We did notice on marine traffic, that the ship departed Mobile around 7:00 p.m. that evening.  In the past, we would leave the port between 4:00 and 4:30, so we are unsure the delays that are being encountered in Mobile.

[ninjacat123]

Thank you for your review!  Good to hear that the MDR food was favorable.  How was the service?  Heard reports of dinner taking 2-3 hours in MDR.  TIA!

[Tradestock]

We did not experience 2-3 hours.  Our average was 1 to 1.5 hours.  In my opinion, it was a professionally leisure pace. We typically eat extremely fast on land, so it is nice for us to have a slower dinner on the cruise.

[Jabee]

Thanks...Looking forward to the Ten Day cruise in September. So glad we have a ship, even if temporary in Mobile.

[JeanieTheMom]

Thanks for the review. I hope they have the bugs worked out and the weather cooperates when we arrive on April 11.

 

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, Tradestock said:

We did not experience 2-3 hours.  Our average was 1 to 1.5 hours.  In my opinion, it was a professionally leisure pace. We typically eat extremely fast on land, so it is nice for us to have a slower dinner on the cruise.

That to me is typical for MDR.  I would be happy with 1 to 1.5 hours for dinner.  Thx!

[Joe817]

13 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

That to me is typical for MDR.  I would be happy with 1 to 1.5 hours for dinner.  Thx!

I agree. It takes us about 1.5 hours. Ordering food, waiting between servings, partaking in the floor show....it really does take about that amount of time. And that doesn't bother us, as we have no where in particular to go. We actually enjoy it, having a nice relaxing dinner. But, as we are retired, we are in perpetual "slow-down" mode. 

[ninjacat123]

5 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I agree. It takes us about 1.5 hours. Ordering food, waiting between servings, partaking in the floor show....it really does take about that amount of time. And that doesn't bother us, as we have no where in particular to go. We actually enjoy it, having a nice relaxing dinner. But, as we are retired, we are in perpetual "slow-down" mode. 

I got a little worried when I heard 2-3 hours because on my Ecstasy cruise I'll be with my two DDs who are 19 and 21.  My 19 yr old DD gets antsy and my 21 yr old would probably nod off. 😄  I could pack paper and crayons in my purse and they could draw me pictures like when they were 4 & 6. 🥰

[Joe817]

12 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I got a little worried when I heard 2-3 hours because on my Ecstasy cruise I'll be with my two DDs who are 19 and 21.  My 19 yr old DD gets antsy and my 21 yr old would probably nod off. 😄  I could pack paper and crayons in my purse and they could draw me pictures like when they were 4 & 6. 🥰

Hahahahaha. "Nod off & crayons". That right there is funny!!  Thanks for the laugh! 

[cruise_gal21]

Glad to read a review of this cruise that sounds like an enjoyable time! FB complaints are rampant and somewhat unnerving.

[she_the_cougar]

The overflow did open for the March 14 cruise, thank goodness. I only missed parking in the terminal by a few cars, so I followed the line of cars in front of me out and over to the overflow lot... where we waited for about 45 minutes because, as the attendant said, they couldn't find the key to open the gate! Eventually someone showed up not with the key, but with bolt cutters. Problem solved!

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, she_the_cougar said:

The overflow did open for the March 14 cruise, thank goodness. I only missed parking in the terminal by a few cars, so I followed the line of cars in front of me out and over to the overflow lot... where we waited for about 45 minutes because, as the attendant said, they couldn't find the key to open the gate! Eventually someone showed up not with the key, but with bolt cutters. Problem solved!

Hmm. I was thinking I would just park at the port when cruising from there, but will rethink getting a park and cruise hotel instead.

[ninjacat123]

19 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Hmm. I was thinking I would just park at the port when cruising from there, but will rethink getting a park and cruise hotel instead.

When are you cruising on Ecstasy?

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

When are you cruising on Ecstasy?

Hopefully as soon as my CPA finishes my taxes.

[ninjacat123]

I'm booked for May 28 on Ecstasy.  Let me know if you're on board😄

[BlerkOne]

42 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I'm booked for May 28 on Ecstasy.  Let me know if you're on board😄

May is our month for Vista. Ecstasy is April or bust 

[cruise_gal21]

16 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

May is our month for Vista. Ecstasy is April or bust 

We're April 2nd! Only 10 days!!

[Tradestock]

We had booked a hotel, park and shuttle at a local hotel that we had used many times in the past.  We received a call four days before the cruise that the shuttle was no longer available, but we could leave our vehicle at the hotel for the duration of the cruise.  We would have to arrange transportation to/from the cruise port.  This was the reason we chose to try terminal parking.  Please call and verify, if the cruise, park and shuttle is still available at the hotel you select.