Carnival Ecstasy

[bobbismith]

Good Morning,

We board Monday the Carnival Ecstasy out of Mobile. What is the quietest venue to eat at after Muster on boarding day?

 

Any tips or advice for Mobile or the Carnival Ecstasy is appreciated.

 

TIA, Bobbi

[JT1962]

I don’t believe the dining room is open for lunch on boarding day. Your options will be Guy’s Burgers or Blue Iguana near the pool or the buffet, pizzeria, deli or Mongolian Wok, all in the buffet area. There is some seating outside to the rear or either side of the buffet area that will be quieter than in the actual buffet area. 
 

If you arrive a day or more prior to your cruise, see the USS Alabama and / or Belingrath Gardens. There are some good seafood restaurants on the causeway just East of the USS Alabama. 
 

Parking at the port is easy in the garage right at the port. It’s $ 20 per day and you  must prepay. You can pay online prior to arrival to save some time.

[jetsfan58]

Have cruised on the Carnival Ecstasy but not out of Mobile. I personally go to the deli and order a sandwich. It seems to always be less crowded even though you have the adjacent buffet crowd. I am not a big fan of Guys or the Blue Iguana so I can't speak to those venues.    

[mz-s]

The only dining venue available during embarkation is the buffet and Lido pool areas.

 

To the left and right of the pizza, deli, and bar at the extreme aft of the ship - go through the doors to the outer deck. That's probably the quietest place to eat on the busy embarkation day.

[Purvis1231]

One thing I like about this ship is there is outside seating along the Lidio deck to eat if you can take the Mobile heat. It is fairly quiet. I hope you enjoy. I wish there was a way to SAVE this ship.

 

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, Purvis1231 said:

One thing I like about this ship is there is outside seating along the Lidio deck to eat if you can take the Mobile heat. It is fairly quiet. I hope you enjoy. I wish there was a way to SAVE this ship.

 

 

It may end up being sold to another line like Bahamas Paradise maybe. You never know. I sort of doubt it but it's possible.

[Purvis1231]

16 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

It may end up being sold to another line like Bahamas Paradise maybe. You never know. I sort of doubt it but it's possible.

I realize from a business sense there is no saving the ship, the market is saturated with excess ships right now. My family had a lot of good times on this ship and other Fantasy class ships which in the 1990 were the mega-ships of the era. 

[mz-s]

20 minutes ago, Purvis1231 said:

I realize from a business sense there is no saving the ship, the market is saturated with excess ships right now. My family had a lot of good times on this ship and other Fantasy class ships which in the 1990 were the mega-ships of the era. 

 

I sailed Fantasy and Ecstasy several times when each were homeported in Charleston and do miss them. We still have Elation and Paradise for presumably another several years.

[dolphinsfan246]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

It may end up being sold to another line like Bahamas Paradise maybe. You never know. I sort of doubt it but it's possible.

Unfortunately I believe the ship was sold to the same breaking yard as the Sensation. I believe they were sold as a package deal. John Heald hinted at this once but never fully confirmed it. It would make sense as their retirement from the fleet was announced on the same day in the same press release. Unfortunately we didn’t get a proper goodbye to Sensation! (And the rest of the Fantasy class) I’m very much looking forward to sailing on Ecstasy’s final cruise in October. 

[mz-s]

Just now, dolphinsfan246 said:

Unfortunately I believe the ship was sold to the same breaking yard as the Sensation. I believe they were sold as a package deal. John Heald hinted at this once but never fully confirmed it. It would make sense as their retirement from the fleet was announced on the same day in the same press release. Unfortunately we didn’t get a proper goodbye to Sensation! (And the rest of the Fantasy class) I’m very much looking forward to sailing on Ecstasy’s final cruise in October. 

 

Enjoy it, I hope Carnival and Heald does something special to give not just Ecstasy but all her sisters that went before a fitting sendoff.

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

Unfortunately I believe the ship was sold to the same breaking yard as the Sensation. I believe they were sold as a package deal. John Heald hinted at this once but never fully confirmed it. It would make sense as their retirement from the fleet was announced on the same day in the same press release. Unfortunately we didn’t get a proper goodbye to Sensation! (And the rest of the Fantasy class) I’m very much looking forward to sailing on Ecstasy’s final cruise in October. 

I believe until the ship is actually beached, Carnival is free to sell it to someone else, keep it, or whatever.

[BlerkOne]

I posted pictures and some info here (Don't go looking for the Rolls - they are moving it to Celebration):

 

[brilliantseas]

8 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

It may end up being sold to another line like Bahamas Paradise maybe. You never know. I sort of doubt it but it's possible.

 

Bahamas Paradise isn't yet in a position to expand the fleet. They need to prove the Margaritaville at Sea concept and increase brand awareness and demand before expanding. It'll be interesting to see if they go after the Paradise or Elation in a few years. Unfortunately, without balconies, I'm not sure these are a good fit? I also don't see Carnival Corp. parting with the Costa Deliziosa, but rather transferring it to the Carnival brand if Costa continues to struggle. Carnival has a need for these ships for small market sailing and height-restricted ports, such as Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Tampa as the last few Fantasy class ships leave the fleet. 

 

Perhaps Holland America's Volendam or NCL Sun or NCL Spirit will go to Margaritaville at Sea / Bahamas Paradise in a few years. They are better sized for the brand, as opposed to the larger Carnival, Princess, RCCL, and NCL ships that will be aging out of the fleet in the second half of the decade. 

[dolphinsfan246]

21 hours ago, brilliantseas said:

 

Bahamas Paradise isn't yet in a position to expand the fleet. They need to prove the Margaritaville at Sea concept and increase brand awareness and demand before expanding. It'll be interesting to see if they go after the Paradise or Elation in a few years. Unfortunately, without balconies, I'm not sure these are a good fit? I also don't see Carnival Corp. parting with the Costa Deliziosa, but rather transferring it to the Carnival brand if Costa continues to struggle. Carnival has a need for these ships for small market sailing and height-restricted ports, such as Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Tampa as the last few Fantasy class ships leave the fleet. 

 

Perhaps Holland America's Volendam or NCL Sun or NCL Spirit will go to Margaritaville at Sea / Bahamas Paradise in a few years. They are better sized for the brand, as opposed to the larger Carnival, Princess, RCCL, and NCL ships that will be aging out of the fleet in the second half of the decade. 

Yeah they can’t even prove to the Coast Guard that they can safely sail. I’ve never seen the CG give a no sail order to a ship before over safety concerns. To have to completely cancel a sailing over a routine Coast Guard inspection is extremely embarrassing. Sure ships score low sometimes but it really makes you wonder what kind of nasty was going on to warrant a no sail order. I highly doubt they are in any position to acquire more ships. 

[toad455]

With the acquisition of the three Costa ships, unfortunately there's no hope for Carnival to keep the Ecstasy. 

 

Meanwhile, the Margaritaville at Sea is barely sailing at 50% capacity. There's no need for a second ship currently.

[mowogo]

3 hours ago, toad455 said:

With the acquisition of the three Costa ships, unfortunately there's no hope for Carnival to keep the Ecstasy. 

 

Meanwhile, the Margaritaville at Sea is barely sailing at 50% capacity. There's no need for a second ship currently.

Lots of new Margaritaville brand extensions that are at low capacity.  Though side benefit is that the Nassau resort (walking distance from the port) is empty enough to be a good day pass