Ecstasy-Only Thread! Ask questions and post info. here!

[Bassic]

We are sailing on December 24, and I can't wait. We've booked a room at the Harbor House in Galveston for December 23, so I hope to watch the ship sail in to port. We are taking a new shore excursion in Progreso called Mayan Ruins and Beach Break Combo. Does anyone who has sailed recently know where do you go for the beach break portion of the excursion?

I think it's 18 miles east of town, if I understood the little guy on the bus. The ruins are the Xcambo ruins, the beach is a private beach and very clean.

[familycruzr]

I think it's 18 miles east of town, if I understood the little guy on the bus. The ruins are the Xcambo ruins, the beach is a private beach and very clean.

 

 

Welcome back to reality!

 

That's just what I wanted to hear. Thanks!

 

How formal was formal night? We have a group of 20, and my brother-in-law and 2 of my nephews do not own suits. We don't want to see them turned away from Christmas dinner with the rest of the family because they aren't wearing suits.

[travel girl23]

Does anyone know if Captain Scala is back from his vacation? (Stir - are you around?) Also, is Goose Newmann back as CD? We are leaving in a week and we really want Capt. Scala to be back on the Ecstasy.

Familycruzr - formal night is formal. You will see tuxes and suits on the men, long gowns as well as dressy cocktail dresses on the women. If the men/boys wear a pair of dress pants, shirt, and tie, they will let them in. I would not recommend wearing Dockers or any other casual outfit. Travelgirl

[EastTexans2]

Here is my review from last week......

 

Our first Carnival cruise on Ecstasy, November 3-8, 2007

Well it was the weekend of the motorcycle rally in Galveston and we were worried about traffic in and around the port. We didn’t have any trouble at all. Went to EZ Park around 10 am and found they would be putting us in their second lot. We followed them to the second lot and then boarded their shuttle bus to the port.

Embarkation was very smooth. They had four wedding parties to load first, but we were on the ship having lunch on the Lido Deck by 11:30 am. Our room was ready by 1:30. Our room was M105 (Main Deck) and it was an ocean view room. Let me say here that I loved the layout of the room……better than our previous rooms on Royal Caribbean. The room is a little bigger but the biggest difference was that the head of the bed was against a side wall….so you could walk to the window and stand there and look out. The window was larger than RC also. It was approximately 3 feet X 4 feet. There are 3 closets in the room.

Yes there was a bathrobe in the room

Yes Goose is the cruise director

No there is not a hairdryer, bring your own

Yes the electric outlet is on the vanity, but it is right next to the head of the bed

Yes the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is to die for

Yes you can order more than one dessert

Capt. Salvadore Messina

Our dinner was at 5:45 pm in the Windstar Dining Room. One thing that was very confusing is the fact that the other dining room is the Windsong. Breakfast and lunch were served in the Windsong….but our dinner was in the Windstar. The food was wonderful. Our waiters were great. We were at Table #228 with some new CC friends. Had a blast!

The first sea day for us was Sunday and that night was formal night. We saw all kinds of dress. Some were very dressed up; some were in cocktail dresses; some were in slacks; and we even saw jeans. Pictures were being taken everywhere. All different backgrounds, so go and have some taken with each photographer and then pick what you want to buy. Oh, one of the backgrounds was a Christmas theme and you could order Christmas cards. Thought I better mention that in case you want to dress accordingly!

We didn’t do any excursions on this cruise. We got off and just wandered through the shops and then came back on the ship to relax. The dock in Progresso is 6 miles from the town. They run a shuttle bus every 20 minutes. We played a lot of “trivia” and I won a “ship on a stick”.

Another thing that I liked on Carnival vs. Royal was that you didn’t have to walk through the smoky casino to get to another part of the ship. The casino is kind of off by itself. I think the staff on Royal might be a little friendlier but they were still terrific on Ecstasy. The Ecstasy reminds me of Rhapsody of the Seas. They are both smaller ships.

I’d heard a lot of comments about the neon decor on Ecstasy. I was concerned that it would be loud and bright and that we wouldn’t like it. Well I was wrong. There is a lot of neon, however, it reminded us of a 50’s diner with the silver and aqua blue. Really neat looking.

The food was great. Big selection each night. And yes, you can always get chicken or steak if that’s what you like. The stuffed mushrooms were wonderful. The waiters do a little dance each night and that was a lot of fun too.

On the last morning there was no big rush to get you out of the cabin. We went to the dining room for breakfast (7-9 am) and then went back to our cabin to pick up the rest of our stuff. We went up to the lido deck to wait for our number to be called. It was very relaxed and people weren’t being herded into a theater to wait.

We had read on CC that the best way to get through customs was to get a Porter and believe me; it’s the only way to go. The lines were long going through customs but the Porters have their own line. They stay with you from the time they pick up your luggage until they have you outside and loaded on the shuttle to get your car.

It was a wonderful cruise and the Ecstasy is a beautiful ship.

[oklahoma_doug]

Thanks for the review.... 2 weeks to go...

[oklahoma_doug]

Thanks for the review.... 2 weeks to go...

[emaksb]

Oklahoma Doug where abouts in Oklahoma do you live? we live in Sand Springs.

[wtexcruiser]

Does anyone know if Captain Scala is back from his vacation? (Stir - are you around?) Also, is Goose Newmann back as CD? We are leaving in a week and we really want Capt. Scala to be back on the Ecstasy.

Familycruzr - formal night is formal. You will see tuxes and suits on the men, long gowns as well as dressy cocktail dresses on the women. If the men/boys wear a pair of dress pants, shirt, and tie, they will let them in. I would not recommend wearing Dockers or any other casual outfit. Travelgirl

 

 

Both GOOSE AND CAPTAIN Scala were on the ecstasy 11-8/11-12. Our Formal night was a joke, I think that if your kids are in nice church clothes you'll be fine. There was a wide variety of what people considered "formal" and what people considered Resort Casual. On the RC nights we saw people in cut off tshirts in the dining room. It didn't ruin our trip, but didn't make the dining room different than the lido deck.

[stellatj]

is my sign and sail card also my door key or is it 2 seperate cards

4 days to go......

[oklahoma_doug]

Oklahoma Doug where abouts in Oklahoma do you live? we live in Sand Springs.

 

Southern Mayes County

[Jazzergirl]

We are sailing on December 24, and I can't wait. We've booked a room at the Harbor House in Galveston for December 23, so I hope to watch the ship sail in to port. We are taking a new shore excursion in Progreso called Mayan Ruins and Beach Break Combo. Does anyone who has sailed recently know where do you go for the beach break portion of the excursion?

 

We just returned from that cruise and we stayed at the Harbor House the night before. It was awesome - try to get the room located on the 2nd floor that corners the harbor and the terminal - I beleive it is room 202, we got amazing pictures of the Ecstasy coming in the morning and watching the ship turn around in the harbor is very cool on top of all the dolphins.

 

In regards to your excursion question, when you get off the ship, there will be people holding signs to direct you to your proper excursion.

[Snoozeman]

is my sign and sail card also my door key or is it 2 seperate cards

4 days to go......

 

two cards:)

[StephenNSamantha]

is my sign and sail card also my door key or is it 2 seperate cards

4 days to go......

 

Nope, 2 seperate cards

 

Have fun :)

[stellatj]

thank you both for the quick reply.

[familycruzr]

We just returned from that cruise and we stayed at the Harbor House the night before. It was awesome - try to get the room located on the 2nd floor that corners the harbor and the terminal - I beleive it is room 202, we got amazing pictures of the Ecstasy coming in the morning and watching the ship turn around in the harbor is very cool on top of all the dolphins.

 

In regards to your excursion question, when you get off the ship, there will be people holding signs to direct you to your proper excursion.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will try to get that room.

[stellatj]

2 more quick questions i am sure the answer is here somewhere but cant find it

1- everyone talks about burgers do they have veggie or soy burgers they can make on the grill.

2- do the rooms have blow dryers i packed mine but if i dont need it i will unpack it.

thanks

[Stircrzy]

2 more quick questions i am sure the answer is here somewhere but cant find it

1- everyone talks about burgers do they have veggie or soy burgers they can make on the grill.

2- do the rooms have blow dryers i packed mine but if i dont need it i will unpack it.

thanks

 

1. Yes...you have to ask for it though. (Clarifying...they DID have them when my vegetarian daughter cruised in May 2006. I can re-check this in late January for you!) OOPS...just saw you're traveling in a couple of days...YOU check it out for ME!

 

2. suites have them. If your cabin doesn't, you can ask your steward for one...but they don't do the best job. I take my own!

[stellatj]

Thanks Stir i will bring my own just in case and i will let you know about the veggie burger. looking forward to meeting you in sept.

[nizurc]

Has anyone stayed in Cabin V8 on the Verandah deck? As we'll be located on the bow of an upper deck, am wondering about how much wave motion we'll experience.

[Foxfire7844]

Anyone else notice the smoke.

 

We had a large table at the front of the Windsong, and every night there was smoke and loud parties in the Society Bar that rolled down the stairs into the dining room. This was the only bad point of the cruise....DH and I are very sensitive to the smoke and ended up not eating in the dining room after the second night.:(

[wtexcruiser]

We noticed it to. It seems like this ship is nothing more than a Booze Cruise. Everywhere you went people were either drunk and stumbling or smoking on you. Normally I wouldn't have minded the drunks and smoke, but I have a wife who's expecting and we found that we couldn't even go out on the LIDO deck to relax in the sun with out someone smoking on us. I guess those "NO SMOKING" signs mean nothing.

 

On our cruise there were drunk people everywhere. It seems that they only got a little out of hand when having to stand in line at the buffet or to re-board the ship in Mexico. Normally this wouldn't have bothered me, but the pushing in line made me a little uneasy. I don't think that I'd ever sail with Carnival again, there were just way to many drunks on board.

[Stircrzy]

WOW!

 

I have fortunately NEVER experienced what you did...and I'm cruising the Ecstasy for the 8th time in January.

 

I don't drink alcohol, so do tend to notice those who over-indulge, and I am a smoker...who doesn't smoke in areas designated "no smoking". I've just never seen what you describe. Thank goodness!

 

I haven't been seated near the stairs in the Windsong, though...in fact, have only been seated in the Windsong on one of my Ecstasy cruises. I'm usually in the Windstar...and not near the stairs.

 

I'm sorry your experience was bad.

 

Best wishes on your new addition!

[Bassic]

I didn't notice the drunks very much...and I do drink and smoke. I think the best way to tell the drunks on Ecstasy is when the ship is really getting tossed about- the drunks all walk in straight lines! As far as the smoke, this cruise (11-03-07) was MUCH less smoky than our first one. My wife and I really try to be as polite as possible when we do smoke- we try to smoke ONLY in the designated areas, and this time we didn't even smoke in our room. The room steward said this was a non-smoking cabin, as were all the rest on the deck (upper), so we went outside to smoke on deck, in the designated areas.

 

As far as the Lido goes, only the section towards the front bar, on the starboard side, was the smoking section. Talk about PACKED! That was a crowded and busy place, and there was never any seats available there, as the smokers on board were really trying to not piss off the anti-smokers by encroaching upon their territory.

 

People were LOUDLY complaining about smoke in the casino, and one anti-smoker came in and sat in the smoking side of the Society Bar and called the waitress over to ask us all to put out our cigars. The waitress told her that this was the smoking half of the bar (last cruise it was the whole bar!), and if she felt uncomfortable, she should perhaps take a seat on the other side, where it was non-smoking. She railed for a while, until one guy told her that this was one of three or four areas left that smoking was permitted, and that cigar-time with the boys was part of his cruise experience...would she mind not spoiling his cruise? She indignantly got up and left, and was later seen in the Neon Bar doing the same thing.

 

For all the anti-smokers, I really wish that people would start complaining about all the fattening food they serve on these boats, and the alcohol. I'd like to see a food-and-alcohol-free cruise! Only water. Make it 7-10 days. Obesity and alcohol are the most serious health problems in the USA right now, let's do something about it!

[TXSailor]

The room steward said this was a non-smoking cabin, as were all the rest on the deck (upper).....

 

 

These are non-smoking cabins? Wow, didn't realize Carnival went that route.

 

Fausto

[Bassic]

These are non-smoking cabins? Wow, didn't realize Carnival went that route.

 

Fausto

Actually, I think the Triumph and the Paradise are completely smoke-free (except for the engines...)