Carnival Ecstasy after Drydock question..

So we are very much Carnival fans. Our only 2 cruises ever were on Carnival, but now we have another cruise coming up and have decided to go with Norwegian. Simply because they have longer itineraries and better promotions right now. But, I keep getting drawn back to Carnival for some reason, and would be willing to switch from Norwegian if I could get a nice 9 or 10 day cruise this fall..

My Carnival cruise guide from Carnival (not sure what they are called) told me that the only 10 day cruise in the fall out of East coast ports is on the Ecstasy, but it is an older, smaller ship. (almost sounded like he was dissuading me) So I booked with Norwegian instead. But now i see that Ecstasy just came out of drydock. So it is my assumption that although it is an older ship it might have been nicely updated at the last drydock.

We have already sailed on the Dream and the Sunshine.

Has anyone sailed on the Ecstasy since drydock that has sailed on either of these? What were your thoughts in comparison?

Also, has anyone sailed on both these lines? What were your thoughts when comparing both?

**Not sure how I feel about freestyle dining, I really like the fact that my waiters know my preferences on Carnival**

Hi Lyn1Lyn. Have never sailed the Dream, but have the Sunshine. She had lots more bells and whistles than the Ecstasy. Also, have never sailed Norwegian.

The Ecstasy got Alchemy, Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana, and Cherry on Top. She still does not have a steak house. She is small in comparison to other ships, and doesn't have many balcony cabins. There are no hair dryers in the staterooms, with the exception of suites. Also, no fridges in the staterooms, other than suites.

The casino seems more smoky than on other ships to me, and the whole ship was very small overall. I did not care for her, but others on these boards like her just fine. We prefer the Legend, or Miracle for a small ship. Serenity area was nice. Food was like you would expect on Carnival. Our cabin steward was very much overworked, not up to our usual experience.

You will want to make your own judgements, as tastes differ, but if you are expecting the ship to be anything like the Sunshine, or the Dream, then you will be disappointed, in my opinion. Others will have different views, and hopefully they will chime in. We just prefer other ships more than Ecstasy.

The Sunshine has a few cruises going out of Charleston. You may want to check and see if your dates work with those sailings.

Just off of Ecstasy yesterday, was on Sunshine last year.....Ecstasy was smaller, more cramped.....much preferred Sunshine. Not only was the casino smokier, the smell of cigarette smoke was very evident throughout the middle of the ship between the stairwells (9th deck around the casino and Metropolis bar was full of college students and heavy smokers). The 24 hour pizza was not like Sunshine (was looking forward to those breakfast individual pizzas I had every morning on Sunshine), became omelette station during breakfast and during busy times, pepperoni was the only choice. Guy's burgers and the blue iguana cantina were just as good as Sunshine. Need a hair dryer, cabin steward can get you one for your room. Ship was clean and staff (though over worked as always) was helpful and with a few exceptions were great. Peter our Cabin steward was one of the best we have had (we have done 15 total cruises, 5 on carnival).