Booking Carnival Ecstasy may have been a mistake

If you are worried about quality wine, why not have everyone in the group carry on wine to be shared? Just pay corkage fee.

IMHO the wine by the glass on Carnival is not that different than the other major cruise lines.

A little planning may make this a very fun trip with your group. Bon Voyage.

Absent a collapsible cooler, you can also ask your steward for an extra bucket of ice. Staterooms already come with a "hotel-style" ice bucket but this would be an additional, larger plastic bucket. I generally tip $10 or $20 when I make the request on embark day and their smile -- and a perennial supply of ice -- is a welcome result.

I bought a cooler. It's not for wine but for meds that need refrigeration.

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This will be my first Carnival cruise. Have done Royal Caribbean a few times and loved it. Booked Carnival Ecstasy and now find out only Suites have a mini fridge or even hair dryer. Now I'm feeling cheated. I also see the wine list is mostly low end wines. Hoping for a good time but going back to RCI really soon. Any thoughts on this ship? Thanks

 

 

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It's an OLD clunker.

I bought a cooler. It's not for wine but for meds that need refrigeration.

 

 

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If you have meds that need refrigeration you may be able to get a cooler onboard - from the Carnival website:

For guests who are traveling with injectable medication and need a Sharps disposal container, please contact the Medical Center or the onboard Housekeeping staff. Some ships have staterooms equipped with mini-bars designed to maintain the temperature of beverages. Mini-bars are not to be used to store medications that have specific temperature requirements. Portable medi-coolers are available on a first come first serve basis. If a cooler is not available, our Medical Center can assist guests with refrigeration needs, or you may bring your own personal-size cooler for this purpose.

If you need general information about accessibility before you cruise, please call our Guest Access team at 1-800-438-6744 ext.70025 or email specialneeds@carnival.com. If you have an ADA complaint, please email us at access@carnival.com. Carnival's designated ADA Responsibility Officer is Vicky Rey, Vice President Guest Care and Port Services.

Thank you

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I happen to love the Fantasy-class ships. I have a total of 53 nights on them. Haven't sailed one since Fantasy almost 4 years ago, so I'm looking forward to sailing Ecstasy soon.

I have no need for most of the new bells and whistles. Yes, I was on Vista's inaugural cruise but I went for the itinerary, not the ship. I'm also booked on Horizon's TA next spring. Again, not for the ship, but because I've been wanting to do a TA for years.

Anyway, I personally feel that the crew gives better service on the smaller ships and that the MDR food is better. I swear, when Fantasy was in Charleston, she had the best food of any Carnival ship I'd sailed.

Oh, and the upcoming cruise will be #27 for Carnival, #30 overall (with another HAL cruise booked for November on their newest, largest ship - again, I booked for the itinerary and the casino fare I received - not the ship).

Some of us appreciate the smaller ships. Every time I board a Fantasy-class ship, it feels like I'm returning home. :)

But I'm grateful for the reminder about hair dryers! I'd forgotten that there won't be one on Ecstasy. Just made myself a note to remember to pack mine. Thanks!

Thanks for the info. I sail next month and will report back[emoji16]

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This will be my first Carnival cruise. Have done Royal Caribbean a few times and loved it. Booked Carnival Ecstasy and now find out only Suites have a mini fridge or even hair dryer. Now I'm feeling cheated. I also see the wine list is mostly low end wines. Hoping for a good time but going back to RCI really soon. Any thoughts on this ship? Thanks

 

 

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Hi, we are long time Royal cruisers and we just took our first Carnival cruise recently. We really enjoyed it and have already booked another. To be fair, you would have to compare this ship to Majesty of the Seas since both were built around the same time. We have been on Majesty many times over many years. Majesty does not have refrigerators either. We love Majesty, but being objective as possible we think the upgrades that have been done to Ecstasy make her a better choice. You will find the no extra cost dining options better and possibly some other things as well. Go in with the attitude that you are going to have a good time and you will. We did even though the weather was horrible. Don't go in looking to compare to Royal (especially no Oasis or any new ship); try to go in looking at it as a new adventure and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Good advice

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I have also been on majesty

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Take your own hair dryer as those on the ship are not very good. Keep the collapsible cooler in the shower so if it condenses it won't get water everywhere.

If you carry it off the ship with ice in it it will be heavy.

I have also been on majesty

 

 

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We are interested to hear your impressions on Ecstasy since you will have done both after your cruise. We have another upcoming Majesty cruise and we would like to try Ecstasy since we are so close to Charleston.

Well I sailed Carnival Ecstasy and here are my thoughts. Was one of the first to board at noon. Asked customer service for a fridge and received one at no charge. Overall the ship is just too old and small for my taste. Breakfasts are good. Dinner ok. Lunches awful. Guys Burger must get a turkey burger or chicken sandwich. Not everyone wants beef. The room was actually spacious and the AC control great. Cabin steward and bar tenders very nice. Others in the ship just ok. The irony was that Majesty of the Seas docked next to us in Nassau. Made Ecstasy seem even smaller[emoji3]. While I appreciate the party and communal atmosphere, I just feel I get more for my money on Royal Caribbean. Looking forward to Oasis in a few months!

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I happen to love the Fantasy-class ships. I have a total of 53 nights on them. Haven't sailed one since Fantasy almost 4 years ago, so I'm looking forward to sailing Ecstasy soon.

 

 

 

I have no need for most of the new bells and whistles. Yes, I was on Vista's inaugural cruise but I went for the itinerary, not the ship. I'm also booked on Horizon's TA next spring. Again, not for the ship, but because I've been wanting to do a TA for years.

 

 

 

Anyway, I personally feel that the crew gives better service on the smaller ships and that the MDR food is better. I swear, when Fantasy was in Charleston, she had the best food of any Carnival ship I'd sailed.

 

 

 

Oh, and the upcoming cruise will be #27 for Carnival, #30 overall (with another HAL cruise booked for November on their newest, largest ship - again, I booked for the itinerary and the casino fare I received - not the ship).

 

 

 

Some of us appreciate the smaller ships. Every time I board a Fantasy-class ship, it feels like I'm returning home. :)

 

 

 

But I'm grateful for the reminder about hair dryers! I'd forgotten that there won't be one on Ecstasy. Just made myself a note to remember to pack mine. Thanks!

My first cruise was on Carnival Glory 7 years ago. It was the best vacation I've ever had. Everything from the ship to our room and our excursions were wonderful. Ship size was good. I then tried Norwegian Breakaway and it wasn't nearly as nice as our first cruise. We felt the ship was too big even though we chose to try a larger one. Our next cruise will be on Ecstasy in 49 days so we're looking forward to enjoy the pluses a Fantasy class (and Carnival!) ship has to offer again. It seems the people who enjoy Fantasy class are all looking for the same thing. [emoji16]

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We did a B2b on the Ecstasy after 3 Voyager Class cruises and really enjoyed it.

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#firstworldproblems

This is a cruise vacation message board. All problems discussed would by definition be first world problems. So what?