long cruise review

Hi all, just back from a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise onboard the carnival ecstasy and thought I'd share with everybody. To give you some background, this was my second cruise, and third time I tried to take this cruise, lol. the first time was more or less cancelled because a hurricane slammed into Charleston SC the same day the cruise was to leave. the ship couldn't come back, the cruise was shortened to 5 days, but I ultimately canceled. was going to take it the next year, but one of my daughters was getting married and I had neither the time or money, lol. but this year it finally happened:D. as for my previous cruise, that was was on the carnival dream back in '14 out of New Orleans, and went to Belize, Cozumel, and mahogany bay. I mention that because I'm going to contrast the difference in the two.

For starters, the cruise was Sat-Sat, which worked out great for me. I live in central VA and was able to drive to Charleston, which was the reason for wanting to go on that cruise. I work Mon-sat, so I was able to head down Fri, stay the night in Charleston, drive home the following sat, and not have to go to work the next day. Only being there one (actually half) a day, I didn't really get to see the city, though It looks like a nice place. I booked a La Quinta fairly close to the port, and getting there was no problem, though It could be a little better marked. getting into the port area was fairly quick and easy. there was a line for parking, but it moved pretty quick and inside a half hour we had dropped off our bags, parked, and were waiting on the next shuttle to take us to the cruise terminal. from there, it was maybe 15 minutes till we were standing at the cruise terminal. and this part is a huge contrast from New Orleans. that was a nightmare. on that cruise we sat in a waiting area for no less than an hour and a half before getting in a seemingly endless line to get our sail and sign cards. I'd guess the whole process from arrival at the terminal till actually walking on the dream took between 4 and 5 hours. at Charleston, when we go off the shuttle there was a line that reached outside the terminal, the wife and I figured it would also take forever. But It didn't. the line never stopped moving, and within 15 or 20 minutes were were standing at the counter getting our cards. from there, we were on the ecstasy in another 10 min. the whole process, from the time we parked, probably didn't take an hour.

As many here know, the ship is much older and smaller than a ship like the dream, But I never really noticed it, especially early on. And despite it's age, the ecstasy is very well maintained, clean, and well staffed. with the exception of not having a mini-fridge in our stateroom, the room was every bit as nice as on the dream. though on the dream we booked a deluxe ocean view, and on the ecstasy just an ocean view. And I really want to emphasize this, carnival takes care of its ships. during our entire cruise, the only thing I saw damaged or broken was a floor tile on the lido deck that had a crack in it. and the only reason I even noticed was because a crew member was pointing it out to someone and discussing getting it fixed.

As for the cruise, first day was at sea. I think that is where I probably noticed the difference in the size of the ship the most. only once did I ever notice the dream moving,and that was in the steakhouse that was on the highest deck in that rear of the ship. but with the much smaller ecstasy I can say whenever the ship was moving you knew. Never to the point I or anyone I saw got sea sick, but on the fist and last day we were at sea, it was pretty rough. to the point of being a little tricky walking the deck. Don't know if that had anything to do the fact those 2 days were along the east coast heading to and from the Caribbean, but at times it was pretty rough.

Now, another thing I noticed, and some of it was due to having half the passengers as the dream, but lines were much, much, better on the ecstasy. when on the dream, I only every got a pizza once, and same with the something from the grill; because it generally meant waiting in line for 20-30 minutes. an omelet for breakfast was about a 20 minute wait too. and typically it was a 15 minute wait to be seated for anytime dining. that was not at all the case on the ecstasy. for the most part there were no lines of more than 2 or 3 people for guys burger joint, carnival deli, pizza pirate, etc. but even when there were lines, they moved fast. the staff, in general, just seemed better and more efficient on this ship. when going to dinner, again on my time dining, we were always seated almost immediately. the only time there was ever a line was if you wanted to eat as soon as it opened. I can't put into words how much easier it was on the ecstasy. so much so that I don't think I would ever book a cruise on one of their mega ships. the one thing I will give the dream is the room steward was better. seemed like he was in there 10 times a day. the one on the ecstasy did a good good, but never really went above or beyond.

First port was Nassau. I have to say, was a little disappointed in it. the weather was crappy, but we went to the public beach near the port. it was OK, but not what you'd expect from the Caribbean, at least not me. lots of shopping, but all the same stuff. nothing notable as far as food either. but it was OK. If I ever find myself there again I think I'll have to do the paradise island thing.

Second port was half moon cay, and that was a tender port. and again, part due to a smaller ship, and part due to a better staff, the tender process was 10 times easier than when we tended to Belize on the dream. actually called our number a half hour before we were told they would. as for the island, it's incredible. best beach I've ever been too. food could have been better as it was basically just chicken, hamburgers and hotdogs, but it was good.

Last port was grand Turk, very nice place, reminded me a lot of Cozumel. very commercial, and nice to have the beach right there where the ship is. probably the clearest water I've ever seen.not a lot of shopping as it was a fairly small port.

I guess the only thing left would be our return to Charleston. again, this process was also ten times easier than New Orleans. on that cruise I remember waiting around on the ship till 8:30 or so before we could get off. from there, it was a 45 minute wait in lines through customs. getting off the ecstasy was much easier and quicker. my wife and I chose to carry our bags off (cant remember if we had that option on the dream) and were assigned a time of 8 to 8:30 to get off the ship. well, buy about 7:15 everyone was being allowed off, I guess another testament to the efficiency of the staff. we left our stateroom about 7:40, and by 8:10 were off the ship, through customs, off our shuttle, and in our car heading home.

In closing, I couple of things and observations. since I last cruised 4 years ago, some things had changed, and mostly for the better. 4 years ago, getting the sail and sign card was a 2 step process. first you gave the person at the window the information and your boarding pass, then you went to a little booth where they too your picture and gave you your card. this time, the person at the window had a small camera and did it all there. I'm assuming this helped speed things up some. don't know if thats something carnival changed, or a difference in ports. they also used tablets to scan your card when getting on and off the ship as opposed to having to stick it in a device on the dream. made getting on and off the ship quicker and easier too. the food I would say has improved. especially in the buffet. breakfast was probably most improved. a lot less "imitation" and "substitute" stuff in favor of real. think orange juice and eggs, lol. the only thing I didn't like was the room service. last cruise you could pretty much only get sandwiches, but it was free. now, there's a lot of stuff, but most of it you have to pay for. and anything ordered after 10 was charged to you. to me, 10 is just way too early. it's vacation, it's a cruise ship. never went to bed before 12 or 1. the shows were in the main showroom were good, and went all but 1 night. and usually saw 2 comedy shows a night too. they always had a pg and adult one, and we saw both. didn't really get to do much of that on the dream as dinner was usually a 2 hour process.

But at any rate, had a great time. I've now been on a really, really big ship, and a really small one. and I have to say, the smaller ones are better. maybe a little bigger would be better because of the motion, but a cruise with 2200 passenger is so much better than one with 5000.

Thanks so much for doing this review. Most who compare size of ships have gone from smaller older to larger newer. Nice to hear the opposite perspective.

I really enjoyed your review.

We thoroughly enjoyed our last several cruises on Dream class ships. Our 2019 is booked on the Freedom. Not as small as the Ecstasy, but I'm really excited about sailing a somewhat smaller ship.

Thank you for taking the time to post your interesting review, and I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise.

Thank you for your review-we are sailing out of Charleston next year to St. Thomas, San Juan and St Maarten. A cruise both DH and I have wanted to do, but on a smaller ship, and from a port that doesn't take two days to get to.

Because neither of us feel that we have to entertained 24/7, not having all the bells and whistles is no big deal. What is a big deal is being able to relax, and enjoy the sea.

I am glad that you had a good time, and I am glad to know that I am not the only one who prefers the smaller ships. We cruised on the Legend three times, twice western Caribbean, and once Alaska. (best cruise ever for seeing things) but even then the way the ship is built,getting food on the lido was a zoo, thank heavens they had so many choices- because a line of 50 is too many for a burger., and that would be the only time I ever saw some one more than once on the ship.

I really enjoyed your review.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our last several cruises on Dream class ships.

don't get the wrong idea, loved my cruise on the dream, it's why I wanted to do it again. but with 5000 people, just seem so crowded. not elbow to elbow, more in that it didn't really have any more of places than the ecstasy. for example, each ship had 1 grill (dream didn't have a guys burger then), the difference was one was serving 5000 people, one was serving 2000. same with the pizza place, comedy club, show room, etc.

Because neither of us feel that we have to entertained 24/7, not having all the bells and whistles is no big deal. What is a big deal is being able to relax, and enjoy the sea.

to be honest, I really didn't notice much missing. though smaller, the ecstasy still had the same food places, comedy club, 2 dining rooms, spa, 3 places for minors depending on age, bars, serenity deck etc. the only things I noticed missing was a steakhouse and basketball court. though instead of the steakhouse they had a steakhouse option on the menu.

So happy to hear you had a great time! We love that ship and all of the smaller ones. We are sailing Vista in June and I'm a little nervous about it due to the size and amount of people especially since it'll be during the summer but definitely looking forward to it. Thanks so much for sharing!!

My My My

The Ecstasy holds a special place in my heart. :) I sailed on this one several times when it was one of the newest in the fleet!

Thanks for the review! Our very first cruise was on the Ecstasy and we got hooked on cruising!