Carnival Ecstasy 11-27 Review!

[DryCreek]

OK folks, over the next few days I will be filling in this thread with my impressions of our first cruise. We just got in from the 297.8 mile drive from Galveston about an hour ago. I will be collecting my thoughts and mental notes we made over the 5 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Ecstasy. I will also have to go through the multitude of pictures I took and crop/resize the ones I plan to upload to our website so that I can append them here.

 

I will also do my level best to not let the events of the last day color my entire review.....:mad:

 

Basics:

Carnival Ecstasy, 5 day Western Caribbean (Progreso and Cozumel).

Cruise Director - Brad Calabrese

Room - M34, inside on Main Deck (5)

Your Time Dining option (Windstar Dining Room)

Bon Voyage order, 1 Liter Jim Beam for $38. Delivered early afternoon second day.

Smuggled Booze - all accounted for and consumed as required.

Wine - one 750 ml bottle, no problem in carry on bags.

Pocket knives - no problem. My Gerber 3-1/2" serrated blade lockback did not raise eyebrows. Wifes' Lady Schrade 2" blade lockback, no problem.

 

Boarding - arrived 10:30 a.m., on board by 12:20. In room by 1:30 and large bags were waiting.

 

More complete later tomorrow after we get caught up feeding and watering hungry cattle.

[TSUmom]

Looking forward to your review! I DH and I and a few other couples will be doing this cruise in Feb. By the way, we are all from Bosque County too!!!:D

[*Mach*]

The Ecstasy is a perfectly lovely ship. The Crazies will be sailing on her again, same itinerary, in 63 days!!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!

:D

 

[emortiz24]

Looking forward to your review of the Ecstasy as I will be sailing on her in a month's time. :D

[jimbo5544]

The Ecstasy is a perfectly lovely ship. The Crazies will be sailing on her again, same itinerary, in 63 days!!!

 

WOOOOHOOOO!!

 

:D

 

Mach, may I wish for your group a happy uneventful fun cruise....:)

[*Mach*]

Mach, may I wish for your group a happy uneventful fun cruise....:)

 

 

It's always an adventure with the Crazies!

We'll make the best of it regardless of what comes our way!!!

Thanks, Jim!!

:D

 

[Barsnikel]

mmm.... hurry up.... :cool:

 

Leaving tomorrow morning for Sat/SUN stay in Galveston, then board the Ecstasy on Monday

[TSUmom]

Barnsnikle - where are you staying pr-cruise? We are trying to find the best, close hotel. Also where do you plan to park?

 

Drycreek the same questions for you too...

[*Mach*]

Barnsnikle - where are you staying pr-cruise? We are trying to find the best, close hotel. Also where do you plan to park?

 

Drycreek the same questions for you too...

 

 

I am neither Barnsnikle or Drycreek but I can tell you that the closest location to the pier is the Harbor House... within easy walking distance.

We generally stay down on Seawall Blvd at one of the motels that allow cruise parking (saves about $45...) and provides a shuttle to the cruise terminal...

There are a ton of options on the island. Check out galveston.com for a bunch of information!

:)

[cullensmom]

I am neither Barnsnikle or Drycreek but I can tell you that the closest location to the pier is the Harbor House... within easy walking distance.

 

We generally stay down on Seawall Blvd at one of the motels that allow cruise parking (saves about $45...) and provides a shuttle to the cruise terminal...

 

There are a ton of options on the island. Check out galveston.com for a bunch of information!

 

:)

 

We paid $99 to stay at Harbor House a couple of weeks ago. We woke up and looked out the window and watched Ecstasy turning around to dock.

 

from our window:

They charge $10 to park if you stay the night, but while you're on your cruise, parking is free.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

OP - waiting to hear....

[newmomtexas]

Looking forward to seeing your detailed review. We are going to have our first cruise with Esctasy in February. I'd love to read what your impression was to Esctasy as a first timer and also like to see where you went in Progreso and Cozumel. Please keep writing... Thanks!

[jimbo5544]

We paid $99 to stay at Harbor House a couple of weeks ago. We woke up and looked out the window and watched Ecstasy turning around to dock.

 

from our window:

They charge $10 to park if you stay the night, but while you're on your cruise, parking is free.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

OP - waiting to hear....

Interesting picture. I was not aware of any cruise ships that needed a tug anymore (other than the Splendor:().

[madgenius]

We will be on the Ecstasy for our first cruise in 27 days. We have "your time dining" also and I'm interested in your impressions as a first timer. Were the Christmas decorations up yet? Has anyone been on the Ecstasy for New Years? What was it like? Am I getting anything special for the holiday premium I paid? At least I got a reservation for the Chef's Table and am very much looking forward to it!

[Barsnikel]

Barnsnikle - where are you staying pr-cruise? We are trying to find the best, close hotel. Also where do you plan to park?

 

Drycreek the same questions for you too...

 

We are staying at the Country Inns and Suites. I chose that based on several things... 1) my wife wanted an indoor pool; 2) it is a new hotel; 3) they will allow us to leave our car there during the cruise; 4) it got great reviews from others; and 5) it's in the location I wanted.

 

The rate I got was $89 for a king. Phone number is 409-763-5000.

 

I did check a number of other hotels in the area. There were many that were cheaper, and (if I can find the list I made) I can give you some of that info if you need it.

[okwriter]

Pocket knives - no problem. My Gerber 3-1/2" serrated blade lockback did not raise eyebrows. Wifes' Lady Schrade 2" blade lockback, no problem.

 

More complete later tomorrow after we get caught up feeding and watering hungry cattle.

 

 

We have cattle, too, so I know how DH uses his pocketknife on land.

But I give up...what do you use it for on a ship?! :D

[Edmund DeWinter]

Never argue pocket knife functionality with a Rancher, they use it like a Tech uses a laptop. :rolleyes:

 

I'd say he can use it at dinner on the Flat Iron steaks, but I've never gotten a bad one! :D

[TSUmom]

Thank you for the Harbor house pictures Cullensmom - I will share with the rest of the group.

 

Host Mach, could you by chance give me the name of the motel? I like like the idea of the cruise parking and the shuttle.

 

I am the info gatherer and then I pass on all I find out to the others. I love the planning and the others usually let me decide the details!!:D

[DryCreek]

Let me see if I can get this done right. I have cropped and resized my pictures and uploaded them to my website. I had taken quite a few, and in order not to clutter up this post I carefully went through them. If you have any requests, I will see if I had taken a picture of what you want to see.

 

First, a little about us. We live just outside of a small town of 715 people in Central Texas. We raise Texas longhorn cattle, and we have 3 dogs and 2 cats too. We have a very limited window to travel for greater than weekend trips, so we have to plan way in advance for trips like this. We normally do the total Disney trip, but this year the DW (Robin) wanted to do something different, and the different thing was a cruise...So here we go.

First, in order to be able to leave, we have to have our son make arrangements to stay at our house and babysit the small animals. We have to set out hay for the big ones.

 

I had to feed "The Boys" (our riding steers)

"The Ladies" (momma cows and heifers)

and of course...

The babies (our show calves).

 

All of this just so that we can go away for a week! That is why we try to pick our vacations carefully and set very high expectations for our choices.

That is one reason why I came to this board - to research our vacation choice and get all of the pointers that I could to make sure we squeeze out every bit of fun that we can for our hard earned dollar. I really do appreciate all of the input and ideas from this online community!

[TSUmom]

We live in Meridian so the landscape sure looks familiar:)

[DryCreek]

Since it was going to be a long drive (at least for me), we decided to take off to Galveston on Friday after feeding the cattle and showing our son what he needed to do (like wave good bye!).

 

We stayed at the Best Western right on the seawall in Galveston.

The motel is an older one, but fairly well kept. The rate was pretty good for the time of year too. We booked using the DW's Best Western awards card for a discounted rate of $62.06 (total cost). Once we checked in we hit the strand for some coffee (too cold for beer) and sightseeing. We also picked up some sweatshirts from Wings to use as gifts. Great pirate themed stuff this year!

 

We woke up early the next morning and took in the sunrise from across the street from the motel. I just missed the Ecstasy passing through the channel, but I did get the next ship following her:

I watched the Ecstasy approach the pier from webcams located at Seawolf park and at the Galveston.com cruise and harbor webcams. I noted that she docked a bit later than usual that day. As time permits, I would normally watch her dock when at work. Little did I know that her late arrival would also lead to a late departure!

 

OK, so when 10:00 rolled around, we got antsy and went ahead and checked out of the room. We stopped by a service station and filled up the Jeep before heading to Galveston Park & Cruise where I had made reservations. The advance online rate was only $30. This parking site is just across the street from the cruise terminals. It is less than a two-block walk from the parking lot to the front door of Cruise Terminal 1.

 

We dropped off our three checked items with a porter and headed for check-in. It was very uneventful and amazingly efficient. One warning bell went up when one of the security screeners spotted the metal flask in my carryon. I dutifully pulled it out and demonstrated that it was indeed quite empty. I explained that it was to be used for our Bon Voyage order of bourbon that would eventually arrive at our room. They never questioned the three bottles of contact lens cleaner between our two carryons though. I wonder what was really in those?

By 10:40 we were sitting in the general embarkation area with about 100 other eager souls. Some of the folks were eying the Platinum boarding area and asking what made them so special. My reply of "ebola positive testing" didn't seem to make them willing to join that particular group. After one wedding party made their way on board, we were ushered aboard by about 12:15. We made a beeline for the Panorama (Lido, aft) and picked out a temporary perch. I decided on baked fish and some veggies while Robin made her way to the deli for a nice warm Reuben. After about 45 minutes of sitting there (my limit for attention span) we decided to tour the ship. I had pretty much memorized where everything was, so I showed off my shipboard prowess by dragging DW all over the place.

At exactly 1:30, we made our way to our cabin (M-34, inside) and were pleased to see that the larger of the two checked items had made their way to our door. Here is something I learned - the bags are sorted by their size - the larger ones are delivered first, smaller later. Do not worry if your checked hat box is not waiting - it will come, eventually!

Anyway, the cabin was great. DW remarked that it was larger than she expected. that was a good start!

As you can see, the over-the-door shoe organizer was a great idea. Of course, we had robbed it from the RV. I think that folks with RV's tend to find the size of the cabins and bath fixtures acceptable, and even familiar - while others who are not used to compact stuff might not. The decor was not overbearing by any stretch of the imagination. The bed(s) were comfortable and the room temperature satisfactory if not a tad cool.

[DryCreek]

We have cattle, too, so I know how DH uses his pocketknife on land.

But I give up...what do you use it for on a ship?! :D

Opens up staples on pre-packaged items and stacks of paper. Cuts those pesky little clear ties on things that are "paired" (flip-flops, i.e.) and don't forget the plastic clamshell packaging so popular now - try opening the mega-pack of batteries to fill up those hungry cameras!

 

And finally, I would feel more nekkid without my pocket knife than if I had forgotten to put on drawers!

Have you ever been out walking and chased down a snake, stepped on it's head and then reached into an empty back pocket? I have....once.

[DryCreek]

OK, remember how I mentioned that the Ecstasy seemed to port a little later than normal? Well, that fact apparently set the whole schedule on its ear. The first target of a 4 p.m. sailing went out the door, and the next announcement was that it looked like 4:30 would be the target. We had wandered up to the Veranda observation deck (smoking allowed, so popular with the DW) to watch the activities and have our own little sailaway party with the soft drinks and "contact lens cleaner" we had just unpacked.

Notice the jackets? It was unseasonably cold that day. A big ol' Noreaster had blown through the night before (yeah, the same one that blew through our area on Thanksgiving). It was coooold (well, to me). Anyhow, the next announcement was that maybe we would cast off at 5 p.m. Nuh-uh, not while this was still attached to us:

That is the fuel barge. It was there for a looonnnggg time. In fact, it finished up just before 6 p.m. We got to watch the sunset from the Veranda observation area before we even left the pier!

[DryCreek]

The wind kicked up, and the cold drove us back to the room to prepare for dinner that night. We had the anytime dining and firmly believe that this was the right choice. They seated YTD in the Windstar dining room (starboard side only) during this trip. The decor of the dining room was pleasantly subdued and generally the noise level was low. Service on the first night was, well, poor. We never had a basket of bread brought to our four-top during the entire meal, and our server didn't seem to notice the error. We did enjoy meeting a nice couple from up in the Dallas area, and we discussed our plans for our arrival in Progreso.

 

Sorry folks - no food porn. I am against bringing cameras to dinner. I feel that it detracts from the experience.

 

After dinner, we walked around the ship and then attended the welcome aboard "show" presented by the Cruise Director (Brad Calabrese).

 

We made our way back to the cabin to call it an early day (as we did pretty much the whole trip, being early risers and all). The turn-down service had already prepared the room and left us a towel animal. The next picture is not from the first evening, but it is an illustration of how some of those poor sea-going towel animals may be led astray if they are thrown into a cabin with the wrong kind of people!

The booze and cards will surely lead this poor rabbit astray!

 

That was a one liter bottle from the Bon Voyage department. Its cost was $38. I think that the alcohol content may have been higher than usual as it seemed to, ahem, "evaporate" quickly.

[DryCreek]

I won't go into much depth on these - there appears to be quite a lot of information and pictures to be found on the destination specific sections of this board. I did take several pictures though, so if you are interested, you can e-mail me at:

Longhorn period Breeder ampersand gmail period com

and I will see if I may have captured a specific image you are looking for.

 

Progreso - this port reminds me of when I used to visit Reynosa while growing up. The DW was not at all comfortable here, and I had to explain to her how to deal with all of the vendors. When approached by the vendors, if they are hawking something you are absolutely not interested in, do not say a word - just walk on by and ignore them. If you might be interested in an item, say "maybe later, I hear these are cheaper near the beach" and then be ready to negotiate! Do not waste their time or yours if you do not intend to buy.

Any way, we did the $3 per person double decker tour bus. Yup, we sat up on top and dodged the power and telephone lines! This was quite an adventure, and the round trip tour allowed you to see the town from an angle most folks don't. It is only twenty minutes of your time, and it is well worth the time and money.

NOTE - I almost forgot to mention this, but make sure you have plenty of one dollar bills with you, tips are appreciated here. The restroom in that Mercado (flea market) where the free shuttle drops you off runs on a "tip system". If you enjoy having papel hygenico (toilet paper) then it is best to tip the lady that maintains the bathroom and she will offer you a basket in which you will select your premeasured ration of Charmin. If you typically need more than just a few squares, then pack for the trip accordingly. You have been warned!

After the bus tour, we just walked up and down the beach and enjoyed a few Corona's before heading back to the ship.

One thing of interest to all who cruise from Galveston - I am sure that you are aware that the Ecstasy will be returning to Nawlins' later next year, to be replaced by the Triumph. Well, guess who just happened to be tied up next to us on the "Worlds Longest Pier"?

 

Cozumel - we got lucky here. We were docked at the Punta Langosta pier right down town. No cabs to worry with, and everything was within walking distance from the mall at the end of the quay. We were docked there since two of Carnival's larger ships were using the two berths at their little villa of Puerta Maya. You will also notice that the International Pier was loaded up with X-line ships!

 

Sorry about the picture, but it was pretty hazy and I was shooting at max optical and digital zoom using a Fuji 10 megapixel camera from the Sun Deck on board the Ecstasy as we docked. But, back to the land of Coz... - we ate some nachos, had some Coronas and did a little shopping there too (starting to see a pattern?). Some of the folks we saw there were pretty hammered - I bet they had a rough next day, and for more than one reason too!

 

Returning to the ship, I used the trick I learned here - always buy two bottles of your poison. When they flag you at the X-ray machine on board and send you over to the liquor confiscation table, always give up one bottle. An offering to the liquor deity will appease them and you may then pass.

 

I cannot vouch for any of the excursions. DW and I are the type that like to walk and explore. We didn't want to be cooped up inside a bus only to spend a few minutes at a destination across the island or peninsula, so we walked through the town and got a feel for it. There is a Mega Mart I recommend that you visit if you need any supplies. Great choices and good prices.

[DryCreek]

OK, let's take a break here and I will throw in some stuff that gave me a giggle here and there while on this vacation.

 

First, always heed warnings - no matter how silly they may seem. Doesn't this seem to be good advice?

 

I know, it's really spelled "wench", but at least try to have some fun with me here...

Or maybe they are dressing the winch - but as what?

(actually, the dressing winch is a windlass used to stretch the overhead line with the lights and flags, otherwise known as the festoon winch <- ex-sailor knows these things).

 

And finally, this gem... While relaxing on the Serenity Deck (lower fantail) I hear an older woman arguing with her husband about where to go next. She stops the cocktail waitress to ask her "excuse me miss, but are we at the back of the ship?" Somehow, I would have thought that the blunt edge formed by the railings and the beautiful blue wake being churned up by the screws would have been enough of a clue, but maybe not...

Oh, BTW, no picture as I was politely holding back a guffaw.