Shy Girl Goes To Sea. An Ecstasy Review 11/17/11

[RuthlessBoss]

Loving your review! That was very brave of you to go by yourself....I keep thinking of doing it, but so far I haven't had the nerve!

Cutting in here. I am shy, kinda. One day I took the plunge, went solo in 1A. As the OP stated, I would not do anytime dining again solo, had the same experience. My first turned into a second and third. Just learned to be more social. Found a roomie on one, we are heading out on the 26th.

[SE NC]

Great review!

[TriciaEMTB]

Cutting in here. I am shy, kinda. One day I took the plunge, went solo in 1A. As the OP stated, I would not do anytime dining again solo, had the same experience. My first turned into a second and third. Just learned to be more social. Found a roomie on one, we are heading out on the 26th.

 

My younger cousin is turning 21 in March. We are looking for a cruise for April. Found one out of Tampa, 4 nights 333 a piece! holy crap! I paid 436 total for mine!

[btrbill]

Patricia,

 

Great review! I sailed on this wonderful ship with my wife on it's last sailing out of New Orleans and loved it. We have talked about driving to PC to sail her again, but first we want to try some of the other ships.

 

My wife and I are also both ex-EMTB's and Firefighters!! We know all about needing that getaway from work!!

 

Looking forward to the rest!

 

Oh, an BTW, to heck with the old BF!! There are always better ones right around the corner!!

[TriciaEMTB]

After dinner I wandered around the ship. It's totally different in the dark, I really enjoyed it, thought it was gorgeous!

 

 

Annnnd me, trying to get a picture of myself on the ship... Yeah, I closed my eyes.

 

I went to the Welcome Aboard show. I enjoyed it. I think the dancers are good, the female singer was so so, but it's free! The two comedians I thought were really good!

 

After the show, I was spent! I went to the bar, got a drink for the night (I wake up thirsty in the middle of the night a lot) and went back to the room. The upper was put away and I was greeted by a towel animal!

 

 

It's supposed to be a Walrus. I think it looks like a vagina.

 

I never tipped my steward, but I never saw him. He was like a ninja that swooped in when no one was looking and cleaned and left me towel animals, fun times and icky chocolates.( I ate them anyway. It was chocolate after all, and really they weren't terrible, just not the best I've ever had.) If I had seen him, I'd have given him an extra $20 at the end for cleaning up after my messy self.

 

I took a shower when I got to my room. Something worth noting, there is a hang tag in the bathroom that says if you hang up your towel it means you'll use it again, put it on the floor and you'll get a new one.

 

Well, I hung it up after every shower, and got a new one after every shower. I know they were new because twice the hung up towel was still there, in addition to the new one.

 

Sorry Carnival, I tried to do my part to help you conserve, but my steward must really like clean towels!

 

I got in my pajamas, and turned on the TV. For some reason, every channel seemed to be in Spanish. Ah well, I just need the noise and light, I didn't really want to watch TV.

 

I slept with my socks on, for some reason. I don't usually do this, and I remember waking up later and kicking them off my feet into the bed. I never saw them again, I don't know where they are, or if they're safe. :P

 

And that's it for Day 1!

 

Next up: Nassau, Getting Lost and Making Friends With A Toothless Homeless Man!

[TriciaEMTB]

Also in the background you can see my stuffed sheep. Yes, I brought him on my cruise. The steward always laid his head on the pillow when he made the bed, some nights when he turned it down he tucked him in. It was too cute!

 

Whoever my Ninja Steward was, I hope to have him again sometime!

[babyher]

Enjoying your review and your pics very much. thank you for sharing .

 

 

So glad you decided to go by yourself . I am sure it wasn't easy especially being a very shy person.Hell I am the furthest thing from shy :) and I have never been on a vacation alone. Good for you.

 

Good Riddance to your boyfriend . There are a lot of others in the sea. You will meet someone. Hey anyone who has a Boston Terrier is pretty terrific in my book (I have 2 :))

[DeDe63]

Can't wait to read more!!!

 

We were on the Ecstasy in in August and loved her!

[jburk]

More! More! More!

[TriciaEMTB]

I have to upload the next day to photobucket tonight.

 

Right now I've got a bit of a pickle.. Yesterday my right foot started to swell on an excursion. Now my whole leg is swollen and painful. How weird!

[scgamecock]

Great review! I'm cruising solo on Ecstasy in January and staying in a 1A on Empress deck. Glad to see the cabin pics.

[*Mach*]

Great job! I can tell you're hooked!!

Have you started working on your next cruise adventure?

Isn't the Ecstasy great? I've sailed on her several times and I love that ship!!!

:)

[TriciaEMTB]

Great review! I'm cruising solo on Ecstasy in January and staying in a 1A on Empress deck. Glad to see the cabin pics.

 

Which cabin? I was E183.

 

If I cruise the ecstasy again I'd book it in a heart beat again.

 

I am hooked. I felt like a cruise expert! Next time I am going to order two desserts! :)

 

I am planning a cruise with my younger cousin. My older cousin wants to go and bring her son. I adore the kid, but they are not staying in our cabin! It's looking like a mexico cruise.. I really want to go to Grand Cayman or Belize but it's probably gonna be a short Cozumel one.

[Vegas Lobster]

Super review Patricia!!! We are sailing the Ecstacy in 13 days!!!! Love the pictures too!

[scgamecock]

Which cabin? I was E183.

 

If I cruise the ecstasy again I'd book it in a heart beat again.

 

I am hooked. I felt like a cruise expert! Next time I am going to order two desserts! :)

 

I am planning a cruise with my younger cousin. My older cousin wants to go and bring her son. I adore the kid, but they are not staying in our cabin! It's looking like a mexico cruise.. I really want to go to Grand Cayman or Belize but it's probably gonna be a short Cozumel one.

 

 

Oh cool. I'll be in E187 on 1/16 then U173 on 1/21. Got a killer FL resident $199 rate. I have never been in a 1A, but it's just me so I'm sure it'll be fine. Yes! cruising is addictive. I have sailed solo a few times and even though I am also very shy, I always seem to find some fun to get into by myself or with new friends I meet on the cruise. Hopefully, my luck will continue and I will meet some fun table-mates at dinner the first night to hang out with. Two desserts? Nah, but I frequently order 2 entrees and 2 appetizers! lol. You'll love the Western. There's a lot to do in Cozumel.

[BoooBooKitEFk]

Great review so far! Glad you decided to go solo... I did my first solo last year and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I too am rethinking my ATD choice at this point. I've always done assigned times and especially on a solo I think that might bode well for me, as I'd hate to either eat alone or be uncomfortable during every dinner. Although I am sailing the same time with friends, crashing their dinner each night isn't something I'd do either. I'm sure there's someone that would love to take my ATD spot. ;)

 

Right now I've got a bit of a pickle.. Yesterday my right foot started to swell on an excursion. Now my whole leg is swollen and painful. How weird!

 

Last year after one of my cruises, my legs were swollen terribly after I got home. It also happened to be the only cruise where I was still swaying for nearly a week after getting home (especially rough seas). I have no idea what caused the swelling, but it was definitely painful and not any fun at all. Hope it clears up for you soon, and can't wait to read more from you!

[Waihekean]

Hello, Patricia

Love!! photo reviews, so coming along for the arm chair ride.

I am not sorry about the BF, because unfaithful ones are useless ones;), so be glad you found out before it went much furher.

Very brave to go solo on first cruise. I am not shy, but could not afford to go solo. (much more dearer from here)

 

All the best and keep on smiling:D:D, you look like a lovely person.

[Hockey Addict]

My ankles got swollen then went to my legs on my first cruise. That was the only cruise that it happened on. I wonder if it is part of our "sea legs"?

 

Still loving the review! Its awesome! :D

[wendysue44]

Patricia,

 

I am sooooo looking forward to reading the rest of you review. We will be sailing on the Ecstasy in Febuary, and I am reading everything about her.;)

Thank you so much for sharing!!

[Chips-and-Salsa]

Enjoying your review. I had to do a double take because I am the shyest person I know, and my name is Tricia.

 

Thanks for taking the time for a review :)

[TriciaEMTB]

I awoke bright and early at 430. Checked my watch, and rolled over for some more blissful sleep on my little slice of heaven. If you haven't gotten the point yet, I loved the beds. Absolutely loved them. I was in pure bliss when I discovered the two pillows from the upper bunk were stored in the closet (I sleep with three pillows.)

 

I woke up again about 6:30/7:00. I got dressed and headed out to the lido for some juice. They had Apple, Orange, Guava Passion fruit cocktail or something. I tried the apple juice, I didn't care for it. I think the concentration was too strong. I usually love apple juice but this wasn't to my taste. I headed out to the outside deck.

 

WHOA! Windy! I was nearly knocked off my feet. The sun and sky was absolutely beautiful!

 

I tried to take some self pics. Can you tell it was REALLY windy?

 

 

After seeing how windy it was I decided I should really put my hair up. I went back to the cabin and took another shower (my hair poofs when put up dry.). I have to say the shower pressure was great but the temp fluctuated all cruise. Even during my shower. The body wash smelled amazing. I wish I could have taken it home with me.

 

I went down to breakfast. I was seated right away next to a mother and her adult daughter. We chatted a little bit, 'til other people in their party showed up and sat on the other side of them.

 

I ordered french toast, hash browns, breakfast ham, and orange juice. I guess my waiter didn't hear my request for hash browns because this is what I got:

 

I didn't like the french toast. Normally I love it, but this was made out of raisin bread. Maybe I missed that fact on the menu, but I don't care for raisins all that much. The ham was really tough to cut, but the flavor was good.

[TriciaEMTB]

I wandered around some more after breakfast, I did that a lot during the cruise. I was just in awe.

 

 

I'm really in love with this stair case. I loved going down it, I felt like a princess.

 

After that, I finally found out how to get to the serenity deck without going through the starlight lounge, which often was closed for private functions!

[TriciaEMTB]

After a little bit of relaxing, I went to Hila's gemstone seminar. Even though I only went for the free sapphire I never got, it was interesting and useful if I ever save enough for some nice jewelry on my $9/hr salary. If you've got nothing else to do, I'd recommend it, even if you're not really into buying jewelry.

 

When it was over I wandered in to the lido to try the 24 hour pizza. It was about 11. I grabbed a seat outside and sat down, ate some pizza and called my mom for another obligatory "I'm eating pizza on a boat, by the ocean. And it's free. Are you jealous? You should be." and then told her about my night.

 

The pizza was good, but I'm easy to please!

 

I got off the phone, turned around and saw THIS!

 

We were arriving in Nassau!

 

I was in love with this light house. I took a million pictures of it. I won't bore you with all of it but...

 

Holy crap! Four other ships in port today!

 

I realized how small the Ecstasy really was compared to the other gigantor ships. I kept getting lost, and my legs got tired from all the walking. I couldn't imagine being on the carnival destiny or good gosh, the Norwegian Epic! To me the epic doesn't even look like a ship, but a hotel on water.

[TriciaEMTB]

 

It took me awhile to figure out where to get off the ship, I couldn't remember where I embarked! The gangway is on deck 3 for anyone who doesn't know. It's only accessible by the forward elevators/stairs.

 

I think I'm a little too timid for Nassau. I walked out into the port, and was immediately bombarded by people offering tours and catamarans trips. I politely dodged them with a cheerful "No, thank you!" However when I got out into the market, they were a little more aggressive.

 

One young woman grabbed me and pulled me to the side, before I had a chance to say "No, thank you." she was putting a bracelet on my wrist and another in my hand. A blue and white one and a green white and brown one. She started telling me they were made by special education kids, and asking for a donation and telling me to be fair to the kids. I pulled out a $10 and gave it to her. She then asked for a donation for the other one. I thought the $10 covered them both! I ended up giving her a $5.

 

I kept walking and snapped a few pictures of Senor Frogs. Only one came out decently.

 

A Bahamian police officer!

[TriciaEMTB]

I kept walking and came across this guy!

 

I took a picture with him for $1

 

He told me he loves women, and asked how long I would be in Nassau, told him a couple of hours and asked for directions to the pirate museum. He told me to come find him after I was done and that he would be over in the straw market.. Yeah, okay buddy, I'll come find you!

 

He did warn me to take the long way and use the cross walk a little bit ahead. Glad I did, they drive CRAZY in Nassau. I suck at Frogger, i'd probably would have been run over.

 

BUT I made it! You have to buy your wrist band in the gift shop, it was $12.