Four Nights of Open Bar Ecstasy! A Pictorial Review.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Enjoying your review. We are sailing on Fantasy again this December and since there arent that many Fantasy picture reviews out there...I am getting my "fix" by reading Fantasy class reviews.

[wrigley80]

Love the review. Keep it coming. It is so nice to see reviews of the Ecstasy. I am so excited to be cruising on the Ecstasy in 2 1/2 months

[iloverags2]

Excellent pictures! I have not sailed on Carnival since they added the Serenity area. Is this an additional charge, or is it open to all adults?

 

Thanks!

[Roe95695]

Thank you for taking the time to write..

 

Layout looks very similar to the Facination - I am sure the are the same class but...

 

Thanks again.

[paper1122]

The Stripes disco. Unfortunately its far too small for the number of people that pack into it. The Fantasy Class discos used to be twice the size, but CCL converted the aft halves of them into meeting rooms several years ago.

 

 

 

It is funny you mention that. When I was on the Inspiration a few years back I remember thinking the Disco was not like it was when I sailed FC ships as a teenager. IIRC the DJ booth used to be in the center of the room.

 

That being said, on the recent cruises I've been on the dicso has never been packed, the piano bar has always been the more popular destination.

[cathyz]

Excellent pictures! I have not sailed on Carnival since they added the Serenity area. Is this an additional charge, or is it open to all adults?

 

Thanks!

All Carnival's Serenity areas are open to all adults free of charge.

[jamona2311]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! We sail a week from today and I'm starving for ecstasy reviews! :p;):D

[DarthGrady]

It is funny you mention that. When I was on the Inspiration a few years back I remember thinking the Disco was not like it was when I sailed FC ships as a teenager. IIRC the DJ booth used to be in the center of the room.

 

That being said, on the recent cruises I've been on the dicso has never been packed, the piano bar has always been the more popular destination.

 

It was the exact opposite on this one. The piano bar never had more than about 20 people, but the disco was full each night.

[Catbiri2]

Do they have Sushi on board? If so did you try it? How was it? I am just way to excited... October 18th can't come fast enough!!!!!! :)

[DarthGrady]

Most of the first afternoon was spent poolside, after begrudgingly attending the muster drill. Thankfully bar service was much better on Ecstasy than it was on Destiny during last year’s guys cruise. The memory gets a bit hazy, but I do recall making it to the dining room for a very good dinner. Although the flat iron steak seemed to be a little smaller and more fatty than I remember. Our serving team was very friendly and tolerant of our drunken ramblings. After dinner we occupied various bars and lounges. I vaguely recall a live band playing in Chinatown. We made it to the comedy show in the Punchliner Club that is held in the aft show lounge. The comic was okay, but the show was far from a laugh riot. I also ordered the Punchliner drink that I first had on Destiny last year. On Destiny it was a very tasty, smooth, sweet drink. On Ecstasy it was horribly acidic, and burned like hell fire. There would be no more of those wretched things.

 

Note to the lady that my friend nearly bowled over in the comedy club: Sorry, he felt bad about it the next day.

Poolside on Ecstasy. One pool. For 2300 people. Not the best idea in the history of cruising. At times you couldn't really "swim" in it, wading was the only option due to the capacity.

At the pool bar

 

The Windstar: One of the two main dining rooms.

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Do they have Sushi on board? If so did you try it? How was it? I am just way to excited... October 18th can't come fast enough!!!!!! :)

 

They do indeed. The counter is at the forward end of the promenade by the entrance to the casino. It was pretty good, the line gets very long though.

[DarthGrady]

By the time we woke up on day two we were already docked in Nassau. We drank our breakfast then headed ashore. As most of you well know, Bennigans restaurants are very nearly extinct here in the States save a few lingering franchisees. After I found out that one was alive and well in Nassau, it became a necessity that we visit it. We all jumped into a very small taxi and were shortly en route to a Bahamian shopping mall. I was surprised at how much like any other mall it was. I had pictured a slightly less touristy Straw Market. We made it to Bennigans and took our place at one of the many unused tables. We walked out after waiting ten minutes for drinks that never came. The bartender was still chatting with her two friends across the bars, which were also the only other people in the place. A total bust, and a real shame because I wanted a Monte Cristo! We rode a public bus back to the pier.

After a few Bahamian beers we went back onboard. Lunch in the Lido buffet was actually pretty good. They had a Caribbean themed line that had some delicious beef stew and seafood fritters. More good times were had poolside before the Captain’s dinner. The food at the Captain’s dinner was very good as usual. The lobsters seem to get smaller and smaller each time, but they were tasty.

Docked in Nassau, Thats the Fantasy parked behind us. I haven't seen them park one-behind-the-other before, I guess it works now that they extended the mooring points for Oasis and Allure.

 

Stop tailgating!

 

 

 

Nice ship Don.

 

[DarthGrady]

Crammed into the back of the world's smallest taxi.

 

 

 

Venturing through the Mall at Marathon

 

Found the Bennigans. The outside looked very nice, too bad the service didn't match it.

 

[DarthGrady]

We found our way to the Neon Piano Bar on the second evening, a favorite spot of mine on Carnival ships. The Ecstasy’s piano bar is decorated with many retro neon signs. Milby kept the small crowd going by playing the hits. My buddy and I (dubbed the “Carnival Ecstasy Men’s Choir” by Milby) had a great time singing along.

Note to Joe Farcus: This was the right way to use a lot of neon. It works as a whimsical theme for one room. It also works as an accent. It does not work as the primary light source of every room on every ship that you design.

We left there to go to the show in the main theater. This was a huge mistake. I hadn’t had the presence of mind to actually see what the show was; I just staggered along with my group. After the first two honky-tonk songs it became painfully obvious that they had no intentions of changing the music. Carnival would do well to keep their shows more relevant to the ship’s intended audience. I’m sure a show with only country music does very well with Texans. The cruising demographic from Florida tends to be a bit different. The whole fiasco was partially my fault, had I checked the Capers I would have known to steer clear. I walked out, along with many others. It was back to the piano bar for this city dweller. A few more boozy songs were followed by another visit to the late night comedy show.

 

The Neon Piano Bar

 

I had some great times at this bar!

 

Its hard to make out in the picture, but the sign on the back wall refers to Masa Yards, the shipyard that built the Fantasy Class ships. Most ships have a little plaque or gift aboard from the builder.

 

[DarthGrady]

We again woke up very late on Saturday. The ship was already at anchor off Half Moon Cay and the tendering process was ongoing. We drank our daily breakfast in the Lido buffet and made for a tender. Since we were so late we were able to walk right on. For those that aren’t aware, Half Moon Cay is the nicest private island in all of cruising. The beaches are absolutely perfect, which is high praise from a guy that would rather be in a pool. The bottom is flat and sandy with no rocks or seaweed to be found. There are just enough trees lining the waterfront to give shade to those that want it. There are tons of beach chairs and for-fee private cabanas. They serve lunch on the island, but the real draw for us was the conveniently located bars and roving waiters. Our open bar cards worked on the island, so we proceeded to party in the pristine waters. No one could ask for a nicer beach day, I was sorry to see it come to an end.

 

The buffet, our usual stop for breakfast

 

 

Half Moon Cay

 

The Shipwreck bar. A nice place to drink, plus it has a cool observation deck on top.

 

The best beach I've ever been to.

 

 

[falkcor]

Carnival would do well to keep their shows more relevant to the ship’s intended audience. I’m sure a show with only country music does very well with Texans.... It was back to the piano bar for this city dweller.

 

you know what happens when you assume... some of us would be right there with y'all (see how i did that) in the piano bar... signed, another city dweller. lol :cool:

 

Our open bar cards worked on the island, so we proceeded to party in the pristine waters.

 

very cool, always wondered if they'd work on hmc... that bodes well for the new drink package too i would think... :D

 

anyhow, carry on, still enjoying your review ;)

[DarthGrady]

But all was not lost. No cruise ship’s timetable would ruin our fun. We just took the party up to the pool deck and continued our merry making. Somehow we ended up at the casino bar with my portable speakers and iPod. I’m pretty sure all the passing people loved hearing whatever music I was playing. The evening brought more singing in the piano bar. Milby was the best piano man I have cruised with since Brad on Sensation in 2010.

Much later we found ourselves lying on the observation deck above the bridge listening to Pink Floyd. I had the brilliant idea to climb up to the observation deck above the gym. After making it half way on the first attempt and sliding back down, I made it up and over the second time. Success! Before anyone gets preachy about the dangers of said activity, the sloped wall in question is totally enclosed at the bottom by the observation deck’s exterior wall. So there is no chance of falling to a watery doom. There is a high chance of fun times though. This is evidenced by the “do not slide on wall” signage nearby. The many skid marks on the wall led me to believe that the sign should be more prominently placed.

 

Late night on the top deck

 

 

Fun times on the front wall

 

[DarthGrady]

you know what happens when you assume... some of us would be right there with y'all (see how i did that) in the piano bar... signed, another city dweller. lol :cool:

 

 

 

very cool, always wondered if they'd work on hmc... that bodes well for the new drink package too i would think... :D

 

anyhow, carry on, still enjoying your review ;)

 

I agree. And I wouldn't have thought twice about it if it were just a song or two. The fiddler they had was actually very good. I just couldn't take an entire show of boot scootin' boogies.:D

[DarthGrady]

Our last day on board was a mellow one. We woke up in time for lunch and made our way to the buffet. For the afternoon we again went poolside, and later tried out the ship’s water slides. We stopped by a trivia game on the Promenade, which went badly. Someone apparently suggested that the topic be cartoon trivia. Now normally I would be pretty competent at this. But for some reason the staff member decided to only include questions from lame Disney films and cartoon shows from the 1960s. I was expecting at least a few about South Park, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Superjail, Futurama, Family Guy, Beavis and Butt Head, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Sea Lab 2021 or Squidbillies. You know, the good stuff.

Carnival’s nightly free sushi is one of the biggest things I miss when I cruise with Royal Caribbean. We each had several plates and it was delicious. We all went to the show in the main theater, which was a lot better than the honky-tonk nightmare they put us through on the second night. Our last dinner in the dining room was bittersweet. The food was good as usual. But knowledge of our trip being nearly over tinged the occasion with sadness. Luckily we still had our booze cards to numb the pain. After a while I forgot what night it was and all was well again.

I also figured out on this night that if you down a Rockstar energy drink with each Amstel Light it belays the eventual tiredness that comes along with serious boozing. Obviously a secret of the pros. After one last jovial visit to the piano bar we attended the comedy show. Later, we spent some time watching a few cretins fighting outside of the disco. As with most nights, we wound up in the buffet for the late night pizza. As we entered there was another fellow being carted away in a wheelchair, bloodied and surrounded by security officers. Obviously another brawler with self-control issues.

We finally made it to the main dining room on the last morning for some delicious eggs benedict. The debarkation process went very fast, we were off the ship in a matter of minutes. The ship pulled up to the new terminal at Port Canaveral and it is very nice. All in all it had been one of the most fun cruises I have yet been on. I was sorry to see it end, but I’m certainly looking forward to next year.

A few last day shots

 

 

[DGP1111]

. . . We left there to go to the show in the main theater. This was a huge mistake. I hadn’t had the presence of mind to actually see what the show was; I just staggered along with my group. After the first two honky-tonk songs it became painfully obvious that they had no intentions of changing the music. Carnival would do well to keep their shows more relevant to the ship’s intended audience. I’m sure a show with only country music does very well with Texans. The cruising demographic from Florida tends to be a bit different. The whole fiasco was partially my fault, had I checked the Capers I would have known to steer clear. I walked out, along with many others.

 

Grady:

Definitely sounds like you are describing the production show titled 'Country'. Carnival apparently agrees with you, as the show you were in (briefly) was the very last time that show will ever appear on the Carnival Ecstasy stage. Also, all those performers left the ship the same day you did, and a new troupe arrived on the scene.

I had lunch in Nassau with several of the performers who were onboard with you, and they were in their final days of contract. The production shows on Ecstasy have been completely replaced, and from what they described you might have seen quite a bit of construction going on in the main theatre. The Country production had zero sets and just a few props, since everything had been removed for almost two weeks. It was compared to being like a very high quality high school production. Yikes.

 

.

[DarthGrady]

Some random pics that didn't fit into the review anywhere

 

The Gym

 

The Spa

 

Photo gallery area

 

Elevator Lobby

 

 

Art Gallery

[DGP1111]

. . . Much later we found ourselves lying on the observation deck above the bridge listening to Pink Floyd. I had the brilliant idea to climb up to the observation deck above the gym. After making it half way on the first attempt and sliding back down, I made it up and over the second time. Success!

 

I'm kinda drawing a blank on where you are describing. Is this that area just outside the mini golf courses??

 

.

[DarthGrady]

And so endeth the review. Hope you enjoyed it, and as always please feel free to ask any questions.

 

[falkcor]

Fun times on the front wall

 

 

lmao, that is hilarious... when i said in the beginning i was wondering what sort of trouble you got into this time... no exaggeration i see!!! i like how your crew rolls :cool:

 

I agree. And I wouldn't have thought twice about it if it were just a song or two. The fiddler they had was actually very good. I just couldn't take an entire show of boot scootin' boogies.:D

 

oh no doubt, i would have texas two stepped (i don't actually know how to do that, btw) about face and right outta there. lol

 

And so endeth the review. Hope you enjoyed it, and as always please feel free to ask any questions.

 

bravo! well done as always... i've missed your carnival reviews, and must admit i spent hours reading your freedom and allure reviews the weekend after my last cruise... (pcd) looks pretty amazing, and well done with those too, as always... ;)

 

and... i need to figure out how to get on one of these booze cruises :D

[mj]

Great review.