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A (no longer Solo!) Fashionista Review of the Carnival Ecstasy


lara_lox
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How do I "subscribe" to a thread? I can not figure it out. :):confused:

 

Well, by posting in a thread, you become subscribed... If you like a thread and want to subscribe, but do not want to post, up top there is a pull down menu under Thread Tools, then you click subscribe.

 

Then, you can go to the top of the page and pull down Quick Links, then select subscribed threads, and then it will show you a list of just the threads you are subscribed to, making it easier to find threads, especially if they are a page or two down the list...

Edited by reerun25
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Being that I've been on all your solo cruises with you (in spirit, through your reviews), I sort of feel like you're an old friend and I am genuinely happy for you that you found someone special and go solo no more. :D

 

When I first decided to go solo myself, I started reading your reviews and was inspired to enough bravery to book the first one. I've never looked back since then. I am curious to know how it went with someone else though. At this point, I'm a little put off when a friend wants to go. Too spoiled with doing my own thing all the time. I guess I'll read on and see.

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Day 3 – Cozumel

 

Today we docked in Cozumel, but not until the afternoon, so we finally had the chance for a lie in and to catch up on some sleep. So of course we woke up early! We enjoyed sitting on the balcony whilst we came round then headed up on deck for some breakfast. We each had the made to order omlettes, which were really good, far better than the buffet offerings. We wandered round the ship and checked out the photos from last night, then it was time for a cruise activity I’ve never done before, but M loves…. BINGO!

 

Because it’s played on deck I was able to take advantage of the good weather and sunbathe whilst she played. It was $20 for 3 cards and strips of instant win pull tabs. Unfortunately she didn’t win anything. We also partook in a sneaky cocktail (yes before lunch, naughty girls!) to get us into the Mexican spirit! It was actually too hot to enjoy sitting out though, so we moved to the shade to cool down. Even though we were still at sea, we had no trouble finding either premium spot sun loungers or shaded areas to sit. After an early start we tried to nap but every time I dozed off, I started coughing, grrrrrr. Didn’t my body know I was on holiday so it was allowed to be sick?! I returned to my favourite spot of the deli for lunch, which was as good as always, whilst M tried the Mongolian Wok and had a stir-fry. It smelt nice and she said it was tasty.

 

This led us perfectly up to docking in Cozumel. We had already decided what we wanted to do today – hit the beach and sunbathe! Because we only had half a day there it didn’t seem worth paying a lot to go to one of the popular all inclusive resorts, instead we met up with a guy we had been chatting on the ship and caught a taxi to Paradise Beach. Once you walked out of the port area consisting of the usual duty free and souvenir shops, there were taxis waiting, with price boards for all the main destinations. It was $14 each way to Paradise Beach, and took about 10-15 minutes to get there. You pay $3 each for a wristband, then you get to use the pool complex and beach with loungers. We actually preferred the pool area over the beach, which was made of coarse, shell sand, so set up camp there. After a while a staff member came over to give us our wristbands. We had been a bit confused as we had expected to pay and get these as we entered, but still it wasn't exactly difficult. We were in close proximity of the small bar, which also served food, and there were pleasant garden areas too. The place was almost empty! It was a nice big pool, very clean, with plenty of loungers and large, clean bathrooms. Cocktails were $8.50 each and beers $4.50. We had a few as we lazed away the afternoon sunbathing and dipping in the pool. We left when the sun started to go down at about 4-5pm, and the resort closed shortly after. There were plenty of taxis lined up outside waiting to take us back to the port. We said goodbye to our friend and messed about in the port area taking pictures and watching a beautiful sunset.

 

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Back in our cabin we called up to ordered today’s gift that M had surprised me with, chocolate strawberries! We enjoyed these and our wine on the balcony. We really enjoyed having the balcony, and made good use of it. Travelling alone, I rarely had one, as it’s not so fun by yourself! But together we found it the perfect place to have some alone time and enjoy each other’s company. Some of the best times were just the two of us chatting and drinking out there.

 

We were really hungry by now, but it was too late to get a snack and too long to wait for dinner. We decided to skip the main dining room tonight and order room service. We shared a BLT, grilled cheese sandwich and veggies with a blue cheese dip. We didn’t hear it arrive from the balcony, and when I went to call up to see where it was, there was a note pushed under the door, so I had to call back to get it reordered. The food did the trick and we went to bed for a nap. This meant we ended up getting ready for the evening much later than planned. Tonight was the Mexican deck party, so I wore a new multicoloured maxi dress with flat tan coloured sandals.

 

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We went up on deck and as the stage area was packed, sat at the rum bar instead, where we drank cocktails and watched the usual line dances taking place. Both of our voices were going, M’s to the extent where she could only whisper, so we were happy just watching from somewhere a little quieter. It suddenly started to rain really hard so we watched as everyone ran screaming for shelter! There was a Mexican buffet being served so we grabbed a selection of everything and sat inside to eat it. The food was ok and a reasonable snack but not amazing. We made it to the club just before midnight, in time for a celebratory Fireball as it became my birthday. We had a more chilled out evening in the club, sitting in the lounge area of it, chatting to our new friends as best as we could with our limited voices! I danced briefly but wasn't feeling it tonight so we headed to bed, leaving the celebrations for tomorrow.

 

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Day 4 - At Sea

 

Happy Birthday to me! We woke up having finally managed a decent sleep. I was craving a decent coffee so I ran up to the Java café and also picked up a few little pastries from the buffet to take back to the cabin. We had the Do Not Disturb sign on our door so I was surprised to hear a knock. It was a gift from a good friend back home, with a touching little note. She had liaised with M in order to get me a bottle of fizz for us to celebrate. My friends know me so well! Over coffee and cake I opened the birthday cards I’d brought with me and was given a beautiful watch by M. I got rather emotional over everything, so there was only one thing for it….A Bloody Mary! We went on deck where I got my drink, and a mimosa for M, to tide us over whilst she played another game of bingo. The drinks are on offer for $5 each every morning. I messed about showing off my lovely watch and posing!

 

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Today was the only Sea Day Brunch in the dining room, and we had been looking forward to it. It was more lunch time now, so we had salmon Eggs Benedict, which were excellent, a good bacon mac n cheese, corned beef hash, and I finally got round to trying the hen alla diavola. We used our drinks coupons to get another Bloody Mary each, and the chicken actually tasted rather similar to this, plus it was very salty, so although it was tasty, it was rather strange! The pastries we were brought were better than the ones I’d got from the buffet, fresher and nicer. We took our time over our meal and had a good chat.

 

After brunch we chilled in the shade at Serenity, reading. It was nice and peaceful and the padded sofas are comfy so it makes a good spot for adults to relax. We whiled away the afternoon doing this before taking a nap and forcing ourselves to pack as we got ready for the evening. Although it was the last night, there was no way I wasn’t dressing up for my birthday so I wore some gorgeous new Kurt Geiger heels that were a birthday gift from my mum, with black skinny jeans and a black sequinned strappy top, and a new black clutch bag.

 

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We took the bottle of fizz that my friend had gifted me to the Metro bar at the casino, to enjoy over some people watching. We had a snack from Taste bar, which I think was sampling food from Carnival’s specialty Italian restaurant, despite the Ecstasy only having the standard MDR’s. Again I thought how I liked this ship better than I had expected, but the lack of specialty restaurants was something we both really missed. The food was fine, but nothing to get overly excited about, and because we love to eat, we would have liked a ‘special’ meal, particularly for my birthday. For dinner today none of the entrees really appealed to me, so instead I have several appetisers. We ordered another bottle of fizz, the first time ordered a bottle of wine in the MDR, seeing as dinner didn’t tend to last that long, and it arrived promptly. I had broccoli soup, tomato & mozzarella salad, sushi, then the crab cake. They were all very good and I was pleased with my decision to order this way. M had the French onion soup, broccoli soup, sushi, and the seafood pasta entree. Her appetisers were nice but she didn’t eat much of the pasta though. I received another Happy Birthday from the wait staff, in the form of an apple pie! I like that they don’t bring you birthday cake any more, because I’m not a fan of it and feel bad when it gets wasted, so I prefer one of the standard deserts. However, I really wanted a warm melting chocolate cake, so M ordered one for me! Hey, it was birthday, I could eat as much as I wanted!

 

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After dinner we took the remainder of our bottle of fizz with us and watched the comedy show. It was the same guy as before but a different act. Each time we went the lounge was full up, but we found the same couple each time who let us share their booth. We headed back to our standard late destination of the club, where we sat outside waiting for the good music to start! Until 11 or 12ish, it was usually a themed playlist, like the 80’s or something. This was a good idea to cater to different demographics and different musical tastes, but not what we wanted to dance to! As we waited we saw several people dressed in the bathrobes from their cabin! The club has a bathrobe party on the last night, which is a pretty good idea, as it means people can stay out late without having to leave aside when they put put their suitcases out, or as I have done in the past, run back to change and put my case out by the 1am deadline. Needless to say, there isn’t a hope in hell of this Fashionista passing up on an outfit opportunity and wearing a bathrobe to the club! Also, I’m tiny and the robes they provide swamp me, so I trip over the hem and have the sleeves dangling past my hands like a little kid dressing up in Mum’s clothing, haha!

 

The club was banging for the last night! I guess with it being a short cruise, everyone wanted to make the most of every night we had on ship. I had fun hanging out with all our new friends, and dancing away. Unfortunately poor M’s breathing was bad so she couldn’t dance with me as much as she would have liked, but we had a great evening, and a very, very late night.

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Those shoes are baaaaaaaaad !!!! You had me googling Kurt Geiger, as I had never heard of that brand. I'm hooked now!

 

As a fellow fashionista, I agree about wearing a bathrobe to a club. So not ever going to happen.

 

Glad you had a great time on the Ecstasy for your 30th birthday. I was on the Disney Magic for my 30th and I celebrated my 40th on the Caribbean Princess last September. Birthday cruises are the best!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Day 5 – Home

 

Bleughhhhhhhhhhhh! Will I never learn? Despite drinking loads of water alongside my alcohol last night I woke up extremely tired and rough this morning. M got up before me and made the most of our balcony for the last time by watching us sail back into Miami. We didn’t bother with breakfast, just got our last remaining belongings together ready to leave. Our time to disembark was 9.30-10am. We completely forgot that we had to be out of our cabin by 8am, but because we were at the end of our corridor, we were just about to leave as our cabin steward came to prepare the room for the next guests.

 

I stopped by guest services to pay my onboard account off with some cash I had left over, and unusually there was no line at all. The same was true for getting off the ship, we walked straight off with no wait. Security was also very quick and easy and we were soon curbside, looking for our shuttle back to the parking lot. Representatives were waiting for us, clearly identifiable by stickers on their shirts. The bus was already full, but we only had to wait 5 minutes for the next one. However, this drove a couple of loops around the port to all the other ships, despite no-one else getting on! Still, we made it back to our car quickly and easily and again agreed that it was worth using this service. The only downside was that unbeknownst to us, M’s seat on the bus was wet so she ended up having to change her pants before our drive home :eek: That’s another great thing about travelling with someone else, it’s not only me that daft things happen to lol! In fact, come to think of it, this was probably my least disastrous cruise yet! As my previous readers will know, I usually get myself into all sorts of mishaps! Maybe M is my good luck charm :)

 

So that’s it guys, another trip complete. Non-solo cruising went far smoother than I had ever imagined in the past, but I guess this is because I was lucky enough to find the yin to my yang, someone who thinks similarly to me and most importantly, loves to cruise too. It was another experience, and showed me new sides and different perspectives to cruising that I didn’t have alone. It must have gone well, we just booked our next one! We will have come a full circle and will be returning to the Sunshine, where it all began, to celebrate our year anniversary. So until next time, thanks for reading everyone, happy cruising :D

 

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Great review. I wish it wasn't over. Glad to see you had a great time. Ecstasy is a great ship. It is one on the more upbeat party ships. Probably because of the shorter itineraries.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. Enjoy your future Carnival sailings.:cool:

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It's so good to see another review from you. I just love your zest for life, and how you always look so happy and cute. I am glad that you have found the one for you! I can't wait to read more.

 

I had to edit in order to add that I am looking forward to the cute clothes and shoes you wear! I used to wear those kind of heels when I was young, so let's have some fashion, because I know you have it going on. :D

Edited by INCHARGE
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I have to apologize, because I wrote my above post after reading just your introduction post. When I went back, I saw all those nice outfits that you already posted! That is a sharp gold and black dress you had on for formal night. I liked M's dress, and her shoes were fierce! Those black shoes you had on for your birthday are just "too sharp!" Tell your mom she can ship this old lady in. Virginia a pair of those. I don't wear high shoes anymore, but even I would try those. So cute!

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I have to apologize, because I wrote my above post after reading just your introduction post. When I went back, I saw all those nice outfits that you already posted! That is a sharp gold and black dress you had on for formal night. I liked M's dress, and her shoes were fierce! Those black shoes you had on for your birthday are just "too sharp!" Tell your mom she can ship this old lady in. Virginia a pair of those. I don't wear high shoes anymore, but even I would try those. So cute!

 

They are amazing aren't they? KG do fabulous shoes, and the best thing is that even the really high heels are still surprisingly comfortable and easy to walk in. Winner :D

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Nice photo.:):):)

 

So pleased you've found someone to enjoy your cruises with. I did another last minute solo cruise last month on the Jade with my new buddy, UBP.

 

Let's do a curry again next time I'm in your neck of the woods.

 

Hey stranger! Thanks :) I like the sound of your new buddy too lol! And just let me know if you're ever about and we will see what we can do, it's always good to meet up with an old cruise pal

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Hey stranger! Thanks :) I like the sound of your new buddy too lol! And just let me know if you're ever about and we will see what we can do, it's always good to meet up with an old cruise pal

Used the Lara_Lox tried and trusted "lets have a solos meet up in a bar before dinner on the first night"!!! One girl said that was a great idea, as on a previous solo cruise, the only person she spoke with all week (apart from the stateroom attendant) was her mum who she phoned as she was lonely.

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