Mom's Sailing Into Sixty! A Carnival Ecstasy Review 2/1-2/5

[SunshineCruiser24]

Hey folks! This is Trish and I'm waiting to debark the Carnival Ecstasy after a fun filled and very special cruise! I'm gonna take a crack at a review!

 

First, I'd like to say SORRY! to anyone who was on board with me and had to deal with the wheelchair. If I crashed into you, I'm super sorry. If you crashed into me because I stopped suddenly, please forgive me!

 

Second, this was a very special cruise. It was not only my mom's 60th birthday but it was her first ever REAL vacation! That's right folks, I had a cruise virgin on my hand!

 

Here's the monkey wrench! My mom has mobility limitations! She has a slew of health problems. Her gait can be unsteady at times and painful over long distances! She's not had to walk a lot in a long time. Lucky lady she is, she has me at home to take care of her! Shopping trips for her are exhausting and painful and are about the most walking she does. She does use a cane but we thought it better and safer for all to use a wheelchair for the cruise.

 

Watch out, though! I'm a new driver on this thing! We really should have done a few dry runs with the wheelchair but how hard could it be?

 

Really hard! I had a few issues but we worked it out.

 

First, the players! Hi! I'm Trish. I'm 27 years old and I'm a dispatcher and EMT! I've been cruising at least once a year since 2011, twice in 2014 and if all goes to plan twice in 2016! Mostly on Carnival, a few on Royal and at the end of the year I'm taking the plunge into Norwegian!

 

 

This is my lovely mother. She turned 60 on embarkation day. She raised me as a single mother and always put my needs in front of her own and because of this she never got the chance to treat herself to a vacation. She has multiple medical issues and was cautious but excited! The first issue we had to tackle was her insulin! My mom takes levamir once a day and I was flipping out over how we were going to keep it cool! Turns out per their website it's good out of refrigeration for up to 42 days once opened! Unless we get lost at sea we are good! Phew!

 

Carnival does offer medi coolers but requires a 70 dollar deposit, yikes! That's cruising money!

 

 

I booked this cruise a week before Mother's Day last year with the intention of revealing it on Mother's Day but my excitement was too much. 25 minutes after booking, I texted my mom a screen shot of the cruise schedule. "Okay?" "We're going on a cruise!" "Ok." WHAT?!?

 

Apparently she was in shock. The count down was loooooong but we made it!

 

Our vacation started January 31st with the four hour drive from Orlando to Miami! I'd booked a hotel so my mom didn't have to wake up at 6am on her birthday. I worked til 1230 and zoomed home to grab her and zoom off to Miami!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cruising with the family]

Excited to hear about the ship. We are cruising on her at the end of this month out of Charleston!

[heymom]

Great start! Hope you had a great time😀

 

 

Hey folks! This is Trish and I'm waiting to debark the Carnival Ecstasy after a fun filled and very special cruise! I'm gonna take a crack at a review!

 

First, I'd like to say SORRY! to anyone who was on board with me and had to deal with the wheelchair. If I crashed into you, I'm super sorry. If you crashed into me because I stopped suddenly, please forgive me!

 

Second, this was a very special cruise. It was not only my mom's 60th birthday but it was her first ever REAL vacation! That's right folks, I had a cruise virgin on my hand!

 

Here's the monkey wrench! My mom has mobility limitations! She has a slew of health problems. Her gait can be unsteady at times and painful over long distances! She's not had to walk a lot in a long time. Lucky lady she is, she has me at home to take care of her! Shopping trips for her are exhausting and painful and are about the most walking she does. She does use a cane but we thought it better and safer for all to use a wheelchair for the cruise.

 

Watch out, though! I'm a new driver on this thing! We really should have done a few dry runs with the wheelchair but how hard could it be?

 

Really hard! I had a few issues but we worked it out.

 

First, the players! Hi! I'm Trish. I'm 27 years old and I'm a dispatcher and EMT! I've been cruising at least once a year since 2011, twice in 2014 and if all goes to plan twice in 2016! Mostly on Carnival, a few on Royal and at the end of the year I'm taking the plunge into Norwegian!

 

 

This is my lovely mother. She turned 60 on embarkation day. She raised me as a single mother and always put my needs in front of her own and because of this she never got the chance to treat herself to a vacation. She has multiple medical issues and was cautious but excited! The first issue we had to tackle was her insulin! My mom takes levamir once a day and I was flipping out over how we were going to keep it cool! Turns out per their website it's good out of refrigeration for up to 42 days once opened! Unless we get lost at sea we are good! Phew!

 

Carnival does offer medi coolers but requires a 70 dollar deposit, yikes! That's cruising money!

 

 

I booked this cruise a week before Mother's Day last year with the intention of revealing it on Mother's Day but my excitement was too much. 25 minutes after booking, I texted my mom a screen shot of the cruise schedule. "Okay?" "We're going on a cruise!" "Ok." WHAT?!?

 

Apparently she was in shock. The count down was loooooong but we made it!

 

Our vacation started January 31st with the four hour drive from Orlando to Miami! I'd booked a hotel so my mom didn't have to wake up at 6am on her birthday. I worked til 1230 and zoomed home to grab her and zoom off to Miami!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MrsPhoenix91]

First thing...you have a Jewel of a mother.

2nd thing...you are a Great daughter for taking your mother on a cruise.

 

That is all :D Looking forward to your review...my hubby and I loved the Ecstasy!

[SunshineCruiser24]

 

We hit the road about 2 and got into Miami a little after 6pm. I booked the Best Western Plus Miami Airport North. It was a little over $150 for the night with taxes and fees and it had a continental breakfast. What I didn' know was that the hotel ofers a cruise port shuttle and parking. It wasn't listed on their site. I'd already booked off site parking but I asked the rates. $6 per car per day. Couldn't beat that, I'll know for next time!

 

 

The neighborhood wasn't that great and honestly I was so done with driving that we decided just to order pizza for dinner. I HATE driving in Miami. I get really nervous in traffic. I white knuckled the steering wheel. My mom was trying to be helpful "Oh, that's your exit!" and I'm just like "Mom I know! I got it!"

 

 

The only pizza option seemed to be a place called Big Tomato Pizza. It was affiliated with the hotel. We ordered a large pizza, bread and a two liter of soda.

 

This... is their 'large'

 

 

It was tasty, yes, but thank goodness we got the bread! That's tiny! It also came on a paper plate, wrapped in paper.. not even a box!

[SunshineCruiser24]

Can someone tell me how to make my pictures smaller? I'm udinh photobucket.

[Sophia2007]

Let me tell you that it means a lot to your mother for you to recognize her on her birthday with this special treat of a vacation! I hope you both have a super wonderful time!:)

[boaterette]

I am enjoying your review. Hope you figure out how to make the pictures smaller. Looking forward to more.

[cruiserNC]

Enjoying your review. I was raised by a single mom so I can relate to that love. Looking forward to more.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SunshineCruiser24]

(Okay guys!! I'm back and I've figured out how to make the pictures more manageable!)

 

We awoke what I consider a reasonable hour the next day (8, but my mom will still tell you that this is FAR too early.) We showered and I was pleased to discover the hotel had one of those fancy showers where the water feels like it's rain. They have shampoo and conditioner that smelled amazing and was fixed to the wall so you couldn't abscond with it. Off to breakfast we went!

 

 

The breakfast was adequate. It had your normal hotel offerings plus a weird little pancake maker. Personally I prefer when the hotels have waffles... I love me a good waffle! The pancake thing is where you push a button and the machine spits it out. I found the pancakes to have a weird almost rubbery texture.

 

After breakfast we popped back up to the room to re-pack our bag and lugged everything down to the lobby, checked out and loaded up the car. I was pretty disappointed in the weather, it hardly looked like a good day to take a cruise.

 

 

I hate driving in Miami! I was white knuckling the steering wheel the entire way there! We parked at Premier Cruise Parking which was easy to find. It's in an actual covered parking garage although the spaces are tight (Which gives me anxiety because I swear my depth perception is shot.)

 

It also worked against me, because as I was pulling the suitcases out of the back seat and I accidentally smacked the adjacent car with the biggest, heaviest one and just my luck.. the owners of said car were standing at the shuttle, looking at me.

 

After a frantic check to make sure their car was undamaged, I scampered up the slope of the parking garage to apologize profusely and assure them there was no damage. They weren't mad and we had a laugh about it. Into the shuttle we went! I'm incredibly thankful for all the people who lugged Mom's wheelchair into the back of their car/bus/taxi. I can't thank these people enough.

 

She won't admit it but she's psyched! We arrived at the port and I was met with a very pushy porter who pretty much suggested that we better tip him if we wanted our bags to arrive intact, not in so many words but the implication was definitely there. I don't tip when people ask for a tip. That's my rule of thumb and this porter got fixed with an icy stare and a flounce as I wheeled Mom off to check in.

 

She was amazed at how much I apparently knew about the check in process ("How do you know where to go?" Uhhhmmm.. I think I've done this before ;-) ) One thing I had major anxiety about before the trip is handling my mom's wheelchair, a carry on full of soda and a tote bag. People insisted that the people at the port would push my mom and I didn't have to worry. It turns out this is only true if you use one of their wheelchairs. I was on my own!

 

Thankfully my suitcase rolled easy. I had two 12 packs of soda tucked in there and didn't want all that weight on my mom's legs so I pushed the wheelchair and pulled the carry on. It was difficult, but I managed right up until we got on the actual gangway. The incline was pretty steep but the gangway staff was happy to assist and thankfully Mom was able to stand and take some steps.

 

I did get caught up on one of the high thresholds between the elevator bank and the walkway on the promenade. I think needing help really embarrassed my mom because try as I might, I couldn't get her over. The look on her face told me that she was having second thoughts and probably wanted to run right out of the ship and back to the car. I felt awful and was nearly in tears by the time I wheeled her into the buffet.

 

 

( Note.. For some reason CC makes my pics huge. They've been resized to something manageable and CC still insists on blowing them up.)

Edited March 2, 2016 by SunshineCruiser24

[SunshineCruiser24]

I found it easiest throughout the cruise to take my mom to a table and then bounce off to get us food. I'd get her something to eat first and then wander off for my own meal. We were on the ship really early, one of the first to board due to needing 'special assistance' although there was really very little assistance.

 

As I trot off to stand in line my mom tries to offer me her wallet. "Why?" "To pay for lunch!" I wave her off while grinning "It's all included!"

 

I got my mom some sort of pasta and some sort of meat and a glass of lemonade. Once she was settled in... It.. was....time! I've been waiting SO long for this! I rushed off to get in a very short line for the wok! My last cruise was on a Royal ship and while I adore Royal and Carnival each in their own way, Royal does NOT have a wok!

 

I was buzzing with anticipation as I piled my bowl full of noodles and veggies. Some guy commented "This is the shortest you'll see the line all cruise!" And he wasn't joking! "I know!" I replied eagerly as I tonged more bamboo shoots into my overflowing bowl. "I've love this place!" I hand over my bowl while chirping out "Thai Barbecue! Please!" and it wasn't long before I had a steamy bowl of goodness waiting for me.

 

 

Aaaah.. It's love I tell you.. Love! I scarf the bowl down fast and consider going back for a second helping while my mom marvels at the fact everything aside from alcohol and soda is included in our very reasonable fare (That I paid for all myself. Thank you sixty hour work weeks!)

 

Deciding against indulging a second helping, we petter off to explore the rest of the ship. I wheel her around the promenade, through the various lounges and up and down the glass elevators (that honestly sounded like they were dying.)

 

We amuse ourselves by rolling the decks for a good hour and a half. By the time we are worn out, the rooms are about to be ready and we head down to the Upper deck where we'll be staying. This is my first time in an ocean view and little does my mom know that I've arranged to have it decorated. The embarrassment from earlier still fresh on her mind, she doesn't smile as we approach our cabin.

 

U120. Found it! I slide in the key card and the room opens. My mom stands up from the wheelchair and walks in. As I'm collapsing said wheelchair so I can bring it in the cabin I hear a gasp!

 

 

 

 

 

She's really impressed with the decorations. She thinks they're cute and is over the moon that I surprised her. I even caught a smile.

 

 

Someone's excited!! The room decorations came with a streamer thingy that hung from the ceiling, a cake, a banner across the window, a mirror cling and a sticker she could wear. I moseyed on over and tried to stick the sticker on her shirt several times but Mom eventually just threw the sticker out.

Edited March 2, 2016 by SunshineCruiser24

[cruiserNC]

Glad you are back. That is so nice what you did for your mother.

 

 

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[RutgersKittyn]

Trish, really enjoying your review and following along. I love cruising with "first-timers," who are exploring everything new; their excitement really is contagious. That's awesome that you got to share this vacation with your mom. Looking forward to your next installment!

[cruiseita]

Hi,

 

What a great surprise for your mom. We are going on the Ecstasy April 15th for 5 days, stopping at Freeport and Nassau. Look forward to the rest of your posts. Do you have a copy of the daily Fun Times Newsletters? I am anxious to see what we are in store for.

 

-Niki.

[redsox427]

First, it is great that you took your mother on a cruise. We are doing a family gathering in the next few weeks on the Ecstasy as well.

 

We had a question about the photo packages on the ship if you can remember. My wife and I have cruised before with Carnival, but it has been a few years. I understand they have an unlimited photo package we can buy for $350, but we need to select it by the first couple of days. Is this available on the Ecstasy?? Thanks.

[sun_lovin!1]

Hi Trish and thanks for this review. I'm taking my mom on the Ecstasy in August. She is 80, has mobility issues and hasn't been on a cruise in 10 years. I know it won't be easy but I'm certain it will be worth every effort! Can't wait to read the rest of your review!

[RuthlessBoss]

Hi Trish and thanks for this review. I'm taking my mom on the Ecstasy in August. She is 80, has mobility issues and hasn't been on a cruise in 10 years. I know it won't be easy but I'm certain it will be worth every effort! Can't wait to read the rest of your review!

 

And while we wait for the rest, readers might recognize her as the writer of "Shy Girl Goes to Sea" and one other under the name Trish EMT. They make good reads:):)

[rdmurray]

Come back! We want to read more.

[Clarea]

What a nice thing to do for your mom, and thanks for the review.

[sanmarcosman]

Thanks for the report.

KIRK

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.