Ecstasy review

[hilldeccaside]

Just returned from our family reunion cruise on the Ecstasy. Let me just say that we had a WONDERFUL TIME. We had 24 people in our group ages 3 to 70.

 

EMBARKATION ~ This went extremely smooth. We left our hotel at 11:00 and were on board eating by noon. Galveston really has this thing down. We stayed at a hotel that took us to the port so we did not have to park our cars at port we left them at the hotel.

 

Day 2 ~ The first day at sea was a windy one. The water was a tiny bit rough, but only one in our party got seasick. It was too windy to play golf or basketball but we all sat around the pool and sunbathed and drank those wonderful Carnival drinks. Only the 3 year old went to camp carnival and she had a blast. The other kids split into to small groups and did what they wanted. Many in our group did not think that dressing up and going to dinner would be something that they would enjoy but decided to give it a try. We all ended up eating in the dining room every night. The wait staff put on a show of some type for every dinner. The food was good but nothing to get excited about. Some of us went and saw the show that evening and some went to the casino. The show was very good.

 

Day 3 ~ Wednesday we went to Progresso. I had been to Progresso on a cruise 3 years ago and was not very happy to be going back, but I was pleasantly surprised. We went on our own to Carona Beach. I cant see why anybody would pay to go to the beach there. The kids swam and we had guacamole and beer all day. The beach is not as nice as those in Cozumel, but it was a TON better than the beach in Galveston. Most of the kids, there were 10 of them, had never seen a beach before, and they had so much fun. After the beach we went back to the small shopping area and bought a few trinkets before taking the bus back to the ship. We all had a good time there.

 

Day 4 ~ We got to Cozumel and left the ship as soon as possible. We all took cabs and went to Paradise Beach. A fantastic place. We bought the bracelets for $8.00 and played on the iceburg trampoline and kayacs that are there to use. 5 of us took a one hour snorkeling tour from the beach for $35.00 each. It was terrific. After we left the beach we had about 2 hours to shop and all us girls got a new ring. Then back to the boat. The country music show was that night and it is really good.

 

Day 5 ~ Last day at sea. The water was as smooth as glass on the way home. We all laid around the pool and relaxed. It was fun to watch the pool games. We also went to see the newlywed game. This is the funniest thing, dont miss this if you go on a cruise. After dinner we all packed our bags and went shopping on the ship. After the kids went to bed some of us adults went to the casino. I won 500 dollars that nite. YEA!!!

 

Disembarkation ~ This took forever. Because of the terror scare while we were out at sea the customs was very tight. This may account for the amount of time it took us to get out of the port of Galveston.

 

All in all it was a fantastic vacation. Made all the more fun by the amount of people in our party. Two things that I think you should know if you are going on this cruise. One this ship is extremely cold. I froze every time I went to dinner or to a show. Plan on bringing something to keep you warm. Two there is not nearly enough time in the ports of call. If you mainly want to shop then I would not plan on anything else in Cozumel. Progresso you have enough time to do both.

One other suggestion to Carnival is why not have the option of paying $100.00 extra dollars and being able to get all the pictures that you want. They take a million pictures but they are so expensive that about 75% of them do not get bought. I guess they just throw them away? What a waste.

Leslie

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the nice review hilldeccaside! And I as a single dad agree about the photos!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JGB]

Leslie,

 

Great review thank you----we are going next week! The 26 Aug sailing.

A couple of Q's. Did you happen to notice the type of slots and vid pok that they had< any specifics would be appreciated. Also did any one in your group use the spa? If so how was it?

 

Well Done on your casino win!

 

John

 

We are doing cozumel first I wonder why the change.

[GinnyJ]

Thank you for writing such a well thought out review!

Can you tell me more about Corona Beach?

Did they have any water activities?... kayaks? volleyball? boogieboards?

We can't decide between Corona and Reef Yucatan.

And Yes!, we know not to pay the $35 to go to a free beach ( Corona ) or

$75 for the Reef Yucatan ( $30 at the pier).

[hilldeccaside]

Leslie,

 

Great review thank you----we are going next week! The 26 Aug sailing.

A couple of Q's. Did you happen to notice the type of slots and vid pok that they had< any specifics would be appreciated. Also did any one in your group use the spa? If so how was it?

 

Well Done on your casino win!

 

John

 

We are doing cozumel first I wonder why the change.

 

As for the slots and video poker they had them all. The video poker is what I won on. The casino is quite large for a ship. They also had all the regular triple seven and other type slots that they have in the casinos here in Kansas City.

 

The women in our group all went to the spa the first night, except for me, and had a 2 hour massage. They all LOVED it. Some of them were a bit sore the next day from the deep tissue massage. My sister in law did the cellulite reduction and she lost 8 inches. She was happy with it. My brother had a neck and shoulder massage and said it was wonderful as well. They did have some specials at the spa the days we were at port, but none of us did those.

Leslie

[hilldeccaside]

Thank you for writing such a well thought out review!

Can you tell me more about Corona Beach?

Did they have any water activities?... kayaks? volleyball? boogieboards?

We can't decide between Corona and Reef Yucatan.

And Yes!, we know not to pay the $35 to go to a free beach ( Corona ) or

$75 for the Reef Yucatan ( $30 at the pier).

 

Corona Beach did have a place to play volleyball but it was packed. They did not have kayaks or boogieboards that we saw anyway. They did have a tent set up to get a massage for like 30 dollars for a half an hour and I did that VERY NICE!!! There are also a lot of people going up and down the beach selling stuff, and this lady came to us with a bucket and asked if we would let her have all of our empty bottles. We just stuck them in the bucket and she came by and picked them up every so often. The peddlers are a bit annoying but if you just say no to them they will move on. We also had a waiter that came to us and brought us food and drink from a bar that is there. The guacamole was the BEST I have ever had. Oh and they also have these kids that run around and they make this sound that sounds like an injured kitten. It is something that they put in there mouth that makes this sound and they sell them, so when we got back on board it sounded like a couple dozen injured kittens had borded with us. Quite funny, even some of the crew had them it was a riot!!! We were not dissapointed with Corona Beach at all, the kids had a blast and all the little girls had there hair braided in corn rows right on the beach. Plenty to do there.

Leslie

[hilldeccaside]

Thanks for the nice review hilldeccaside! And I as a single dad agree about the photos!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

About the pictures they have these signs posted all over the picture area of the ship that says you can get 4 wallet size photos for 5 dollars, but in fine print it says first you have to buy the $20.00 8X10. All the little girls in our group did not read that part and thought that they could get 4 wallets for $5.00, so they went and took pictures at every available spot. Needless to say they were all adorable and we ended up spending a lot on photos but they were just too cute to pass up.

leslie

[mr.p]

Leslie,

 

We are doing cozumel first I wonder why the change.

 

JGB, I think you will find that for some reason Saturday departures do the ports just the opposite of the Monday sailing. My TA didn't know the reason when I asked her.

 

Hilldeccaside, Thanks for a good review. I'm sailing Oct. 16th and am really looking forward to it.

 

p

[txcruisecat]

Great review, thanks! We will be sailing on the Ecstacy for the second time in a couple of weeks. Do you remember if the spa offered a yoga class? I seem to recall previous cruises have had that. I have been taking a class for a while now and am hooked.

[timmy's girl]

Great Review! We are sailing Labor Day and can't wait!!!

[tkportersat]

Only 40 more days till my trip, I am so ready to go!! I have been on the Ecstasy before but it will be like my first time......I drank too much last time and didn't see half the ship, not to mention that it has received some updates since. Thanks for the review!!

[AKB10]

Thanks for the review. Our 1st cruise will be on the Ecstacy in Nov. Can't wait!!!