Mixed feelings

Carnival Ecstasy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Ecstasy

5 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 01, 2011

Ship: Carnival Ecstasy

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 13 years ago

Review summary

This ship was small and it was easy to get around. We have mixed feelings about our trip because we have two daughters, one is 10 and the other 16. Although there were many activities planned for the kids, they did not really correspond with times of activities planned for adults. We like to vacation without restrictions of a schedule and we felt like we had to consult our daughters about their social calendar before we could make plans. There were not many activities that were geared to families on the sea days. We missed that aspect of a vacation. Although very relaxing, we did not spend as much time with our children on board the ship as we would have liked.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
We wonder if some items are not actually what they say they are. For example, the "duck" tasted and looked like ham...

Entertainment

1 out of 5
We felt they should have more "family" activities on sea days. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the art auctions and the girls loved their activities but there was very little for us to do as a family apart from creating our own activity on board.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
The childrens' programs were amazing. Our girls had a great time on board the ship. They made lots of new friends and stayed busy the entire trip.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff was fantastic. They always used our names and were very observant of what our likes/dislikes were.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
This ship was small enough to take the stairs every day which was a plus because waiting for the elevators was time consuming.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Progreso (Merida), Mexico

3 out of 5
The tour we went on was running late from the start. When we were leaving our tour site, the tour guide miscounted the number of people and we had to wait to make sure we didn't leave anyone behind. This did not give us much time to shop at this port and that was frustrating. We specifically chose a shorter tour so we would have time to shop and we missed out on that opportunity.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
We loved our snorkeling adventure. Shopping at this port was not as much fun as the prices were higher and they were less likely to come down on the price of items. There were also 4 ships docked at the same time as ours so it was crowded in the shops. The beach was amazing and the water is so clear. We really enjoyed our excursion time.

Pros: The ports of call were great...

Cons: Not enough family activities on board...

Recommends Carnival Ecstasy? Yes!

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