Not what I expected

Carnival Ecstasy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Alexiaj

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

1 out of 5

Verified Review

Sail date: June 25, 2016

Ship: Carnival Ecstasy

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: E231

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

My favorite part of the cruise was on the actual islands. We had fun in Nassau and the drinks were affordable and delicious!

The ship was aweful.. I'm not typically a drinker so it doesn't take much for me to get a buzz but when I pay near $40 on 4 drinks and don't feel a thing there's a serious problem! The food was absolutely terrible! The hallway smelled like a portal potty from everyone having the runs from the terrible food. There wasn't really anything for the children to do but carnival still made me pay full adult prices for a 3 year old and a 5 year old! Not to mention gratuity is $60 per person ... no child discount. There was one tiny pool for 2400+ people and there wasn't even a shallow end where the kids could play. 2 hot tubs that were jam packed constantly. The boat wasn't even clean. My kids literally had one small baby slide they could go down the whole vacation. I will not be taking another cruise anytime soon. 6 days on an all inclusive island that includes drinks, food airfare ect sounds way better and cheaper.... I feel like I was totally ripped off! And how can you charge someone a rediculous amount for a bottomless bubbles package and run out of coke!?!?!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Aweful food!! My stomach cramped up every time I took a bite!

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Nothing for kids to do or family with children

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Nothing was really impressive, and $40 for bingo is a total rip off! It seems like anything you want to do you had to pay more money!

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

There was really nothing for kids to do

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Dining room server was great, food was still aweful,

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Aweful... this boat was made to lay in the sun all day and drink terrible drinks and eat terrible food!

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Not the cleanest but not terrible

Ship tip

Don't do it! Spend your money wisely and go to an all inclusive resort!!!

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Ports of call

Charleston, South Carolina

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

3 out of 5

Like I said.... it's stunning! ! But since it's owned by the cruise line they act like they can rip you off! Your pop was $5 for 2 and you couldn't use your bottomless bubbles card

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25 Comments

TERRI1962 7 years ago

Carnival love there reviews sounds like a day in the life of a Carnival Cruiser , sorry you had to go through this I went through the same on the Triumph in October 2016 The smells on that vessel were to die for literally , good luck on your next vacation land or sea

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kcnicole86 7 years ago

I just came back from a cruise on this ship and it is beyond terrible. It is old, the food is bad, everything geared towards families, the same shows as my cruise from 6 months ago. Service was bad, I didn't even get a pillow on the first night or towels. Breakfast was not delivered and never got another breakfast card the rest of the cruise.

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maryjanefoxx 8 years ago

Oh well, you can't please everybody! Lol smh

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

I hope it is too, BC cruising is super fun! Hope you have a blast!

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quanasia09 8 years ago

at the end of the day everyone is entitled to their opinion. Not everything will be rainbows and butterflies whether your on a cruise or not. She said her experience an that's just it. I had a similar experience so I agreed. would we ever go on that boat again, probably not. But that's our opinion!! You guys can't tell people how they should feel if your not in the situation. it's annoying. & for the record I did ton of research but my family lives in SC and I lived in NYC so that's the cruise they chose it wasn't up to me. it didn't ruin my vacation but the fact the bathroom & room smelled like a Porta potty the whole time was a issue that they did nothing about. I told them they didn't do anything so I did what I felt was necessary.. I'm not gonna spend my vacation waiting on a long guest services line to complain .. & whether u guys would do something differently doesn't matter anymore because that cruise was in april. can't change the past. I'm just looking forward to my next cruise in a few weeks & hopefully it's a better experience than the last. 🙃

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

Also, about the kids prices... There are many different times of the year that Carnival offers 3rd and 4th guest sail free. If it's a problem to pay for younger kids, then that would be the time to cruise. The kid prices do include Camp Carnival which is a great program to sign your kids into so they will have fun on an age appropriate level- and gives parents a break!

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

But a rude crew member, bad smells, and no Coke- those are all things that should be addressed at guest services to give Carnival a chance to make them right.

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

That is true, keep in mind how old this ship is. I think it becomes a problem when people book a cruise expecting Holland America but book with Carnival. We like Carnival BC it's kid friendly, very affordable and convenient and while the food isn't gourmet anymore, it's still good. More importantly, it's all in the attitude of the cruiser.

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travelbyshonda 8 years ago

I cruised this ship in 2014 and it was my first cruise. It appeared clean and I didn't come across any rude people. Like others I feel they deserve every penny. They greeted us by name and did everything we requested with a smile. Now the food was nothing spectacular to me but I cruised RC last year and ummmm nothing spectacular there either. This year we are sailing Conquest and frankly I'm more excited about Guys and the Bluelguana Cantina. I like Sailing because it's Beautiful and Relaxing. It also gives you the chance to visit multiple places. I'm not sure if any ships in this price range have gourmet food. The smells now that's a different story. Sounds like dry docking this ship is wise.

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

When you book a cruise you need to really research the ship you are picking, the itinerary, the things that are offered and the cabin that you book. The deck maps clearly show one pool on the Ecstasy. The bigger ships have more pools. Just do some research before you book it! :)

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

The pool gets busy on the sea days at the hottest part of the day- but that's true on all ships. The slide area has lots of room to sit in a shallow part or under a water bucket it go down a slide if you need to cool off. And way more lounge chairs to use with an incredible view off the back of the ship.

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Chrislissa 8 years ago

Doesn't carnival have some guarantee you will have a great time? They ran out of coke? Really? Should have got a refund on your bottomless bubbles. The major concern for me is the pool. Looks awful small for 2000 people. My brother took this same cruise last year in July and he said the pool wasn't packed and there were no lines at the slides. I'm not counting on that though.

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

They work hard for their money too and are away from their families for months at a time. It really shouldn't be an option to choose not to tip- it's never only one- if all who cruise feel like they have a choice... It does affect the tipping system. Sorry you had a bad experience. What did guest services do when you complained?

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quanasia09 8 years ago

excuse me I'm not cheap. but I work hard for my money and I'm not going to give it to someone who didn't perform their job. I tipped the people that i actually came in contact with who did what they were suppose to do. and I tipped them way more then their 11 dollars they'd get .. so no I didn't ruin the whole tipping system !

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quanasia09 8 years ago

I definitely did do that. they didn't ruin my trip but if the problem continued I'm just not going to tip. problem solved.

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

Everybody has a bad day. But not tipping for the whole cruise is just you being cheap. If somebody is truly rude to you, complain at the time. Don't wait.

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

If you have a problem with a crew member REPORT THEM right then to guest services. Don't let them ruin your whole trip and definitely don't wait till the cruise is over to say something. Remember their name, the place and time and go say something.

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quanasia09 8 years ago

if ppl are rude or don't do their job why should we throw more money at them just because they work on a cruise ?

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scmom 8 years ago

And, if you can't afford to tip you shouldn't go...more and more people are having the prepaid gratuities removed saying that they'll pay them in cash but don't...I find that pathetic. I hope Carnival builds the gratuities in to the fares so they can't be removed.

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scmom 8 years ago

I was on the same cruise and thought it was wonderful, had no problems whatsoever.

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quanasia09 8 years ago

good because it definitely needs it.

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hisbestcatch 8 years ago

quanasia09 the ship is scheduled for dry dock the first of the year.

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hisbestcatch 8 years ago

Really don't think you have a legitimate complaint about the fare for children. You knew before you went what it would be.

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quanasia09 8 years ago

I was on this ship in april & the island was definitely the best part! I tried to make the best of it but they need to either do a large renovation and hire better cooks or retire the boat all together. but for the gratuities u could have had them removed from your account on the second to last night by saying u wanted "to pay them in cash" that's what we did and we only tipped the people who actually did their jobs :)

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Stocksettfamily 8 years ago

Did you go to Guest services with your complaints?

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Other reviews of this sailing

Good value