Bahamas Cruise 2016

Carnival Ecstasy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

paulinebias

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 20, 2016

Ship: Carnival Ecstasy

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: E195

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was my first cruise. I went with family who had cruised with Carnival before on the Fantasy ship. They said this was nothing like the other cruises. The food in the dining room was ok. The dining room staff barley said a word to you and you had to ask for refills, condiments, etc. It was not good service at all. The people who cleaned the room did a fair job but you hardly ever saw them to get anything if you needed it. Half moon cay was very pretty. The food was a bit out of the way. Not near as many shows as I expected. The motown show was awesome. Over all we were very disappointed in the cruise.
Would not go on the Esctasy again. Family said the Fantasy was great both times they went. It was such a bad experience that we will not be doing another cruise again next year and this was going to be a yearly family vacation for us. If we do decide to go next year it will be with another cruise line instead of Carnival. Hate this happened because I really like cruising

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Even if you had to elemenate a few rooms, they need to be a little bigger. My mom has bad knees so she could not climb up on the upper bunks to sleep. She was in a room with my sister and brother in law, so he had to sleep on the upper bunk.

Ship tip

Not to go on this ship

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Charleston, South Carolina

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

19 Comments

peramsey 7 years ago

Suggestion, book early and pay in installments
Also if you have 4 people try to get a cabin that has an ajoing cabin, why not you're paying for two cabins and only living in One
Ships get old, but carnival is up grading many of their older ones

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davidlouthiansr 8 years ago

I've been on the Fantasy back in 2014 and this time on the Ecstasy and Fantasy was a lot more better. Didn't think Benjamin done a good job at all.

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meannie 8 years ago

I have been on the Fantasy 3 times. I just came off the Ecstasy a month ago. I loved everything about the ships, the food, the staff & the shows. I like the smaller ships myself. I do hope that the Ecstasy gets a Guys Burgers when it goes to dry dock at the first of the year though. I really want to try it. It looks really good....When I went on the Ecstasy a month ago we were cruising during the hurricane so we got rerouted to Cozumel & I loved it! Our 6 day cruise turned into a 8 day cruise. Although I didn't like being stuck at sea for 3 days we still had a Great time & enjoyed every minute. Even the 2 extra days that there wasn't much going on. I Love Carnival!

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mabridges 8 years ago

Like you im just glad im getting this chance :)

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RyanWorley 8 years ago

The thing for me is that people always say start on a small ship and that's where most cruisers are lost. All of these ships are huge but the crucial one puts more into the bigger ones. Carnival obviously is a starter cruise line considering it has 10 or so fantasy class vessels. There are 14 other ships spread across the other 4 classes so keep that in mind when booking carnival. Happy Cruisin!

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mabridges 8 years ago

Exactly Ali73

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mabridges 8 years ago

I leave out in 16 days my first cruise ever i dont care if the ship is older i am sooooo excited to just doing it and getting away!!!!! I dont care bout the shows i just want to get away and relax and have fun

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mepperly 8 years ago

I loved the Ecstasy back in August !! Sorry you didn't.

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NurseKcruises 8 years ago

Same here, we did the Fantasy first then the Sunshine...10 more days until we board the Ecstacy!! The reviews so far have not been great, but I'm going to with my vacation attitude and enjoy the ports...I feel that it is what you make it. And it's far better than staying home!!

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Ali73 8 years ago

My first cruise was on the Fantasy. I had nothing to compare it to, but we had a BLAST! My 2nd was the Sunshine and it was a totally different awesome experience. Now, in 17 days, I'm going on the Ecstasy, and the reviews make it to be an awful ship. But, you know what, I could care less because I'm very grateful that I'm able to go and get away from reality for a bit- Haha Its what you make of it

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twangster 8 years ago

Fantasy and Ecstasy are the smallest type of ship Carnival has. Try a Conquest class, or Dream class. Much bigger, more to do. Every cruise line has smaller older ships and bigger newer ones. Research and read reviews.

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almanaro 8 years ago

Nothing is perfect so don't give up. Question though if this was your first cruise and then you say I love cruising like you have been before just a little confused.

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cruznjan 8 years ago

Is the link for the review broken?

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wilfreeman 8 years ago

We have been on the Fantasy (Oct 2015) and Ecstasy(June 2016). Both of those were out of Charleston and were great experiences. We are trying a large ship this time (Valor), leaving out of Port Canaveral Nov 6th. I have heard that the crew and food aren't that great on the Valor right now, but we'll see in a few days!

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markwiz8 8 years ago

I have done 8 or 9 cruises, 7 with carnival. I sailed on the Fantasy out of Charleston 3 times. The first time was ok. The second time was better, the third time was really good. What I am saying, even on the same cruise ship at different time, your experience can vary greatly. I do prefer the larger ships. We are scheduled on the Ecstacy out of Charleston Jan. 7th. It is the last cruise before it gets refubished. My expectations are not high this time. But the cruise is cheap and I can drive to it. It is still cheaper than going to the beach.

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cruznuts 8 years ago

I strongly recommend a travel agent save yourself a ton of hassle

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TNTGreen 8 years ago

Next time you should research a little more prior to booking since Ecstasy is one of the older ships out there and it's much smaller. Glory is amazing and you will notice a difference if you book that or even Magic or Breeze.

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malvara 8 years ago

Not all cruise are the same. Who know if you go with another cruiseline and the same thing happen.

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Johngold 8 years ago

Don't tar all ships or cruise lines with the same brush. Try cruising with Carnival on another ship next year. Do some homework. Even try other lines different than what your family cruises on. Meet with a consultant and determine what YOU want out of a cruise and work from there. But don't quit on account of one experience. I know you won't regret trying it again.

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