Don't waste your money!!
Carnival Ecstasy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 29
5 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 05, 2017
Ship: Carnival Ecstasy
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: R21
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Wow, what a disappointment. This is going to be long, just a fair warning. My husband and I are first time cruisers and this cruise will be our last with Carnival. Honestly we had such a bad experience it might be our last in general. Just a bit of background so you know our demographic, we are both 24 years old and from Alaska. Embarkation: Long, blistering hot lines and no guidance whatsoever at the port. We took an Uber/Lyft as suggested by others who have traveled out of this port and OMG what a nightmare. No signs anywhere, and the parking personnel are incredibly rude to non-taxi drivers. One of them told our driver to "get the hell out of the way". Already off to a bad start. We finally get inside and everywhere we go someone wants to take our photo, okay fine it's all a part of the fun. The food at the lido buffet was disgusting. The water tasted like it was heavily chlorinated and the salad bar was nearly empty by the time we got there. We settled with, I kid you not, a few pieces of bell peppers and some sliced onions from the salad bar as that was all that was left. The safety briefing, while necessary, dragged on for over an hour. After half an hour of filing in, they spent another half hour trying to track down guests that were not there and threatening them with a second "shame" safety briefing. Jesus, give them the second briefing and let the rest of us get on with it. Stateroom: When we finally got to our stateroom it was actually decent. Plenty of room for two people and a comfortable bed. The toilet is insanely loud when you flush it and there is only one outlet in the bedroom making it so that we had to switch off who got to charge their phones, annoying but doable. Our stateroom steward was very kind and attentive, however his supervisor was not. Our safe was not working properly so we asked to have it fixed. He contacted his supervisor and they never came. The next day we asked again. Our steward looked flustered and apologized, then contacted the supervisor again. We waited for an hour and then gave up. It was never fixed and we got sick of asking so instead we were forced to carry our passports/credit cards with us everywhere because we didn't trust that our things wouldn't be stolen. Entertainment: The entertainment was decent, we really enjoyed the comedy club and the special guest, juggling comedian. The cruise director, Gary, seemed to really enjoy his job and was very friendly to listen to over the intercom. The pool was miniscule and always packed to the brim with people, same with the hot tubs. This area had tons of screaming children on the loose so we tried to avoid it when possible. The serenity deck was a joke. It was very, very small and only had one small hot tub, again always full. The only time we were ever able to find a spot to lay on this deck was when everyone was at dinner in the evenings. It was also located under the water slide so there really was nothing "serene" about it. The casino and surrounding area REEKED of smoke, so bad that it actually made my husband ill the last evening as we were passing through. As for the casino, I am a huge fan of Las Vegas and visit about once a year to gamble and have fun. This casino was nothing like it. When we hit international waters the payout on the slots, video poker and blackjack etc. was almost non-existent. Beware to all of you who enjoy the casino, this one is heavily rigged. I expected a lower payout on a cruise ship but this one was not normal - take it from someone who loves to gamble every once and a while for fun. This is not the place to do it. Walking past the casino to the coffee bar or the starlight lounge for comedy was incredibly annoying. There is literally a line of employees bombarding you with requests to take your photo over and over. No, for the 50th time (not exaggerating) we don't want a damn photo! Ports of Call: Half Moon Cay was gorgeous, but getting to the island was a disaster. We had to go grab a number from the coffee shop and wait for over an hour for a tender to take people with our number to the island. Getting a number was never mentioned, we just assumed we'd get in line. By the time we got to the island it was already 11:30am, so much for a full day of beach fun. Again, the beach was lovely but if you want some peace you'll have to walk a good ways away from the crowds. The water was crystal clear and incredible, too bad we didn't get to spend a full day here like what we paid for! The island buffet was decent, surely better than that on the ship. Nassau was okay. Very muggy and obviously a tourist trap. We opted not to book an excursion through carnival and decided to do a beach resort day at the British Colonial Hilton to escape the ship. I highly recommend this as the staff are incredibly competent and have good customer service. It comes with a good lunch and drinks too. Freeport we didn't even bother to get off of the boat for. Very industrial and gross looking, so we took advantage of the ship emptying out to spend some quiet time in the gym. Getting off of the boat at every port was slowed down by more employees trying to take your photo to sell back to you as you try and exit. At Half Moon Cay they literally use a pole to stop you and at Nassau one of them rudely snapped his fingers in my husband's face. So rude and inappropriate. Amenities: The gym was excellent, I was shocked. Lots of equipment and a full set of weights. The locker room was clean and had a nice steam room and sauna. This was our solace in our times of sadness (always). The spa was way overpriced and misleading. They added hot stones to our deep tissue massage for $25/person but barely used them! The massage was good but it better be for $200/50 minute couples massage! And then I was not double, not triple but quadruple charged for our treatment! You can imagine my fury when I looked at our account statement on the morning of debarkation. I went to one of the ladies pamper parties that advertised a free makeover. The skin products we used on ourselves were nice but the makeover they promised was them putting this super tan and shiny powder called "California Sun Glow" on our faces and trying to upsell it. I get that they're trying to make money, but that was not a makeover so I call BS on the advertising. I already talked about the pool and deck areas. The mini-golf was fun but had multiple tears in the fabric laid out on the course, it was obviously never maintained. Food: As mentioned before the buffet on lido was horrendous. Inedible, gellified foods that were not even hot most of the time. The pizza was good but very small. The deli was good for the most part. The soft serve was also good. The main dining room was incredibly hit or miss. Some nights the food was very good, others it was either bland or inedible. The two-tops on either side of the dining room were squeezed so close together that you felt like you were eavesdropping on your neighbors and vice-versa. Very uncomfortable seating situation, and if you don't have 3 or more people they will never let you sit by the window - carnival the romance killer. We began asking to sit in the center of the room where the tables are slightly more private. The waitstaff, for the most part, were excellent and tried very hard. Room service became a favorite of ours to avoid the lines and the many non-classy people aboard the boat. I said it, I'm sorry but it's true. This is not the ship you want if you're hoping for a touch or more of class. Alcohol: It started out strong but got weaker and weaker as the cruise went on. We eventually stuck to drinking our own wine from our stateroom. Overall function/appearance: Grungy, outdated, rips in carpet and metal panels missing in places. Multiple elevators out of commission or in the process of breaking down. One lady said that she called the elevator we were riding "the haunted elevator" because the button didn't light up for the Promenade Floor (9). Great. Getting an elevator took forever as well. I listened to other reviewers and booked a cabin in the forward part of the ship and THANK GOD I did. The other reviewers were absolutely right that the mid-section to the back of the ship staterooms smelled like sewage. It was disgusting. Every time we walked through those halls we were greeted by that nasty smell - I feel for those poor people stuck in those rooms. And some sort of pipe burst right outside of our stateroom on the last night so people were running around frantically trying to clean it up and dry the floor. Employees: Overall the staff was friendly (except for those taking photos). Not one of them was American which is no big deal but we found rather odd. I read another review that said they found out from one of the employees that they work 12 hour days 7 days a week and only make $500/month, relying on your tips. How awful!!! What a horribly unethical business practice by carnival, treating these poor employees like slave labor. Value: Not worth even $10 of your hard earned money. Don't spend a cent on this ship or on Carnival in general. We will never sail with this company again and we URGE YOU to learn from our mistakes (and several other reviewers on here!!) and choose a different cruise line! You know it's bad when even the comedians joke about how horrible the ship is!Embarkation
Slow and hot. Took absolutely forever.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Bland buffett, hit or miss dining room food. Took forever to get service nearly every night.
Onboard Activities
Only saving grace was the fitness center
Entertainment
Comedians were good but that's about it.
Children's Programs
Designed to keep kids under control and focused but instead kids were running loose into other passengers constantly, slipping and falling, causing others to slip and fall. Stricter regulations need to be put in place so that parents will take better care. Saw some parents even bringing their kids to the serenity area and staff didn't care. It says 21+!!
Service and Staff
Staff mostly good, obviously underpaid and overworked though. Customer service line was long and not very friendly.
Ship Quality
Sewage smell and ship is falling apart. Rips in carpet, metal panels missing
Cabin / Stateroom
Porthole room. Clean, large bed. Great cabin steward.
Ship tip
It's old, dirty, smelly and full of unattended, screaming children
Thumbs up
1
Ports of call
Pretty but so touristy and souvenir focused that it quickly lost its enticing qualities.
Disembarkation
Even though they tell you when each floor is allowed to get off (depending on if you take your own luggage off the ship with you or not), apparently it doesn't matter and you can exit whenever you want. We waited an extra hour for no apparent reason until we finally asked someone because we saw that our entire floor was emptying out an hour ahead of our scheduled disembarkation. Poor communication.
45 Comments
kodak7 7 years ago
many are from people who book a cruise and never look anything up, do zero research. Then are mad when they don't get to do as much as the can. in the age if mega ships you can't just get on and go. mega ships are great as the amount of things to do are staggering, but you must book everything 90 days out to get the best. Funny how they won't peruse this forum before, but spent the time after to vent. I know a few people who won't book Anthem with all the bad reviews. Even my wife spent a few minutes looking and was all upset.
mason2x 7 years ago
Carnival has such great crew members that they actually remember us from past cruises a few years ago. Our last cruise on Valor in July we had the bartender in the Alchemy bar remember us. After a good look at him we remembered him too from Triumph like 4 years ago. It's people like that that make vacation so much more memorable.
mason2x 7 years ago
kodak7 7 years ago
It's true. you do get what you paid for. carnival is inexpensive, but I find you can enjoy it just as much as any other line. found the food just as good as RCCL. It's a small and older ship so if they have to restock the buffet, not much else to find until they do. Yes carnival does push the photography more than RCCL. last one on Anthem you have to go out of your way to find a photographer. Never found the photographer's too pushy, but I did work for Kodak 27 years and shot many a wedding to pay for my children's college. Alywas call guest service's to get anything fixed. had a problem with a safe and was fixed within 20 minutes of calling. would recommend NCL for anyone in their 20s, as they have better nightlife. also the bigger the ship the more things to do. surprised to find a 20 something who didn't goggle the life out if the cruise. a few minutes to find the best things to do one the ship and ports. Remember the casino's on any ship are just money maker's for the cruislines. very bad odds for the player's. plus that's why on most ships they make it so you have to walk in to get through that deck. But again, a little research goes a long way.
lashawn119 7 years ago
You have to go in on these cruises with a fun fun fun attitude. No matter what happens you are on vacation and enjoy yourself. I did not complain when we went on a 12 day cruise and my luggage was back in Vancouver for the first 5 days at sea. The staff and even other cruisers were offering suggestions and even outfits for us to wear. We laughed at the situation. My husband was given a tuxedo for the formal night and I found a dress in the gift shop that was discounted because situation. Please do not allow the few bumps ruin time that you spend with family. Life is too short to worry about things that you can not control.
grandmarnnurse 7 years ago
nikkibcruisin--You are correct. I always say these older ships are perfect for first time cruisers as the have nothing to compare it with. And 99,9% have the best time of their life. But then there is that small percentage that have some exaggerated perception of what is going to happen, and then nothing satisfies.
When food runs out in a section of buffet, usually it's replaced if you mention it or just wait a few minutes. Most of her small petty complaints happen--but don't ruin don't ruin someone's whole vacation. I think it's difficult to find a lounge chair by the pool on ANY cruise ship!
The toilets are ALWAYS a loud flush! Oh, my! 😱
If they read reviews and viewed deck plans, as most well planned cruisers do, they would have known ahead precisely where the serenity deck was located---under the water slides! I knew that, and Serenity wasn't even there last time I sailed Ecstasy!
I admitted to her that the sewage smell IS a problem with these older ships--but not a constant issues. I have to wonder why--and what Carnival does with their waste management that other lines don't seem to struggle with.
All in all--- she didn't fully research her ship and her expectations were off the charts. Either a brand new ship or a luxury line may be the only way to satisfy those expectations.
travelbyshonda 7 years ago
Oh My! I stopped at the few pieces of bell peppers and onions! Research, research! My first sailing was on Ecstasy it was quick but we had a BLAST. I respect all reviews but you judged the ship and people who sail it. It's not that hard to figure out you get what you pay for first of all. I think of one is this particular you should definitely cruise one of the high end cruise lines. If you go in with the microscope attitude you can't enjoy the FUN! We all have different perspectives and what works for one may not work for another. This review longggggggggg.
Tmac320 7 years ago
Wow, some of you act like you'll die if someone doesn't like a cruise. The OP is entitled to her opinion. And unless you're 2, I don't see why you would be making vacation choices solely based on what one person you don't know said. Do you chastise everyone who leaves a negative Amazon review too?
michellew61 7 years ago
sunshine220 7 years ago
We've been on 5 carnival cruises 2 of those on smaller older ships and have always had a good time. You need to do more research into ports yes you need to take a cab or book an excursion in Freeport, ecstasy is a smaller ship and lots of people so not everyone will get a chair excactly when they want one yes other people will want to use the pool and hot tubs you are in a smaller cruise casino no you are not in Las Vegas, not every one gets to sit by the window in the dining room other people like guys burgers too so if you go at prime lunch time yes lines will be long. Charleston was the easiest port we have been too we got there early and had no problems. The last cruise we went on lots of seasoned cruisers complained about it when we were on the Sunshine but we loved it we had a couple moments that could have been better but they were resolved and life went on. It sounds like your expectations were set way to high so you were disappointed with everything right from the start.
grandmarnnurse 7 years ago
I have always said the the older ships would be ok for first time cruisers because you have nothing to compare it with. Once you sail the newer mega ships with all the amenities, there is no way in hell that an older ship that has seen better days would satisfy. A TA told me that back when I booked my first cruise in 1995 on an old ship. We had a great time, but looking back now at that ship--with its bunks and zero entertainment!
Don't give up on Cruising. There are plenty of fabulous ships out there. Just pick a fairly new ship and try another line. As I mentioned before, I have not cruised Carnival since 2007, and a little leary booking a cruise with them for 2019, but I have earned a free cruise with them (from my rewards card) and intend to use it. But we much prefer RCCL and NCL. The food on NCL is the best we've had st sea. The buffet on the Getaway was enormous and designed so there is no lines. And their 24 hour offerings are like none other with an Irish Pub with a full menu to choose from--complimentary and open 24 hours!
So don't let one bad experience scare you away.
Tmac320 7 years ago
Thank you for the review. People think you can't say anything bad about a cruise. Don't give up on cruising though! I have zero interest in Carnival or any old ship, for that matter. You guys are young and childless (I'm guessing) so I would suggest Norwegian. I like Royal now that I have kids. Don't give up on a good cruise!
nancyfromak 7 years ago
Guys and Blue Iguana were good but the lines were so long nearly all the time that we only got the opportunity to eat there a handful of times which is why I didn't bother writing about them in the first place. They were not open nearly long enough for the amount of people on the ship. Thank you for all of the thoughtful responses, this is my final comment. For anyone reading this that *is* willing to listen, this is not what I wished I had spent my hard-earned, commercial fishing season dollars on. I was so giddy beforehand. So excited that I was finally doing this and so stoked for the week of adventure that lay ahead. I ignored the bad reviews on here and on cruisecritic hoping that those people were just obnoxious snobs who didn't know how to make the best of things. But they were absolutely right and were not being obnoxious at all, just up front and truthful about their experience. It takes a lot for me to write a review like this, generally I make the best of things whenever possible. I owe it to my fellow, excited first time cruisers to tell them that this is not what you think it will be. To the people who say this is a first time type of cruise, why is that? Because it's not what it should be and first timers probably have low expectations so we should be safe? I shouldn't have listened. I do hope you all have a good time on your future cruises. Maybe one day I will try again with another cruise line like suggested by those near the top of the thread. But never Carnival, never ever again.
jmutt24 7 years ago
TNTGreen 7 years ago
No one is attacking your character but because you went over everything where it almost seemed like from the moment you got there you found something you didn't like and found something in almost everything you encountered. Now I do find it hard to believe you thought all the food was awful; did you not try Guys or Blue Iguana?!
nancyfromak 7 years ago
And if they didn't enjoy their cruise I would like to know exactly why that was. I weighed the good and bad reviews before choosing ecstasy and my experience was on the bad end. I'm sorry you don't agree but I'm perfectly allowed to tell people exactly how I felt about my experience.
Bcruising17 7 years ago
Informing someone of your bad experience is one thing, but telling people to avoid the ship is another. Their experience may be different from yours. Now you're complaining about your character being attacked. So sad. I quite sure there may have been some that didn't enjoy my cruise, but I did.....
nancyfromak 7 years ago
I was told by the numerous disappointed cruisers on my ship that I'd be attacked for posting an in-depth review of my experience on here, and they were definitely right. There was an older couple who said this was their 62nd cruise and they've never had such a horrible experience on a cruise before. I honestly could not care less about those of you trying to defend your beloved Carnival Ecstasy or the joke of a company that Carnival is. My ENTIRE purpose is to inform other people, first time cruisers or not to AVOID this ship! I read the reviews of this ship and thought the same thing, "oh people just like to complain" "it can't be that bad, I'm sure it will be fun no matter what!" I am an incredibly optimistic person about traveling and I really wanted to enjoy this cruise as I've dreamed about taking one since I was a little girl. I chose this ship because other reviewers said it might be a good choice for a first time cruiser. It was awful and such a huge disappointment. I spent the first half of my childhood growing up in Fayetteville, NC so yes, I am well aware of the heat. That's why I was in utter shock when I saw that people were forced to wait outside for 30+ minutes when the heat index was 108 that day. Attacking my character will do nothing here and does not change my mind that this was a giant waste of money.
cruisecrazye 7 years ago
if you read reviews about the rooms you also should have read about your ship, ports of call n tenders. i cruise n things change all the time. if you had no salad just ask it would be provided. if you didn't like the food in one spot try another. being from Alaska well welcome to the hot south. it is always hot like its always cold up there. the kids were addressed once again read up about your cruise n know what ti expect. we love carnival have cruised often. cruising is not for you. ps you can get an Alaska cruise.
Bcruising17 7 years ago
@nancyfromak, wow wow, you just wrote a book about your complaints. If I read your review before I went on my cruise, I would have canceled it, and my vacation would have been ruined. Therefore I'm so glad my cruise was not after your post. Here's my take. I have class, and I enjoyed my 1st cruise. My family and I just returned yesterday. Was there some hit and misses? Yes of course it was, nothing and no one is Perfect. All I took from your post is, that was good but, but, but. Sometimes you have to go with the flow. Some of the things you complained about, is just small stuff. Also the comment you made about the stateroom mid to back ship. I had a stateroom in that area, and yea from time to time it would become a little smelly, but nothing to complain About, unless of course you're that person to do so. I live there for 4 nights and it wasn't a big deal the smell wasn't constant. So don't feel for me being in that area. I actually feel for You, because You allow You to ruin your Vacation. I'm a first time cruiser, non-smoker, non-drinker, non-partier, and still enjoyed my vacation. I was with family making memories. Maybe you shouldn't cruise with Carnival again. I wish you the best in finding a 100% Perfect cruise with 100% Perfect guest, 100% Perfect food, 100% Perfect ports, carpets, paint, wall, ceiling etc. The list goes on and on. Please all first time cruisers, don't let nancyfromak's reviews scare You, try it for yourself, and then make your own decision if you want to cruise with this line again or not.
TNTGreen 7 years ago
So basically all that came out of your review is Cruising Is NOT For You!!! You chose one of the oldest ships in the fleet for a first cruise; mistake #1. If you cruise during peak summer season yes you will encounter children which is mistake #2. Again cruising cruising is not for yo #3
grandmarnnurse 7 years ago
I, also, cruised this ship--but back in 1999. It was fine then, but I have read numerous bad reviews about it since. I know plenty of people have had a wonderful time on this ship, so please don't attack me for saying this, but a well informed cruiser is a smart, happy cruiser. It pays to read all reviews on a ship before booking. And keep in mind that the older the ship, the more bad reviews you will find. It baffles me that for all the bad reviews and comments about a strong sewage smell, that Carnival doesn't address the problem. And if nothing can be done to fix the problem, time to take the ship out of commission. My last Carnival cruise was in 2007, and I've sailed primarily RCCL and NCL since then and have never had a sewage smell on their ships. I plan on booking the Carnival Breeze for 2019 (cruising NCL Getaway in 2018), so I certainly hope that ship doesn't have the same sewage smell, or it will be my last Carnival cruise I take.
AZTX 7 years ago
Man, what a long negative review... funny thing is I feel you did a good rundown of your cruise! Too many reviews talk about the smell... there has to be something about it. Same with the Ship... too many bad reviews, for there not to be a problem. I will definitely not book another cruise on it (did in 2001, and it wasn't so bad then). As the other reviewer stated, don't judge all cruises on this one, they are usually well received. We have cruised with Carnival with no big problem, but prefer Princess.
mark993 7 years ago
Ecstasy is one of the older smaller ships in Carnivals fleet and embarking in Charleston is a huge hassle. It's like the city of Charleston intentionally makes the whole process difficult. Don't give up on cruising tho. Try an Oasis class ship with Royal Caribbean. RC constantly tries to sell you stuff you don't want like Carnival does, but the ships are amazing and they sail out of larger, much more organized ports. Give cruising a fair shot before you decide it isn't for you.