First trip BUST

Carnival Ecstasy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

byrdr1

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

5 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 30, 2017

Ship: Carnival Ecstasy

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: e106

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

for the money, I spent I was very disappointed. I had very high expectations based on others opinions. BUT this was nowhere near what I hoped for. This was my 35th wedding anniversary gift to my wife. IT was memorable but not because we had the best time ever. Seas were awful and the small ship was just not what I was expecting. I will try one more time in a different season but if I based my cruise experience on this one trip I would Say "ONE AND DONE!". And I still might be that way. I drove to Oklahoma the summer of 2016 and had a much better time seeing the 5 states and what all I could do on that trip. Carnival has a great reputation as far as cruises go but I was not impressed. Maybe in 2-3 yearas we will try it again but not in the next year or so.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

pretty easy to get on board the ship

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

drinks were great food was so-so. I have had better steaks at the local Texas Road House restaurant. some of the appetizers were nice and some were not. The paying extra for lobster and Filet was a bust for me. I wanted lobster but was willing to pay an extra $20.00 for it.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

ok they did a good job trying to entertain us.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

ok they did a good job trying to entertain us

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

great job by the room steward, the waiters and wait staff id a good job.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

OLD ship, it was clean but you could see the rust under the paint. Sometimes I felt like the paint was holding the ship together.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

very nice layout and the bathroom was perfect for two people. the beds and linens were very comfortable.

Ship tip

get on another ship. One that is much larger.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Charleston, South Carolina

5 out of 5

fine coming and going from this port

Thumbs Up 3

Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)

4 out of 5

easy access but a bust getting back to the ship. waited 171/2 hour in a line to get back to ship tinders were broken down most of the day. Fodd was so-so. hamburgers were served raw in the middle.

Thumbs Up 0

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

1 out of 5

storms kept us away from this port, just saw it as we passed it.. A MAJOR BUT in my opinion.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

fine long lines to get off....

24 Comments

phoenixraquel 7 years ago

I get what you're saying Tammy. I researched my first ship before my first cruise and got a lot of advice from family & friends that have cruised before. You don't get a clear picture until you're actually there. Some things you can't foresee. After you complete a cruise you definitely know what to look for and what suits you better.

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KamriN 7 years ago

Love cruising but have to admit the boat rocked HARD, not the ship's fault. Staff was amazing and enjoyed the food. We already have a April cruise booked on the same ship :)

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Shay1920 7 years ago

@tammyradenic who is "y'all"? All we were doing was offering advice on how to have a better experience next time.

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tammyradencic 7 years ago

Thanks Shay! We know now what a smaller “size” is vs a larger one. However we had plenty to do and the swaying didn’t bother us.

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Shay1920 7 years ago

Researching the ships specs helps a lot. If you compare ship size to activities offered and the age of the ship you'll notice that most of the newer, larger ships offer more activities. I did this for my first cruise and was able to find a cruise that fit my needs. If you don't know where to look then you can always ask a travel agent.

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tammyradencic 7 years ago

Shay1920 I understand you can see research the specs. What I’m saying is how would that help a first time cruiser? A ship that holds 2500 passengers seems awfully big. When you are a first timer you have nothing to compare that against, hence the original poster’s point.

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Shay1920 7 years ago

Before picking my first cruise I looked at how big the ship was. Like I said earlier, you can find ship specs on the cruiseline website and that includes how many passengers it holds. You can also find out what activities it has to offer. If when looking at that you don't see any activities that appeal to you then look at another ship until you find what you are looking for. That's like people that complain about some RC ships not having water slides when that is information that you can easily find out juat by looking on their website.

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tammyradencic 7 years ago

Right. But where would you research “what ship is too small for my tastes”. That seems to be the standard reply everywhere. If you are a first time cruiser, you simply don’t know what you don’t know. I researched for hours and hours on things like what to do, excursions in Nassau, etc but some things you just have to experience on the boat.

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Shay1920 7 years ago

I went on my first cruise last year and I researched before I put down any money. Why would you not? If you are spending a few thousands of dollars on a vacation why would you not research it? That doesn't make any sense. There is way too much information out there to not look for yourself. If you don't want to do that then that's what travel agents are for.

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tammyradencic 7 years ago

Byrdr1 lots of folks on here will try to make you feel bad for not “researching” the ship but we just got off our first cruise and how the heck would we have known to research the boat? It was too small so there was less to do? The ship is HUGE so don’t let others turn it around on you. I am sure you tried to have fun (hence the very stupid question above from xina1999) and I hope that you found at least some enjoyment! As first time cruisers ourselves we had no idea what to expect other than reading reviews on here. We had some complaints as well but we also had an amazing time overall.

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

😂😂😂😂

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xina1999 7 years ago

Yes! My husband kept telling me that it isn’t really a big deal to carry a tub of dishes to the sink near the communal bathrooms. Granted Disneyworld has a nice campground but we just could appreciate it in 105 degree heat. Hmm wonder if our husbands are related! 🤔😂😂😂

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

cina1999—His idea of a great vacation was me trying to cook under the tent awning in pouring rain, and shlepping to a spider filled bathroom and shower that was shared by everyone else in the campground! I put a stop to it when our daughters became teens and refused to do it anymore! 😂😂😂

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xina1999 7 years ago

Oh it was horrible! I’ve never been so hot in my entire life. He was miserable too though-so we did end up buying a small RV. Cruising and RV’ing. Only way to vacation!

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

xina1999—😂😂😂 I feel your pain! For years, we tent camped with our children. No more!!!

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xina1999 7 years ago

That sounds like my husband! And then we were camping-in tents-in Florida in August. I think we slept in sweat for a week. 😂

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

Excellent advice, Shay1920! But if this guy was anything like my husband, the only thing he would look at is price, and go with the cheapest—which if he DID compare with other ships or lines, he would have found that ship as the cheapest. I have learned over the years to NEVER let my hubby book any kind of vacation, because that is the only thing he looks at. I let him try it once for my birthday and he was ashamed that he booked us into a hole of a hotel. Well, that happens when you only look at price. I do all the research and bookings from now on! Lol!

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Shay1920 7 years ago

Research is important. Next time you should check out the cruise lines website to see what each ship has to offer. You can also see the size specs. Generally you can get an idea of how big the ship is based on the number of passengers it can hold (listed on website). There are also a lot of YouTube videos out there for almost every cruiseline and ship. You can even go through a travel agent that specializes in cruises. If you tell them what you are looking for, they can match you better to a cruiseline and ship that will better fit your needs. As far as the weather goes, the cruiseline has no control over that. When taking a cruise during hurricane season that is just the risk that you're taking as far as storms go.

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my3kbs 7 years ago

The seas were exceptionally rough during the Sept 30th cruise. Happens during hurricane season. Out of everyone’s control. I enjoy the Ecstasy but she’s not for everyone. The crew and staff are top notch at least in my opinion. We had a blast at the Hasbro game show. Enjoyed the contests on the Lido. As others have said cruising isn’t for everyone. I have found most vacations are what you make them. Spending time with family & friends ranks far above any bells & whistles. Happy Belated Anniversary.

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travelbyshonda 7 years ago

I agree older smaller ship for such a special occasion. I actually enjoyed the Ecstasy but I knew going in it was older smaller. That was my first ship and I chose it to see if cruising was for me. I've been hooked and just booked my 5th cruise. Cruising is not for everyone but a newer ship would have had more of a WOW factor. Happy Travels.

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xina1999 7 years ago

The seas are beyond anyone’s control. As for the ship, research would have shown you that this was a smaller ship and actually one of the older ones in Carnival’s fleet. You don’t say anything beyond that-did you try to have fun? Research is imperative and if you were looking for something for a special occasion did you not ask About that?

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

Sorry—auto correct throws words in there I didn’t type! It should have read if I was going to book a cruise for a surprise anniversary gift ......

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

AZTX is correct—cruising is not for everyone. But give it another chance with a newer ship. I think if I was going landing a surprise gift for an anniversary, I would not have gone with the oldest ship Carnival has. Look at even a different line if you want to get wowed. My preference is with NCL and RCCL.

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AZTX 7 years ago

Cruising is not for everyone.

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Other reviews of this sailing

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