Great Birthday Cruise

Carnival Ecstasy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

AaronWhitt

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 37

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

5 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 26, 2019

Ship: Carnival Ecstasy

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: E121

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Overall, the ship was great. We would definitely consider sailing on her again in the future. I’ve always loved the Fantasy Class ships and the layout. The ship was very clean and beautiful for it’s age! I hope everyone who is sailing on her soon has a great time! If anyone has questions or wants an opinion, feel free to ask.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

This was 2nd time going out of the Jacksonville port. It’s a easy port, and you get through fairly quickly. It’s a very organized port (compared to other ports I’ve been to), and overall the staff is helpful and friendly. The port usually starts letting people in after 10 AM, given that there were no issues with the previous cruise of course. We arrived around 10:20 AM since we had FTTF. We were parked and handing over our luggage to the porters by 10:40 AM. We were on the boat and eating lunch by 11:30 AM. We probably would of been on sooner, but there was a wedding that day. Obviously, they had priority over everyone. Congratulations to the couple!!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food - All of the food was great on the boat. I didn’t eat off the buffet much, but it looked pretty good when I passed by. The Ecstasy just recently added a Sushi place on board. Unfortunately, I can’t review it since I never got a chance to try it. We had excellent service in the MDR every single night. We found out that the best time to go to the MDR with “your time” is right when it opens (5:45-6:15 PM) or later on in the evening (7:45 PM or after). We had a wait between 20-40 minutes on 2 nights when we went around 7:00 - 7:30 PM. Drinks - All of the drinks were excellent. They are not stingy with alcohol! If you’re a drinker, I’d recommend getting the Cheers package. We decided not to do it this time around, and I’m glad we made that choice. We didn’t drink nearly as much as we thought we would, and the package would of been a waste for us.

Wind Star Dining Room

5 out of 5

I recommend asking for Derita. She is amazing and will be on the ship until March. I highly recommend asking for her at dinner for (YTD). You won’t regret it!!

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

We attended the majority of the shows (including comedy) and they were all great! There’s always some kind of entertainment or activity going on... you should never have a “bored” moment. CAM, the cruise director, is usually at every event and I honestly don’t know how he does it. Goes above and beyond to make your cruise activities and cruise overall a memorable one.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Entertainment - We attended the majority of the shows (including comedy) and they were all great! There’s always some kind of entertainment or activity going on... you should never have a “bored” moment. CAM, the cruise director, is usually at every event and I honestly don’t know how he does it. Goes above and beyond to make your cruise activities and cruise overall a memorable one.

Children's Programs

Do not have children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Housekeeping/Room Steward - Our steward was AWESOME! Our room was cleaned every single day, and he was extremely friendly. If you get Paolo then you will not be disappointed! The only extra thing we ever had to ask him for was ice! We tipped extra to our steward on the last night since he did such a great job. Other Crew - 99% of the crew was absolutely fantastic. They always have a smile on their face, and they are so talkative and friendly! These people work hard and long hours to make sure your trip is wonderful. We enjoy talking to them and learning about where they come from. You can always tip extra to any crew member if you wish. Cam, CD—AMAZING Derita, Wind Star Dining Room—AMAZING

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

One of the biggest complaints I saw prior to the cruise was the sewage smell. Yes, there are areas where the smell was pretty strong. The places I smelled it the worst was the art gallery hall, the outside side areas along the lido deck, and once in awhile around the atrium. It did not ruin my vacation, or make me feel like I needed to complain. I’m very sensitive to smells, and it really wasn’t that bad. Our hallway area and cabin never had any smells. We brought air freshener just in case! The ship is older and it does show in certain spots. We were the 3rd sailing out of dry dock, and they were still working on things in certain areas. I did smell paint every day, and saw workers covering windows with tarp once in awhile. The workers were never in the way, and they were usually done by 5 PM every evening.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We were on the 7th deck. I am so glad we went with this deck. It was so convenient to everything! Perfect location, very quiet at night, and no noise above us! As for our cabin, we had no issues. I do recommend that you bring a power strip so you can charge multiple things at once. We failed to bring one and now we wished we would have.