 |
Better than I expected.....LOVED IT by
Wade W from Ada, OK Sailing date: May 2008Pros: Food and Fun.....BOTH TIMES Cons: getting off the boat The Ecstasy is a little old and shows it...............The staff on the ship made up for it. My wife and I enjoyed every minute on the boat. Ship QualityI love the lay out. the maindeck, the one with the Casino.... is wide open and easy to find anything.............The Gym was hard to find.........but hey this is a cruise ship full of food. As I stated above the ship is old, kind of looks like and old Vegas Casino. Dining/FoodLOVE THE FORMAL DINNING ROOM, food, staff...
The food on the Ledo Deck was quick and fun. Stateroom QualityRooms were small............I love my wife so we enjoyed this tooooooooooooo Ship Staff QualityEveryone went out of their way to make sure we had everything we wanted. We could not step out of the cabin without the steward cleaning and making the bed. Entertainment & ActivitiesStewart was the Cruise Director.......everyone loved him...he kept everyone involved  8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
  Followup to bad Carnival Ecstasy Trip by
Peg and Dave M. from Lubbock, TX Sailing date: Sep 2008Pros: Evening Meal, Photos Cons: Rude Service, Bad Customer Service, Cold food and Ship If you are considering Carnival and this cruise, don't bother. We already stated our issues in another review. Carnival responded to us a month after the cruise, and only because AA cruise site got involved. They never answered our emails and only once responsed to our letter. They offered a $200 onboard credit for a future sailing for giving us a lousy vacation experience. American Airlines Cruise area has better offers just for booking, let alone trying to make up for a bad experience. This was an insult. Ship QualitySmall, rolls, not clean and in poor repair generally. Dining/FoodDinner was fine, rest of meals flat out awful, usually cold and tasteless. Eggs at breakfast were powdered, and hot cereal was watery, gray and lukewarm. Other breakfast items not cooked properly. Other food venues closed up early leaving us with nothing to eat except burgers when we came down during at port stays. Stateroom QualityStateroom pretty but freezing cold. Could never get room warm enough Ship Staff QualityMost of staff rude, uncaring, only room steward, and evening dining steward seemed to care about their jobs or us as customers. Very much a "customers as cattle" mentality about this whole experience. Once they had our money, they couldn't be bothered with anything else. Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Not worth It by
Peggy and David M. from Lubbock, Texas Sailing date: Sep 2008Pros: Meals at Dinner Cons: Cold rooms and common area, lack of customer service This was a very poor cruise compared to ones we took on Royal Caribbean. Because of Hurrican Ike, our pre-cruise plans had to be changed several times. They delayed until the last moment to tell us whether the cruise was on or not and we had to contact them not the other way around. We heard from AA travel, but not them. We had airport transfers that were delayed with numerous excuses instead of just telling us that the bus was having trouble getting through Houston -something we would have understood. Ship QualityThis was the smallest cruise ship we have been on. There was evidence of wear in many of the hallways. The restrooms were often unclean. Decor was tacky, not elegant at all. Dining/FoodDinner in the dining room was good. However, breakfast was down right awful. Breakfast one morning was lukewarm, obvisously microwaved, not freshly made belgian waffle, eggs were powered according to the server, and the cream of wheat served another day was gray, watery gruel right out of Charles Dickens. There were only two eating venues - the dining room or up on the Lido deck where you could get either pizza, hamburgers and hotdogs, or a open buffet for lunch or early dinner. The pizza they raved about it their ads was cold and tastless. Lunch was very limited especially at port. You could only eat at the buffet. This food was set up of early that much of it was cold or lukewarm by the time it was served. My wife is a vegetarian, and she had a hard time finding something hot to eat on the days the ship was in port and we could not eat in the dining room. Plus, they closed up earlier than the posted hours in the ships newpaper, so the buffet would already be shut down. Stateroom QualityOur room was the nicest on the ship, but it was always too cold even when we shut the vents as directed by our room steward. There was no way to heat the space. We were much more comfortable on our smaller balcony room on Royal Carribean. Ship Staff QualityBecause the airport transfer bus was so late, we were literally hustled aboard the ship, no welcoming treatment, no VIP service or lounge as our stateroom warranted. We missed all embarkation activities, not everything we ordered was in our stateroom when we arrived. We addressed various issues with Carnival via email on the first day of our cruise and before and after. WE HAVE YET TO GET ANY RESPONSE. When we got off the ship, there were no smiles or goodbyes, it was more of "we got your money, don't let the door hit you on the backside on your way out" attitude. We were not offered the option to have someone carry our luggage out to the bus, it was self-service only. There were older people that could have used a hand getting their luggage off the ship and it was not offered. Our room steward and the evening dining room staff were the only ones that seemed to care about there jobs. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe two revues that we went to were good, but one night was entertainment by other guests. We were not paying good money to watch other guest entertain us. Several activities we went to early, were never held at the time they were supposed to start. Some were cancelled altogether. The one time we went to bingo, they charged $20 for one bingo card and only had one game that session. Dance classes were not held until late in the cruise. Carnivals version of a midnight buffet was to have Mexican night. Again they put out the food of early that it was not hot since it was held out of doors on the Lido deck. On Royal Carribean, the midnight buffet was an event in itself, where the chefs really showed off their talents with ice carvings, chocolate creations, and other elaborate dishes. We do not recommend Carnival at all. They really cut corners all around compared to Royal Carribean. 4 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Very good value by
Candice W from Dallas, TX Sailing date: Jun 2008Pros: The staff and variety of activities Cons: Nothing For a high school graduation gift, my daughter, her five friends and all 6 Moms took this cruise together. As a seasoned business and leisure traveler, I had low expectations regarding this ship. However, we were all very pleasantly surprised. The rooms were clean, comfortable and decent sized. Our daughters were well entertained and never bored. And there was plenty for the Moms to do as well. The food was very good at every meal with plenty of snack choices during the day. This is not a new, luxurious ship, but a very good value especially for a family with young children or teens. Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Great vacation by
A Traveler from Texas Sailing date: Oct 2007Pros: Quality of the staff, great food Cons: Nobody left a chocolate on my pillow when I returned home! I have taken several cruises, with three of them being on this ship. Last trip was with a group of girl friends. Every time, the staff has been remarkable. Cabin stewards do a wonderful job. This ship has some years on it, and you can tell in some places. However, it is kept very clean. Every member of the staff I have encountered on all 3 trips has been very helpful. Unfortunately on this last trip, one of the people in our party had a family emergency that required her to cut the trip short and return home. The staff went so far beyond anything we could have expected to help out in this most unfortunate situation. My family will likely cruise on this ship again in the coming months. Carnival does a great job. This is a great value for the buck! Ship QualityEverything is kept clean, and in good repair Dining/FoodThe food is terriffic, especially in the dining room. Listen to your waiter's recommendations! Stateroom QualityRooms are clean, good showers, a/c control. Cabin stewards do a wonderful job. Ship Staff QualityEveryone we encountered was very helpful. Entertainment & ActivitiesSo the shows may be corny, but they are entertaining. 9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Lots of Fun by
Kevin E. from Texas Sailing date: Nov 2006Pros: The Food!! Cons: The weather was not great. We had a room with two port holes and it was very nice. The rooms are larger than most ship rooms, which is a nice change. The food was great every night and you can order as much as you can eat. I have cruised 7 times, and three of those were on this ship. I think it is a great deal for the price. I am actually taking my four kids on this same trip in March. Good luck and have a great trip. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe food is great in the dinning room at night. The buffet is OK, but I would recommend the dinning room. Stateroom QualityAverage, but larger than other ships. Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
value versus what you paid for by
A Traveler from Chicago, IL Sailing date: Jan 2007Pros: friendliness of the staff Cons: arrogance of the cruise director I have only cruised half a dozen times as a family so I am no expert. I carefully selected a Carnival cruise (and also shorter length) since I had heard good things about the Camp Carnival program. With 2 five year olds, I did my homework. The program for kids and the counselors were wonderful. Those I highly recommend. But everything else was the equivalent of a one star resort and you definitely do not get what you paid for.
The boat itself was a disappointment. It is old and it is tired. While there are some noticeable improvements in some of the common areas, how do you deal with bathrooms that constantly "stunk" because they are so old and moldy. Or seeing a couple of bugs running around when I got up in the middle of the nite to use it in your cabin? The tables and chairs in the Panorama eating areas are so old and worn out that no amount of elbow grease makes you want to set your fork on it? I could go on and on about the worn out and threadbare things.... And amenities - - forget about it! No blowdryers in rooms, no tissues. Grey towels and worn out beach towels that had seen better days.
But the hardest thing was that we lost 12 hours of cruising time due to bad weather, late departure from Galveston and some docking delays. On a short cruise, time is precious. Nobody is responsible for acts of nature BUT on a cruise ship someone MUST communicate to the passengers. I did not appreciate glib and brief comments about why we were late taking off or coming in. If you cannot deliver the message in a professional manner on the PA system, then use the TV available in EVERY room to release the information in a professional manner.
On a personal level, please do not consider this ship if you are a "church goer". Imagine this response when I asked the front desk about possible services or access to a chapel for my family. It was Sunday. I was told "you are on vacation and we do not have such things - - you could do meditation in the spa"!! Interesting how a Princess Alaskan cruise had a non-denominational service attended by about 500 people two years ago!
With small kids and an interior cabin, we had no way of knowning what time we were to disembark or whether it was raining. Calling the front desk got me a "yes we are on time and it is "nice" outside". Imagine my surprise when we pulled into port two hours late and it was cool and gusty. It is this sort of attitude from the senior staff members that was very offensive. The average workers on every part of the ship were kind and courteous, especially to young children. Thank you for that!
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
Children's Programswonderful and caring counselors doing the best they could in a system where they did not seem to have a lot of resources. 25 out of 32 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
|
|
