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Cruise Logs - Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston Texas (My 3rd cruise on this ship) | |
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Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston Texas (My 3rd cruise on this ship)
Posted on : 2009-01-30 by regandy
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Cruise Line :
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Carnival Cruise Lines
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Cruise Ship :
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Carnival Ecstasy
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Cruise Region :
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Central America
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Cabin Number :
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M176
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Ports :
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Cozumel
, Progresso
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Days :
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5
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Departure Date :
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01/19/2009
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Avg. Price per Pax :
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$389
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Tags :
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carnival ecstasy
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NOT the best experience I've had on the Carnival Ecstasy, but a cruise is a cruise so I'm not complaining... well not totally complaining.. just a little bit.
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How did I book?:
Went through my usual travel agent but had a VERY bad experience with a new rep. She was slow to return emails and phone calls. I was the leader of a group of 34 travelers, and she made it very hard to coordinate the arrangements. When I called to complain I found out that SHE was the manager. I will not use them again... ever.
Did I get a good price?:
Decent... same as online advertised by Carnival directly. One of the members of our group saw that Carnival had dropped the prices and I had to bug the travel agent to do the same. Members of my group were threatening to cancel their reservations and re-book directly through Carnival. After 2 weeks, we finally got the Travel Agent to give us the rate.
How was my trip to the port?:
It was fine. BUT I will say that the parking at the port was interesting -- and not in a good way. The port authorities had their signs mixed up and kept "yelling" at us to turn around, go away, move, etc. I gave up and went across the street to the "Lighthouse" parking company and took a shuttle to the docks. MUCH better.. and a choice I would highly recommend.
Embarkation/Debarkation:
EVERY time I have previously sailed on the Ecstasy, it has been smooth. This time there were problems. We got to the port early anticipating sitting out on the Lido deck and enjoying the good food, BUT the ship was late getting into port. We all had to wait in the terminal for HOURS, before we could board. No one got on the ship until after 3:30pm. We were all hungry, thirsty, and a little tired by then. When we got through with the muster, we had 30 minutes to get dressed for dinner!
Debarkation has never been fun with lugging the suitcases through customs, but I don't know if there's another way to get around that! It is what it is.
The ship:
I love it. It's pretty and well taken care of. I especially enjoyed the Spa Carnival this time. THAT was money well spent!!
Cabin:
Yes. I usually just get an inside cabin because I don't spend much time there anyway! hahaha BUT this time I got an upgrade to a cabin with a window. It was nice... and I actually got to watch the pilot get onboard to take the ship into Progresso. That was cool to watch. BUT I don't think I will get a window cabin again because I just kept waking up to look out the window! I like the cocoon feeling of the inside cabins. Of course, one of these times I would like to compare it to a cabin with a patio!! ;)
Dining:
We ate in the Wind Star dining room. I enjoyed the food. Not to be negative, but comparing it to the exact same cruise on the previous 2 years before, the service was slower than normal.. and the food often arrived cold. Like I said before, the ship was having some issues this time and I'm not sure what it was about. One of people in our group went down to the Panorama Grill at 5am the first morning and found plates and dishes all over the floor broken and in disarray... I didn't feel that we had rough seas that night! Just odd things like that.
Entertainment:
Honestly? Not so much. I have seen the same show 2 years in a row. I DID enjoy the Captains night & the "returning" cruisers night. AND some of the entertainment in the karoke bar & disco were fun. BUT as far as the official stage shows... I'm looking forward to cruising on a different Carnival ship next year and seeing something different. At least I hope it's a different show.
Ports & Excursions:
Progresso -- shopped! I love the market in Progresso and the beach. I have done excursions here before, but this time I enjoyed just relaxing and seeing the town. Again, here I go ... we had to be back on the ship by 2:30, which to me was VERY early. That was sort of disappointing. There was a rumor that 10 people did not make it back from their excursion in time and had to take a different Carnival ship to meet up with us in Cozumel.
Cozumel -- This was my first year at the new docks. Previously we docked further down. I enjoyed the shops and especially Pancho's Backyard, but was disappointed that I couldn't get down to the other shops without hiring a taxi. So, we just found a beach chair and relaxed.
Overall Experience:
Previously I have cruised in February. The weather has always been perfect and the entire experience perfect. This year I went in January, which I believe is too early in the season. I don't think that anyone was prepared. Our favorite restaurant in Progresso was half closed and didn't have the grilled Calamari that we usually ordered. It was also a little bit too cold for my personal preference/ The water was icy cold so no one was swimming at all and we had to wear light jackets. That was just my observation.
Comments
 5/5  2
2009-01-30  Published 
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