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Carnival Ecstasy - Time to Sink this Ship!

btate

By btate

"Now I know why so many people jump overboard on Carnival"

Overall Rating: Poor

TRIP INFO

Sail Date:11/17/2015
Destination:Caribbean
Departed From:Miami
# of Nights: 3-4 Nights
Cabin Type: Inside
Sailed As: Couple

RATINGS

Food:<p>3</p>
Itinerary:Fair
Cabin:Poor
Entertainment:Poor
Overall Value:Poor
Spa/Fitness: Didn't Use
Embarkation: Good
Debarkation: Good
Staff/Service: Poor
Overall Rating: Poor

COMPLETE REVIEW

After sailing almost exclusively on Princess for the past 10 years, it may be possible that this review is biased, but I don't think so.

My wife and I are in our late 30s early 40s and are from the west coast. We booked three cruises in Florida around the last NASCAR race of the season out of Miami. We picked this cruise because one of our favorite bands, Lady Antebellum, was to play on board. This was the last cruise of the three - We did back to back cruises on the Emerald Princess before sailing on the Ecstasy, and enjoyed that so much more!

To start, embarkation was good. Port staff got us hooked up quickly. We immediately found that we were out of our league while getting on the ship. We don't smoke, so we don't stink, but so many others did stink. Now remember that we are NASCAR fans and we are pretty redneck as one might say. I don't want to put myself in some elite group here, but I am not sure who Carnival markets to?! There were people on this ship who they would not let into a NASCAR race and that is not a lie! That said, we did find several nice people who sailed with us who shared a similar negative experience as us. If you are going to sail with Carnival, I recommend that you stick with a newer ship. This ship was old, run down and the staff was very negative and angry. Very little help with even the simple things. Time to sink this ship.

Lady Antebellum was one of the most fun entertainment experiences I have had on a cruise ship. That said, it was VERY expensive to see them. We paid more to see them than the cruise cost us. As good as they were, the rest of the experience made this cruise horrible. Plumbing backed up into our shower, sewage ran over the threshold and out into the hall. We had to smell that nasty smell for the entire cruise. Food was pretty bad for the most part. there were some places we found where food was okay, but after you have such a bad taste in your mouth, nothing else seems to help. The entire ship smelled like sewage or smoke.

Bottom line is this ship belongs in the bottom of the ocean. You could not pay me to get on that ship again. I am running back to Princess from here on out. Always a nice experience there.
Go to cruise reviews Carnival Ecstasy

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btate

I will embark on my 18th and 19th Princess cruise in January (back to back) on the Caribbean Princess. So far, all of my Princess cruises have all been amazing. With Princess, I always know what I am going to get. . With Carnival. . .Well, lets just say that their name fits them well.

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Shari2

So sorry that you had a bad experience with Carnival, Byron. Being that that was an older ship, and a 3/4 night cruise you may find it much better on a larger and newer ship, and on a longer cruise. My husband and I had a bad experience on the Holiday back in the '80s and said that we would never sail Carnival again, but we decided to go with a group of friends back six years ago. We went on the Carnival Liberty and had a wonderful time. Being with a group of friends made it very nice, but, I was also surprised that the food and service was much better on that cruise...also our group leader got us a tour of the Bridge which is rarely done these days. Now we haven't been able to cruise for the last six years because of health so I do know that things change all the time. So, can't say what the newer ships are like on there today. Hoping that you have a much nicer cruise the next time. Celebrity has remained our favorite, but I would love to sail Princess. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Our daughter and her guy were just down in FL for the Nascar race...they went with a group of people. They love the races, too.

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btate

So sorry that you had a bad experience with Carnival, Byron. Being that that was an older ship, and a 3/4 night cruise you may find it much better on a larger and newer ship, and on a longer cruise. My husband and I had a bad experience on the Holiday back in the '80s and said that we would never sail Carnival again, but we decided to go with a group of friends back six years ago. We went on the Carnival Liberty and had a wonderful time. Being with a group of friends made it very nice, but, I was also surprised that the food and service was much better on that cruise...also our group leader got us a tour of the Bridge which is rarely done these days. Now we haven't been able to cruise for the last six years because of health so I do know that things change all the time. So, can't say what the newer ships are like on there today. Hoping that you have a much nicer cruise the next time. Celebrity has remained our favorite, but I would love to sail Princess. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Our daughter and her guy were just down in FL for the Nascar race...they went with a group of people. They love the races, too.

I have sailed on the Carnival Valor. It was one of my favorite cruises! That is why I said to stay on a newer ship if you sail Carnival. Of the 27 cruises I have been on, this was the only negative experience I have had.

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jacketwatch

I am sorry to hear of this awful experience. I do agree to avoid the older CCL ships snd the booze cruises which are on them mostly.

Princess offers a great experience and we will be on our 6th cruise with them in Feb. on the Sapphire out of Singapore.

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Jan115

It seems that the music themed Carnival cruises do attract a certain crowd, especially depending on the artist. We are huge Princess fans as well, which is why we tend to steer clear of Carnival. It's a shame about the condition of the ship. I like the smaller ships, and I wish the cruise lines - not just Carnival - would invest some money in revitalizing some of the old classics before they're gone for good.

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btate

I am sorry to hear of this awful experience. I do agree to avoid the older CCL ships snd the booze cruises which are on them mostly.

Princess offers a great experience and we will be on our 6th cruise with them in Feb. on the Sapphire out of Singapore.

The Sapphire is a beautiful ship! It was renovated a couple of years ago and the improvements are very noticeable. I was on it before it was renovated and they fixed a few issues with queues at the food lines. You will enjoy that ship very much!

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btate

It seems that the music themed Carnival cruises do attract a certain crowd, especially depending on the artist. We are huge Princess fans as well, which is why we tend to steer clear of Carnival. It's a shame about the condition of the ship. I like the smaller ships, and I wish the cruise lines - not just Carnival - would invest some money in revitalizing some of the old classics before they're gone for good.

I agree with the ship size. It seems like some of the new gigantic ships are getting mixed reviews. Bigger is not always better when it comes to cruise ships. I like the size of the 100k ton - 125k ton ships for the most part. I also have enjoyed the 75k ton ships I have been on. It seems like you don't have to walk as far to get where you are going. The good part about the big ships is that I can use the extra walking to walk off some of the food I eat!

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jacketwatch

It seems that the music themed Carnival cruises do attract a certain crowd, especially depending on the artist. We are huge Princess fans as well, which is why we tend to steer clear of Carnival. It's a shame about the condition of the ship. I like the smaller ships, and I wish the cruise lines - not just Carnival - would invest some money in revitalizing some of the old classics before they're gone for good.

I agree with the ship size. It seems like some of the new gigantic ships are getting mixed reviews. Bigger is not always better when it comes to cruise ships. I like the size of the 100k ton - 125k ton ships for the most part. I also have enjoyed the 75k ton ships I have been on. It seems like you don't have to walk as far to get where you are going. The good part about the big ships is that I can use the extra walking to walk off some of the food I eat!

Perhaps it was a coincidence but it was on the mega Oasis where we sensed the least degree of motion or sway.

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