Carnival Ecstasy Live Blog – Day 1 – Embarkation Day

Greetings from Carnival Ecstasy! We are on our way to Cozumel now, where we should arrive on Saturday. We had a busy day today getting to port, settling into our cabin and exploring the ship.

I’m sailing this weekend with my sister, Angie.

Around 11:30 this morning, Angie and I started our drive from Florida to Mobile, which took us just under 2 hours. As we rode into downtown Mobile, we could see the famous Carnival tail in the distance.

Full car

The cruise terminal is small and centrally located. When we first saw Ecstasy, we were shocked at how small she looked! With only 2,600 passengers, this ship is definitely considered a small cruise ship by today’s standards.

Checked in

We had to park outside and wait about 30 minutes to get a free shuttle to the terminal.

Off site

Boarding took another hour after we checked in, in which our boarding passes were scanned, vaccination cards verified and passports checked.

There were signs in the terminal saying ‘Masks required’ but when I asked if we really needed a mask, the staff member said it wasn’t necessary. We also did not need a negative test for COVID-19 because Carnival just removed their testing requirement for short cruises.

CheckIn

This was a nice change of pace to save $60 on COVID-19 tests. I used a home test last night to make sure my seasonal allergies were just that.

We were surprised at how long it took to check in, as it took almost 2 hours from the time we pulled up to the port to the time we walked onto the ship.

Angie and me

On board

Between being loyal Royal Caribbean cruises and Carnival Ecstasy being one of the oldest cruise ships operating out of the United States, we were completely lost trying to navigate around the ship.

Angie and I again

Carnival Ecstasy was built in 1991, while Norwegian and Royal Caribbean’s oldest ships currently in operation were built in the late 90s. She will be retired for scrap in October. Of course, today’s cruise ships are designed completely differently.

To begin with, our stateroom is M162 located on Deck M. Apparently we boarded on Deck 7 and Deck M was really Deck 5. The decks have both letters and numbers, making it difficult to know which where are you going.

Atrium

There are 3 stairs in Ecstasy: one in the front, one in the middle and one in the back. We discovered that you can’t just walk across the deck if you need to get somewhere on the other side of the ship. We had to go up or down a deck to get through, but luckily the ship is small so you’re never too far from where you want to go.

Boo

The room of the room

After boarding, it was already close to 3:00 PM, so the rooms were ready. We didn’t give our bags to the porters as we only had carry-on luggage, so we were ready to drop things off at last.

Sea crossing

We sailed into our stateroom which is an inside cabin. The corridors are wider than any ship I’ve been on before and we agreed that the ship felt like it was in good condition.

Inside the bedroom

Our stateroom is modest in size, similar to any other stateroom we’ve cruised in. The beds are aligned perpendicularly rather than parallel. I appreciated that Carnival asked during online check-in if we wanted a king bed or 2 twin beds; when we arrived, they had already split up.

The room of the room

The interior cabin has plenty of space for us during these 4 nights. We found it to be clean and seemingly well kept.

The wardrobe has shelves and hangers, along with a chest of drawers. There is only one outlet on the counter, which will be difficult to share between the 2 of us and all our electronics.

I suppose 30 years ago, when Ecstasy was built, we didn’t have laptops, iPads, cell phones, Apple Watches, etc. among many people in the cabin. How times have changed!

Inside the cabin

Angie and I both laughed as we looked inside the bathroom. We opened the door to find bright blue floors, bumpy and hard. The bathroom is definitely where our cabin shows its age.

After settling in, we headed up to the pool deck to finish our stacking drill (which we mostly did on the app) and watch the cruise away from the cell phone.

Lunch time

We were pretty hungry at this point so Angie and I decided to see what we could find for food. The pool deck was very busy, although there was only one pool and two hot tubs.

Pool deck

It was 90 degrees today, so I can’t imagine why so many people piled into the hot tub – but more power to them!

I chose to try the Blue Iguana Cantina, which was located right on the pool deck. It was busy with everyone having lunch either at the canteen or at Guy’s Burger Joint nearby.

The chicken tacos looked good so I grabbed some of them. The toppings bar looked like it had seen better days, but I really enjoyed the tacos.

BlueIguana Tacos

Angie wanted to see what the buffet had to offer, so we went inside. Things were starting to close as it was close to 4pm so she decided on a Meatball sub from Carnival Deli.

To both of our surprise, the food was really good! We could hear the music starting to play on the pool deck so we went back outside to watch the ship sail away.

The Sailaway Party

Since this was my first time in Mobile, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was nice to see the city center from the upper deck of the ship, although the city doesn’t seem to be that big.

The DJ started playing some fun tunes and the first person on the dance floor was a very loud grandma! We all smiled as she busted out her best moves – even getting up on the platform.

Angie and me

There was a whole crew of Carnival workers who came out to dance and get the party started. The cruise director was introduced and I couldn’t believe how young he was! Most of the time, the cruise directors are much older, so seeing someone in their 20s or early 30s was a lot of fun.

This definitely plays into Carnival’s “Most Fun Ships at Sea” slogan.

Mobile wasn’t anything pretty to look at as we sailed away, which is about what I expected. We sailed from Dauphin Island, which is somewhere I’ve been wanting to visit in the Gulf!

In front of the ship

Since the scenery was poor, I opted for a trip to guest services to figure out why I couldn’t connect to the Wi-Fi. Apparently the card I put on file wasn’t registered or something, but luckily, guest services was able to resolve my issue quickly.

After adding another card to my file, I was able to successfully purchase a cruise internet package. This was actually a relief for me, as I had been trying to connect most of the day. When you rely on the Internet to work while cruising, it really is a must!

Dinner and Entertainment

Angie and I went back to the cabin to relax for a bit before dinner at 6pm. We had left the dining room earlier while exploring the ship, but couldn’t find the table.

When we arrived we were seated at a large table of 8 with 4 other ladies already seated. They seemed similar in age, so we were excited to have the opportunity to hang out.

Eating room

Our 3 waiters introduced themselves and we ordered our meals. Service was generally good but a little slow. I didn’t mind though – I have nowhere to be!

It was different to have the waiters bring a selection of bread, as this is something Royal Caribbean used to do but has since stopped.

Angie and I both started with strawberry shortcake soup, which is a classic favorite of ours. I had the brisket and Angie had lasagna for mains. My gourd tasted good, although it was a little overcooked. Angie’s lasagna was good but could have been served warmer.

lasagna

The head waiter announced that there would be a dance party in the middle of the meal. All the waiters got into the spirit and danced as the lights dimmed. It almost felt like a nightclub!

We finished the meal with the Carnival Chocolate Melt Cake which was absolutely delicious.

Chocolate cake

Angie and I made our way to the comedy club for a family friendly show. I’d love to do the adult-only show, but 10.30pm is getting a little late for me these days.

I grabbed a drink at the Alchemy Bar – one of Carnival’s most popular venues. I tried a Revved up Mojito Martini which was very good and strong. It was $15 after tip, so it wouldn’t take long to rack up a bill if you wanted to have a few drinks.

Martin

We both enjoyed the comedy show at the Punchliner Comedy Club and it was busy with people of all ages!

I went back to the stateroom to start blogging while Angie decided to go to the Welcome Aboard show at the theater. She said it was a variety show that was fun and entertaining.

Tomorrow is a sea day, so we plan to sleep in and try Carnival’s famous Sea Day brunch. The menu looks really good so we hope it lives up to the hype. There is also afternoon tea we plan to do, along with checking out the Serenity area.

Stray observations

A 4-night, weekend Carnival cruise screamed ‘big party scene’ to us, and it seems to live up to the stereotype.

tail

The demographics on board are very different from most cruises I’ve taken in the last decade. After living for 2 years in the south, he feels representative of the area. Most of the people sailing this cruise are definitely from the south, especially considering the number of times we heard ‘Roll Tide’ in just one day!

It’s really nice to be able to sail from Mobile given its proximity to so many nearby cities. I really liked not having to factor in 6-7 hours to get to Port Canaveral.

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