Hello CruiseBlog friends! Today is Sunday, which means it’s our last day aboard this 4-night Carnival Ecstasy sailing from Mobile. We had a busy day squeezing in everything we wanted to do (and eat!).
Angie and I are both surprised by how much there is to do on the ship, especially considering her age.
There are also many special Carnival venues – like Alchemy Bar, Guy’s Burger Joint, Redfrog Rum Bar, BleuIguana Tequila Bar and more. We’ve also heard Pizza Pirate and Carnival Deli are great, so we set out to try everything we could today. All in the name of investigative journalism, of course!
If you’re invested in my sleep saga, I’m happy to report that I slept better last night thanks to the earplugs borrowed from Angie. These really drowned out the constant noises between our neighbors, announcements and noisy hallways. I probably wouldn’t take another weekend cruise without earplugs.
Of course, this is in comparison to the longer cruises I’m used to, which usually attract a much older (and quieter) crowd.
Sea Day Lunch: Round 2
Angie and I checked in for the Seafood Day brunch around 10:30 and were notified almost immediately that our table was ready. We boarded the Wind Star and sat down. The sea day morning sea was much busier today than the first sea day, so I guess the word was tasty.
We indulged again with the 12-hour soaked French toast and the pan pancake. Both were again delicious.
I have definitely noticed that the dining room feels inadequate. If we want something, like butter, jam or another pour of coffee, we have to ask several times. If you ask just once, it will probably be forgotten. This has also happened to us at dinner every night. But, we are not crazy and understand that the servers are working hard and handling multiple tables at the same time.
This makes me wonder what the passenger crew ratio is on the Carnival compared to other ships. Maybe this is how they can offer cheaper cruise rates. I also noticed that our stateroom is only cleaned once a day compared to twice a day on Royal Caribbean.
I hate to say this because I can see the crew members working so hard, but this cruise does not have the best service (in terms of being attentive) that I have experienced in a main dining room. However, the service is still greater than my last stay at an all-inclusive in Mexico.
The crew are all very friendly and want to please, but I think there are so many tables in the dining room that it’s hard for them to be super attentive. We’re happy to be cruising, so I wouldn’t complain; but, definitely something to note for future carnival cruises.
Afternoon activities
With full bellies, Angie and I made our way to Music Trivia, which was naming the #1 hit tunes. This took place in the Chinatown Lounge, which has fun decorations and goes along with the NYC upper deck theme.
We were quite confident in this little thing and enjoyed all the trendy songs played. We love how Carnival has themed trivia that appeals to our generation. We scored 15/20, which we were delighted with!
After the trivia, we wanted to explore the ship a bit more. We were surprised to see that there was mini golf on the top deck, which we hadn’t even seen yet. This ship is difficult to navigate so we had never happened upon it.
Angie and I made our way to the upper deck, which was at the front of the ship. There was a small mini golf area, although it was nothing to write home about. They also had a few exercise cars which was cool. It was very hot and windy there, so we didn’t stay long.
Back on the pool deck, it was buzzing with people having a great time listening to the DJ, playing bean toss, and frolicking in the pool.
There is only one pool with two tubs for everyone, so you can imagine how busy it gets on a hot sea day. There are thousands of chairs around the ship and it seems like there is a lot of space on deck. There are no chairs here, which is a welcome change.
We had to try the RedFrog Rum Bar after already having the BlueIguana Tequila Bar. I chose to try the Dirty Mojito and Angie had the Red Rum Treasure.
We both preferred Angie’s over the mojito. Interestingly enough, when I asked for a straw, they only gave me the option to buy a reusable one. We were given a thick paper straw with coladas the day before, so it should only be provided if you get a mixed drink.
We both walked around the upper deck to see if we could find a good place to sit.
The Carnival Aqueduct area was busy with kids using the water slides and such, but we didn’t have the costumes. It was so hot that we decided to go back inside and hit the Lido buffet.
We tried the margarita and garlic pizza from Pizza Pirate. I also ordered a hot ham and cheese sandwich from Carnival Deli for us to try. Both were very good and tasted delicious, even though we weren’t that hungry. It felt good to sit in the air conditioning for a while.
Angie decided to go to the Fun Pamper Party, which she loved. She said they did a short skin routine and even had a teeth whitening sample at the end, which she really liked. I chose to go back to my room and work on the blog for a bit. We also, unfortunately, needed to start packing since it’s our last night.
last dinner
Dinner quickly approached so we headed to the dining room. We have had a riot with our dinner friends and really enjoyed getting to know the ladies at our table. I don’t know if Carnival deliberately tries to discount people of the same age or if we just got lucky; anyway, it’s been lively every night and we’ve had a lot of fun.
For dinner Angie and I both had cold peach soup to start which was good. There was a frog legs option as an appetizer which we didn’t try but our table mates did. They weren’t too impressed, as it came in gravy and not minced and fried (like the gator bites from the night before).
Angie had the country fried chicken and I had the short rib – which was my favorite meal by far! Angie said the local fried chicken was good too.
Tonight’s mid-dinner show was a huge dance party with the servers bringing out a 50th birthday cake for Carnival. They sang and danced to two different songs – our table really breathed with the waving of the napkin. We even sang “Roll Tide” a few times to really get into the spirit, even though neither of us are from Alabama.
Something interesting on this ship that I have never seen before is a Table Entertainer, or an employee who is specially designed to entertain the tables during dinner. We enjoyed magic tricks over two nights at dinner.
We asked where the workers will go when the carnival trance wears off. He explained that all their contracts will end on October 10 and they will all go home during that time. The entire crew will be dispersed to different ships after their leave is over.
The entertainer said he will return to Mobile and sail on the Carnival Spirit next year. This is a bigger and newer Carnival ship (launched in 2000 compared to Ecstasy’s launch in 1991), so it would be great to have a new cruise option in the Port of Mobile.
The mid-dinner shows definitely match the ‘fun’ brand that Carnival has everywhere. Tonight, I didn’t even care what I looked like at dinner. Angie wore shorts and I wore a workout dress – something we would never do on another cruise line. We both agree that it’s nice to have a relaxed environment for this weekend cruise and not feel pressured to dress up.
For dessert, I had the tried and true Molten Chocolate Cake, while Angie tried the Fruity Tutti Layer Cake (which wasn’t our favorite).
The chocolate carnival cake is definitely my favorite, although I would have appreciated more dessert choices on the menu each night. I’m used to having a big standard menu and then some rotating choices.
For this cruise, we had a spinning option and then the chocolate cake available every night. They also had fruit, cheese and ice cream, but I don’t consider those dessert options when other cruises have a large and extensive menu.
We watched a beautiful sunset from the dining room tonight as well. The seas have remained so calm, for which we are grateful.
Overall, we enjoyed the food in the main dining room and have no major complaints. The food was always good and we never had a problem finding something to order; but, Angie and I both agree that Royal Caribbean’s main dining room is the best. Royal Caribbean’s dining room has higher quality food, more attentive service and a wider selection of menu options each night.
fun
It was a lively night spent aboard the Carnival Ecstasy!
After dinner, we went back to the family comedy at the Punchliner Club. We’ve been going here every night and it’s always been a great time. We laughed a lot together.
We also went to the Piano Bar, which is located in the main atrium. There was a nice little crowd there singing along to “Piano Man” and “Sweet Caroline.” Our table friends have been there and really enjoy it.
Angie decided to go to the Motown Music song and dance show in the main theater to end her night. I don’t like song and dance shows so I decided to go back and blog before we go to bed.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I would say this cruise exceeded my expectations! The food was better than I expected and I loved the atmosphere and the non-stop fun activities. We loved the entertainment options and everyone keeping things casual and just wanting to have a good time.
The ship is very well maintained and equipped with some of the best facilities and facilities in Carnival. Everything was very clean which is always appreciated. Even the internet impressed me! I expected extremely slow service but found the opposite to be true.
If you’re looking for luxury, you won’t find it here. There was nothing luxurious about this experience, but we knew that going into this cruise. We were looking to have a good time and enjoy a weekend away. This was good, free fun in a casual setting.
I will be writing more in-depth articles about our onboard experience, so stay tuned for those in the coming days.
We have to get off the ship around 8am tomorrow and hopefully be home by 11am, I can’t believe how fast the weekend flew by on this cruise. I am convinced that even the cheapest cruise on the oldest ship can be a great time if you have the right attitude and mindset.
Thanks for tuning in everyone. I have enjoyed sharing our experience here at Carnival Ecstasy. It’s crazy to think she’ll be hiding in the cruise ship graveyard for another two months. Until next time, happy sailing!
