Carnival Ecstasy March 2003

If I am not planning a cruise, then I am on one! Even when I have one booked, I will be exploring options for the next one.  It is true that during 2020 and 2021 the cruise industry was shut down for 18 months.  However, I was fortunate to get to cruise in February of 2020 before the shutdown, then again in October 2021, once it resumed.  And now I am planning cruise #26 and #27 for April of this year, and another is booked for January 2023!

This cruising addiction of mine began back in 2003 on the Carnival Ecstasy.  Even though it was only a 4-day cruise,it got me hooked on cruiseing! The ports were Catalina Island and Ensenada, not the most exciting ports I have experierenced, but did enjoy them.  The Ecstasy is a small ship, VERY small by today’s standards, but easy for first timer to navigate.  The dining experience was amazing, our server was entertaining, and the food was so delicious.  I had never had Beef Wellington until then, but now I order it whenever it is available.  It was defiantly a unique experience and continues to be a unique experience every time I step on a ship.

There are so many variables to each cruise, offering something different and exciting each time.  Different cruise lines, ships, length of cruise, room types, dining experiences shows and ship activities, not to mention all the ports.  I always say the best thing about cruising is visiting so many places, and your hotel travels with you.  I am excited to share my experiences with you, so will start with this short one already mentioned.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line is probably one of the most popular.  It’s a good value and offers cruises to many fun ports.  It is advertised as the “Fun Ship”, and they do live up to it.  Carnival does have a reputation for being a party cruise line, more so than others, but they usually attract a younger crowd.  However, there are plenty of us senior cruisers that enjoy the fun ships as well. 

Carnival Ecstasy

The Ecstasy is small ship by today’s standards, by more than half compared with the new ship Mardi Gras.  However, news was just announced that the Ecstasy, along with the Sensation, is being retired, aka scrapped.  In 2020 Carnival scrapped 4 of its 8 Fantasy class ships, which now leaves only 2, the Elation and the Paradise. I have been on the Elation and liked it very much. The small ships are easier to navigate of course, but somewhat limited on activities.  Also, cabin selection is limited, not as many balcony cabins, and I am a balcony snob as my friends will tell you!

Ports

     Although I did mention that these ports were not very exciting, I have booked a cruise recently to do these two ports again.  I am on a 7-day cruise out of San Pedro in April, on NCL, but I found a great deal on a RCCL right after, for 4 days, leaving out of the same port.  This is refered to as a B2B, back to back. And I am going solo on that one!!  Yes, just me and my balcony! And although Carnival has been my preference I have tried other lines, variety is the spice of life.

      Catalina Island

 I grew up in So. Calif but had never visited Catalina Island until this 2003 cruise.  It’s only an hour boat ride from the mainland.  We booked an excursion on the Glass Bottom Boat.  That was fun, interesting, and not strenuos activity.  Then we just walked around Avalon, visited the shops.  It was a small town and didn’t take long. This was my first-time doing port shopping and was very interesting and fun.  You will find many of the same shops in most of the dock area of most other ports.

Ensenada

This was also our first time in Ensenada as well, so we booked a Carnival excursion to La Bufadora, The blow hole. A marine geyser phenomenon that is caused by ocean waves being forced into a partially submerged sea cavern, causing great amounts of air and water pressure to build. The air and ocean water are expelled through the only exit, launching it several stories into the air.  We actually have a couple like this here on the Oregon coast.  My favorite one to visit is Thor’s Well, just south of Yachats, OR.

One drawback, or so I thought then, is the bus drops you off in front of a large open market that you need to walk through to get La Bufadora, with a lot of aggressive vendors. Walking back to the bus through the shops was a bit intimidating for a first timer. Now that I have more cruises and visits to so many other under my belt, I am used to it now, and can actually enjoy it.  And I do like to support the locals catering to the traveler to their country.

Cruise ship activities

For my first 6 cruises my companion was not into doing much of the night life available.  We attended a couple of comedy shows, but he was content sitting on the balcony in the evenings, sipping drinks and listening to music.   I will say now, I have learned that the activates can be a lot of fun, the shows are sometimes spectacular, and games, like trivia and the marriage show are fun and available throughout the cruise on sea days.  I’ll talk more about these in future blogs, as I discuss my other cruises. 

Dining

This first cruise we ate dinner in the Main Dining Room, MDR, each night.  We were at a table for 6, but one couple didn’t show up until the last night.  It may seem strange to sit and eat dinner with strangers, but I found it fun and interesting getting to meet others.  The dining venues have expanded a lot since then, but at this time only options were MDR or Lido deck buffet or pizza, at least that I remember. We did the buffet for breakfast and lunch.  The food was amazing, one of the big selling points of cruising is great food and pretty much all you can eat, and then some!!   I once read someone say if you pay your room steward enough money he will come into your room and feed you while you sleep! LOL (PS, this is an old picture, they no longer use table cloths)

    On to Bigger and Better

     This 1^st cruise did one really good thing, started an addiction I never want to break!  I do love the excitement of a new ship, new port, new shows, and now new restaurant options.  I don’t think I’ll be writing blogs necessarily in order of my cruises, but just randomly as my memory accommodates me.  This last October, I was on the new Carnival ship, the Mardi Gras.  I’m looking forward to sharing that experience with you.

     Please feel free to leave comments, I love to hear about other peoples experiences too.  There is always something new and different.