Cruise Line: Carnival Cruises
Ship: Carnival Ecstasy
Date of Cruise: May 3, 1999
Cruise Destination: Carnival Ecstasy 4 day Cruise to Key West and Cozumel
Guest Contributor: Andy Taylor
This was going to be our first cruise, but because I just couldn't wait 9 whole months we took a 3 day cruise to nowhere out of Alexandria, Virginia on the NCL Leeward last August. That cruise did little to help the wait, and in fact probably made it worse since we had such a terrific time.
The whole idea of a cruise came about when my other half's mother got some free airfare and was looking for somewhere to go. She suggested a cruise and I was all for it, immediately researching what was available. We suggested the date since we were planning on going to a friend's wedding in Miami and thought we would combine that with the cruise. Typical of first time cruisers, Chuck's mother, Juanita, thought she didn't want a full week of cruising so that narrowed down the choices. I was deciding between the Ecstasy and the Sovereign of the Seas. I had ruled out the Leeward since we had already booked her. I thought that I would probably like RCI better but I liked the itinerary of the Ecstasy much better and combined with the fact that Juanita LOVES Vegas we went with the Ecstasy. Booking 9 months in advance gives you good choices for cabins and good prices too. Chuck's sister and brother-in-law, Terri and William and their good friends Becky and Paul, were also going so we had a nice group of eight, enough for our own table.
We splurged and went for demi-suites with balcony. We had cabins V-9 and V-11 on the Veranda deck. The rest were in E-164, E-166. Everything booked, we all settled down for a very long 9-month wait.
About a week before the cruise we started going to a tanning salon so we wouldn't be "fish belly white" as we started the cruise. I think it is a good idea to get a head start on your tan. We also thought we could get a little sun in South Beach before the cruise.
Our flight down from Washington DC on American Airlines was uneventful and we arrived in Miami on time. After picking up our rental car we drove out to the beach to find our hotel. I had not put much thought or planning into the hotel (as I was soon to regret) and we could tell upon walking into the lobby that it wasn't going to be pretty. We checked into our ocean view room (great view) and were extremely disappointed. A word of warning ? if you are looking to stay in South Beach DO NOT stay at the Penguin Hotel. It was without a doubt the crummiest room we have ever had. Badly painted white walls, cheap carpet, hand painted old furniture (chipped to boot) and not even a chair. I was worried about the reactions of the rest of our group who were arriving the next day. If the rooms weren't bad enough they had the most incompetent desk clerks we have ever seen. Luckily we had so much fun in South Beach that it didn't ruin anything for us. We really enjoyed being there a few days early and had a great meal at Joe's Stone Crab and drinks at Smith and Wolenski at their waterfront outside bar. The latter is perfect for watching the ships leave Miami and we got to see a lot of them.
The day before the cruise we took a harbor cruise out of Bayside, a shopping and dining and entertainment area near the port. This is a great way to see Miami and some of the ships docked along Government Cut. We were all struck at how much more beautiful the Royal Caribbean ships were next to the Carnival ships (and for the record I don't work for RCI or have I ever sailed on one of their ships). Chuck commented that the Carnival Fantasy class ships looked like big rectangular hunks of floating cement painted white. I think they sort of look that way too and was hoping that once on board we would lose that feeling.
We thought dropping off the car at the port would be a breeze but for some reason there was no sign to indicate where Avis was, the only car rental at the port. After getting some directions we easily found it and turned the car in. There was an Avis shuttle that took us to the Ecstasy. We dropped off our bags and headed into the terminal. Since it was 12:20 or so we expected a huge crowd. Happily the line wasn't long at all and we were checked in and on the ship within 10 minutes.
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Ship: Carnival Ecstasy
Date of Cruise: May 3, 1999
Cruise Destination: Carnival Ecstasy 4 day Cruise to Key West and Cozumel
Guest Contributor: Andy Taylor
This was going to be our first cruise, but because I just couldn't wait 9 whole months we took a 3 day cruise to nowhere out of Alexandria, Virginia on the NCL Leeward last August. That cruise did little to help the wait, and in fact probably made it worse since we had such a terrific time.
The whole idea of a cruise came about when my other half's mother got some free airfare and was looking for somewhere to go. She suggested a cruise and I was all for it, immediately researching what was available. We suggested the date since we were planning on going to a friend's wedding in Miami and thought we would combine that with the cruise. Typical of first time cruisers, Chuck's mother, Juanita, thought she didn't want a full week of cruising so that narrowed down the choices. I was deciding between the Ecstasy and the Sovereign of the Seas. I had ruled out the Leeward since we had already booked her. I thought that I would probably like RCI better but I liked the itinerary of the Ecstasy much better and combined with the fact that Juanita LOVES Vegas we went with the Ecstasy. Booking 9 months in advance gives you good choices for cabins and good prices too. Chuck's sister and brother-in-law, Terri and William and their good friends Becky and Paul, were also going so we had a nice group of eight, enough for our own table.
We splurged and went for demi-suites with balcony. We had cabins V-9 and V-11 on the Veranda deck. The rest were in E-164, E-166. Everything booked, we all settled down for a very long 9-month wait.
About a week before the cruise we started going to a tanning salon so we wouldn't be "fish belly white" as we started the cruise. I think it is a good idea to get a head start on your tan. We also thought we could get a little sun in South Beach before the cruise.
Our flight down from Washington DC on American Airlines was uneventful and we arrived in Miami on time. After picking up our rental car we drove out to the beach to find our hotel. I had not put much thought or planning into the hotel (as I was soon to regret) and we could tell upon walking into the lobby that it wasn't going to be pretty. We checked into our ocean view room (great view) and were extremely disappointed. A word of warning ? if you are looking to stay in South Beach DO NOT stay at the Penguin Hotel. It was without a doubt the crummiest room we have ever had. Badly painted white walls, cheap carpet, hand painted old furniture (chipped to boot) and not even a chair. I was worried about the reactions of the rest of our group who were arriving the next day. If the rooms weren't bad enough they had the most incompetent desk clerks we have ever seen. Luckily we had so much fun in South Beach that it didn't ruin anything for us. We really enjoyed being there a few days early and had a great meal at Joe's Stone Crab and drinks at Smith and Wolenski at their waterfront outside bar. The latter is perfect for watching the ships leave Miami and we got to see a lot of them.
The day before the cruise we took a harbor cruise out of Bayside, a shopping and dining and entertainment area near the port. This is a great way to see Miami and some of the ships docked along Government Cut. We were all struck at how much more beautiful the Royal Caribbean ships were next to the Carnival ships (and for the record I don't work for RCI or have I ever sailed on one of their ships). Chuck commented that the Carnival Fantasy class ships looked like big rectangular hunks of floating cement painted white. I think they sort of look that way too and was hoping that once on board we would lose that feeling.
We thought dropping off the car at the port would be a breeze but for some reason there was no sign to indicate where Avis was, the only car rental at the port. After getting some directions we easily found it and turned the car in. There was an Avis shuttle that took us to the Ecstasy. We dropped off our bags and headed into the terminal. Since it was 12:20 or so we expected a huge crowd. Happily the line wasn't long at all and we were checked in and on the ship within 10 minutes.
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