Carnival Cruise Lines
Ecstasy Cruise Review
Cozumel-Progresso

Well here it is, were back and we had a great time, the weather was terrible, the wind, the 10-12 foot swells, and the cool air, but any cruise is a great cruise.

SATURDAY: We arrived at Galveston about 12:15 and EZ Cruise parking was full of people because the Grand Princess had arrived late, but the great people who work there had us loaded and at the dock in about 30 minutes.
The Terminal was full of people more than I remembered from last time but we were thru the front door and boarding the ship in less than an hour. Lunch on the Lido deck was our first priority so hamburger’s, hotdogs and French fries were calling our names. After lunch we made it to our staterooms on the Main Deck , Midships, and found that our cabins weren’t ready but we left our bags there and headed off to explore.

The Ecstasy is a beautiful ship and well taken care of, I personally thought the Elation was much nicer and had much better food but not everyone in our family agreed with me. We finally had the dreaded life preserver drill and we were ready this time. We were sitting on the Lido deck ready with our Preservers at 3:30 and everyone kept looking at us like we were crazy, until they cut the elevators and everyone had to run down pick them up and run back up. We finally got done with the drill, so this time we were able to watch us pull out. Found the camera on top of the Harbor House as we pulled out, saw how the Coast Guard was beside us the whole time until we reached open water, and as any small boat would approach us the Coast Guard would peal off and place themselves between us and the other boat, after the boat passed they would turn around and pull up beside us again waiting on the next small fishing boat to come within range. They did this on both sides. Made us feel real safe and we really appreciate the job they do. After hitting open water we returned to the interior of the ship to explore. This ship was completely different than the Elation, that we were on in February of this year although it was laid out the same the look was completely different. The food on the Lido deck was great although it seemed there was more oriental food than normal but we were told the Head Chef was from the Philippines. Our bags arrived at our stateroom by 5:00pm so we all got ready for the 6:15 seating in Windstar.

We ate dinner each night in the Windstar and made one request from our boys that they eat dinner with us each night. We enjoyed dinner nightly and ate to our hearts content. Wonderful meals, Steak, Sea food, Pork chops, pasta dishes, and much more.

SUNDAY: Woke up early around 5:00am hit the lido deck for the first cup of coffee, it was piping hot and good to the last drop we sat on the deck at the far rear of the Lido deck out of the wind and watched the Sunrise it was spectacular. 8:00am found us at the Buffet line for scrambled eggs, Pork sausage, bacon, hash browns, and pancakes. After breakfast we toured the ship and had the Capers to plan our day, the wind wasn’t a factor yet so the outside decks were all open, later that first night they started putting up signs that said the outside doors were closed due to high winds. We talked to one of the ships officers the next morning when we arrived at Cozumel and he told us they had recorded 12-15 foot swells during the night, I have no idea how they calculate the waves but they really rocked the ship during the night. Tonight was the Captains dinner so everyone was dressed to the high caliber that is required to attend this event. After dinner we retired to our cabin because of the rocking and decided to just watch TV where we could hold on. Didn’t see anyone get sick but heard that several people did.

MONDAY: Got up early to watch how they would maneuver the ship into Cozumel in the high winds, don’t have a clue how he did it but we backed into the pier like it was smooth as glass outside. We tied up and off the ship we went, wind seemed to be blowing extremely high and it was cool and partly cloudy, they announced before we left the ship that all water excursions had been cancelled, so we didn’t have a clue what to do so the boys said lets go to Senor Frogs and do shots I said ok I am gain for it. Had a great time with our sons doing shots and acting crazy but after a couple of hours it was time to do a little shopping. Found some great deals on T-Shirts and brought back about 20 shirts. Boarded the ship around 2:00pm and we ate lunch and tried to find something to soak up the alcohol. We pulled out of port around 5:00pm with a lot of disappointed people who had wanted to do water excursions and weren’t allowed to do them because of the weather. Dinner that night was great, think I had the Sirloin steak rare. Went to one show at 8:45 and then to bed.

TUESDAY: Pulled into Progresso around 9:00am we were running a little late, still windy and cool so we just walked to the free buses at the end of the pier and headed to downtown Progresso. No water excursions here that we could do and we really didn’t want to go see a bunch of ruins so we just walked around the main streets looking at different stores, people always trying to sell you something but a firm “No Thank-You” worked every time. The best deals are here, we bought Cozumel shirts and Senor frog shirts here for half the price as they were in Cozumel, the venders in Cozumel would not deal but the one’s in Progresso would. We actually had a good time just walking around, then it was off to the ship for a late lunch and get ready for dinner in a few hours. Didn’t get sunburned but did get Wind burned. We pulled out in the afternoon and had dinner in the Windstar that night at 6:15. Went to the shows at 8:45 and then hit the bed. Woke up around 1:00am with a hunger for a B.L.T. so I called room service and they delivered a Monstrous B.L.T that had tons of bacon, in about 10 minutes that was out of this world, gave a good tip because I knew I was going to call him again Wednesday night cause I was craving Cheesecake to.

WEDNESDAY: Woke up early again and was sitting on the fantail by the Lido deck at 5:00am drinking a cup of coffee, about 6:30am they put out the Danish pastries and I was on them quick, Cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee are hard to beat. Waited till the D/W showed up and then it was time for breakfast, but this time I tried a omelet made to order by the omelet Chef. Ham, cheese, bell peppers, were great side order of ham and hash browns.
The wind had died down and was really nice so we got everyone together and played several rounds of 9 hole Miniature Golf. Had a great time this day. Played several games of basketball with the boys and hung out in the gym. The Gym has a great view of the front of the ship. Had lunch, took a nap, and woke up for our last dinner. We had some great table mates from Pearland, Texas and really enjoyed them, this was there first cruise and there eyes were wide open at dinner. We ate and ate and had a wonderful time our last dinner was outstanding. Cruised the ship, the casino was our last shot but still couldn’t get a good hand at the Blackjack table, I put down 20.00 played 5.00 a game, and she had three Blackjacks in a row, the 4th hand I had 19 she had 20. Someone was trying to tell me something so I quit. Went to the last show and retired to bed for an early morning.

THURSDAY: Well started doing the crying dance at 5:00am. Woke up knowing this was the last day and it was all over. Showered and got ready for breakfast. Hit the Lido deck at 6:00am and there were already several people up there, had my coffee and waited for the rest of the family to show up. By 7:00pm we were eating breakfast and telling tall tales about the week that had just passed, we all were going to miss it but we were ready to go home. We watched about 6-7 Dolphins beside the ship as we pulled in and saw no one driving around the pier or on the streets. Guess just because it was Thanksgiving day no one was up yet. We headed down to the main deck to our cabin to self disembark with our own luggage, and when they called our deck we were already sitting beside the elevators on Empress deck, we were off the ship and thru customs in about an hour. EZ cruise bus was waiting for us at the end of the pier and took us to our car on lot#1. We loaded up and off we went for the 5 ½ hour drive to our house in North Texas, in time to watch the Cowboys win the game. Well that’s about it but were headed back July 5th for the 4 day cruise with the grandkids. Have fun, drink a shot for me and live life like there is no tomorrow.