First Cruise - Ecstasy July 1

[san614]

My husband and I just booked a 5 day cruise out of Galveston leaving on July 1 on the Ecstasy. This will be our first cruise and, like many first time cruisers, do not know what to expect. We are going to Cozymel and Progresso Yucatan. Does anyone have any suggestions excursion suggestions at these ports? What is the Ecstasy like? Any information you could share would be great! Thanks

[slc poser]

If you're interested in snorkling or scuba, the Palancar Reef is right off the southern end of Cozumel. It is gorgeous. IIRC, Progreso is the port city near Merida, and there are several Mayan sites nearby.

[penny3333]

We did a swim with the dolphins in Cozumel (pre-hurricane) that was awesome. Xel-ha is a great place for snorkeling and water activities. Tulhum ruins are extremely interesting. Haven't been to Progresso. The on-board activies range from bingo to pool sports, the ice carving is unbelievable. You can eat 24/7, the food and presentations are amazing. The crew and staff will go out of their way to make your cruise enjoyable. Relax, enjoy and have a marvelous cruise!!

[supercharger]

In Cozumel we did the Atlantis submarine ride. I called Atlantis direct and booked this. Depending on where you dock it is a 5 minute walk or a 5 minute cab ride. We went down 125 feet it was AWESOME!

In Progresso we went to the ruins with Ivan. Book this on line with Ivan and Dave. They make this tour so interesting because of their background. This was my husbands favorite trip.I would highly recommend this tour!

Diana

[Rodney]

We went on Ecstacy May 1 - 6. You can read my full review written on May 10th here. Just look for Ecstacy review on May 10th, or search, or go to FIND, then SEARCH word Ecstacy and you will find anything written lately about the ship. Contact me if you need anything...you will really enjoy the Ecstacy as we did on our first cruise! Have a blast!

[mommapickles]

Myself and my husband are also going on our first cruise on July 1st on the ecstacy out of Galveston, i do not know ny way around this forum..it will be are anniversary on July 1st../will they do anything special for us?? also do you think they will have any fireworks for the 4th of july??..also this will be our first vacation without the kids...8 and 5 years old i will want to call home, any idea on what is the cheapest??? for me to call them, or for them to call me>> thanks

[Jim C.]

Hey MommaPickles-

The forum is fairly straight forward, you already have the hard part firgured out... how to write a reply. Same method is used for starting your own "discussion". The forum is divided up by interest area- each major cruise line, ports of call, and then some general discussion areas. Put cruise line specific questions in the appropriate forum group, discussions on ports and hotels go in their group. There is a bunch of really good information on this site, you can search for a topic (like search for "Galveston" and it will return all the previous posts discussing that.

Fireworks? I'm not sure, as I have never been on a cruise over the fourth.. Maybe some other cruisers have and can tell you. You may be having too much fun to care..

As for the phone calls, I'd schedule those for when you are in port, ship to shore calls are very pricey. Calls from the ports are cheaper, but check the rates. If you have a cell phone, most of the major US cell operators have operations in Mexico and Grand Cayman at least. Check with them before you go and they can tell you what the rates will be. The schedule calls for when you are in port.Leave the ship's phone number with whomever is watching them for you for an emergency use.

Have a great first cruise... You should have a blast, and next time bring the kids! It is a great family vacation too.

[Charley]

Last year in cozumel we wnet to paradise beach and for about $6 all day you can use their lounge chairs, water floats, trampolene, they have this thing you climb out in the middle of the water and on the other side is a slide. It was alot of fun. they have a little bar that you can get drinks at if you would like but you are not pressured to buy anything from them. The shops at the pier are just as good as in town. They are very pushy when you walk through the town. Hope this helped you out some

[BJC123]

Calls from the ship to home are VERY EXPENSIVE. We had to make a quick (less than 10 min) home in January from Conquest ... I cost us over $100. I'd try to buy a cheap minutes phone card in port and use that to call home. I'm leary of using my cell phone in Mexico as several of my co-workers have had their phones cloned while using them there.

[mommapickles]

Thanks for all the info...i would love to hear from more people about phone call options!!! i will have to call home at least once but maybe 2 x..this is my first time away from my kids and i am freaking out about the thought of not being able to hear their voice...i needed the time away, but will miss them terrably...