The pleasant surprises at the Carnival Ecstacy Cruise

After all the ill karma of hearing how horrific my friend's experiences were at the Carnival Ecstasy, I had no expectations. The cruise was already booked and I thought, if nothing else, I will have lost some wait given the horror stories I heard about the cuisine on board the ship.

The drive from Houston to Galveston was less than 2 hrs. We parked the car, checked in smoothly and were on board the ship in less than 30 mins upon arrival at the Galveston port.

I had plenty to compare the ship amenities with. I reminisced past cruise experiences on the Royal Caribbean and on the Norwegian. Here goes nothing I thought..

The cabins are surprisingly spacious, more so than the deluxe rooms on the other cruise ships I had been on.

The safety drill was painless and finished sooner than expected.

We started the journey with "follow hip hop dancers" dance drill and buffet food from the grill. The food was pretty decent for burgers and chicken tenders.

I quickly spotted the "Rolls Royce" cafe for my cappuccino fix to ride me "perky" through the rest of the day.

There were a lot more activities for the different age groups, and entertainment shows on board for grownups. Both scavenger hunts for kids and adults were memorable. My 8 yr old proved that it is possible to putt-putt in very very windy weather and you actually get a chance to play ping pong. My 10 yr old daughter remarked while checking out the camp schedule, "Wow, feels like they know that "I" am on board : ) T-shirt painting, towel demos to turn them into animals, break dance lessons were all great hits!

The food at the formal dining halls saved the days. Three course breakfast, lunch and dinners were easy to get used to. There was a dance/entertainment routine every night at the dining halls that showed the spirit of the staff who were from only 41 countries.

Activities at the port stops in Cozumel and Progresso were easy to organize. We decided not to go with the cruise off shore excursions, but just found what we wanted once we landed at the ports. A visit to the Uxmal Ruins, a personal guide, 15 of free internet to further a business deal across the oceans in West Bengal, a trip to a private beach and snorkeling in what I call "unfair blue" waters, were just icing on the cake.

I give the Carnival Ecstasy a thumbs up for upbeat staff and good housekeeping service, free room service delivery and timing, on board activities for all ages, good food at the formal dining and a great white mocha cappuccino with caramel syrup in soy at the Rolls Royce.

Improvements that my little hoteliers craved were: Why is Chinatown not a real Chinese food cafe instead of a lounge, why do the colors on the walls change making it look like a casino, why do the pizzas taste funny?