We recently took a 5 night Carnival cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida to Nassau, Freeport, and Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas on the Ecstacy. Meals (but not alcohol) are included in the price of the cruise.

On the ship, we had the option to eat breakfast or dinner at either their fancy restaurant (Wind Star) or a variety of buffets. Lunch was always available at the buffets. We did not run across the sushi restaurant. While we enjoyed the food and service at Wind Star for dinner, the food quality and temperature was much better  at the buffet for breakfast.

We also tried the High Tea service, which was great, featured desserts we hadn’t seen in the other dining areas and cucumber sandwiches; High tea was only available on the return day at sea. The tea served on the cruise was always Bigelow, so I did miss my selection of higher-end teas from home.

One of the waiters, Vernon (from Guyana) was great and friendly; he recommended that we eat at Pepper Pot (Jamaican restaurant) in Nassau but it was closed for Emancipation Day when we arrived. We now didn’t have a plan for lunch so asked the locals where they eat–they told us to go to Fish Fry at Arawak Kay, which is how we found Deidra’s and Sky Juice King, both of which were very good examples of local cuisine. Deidra’s seafood was very fresh and delicious–maybe we should have tried their “crab ‘n rice” as well.

We have included a gallery of pictures so that you can see the foodie highlights. The food on the cruise was plentiful and good.

Entertainment:

There were a variety of shows including Rockette-style dance shows, comedy shows, and trivia (including relationship themed trivia) shows. Also available were karaoke, and pool side entertainment (including the “Hairiest man Contest”).

Cons:

The shower controls were very difficult to decipher, so it was easy to scald yourself.

The breakfast at Wind Star was not as good as the buffet breakfasts.

We specified that feathers (such as feather pillows or comforters) should not be in the room due to an allergy, but there was a feather duvet in the room; It took us a while to realize why I was not feeling well, so my first night sleeping in the room was not pleasant.

The people working for the Ecstacy try way too hard to get you to buy daimonds in Nassau (at specific vendors). Too hard a sell!

Tips:

Beach lovers will enjoy Half Moon Cay (Carnival’s private island): It has a truly gorgeous beach, the nicest beach we visited on this trip. We booked one excurison on this island, the Stingray Adventure, where we found ourselves (happily) feeding whole squid to stingrays in an enclosure–if you select this excursion, choose an early timeslot (we chose the second earliest option, 11am), so that the stingrays are still hungry.

Do your shopping at the  Lucaya Straw Market in Freeport instead of at the Nassau Straw Market. Why? At Nassau, the vendors are all over you, so it is hard to actually shop; every few feet, a new person is in your face. Freeport is more laid back; the vendors at the Lucuya Straw Market was much more reserved and willing to let you haggle for lower prices then you would get in Nassau.

Bring travel-size sunscreen, aloe gell, and toiletries, so you can get the products through airport security.

The hot chocolate at Wind Star was very good; they can even make the hot chocolate with skim milk.

Canival runs cruises to the Bahamas and Bermuda out of Baltimore as well.

Conclusion:

We had fun, relaxed, went to the salt water pool, and ate a lot of really good food, so recommend this cruise.

-JAY

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