BTW - we are coming from Beaumont- Port Arthur area

Hello there! My Husband and I will be on this cruise also. This will be our second cruise, but our first on the Ecstasy ship. Our first cruise was exactly same sail date one year ago on Conquest. We took our 3 year old son with us on that one and sooooo regretted it!! We didn't get to do anything, he was horrible, BUT EVERYTHING WE DID EXPEREINCE on the ship was EXCELLENT!!!! We are hooked on cruising now!!! If you or any other first time cruisers have any questions...feel free to ask me!  YEAH ONLY 20 DAYS LEFT!!!!!!!  Angela

Yes 20 days and counting! I am so excited! I sat down at work today and began writing out my list... And by the way I am also coming from the Beaumont/Port Arthur area! Southeast,TX all the way!

I know, I'm getting so excited it's ridiculous!  This is me and hubs first cruise, so we decided not to take the kids (ages 2 and 9 months).  Maybe next time kiddos! 

Just F.Y.I. I have heard on here a lot that Progresso isn't such a nice place to just get off the ship and walk around/sit on the beach/shop. A friend of ours has been on this exact cruise and said, the locals are EXTREMELY pushy on trying to sale stuff to all the tourists, and that the more "nicer" side of Progresso is kinda far away from where the ship docks....meaning...we are kinda on the "rough side". BUT I was told if you book shore excursions, you will probably not have to deal with any of this, and people who did do an excursion had a blast...My Husband and I have already signed up for the horseback on the beach excursion... We will probably be sore afterwards, but what an excuse for a massage, right???

OH and if anyone is interested in any Spa services, I would recommend you wait until on the ship, because on our last cruise they had a few days where all services were discounted, I think as much as 50% off....That is what I plan on doing this time...At least you save some money, because the massages and treatments are not cheap!

 Yeah, to Carnival for updating our Ecstasy ship with a whole new carnival waterworks and resort-style pools and just in time for our cruise so we all can enjoy it!

Finally the 20-day countdown starts today!!!

Just a little heads up....on our last cruise one of our stops, actually the first one was in Jamaica.. and word on the ship as we were pulling away was a woman had gone on a shore excursion that was not booked with Carnival, and those people who were in charge of that excursion did not get back to the ship in time and that person had to fly from Jamaica to Grand Cayman to catch up with our ship. All on her own expense. I don't know for sure if this is true, but I thought I'd let you decide for yourself...I would hate for anyone to have to go through that...and all because she decided to go with a local excursion guide instead of booking through Carnival...who knows if it was just a rumor though.  I know while in Jamaica we had booked 2 different excursions and there was about 1 hour and a half in between them, and because we had to wait on a few people that were in our group on our first excursion..we missed the second one. We were only 1 of about 8 other couples on the same van and all of them missed out on their second excursion too, so to be careful if you want to do more than one excursion..I would make sure there is at least 2 hours in between the two, just in case!! I know this happened to a lot of other guests. Thankfully Carnival did refund our money though, but we were still upset to have missed out on the experience! Hope this was a little helpful!

Angela

Thanks for the warning.  We were just going to go on one of the two excursions in cozumel, both we were interested in but neither have enough people to make an excursion unless others sign up.  I know that there is always a chance of not getting back in time with the excursions that aren't booked through carnival but I was going to take that chance, may regret it.  Both companies are highly recommended by numerous cruisers on both travel advisor and other cruise forums and I have always had success using these types of forums.  On our last cruise we only used cruise bookings but I have talked to many others who used reputable companies and have been okay.  The 6 hour Snorkeling/Deep Sea Fishing/Spinnaker....."Tucan Cruising" usually runs from 9-3:00pm but the people who run it are willing to leave early (8am ish to get a group back in time to depart).  I guess what makes us interested in these is that they are less expensive, plus will only have 5-10 people versus 50-60.

Does anyone have any information on any of the carnival cruise excursions?  In Cozumel we were looking for a snorkeling trip!   

Your welcome..Who knows, it does sound like these people seem very responsible,etc..so you would probably be ok...but I'm just that type of person who thinks it's better to be safe than sorry...  :) My parents that were on our last cruise with us, did the deep sea fishing excursion in Cozumel...said it was fantastic! There were only another hand-ful of people on the boat with them, I think 2 other couples. But I think that excursion through Carnival is the most expensive, and if I am remembering right they did catch fish...a barracuda, a needlefish, but of course the guys on the actual boat did most of the catching, and then would let the tourists "finish reeling it in". My Mother still brags about this excursion 1 year later, she said it was just really relaxing and said all the colors of the ocean were absolutely beautiful...soooo many shades of blue.  Be sure you wear a Motion-Sickness patch though! Good luck! My Husband and I are doing the parasailing and the zip-line ( kinda nervous about both, but hey, what are vacations for, right?)  Hopefully we will bump into eachother somewhere on the ship....19 days!!!!

Ok so I went did some shopping today for the cruise and once again I am sooooo excited that we are 17 days and counting! Hope everyone is as excited as I am...   

14 days and counting!!!!!

 My wife and I will be taking our first cruise ever on this particular date.  I am looking forward to it, but my wife isn't so sure.  What will there be for her to do on a cruise?  Everyone says you will love it, but she's afraid of being bored.  We don't gamble, she doesn't lay out in the sun, doesn't like to shop, etc. so what can she do?

 As for excursions, in Progresso, we will be taking one of the Myan ruins tour.  That one will be booked on ship to make sure we're not getting back too late and missing the sailing time.  At Cozumel, I plan on taking one of the beginner scuba lessons and dive.  Since those are only a 2 hr. excursion, I will probably do on my own.  Is anyone else planning on doing this?  Maybe we can go together.

By the way, we are from Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and will be driving down Sunday.

Looking forward to it !!!  Brian

Hello there! We are from Hobbs New Mexico...only about 6 hours away from you guys! We are getting soooo excited. This is our second cruise, only this time we are more excited, because we aren't taking the kid!

As for your wife, there are plenty of things to do, I am looking at one of our daily programs from our last cruise..there is a gym, exercise classes of all sorts, including yoga,walk a mile,pilates, etc...a spa, they have contests such as crosswords & puzzles, trivia, golf classes, weight loss challenges,ping pong tournaments, bridge/other card tournaments (not casino), wine tasting,art auctions, karaoke, scrapbooking classes, dancing classes,and tons of BINGO during the day, which on our last cruise my Husband and I loved....the pots are BIG if you win, at least bigger than any bingo I've ever been too, and that is just some of the stuff listed in one day...than at night, it gets really exciting..comedy shows, magic shows, dancing shows. Throughout every day and night they also have really funny shows like, "Battle of the sexes", Men's hairy chest contest", etc..

The "trick" to a cruise is I think to keep an open mind...go do stuff you wouldn't normally do, I don't know what it is, but carnival has a way to make EVERYTHING fun and hilarious...we laughed at all the employees in charge of the activities because they make everyone involved and keep everything sooo upbeat and fun! Take a few good books if you like to read...on our last cruise alot of people just sat down either in the sun, or in one of the cafes, or lounges and read. You can go swimming, eat, go dancing in one of many clubs at almost any time of the day!!

What is your wife planning on doing while your scuba diving in Cozumel??? We have been to Cozumel, and it is a really nice place to just get off the boat, and eat, shop, etc..but I know you mentioned she isn't into that. I hope this was of help...and I am crossing my fingers that both of you have a blast! Let me know if you have any other questions. Yeah only 11 days!!!!!!! 

Woohoo 5 days and counting ladies and gentlemen... I think I am the most overly excited person on this post! Cant wait to set sail...

Me too me too..

Been really busy and not had time to post, but ladies and gentlemen, the countdown begins....

Peaches, with Scooter charged up and ready to go

Anyone notice the tropical storm?