Elissa:
I have been on a lot of cruises and a lot of lines (Cunard, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Big Red Boat, no name scary boats, ferries, etc.) This was by far the worst food and service I have ever received. I really started to believe as we approached the cruise that it was going to be better than I thought it would and I would end up eating my words about Carnival but everything I had thought, remembered, and experienced was now even worse.

Positives: Room was relatively new and had fresh bedding and new flat screen tv's. Bathroom was larger than on most other ships I've been on. Kristen really enjoyed the kids club (though I felt they watched too many movies)

Negatives: Food. Hot food wasn't hot, Cold food wasn't cold. It was all bad. Dining room service was horrible! They didn't even bother to learn our names, every night we didn't receive random appetizers or food, and they generally seemed miserable with their jobs. For a 'fun ship' there didn't seem to be a lot to do. The buffet was worse than Golden Corral and was so poorly laid out it made me cringe. There were several times we witnessed employees putting new food on top of the old food!!!

I won't be sailing Carnival again, not even as a joke!

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Disneyfan1313:
I think the thing that bothered me the most about the cruise is the experience that other guests on the ship was having. While I personally have something to compare this experience to, having cruised on RCCL, Princess, Norwegian, Disney, and other Carnival ships before, for many other guests on this ship it was their first and probably their last cruise vacation. The quality (food, service, activities) was so SHOCKINGLY low that I know people (including ones I overheard talking) walked away thinking that all cruises were this poor of a quality. We had many conversations with 'first time cruisers' on this ship who we had to explain that not all cruise lines are this bad, and they should really give another cruise line a try before saying they would never do another cruise again.

Cruising is one of the best vacations out there and it makes me sad to think that Carnival is dumbing down peoples view of their industry with their Wal-Mart quality and attitude. I went into the experience WANTING to have a good time, and wanting Carnival to prove us wrong with our outlook on the company and was disappointed at every turn.

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Dave:
I just want to point out right now that while I went into this thinking it wouldn't be as 'bad' as we thought it might be, and that perhaps Carnival had an undeserved reputation, I was 100% wrong. This is easily the foulest, most horrible place I've ever spent any vacation time. The ship was horrible, the service beyond terrible, and the food...oh god, the food...never have I seen such crap in my life. I'd say that Carnival should be ashamed for putting forth such an abysmal product, but there seems to be an audience for pure crap, so I'm sure they figure they need to change or improve nothing, as there will always be another Coors Light swilling gang of idiots who will happily sign up for this torment and proclaim it 'best cruise ever!'

Did we have fun? Oh yes. But it was because of the group, not anything that Carnival provided. Seriously, do not spend money with this company. They easily provide one of the worst products on Earth.

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Jack:
Just got back from our 'Klassy' cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy. It was a tragic, yet hilarious, blend of incredibly poor food and service. I hope this doesn't offend anyone reading this, but if you like Carnival Cruise Lines, you have never been on a Carnival ship or you have never been on anything but a Carnival ship. The most amazing thing was the awesome group of people we sailed and survived with - they made this a trip I'll never forget. Next week we're very excited to be sailing on a Disney ship - so thank you to Carnival for offering up a little perspective.

I need to point out that each one of us knew in advance Carnival's reputation, and how awful it *could* have been. This was a survival challenge and an opportunity to put perspective to the level of service we're used to on Disney or RCL - and perhaps give Carnival the opportunity to prove us wrong. But even with the lowest of expectations, Carnival (and to be honest, their clientele) completely impressed us with their ability to blow right past all preconceived notions and establish all new lows in Guest Service and Satisfaction. Avoid at all costs. Or turn it into a reality show - your choice...

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TP Dave:
If you have no desire for good food or service, a need to appreciate how little there was to do on robben island or just yearn to be surrounded by the ambiance of a Reno Casino from 1976, then carnival cruise lines has aligned themselves perfectly for your next vacation...

If you survive.

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Joey
This cruise was a real eye-opener. It was so much worse than I could have ever expected. The food was absolutely horrendous. The bread was literally the only thing I ever got seconds of. I never finished a single entrée or appetizer, they were that bad. The service was also incredibly terrible. It was single handedly the worst service I have ever experienced. The servers in our area seemed to hate their jobs with a passion, and passed it on to the customers.

The ship itself is terribly designed and very tough to get around. The elevators were a nightmare. The numbering/letter system is terrible to say the least, and the range of levels they would go to was confusing and made no logistical sense. The decorations were absolutely horrendous, and it was painful to the eyes.

The activities were few, and there were many times when we would have hours to wait until something fun was scheduled. We did a lot of the trivia events, but they were literally over in 15 minutes. The clubs were small and uncomfortable, and DJ Ram literally played the same 10 songs over and over again.

The list of problems and negatives could literally go on and on for pages, but to sum it up, if someone offered to pay for my airfare and another 4 day Carnival Cruise, I would absolutely say no.

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Amy
I too, was not excepting Carnival to be as bad as we joked about. But it was worse! The food was so bad and the waiters were the worst. There was not enough activities on the 'Fun Ship', so we mostly just hung around. But we did have fun just because of our group. One of the only good things that I liked was the rooms. The bed was comfy, the sheets were nice, and the bathrooms were big.

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Colin:
I went in to this cruise thinking to myself 'I've heard a lot of bad things about Carnival, but it can't be THAT bad'. So my bar was set pretty low but I expected the ship to have some redeeming qualities. I was surprised that the ship was worse than my already lowered expectations were. Terrible wait staff, disgusting and mislabeled food, lack of activities on the boat, and only two of the employees on the ship bothered to be friendly with us. I'll never sail on Carnival again.

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Garbles:
As a 4th time cruiser, the level of service and quality on the Carnival Ecstasy was nowhere near the standard set by other cruise lines. While the food was garbage, offered at various random times seemingly, and low in quantity and variety across the ship, the fact that even at dinner drink and food orders were not met accurately nor in a friendly matter at all. The only reason this passes as okay is because of the low level of standards set by the clientele on the ship but as a repeat cruiser it really was like venturing into the ghetto. Speaking of the people on the ship, traveling with a group of great, fun friends is the ONLY thing that put the fun in 'fun ship.' The ship lacked in activities to participate in, which is sad for such a short cruise. The fact that it only visited two, less then average ports also highly increased the level of boredom. If not for hanging out and having a good time making a parody of the cruise with friends, this cruise would hardly have been a vacation at all.

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Renee:
'This is the WORST!'

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Piers:
'I'm not leaving this car until I've seen your erection.'

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Thanks to Jack, G-Money, Jake, and Joey for the additional photos & video!

To discuss this update on TPR's forum, click here:
TPR's Klassy Kruise Discussion