Carnival Ecstasy

Career
Name:	1991-2007: Ecstasy 2008 onwards: Carnival Ecstasy
Owner:	Carnival Cruise Lines
Operator:	Carnival Cruise Lines
Port of registry:	Panama
Route:	Western Caribbean
Builder:	Kvaerner Masa-Yards, Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland
In service:	1991-present
Refit:	2009
Identification:	IMO number: 8711344
Status:	In Active Service as of 2010
General characteristics
Class and type:	Fantasy class cruise ship
Tonnage:	70.367 GT
Displacement:	7.180 DWT
Length:	855 ft (261 m)
Beam:	103 ft (31 m)
Draft:	7.80 m (25 ft 7 in)
Decks:	10
Installed power:	2 × Sulzer-Wärtsilä 8ZAV40S diesels 4 × Sulzer-Wärtsilä 12ZAV40S diesels 42240 kW
Propulsion:	Two propellers
Speed:	21 kn (38.89 km/h)
Capacity:	2056 passengers (lower berths) 2634 passengers (all berths)
Crew:	920

The Carnival Ecstasy is a Fantasy class cruise ship, which began operation with Carnival Cruise Lines in 1991. Features include three pools, whirlpools, a variety of dining options, nightclubs, a casino, and duty-free shopping. She is currently offering four- and five- day Western Caribbean itineries out of Galveston, Texas In late 2011 the Carnival Ecstasy will be homeport in New Orleans doing 4, 5, & 7 Western Caribbean

History

The ship suffered heavy damage in 1998 after the laundry room in the ship's stern caught fire damaging much of her stern and aft section.

After Hurricane Katrina, the ship spent six months in New Orleans serving as quarters for refugees and relief workers. Now, the Carnival Ecstasy travels on four and five day itineraries throughout the Western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas.

On July 1, 2007, David Ritcheson, the victim of the April 22, 2006 Harris County, Texas assault incident, jumped off the MS Ecstasy and died.

April 21, 2010 at approximately 12.55 pm U.S. central time, the cruise ship Carnival Ecstasy was forced to perform a maneuver to avoid an object in the water, near Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, which resulted in the ship listing 12 degrees to the starboard side. The object was a large buoy which was adrift and mostly submerged thereby preventing it from being detected by the ship’s radar. Injuries included 60 guests and one crew member. The ship safely docked the following day, Thursday 22 April 2010, at its home port in Galveston, Texas.

Fire

On the afternoon of July 20, 1998, MS Ecstasy had departed the Port of Miami, Florida, en route to Key West, Florida, with 2,565 passengers and 916 crewmembers on board when a fire started in the main laundry shortly after 1700. The fire migrated through the ventilation system to the aft mooring deck where mooring lines ignited, creating intense heat and large amounts of smoke. As the Ecstasy was attempting to reach an anchorage north of the Miami sea buoy, the vessel lost propulsion power and steering and began to drift. The master then radioed the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance. A total of six tugboats responded to help fight the fire and to tow the Ecstasy. The fire was brought under control by onboard firefighters and was officially declared extinguished about 2109. Fourteen crewmembers and eight passengers suffered minor injuries. One passenger who required medical treatment as a result of a pre-existing condition was categorized as a serious injury victim because of the length of her hospital stay. Carnival Corporation, Inc., the owner of the Ecstasy, estimated that losses from the fire and associated damages exceeded $17 million.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of fire aboard the Ecstasy was the unauthorized welding by crewmembers in the main laundry that ignited a large accumulation of lint in the ventilation system and the failure of Carnival Cruise Lines to maintain the laundry exhaust ducts in a fire-safe condition. Contributing to the extensive fire damage on the ship was the lack of an automatic fire suppression system on the aft mooring deck and the lack of an automatic means of mitigating the spread of smoke and fire through the ventilation ducts.

Passengers received a full refund and were offered a complimentary cruise for the inconvenience.

"Evolutions of Fun"

Carnival has announced a new program that will be applied to all Fantasy class ships. It involves many upgrades to the Fantasy ships. After Ecstasy completed its Hurricane Katrina charter, it went into drydock. While there, it received some of the upgrades that are part of the Evolutions of Fun program. These include a new mini golf course on the sports deck, refurnishing of all the staterooms, new children's facilities, and the remodeling of the gift shop and Lido deck restaurant, The Panorama Bar And Grill. In 2009 the ship received the Full Evolutions of Fun which includes the children's water parks and "Camp Carnival" where parents can drop off their child, "Serenity" adult only decks, refurbishing of the ship's aft lounge, additional 98 balconies and other small improvements.

As part of the program, Ecstasy received a new name, it is now known as Carnival Ecstasy. All of the Fantasy class ships will have Carnival added to their current name, and the newer ships in the Carnival fleet enter service with "Carnival" as part of their name. Carnival considers the name change one of many ways they are bringing their Fantasy class ships up to modern cruise standards. As per the change, the name Ecstasy on the bow of the ship had been replaced with Carnival Ecstasy when it was in drydock in 2009.

Gallery

• CarnEcstasy.jpg

  The Ecstasy docked in Nassau, Bahamas in January 2001.

• MS Ecstasy April 2004.jpg

  MS Ecstasy at anchor off Santa Catalina Island near Los Angeles, California, United States in April 2004.

• Carnival Ecstasy.JPG

  The Ecstasy docked in Galveston, Texas, United States, November, 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[[Commons: Category:Carnival Ecstasy

| Carnival Ecstasy

]]

• Carnival Cruise Lines page