Engineering:Carnival Ecstasy

Short description: Cruise ship

Carnival Ecstasy anchored off Princess Cays in 2018.
History
Name:	Ecstasy (1991–2007) Carnival Ecstasy (2007–present)
Owner:	Carnival Corporation & plc
Operator:	Carnival Cruise Lines
Port of registry:	Panama City, Panama
Route:	Western Caribbean and Bahamas
Builder:	Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard Helsinki, Finland
Yard number:	480
Launched:	January 6, 1991
Sponsored by:	Kathie Lee Gifford
Completed:	1991
Maiden voyage:	April 2, 1991
In service:	1991–present
Refit:	2009, 2014, January 2017, October 2019
Identification:	Call sign: H3GR IMO number: 8711344 MMSI number: 353479000
Status:	Service suspended
Notes:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Fantasy-class cruise ship
Length:	855 ft (261 m)
Beam:	103 ft (31 m)
Draft:	7.80 m (25 ft 7 in)
Decks:	12
Installed power:	2 × Sulzer-Wärtsilä 8ZAV40S 4 × Sulzer-Wärtsilä 12ZAV40S 42,240 kW (combined)
Propulsion:	Two propellers
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Capacity:	2,052 passengers (lower berths) 2,606 passengers (all berths)
Crew:	920

Carnival Ecstasy (formerly Ecstasy) is a Fantasy-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on January 6, 1991, and christened Ecstasy by television hostess, entertainer and long time Carnival spokesperson Kathie Lee Gifford. Her inaugural voyage began on April 2, 1991. During 2007, in common with all of her Fantasy-class sisters, she had the prefix Carnival added to her name. With the departure of the Carnival Fantasy in 2020, the Carnival Ecstasy is now the oldest ship in the fleet.

Areas of operation

Throughout her service Carnival Ecstasy has cruised from ports in the United States to Baja Mexico, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

After Hurricane Katrina, the ship spent six months in New Orleans serving as quarters for evacuees and relief workers.

Starting in May 2019, the ship cruised from Jacksonville, FL's JAXPORT Cruise Terminal to visit the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean.

Accidents and incidents

Fire

On the afternoon of July 20, 1998, Ecstasy departed the Port of Miami, Florida, en route to Key West, Florida, with 2,565 passengers and 916 crew members aboard. A fire started in the main laundry room and spread through the ventilation system to the aft mooring deck, where mooring lines ignited. As Ecstasy was attempting to reach an anchorage north of the Miami sea buoy, the vessel lost power and began to drift. The master then radioed the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance. Six tugboats responded to help fight the fire and tow Ecstasy. The fire was brought under control by onboard firefighters and was extinguished about 9:09 PM. Fourteen crew members and eight passengers suffered minor injuries. One passenger required medical treatment as a result of a pre-existing condition and was categorized as a serious injury victim because of the length of her hospital stay. Losses from the fire and associated damages exceeded $17 million.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of fire aboard Ecstasy was the unauthorized welding by crew members 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.

Suicide

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

Refits

In January, 2017, the ship underwent a two week dry docking, at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas. The ship underwent a further 14 day dry dock in October, 2019, adding more venues and providing maintenance. The work was done again at Freeport, Bahamas.