Trip Report: Elation 7/10-7/17, Cruise with Kids

We just got back yesterday from a fantastic trip on the Elation. DH & I have three kids ages 3, 6, & 9. We traveled with another family that have a 12yo and 3 yo.

We drove down the night before and stayed in Clearlake. Had a nice dinner and fun at Kemah boardwalk. After a relaxing breakfast & kid's swim time, we made the short drive to Galveston. We parked at EZ cruise and were immediately shuttled to the terminal. Embarkation went great except for when momentarily lost track of a much loved stuffed animal and had to back track to find him. Turned out our friends had picked up the backpack and boarded with it just ahead of us.

We did not really have any weather problems. The first evening and day, it seemed to be a bit more bumpy than what I remember from our first cruise but it wasn't horrible. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing.

Progresso: we took the shuttle in to town and went to the beach on our own. I brought some sand toys I bought at the dollar store before we left. The kids had a great time and DH found the dollar Coronas across the street. On the way back, we looked at what some of the vendors had to offer and bought a few trinkets. DD got the front of her hair braided for $13 with beads. I brought our old umbrella stroller and was glad to have it for the 3 yo at this port. Our friends had to carry their son from the ship to the shuttle. It was further than I expected and very hot. Also, it was easier to manuver through the street & street venders with him as a passenger. We enjoyed Progresso but I have traveled to other countries and knew what to expect. The beach is not as nice as in Coz but it is nicer than the gulf beaches we can drive to from our home. It was an eye opening experience for my dd to see younger children selling items on the beach.

Coz: we took a cab to Chankanaab. The langoon area was great for the young ones to swim in and build more sand castles. A pelican entertained us by diving for fish. We walked further down the beach where people use the steps to enter for snorkling. We fed the fish rice krispies I brought from the ship and the kids had tons of fish swimming around their legs. We did not swim with the dolphins, because our kids were not all old enought to participate but we walked over and the kids could see them swimming. We bought tickets to the sea lion show. It was $5 per person and kids 8 & under were free. The narrator spoke both English & Spanish and it was a nice break from the beach.

Belize: because of the reviews I read on these boards, I booked the Caye Caulker shark & sting ray snorkel. FYI the ship switched to Belize time the night before so the time change was not an issue for passengers. That morning DH went to get our tendor number while I checked the 3 yo into Camp Carnival and get breakfast with the other kids. We had tender #5 stickers. When they started calling numbers, they called 1 & 2 together, then called 4,5,6 & 7 together. We got off the tender about 9:50, just in time for our 10am departure with Coral Breeze. Overall our experience with them was good but there were a couple of disappointments. We went to Caye Caulker to drop off a few people who did not want to snorkel. They did not have small fins for the kids on board even though I specified the ages of my kids in the reservation. DH went along as one of the guides went up the beach to several different rental places until they found some fins that were small enough. DD's mask was too big and we asked about it before we left shore. They said she would have to use the same one they had for adults. The guide made it as small as possible but she still had problems with it throughout the tour and obviously couldn't enjoy it as much as if her mask fit properly. One guide name Guy was great helping our kids along and trying to help with the mask as much as possible. He dove down for hermit crabs to show the kids and caught sting rays for them to touch. After snorkeling in two areas, we headed back to the island for lunch. Some in our group ate and others did not. Those who had the chicken burrito were sick the next day or two. They told us to be back at 3:30 to depart which gave us an hour 45 minutes on the island and that was more than enough. We rented a golf cart and drove around every inch of the island. We got back to the tender dock on the mainland at 4:30 and jumped right on a waiting tender back to the ship. We were 15 minutes late picking up the younger boys from Camp Carnival but the counselor took pity on us and didn't charge us extra. Overall the day was good but I wish they had been prepared with smaller gear for the kids and our 5 hour tour ended up being 6 1/2 hours leaving us no time to even step in a single shop in Belize City.

Camp Carnival was awesome thoughout our trip. We had kids in 3 different camp age groups. Our boys loved the activities and we sort of had to force them to come to the dining room at least a couple of times so we could eat as a family. We were a little surprised by the way they run the program for 9-11 yr olds. Kids can check themselves in and out of the program without a parent. Our dd is 9 and we did not want her going around the ship by herself so we told her she had to stay with Camp Carnival. A couple days into the cruise, we met another family with a girl the same age. We allowed them to leave group activities together to go to specific places like Tiffany's, ping pong, arcade etc. We did not have walkie talkies but this other family did and that was good to know that the other mom was in touch with them as needed. Some of the activites offered for the 9-11's just didn't appeal to our dd and we couldn't get her to go as much as I hoped she would. I wonder if Carnival could get more kids to participate by offering a few activities geared just for boys and just for girls for this age group. One night during the cruise they had and extended late night party for the 6-8's and the 9-11's on a different night. You had to pay extra for it but it was fairly reasonable. The kids had a blast and maded some neat crafts. The last night of cruise, Camp Carnival gave the kids a little gift. The 3 yo got a captain's hat and the 6 yo got a Camp Carnival backpack. I don't know what they may have given the 9-11s as my dd did not go on the last night.

Debarkation: our friends self debarked and called us at 9am from their car. Our color was the third one called so we walked off the ship at 9:30. We had to wait a little while for the EZ cruise shuttle but made it back to the car by 10:30.

Thanks to everyone who answered my questions leading up to our vacation. Hope my trip report can help someone else planning a funship vacation. I will check back to see if I can answer any questions. Elation was fantastic and we had a great vacation. We are so thankful that we sailed between Dennis & Emily.:)

Glad you had a great cruise! We did also. Yall got on when we got off!

Glad you both had a great time! Thanks for your review, much appreciated!

Thank you for the information. We are leaving on the Elation on Aug. 14 we have a 10 and 8 yo daughters. I too would be surprised that the 10 year old age group could wander around the ship by themselves. When you said that your 9 yo had to stay with Camp Carnival, was that in the room area? Do they travel as a group to the different activities? I would love to hear some more info about the 9-11 yo group. Thank you.

Lisa T:

We told our dd she HAD to stay with the Camp Carnival group and could not check herself out and leave the group. The CC counselors are great but the rules would allow a child in this age group to leave the group whenever he/she wishes. We trusted our child to follow our rules and I'm proud to say that she did.

Each camp age group has an in/out sheet. For the younger age groups, the parents sign in & out. The counselors check it very closely, only allow the person(s) who signed the child in to sign that child back out. You have to show them your sail & sign card and they do make sure the signatures match.

The 9-11's, sign the sheet themselves. When they leave the group, they have to list the time and where they plan to go. Many of the 9-11 activities are in the disco during the day and early evening before the disco opens to adults. They also go to shows, ping pong, basketball, etc. They do travel as a group, but the rules allow the kids to join or leave the group whenever.

The 2nd night of our trip, I picked her up at the last activity. She happened to be the only girl at the time, sitting with the counselor while a group of boys play basketball. All the other girls had left and she was feeling a little left out. Soon after, we found a friend for our dd and allowed the two of them to leave the group to go to a limited number of public areas together, always with a specific time to meet us and with the other mom connected with them by walkie-talkie. I was a little nervous about it at first but it worked out okay.

With each Camp Carnival age group, there is a detailed schedule showing the time and location of the activity each day. I kept the schedules in my pool bag, pocket, or purse so I would know when & where things were. That way we knew where to go if our older kids wanted to join in in the middle of something or if we just wanted to go by to check in on them while they were with Camp Carnival.

Texas Trio - Thank you for the information...I certainly liked it better when the kids were younger and did not have the option to leave the supervised area. From looking at the diagram of the ship - it looks as though the main Camp Carnival area is on the Sports deck behind the atruim. How was the area - this is the first time we are on the Elation? I would imagine that my 8 yo daughter will be spending time there - she loves to join in different activities. Also, does CC still bring the kids to the nightly shows?? Thanks for answers these questions - I just like to know things ahead of time!!

Camp Carnival sort of curves around the atrium on level 12. The area is great! I thought it was much bigger inside that it looked from the outside. The first night they have orientation and parents & kids can go inside to check it out. They seem to have just about everthing available. Lots of crafts & art projects, toys, foos ball, games, playstation & computers, movies. They took them to the show on Monday and Friday. There was an area in the balcony reserved for CC. One night one of the dancers came up after the show to meet them and answer questions.

Hey Texas Trio who was your waiters? We had Sy and Tina from the Inspiration dining room and we saw one of our waiters from last time Joel. It was really neat to get to see him again!

Texas Trio - Thanks again...one more question and I will stop bugging you...does CC bring all of the age groups (specifically 6-8 and 9-11) to the shows together? Are there any activities and the 2 groups do together? Thanks again!!

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Elation on July 31st. It is always good to read a positive review about your ship! We will be using Coral Breeze as well...but we are doing the Cave tubing instead. Did anyone you know do the cave tubing with them? I have read some scary stuff just recently on cave tubing about high water. Just wondering if you had heard anything? Thanks!

Tanya

We were in Inspiration too. Our head waiter was Juan. I can't remember how to spell the other waiter's name. He was from Indonesia and was very playful with my two boys.

I still have copies of the Camp Carnival schedule. I don't remember or see any activities with both the 6-8 and 9-11 groups except the welcome party the first night, (all ages & parents required), the Coke-tail party which was during the captain's party, and the farewell party the last night. Both groups sat in the same reserved area while attending the shows but I think the counselors had them sitting by age group. If the kids opt not to go with you to dinner, all ages eat at Tiffany's and sit in a specific area. Afterwards they go off to the activites for their age group.

Everyone I spoke to who planned to cave tube said their excursions were cancelled because of the rains & high water. One family said the went snorkling instead and the others I talked to did the zip line through the rain forest. My DH really wanted to try cave tubing. Coral Breeze allows kids younger than the age requirement specified on Carnival excursions to tube so we talked about it. After seeing tours cancelled and reading the same scarey reviews I'm glad we listened to our instincts.

I received some great info & tips from these boards so I am happy to return the favor. :)

My one daughter is addicted. Can she play on the ones in CC? Is there a way to hook up one in the cabin? Thanks!

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Elation on July 31st. It is always good to read a positive review about your ship! We will be using Coral Breeze as well...but we are doing the Cave tubing instead. Did anyone you know do the cave tubing with them? I have read some scary stuff just recently on cave tubing about high water. Just wondering if you had heard anything? Thanks!

Tanya

This may be too late for you but maybe others can use this information.

We did cave tubing with Coral Breeze last year and it was great. Hike was easy, small group of 8 with a great guide, no dangerous critters (including anacondas), meal at the end was the best of the cruise and that's saying quite a bit.

We did experience some high water but the only thing that might be considered "scary" would be traversing the river before the hike. Some elderly people and children had some minor problems but there are lots of people to help. They had a rope to hold on to and the current was pretty strong but the water was only about 2-3 feet deep. This was during a period when they had experienced heavy rain and the river was high.

You will be very happy you used a private operator. The cruise excursions had

tons of people, the private excursions 8-12. My wife really wanted to do this and I was kind of lukewarm on the idea but it was great. We both had a great time and highly recommend it.

We just got back from the Elation. Cave tubing was wonderful with Coral Breeze....water was not high at all! I will post a review on the Belize forum. Thanks!