Elation Review-marshhawk and friends

[jgr8fulbear]

Great pictures and thank you for the review!!!

[sjn911]

Marshhawk...you are taking a trip and cruise port city I want to do some day. So fun to have you share your trip!!! The Elation is a beautiful ship I think..thanks for photos and sharing your adventure..fun to see photos of you and your friends..so nice to be free and together with each other. I love the interesting history things,...was the ride/tour calm and all fairly comfortable at that ruin..sounds like a nice time of year not to melt seeing it and that you had a non-stressed enjoyable interesting tour, I would have loved the WWII museum there too< really looking forward to New Orleans...Sincerely, Sarah

Edited March 3, 2014 by sjn911

[h_blond2]

I love the Elation! I also loved your pictures of Uxmal! Mom and I were planning on going there last summer, but it didn't work out. We are going in June and I can't wait!!

[marshhawk]

I am now at work, and I don't have my regular font options...it's me though!

 

Remember when I said that the staff at the NOLA port said because we had FTTF our cabins would be ready and the luggage would be there? I went to guest services to let them know that our cabin wasn't ready and that our luggage wasn't there, as promised. I have an idea why Carnival puts the pretty Russian girls at the Guest Services desk. To a guy, perhaps you would back down because of the beauty, to a woman you may back down because you are facing the "Spanish Inquisition", so the woman heard my complaint, never said she was sorry, told me that THEY on the ship don't promise that our luggage will be there when we got on, and said something to the effect that they would check into it. Well they did check into it. Our steward told them that the cabin wasn't ready when we got on, and they put my 50 bucks back onto my sail and sign card. How nice. They sent me a note stating that they had been trying to reach me by phone ( I am never in my cabin, so who knows) but to come by the Guest Services desk, they wanted to talk to me. They told me that they had checked out my statement with the steward.

 

So, if you really feel you have a viable complaint, take it to guest services, and they will check it out. They apparently hear both sides before making a decision, and that is more than fair.

[marshhawk]

Food on the ship-menh. I think that when I cruise I must keep ordering the same things, you know, the first day they have pot roast, so I keep ordering pot roast, and this cruise, because I do want to try new things everyday, I went off my normal eating pattern, and wasn't impressed. I tried the indian meal one night, and the rice they gave me was cold, and looked like it was about to be rice pudding. The lobster on formal night was cold when served, and I did order another one, which came hot, but tasted- not so great.

 

Theresa and Harley ordered what they wanted, but they enjoy wine at night, and the wine steward would show up before they had had a chance to figure out what they wanted for dinner, and they would send him away until they figured out the meal. Then the waiters would have to go chase him down to take the wine order. My friends like the wine to work with the meal, so perhaps the steward should show up after you place the dinner order. Just a thought.

 

One thing I really did enjoy was the Taste Bar on the Promenade deck at night. Little samplings of what the specialty restaurants serve on the larger ships. This replaced the sushi bar, sushi is now served as an appetizer some nights in the MDR.

 

The night we got back from Uxmal, we opted to dine on the Lido, fried shrimp, (Carnival has the best Tarter Sauce), but the shrimp were a little over breaded, no problem, knock off the breading and keep on munching.

 

We also chose to have breakfast up on the lido that day too, and that was a mistake. We all grabbed some scrambled eggs, and the three I was eating with all spit them out, saying they tasted rancid. I didn't need to try mine,:p just enjoyed my taters and sausage.

 

It is interesting to me, that while the menus on each ship are the same, different foods taste better on different ships, perhaps the chefs should all go back to school to get everyone on the same level. Fruit soups on the Fascination, fantastic, soups on the Elation, not so good. Prime rib on the Fascination not so good, heard it was great on the Elation. The WCMC on the Elation was great every night.:D

 

So not sure if it was me and my wanting to change up my meals on this cruise, or the chef, but I was not impressed with what I ordered, and plan on my next 5 day cruise, to go back to what I know.

[marshhawk]

Service- this was interesting on this ship. I really felt like the crew was not getting along with each other at all. In the MDR the first night our head waiter had a crew of two working for him, they spent most of our dining time sabotaging the service. Laughing and pointing at the head waiter. Not being helpful at all. The next day the girl in this twosome was on the Lido, and she stayed there all week. The last night in the MDR, the waiter was hitting on Barbara, telling her he was unhappy on the ship and wanted to go home with her and keep her warm, she said she wasn't interested in a relationship with a guy, he said no relationship, he's gay. He asked if he could come home with me, and I said, no, I'm married to the guy next to me. He gave up and went to a table that was all women, which left us without dessert.

 

It was only when we all started getting up from the table that his assistant delivered our desserts.

 

Our cabin steward, who didn't have our bed made up when we got there, and hadn't finished cleaning (FTTF) wouldn't put the beds where I requested because he said he couldn't get to the other side of the bed to make it up, so he placed the bed his way....which by the way because of that life jacket box made it impossible to make the bed, or get in on that side without climbing on the bed. My DH got that side of the bed, and the bed sheets were never tucked in at all. One morning he even pulled them out and placed them on the bed, and when we got back they were not tucked in. It has been suggested to just leave the beds as twins, and enjoy the extra space. Because E9 had no space at all. If I was traveling by myself, it would be a cabin I would enjoy.

 

It's not that we didn't see smiles, but when your back was turned, were those sharp objects in their hands? I think that the staff was really ready for a break!

[marshhawk]

Ports-

 

Progreso-the girls(Shari and Barb) took the free bus into town, walked about one block, didn't feel safe at all, turned around and got back on the bus, and went back to the ship. Progreso offers great excursions if you are interested in history, so don't shy away from this port. But book through a reputable company.

 

It is not a great beach place, and this is the reason-there is a great deal of limestone silt in the water. (did you know that north of Progreso is the area that scientists believe the great meteor which wiped out the dinosaurs hit) but the silt clouds the water, and churns up so much in the gulf that it makes the water shallow, as the port area fills with silt, which is why the pier is 4 miles long. The limestone is very erosive, and holds water, which is why there are so many cenotes in this area. Hence the Mayans could build cities and have fresh water, right underneath them. Uxmal is in the "hilly" section, and the earth there is not limestone. No cenotes, which may be why three different groups of natives moved in and out of the area. Uxmal means, thrice built, or sometimes known as Oxmal, means three good harvests. But with no water in the area, that might have been all they could get.

 

Any way, make it an adventure day, not a beach day and you wont be disappointed.

 

Cozumel- warm, clear waters (curse that cold front) a million things to do, see, or do nothing at all. We have gone the last two times to El Cid, a time share hotel within walking distance that offers a day pass for 18.00, or an all inclusive for around 70.00. When you spend the 18.00, they give you a 10 dollar food credit. Since it really was too cold to spend time in the water, we spent our time with a really nice lunch on the patio. Even sitting in the sun was not too hot. For some reason I cannot up load any pictures of this location, but check out some of my past reviews, or imagine perfection.:):)

[marshhawk]

Overall, the air was chilly, the pool empty, the food so so, the staff somewhat surly, but the ports were fantastic. All of our cruises have been about the beach, but now that we have been to the ruins, my DH is changing his tune about where we cruise to, he is no longer saying he wont go back to Belize, and Chichen Itza might be a good reason to go back on the Elation. But, otherwise, until they improve in attitude, the best part of the Elation, is NOLA, and the ports.

 

Cruise happy! And yes, this is the time of year to go into the jungles, but it is also a very busy time in NOLA. Book your hotel early!

[marshhawk]

I wanted to thank you who have read the review. I do have more pictures of Uxmal if you are interested, I just posted the more beautifulo pics And you are right, there are not too many reviews of the Elation, but people who cruise this ship, seem to be repeat customers.

[jimicaj]

Thank you for the review! My mom, sister and I sail the Elation in a couple of weeks! Current reviews of this ship are hard to find.

 

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[CatlinSTJ]

Interesting review! Uxmal was our favorite shore excursion ever, we booked the tour independently when we arrived. I know a lot of people do not like Progresso and it is a port where you either need to book an excursion or do some research and have a plan. My kids absolutely loved going through the market though and practicing their Spanish and all of the vendors were super nice and engaging with them. At one point my oldest daughter wandered off and we had a brief moment of panic before we spotted her kicked back in a hammock chair chatting with the older man that owned the booth, the two of them hit it off and were joking and haggling over the chair my daughter wanted - and eventually purchased :)

 

 

Next cruise: Carnival Breeze June 2014

[Debster992]

Great review Annie. Thanks for sharing and say hi to Chuck for us.

 

 

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[ale4692]

Great review. We cruise on Elation in a few weeks. Excited when I find a new Elation review!

[marshhawk]

You all are welcome. I will post some more pictures tonight, but cant do that from work for some reason.

[marshhawk]

Now, about getting back to Atlanta, we knew the weather was not going to be that good, the closer we got to NOLA, the more we understood how not so good it was going to be. There had been sleet over NOLA , Texas, LA, and MS, and southern Alabama. Shari got on her phone and checked messages and went on the site for Megabus. She and Barb had opted not to do the ruins, but to put that money towards flying home. Turns out that the Megabus had been cancelled for the last two days due to icing on the roads. And we didn't have a ride home. NOLA was socked in with early morning fog, and we talked over our options, all of them included spending more money than we figured, but punkyh from roll call suggested we rent a car, what a God send to have someone think outside the box for us.! So we rented a car, left NOLA at 11 a.m., got the car to the airport in Atlanta, took the train to where I work, got my car, ate dinner at McDonalds, took Harley and Theresa home, and got home at 11:30 p.m..

 

As we were leaving McDonalds, Shari called Harley and let him know that Barb got home to broken water pipes, and a flooded town house. So that's how the adventure ended.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Yuck. This has been a horrible year for travel in winter! I hope I'm ok in early May! :eek:

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your Photo Review. :):):):)

[ale4692]

Now, about getting back to Atlanta, we knew the weather was not going to be that good, the closer we got to NOLA, the more we understood how not so good it was going to be. There had been sleet over NOLA , Texas, LA, and MS, and southern Alabama. Shari got on her phone and checked messages and went on the site for Megabus. She and Barb had opted not to do the ruins, but to put that money towards flying home. Turns out that the Megabus had been cancelled for the last two days due to icing on the roads. And we didn't have a ride home. NOLA was socked in with early morning fog, and we talked over our options, all of them included spending more money than we figured, but punkyh from roll call suggested we rent a car, what a God send to have someone think outside the box for us.! So we rented a car, left NOLA at 11 a.m., got the car to the airport in Atlanta, took the train to where I work, got my car, ate dinner at McDonalds, took Harley and Theresa home, and got home at 11:30 p.m..

 

As we were leaving McDonalds, Shari called Harley and let him know that Barb got home to broken water pipes, and a flooded town house. So that's how the adventure ended.

 

Enjoyed the review! Will you be posting the Funtimes?

[Buckett]

Thanks for posting all the pictures of the ship! I have sailed on her twice for short 5 day cruises to Mexico and really enjoyed her. I am sailing on the Imagination in May which I believe is a sister ship so I may feel a familiarity with it. :)

[sprint180]

had to get on a look at your review. Did the Elation a few years ago. It was my first cruise and loved it.

[marshhawk]

I dont drink so if some of you are curious about the wine bottles in the cabin room, picture since you are allowed one bottle each, we brought those on for Harley and Theresa. And the DOD glasses? Well a lot of the DOD's can be made into NA drinks, so we had NA pina coladas, or fruit punch, and we save the glasses for a day when we need a cruise, make fruit drinks, and put on a CD of Bab Marley, sit in the yard, and pretend. Kiddie pools are good for this too.:D

[marshhawk]

Atrium floor decorations-

[marshhawk]

Thought I would follow up with a few more Uxmal pictures, and one small story about the Elation. I often read that people think that the older ships have rust showing, or things aren't as sparkly as they should be-one night i went into the Ladies room on the Lido deck, and the handle fell off locking me in the stall, I am claustrophobic, and screamed for 10 minutes before someone heard me and told a woman to go into the ladies to find out what was wrong. She asked me what was wrong, and I asked her to put the handle back in the door to let me out. Really? Handle on floor and me screaming to get out? Oh well, bless her heart, she set me free.

Pictures, as promised-

[marshhawk]

Edited March 8, 2014 by marshhawk

[marshhawk]

 

This is an eye of a "God" love the ying yang thing-