A Winter Escape on Elation

[Indytraveler83]

Thanks very much for your comprehensive review. We are planning to take the Elation next February and I've learned a lot from your experience.

 

Your account of your Chitchen Itza experience was particularly helpful as we were considering going there. Now, no way! There's another site a bit closer to Progreso that's supposed to be much more tourist-friendly, Uxmal, and we're probably going there instead.

 

When I was asking questions around here a lot of people recommended Uxmal over Chichen Itza, but I chose to ignore it as I wanted to see the amazing wonder of the world. While I still understand that emotion and am glad I did see these things, I simply don't think the site is handled well enough for you to get any sense of wonder or truly appreciate it. I've heard wonderful things about Uxmal (and one of the others) and even though its not a wonder of the world, I would recommend it over Chichen Itza hands down.

[Indytraveler83]

I won't have time to post about our final sea day yet. I'm hoping to post it either tonight or tomorrow. I did want to point a few things out that I may have not done well enough in my review so far.

 

While our room steward was terrible and rude, that is not the pattern on this ship. I spoke to a lot of other people who had awesome interactions with their stewards and I believe this is a simple case of a rouge employee not doing what they are supposed to. I just completed the official Carnival survey this morning and made sure to leave both positive feedback about the employees I enjoyed and negative feedback about my steward. Hopefully you won't have to suffer the same person if you travel on this ship.

 

I also believe that many people had a better experience at Chichen Itza than we did. I still think the park is handled horribly, and that the other sites (based on other reviews) are much better. But much of my complaints also come from our guide's relentless hammering for us to purchase his souvenirs. I understand upselling as I have to do it myself in my current job, but this was far above and beyond anything reasonable. The other tour groups seemed to have better guides that at least didn't drive them to the point of mutiny.

 

What did the Shore excursion desk do about my complaint? You'll find out when I post about Day Five- Margaritas, watersides and surprise tropical storms!

[rohitg82]

When I was asking questions around here a lot of people recommended Uxmal over Chichen Itza, but I chose to ignore it as I wanted to see the amazing wonder of the world. While I still understand that emotion and am glad I did see these things, I simply don't think the site is handled well enough for you to get any sense of wonder or truly appreciate it. I've heard wonderful things about Uxmal (and one of the others) and even though its not a wonder of the world, I would recommend it over Chichen Itza hands down.

 

We had a similar experience while trying to find out which site to visit and were told that peddlers hound visitors aggressively and it kinda ruins the experience.. The other thing was that it takes about 2.5 hrs one way to get to Chichen Itza from the port, leaving barely any time to actually see the site or do something..

 

Considering all of the above, we chose to book a Dzibilchaltun tour through AutoProgreso (they are one of the better tour agencies from Progreso, if not the best) which is not too far (about a 40min drive) and gives you the peace and calm, minus the peddlers so you can see the site at ease. Also, there is a cenote at the site itself and given it will be almost 90F the day we're at Progreso, we're looking forward to taking a dip in there (http://jasonpolitte.aminus3.com/image/2012-03-01.html)

 

I know Chichen Itza is one of the 7 wonders, and its a must see.. But not at the cost of being harrowed relentlessly..

[Indytraveler83]

The other thing was that it takes about 2.5 hrs one way to get to Chichen Itza from the port, leaving barely any time to actually see the site or do something..

 

Considering all of the above, we chose to book a Dzibilchaltun tour through AutoProgreso (they are one of the better tour agencies from Progreso, if not the best) which is not too far (about a 40min drive) and gives you the peace and calm, minus the peddlers so you can see the site at ease.(http://jasonpolitte.aminus3.com/image/2012-03-01.html)

 

Excellent points. Don't underestimate the toll that 5 hours of riding in a bus can take. Most of the vehicles in Progreso are decent at best, and our rough bus ride did nothing to help our moods.

 

I've also heard amazing things about AutoProgreso and in the unlikely event we travel to Progreso again, I'll book through them.

[KatieCharlotte]

When I was asking questions around here a lot of people recommended Uxmal over Chichen Itza, but I chose to ignore it as I wanted to see the amazing wonder of the world. While I still understand that emotion and am glad I did see these things, I simply don't think the site is handled well enough for you to get any sense of wonder or truly appreciate it. I've heard wonderful things about Uxmal (and one of the others) and even though its not a wonder of the world, I would recommend it over Chichen Itza hands down.

 

I appreciate the insight too. My husband was leaning toward Uxmal but I didn't want him to miss out on one of the amazing wonders of the world. He will enjoy the calendar story and will be more confident in his choice now. I know you didn't have the day you were hoping for, but think of all the strangers you get to entertain and enlighten with your review. :D

[Indytraveler83]

I appreciate the insight too. My husband was leaning toward Uxmal but I didn't want him to miss out on one of the amazing wonders of the world. He will enjoy the calendar story and will be more confident in his choice now. I know you didn't have the day you were hoping for, but think of all the strangers you get to entertain and enlighten with your review. :D

 

Don't worry, I am not the type to hold grudges or dwell. "Would you like to buy a calendar?" has become a joke we use all the time now. Even negative experiences are sort of funny once enough time has passed. I also feel like I can help a lot of people out by providing as many details as possible.

 

I wasn't dissuaded by the idea that peddlers would hound me, but that combined with the terrible guides and the condition of the park provide too many negatives. There just isn't a good reason to recommend this site when others have much better reviews all around (and are significantly closer).

[rohitg82]

You'll find out when I post about Day Five- Margaritas, watersides and surprise tropical storms!

 

I hate turbulence when flying as I've had one of the most nasty experiences you can imagine while flying. The plane shaked, jumped up and down, sideways for 1.5 hours, and i thought i was going to die that day.. Ever since i have this uneasiness even at the slightest of turbulence..

 

And turbulence at sea coz of a tropical storm.. man, I can already feel my stomach churn..!!

Edited March 5, 2015 by rohitg82
grammar

[LREcruise02]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at the ruins! That is awful! We did the Autoprogreso tour to Dzibichiltan in Progreso and loved it. Great guides who let us explore, no peddlers, and a cenote to swim in. If you go back to Progreso I would highly recommend this tour! It's sad that the ship tour was so poorly run.

[19cruiser59]

Really great review, and fantastic pictures also. Cant wait to read the rest!

[bamaparrotheads]

Great review! Looking forward to the rest of it. Thanks for posting it.

[Indytraveler83]

Day Five/Part One

 

You didn't forget about me did you? Let's see how this adventure ends!

 

Let me start by addressing Cheers! We debated very hard on whether or not to get the Cheers program, and by our pre-cruise estimates we thought it was very close as to whether we'd be better off with or without it. After significant debate, we decided to go without and see what happened. We figured we would be drinking somewhere between 20 and 30 drinks each, and 25-28 drinks is the break even point I believe for a 5 day cruise.

 

Well we never even hit break-even on any day. We each ordered 16 drinks through the course of the cruise, with our daily drinking declining each day. As time went on, we turned more to lemonade (seriously, why did no one tell me how awesome the lemonade is?) and milkshakes over margaritas and mixed drinks. And to be honest, I think I will drink even less on the next cruise. If you don't drink that much to begin with, your stomach is unlikely to accommodate the increased drinking with the increased eating and the motion of the ship.

 

We woke up this morning to a bright and sunny day in the high eighties. We ate breakfast at the lido buffet, which was pretty good, aside from my stone cold oatmeal. This was sort of the pattern on lido... some food was warm and delicious, some was inappropriately cold. But it is a buffet, so we didn't expect much different. Again we sat on the "wings" toward the back, which we will miss tremendously. The sea was calm and blue, but dark clouds were visible on the horizon.

 

After breakfast we headed out to lido and met up with our table mates who were lounging by the pool. We convinced one of them to go down the water slide with us, and we went down it repeatedly until some younger children turned up to participate. At that point we felt a little silly, so we headed to the hot tub. We soaked in there and had a few drinks, which soon made us tired so we went back to our lounge chairs to nap. After about 30 minutes of napping, the clear sky started spitting rain. We were still in a napping mood, so we bid farewell to our friends and headed back to our cabin. We soon fell asleep and I dreamed about getting lost in the sea of stone pillars at Chichen Itza:

 

We napped for about two hours, then were woken up by our cabin phone. It was guest services calling to talk about our complaint on the shore excursion. They said they had received complaints from others on our bus, but not from any other groups. They decided to give us a 15% discount on the shore excursion and were going to ask the tour group not to allow that guide to conduct tours for them anymore.

 

I'm still not sure how I feel about the resolution, as a $12 discount for each of us isn't exactly that significant. But at the same time we did still go to the ruins and got to take some amazing pictures. I think I was more satisfied to hear that this tour guide might be removed from future tours, but again not sure how much I believe that either. Tired and not in the mood to dwell on it, I decided to accept the apology and discount and move on. No reason to make the previous day's disappointment affect this one. At this point we were ready for lunch, and headed back to Lido for some food.

 

It was as if we'd woken up in a different place. We were still tired and had our heads down on the walk out to Lido, and were a bit surprised to find heavy dark storm clouds, a cold wind and heavy waves. We got our lunch and headed back to one of the wings again to find chairs toppled over and a poor worker trying to pick up dishes and garbage off of the ground. We still ate there, but quickly as the afternoon grew colder and rain started and stopped. We ended up taking our dishes inside and setting them on a table there, not wanting to force this poor guy to pick up our garbage off the floor too.

 

We headed back to our room and changed, only to get an announcement from the Captain that we were encountering 6-7 foot waves and 30 MPH sustained winds, and to be sure our belongings were secure in our staterooms. This made us curious, and we headed to the Serenity deck to see what was going on. Unfortunately we didn't bring our cameras, as both of us were afraid of loosing them in the storm.

 

Whitecap waves were rolling against the ship, but as soon as they peaked, the wind was ripping the top off of them causing a constant sea spray. The attendant at the Serenity deck was quickly removing the row of deck chairs closest to the railing as they looked like they might take flight. We stayed there for a little while in the sheltered area and watched a wall of rain come across the ocean and right on the ship. We didn't dare move as rain pounded the ship and the winds screamed through the railing.

 

Once the rain calmed down we decided to play storm chaser and took off toward the forward decks. As we walked, the Captain announced winds had exceeded 40 MPH and recommended all passengers come inside. We tried to go to forward outdoor decks, but they had begun putting up signs asking you not to, so we got the best view we could as the waves and wind continued to get worse. While inside trying to get a different viewpoint the Captain finally announced that winds had exceeded 50 MPH and that all passengers were required to remain indoors. Staff was busy guarding outdoor entrances and putting up seasick bags everywhere they could.

 

The waves likely never got much over 7-8 feet, and they never announced anything more severe, but the wind was pitching the boat hard and we watched several people stumble around looking very sick. The Elation had a tendency earlier in the week to shake and shudder in the aft portions of the ship (lido buffet, comedy club areas) whenever she was maneuvering, but today the whole ship was shuddering and when we walked toward the rear of the ship it was pretty severe. Most people appeared to be either in their cabins or toward the front of the ship to avoid the shaking and the motion combined. We ended up sitting near the windows next to the coffee bar ordering milkshakes and sweets, watching the weather hit the ship. At this point no one on the ship seemed to be in much of a mood to do anything but buckle down and ride it out. We thought the entire thing was sort of fun... (aren't we crazy??)

 

Sorry for the text heavy entry, we just didn't have much opportunity to take pictures as we didn't dare take cameras outside, and taking pictures through the ship's windows in poor lighting made for some very poor photos. The next entry will be food porn heavy!

[Indytraveler83]

Day Five/Part Two

 

Ready for a dinner heavy part of the review?

 

We got to the dining room and for once the line for ATD was pretty small. However the crowd overall was pretty light and our table might have been the only one that was full. Several of the girls looked very green and one of them was passing out Dramamine like candy. They had talked to some crew members and said that this technically qualified as a tropical storm, and that these storms pop up in the Gulf fairly frequently, only to dissipate before they make landfall. While the crew acknowledged the weather was severe, most said they had sailed on the outskirts of a hurricane a few years ago, and since then they weren't fazed by anything less.

 

The dining room staff looked rather thin today, and we wondered if many of them had been diverted to help in room service for all of the very seasick passengers. Our dining team seemed to be working at twice as many tables, making the service a little bit slower, and our "bread guy" was taking orders and serving drinks, which seemed highly unusual. It was here that we realized we had been spoiled all week. Service today was still outstanding, but the timing was a little off, and our "bread guy" was clearly inexperienced, so orders didn't arrive in perfect harmony as they had on prior days. Still, our team was working hard and the service was still very very good. We ordered our appetizers and I remembered to take some pictures again!

 

As usual Jacob went safe and ordered something very ordinary for an appetizer:

The spring rolls were apparently very good as he scarfed them down and refused to let me try any. In the meantime I tried the frog legs:

These too were very good, and also completed my intention of ordering something off the "didja" section every single day.

 

Soon our main dishes began arriving and the "bread guy" suddenly got alarmed when both of us who had ordered the flat iron steak did not have any food. He quickly summoned the head waiter who apologized profusely for the oversight and quickly got us each another cut of steak that was ready so that we could eat with everyone else. Our flat iron steaks arrived 5 minutes later, and both of us basically ended up with double steak to eat!

 

Again, this points out the extreme level of service we received on this trip. Our waiters were absolutely mortified that two of us might not be served at the exact same time as everyone else, and they did everything they could to fix this oversight, while we simply sat in awe. These people cared far more about their level of service than we could have imagined, as little things like this didn't even register to us as something being wrong.

 

I'm also going to say the flat iron steak was just fine. Seriously, I've seen so many complaints about it here and seen John Heald answer so many question to angry people insisting this isn't a good enough cut. I ordered mine cooked "medium" and got a great steak cooked exactly how I wanted it with plenty of flavor and perfect marbling. No, this isn't the absolute best cut of beef possible, but what do you expect? After having it, I wish I had ignored the complaints and ordered it earlier and more often. This is one place I say ignore all the poor reviews and try it. Some people are just too picky.

 

Dessert arrived and I had decided to try Baked Alaska for the first time!

It was simply delicious and the perfect "light" dessert for a rough day at sea. However we chuckled at the somewhat off-putting streak of chocolate on the plate. Maybe someone with more class thinks it is an artistic flair on your great dish. But well... we thought it looked like something a bit less classy...

 

One of the girls ordered this amazing looking pear:

The photo looks stunning and whoever created it was ready for art school. I'm still not sure about the taste though. It had been soaked in wine and was served at room temperature. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. She passed it around for everyone to try and no one could really come up with anything but "interesting" to describe it.

 

After dinner our waiters performed the goodbye song, and while we were sad, it was truly sort of funny as many decided to show off their acting skills and appeared to either be crying or utterly devastated by our impending departure... until their colleagues broke out laughing at their antics.

 

Our dining team then shook hands with all of us and wished us safe travels. Most of us extended them cash tips beyond the auto-gratuities, and I was particularly generous as I doled out all of the money that I had intended for our cabin steward to them in addition to what I originally was going to add.

 

I thought about reducing the auto-gratuities to show our dissatisfaction for our cabin steward. However, I realized there is no way to indicate where you would like the reduction pointed, it is just an across the board reduction. Something they might want to consider changing in the future, as I didn't want to insult or call into question anyone else on board.

 

I'd like to say we had a fun night of partying after dinner. But we still needed to pack (we chose self-assist so we hadn't needed to worry about it before this) and were both extremely tired. We ended up going to bed much earlier than planned and woke up occasionally hearing the end of cruise festivities going on in the atrium.

 

The final section is coming up... departure day. Just writing this I feel the same sadness that we did when we faced it. Can I just write another review to live through it again?

Edited March 6, 2015 by Indytraveler83

[Indytraveler83]

Departure Day:

 

We woke up around 6:30 AM and headed to Lido for breakfast. It was simply much colder now, around 45 degrees and even with hoodies and gloves we felt under dressed. We ate some warm breakfast, hot coffee and then took a quick trip around the ship, grabbing a few last memories.

 

Around 8 AM we headed back to the cabin and waited for them to begin calling debarkation zones. We were on Empress Deck and the documentation said that we would be the second self assist zone called. They had asked everyone be out of their staterooms by 8:30 and told everyone not to wait on Empress deck, so hoped we wouldn't have to leave our room, go to another deck, then back to Empress when it was time to debark. That fear proved unfounded as they called the first two zones at 8:15. We wheeled our bags down the hall and stood in a short line to get off the ship. They repeatedly announced that if you didn't have your luggage, you would be sent back, as this was only for self assist passengers. (I've seen some complaints on this board by people being confused and leaving the ship with self assist, then having to wait forever for luggage and being treated rudely by terminal staff when they found out about it. This must be the way they are trying to fix that)

 

We were in line behind two women who clearly should not have chosen self assist, nor had any idea how to pack. They each had a backpack, two rolling suitcases and four overstuffed purses/bags on their arms. They both were clearly overloaded and had to stop every 20 feet or so to adjust. While on the ramp leading out of the ship their baggage got out of control and they ended up causing a small delay as they had to pick up the mess. Terminal staff wasn't amused and rather bluntly told them each to stop holding up the line. With us they simply joked that we shouldn't have brought the cold weather with us.

 

As we approached the Homeland Security checkpoint we each made sure to have our Customs forms and Passports ready, and we had each packed very carefully so that our baggage wouldn't be overly disrupted if it was searched. Our clumsy friends in front of us were selected for a detailed search, and they quickly had to unload their bags and begin explaining themselves (have to wonder if this was done on purpose for the mess they were causing).

 

For us, the Customs agent glanced at our forms and passports, declared that he was running the "express lane" and passed us both through without a second look. We were outside the terminal before we knew it, waiting for our shuttle bus. We looked at our phones to see it was only 8:30. Knowing the bus wouldn't arrive for a little bit (or depart for a while) and wanting to stretch our legs for the journey, we decided to walk the half mile to Fulton Place parking.

Goodbye Elation!

 

 

As we walked, we saw this cool memorial to Hurricane Katrina that we had missed during the shuttle bus ride to the port. Points to us for walking!

 

 

Upon arrival we were told that one of us had to stay downstairs with the bags, while the other went up to retrieve the car. Jacob stayed down and I go the car. Unlike other reports, I had no problems with the pre-paid ticket I was issued and got out of the garage quickly. The staff was also very helpful when I got on the street and pointed to Jacob. They pointed me to an area that had been sectioned off, then helped him load our bags into the car. I was on the interstate in a minute and it wasn't even 9 AM yet. I was absolutely surprised at how smooth this had gone, as the ship was barely at the dock just an hour before. Because of this we beat most of the outgoing cruise traffic, and only had to fight a little of the morning commuters to get out of the city.

 

Our drive home was long, boring and uneventful. One funny note though: We were in Missouri and about 7 hours into our drive when another car began to slowly pass us and the passenger enthusiastically waved at us. It took us a moment to recognize it, but it dawned on us that this was a fellow passenger we'd gone to Chichen Itza with. How weird was it to encounter him 7 hours into our drive?

 

We arrived home at 1:30 AM and immediately began wondering when we will get to cruise next! Why couldn't we be back in Cozumel?

 

 

Just a few more notes here: During this review we recieved the news that the Elation will be moving to Florida next year and replaced by the Triumph. While we liked the Elation, this is probably a very smart move for a city that is very enthusiastic about the tourism industry and gets New Orleans a ship that is much more updated (if not newer). We will cruise out of NOLA again, but probably not the Elation/Triumph as we really don't want to return to Progreso. I sort of wish they did a 2 day stay at Cozumel instead. Our leading candidate for our next cruise is the Dream out of NOLA, but only time will tell.

 

Be aware that the Elation is kind of a party ship. She has a bit of southern flair and much of the comedy can be a little offensive. We loved it, but a person who is picky about the age of the ship, easily offended or used to more "class" would absolutely hate this cruise. We loved the environment though, so this isn't a complaint, just a word of caution that this cruise is very very "Funship." While I wouldn't describe us as brand loyal in any way, we very much loved the Carnival atmosphere and that combined with the pricing fits us very well. I will continue to compare my cruises with other lines, but honestly see us sticking with Carnival for the foreseeable future.

 

If anyone has any more questions, comments, wants more pictures or wants more information about anything on the ship, New Orleans or the ports I'll be happy to add to my review. Otherwise thank you for reading, and thank you in advance for your help in picking our next cruise!!

[<3 2 Cruise]

One of the best reviews I have ever read! Thank you. We love the Elation and NOLA, but your are dead right about the party ship and crowd! I'm allergic to airplanes, so any ship that goes out of NOLA is going to be my first choice.

We have been on the Triumph. Give her a try. Larger than the Elation. We loved her.

Going on the Dream in May. I'll let you know how we like the "big" ships!

[Indytraveler83]

One of the best reviews I have ever read! Thank you. We love the Elation and NOLA' date=' but your are dead right about the party ship and crowd! I'm allergic to airplanes, so any ship that goes out of NOLA is going to be my first choice.

We have been on the Triumph. Give her a try. Larger than the Elation. We loved her.

Going on the Dream in May. I'll let you know how we like the "big" ships![/quote']

 

Thanks for the compliment! I feel like I left so much out, but I guess you guys didn't need a book! Lol

 

I have no problem with the Triumph, it's Progreso that will likely keep me off the 5 day NOLA trips. I hate that port (Jacob told me he won't even get off the ship if we go there again) and it's not worth the expense for just 7 hours in Cozumel.

 

Please do let me know what you think of the Dream. I'm nervous but eager to try a bigger ship. I don't want it to feel too crowded, but aside from that, everything about that 7 day cruise on her is very appealing.

[roseaxel]

No, no, no. You can't be finished with your report already. Absolutely one of the most enjoyable reports I've read. I felt like I was right there with you.

 

Hope you cruise again very soon so you can give us another amazing narrative of each day's adventures.;)

[nybumpkin]

The waves likely never got much over 7-8 feet, and they never announced anything more severe, but the wind was pitching the boat hard and we watched several people stumble around looking very sick. The Elation had a tendency earlier in the week to shake and shudder in the aft portions of the ship (lido buffet, comedy club areas) whenever she was maneuvering, but today the whole ship was shuddering and when we walked toward the rear of the ship it was pretty severe. Most people appeared to be either in their cabins or toward the front of the ship to avoid the shaking and the motion combined. We ended up sitting near the windows next to the coffee bar ordering milkshakes and sweets, watching the weather hit the ship. At this point no one on the ship seemed to be in much of a mood to do anything but buckle down and ride it out. We thought the entire thing was sort of fun... (aren't we crazy??)

No, you're not crazy! Ten years ago we sailed on Conquest back to NOLA through the outskirts of Hurricane Dennis. What worked for us was "keep your eyes on the horizon." If you're in your cabin (an inside, especially) you can't see what the ship and the sea are doing, and the motion will get to you. We saw more "Do not disturb" signs on cabin doors on that cruise.

 

Enjoyed your review - thanks so much!

[saltybones]

Loved the review!

[cmecruise1962]

I almost felt like I was with you! (Would you like to buy a calendar?) :D

[Indytraveler83]

I almost felt like I was with you! (Would you like to buy a calendar?) :D

 

I'm glad that everyone seems to know I'm taking the calendar thing in good humor. I tend to be very sarcastic and in writing it isn't always apparent that it is sarcasm rather than dry complaining.

 

I appreciate all the comments and compliments so much, and I'm glad I could cover the Elation well for everyone. I hadn't seen any recent comprehensive reviews before I sailed, just a lot of pro/con reviews without many pictures.

 

Please feel free to keep asking questions, I'm already trying to plan my next trip so I'm still on the boards pretty regularly.

[TexCrsr]

Hi Indy, I have been curious as to how the room location worked out for you. We had stayed in E108 earlier this year and I wasn't sure if the location of you room would be obnoxiously loud with the Atrium bar right there. How was it? Would you recommend it to others?

 

Absolutely loved your review but no I don't want a Mayan Calendar!

[Indytraveler83]

Hi Indy, I have been curious as to how the room location worked out for you. We had stayed in E108 earlier this year and I wasn't sure if the location of you room would be obnoxiously loud with the Atrium bar right there. How was it? Would you recommend it to others?

 

Absolutely loved your review but no I don't want a Mayan Calendar!

 

I loved the location. We were under the library, so we didn't get any noise from above. A few cabins further and you are under the dining room, so I don't know how that is.

 

Once the atrium singer is done around 11-1130 it usually gets pretty quiet, but is noisy until then. We only had one night that the atrium got loud enough we needed earplugs. It wasn't silent, but we slept well and didn't notice any real noise 95% of the time.

 

For us the location was absolutely worth it and we would do it again In a heartbeat. On the same note, it's not the quietest spot and earplugs may be needed at times. So if location is important. Bring earplugs and you'll love it as we did. If absolute silence is necissary I would choose a different spot

[rainbowflag]

Shaun, excellent review and writing style.

 

I suspect two guys shoving their beds together didn't set well with your steward. It happened to us once, their loss $$ wise because we were given the same poor service.

[Indytraveler83]

Shaun, excellent review and writing style.

 

I suspect two guys shoving their beds together didn't set well with your steward. It happened to us once, their loss $$ wise because we were given the same poor service.

 

Hmm. Didn't really think of it that way. I hope that's not the case, but I can see it being possible. If so he was the only member of the crew that would have reacted that way. Everyone else didn't bat an eye.

[TexCrsr]

I loved the location. We were under the library, so we didn't get any noise from above. A few cabins further and you are under the dining room, so I don't know how that is.

 

Once the atrium singer is done around 11-1130 it usually gets pretty quiet, but is noisy until then. We only had one night that the atrium got loud enough we needed earplugs. It wasn't silent, but we slept well and didn't notice any real noise 95% of the time.

 

For us the location was absolutely worth it and we would do it again In a heartbeat. On the same note, it's not the quietest spot and earplugs may be needed at times. So if location is important. Bring earplugs and you'll love it as we did. If absolute silence is necissary I would choose a different spot

 

Happy it worked out so well for you guys! I bring earplugs anytime I travel b/c you just never know :) The Empress deck was smack in the middle of all the action and we loved staying on it. Just did a cruise on Imagination (sister ship) and booked a guaranty room. Ended up on the Main deck and meh...sure missed the Empress deck.

 

Thanks for your reply.