Just Back from Elation

[SunflowerLaurie]

I'm having post cruise blues already :(

 

We found out the night before leaving the cruise was going to be minus a day.

If we had'nt already left Kansas we would of canceled. We were there and made the best of what was offered to us. We were given a 50$ ship credit per person

and a 15% refund that will show up in 4 to 6 weeks.

 

Boarding: We dropped car off at EZ-parking. They were very helpful with luggage to and from port. They asked ahead of time if we needed a porter. Which we did. We were drop off . Porter on site took luggage and we were off. We arrived around 11am.. And the line was long.........Security had'nt opened yet. After 40 minutes we then procceeded thur security. Boy..... was I glad we had the Skippers club. Next time I'll wait to board...

 

1st Day at Sea:

Since this was our first cruise figuring where everything is was first on our list. Drill was interesting. Everyone look lovely in their life preserver. There was one older lady that refused to have it on.

 

Add more later....

 

Laurie

[mamiamjo]

How was your cabin? Did being entitled to the Skipper's Club speed you up any? How many were in your group? What did you think of the Elation?

 

We'll be on her for the first time in November. We have a guarantee suite level cabin, but aren'r sure if we'll have a cat 11 (Verandah) or cat 12 ( Upper ).

Anything else you'd care to share with us would be appreciated.

 

Mike:)

[SunflowerLaurie]

Elation day two:

 

Cozumel was wonderful. I booked the Dolphin tour for my son $165.00 with Carnival. Yes... a bit pricey for the time they spent with the dolphins. But my son enjoyed the experience and we enjoyed to watch. For us parents to tag along it was 20.00each.Included taxi and admission to park. We all then snorkled

off the shore for about hour and half. Saw many beautiful fish right along the edge of reef. .

We then grabbed a bite to eat. Orderd nacho's ......not like american Nacho's. Not very good.... Shrimp Ceviche was very good...........

The Park was very clean and looked to be very well maintained. The staff were all friendly. They had lockers ,bathrooms,gift shops,rentals and a small eatery.

I wish we had more time to explore the rest of the park but ran out of time.

I would do it again minus the dolphin swim only because it had been done.

We returned to port and did shopping in Cozumel.

 

Day three Belize

 

We again booked thur Carnival and did the Sting Ray and Reef tour. We had a blast. Our boat picked us right at the ship. It took about 45 minutes to hour

to arrive at the reef. Snorkled there about 45 mins then off to feed the Rays and Sharks. That was Pretty amazing hope my pictures turn out. This trip was safe for all ages and sizes. Everyone was helped if needed.

A hint that I wish I had done. Is bring my bino's and regular camera. You can leave your stuff on boat and feel secure. I had a large mesh bags and placed towels and sunblock in. I could of easily placed extra items in there. Alot of people had backpacks.

The guides were very informative and helpful. Water and soda was served. Rum punch was served on the return trip back.

I would do this tour again!!!

 

We returned to ship and took tender to Belize to shop around. My impression of Belize. I liked Cozumel port much better. Belize just looked run down. Many small shops carrying the same things. Merchants were very aggressive people. I told my husband I would have probably bought something if they were'nt hounding me. I realize I only saw a small port and not beyond that.

If I were to do Belize again I would stick to the ship tours. I was not impress by what I saw.

 

Day four,five,six

At Sea..

 

The Cruise director David was wonderful. He was quick at wit.

Believe....... me there were plenty in audience to challenge him.

The entertainment was really good. I leans more towards the comedy shows.

 

For our formal nights we rented tuxes.(On this note I agree with many a suite and tie would have been fine) We did the photos. (Finally my guys in Tux's!!!) They have many photo stations you can get different backgrounds. I decided on the black grey background. This was done in black/white and colored photos. Which was great.!!!.......because we all had sunburn and color.. well to my disappointment we looked really crispy.... Soo.......for those of you looking forward to great pictures and having colored pictures done in sunburn know that they have Black and White !!

 

For those of you on formal night..Yes you can have two lobster tails. We enjoyed the food in the dining room very much. We only ate dinner three nights there.

Tiffany's was is opening seating buffet style. The menu theme changed daily.

American,Indian,Japan many others. Desert bar ,Salad bar, hot and cold sandwiches. Something for everyone.Then there was room service.

 

The only thing that I wished they had was a boullion/light soup and crackers.

My husband and son got sick Wednesday night after eating at Tiffany's.

Unsure what it may have been. Thursday was a rest easy day for them.

 

We (3) enjoyed our room U97 suite cat 12 upper deck. We had no problems

although it was alittle warm in our room. I do wished I had brang my small fan.

 

Washer and Dryers were close by. I brang a roll of quaters and a sample package of laundry detergent.

Was glad for that sample. The vendor machines were empty..

Iron is readily available as well.

 

There is something for everyone to do. Overall, I loved the cruise. All the staff were helpful and friendly.

 

Note on Skippers club: helped after passing security.I was very very glad to have that when getting on board...Other than that it has no other perks.

 

If anyone has any questions be happy to answer..

 

I just need to plan for the next cruise....:)

 

 

 

Here is one question that I was asked that I had not notice untill brought up..

(As theY did have a handicap) Has anyone notice that there are many people with wheelchairs when boarding but, many of those seem to vanish untill leaving ship?? I probably open a whole can of worms with this one..Just a observation.

 

Laurie

[SunflowerLaurie]

Did anyone else go on this cruise ? Where is the other opinions ??

 

Laurie

[4yanx]

Elation day two:

 

Here is one question that I was asked that I had not notice untill brought up..

(As theY did have a handicap) Has anyone notice that there are many people with wheelchairs when boarding but, many of those seem to vanish untill leaving ship?? I probably open a whole can of worms with this one..Just a observation.

 

Laurie

 

Here's a guess if any are like my 90yo MIL. She gets around pretty well on the ship becuase there are MANY opportunities to sit down when she need to do so. Waiting in line to embark can be a nightmare for her if she has to stand very long. Thus, a wheelchair until she gets on, then she's fine.

[cruisevers]

About seeing all the wheelchairs.....I am just getting over a broke leg and still in therapy. I have been worried about getting on board. We have only sailed once from Galveston and it seemed it is quite a walk to get onbaord and my PVP said if I needed they would let me use a wheelchair for just this purpose. I have wondered if people would think this strange if later they saw me walking around on the ship. I can walk but just not a whole lot before it hurts. Still trying to figure out shoes for formal night.:confused: Can you tell me how long and uphill the boarding was? I already know the ports might be a problem but we'll see.

[rayswoman]

About seeing all the wheelchairs.....I am just getting over a broke leg and still in therapy. I have been worried about getting on board. We have only sailed once from Galveston and it seemed it is quite a walk to get onbaord and my PVP said if I needed they would let me use a wheelchair for just this purpose. I have wondered if people would think this strange if later they saw me walking around on the ship. I can walk but just not a whole lot before it hurts. Still trying to figure out shoes for formal night.:confused: Can you tell me how long and uphill the boarding was? I already know the ports might be a problem but we'll see.

 

 

I didn't use a wheelchair when boarding, but while DH was in line I sat until he got to the front. I was able to walk around the ship, but I had abdominal surgery in May, and any time I have to stand in one place for more than about 20 minutes, I have pain. I could have stood in the line on embarkation, but I would have hurt for the rest of the day at least. I'm sure there are others in similar situations.

 

I was on the 9/4 Elation as well, but I didn't really see that many wheelchairs, at least compared to prior cruises.

 

Aside from "hurry up and wait", embarkation wasn't too bad.

 

Debarkation was WONDERFUL- we did the self- debarkation and were early in the line- We were off the ship before 8 AM.

 

Oh, to the OP- I had heard bad things here on CC about David, and his "canned" jokes were just awful (You know what I mean, the ones that ALL the CDs use), but I actually found him to be very nice and funny. You are right- He's a quick wit, and when he jokes spontaneously he is quite funny.

 

I enjoyed his assistant, Marcella, and the social host, Ryan, too. They were both very sweet. I never really had any interaction with the other social host- I am rather sun- sensitive and didn't spend much time on the outdoor decks and he (I think his name was Santana) seemed to do more outdoor than indoor activities.

 

Did you see David in the skit after the talent show? I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my mind.

 

About Belize- Belize City IS quite run down, but it is a very poor country. There seems to be an improvement in the overall standard of living there in the past few years that might be related to tourism. I understand that some of the "undeveloped" parts of Belize are quite beautiful.

 

We did the "Sights & Sounds of Belize" tour and really enjoyed it- We got a really nice sampling of the culture and history of the country, met some very nice people, and stayed in the air conditioning for most of the day! :-)

 

I think the one the OP mentioned will be on our list for our NEXT trip to Belize- I would LOVE to go back there.

 

The only real problem we had on the cruise was the morning of debarkation- I noticed that I had been charged for a beauty salon service that wasn't mine. That was apparently straightened out, but when my sail and Sign charges hit my bank yesterday, they still overcharged me. In 4 cruises, this is the first time I have ever had problems with my account in any way.

 

Of our 4 cruises (Jubilee 09/2002, Conquest 10/ 2003, Conquest 2/2005 and Elation 09/ 2005), this has been our favorite, edging out (barely) the first time we were on the Conquest. Overall, the staff are friendly and we met a lot of nice people.

 

The ship's atrium is beautiful.

 

Rebecca

[mummy]

Here is one question that I was asked that I had not notice untill brought up..

(As theY did have a handicap) Has anyone notice that there are many people with wheelchairs when boarding but, many of those seem to vanish untill leaving ship?? I probably open a whole can of worms with this one..Just a observation.

 

I have severe arthritis, but I can walk a reasonable distance. What I *DO* have a problem with is standing still for more than about two-three minutes. Embarkation and debarkation are a nightmare because of standing in line. I now have a walker with a built-in seat, so I can sit while I'm in line. It works much better :D

[makeda]

mom uses a wheelchair for long distances and long times when she must stand, once aboard ship, this is not a problem and she does not need it, thus it is stored, i believe that this may be the case for many cruisers

[SunflowerLaurie]

Rebbeca: Sounds like you were in the back of Mikado lounge when getting off ship. We were sitting up near the stage. I learned that getting there later is better...lol

Agree about Belize sticking to tours gives you a better overall experience of country and people. I would not want to venture on my own here.

I had spoke to one couple who rented a car in Cozumel.

(I had mentioned I thought about not doing the ship tour next time and explore alittle more that way.) They mentioned their big problem....... was finding a place to park....They were not going to do that again.

 

I did not have any problems with my Sail and Sign card bill. Other than having to go to information for them to explain a charge. They place two different excursions together in a lump instead of separating them. I found Information desk pretty helpful.

While I was standing there that day. A young girl and her boyfriend were complaining that charges had been charged on her (Mothers) account. Someone took her card out of her purse.. I thought oh my gosh that's terrible.. Then they started talking. This was her second card she lost and it was her dear (***wording not used) mother was at fault. I did'nt know the whole story.. It sounded like a Jerry Springer Show. Sounded more like Fraud to me.

 

How the ship handles these people is anyones guess.

[Mattj22]

I had a great time also. My DW and I where one of the 40 some odd honeymooners on board. I will agree on David...I was worried about previous comments on this board and thought we where going to have George as cd. My recommendation for Belize is to spend the day at Caye Caulker through CoralBreezeLimited.com. They where wonderful and also offered the shark/ray tour at a reasonable price. They meet you at the Wet Lizard Bar thats like 30 feet from the tenders. My only gripe about the trip is that the ship was horribly unstable at times. I was on the celebration a few years back and it was much more stable! I am guessing they had some sort of engine or powertrain troubles. Being a Mechanic I noticed a harsh vibration in the floor the whole trip and also noticed while on v-deck aboce the pool one day that when the vibration stopped the ship pitched back and forth really hard? Dont know if this was just my dw and I but did anyone else notice? Not letting that bother us we had a blast!

[WildWillie]

.... I will agree on David...I was worried about previous comments on this board and thought we where going to have George as cd.

 

 

We were on the Elation in March, and thought George was the best part of the trip!!!

 

Any idea where he went??

[SunflowerLaurie]

Mattj22 : I thought we were the only ones that noticed the vibration. It was our first time on cruise and I just thought that was the way a big ship was. A couple of times it got so bad laying in bed at night. It freaked me out!!! We were on the UPPER deck.

Yes ......the ship was swaying alot for thoses little swells. I would hate to see what larger ones would do.

 

Wonder if anyone else out there noticed this?

[dixie61]

we will be on the Elation on Oct 13th...know that they have one formal night, but what are the other nights...informal? or casual? never have been on a Carnival ship so don't know what they consider informal or casual...thanks

[SNOWEY]

Excuse me for cutting in, but Hi! Dixie61. I will also be on the Elation 10/13 and did not see anyone on the Roll Call for this cruise. :( Sure hope Galveston is spared.

[dixie61]

Snowey,

 

do you know what the dress code is?

[dixie61]

do the men have to wear a sports jacket for any of the nights other than the formal night

[SunflowerLaurie]

Dixi61 : You'll be fine. On the two formals everyone can dress up as little or as extreme as they want.Think proms for the younger and weddings for the older...lol(Remember you willl have the opportunity to get as many photos as you want and not buy any of them.No pressures. They do a great job. We ended up getting a black and white of all three of us...Why not in color?? Well ....we were sun burned..) My husband and son wore Tuxes only because we choose too. Next time he will wear a suite and my son can wear a white shirt and tie.

I wore a black dress first night and black slacks and dressy shirt the second.

As for the regular dining nights. Dockers and dress shirt for the guys is fine. Casual wear. Just no shorts. We did the two formals and one other night in dining room. The rest was at Tiffany's or room service.

 

Laurie

[dixie61]

thanks for your reply Laurie....