Our MAGICal B2B with a side of ELATION cruises (with pics) - 10/7/17.

[Jamman54]

As usual they played the video of the ships, and everyone claps for each ship they have been on…..

 

Mat introduces all the Senior Staff members…..

 

Entertainment Director Calvin looks bemused as always…..

 

Captain Marchetti addresses the gathering……

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Mat then calls all the Diamond members individually up on to the stage……

 

That’s me and a couple of my CC friends…….

 

 

 

 

 

This is Patti’s version of the group picture……

 

This is the official group picture…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

I’m up on stage again because I won the “Guess the Ship” game……

 

Mat and I pose for a picture…..

 

My award…..

 

The party lasted about an hour, and with an extra drink in hand, Patti and I went back to the cabin to complete our packing and hang out until dinner. Here are tonight’s dinner menus…..

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti started with the flatbread……

 

I started with the steamed mussels…..

 

We both had the Caprese salad…..

 

For her main, Patti had the flat iron steak……

 

I had the shrimp creole…….

 

Here is tonight’s dessert menu…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

The waiters are singing “Leaving on a Fun Ship”……

 

And then they danced “Gangham Style”……

 

For dessert, Patti had the carrot cake…….

 

I had the stuffed apple…..

 

Patti and I with Pablo and Alvaro…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

After dinner we took one final walk around the Magic, and then decided to call it a cruise and head back to the cabin. Our luggage is out in the hallway…….

 

 

 

Day #15 - Goodbye Magic, Hello Elation!!! - 10/21/17.

 

 

 

We were up at 6am, just as the Carnival Magic was docking back in Port Canaveral. Here is the general debarkation information…..

 

Here is the Platinum / Diamond debarkation information……

 

The sun is rising over Port Canaveral……

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

The Disney Fantasy was docked back in Port Canaveral before us…..

At 7:30am we went down to the Diamond relaxed debarkation area by the Shore Excursion Desk. As soon as we got down there Mat saw us and told us we could debark.

We found our luggage quickly, but getting a porter was a little tricky. Patti waited by the door and literally grabbed one as he came in. He loaded our bags, we zipped right through customs, and he took us directly to the Radisson shuttle.

 

We got right on the shuttle, and in no time at all we were being dropped off very close to our van. We took this time to rearrange our luggage and retag them for the Elation. After stops at CVS and Dunkin Donuts we were on our way to Jacksonville at 9am. Here are our last looks at the Carnival Magic as we left Port Canaveral…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

The drive up to Jacksonville should have taken only 2 ½ hours, but we ran into a couple of traffic issues which added another hour of travelling time. The last traffic delay was approaching the Dames Point Bridge because they funneled three lanes of traffic down to one lane to do bridge work. Here we are crossing the Dames Point Bridge……

 

In a matter of hours we will be sailing under this bridge and out to sea, which is that way…..

 

Once across the bridge we followed the signs to the cruise port…..

 

This was our first glimpse of the Carnival Elation……

 

There’s a long line of traffic waiting to get in the terminal…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

We have finally made it into the terminal and are approaching the checkpoint. Make sure you have all of your documents ready…..

 

Once past the checkpoint there is another long line for baggage drop off…..

 

As we inched towards the baggage drop off, you can see the new Grand Deck balconies all the way up on top…..

 

This is the entrance to the cruise terminal…..

 

After dropping off our baggage we got in another fairly long line to pay for parking, which has been raised to $17 /day, or $85 for a 5 day cruise. Here are a couple of views of the Elation from the parking lot…..

 

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Once parked, we walked over to the terminal building. The lines for the scanners were fairly long, but once we got past that, things moved very quickly. It only took a few minutes to check in and receive our Sail & Sign cards, and then we boarded the Elation around 1:15pm…..

 

Now that we are aboard, here our today’s Fun Times……

 

The first thing we did once we boarded was to head to our cabin, which was U181, an outside cabin on Upper Deck aft, starboard side…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[blondie151o]

Once parked, we walked over to the terminal building. The lines for the scanners were fairly long, but once we got past that, things moved very quickly. It only took a few minutes to check in and receive our Sail & Sign cards, and then we boarded the Elation around 1:15pm…..

 

Now that we are aboard, here our today’s Fun Times……

 

The first thing we did once we boarded was to head to our cabin, which was U181, an outside cabin on Upper Deck aft, starboard side…..

[/

 

To be continued…..

 

 

 

Omg I've been following this post since day 1 Bc of the elation and now I see we have the same room on the elation!!! So exciting to read even more!! :)

We sail march 1!

 

 

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[Webecruzen]

Really enjoyed week two of your Magic review and Patti's great pictures. We have not sailed out of Jacksonville so looking forward to this review as well! I have not seen a Paradise Roll Call for our sailing. We will have to get in touch soon to do some planning. Hope you and Patti are doing well and not working too hard.

[marty1950]

Hello Jeff and Patti. Really enjoyed your last 2 weeks of cruising and pictures. Looking forward for week 3 on Elation. Gary

[Purdey16]

Hi Jeff & Patti ,

Been following from day one of your btb and looking forward to the next part especially Nassau which we will visit next october so any tips please on what to do will be great has we have never been , your photos have been great giving us a inside look on how other ships (carnival) look and maybe one day in the near future we will book one .leaving port Canaveral , have a lovely next 6 days sunny hot weather . Sandra

[Jamman54]

Omg I've been following this post since day 1 Bc of the elation and now I see we have the same room on the elation!!! So exciting to read even more!! :) We sail march 1! Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Glad to have you following along. We kept the room in good shape for you. Much more to come.:cool:

Really enjoyed week two of your Magic review and Patti's great pictures. We have not sailed out of Jacksonville so looking forward to this review as well! I have not seen a Paradise Roll Call for our sailing. We will have to get in touch soon to do some planning. Hope you and Patti are doing well and not working too hard.

 

Hey Guys! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Surprised that you've never sailed from Jaxport. Not a bad place to sail from. I also have been checking for a roll call, so I guess I'll have to start one

The Paradise will be going into drydock the month before our cruise, so she should be looking pretty much like the Elation when she gets out. We'll be in touch. :cool:

[Jamman54]

Hello Jeff and Patti. Really enjoyed your last 2 weeks of cruising and pictures. Looking forward for week 3 on Elation. Gary

 

Hey Gary! Glad to have you aboard the Elation now, and you didn't even have to make the drive! :D

Hi Jeff & Patti ,

Been following from day one of your btb and looking forward to the next part especially Nassau which we will visit next october so any tips please on what to do will be great has we have never been , your photos have been great giving us a inside look on how other ships (carnival) look and maybe one day in the near future we will book one .leaving port Canaveral , have a lovely next 6 days sunny hot weather . Sandra

 

Thanks for following along, and glad that this review has been helpful to you. Port Canaveral is a great place to sail from with a great choice of ships! :cool:

[Princess Cruiser27]

Good Bye Magic. Hello Elation. Thanks for the ride on the Magic Jeff and Patti. Will be waiting on more of the Elation.

[CruizCuz]

Hi Jeff and Patty! SO excited to start reading your Elation review. I thoroughly enjoyed the review of the Magic, and a B2B is on my bucket list! We live in Jacksonville, and have sailed on the Elation once, but the Fascination several times while it was here. We sailed on the Elation "pre" refurb and are VERY much looking forward to sailing her again this January for my parents' 59th wedding anniversary! It's an easy ship for them to navigate, and we don't have to travel....double bonus when traveling with my parents! Thank you so much for taking the time to detail your trip and I am loving the pictures!

[cruzin Phillis]

Can't tell you how excited I am to see you back and kicking. Thought I was going to have to send out a search and rescue team. 😂 can't wait to read your review. I LOVE the magic. My favorite ship.One of these days I'm going to surprise you as join you for beer on 1 of these Cruises!

 

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[cruzin Phillis]

Here are Tandoor’s food offerings……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

Such my favorite place!!!

 

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[Jamman54]

Good Bye Magic. Hello Elation. Thanks for the ride on the Magic Jeff and Patti. Will be waiting on more of the Elation.

 

Thanks Barb! Plenty on the Elation to come! :cool:

 

Hi Jeff and Patty! SO excited to start reading your Elation review. I thoroughly enjoyed the review of the Magic, and a B2B is on my bucket list! We live in Jacksonville, and have sailed on the Elation once, but the Fascination several times while it was here. We sailed on the Elation "pre" refurb and are VERY much looking forward to sailing her again this January for my parents' 59th wedding anniversary! It's an easy ship for them to navigate, and we don't have to travel....double bonus when traveling with my parents! Thank you so much for taking the time to detail your trip and I am loving the pictures!

 

Thanks for continuing to follow along. The Elation is in great shape now! :cool:

[Jamman54]

Can't tell you how excited I am to see you back and kicking. Thought I was going to have to send out a search and rescue team. 😂 can't wait to read your review. I LOVE the magic. My favorite ship.One of these days I'm going to surprise you as join you for beer on 1 of these Cruises!

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

 

Glad to have you aboard again! I look forward to sharing some Thirsty Frog Red's with you! :D

[cruzin Phillis]

We ate there on embarkation day and it was quiet and peaceful!

 

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[Jamman54]

We continue with the tour of our cabin. All the cabins on the Elation have been updated.They began this process about six months ago and completed the balance during the dry dock. This is the view from our window looking towards the cabin door…..

 

This is the desk area…….

 

All cabins now have a mini fridge. The cabinet is vented for better air circulation helping the fridges keep things colder…..

 

Every cabin has a temperature control. No more reaching up to the vent…..

 

Here is the Good to Know information…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

The cabin still has three closets. This is the one closest to the desk…..

 

This is the middle closet......

 

The closet closest to the cabin door also has a keypad type safe and some drawer space…..

 

 

 

The bathroom and shower has also been updated…..

 

To be continued……