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Elation 12/17 Review

Hot Hockett

By Hot Hockett,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Hot Hockett

Hot Hockett

Posted
Posted

here it goes.... remember, im not an adult so i ddint have as much fun as you all could have, but we had alot of fun

 

Friday: We left Little Rock at around 2:30 and headed for Houston/Galveston area. Think we went to a town called Webster. We stayed at the Residence Inn and it was nice and the room was quite big for us 5 people. Anyhow, got to bed and was ready for the next day

 

Saturday: Woke up around 8ish to kind of get ready. Weather is lousy and looking like its going to rain Mom is still sick, im not 100% and neither is my dad i dont think. We finally get all ready and leave the residence at about 11 i think. Only a 30 minute drive which was very fast. Navigated through galveston to find EZCruise parking. WE found it and the the "fun" of that day began. The rain started to get going, but not bad at all. We got in and parked and my dad and i talked to the shuttle guy about if we should get our bags out or not. He said just wait for the next shuttle. Waited and waited and waited. Finally, we decided we would just drop our bags off. So we went over to the terminal and dropped them all off where the porter grabbed them and that was quite fast. Got back to another spot and saw a shuttle. Hurried over and got on it, and as i would later figure out, TXParrothead was on there. So we took the shuttle and took 15 minutes with traffic and got to the terminal. We went through "the process" of getting on, and there was no line at all. Got right on the boat and into our room. Then we ate on lido for a little bit( and watched UK beat Louisville YEAH!!) and went back to the room to find our luggage. My dad, Dillon(13), and I were on Main Deck room 201, while my mom and trevor(9) were on the same deck 203. They were DIRECTLY across from the elevator that took us to Tiffany's, which was convienient. So then we waited for the medfords to get on who were on empress and then they (dad and mr. medford) went to the maitre d, Damir i think his name was, to see if we could get a same table. I heard that he denied a couple to change times before them, but when they went up with the :cool: GOLD:cool: cards, he arranged for it. We had our roll-call meeting on the verandah deck. Only parrothead, medford, and mo party and his grandmother showed up. We all talked and i only saw tx parrothead one more time on the whole cruise, and it was that day, and never saw mo party again. i got my dosage of medford.... So our seating was at 6:15 in the Imagination dining room. It was nice. We ate dinner in the dining room that night, and i wont be able to tell you all waht i ate every night, so i have no idea what it was. however, every night we went i ate the normal beef/steak/pork things. Ate dinner and just hung out that night. Missed the show, but watched it on the TV. Jorge the cruise director is hilarious.

 

Saturday: Day at sea. Hairy chest contest was today. Funny as it always is. Winner came from arkansas. Speaking of states, everyone on that cruise was from texas. Seriously, when they would bring someone up on stage, they would be like, oh, Texas again. They had a game of bingo called Texas Bingo. Wow. I heard all about Texas taking down USC and all that good stuff. i didnt feel good on saturday, so i tried to sleep during the vikings game on TV. Got up later and went to dinner, but i doubt i ate alot.

 

Sunday: Another day at sea. I cant think of anything special or important that happened today. Anyway, we at dinner in the dining room again and it was good as normal. I think tonight was the night where my parents said that the show was awful, but i didnt watch it. We went to karaoke and heard Jason sing "i walk the line" probably the funniest thing i have ever seen in my life. Mr. Medford got called for Twist and Shout as the last song, but he was in the bathroom. He came back and did it and alot of people got up and danced. Dad was supposed to take pictures, but were not sure what happened there. Gala Buffet was tonight so we went and took pictures, but didnt eat anything because i wasnt feeling alright and the line was huge. Plus, i think mrs. cynthia was sleep walking. Got to bed round 11:45, early enough so that we would be ready for COZUMEL tommorrow.

 

Monday: set an alarm for 7:00. We were all really tired, so we just slept in for another 30- 45 minutes. Finally, the guys went to eat in the dining room for breakfast while mom took a shower. When we were done, we went to go get our tender tickets. had number 7. When we sat down, we got the clearance call. So we got on the gigantic tender boat which took forever to load and got a mexican powerade, which tastes alot different from american, but its still good. Got off at the pier you usually get off at. The damage there isnt that bad, and most of the shops are open. We looked around and some guy offered me a beer, i said maybe later. We rented a jeep from one of those places there and i got them to go downtown. We drove down there but it took forevr because we were behind some stupid horse, so we just turned around. Then, we headed to Paradise Beach. Got there and we had no towels. So bring towels. We bought two for 20, dropped the price 4 bucks. we got the "activity" bracelets, i guess, for me and dillon and trevor. it was fun. The medfords were actually there, so that was cool. We ate there. it was expensive, but the portions are huge. Seriously. Chips and salsa for 5 bucks, but its a big plate of salsa and chips. Anyway, it was fun. We got back on the ship around 3:30. I didnt buy anything there. got back. That night i had the wiener shnitzel for dinner. wasnt hungry, didnt eat it. Everyone thought it was going to be a braut or something. Nope. Veal cut. It was good, but i wasnt hungry. Went to bingo and lost. talent show was next. Everyone was from texas. Acapella singer, mexan guitar lady song, guitar, a juggler who my brothers were obsessed with. Trevor got to be in the act by picking up a ball and throwing it so he can catch it and continue. Then a guitar again and it was over. Good show. Went to bed for progreso.

 

Tuesday: No tender. yeah. So we got off the ship around 9:30-10ish i guess. Went out to the shops off the boat. Then we took the free shuttle into town. When we got there, we went to the square right there and talked to a nice guy who spoke great english and sold wooden boxes/napkins and stuff. He told us how to get to the bus station for merida. Learn minimal spanish, like important words. Estacion de autobuis- bus station. Anyway, for the 5 us round-trip, it was 10 bucks. 30-45minute trip on air-conditioned bus. We had to drop off locals at their different places so it took a little more time. we got there and shopped around in the city and went to the big cathedral. it was neat because a mass was going on and they said the our father in spanish, and i knew it from school. Anyway, we got out of there and finally found the bus station again and left. Still, i bought nothing. Got to progreso, bought something from our shop friend, and got on the shuttle to the pier. I Finally bought a Corona shirt, so that was the one thing i bought. Got back on the ship and hung around til dinner. Nothing else happened. My parents got addicted to the Blood power band. My god. They were good though, classic, 80's, and some current rock. I liked them alot, but i hung out with my friends alot the last 2 days.

 

Wednesday: Last day. That was sad enough. I hung around with my friends and we met up with the juggler guy. We helped him do all these things and attempted to juggle. Dillon and Trevor hung around with him for over 6 hours that day, and i guess are decent jugglers now. Trevor is juggling in this room right now. Anyway, that was all he did. Nothing tremendously exciting happened. I really just messed around and played with our friends. went to the last dinner and said goodbye to our main server Linber and our assistant waiter Nana who were really nice and awesome. Then, i hung out with my friends while my parents listened to blood power till about 12 and then went to bed for the last time on the cruise

 

Today (Thursday):woke up at 6:30 and got ready to self-disembark. Didnt eat breakfast because i didnt feel like getting up. We never really got called, we just saw alot of main deck people leave so we just kinda followed and got off the boat kind of quick and we were gone. Got to a HUGE LINE outside for a bus and were mad. EZCruise came over and was like oh, get on our shuttle. So we did and were off and got back to LR around 4 o clock. I think the medfords still arent home..... and they got off before we did. Haha.

 

Alright, there was my cruise. Im sure it wasnt interesting, but if you have any questions about anything, ill try to answer it.

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TXParrothead

TXParrothead

Posted
Posted

Hello Hockett

 

We were on the same cruise. The seas were really on Saturday and Wednesday. They were so rough they rolled me out of bed. The dining room service was great but the stateroom service wasn't. I had to make up my own room. Our steward was never there. I met him on the first day because I paged him. He said that I am very busy and usually work on the other side. All I wanted to do was to tell him to keep the beds pushed together (I put them together) and get a couple of towels. Well other than that the cruise was good. I just had to get used to cleaning my own room.

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cheshyrkat

cheshyrkat

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Posted
... I had to make up my own room. Our steward was never there. I met him on the first day because I paged him. He said that I am very busy and usually work on the other side...I just had to get used to cleaning my own room.

 

I hope you complained!!! I would not have been thrilled about that kind of thing. Having your room cleaned seems like the bare minimum...:eek:

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TXParrothead

TXParrothead

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I did and I got the we are very busy business. So I adjusted my tip big time. It seemed that all of the staff of european descent had a ship on their shoulder while the se asians were very pleasant. I even said Merry Christmas to one of the pursers and she was shocked. It seems as the autotip moves in service goes down. I saw this on NCL as well. So we tipped the dining room staff generously and the stewards got what they deserved. I know that there are apologists out there who will scream at me for that. I say that we live in a capitalist system that enables and encourages people to provide better service. It enabled them to work on a ship instead of a field.

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MoPartyHou

MoPartyHou

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LOL...I got a kick out of reading this review...GOOD JOB!..I was on the cruise as well..yeah, the boat was definitely rocking..moreso than any previous one I've been on..I had a blast...I guess the reason we didn't run into each other as much is because I spent most of the time in the club, pubs, bars, casino..LOL..you know- that kind of stuff..Believe me, I have the Sign and Sail receipt to prove it...Was great to meet all of you..By the way, that was my mom, not my grandma...LOL...got a kick out of reading that part...don't worry, I won't tell her..I'm still out on vacation in El Paso, but I'll try to post my own review when I'm back in H-town!!! .Cheers!

 

P.S. One thing I'd like to add is really how disappointed I was with EZ Cruise parking at embarkation..Granted there were 3 ships coming in, but it didn't seem like they had their act together..VERY disorganized.add to that the weather was HORRIBLE ( I know, not their fault, but it didn't help) ..They were much better at debarkation...we were back at the lot quickly..

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Mgetta

Mgetta

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Posted

I'm wondering if Elation is having a malfunction with the stabilizers. Nearly every cruise review comes back talking about the "rough seas". Seas just aren't that rough all the time. We went in October and got the same story but we thought it was likely since Wilma had been through. But have noticed so many making the same comment since then. Other people have also commented about the engine making a noise, which my DH also noticed. Is it connected?

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bills blasters

bills blasters

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Posted

Loved your review. Thanks so much. I have a 15 year old grandson that I would like to take along on next cruise. He doesn't think it would be any fun. He wants to go to Disney World instead. Did you find lots of stuff to keep you busy? Were there sports you could play there. Do you think that the cruise was as much fun as Disney?

Thanks

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colette5479

colette5479

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Posted
I did and I got the we are very busy business. So I adjusted my tip big time. It seemed that all of the staff of european descent had a ship on their shoulder while the se asians were very pleasant. I even said Merry Christmas to one of the pursers and she was shocked. It seems as the autotip moves in service goes down. I saw this on NCL as well. So we tipped the dining room staff generously and the stewards got what they deserved. I know that there are apologists out there who will scream at me for that. I say that we live in a capitalist system that enables and encourages people to provide better service. It enabled them to work on a ship instead of a field.

 

If I had to make up my own room, I would adjust my tips as well. It sounds as if the steward was overworked. Where was his assistant? I was on the sailing before you and we only met our steward once. He and his assistant were very nice and kept our cabin very clean.

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colette5479

colette5479

Posted
Posted
I'm wondering if Elation is having a malfunction with the stabilizers. Nearly every cruise review comes back talking about the "rough seas". Seas just aren't that rough all the time. We went in October and got the same story but we thought it was likely since Wilma had been through. But have noticed so many making the same comment since then. Other people have also commented about the engine making a noise, which my DH also noticed. Is it connected?

 

I was on the 12/12 sailing and I never noticed any movement whatsoever until we were rained on in COZ. Then the water got choppy and we could feel some movement. I think the stablizers worked very well because I've been on ships in smooth water that shook and vibrated much worse. There have also been reports of movement on the Conquest during the same time period. When there is a storm, it would be hard no to have some movement.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Live_2_cruise05

Live_2_cruise05

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Posted

Great review!!

 

I'm wondering if Elation is having a malfunction with the stabilizers.

 

We where on the Celebrity Galaxy which left the same day as the Elation and we where in rough seas also! These waves where the biggest I have ever seen! I have cruised on the Elation several times (including during Hurricane Dennis on my July cruise) and compared to the Galaxy the Elation was smooth!! Man even in smooth water we where rocking! It was a great 12 day cruise though!!:D

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