Just off Elation if anyone has questions :)

[sandi1967]

We just got back from a five day cruise on the Elation and had a fantastic time!!  We went to Grand Turk and Amber Cove.  We LOVED Grand Turk and had the best time at Jacks Shack.  Amber Cove was fine and safe, wish we could have left port had we had more time.

 

The food was quite good.  I didn't have anything that I didn't like.  We splurged for my girlfriend and her hubby's 20 anniversary and went to the Chefs Table last Thursday.  It was $90 per person and so worth it.  We had so much fun! The food was amazing, it also included wine.  Dinner lasted three hours and was so informative.  We enjoyed the comedy shows and all the music trivia.  The best one was the last night in the atrium bar and was 80's and 90' trivia.  It was packed.  Deepak at the bar was always awesome there!!

 

We never went to the pool as it was WAY too crowded.  Wish it were bigger.  We spent a lot of time at the slide where there were always empty chairs and the seven of us had a ball on the slides.  The Serenity deck was nice....even on warm days the hot tubs felt a bit refreshing.

 

We all had the drink package.  Twice we, (well a few of the seven)  met the limit...........but we met the limit at like 1am and probably had our first around 11.  We recommend to get a bottle of water with every drink.  It makes a difference.  

 

Feel free to ask questions and I am happy to answer. 

Sandi

[clarkrock7]

How was the cruise director?  Fun team people?  Any really awesome trivia/karaoke/activity hosts to look out for?  We are doing 4 night leaving thursday so the events will probably be pretty different.  Did you win a ship on a stick?  

 

Tell me everything!!!! lol   i'm really getting too excited.

[DGP1111]

Thanks for offering answers.

I will be boarding Carnival Elation later this year, and it will be my first return to this class of ship in a very long time, but I'm sure to enjoy it.  Planning to do Chefs Table due to the absence of a steakhouse experience.  Is it still presented in the library?  Did they mention a minimum number of dining guests in order to meet their quota for offering it?  How many were at your experience that evening?  Thanks again!! ☺️

 

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[xDisconnections]

How was the condition of the ship?

[sandi1967]

Good morning,

 

The CD's name was Marty and he was really great and very friendly.  I think I read on his FB page that he is leaving and headed for Carnival Fantasy in September.  There was another young guy that did lots with him, but I don't recall his name.  Another great girl was Amber.  She is from Delaware from a town about 45 minutes from us which is why she caught my eye.  She is super energetic and we really enjoyed her too.

 

We did the karaoke on our last sea day last Friday.  It was held in the Romeo and Juliet lounge.  It was fun and I really don't sing well what-so-ever! 🙂  It was held in the late afternoon if I remember correctly.  Most of the trivia games were help in that lounge also.  We did the Friends trivia which we thought we would do great...........well we didn't.  But it was lots of fun.  (Amber did this trivia game.)  My favorite music game was on the last night in the Atrium Bar on the 7th floor.  I think I mentioned it last night in my original post.  It was packed and it was divided by sides.....there had to have been a couple hundred people in the bar area and lined all around the floors above.  We had an absolute ball.

 

Our Chefs Table dinner was last Thursday at 6:15 after our Amber Cove port.  We met in the Atrium again and were greeted with glasses of champagne.  Our group consisted of the seven of us and then three other couples....I think the max is 14.  The Soux Chef met us and told us about the galley and then took us in there where we had some small, but amazing appetizers.  The head pastry chef spoke about the melting cake and how they make it.  If you want to know they make about 970 each day. 🙂  After about 30 minutes we headed to the library where our dinner was all set up.  It was seven courses with either Pinot Grigio or a Merlot.  The dishes were so good and just a perfect size.  Nothing that you would get in the dining room.  Eduardo was the head of this, he is the soux chef.  He was so funny any very informative.  We had an "intermission" where a table artist, aka magician came out and did some very good card tricks for about ten minutes.  WHat a cool job to have.  I was so full after this dinner, more so than any other night.  It was totally worth the money.

 

The ship is small, the smallest we have been on.  When we pulled in to Grand Turk Carnival Pride was already there.  (We live on the eastern shore of MD and see the Pride travel under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge quite often.)  I thought that was a small ship.  One of the fun team members heard me saying this and he said our ship was like a dinghy compared to the Pride.  He did also say, the Elation has everything most other ships have and mostly on the same deck.  True statement.  Only took me a few hours to figure my way around.  The ship appeared to be in great shape and quite clean.  It is small that is true.  I wish the pool was bigger.  The serenity deck was nice, just wish there was a pool not just a hot tub up there.  I know there is no room for that.  But it was nice to get away up there.  We really loved the slide.  It was not teeming with people and we adults had a ball on the slides. 🙂 

 

I had a great time, wish it were longer.  No cruise is long enough though.  I really wished we had more time in Amber Cove.  We were ready to take a taxi to another beach.  I am not a huge fan of cruise ship run ports.  So, if you are worried about the DR here....don't be.  It is a secure port with fencing all the way around.  The pool got crowded once another ship came in.  We spent the last 90 minutes walking around the shops.  We were there from 9-2

 

We LOVED Grand Turk.  We got off the ship and walked left on the beach and headed to Jacks Shack.  Best day!!!  Umbrella and two chairs is $14.  The food here is amazing.  Oh my gosh the jerk chicken and cracked conch was the best!!  Drinks were yummy also.  The water is beautiful.  They have been hit hard by hurricanes and you will see some cars that haven't been removed, but the people were lovely.  I would go back in a heart beat.  Oh and the dogs...........its a shame I couldn't sneak one home.  I fell in love with all of them.

 

Sorry so long,

Sandi

[2Shoes2Go]

Thank you for your great review! 😀 Do you happen to know who are the Captain and Hotel Director  currently?

[ProgRockCruiser]

We did that same itinerary on Elation in mid-May.  We also had a blast!  We didn't do any karaoke - wish we had, since my wife and I are both vocalists (and instrumentalists) in our band, so it is fun to sing stuff outside our normal "band routine".  We can make up for that for our upcoming cruise on Breeze, perhaps...

 

We loved hanging out at Serenity.  We had some good time in the main pool too - I think that was on a day we were in a port, and we returned to the ship early both days and went into the pool one of the times.

 

Although we really liked Ari at Gatsby's Great Bar, we did miss the Alchemy Bar - despite Gatsby's being a "martini bar" their selections of gins (for a proper 007 martini) were not wide, and not my preferred one (I like Hendricks).  I had to go to the casino bar to get Hendricks.  Good selection of scotchs and bourbons, though.

[xDisconnections]

1 hour ago, sandi1967 said:

The ship is small, the smallest we have been on.  When we pulled in to Grand Turk Carnival Pride was already there.  (We live on the eastern shore of MD and see the Pride travel under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge quite often.)  I thought that was a small ship.  One of the fun team members heard me saying this and he said our ship was like a dinghy compared to the Pride. 

Imagine if it were next to a large ship... such as an Oasis class vessel 😉

[ProgRockCruiser]

37 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

Imagine if it were next to a large ship... such as an Oasis class vessel 😉

 

When we were in Grand Turk, bobbing in the water and snorkeling, I joked that we couldn't see our ship, the Elation, because it was "beyond the Horizon".  Carnival Horizon was docked too, blocking our view of Elation totally.

[Stacie.]

2 hours ago, sandi1967 said:

We LOVED Grand Turk.  We got off the ship and walked left on the beach and headed to Jacks Shack.  Best day!!!  Umbrella and two chairs is $14.  The food here is amazing.  Oh my gosh the jerk chicken and cracked conch was the best!!  Drinks were yummy also.  The water is beautiful.  They have been hit hard by hurricanes and you will see some cars that haven't been removed, but the people were lovely.  I would go back in a heart beat.  Oh and the dogs...........its a shame I couldn't sneak one home.  I fell in love with all of them.

 

Sorry so long,

Sandi

Amber Cove and Grand Turk were two of our stops in February and we loved Grand Turk so much that we booked the shorter cruise with GT and AC for November. I’m looking forward to trying the jerk chicken at Jack’s Shack this time. We had cracked conch and conch fritters last time. I thought the cracked conch was good but the conch fritters were amazing. My kids adored Topher and Calyso. My 11 year old was almost in tears when she said goodbye to them. She’s very envious that DH and I are going back so soon. I promised pet them for her. 

[centerpoint]

Stacie, which sailing in November?  My wife and I are booked on the Thanksgiving cruise to these ports of call.

[HuliHuli]

We recently returned from the June 15th sailing of the Elation to the same two ports - Grand Turk and Amber Cove.  I've posted a lengthy review that is still undergoing the obligatory review.  You may want to watch for it.

[Stacie.]

3 hours ago, centerpoint said:

Stacie, which sailing in November?  My wife and I are booked on the Thanksgiving cruise to these ports of call.

We’re going the 11th-16th of November, so there will be another cruise in between ours and yours. 🙂

[centerpoint]

Thanks for the reply Stacie.  We've been on several cruises, but never to these two ports...looking forward to the experience - as well as how the ship will put on Thanksgiving.