Elation! My super last -minute cruise May 16-20

[Silent Penguin]

We just got off the Elation yesterday, and when I  say it was a last-minute booking, I'm not exaggerating.  I had no idea when we sat down for dinner on Sunday, my daughter and I would be getting on a plane to Florida the next morning.  After dinner, she and I were talking about the fact that she had a week off between ending one job and starting a new one, and  we thought it would be fun to have a mid-week adventure. We tossed road trip ideas around but nothing struck us as worth the cost of gas and hotels, so I jokingly said, "I saw there's a cruise out of Jacksonville for $80.00 a person. I have enough Southwest points to fly us there if you're up for it."  She was.  My husband (who isn't vaccinated) and her boyfriend couldn't go, but they said, Go for it!   So we did.  First, I checked Southwest flights.  My heart sank when I learned there were no open SW flights on Sunday night and no flights to Jacksonville early Monday morning that weren't way too expensive.  My daughter found there was a flight to Orlando at 6:15 in the morning. We booked that one and rented a one-way car for the last part of that trip.  We had only carry-on luggage so we beat the crowd to the rental car desk.  There were only 2 people in front of us when we arrived, but at least 25 in line by the time we left the counter.  That was a God-send.  We were on the road by 9:30 am.  While I drove from Orlando to Jacksonville, my daughter was on her phone looking for a Covid testing site that could get us in before noon. That was not as easy to find as I thought it would be.  I won't bore you with the details.  We made it to the  rental car location on the way to the port about 1:30 pm.  Fortunately, there was only one person in line before us.  The Uber driver got us to the Port by 2:00 pm, but he dropped us pretty far from the drop-off point.  Good thing we didn't have a lot of luggage.   We were the last people on the ship, but we made it. You better believe Monday was a crazy, crazy day for us.

[Cruise, J.D.]

Very nice start! No way I could do that! 😃

[cruisefanatic2713]

following along. looking forward to seeing next posts!

[ninjacat123]

How exciting!! Have fun😃

[sgttami]

Nice.

My favorite trips through the years were the ones booked last minute.

 

Just GO!

 

[Silent Penguin]

Hi, Again.  I wasn't really thinking about writing a trip report since the most exciting part was managing to actually make it to the port on time.    I still can't believe  we left for a cruise that involved same-day airplane travel during a time when cancellations  and delays are rampant,  the wait for a car rental at the airport could be over an hour or longer, there's no gaurantee you'll get a car or a Covid test appointment for that matter.  Crazy, right?  Did I mention I didn't have time to buy trip insurance?  

 

Leah and I were up  really late getting all the last minute details taken care of.  I got to bed about midnight with more than a little anxiety and doubt about whether we were actually going to make it onto the ship.  I fell asleep thinking, " This seemed like a good idea when I had it." Then I slept until 3:40. My brain couldn't make it to 4:00, which was a good thing because I was ready to go when Leah got up. She had it in her  mind our flight was 6:45, not 6:15 and wasn't feeling the urgency to get on the road. I got us out the door with yogurts and Balanced Breaks to eat on the way. 

It was only because we were meant to be on that plane that we made it. There was no traffic delays going to  Baltimore, we found a parking spot in the extended stay lot  close to the shuttle stop, and the bus  was pulling up just as we reached it. If it wasn't for the fact that we had our boarding passes on our phones, had no checked luggage and were both TSA approved we never would have made it. As it was, our flight was beginning to board as we reached the gate. Leah and I were one person short of the last people on the plane. Surprisingly, considering the plane was completely full, there was room for our carryons.  With the schedule so tight, it would have been disasterous if we had been forced to check our bags.  (Another minor miracle,  the one-year old baby I sat next to was cheerful the whole 2-1/2 hour flight.)  More blessings followed when, even though the pilot said we would be delayed 15-20 minutes due to fog, we actually were on time when we landed.  I shared the highlights of driving from Orlando to Jacksonville already.  Did I mention we never stopped to eat, drink or ...you know.   We made it onto the ship in a daze of hunger, fatigue and disbelief that in less than 24 hours we went from planning to visit my sister a couple hours away from home to boarding a cruise ship to the Bahamas 900 miles from home.

 

So there we were.  Of course we were excited to be on the ship but we also felt, as Leah put it, a little like "party crashers".  This wasn't -like our other cruises- a long awaited vacation, we were the last ones on board and it looked like everyone else was already in cruise mode.  I knew we would feel better after we completed the muster drill,  dropped off our bags and got some food.  The good thing about boarding last is you know your room is going to be ready for you.  Our room was ready, kind of.   Our room keys were waiting for us in the mail slot but so were keys for another family.  That was confusing but not alarming since their luggage wasn't delivered to our room. They must have canceled or changed rooms.   The beds hadn't been separated  and our dining time was wrong, but that was no big deal. The room steward fixed the beds, and guests services told us to just go to the dining room when we want to  it will be fixed there.

 

We decided not to get a snack because it was close to dinner time.  Instead we toured the ship.  That didn't take long! Those of you who have sailed on the Elation know how small it is.  I had never been on a cruise ship that had only one pool,  two dining rooms, and no specialty restaurants.  It does have a Bonsai Express but it's counter service.  Before this cruise, the smallest ship we had been on was the Legend.  Never the less, the Elation is stunning.  We fell in love with the ornate decor and the plentitude of windows and open spaces. I really liked how spacious the hallways are compared to those on the newer ships. Two people can pass each other in the hallway without one of them flattening themselves against the wall.   A well-informed guest we met later in the week told us the Elation is going to be retired in a couple years, but I hope he was wrong.  I'm sure there are many passengers like I us who appreciate when less is more.  

 

  After the tour, we went to the Imagination Restaurant for Anytime Dining.  It was about 5:45pm, so I thought we were just earlier than most diners because there was virtually no wait and hardly anyone in the dining room, but the fact of the matter was that the ship was only 65% full. ( The cruise director said there were 1300 passengers aboard.) It was our first time trying Anytime Dining and I had concerns about the consistency of the service not having the same team all week and how they would manage Leah's gluten-free accommodation.  This first night, we had a fantastic server, Jannelle.  When we asked him how long he had been with Carnival, he said most of his life. It's probably true since he's been with the company 24 years!   

 

After dinner, Leah went to a show and checked out the library to make sure there was a chess set available and maybe find someone to play her.  I went back to the room to unpack, get a shower and early bed time.  At the risk of sounding frail,  3-1/2 hours of sleep is just not enough for me anymore. I was asleep by 9:00!   

 

 

 

 

 

[jsglow]

LOVE your story. Memories for a lifetime. Our best 'last minute'? Friday book; Saturday fly Chicago-San Juan; Sunday sail. Darn good time.

[wikoffclan]

39 minutes ago, Silent Penguin said:

Hi, Again.  I wasn't really thinking about writing a trip report since the most exciting part was managing to actually make it to the port on time.  

 

SO fun to read about your last minute adventure. Hoping you'll share more details.

LOVE Fantasy class ships. We'll be sorry to see them go, too.

[Silent Penguin]

 

May 17 -At sea day

We had great weather for an at-sea day. Warm and sunny. I would have liked to watch the sunrise from our cabin balcony, but to stay within our tight budget, we booked an interior room. It's only the 2^nd time I've ever done that. The first time was about 15 years ago after which I said I would never do it again. One thing we couldn't skimp on was coffee. As most coffee-drinking Carnival cruisers will agree, the free coffee is Horrible. We picked up lattes and puzzle pages from the Java Cafe on the way to the dining room for breakfast. Once again, it was pretty empty. Breakfast was perfect. I got the french toast and chia pudding– a rare treat for me since I'm hypoglycemic and usually stick to low-carb foods. Leah had a frittada and chopped melon, which was perfectly ripened. We were seated next to a sociable and interesting older couple who currently live in a gated community in central Florida and who have traveled a lot. Now that I am in my 50's, winter has lost its charms. I'm starting to understand why people who have lived their whole lives up North are willing to leave their friends and family to live some place warm. I gleened a lot of good advice about how to choose a gated community that really suits you . Also, they had us in stitches with their stories about raising kids in the old days. We sat so long talking to the couple we missed most of the morning Wave show but caught enough of it to enjoy the patter between Neil – the CD and his cohost, Edgar. Then we stayed for the excursion/shopping seminars. Leah was hoping to win something. On our last cruise, she won tickets for 2 for the Private Island/Snorkeling and Lunch in Roatan. Neither of us won anything this time. The couple in front of us won two things, and that got the attention of the Fun Time staff since we were only supposed to have one ticket per cabin. One of the FT crew commented to them how lucky they were, and they looked very uncomfortable.

 

It was 1:00 by the time we left. We went off in different directions. Leah wanted to find someone to play chess with her, and I wanted to get some fresh air and sunshine and maybe a dip in the pool. First, I went to the Lido deck. It was relatively crowded, although not insanely so considering it has the ship's only pool. I probably could have gotten a lounger on the upper deck, but I opted to find the Serenity area not knowing there was no pool there. I picked up a bunless Guy Burger (topped with grilled onion but no mushrooms because there weren't any) and french fries on the way. There were very few people  back there. Maybe, I guess that's not suprising since there's no pool or bar on the Serenity deck, just loungers and two hot tubs. After eating lunch in the shaded area, I got into the hot tub. It was nice and hot compared to the hot tubs on the Vista, and I stayed just a little too long talking to other people in the tub. It was worth it because I got to talk to some more interesting people, some college-age and some pretty old. It was turning out to be a great day for meeting people and enjoying their stories. About 3:00, a little bit dehydrated and a little bit woozy, I went back to my room to rehydrate and take a nap. About 5:00, I got up and went hunting for Leah (we opted not to pay for wifi access or the chat app). As I expected, she was in the library. She was playing Risk with a young couple (both 20) who I think weren't as experienced players but seemed to be enjoying the game. The hot tub experience had killed my appetite so I left them to play their game for a while longer. I went back to our room, mixed myself a drink and took it up to the shaded area on Deck 11 where I listened to my audio book and played on my phone for a while.   A couple arrived to smoke, which they were not supposed to do on that side of the ship, but I don't mind cigarette smoke, so I didn't say anything.  They were sitting right next to me and I got the impression they were sociable like me, but I think we were all just enjoying a little peace and quiet just then.  When a little bunch of young women sitting on the side of the pool got into a really loud and physically animated conversation, we just looked at each other and laughed. No words necessary.

 

It was Elegant Night, so Leah and I dressed up nicely for dinner except I wore my Teva's because they were the only shoes I packed besides my sneakers. (I wonder how many people forget their dressy shoes and wind up wearing weather beaten sandals with their elegant clothes.)  She wore her new black high heels that I had nicknamed her “Jen Shoes” after the IT Crowd. (Let me know if you understand the reference). They were so high and the toes so pointy, we had to break our “take-the-steps-only” rule and ride the elevator: she could barely walk in them. Again, there was barely any wait for Any Time Dining. We didn't have Jannelle as our waiter that night but we were at the same table as the night before. We had Joiquim, also an excellent waiter. Leah especially loved him because he brought her delicious gluten-free baguette instead of the nasty gluten-free bread. We stuck with him the rest of the cruise.

 

After dinner, Leah made a beeline for our stateroom to take off her Jen Shoes while I waited for her in the Library with our Banagrams and Farkle, which I had taken to dinner because we had planned to have ourselves a game night.  She took a long time. While I waiting, I took out the 2 Scrabble sets from the bookcase and inventoried the tiles in case someone wanted to play. A lady about my age came in.  She was from North Carolina who had never been on a cruise. She was waiting for her husband so they could eat dinner, so I wasn't able to entice her to play Scrabble or Banagrams with me. Right after she left, a family of 3 teenagers (maybe a little older) came it looking for a game they couldn't find, so I offered them my Farkle. They didn't know how to play so I got them started. Their mom came in, and I talked to her for a bit. This family was also on their first cruise. She and her boyfriend have 7 kids between them but some of them couldn't come because they just started new jobs and couldn't take the time off. I could relate to that since I only had Leah with me and my sons were working. This family didn't play long because they were waiting for the show in the Mikado Lounge to start. Leah turned up. We started playing Banagrams when guy in his late 20's walked into the Library who Leah seemed to already know. I guess she met him while we were apart earlier in the afternoon. This was her new chess buddy, Matt. He was cruising with his girlfriend Amber, but she wasn't with him because she had gone to bed early. FYI: It was their first cruise. There was no sense in finishing our game when I knew she wanted to play chess with Matt, so I bowed out. He was much better at chess than Leah so the game didn't take long. They finished in time for Leah and I to be only a few minutes late to the 10:00 comedy show.

Unfortunately, all the seats in the Liquid Lounge auditorium and the bar in the back were taken, so we just sat in the passage way outside of the bar and perused the Hub app and people watched. Matt walked by a few minutes later expecting to see the 10:00 show but, of course, couldn't either, so he hung out with us. Although he looked nothing like my middle son, Matt reminded both of us of Leah's older brother in a lot of ways. Leah's pretty tight with her brother, so talking to Matt made us miss her brother, especially because we just knew if he was there, he and Matt would get along like a house on fire. We were still talking when the 70's an 80's dance party started. Not that many people showed up. We watched a clutch of teenage girls contemplate going in, but when they saw a security guard at the door, they shied away. Is there an age minimum for that party? Leah and I went back to our room, got ready for bed and watched channel 32 (?) for a few minutes. It's the channel that shows the ship's course, lattitude & longitude, etc. It became our weird habit to watch it every night before going to bed. 

[Silent Penguin]

Today, we were in docked in Nassau. It was the right day for anyone looking for bargains because the Elation was the only ship in port that day, but we weren't there to shop, and like a lot of people on this board, we've been to Nassau a number of times, and at this point, unless I'm planning to snorkel or scuba dive, I don't have much interest in it. We probably wouldn't have left the ship except for the fact that we both wanted access to free wifi, Leah wanted to buy her boyfriend a small bottle of local rum, and I wanted to pick someone's brain at Diamonds International about resetting my engagement and wedding rings with gems from some jewelry I recently inherited. My hope is to come back next year to do that. If you are reading this and have experience doing this, please reach out.

 

Leah and I started our day by picking up lattes and puzzle pages from Java Cafe on our way to breakfast in the dining room. We got off the ship about 10:00am. The weather couldn't have been better, low 80's and sunny. Our first stop was to find wifi, but I couldn't remember where to go except to Starbucks. On the way there, a lady lured me into a cosmetics shop and applied puffy eye serum to the bags under my eyes. It was very effective but not worth $600.00. Would you believe it? She was willing to knock it down to $320.00? I declined the offer but it did pique my curiousity about how much an effective puffy eye serum would cost back home. Again, if you're reading this and have advice, please reply.

 

On this particular day, the upstairs seating at Starbucks was closed. Maybe, it was going to be open later? I thought I would mention it in case anyone planning to go to Starbucks on Bay Street might encounter this. Since the bathrooms are upstairs, you can still go up there, but you're going to have take care of your wifi business standing up, which we did. Also, if you do need the restroom, ask for the code beforehand. It wasn't our plan to go to the beach, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to swim in the gorgeous blue sea even if it means I had to drip dry. So, we walked down to Junkanoo beach. It took about 20 minutes. This beach isn't particularly inviting in my opinion, but I know from experience, it gets better once you rent chairs and an umbrella and have a drink or two. Too bad that wasn't in our budget. But, if we had wanted to rent chairs and an umbrella, it would have cost $25.00. Not too bad. We bought bottled water and sat in the shade. I went for swim, but Leah didn't want to. On our way back, we popped into the Straw Market but the barrage of vendors was too much. After an initial approach, we retreated. We stopped in at the rum shop though. The sales lady was nice and not pushy, so Leah bought a small bottle of local coconut rum, and I bought one too. I might use it or I might not. I just liked the sales lady. Before I transition to what we did back on the ship, I will mention that every store we entered required shoppers wear masks. That might be a no-brainer still in some parts of this country but it isn't around here. There are some establishments who suggest it but none require it.

 

Back on the ship, Leah wanted to nap but I figured I would do what most other Nassau-is-not-for-me cruisers were doing and enjoy the pool while it would be relatively empty. I prepared an icy mixed drink in our room and took it up to the pool deck. It was indeed the perfect time to be there, plenty of loungers and plenty of room in the pool. Sailing at low capacity is heaven! I was in the deep end of the pool chatting with a couple from North Carolina who also jumped on the ship rather last minute because of the rock-bottom price when Leah showed up. When she realized there was no shallow end, she changed her mind about getting in the pool with us -didn't want to wet her hair- and headed to Charades. Watching her play Charades sounded very entertaining so said my goodbyes to my acquaintences from NC. On the way, I grabbed another bunless Guy burger with fries and caught up with her in the Drama Lounge. I missed half the game, but when I got there her team was up and they were kicking butt. Leah was guessing everything her team mate was acting out. He was really, really good. But, it turned out that the guy who was so good at giving clues was a ringer – been on a million cruises, goes to all the onboard activities and trivia matches . To his credit, he didn't keep the Ship on the Stick, he gave it to Leah. We stayed for the next activity which was Mind Games. I got 18 out of 20 questions but guess who beat me with a perfect 20? It was still fun.

 

Leah wanted ice cream after that so we went up to the Lido deck where we ran into her Chess buddy, Matt. The elusive Amber wasn't with him; she was taking a nap. I started teasing him that she didn't really exist. We headed to the Library so they could play Chess but the Library was closed for the Chef's Table later. Leah ducked and grabbed the Chess game. She and Matt took it up to Deck 10 to play, and I headed back to the room to take a long, hot shower and get a nap. I also broke our spend-no-money rule to rent us a clamshell on Princess Cay the next day. At some point, there was an announcement about a piece of luggage that had been missing since we boarded. It was still missing. The night before, the room stewards were going room-to-room asking if anyone had it. I hope it was eventually found. Many years ago, we were on a Disney cruise during which a piece of luggage went missing, and it wasn't found until the last night of the cruise when a mom started pulling luggage out from under her son's bed to start packing and found a piece that wasn't hers.

 

After another excellent meal in the dining room, we went strolled the outdoor decks, enjoyed the stunning sunset and killed time before Tortilla Soup started playing in the Liquid Lounge. We thought the movie was hokey and left pretty quickly to watch Deal or No Deal instead. It had already started when we got there. Because we'd never seen the game played, we couldn't understand the rules. It seemed like it was all luck and it was kind of boring. We left. But, we did come back for the Love and Marriage Game. Neil is at his best as the MC of that show. I'm not sure what was more hilarious, the actual game or the selection process. Of the couples picked to play, only the Couple #2 needs to audition. Couple #1 is the most recently married couple That was Brian and Briana, an attractive couple who had only been married 4 days. Couple #3 is the longest married That was Cheryl and Doug (?), at 55 years. To select Couple #2, Neil had all the married couples who had been together more than 4 days and less than 55 stand up. Ultimately, a pair who had only been married 5 days beat out all the “in-betweener” couples by audience vote. By the final “audition”, there was the forementioned very young pair of newlyweds and two contending couples with “crazy” appeal. In fact, Neil nickednamed one pair, Crazy Lady and Her Husband. She was probably pretty drunk. Right from the get-go, when Neil asked all the couples to stand up, she was jumping around and screaming like she was trying to get picked for the Price Is Right. Her husband, on the other hand was not at all into the idea of going up to play. Or maybe, he was just very concerned about having her on stage in that state. Part of the final audition was a “Kiss-Off” in which the 3 couples had to go up on stage and kiss romantically in front of everyone. She dragged her husband to the floor. The other couple who didn't get picked was older, probably early 60's. The wife was very fit and tan and maybe also drunk. She was more serene but flashed the audience her breasts (covered in a bra) every time Neil asked the audience to vote. And I don't mean a quick peek.

 

After the show, we went back to our cave (intererior room), watched a little of our favorite show which we named, “What is the Ship's Lattitude, Longitude, Speed, and Location on the Map” and went to sleep.

[Blue Eyes]

Enjoying your review/post.  I’m interested in how you find such a great deal on a cruise. I’m within an hour of Jacksonville and 3 hours of Port Canaveral.  I call myself looking but never seem to find a “deal”. Would you share your strategy?  You can reply to me, if you choose, using the word hummingbird then add the numbers 3035 and @hotmail.com.  Thanks. We’re booked on the fire stricken Freedom for a July cruise with children and grandkids. This will be 3rd cruise cancelled on us. I’m thinking maybe we aren’t supposed to cruise as a family.🥹🥹

[Silent Penguin]

3 hours ago, Blue Eyes said:

Enjoying your review/post.  I’m interested in how you find such a great deal on a cruise. I’m within an hour of Jacksonville and 3 hours of Port Canaveral.  I call myself looking but never seem to find a “deal”. Would you share your strategy?  You can reply to me, if you choose, using the word hummingbird then add the numbers 3035 and @hotmail.com.  Thanks. We’re booked on the fire stricken Freedom for a July cruise with children and grandkids. This will be 3rd cruise cancelled on us. I’m thinking maybe we aren’t supposed to cruise as a family.🥹🥹

Hi.  I'm really sorry you had such awful luck.  This last cancellation must have been  particularly disappointing.  I mean, we're past the Covid cancellations and now this?  I don't think I"m breaking any rules by answering your question here.  I don't have a strategy other than checking the Carnival website frequently for last-minute cruises.   I've been doing this for a while but it's only been since last fall that I've had the freedom to actually go on a last-minute cruise.   My track record is a short one, two last minute cruises.  If I lived closer to Florida, I'm sure it would be longer.   I can see from your signature line, you have been on a lot of cruises, but I don't see any Carnival cruises on the list.  Maybe, that makes a difference as to what deals show up on the Carnival website for me as apposed to for you.  

[Silent Penguin]

On 5/24/2022 at 10:49 PM, wikoffclan said:

SO fun to read about your last minute adventure. Hoping you'll share more details.

LOVE Fantasy class ships. We'll be sorry to see them go, too.

Thank you.  My memory has a half-life that seems to be getting shorter and shorter, so it's probably just as much for me as for anyone else that I write this stuff down. LOL.  I'm grateful we stumbled on to this opportunity to cruise on one of the older ships before they are all retired. 

[DPTexas]

Thank you for your review and posts of your time on the Elation which I have enjoyed reading very much.  It was the first cruise ship I sailed so I have very fond memories about her.  I have thought of sailing on her one last time, so I guess I better get planning before she docks for good.  While the Elation is a small ship without all the 'bells and whistles", it was a perfect 1st ship/cruise for me.  

Thanks, again.

[Silent Penguin]

May 19 – Princess Cay Day

 

 Leah was a wee bit grumpy when she got up this morning. There was definitely a “don't-talk-to-me-until-I've-had-coffee” vibe, so it wasn't until after we picked up our lattes and puzzles and were seated in the dining room that I ventured to ask her what the deal was. She admitted that she just wasn't too jazzed about Princess Cay. She said that without a snorkeling excursion to look forward to she couldn't see the point of just sitting on a hot beach all day, but she didn't want to be a spoiled brat about it. When I told her I reserved a clamshell,  had making for coctails, and that I planned on leaving shortly after lunch, she perked up. Buoyed by an improved outlook on the day, we finished our breakfast.

 

But, we didn't go straight to the water taxi. As we were passing through the entrance of the dining room, Leah stopped to examine the model of the Inspiration stationed there. Soon, an older couple joined us, and a couple minutes after that, an older man. He was practically professorial in his knowledge of the Inspiration and the Imagination, For several minutes, he educated the four of us on the history of the Fantasy Class and the remodeling history of the Inspiration. Before heading off, we all swapped the usual, "where-are-you-from” and such. We learned that the couple has lived on Amelia Island since the 70's and that the husband plays Chess and the wife plays Scrabble. We were  thrilled to make their acquaintence and made plans to meet up at some point the next day. 

 

As one could imagine, with so few guests on the ship, there was no wait for the water taxi, and when we arrived, there were little to no line waiting for towels or at the excursion kiosk.  It seemed to be a “dozy” day on Princess Cay . After the aggressive vendors we encountered the day before in Nassau, it was a relief to find the local people working at Princess Cay so aloof. No vendors called out to us, and the hair braider was actually asleep at her station as we walked by.

 

Leah wound up having a great time at Princess Cay. I did too. After getting our belongings situated in our clamshell, I marched right down to the water, waded into the depths and began to swim, but Leah balked, stopping at about waist deep. Like an idiot I tried to coax her with, “It feels great! You get used to it quickly!” Does that ever work on someone who doesn't really like to swim or get her wet? Then, I remembered the words she can't resist. As I looked into the water I shouted, “ I see fish!!” She may be a newly-minted legal adult with her own house and new career, but she's still a little kid when it comes to seeing creatures in the water. She can't resist.

 

By the time we got out of the water, dried off, and thought to go find some ice water, the lunch buffet had just opened. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect. There was hardly anyone in line yet. Just like our experience at the car rental the morning of our cruise, by the time we finished eating, both lines (there were only 2 buffet lines open) were easily 50 people long. I meant to bring some cups with ice and some cups with lemonade/ice tea mix back to our clamshell, but I didn't want to wait 15 minutes in the hot sun just to get beverages or to get told off for going straight to the drink station, so we did without.

 

Back at the clamshell,  Leah texted with her boyfriend, and I played on my phone. A couple nearby had some nice jazz tunes playing, and the whole vibe was relaxing. Soon, the line at the barbecue pavillion had diminished, so I went back for ice, cups and mixers for our coctails. With our icy drinks, we toasted our success on actually making it on the ship and people watched for a while. (I like people watching with Leah because she's not catty.) Then we had a race with the Sudoku puzzles from the Cafe (I won)  and started on the crossword when we heard a man shouting, “Help! I can't swim”! At first, we thought he was goofing around because the water was relatively shallow where he was. He had a booming voice and even mostly submerged, he looked like a big man and could have stood up. But then it became clear he must have floated out of his comfort range on a mat, fell off, and panicked. A nearby man got him to hold onto the mat and towed him back to the beach. The nonswimmer hugged his rescuer when they reached the shore. It was very touching.

 

Around 1:30 or so, Leah and I were ready to head back to the ship so we offered the clamshell to the 20-year old couple Leah had played Risk with earlier in the cruise. We had watched them swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand for while, and they looked like they really needed to get out of sun. They must have agreed because we  didn't have to ask them twice. I bet they have it on their to-do list next time they cruise to rent a clamshell or at the very least, reapply the sunscreen after swimming or sweating a lot.

 

Back on ship, we ate Guy burgers and ice cream and then headed to the Library, but once again, the Library was set up for the Chef's Table and was closed. We ducked in to borrow the Chess and the Scrabble games, but they were already gone. Leah went back to the room to get her shower while I got in the line at Guest Services to ask for a deck of cards. By the time I got back to the room with cards, she was laying on her bed, wrapped in a Carnival robe and sound a sleep. A shower and a nap seemed like a good idea to me too. What else is an interior room good for if not for sleeping. For the first time in my cruising history, I didn't care what time either of us woke up because, for the first time in our cruising history, we had Anytime Dining. It was a little bit of bliss. I wish we had made the switch many years ago.

 

After our naps, we headed to dinner. By this time, our routine was to ask for Joaquim as our waiter. (Thank you Cruise Critic for cluing me in to the fact that you can ask for the same serving team). We started with Jannelle on the first night. He is a fantastic waiter (24 years with Carnival!), but on our second night, when we asked for him, he wasn't available. Because Jannelle was completely comfortable with Leah's gluten-free diet, we were loath to change waiters. The problem we've had in the past is some waiters won't let her order things we know are perfectly fine. We got lucky again with Joaquim. If he wasn't sure the kitchen could provide her a gluten-free version of something, he would say, “I will ask, but I can't promise” and then he would always be able to get it for her. His greatest feat was, at our request, having the chef make Leah french toast using the gluten-free dinner baguette instead of the nasty tasting gluten-free breakfast bread. Leah has to order her dining room meals the night before, so it was a wonderful surprise the next morning that her wish was fulfilled. (I'm definitely writing a letter to the company).

 

Well, I'm going to stop short on this day's report because I can't remember anything else from this day except after dinner, Leah and I perused the shops, watched the sun set up on deck 11 and ran into her Chess buddy Matt and his girlfriend Amber. (OMG, she really exists). We talked a long time. Then, Leah and I went to the casino and promptly lost almost all of our money to a very hot (and I don't mean sexy) blackjack dealer. Our luck at the gaming machines was no better. So, we watched our “show” on TV and went to sleep.

 

[elklemi]

I was on this same cruise and agree with your report and it was great to be on a ship so uncrowded.  

[quattrohead]

Love it when a plan comes together.

[quattrohead]

On 5/28/2022 at 11:10 AM, Blue Eyes said:

We’re booked on the fire stricken Freedom for a July cruise with children and grandkids. This will be 3rd cruise cancelled on us. I’m thinking maybe we aren’t supposed to cruise as a family

I think you will be cruising on the Freedom in July, should be a quick patch up job.

[Silent Penguin]

7 hours ago, quattrohead said:

Love it when a plan comes together.

Agree.  I sense there's a story here?

 

[Silent Penguin]

On 5/28/2022 at 2:59 PM, Silent Penguin said:

   I can see from your signature line, you have been on a lot of cruises, but I don't see any Carnival cruises on the list.  Maybe, that makes a difference as to what deals show up on the Carnival website for me as apposed to for you.  

  For the last three days, there was no significant difference between the rates for non-VIFP and VIFP.  This morning, that changed.  

 

[lazydayz]

Really enjoying your review.  Those last minute trips can be both stressful and fun! 

[Silent Penguin]

May 20 - 2nd Sea Day

 

Today was our 2^nd at-sea day and last full day on the ship. As usual, Leah and I started our day by picking up lattes and puzzle pages from the Java Cafe on the way to the dining room for breakfast. . As I mentioned prematurely in my report of yesterday, Joaquim put in a request for specially made gluten-free french toast for Leah's breakfast today, and the chef actually made it for her. It was delicious! We could hardly believe it was gluten-free. Everything we ate– the eggs, the french toast, the orange juice, the chia pudding, the melon, and the ham- was perfect. Since we lingered over breakfast, I finished my latte.  I thought I would give the dining room coffee a try. I was pretty sure it would, even adulterated with a heavy dose of creamer and sugar, still taste like a burnt tire, and it did. Well, you can't have everything.

 

After breakfast, we attended the Morning Wave show in the Mikado Lounge. If there were more than 25 people in the audience I would be surprised. Neil and Edgar interviewed Phillipa from the Effy shop. Meanwhile, the maintenance crew was replacing the balcony seats with new ones. I don't know how they managed to do it silently, but they did. That was more interesting to me than Phillipa. I don't remember much about that morning's show except that Neil told us some funny stories about his life at back in Australia and about being a cruise director that inspired Leah and me to come back for his Q&A session later.

 

After the show, Leah and I split up. If I had to guess, she went looking for her Chess friends. The weather was warm and sunny.  I would have loved to spent some time outdoors, but I opted to stay in since I got a little burned on my shoulders and my lips where the sunblock wore off while we were at Princess Cay the day before. No matter what I put on my lips, they burn and puff up, and they're not at all thin to begin with. Instead, I did mundane things like get tip envelopes from Guest Services, write thank you notes to our steward and serving team, write down the questions I wanted to ask Neil at the Q&A session, check in for our flight the next day, watch a Greta Garbo movie (I had never seen one before) and do our laundry. FYI: The Elation has to be one of the few Carnival ships that still has coin-operated machines in the laundrette. I didn't expect that, but fortunately there wasn't a long line at Guest Services and I didn't have to wait long to get a roll of quarters. As expected, the vending machine  for soap and dryer sheets was  out-of-order. They always are no matter what ship (or cruiseline) I am on. 

 

After downing one last Guy burger and fries for lunch, I met up with Leah at the Mikado lounge for the Q &A session with Neil. It was both informative and entertaining. Neil got a lot of great questions about a wide variety of subjects  but a few were just dumb. Neil's reaction to one question in particular was priceless.   He just stared at the guy who asked it for about 10 seconds in obvious stupification. His eyes were huge and we could just tell he was holding back what he really wanted to say.  Leah and I were crying with laughter. Finally, he repeated the guy's question and then answered it as earnestly as if it was the most thought provoking thing he'd been asked all morning.

 

In the beginning of the cruise, I didn't think I was going to care for  Neil's style because he says, “awesome” a lot, but it didn't take long to warm up to him. He's a great CD. Very personable. Dry sense of humor but can also be silly. Really caring and fun. I can see why Carnival made him a cruise director.

I don't remember a lot about the rest of this day, but I know we hung out in the Library with the couple we met from Amelia Island. I played Scrabble with Kathy, the wife, and Leah played chess with the husband. We had a great dinner and enjoyed one last chocolate melting cake for dessert. After dinner, we caught the end of some kind of group trivia game Neil was hosting at the Drama Deck. Neil obliged us when we asked if we could get our picture with him.  He's either really good at faking enthusiasm or he is genuinely super nice!  I think the later.  After that, we attended the Rock show Neil recommended. It was pretty good. The set and costumes were kind of cheesy. A steam-punk  motif. The singers were great, and they killed it on the Queen songs. We also, finally, got to see a comedy act. The comedian was Lance Montalto. He was pretty funny and told a hilarious story about Steve Harvey, who he's known a long time. I don't know how long he'll be on the Elation, but I recommend catching his show if you can.

 

Then, it was bed time. The last day of the cruise was over. So sad.

[ninjacat123]

Great review!!! Loved the exciting beginning all the way to the relaxing last day.  When you were checking cruise rates, was the VIFP lower than the non VIFP?  Thanks for writing the review😄

[Silent Penguin]

On 6/8/2022 at 9:56 AM, ninjacat123 said:

Great review!!! Loved the exciting beginning all the way to the relaxing last day.  When you were checking cruise rates, was the VIFP lower than the non VIFP?  Thanks for writing the review😄

Thank you. I know it's long, and that's not for everyone.   In answer to your question,  Yes, the rates are, or can be, different, but how different  depends on the day.   Here are snapshots from  June 1st and June 10th. VIFP on top and non-VIFP (I signed out) below it.  

 

JUNE 1st     VIFP rate on top.   Non-VIFP rate on bottom.

 

 

 

This is the same cruise search today, June 10th 

 

 

THIS IS VIFP pricing

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is non-VIFP pricing.  I signed out.  

 

 

 

 

[RollingMeadows]

I've read every word and have loved your review. I miss the little ships and hope someday to sail on one again.