Disneygirl80

Hi all,

RCL to The Bahamas in 2 weeks. Party of 10. Looking for a place where we can rent a cabana to accommodate all of us. I've looked at the beach breaks and day passes, they all seem expensive for what they are. We are fine with a public beach if we can have chairs/umbrella or a cabana. Does such a thing exist or am I looking for a unicorn?

Thanks!

What was it supposed to taste like? Chicken?

No it's not supposed to taste like chicken, but crab cakes shouldn't taste like a raw piece of fish either.

Hi! We are cruising on the Elation next month - a four day cruise sailing March 24. Can someone tell me which night is formal night? And which morning we can expect the Seuss at Sea brunch? TIA!

 

Oh thought of one more question for y'all! Where is the comedy club? Thanks! :)

It was the night of the first sea day, which was a Friday night for us.

We are taking our first cruise in May and couple of questions... 1) do staterooms have refrigerators and 2) do they have hairdryers? Ours is room u138. Thanks,

No refrigerators and we did have a hair dryer. It wasn't in the bathroom, but in a drawer by the bed.

Hi all,

I'm struggling with finding something to do in Falmouth. We are a group of 10. My parents are in their early 60s, me and DH, my sister and her DH and then 4 kids, ranging from 5-10.

Can someone explain to me exactly what we would do in Dunns River Falls and how fit we need to be? I'm concerned that it would be too much for my parents, though they are no way near "elderly". Would it be too much for the kids?

Any advice appreciated. TIA!

More in-depth review of the Carnival Elation from 1/28-2/1. There were 12 of us total, 6 couples and no children. We sailed from New Orleans to Cozumel.

Embarkation: We chose the 11:00-11:30 slot for staggered embarkation. We rolled up to the parking garage right at 11:00 and they took our bags. The porter mentioned that we needed to have our ID and passport or birth certificate out and NOT in our luggage. At this point, one couple realized they didn't have their birth certificates. :(

We were told it could be faxed, so they got on the phone and we all headed in. Check-in was painless and quick. The longest line was to get our sail & sign card and that was 15 minutes. Our problem children were able to get their issue sorted our rather quickly and we all headed to board.

I will mention that I saw several people carrying on boxes of soft drinks. Didn't seem to be a problem.

We were on the ship for 11:45.

More on the ship itself: I loved the small size. Being on the Verandah deck made everything easy to navigate. It was 1 floor down to get to the Lido and 2 floors down to the Promenade where we spent a lot of time between the Drama bar and casino and the Cole Porter Lounge. We never had issues waiting for the elevator.

The ship is definitely old, but very clean and we loved her. There was always staff around picking up plates and dishes as well.

There are tons of common areas with plenty of seating.

Rooms: We were on the verandah deck in an interior cabin. We LOVED it. The room was super clean and Richard did a great job. It was plenty roomy for 2 people. We had some coat hangers with us and utilized the closet and drawers to unpack.

The room was very quiet and I also had a small fan that helped block out noise.

We never waited long for an elevator. It was one floor down to the Lido and 2 floors down to the Promenade where we spent a majority of our time between the Drama bar and the Cole Porter Lounge.

We loved the locatin and being so high up on the ship.

Food: Dinner was at 8:15 in the Inspiration Dining Room. This is one part that was very disappointing. The food was blah. Everything that had seafood was terribly fishy. Our servers were fine, effecient but that's about it. Not overly friendly or anything. Took forever to get bar drinks. We started stopping at the bar ourselves before dinner.

Sea Day brunch was delicious! Served from 8:30-1:00 in the MDR on sea days. It was nice not to have to rush to breakfast. The steak and eggs were to die for! We enjoyed brunch here both sea days.

There was ALWAYS a long line for the grill, wok and pizza. ALWAYS. It moved fairly quickly, but there was a line every single time.

I had read that the buffet seemed to have odd hours. While I didn't keep track, I found this to be true. When we got back on the ship from Cozumel around 4:00, everything but pizza and the grill was closed. Made the lines even longer.

Entertainment: There were 2 comedians on board, they both did a family and adult show. One we really liked, one we didn't care for. No problems getting good seats to either.

Some people in our party caught the Epic Rock show and LOVED it. We all caught the Motown show on the last night, horribly boring. We left halfway through.

We enjoyed bingo and won $250!

There was tons of live music, the atrium and the drama bar. Very enjoyable.

Spent a lot of time in the casino as well.

CHEERS! package: I was originally on the fence about this, especially thinking that we would have a hard time getting service if we were on the package. I found the opposite to be true. We all had the package and never had a hard time getting a drink. We were served promptly at the bar and had constant servers coming to us. We always tipped $1 or so, that probably helped.

I felt that the package was worth it. I liked the chocolate martinis and they were $9.25 each. Since it also included soft drinks, you really only needed 5 or 6 drinks to break even. It was very nice to not have to worry about what our bill would be. We tried drinks we may not have otherwise.

The closest I ever came to hitting my limit was on the second night when I had 12 drinks througout the day. Some others did hit their limit and had no trouble using someone elses card (it's wrong, I know).

My husband was usually able to get me a drink with my card, especially if we were at a bar where the bartenders knew us. He did get turned away a few times, even though he was using his own card for himself.

So, I would totally get the CHEERS! package again if it was a shorter cruise and I was with friends and not my kids. There is no way I would drink that much on a longer cruise of if the kids are with us.

Cozumel: We didn't have anything planned for the day. We docked at 9:00 and all met for breakfast at 9:00 to let the crowds get ahead of us. We browsed the shops and then stopped at Pancho's Backyard for a drink. It was really nice. We got a shaded table in the sand and enjoyed the breeze. We ended up at Senor Frogs to wrap up our day.

There is so much to do in Cozumel but we didn't want to be tied down to any plans. We really enjoyed our time there and wished it would have been longer.

Wifi: We did get the social media package so we could have imessage and be able to check on the girls. Service was super super slow. We were unable to video message through Facebook or anything. It was worth it to be able to message on FB, but that's about it.

Debarkation: This was a mess. We did self assist and should have been the first ones called off the ship at 8:15. At 8:45, we headed down to the Empress deck and were met with a HUGE line. HUGE. We waiting in line for over an hour to get off the ship. Slow moving line. There were only 2 stations where they were scanning sail and sign cards to get off. took forever. Once we got off the ship, getting through customs was easy and we were back in our car in no time.

We really really enjoyed this cruise. Couldn't beat the price and the ship is small and wonderful. Our expectations were pretty low, I didn't expect anything fancy or anything. I would sail on the Elation again in a heartbeat!

Let me know if anyone has any specific questions!

I am curious about the cabins. Have they been redone yet? Is there still a big box in the corner of the cabin that holds the life vests? Did you have a reg old tube TV or have they replaced them with flat screens?

 

I am cruising on her in a week or so. Can't wait!!!

I honestly don't know where the life jackets were. We did have a flat screen, but my sister who was next door didn't. The rooms have not been redone that I'm aware. Everything was very clean.

Just returned also the staff was great ,no complaints what so ever the breakfast buffet area was good also the only good thing in the mdr is the melting chocolate cake in my opinion! Cozumel was great perfect weather day,my only complaint about Cozumel is the short time your there,it was our first cruise and we enjoyed it but if I had to do it again I would just fly to Cozumel..ps the seas were great the ship rocked a few times but mostly a smooth ride

I agree about the chocolate melting cake in the dining room, sooooo good!

It was a short time in Cozumel. And the whole Cozumel time vs ship time totally threw us off and we got back on the boat an hour and a half earlier than we needed to. We were bummed when we figured out what we did. It was amazing weather though and we enjoyed every minute!

Glad to hear you had a good time on the cruise, but you didn't like the food?!!! I'm about to sail on the Elation for the first time this weekend, and had read a lot of mixed things about the food. Some negative stuff about the buffet and the pizza, but good stuff about the MDR, particularly the sea day brunch and the dinners.

 

 

 

Any specific suggestions for the MDR dinners on what to try and what to avoid? and any suggestions on other spots on the ship we should try or should avoid, like the sushi spot, the taste spot, the grill at the pool? And has Elation switched to the new room service menu that offers additional items for a fee? Seems like a good idea in theory, except that the new menu takes the steak sandwich and shrimp salad off the menu. ugh!

No we didn't care for the dining room dinners at all. Everything that was seafood was very fishy tasting. The flat iron steak on the everyday menu was terrible the first night I had it. Someone else has it second night and said it was great. Seemed hit or miss. Several loved the pork loin one night. I didn't find a single thing I loved unfortunately. The crabmeat ravioli was terrible! It has a brown/red sauce on it that was just off. Such a disappointment.

The sea day brunch was a different story. Delicious. Loved the steak and eggs. Excellent cut of meat.

Fairly long lines for the grill and the wok most of the day. Moved fairly quickly but there was always a line.

We tried the taste bar twice and it was pretty good. It was nice to have just a little taste and not an entire entree.

We didn't order any room service but I did notice that the menu offered the new items for an extra charge.

And we actually liked the pizza. That was another long line and fairly slow moving. But worth it.

This post sounds negative now that I read over it but we had a fantastic time. I hope you do too!!!

Just got off of her. We had a great time. My expectations were in line with what we experienced. I knew it was an older ship without bells and whistles. The food was not great, but we didn't starve and had a great time. It was a 4 day to Cozumel with a bunch of friends and family. No kids. Couldn't beat the price.

There were tons of people carrying on cans of drinks with no problems.

Hi all, just off the 4 day Elation to Cozumel. We had an absolute blast. I'll do a more in depth review in the next few days but here are a few highlights:

LOVED our room, verandah 24. It was an inside room. It was worn, but very clean and awesome location. Loved it.

We enjoyed the entertainment, drama bar, the club and lounging around the lido.

We had excellent service from our cabin steward and all the bartenders. Main dining room was another story.

The only real disappointment was the food. It was pretty bad. The main dining room dinner was edible at best. Really disappointing. The sea day brunch was excellent and so was dining room breakfast. The buffet was fine and what we expected.

Any questions? I'll write more when we get home!

Just returned from the Elation. We had a 11-11:30 slot for boarding. Completely painless. The longest line was to get your sail and sign card and it was under 10 minutes. We were on the ship my noon and at the bar!

It's simply "casual" clothing. Whatever you'd wear at home is fine. Jeans are fine on casual nights. Shorts/tees/flip flops during the day.

Oh, really!! That's great to know. Last time I cruised there was a pretty strict no jeans in the MDR policy.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

It's been a few years since we have cruised. I was browsing some threads and saw the Fun Times has "cruise elegant" and "cruise casual" as the dress code.

What exactly is cruise casual? Can we now wear jeans in the MDR?

4 day on the Elation if that matters.

Thanks!

We are sailing out of New Orleans Thursday and were able to pick a time. We shall see how it goes....

I would like to know this as well, leaving Thursday on the Elation!

Oops. January 30th, Carnival Elation.

Hi all,

Any recommendations for a bar or restaurant near the pier? 6 couples on a short cruise to Cozumel and we don't really want a shore excursion. Thought about señor frogs or margaritaville, but I would prefer something that's not a chain.

Is Pancho's Backyard in walking distance of the pier?

 

The only problem that was reoccurring in this city was the homeless population. Many of them were either under the influence of something or had conditions that caused them to act very strangely.

I can't stop laughing at this! I live just outside of New Orleans and this is a great way of describing what is usually seen on Bourbon after dark!

Hi all,

Hubby and I are taking the 4 nighter out of New Orleans to Cozumel next month. I have no desire to check Facebook or email, but I would like to be able to text my in-laws to check on our girls and call them once or twice. What is the best way to do this?

We have AT&T and I looked at cruise packages on their website but Carnival doesn't seem to be included.

Any advice or pointers? Thanks.

Hi,

My entire family is cruising on the Liberty of the Seas next year and I'm looking for something to do.

I was interested in the Royal Palms, but their pool is adults only and we will have 4 kids, ages 10, 7, 7 and 5.

Is there anything else like it?

We aren't really interested in stingrays or snorkeling.

Thanks!

Anyone have any photos of the menus from the Elation. Can't seem to find anything online anywhere. Thanks!

We're on the 10/2, it's the first week of fall break for Chandler schools.

We are on the 10/2 sailing as well. So excited!!!

If you are sitting along, then I think it's fine! Might be considered rude if you are with others though.

Have fun--I LOVE to read when I'm eating!!!!