iloverags2

Just now, dbrucern said:

Yes I have had the same exact issue I usually have to wait a while and then go back on and everything works fine.  

Ah, ok. I will give it a few hours and see what happens this afternoon. Thanks!

12 minutes ago, Jasonsterling said:

I have not experienced this- I always go through Carnival.com to book though but have you tried shutting down your computer and restarting it? Then attempting to access the website again. It could be a problem with cookies and the internet using that stored info and the Carnival.com site getting confused. Otherwise is there an option that says "Forgot Login" or "Forgot Password"? Even though you haven't forgotten them then maybe resetting one or the other would fix it. 

I already tried rebooting my laptop and even tried using a different browser. That didn't help. I did do the password reset, completed that...still the same thing. Ugh. I loathe having to call them, but it looks like that's my only option at this point. Thanks for responding!

I love it! Although I do feel it makes them look too similar to Disney ships. Not that I don't love Disney ships...I just wish there were a little more distinction between the two.

Hi All...I typically only have one cruise booked at a time, and never had an issue accessing my account on Carnival.com. However, we booked a second cruise for 2023 (have one booked for 2022). After I attempting to add the booking to my account (which I received a message saying it was successfully added), the website booted me off. Now when I try to log back onto Carnival.com, it doesn't recognize me. Has anyone ever experienced this, and if so what did you do to fix it? TIA!

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I might be able to dig that one up.

 

https://saintgregtravel.com/fun-times/

 

 

Thank you!!!!

Anyone else having trouble accessing the AARP site?

Great trip report!  We are sailing the Breeze next year on this itinerary.  Enjoying your thoughts on the ports also!

Saturday, 2/23 - Nassau, Part 2

After finally dragging ourselves all the way back to the furthest slip, we were exhausted from a day in the sun.  I immediately hit up the locker room shower, while Susan and Jamie used the stateroom.  They fessed up to me that the shower was not draining properly, and with each use the person in the bathroom was in jeopardy of drowning!  Well, not that bad...but apparently the entire bathroom floor would flood.  Yikes!  We mentioned it to our stateroom host, although it was never fixed during our cruise.

I decided to take another stroll around the ship, this time while still in port.  The pool and pool deck weren't terribly crowded.

The NCL ship next to us was chartered for some kind of Walking Dead party cruise.  They were setting up a stage for that evening.

It was still such a gorgeous day out...

And Susan caught up with me to stroll also.

Once NCL pulled out of port, the Disney Dream was in full view.

We said our goodbyes to Junkanoo Beach and the Tiki Hut.  They were a lovely host to our day in Nassau.

And just because you can never have too many photos of the lighthouse...

Sailing away from Nassau with Jamie

Bye Nassau, until I see you again!

We stayed up on the top deck as we sailed away, not only for watching Nassau slowly drift out of sight, but also to watch the incredible sunset.

We had previously decided to skip the formal night dinner since everyone was pretty beat, and did not feel like dressing up for a fancy dinner.  Before heading to Tiffany's, we decided to stroll a bit more.  Jamie and Susan were amused by the large chess board, and geared up for a game.

Dinner in Tiffany's was the perfect decision.  We casually relaxed, and enjoyed a fun conversation amongst the three of us.  Jamie and Susan were pleased with the options here, and I of course loaded up on vegetables and salad!

Susan was ready for bed pretty early this evening, so she headed back to the stateroom while Jamie and I chose FUN! in the atrium at the Motown Party.  (We did wander through the art gallery just before, and ogled quite a few lovely pieces of art.)  For the party, we found a spot by the lobby bar, and stepped over slightly to the right where we ended up with the Jackson 5 crowd (the left side was The Four Tops).  As luck would have it, our side won!  (What we won is beyond me...we were just loud and rowdy!)  Oh, I should mention here, we had the most FANTASTIC cruise director ever, Alex Jay (I believe his actual name is Alex Siegler, but on social media he goes by Alex Jay).

After the Motown Party ended, Jamie and I wandered around finding more FUN! and ended up watching karaoke.  Thankfully we chose not to sing (at least, not tonight!), sparing those who were there from our lack of singing skills.  Oh, and we also bumped into, while heading to karaoke, a new buddy we made while snorkeling...Addam.

After karaoke wound down, we headed to the casino for a bit while Jamie continued to rack up points/money/whatever (after one cruise, she is a coveted member of the Players Club, and has already booked a Players Club cruise from an offer she received just a couple of weeks after we returned!).  I'll just say here, Jamie got the hang of cruising pretty quick!

And that was that of our third day on the ship!  Next up, a day at sea!

On 4/6/2019 at 7:34 AM, pooksma said:

Cruising with newbies is always fun!  We have a few joining our next cruise.

Great pics!

Oh, you will have so much fun cruising with newbies!  I had a blast showing them both around, and it actually opened up my eyes to a few new things. Thanks for joining me here!

On 4/6/2019 at 8:37 AM, blarko said:

Love the Elation and enjoying your review! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Thanks for following along!

23 hours ago, fyree39 said:

I love the little ships. This is a great review!

 

I love the smaller ships too!  More intimate, and the rapport with the crew is always fantastic!  Thanks for reading!

EMTs boarded a few minutes ago.  😞

Saturday, Feb 23 - Nassau (part 1)

So, where were we?  Oh yes!  I was tired and zonked out!  I'm pretty sure Susan was out before me even.  Jamie on the other hand was getting the hang of cruising, and spent some time in the casino the night before.  She came in late, so when I was up and early the next morning she was still snoozing away!  Susan was also still a bit worn from the day before; I headed out to breakfast on my own, and took a few shots.

Thought this was a cool view of another ship coming into port, taken from Tiffany's...it almost had an underwater feel to it.

I have a millions shots of us pulling into port...but I'll spare you of them all but this one!

Honestly, I have been to Nassau more times than I can count on one hand, but I just cannot take enough pictures.  And I love spending time on shore.  The people are always so friendly, and it's just a casual and relaxing atmosphere to enjoy.

While waiting for the ladies to get ready for our beach day, I continued to wander the ship and snap a few pictures.  This was one of my favorites.

They were finally ready to go long after all ashore was announced, so we were pretty much off the ship in no time.  There were SIX other ships in port with us.    You read that right...SIX!  We were in the furthest slip from the main building...and BEHIND another ship, which meant we had the absolute furthest walk of anyone. 😂  I didn't mind, although I think Jamie and Susan could have done without that hike.  We did just meander slowly along, and eventually made our way out to the city. 

First things first was a stop in the Immigration office for passport stamps.  This was both Jamie and Susan's first time out of the U.S., and they wanted to be sure to get a stamp for posterity sake.  (My passport is loaded with Nassau stamps!  The folks in the office always get a chuckle from that.)  With that behind us, we made our way out to the taxi stand, and were able to grab one rather quick for the short ride over to Junkanoo Beach.  Susan's knee (the one being prepped for surgery) needed as much rest as we could muster.  We were thankfully given our own cab so no need to wait on anyone, and it ended up being I believe $12 total.  I gave the guy a $20 when we arrived, and we were soon in search for a spot...at this incredibly crowded beach because...SEVEN SHIPS IN PORT!  (Did I mention that already?)   I have never seen this beach so insane!  I made a beeline for the Tiki Hut, because...well, drinks!  And wouldn't you know, we found a nice spot right out front, with some shade, and a view of the water...and lots of people!

Jamie and Susan spent a little time in the water, while I volunteered to watch our things at our table in the shade.  :)  I know, I know...sacrifices!  LOL!  We drank a bit, had a few snacks to eat, and just really enjoyed our time hanging out here.  I highly recommend the Tiki Hut...it's my go-to place whenever we call on Nassau.  Friendly folks!

There's our ship!

And I am enjoying my time here!

Our day ended much too soon, and we were packing up our belongings before long.  One of the guys who worked here offered to hunt down a cab after I asked where the best place was to catch one (I've always walked, so I had no earthly clue where to go!).  He was so fantastic, and was stunned when I gave him $10 for doing so, even saying, "I didn't get that for you for a tip!  This is unnecessary."  He tried to hand it back, but nope...we hopped into our cab too quick for him!  A quick ride back to the pier, and we were soon heading towards the Elation.

Much (un)needed photo of the Atlantis!

This cutie was waiting for us upon our return to the stateroom

Coming up - Choosing FUN! in the evening!

On 4/1/2019 at 9:47 AM, JaniceB said:

Looking forward to more of your review.  I hope I get the spa card for my 60th bday cruise.

Getting ready to add a bit more now!  Life got in the way the past week or two.  Fingers crossed you get the card for your birthday!

Another gentleman who worked here took out the beginners to teach them how to put on snorkel gear and how to get into the water.  I stayed close since Susan and Jamie both wanted to get a feel for what to do (I’m guessing they didn’t trust me to show them!).  When it was Susan’s turn, she was able to put her gear on, and crouch down…but then once in the water, she panicked!  The guy was so patient and tried desperately to work with her, but she just wasn’t having it and finally said she wasn’t going to go out.  Jamie, on the other hand, was anxious to go and decided she would just let me show her what to do.  I taught her the trick of walking backwards out (much easier to do with fins on!), and helped her get comfortable with putting her face down in the water.  We somehow managed to swim over and around the sea grass…

…and discovered this in the shallow area!

Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  Totally worth it to stay in the shallow area!  Not only did we end up seeing three sea turtles here, but we also caught a glimpse of a ray!

He’s a little difficult to see in this picture (center, and to the left).  But hey…more sea turtle pics!

We stayed out a good hour at least, and it turns out, our little group of 20 were the only ones snorkeling.  Sweet!  What a treat this was.  Great spot, friendly people, few snorkelers.  I was happy!  We didn’t see much of anything else since we were in the shallow area, but one guy who went out past the rocky ledge said it was colorful and teeming with fish.  (But I saw turtles!)  I wish my little, throwaway camera had taken better pictures, because these do not do this area justice.  (My underwater digital camera died just before the cruise, and I didn’t have time to buy a new one.)

After coming back in (Jamie and I were two of the last ones to come back ashore), we had a few fruity drinks and enjoyed music while sitting on the deck.  Excellent experience, and one I highly recommend (did I already mention that?).  We were soon called over to our shuttle for the quick ride back to the pier.  A little shopping of course, and Susan and Jamie just had to have their picture taken at Senor Frogs…

Quick showers by all of us, and I should mention here one of the huge perks of booking a stateroom on Deck 14 (Grand) – easy access to the locker rooms just below on Deck 13.  I took all of my showers down there!  With three women in one stateroom, the shower was in demand.  Not minding a stroll down one flight of stairs, I volunteered to shower in the locker room.  (Hey, larger showers is a good thing!)

We made our way to dinner, where once again I forgot what I had!  Since I’m vegetarian, it was either the veggie offering or a plate of veggies…ha ha!  I think it was a plate of veggies now that I think about it.  Baked potato, broccoli, etc.  Boring, I know!  After we ate, we hit the casino for a while, coming away empty handed, but not after a few drinks with umbrellas!

And I am officially tired and ready for bed!

Oh, and I need to mention here.  My birthday was two and a half weeks prior to the cruise.  I mentioned this to no one on the ship, and did not have it noted on my reservation.  But guess what?  Carnival still has your birthdate info, and I found this in our stateroom!

What a nice surprise, and nice touch by Carnival!

Friday, 2/22 – Freeport

I woke up early on Friday, even though we weren’t scheduled to be in Freeport until 1 p.m.  For some goofy reason, my body just wakes up early thanks to my work schedule.  And I was hungry for breakfast, so I made some noise to wake the others up. 0:-) On our way to Tiffany’s, we bumped into Ellie the Elephant, and of course had to take pictures of her.  I have one of Jamie, but cannot find the one we took of me.  :(

Breakfast was good enough…eggs, toast, potatoes, fruit.  Nothing fancy, but got the job done of holding me over.  We had requested morning service from our stateroom attendant, and when we returned to the cabin to change for Freeport, we found our own Ellie on my bed!

The line was HUGE when we went to get off the ship…now I know why tours and excursions say they will pick you up one hour after your ship arrives in port.  Yikes!  We had planned on snorkeling at Deadman’s Reef through Paradise Cove.  I highly, and I mean HIGHLY recommend this business if you are interested in snorkeling off-shore (rather than jumping off a boat).  Susan’s bucket list item was to snorkel, but she had concerns about jumping off a boat to do so.  I remembered from years ago snorkeling off the beach in Freeport, and thought my best chances of finding a location would be during our port call here.  While this particular location is not really “beachy” for casual swimming, it’s a great location for snorkeling!  Anyway, ask for Barry if you call (booking online is easy peasy too!).  He was super awesome about answering my questions via email.

But back to getting off the ship.  We were told to meet at “the Harley Davidson” so of course I’m looking for a Harley Davidson store, which does not exist!  However, as soon as we stepped off the ship, we noticed a gentleman with a ‘Paradise Cove’ sign just off the pier, asked him if this was the right place, and were checked in and sent over to an area to wait with a few other folks.  (While waiting, we spotted a small Harley Davidson sign…ha ha!) 

About 20 minutes later or so, all of our group was finally present, and we were loaded onto a shuttle bus for our adventure.  There were approximately 20 people, so I wasn’t sure if we would be joining others at the location.  The drive to Paradise Cove was somewhere between 15-20 minutes…not long at all, and a pleasant drive.

When we arrived, the place was somewhat quiet with 2 people already sunbathing on the small beach.  Paradise Cove has four or so small beach cabins, so I imagine these two were staying there.  Our group from the shuttle bus was herded to a covered deck to pick up our snorkeling gear and get an intro to Deadman’s Reef from Barry (did I mention how awesome Barry is???).  He pointed out the shallow area, where we could not stand up on the sea grass or beyond it, and also the deeper snorkeling area beyond the rocky ledge.  I really, really wanted to go out to the deeper area, but since this was Jamie and Susan’s first time snorkeling, I had already planned on sticking close with them which would be in the shallow area (don’t worry…you will find out eventually it was worth it!).

And here we are with Barry!

Ok...I'm trying to figure out how to copy and paste here without the font getting all small on me...bear with me!

On 3/16/2019 at 4:27 PM, JAXCRUISER said:

Great start to your review.  Looking forward to the rest.  Thanks!

On 3/16/2019 at 5:12 PM, momof3cruisers said:

Fun review! I am taking two newbies on the Victory next Feb and I'm already so excited for them! For me too, but I just can't wait til they cruise. 

On 3/18/2019 at 10:58 AM, JaniceB said:

Great start.  I am cruising in May with a newbie and 2 friends, I hope we have such a great start.

Thank you!  Sailing with newbies is definitely fun!

This was ours on the Elation a few weeks ago.  The wooden sign was made from wooden background downloads and then Photoshop to create the signs.  After I printed it on regular paper, the pieces were attached to heavy stock paper for classrooms and cut out.  We used command strips to attach to the door.

Does Carnival offer sales on the Cheers drink package, specialty dining, excursions or internet packages?

Cheers and Internet packages are both offered at a lower rate prior to the cruise, via The Fun Shops on Carnival's website.  I believe you have until the evening before departure to purchase.  We also received an email shortly before our cruise to purchase either spa packages or excursions (or maybe it was both) at a small discount ahead of the cruise.

And...we are sailing away!

I'm a very low-key person.  I wake up in the morning, and 15 minutes later I am out the door and on my way to work.  Cruises go hand-in-hand with me when it's all cruise hair, don't care!

Now, even though I have driven over the Dames Point Bridge more times than I care to think about, I just had to be one of those people and take all the obligatory pictures of sailing under the bridge...

And we made it!  The bridge is still intact!

And the Coast Guard did its duty as we sailed down the river...

Between meeting Luna, boarding a cruise ship for the first time, our meet & mingle, fruity drinks, a sailaway party, and all the fun that comes with that, the ladies were beat!  We were finally able to head to the dining room sometime just between 7 and 8 p.m. and were seated right away.  Our dining server was Oscar (who is fantastic!), and to be honest I do not remember anything other than the Strawberry soup for an appetizer and the warm melting cake for dessert.  And no pictures of food!  (A first, as I am always snapping photos of my food wherever I am.)

We did want to do something "fun" before turning in for the night, so what else to do but play Bingo, right?  (Can you believe in all the times I have cruised, this was my first time playing Bingo on a ship?)

Empty-handed by session's end, we decided to head in for the evening as we had a full day waiting for us in Freeport!

I haven't done a trip report in years...usually because I have no time.  What's different this time around?  Nothing!  But I wanted to share the escapades of sailing with two close friends who had never cruised before!  So, here we go!  The cast of characters included...

Susan - 64, from Tennessee and determined to cross off a bucket list item even if it means having to stroll with a bum knee a couple of weeks before surgery

Jamie - 44, a Chicagoan who is always up for a good time even if she has no clue what to expect

Cindy (myself) - 53, transplanted Chicagoan now living in Jacksonville, FL who is willing to walk anyone through their first cruise because that means...a cruise!

How do we know each other, you ask?  Funny (but true) story.  We all have a love of furbabies, and we all have large furbaby families (our husbands are either as crazy as us, or just humor us well).  Each of us over the years have created pages for our "children" who have become part of a larger community of furkids with their own identities on social media.  And guess what?  I'm pretty certain Jamie and Susan were far more interested in meeting my kitty, Luna, than in seeing me (Luna has never made it to our little community's annual picnic...she is not much for car rides!).

Jamie and Susan both flew into Jacksonville the night before the cruise, within about an hour of each other.  With the airport being about 40 minutes from my house, it was an easy evening the night before, and getting the show on the road Thursday morning was quick and painless.  Of course, we had to do the obligatory pre-cruise before we leave photo.

And then we were on our way!  The drive between my house and the port is roughly 30 minutes, and we made it in just about that time pulling into the parking lot shortly before 11 a.m.  I'm thrilled to say Jacksonville has revamped their port parking lot (yes, I use the expensive lot...I know, I know...better options) which now has actual "toll booths" to pay at (I did the pre-pay, which was easy peasy).  After dropping Susan, Jamie, and the luggage off at the curb, I quickly parked the car (again, Jax cruise port = best cruise parking situation...it's close to the terminal!) and headed to the line.  We had FTTF (I purchased it to get a feel for what it would be like to have it, and also to get the ladies on the ship fast and pain free with bag drop off in the stateroom), so we were whisked inside and on the ship within just a few minutes.  The priority boarding had just begun with the Platinum/Diamond folks having just boarded, and FTTF folks on their way to embarking just as we sailed through security.

We swiftly went up to Deck 14 (Grand) to take a quick peek at our cabin and drop off our luggage.  Since Susan decided she wanted to save her funds for shopping and such, we agreed early on to book an inside stateroom.  I snagged one about a year prior to the cruise on the new Grand deck so we would have a couch for the third bed, and must say we were all quite happy with both the room itself and the location.

Jamie and Cindy selfie

The stateroom would still be there for the duration of the cruise, so we quickly decided to head to the Lido for some lunch at the buffet.  As a vegetarian, I must say I was pleased with the selection of veggies available, and the choice to make as large of a salad as I wanted.  (Lettuce is like one of my favorite foods!)  Surprisingly enough, there were plenty of seats to choose from, and Susan and Jamie were already loving the FTTF option after seeing people lugging around their carry-on bags during lunch. 

We had joined a cruise meet & mingle group, and were anxious to get to the official meet down in the Romeo & Juliet lounge where we met tons of awesome people who would be sailing with us.  And we also enjoyed the first of many fruity drinks!

(No, the straw is not actually in my nose!  LOL!)

As it always seems on that hectic first day right after embarkation, the safety drill was soon upon us, and we were mustering on the pool deck with our fellow cruisers in no time.

Now, that we have all of that out of the way...let's get the party started!

(And before I move on to our adventures, FunTimes are attached here...)

Carnival Fun Times.pdf

2 hours ago, hgalls56 said:

Thank you for posting this! I leave in 28 days wooo!

Awesome!  Have a great time!

Hi all!  I plan on doing at minimum a picture trip report (with the hopes of doing an actual trip report if time permits), but wanted to at least get these out here for anyone in need of current Fun Times.  These are from the 4-night Carnival Elation cruise out of Jacksonville on Feb 21-25, 2019.  Port calls were Freeport and Nassau.  Enjoy!

Carnival Fun Times.pdf

On 3/7/2019 at 11:54 PM, cruisecraze96 said:

 

 

 

Here is the link to the other post

 

Thank you!!!

On 2/27/2019 at 2:31 PM, lelder1 said:

Where is the link to the fun times?  I don't see it.  Thanks!

I don't see them either.

Do they have an 80s night on the Elation?  TIA!