kristie64063

what would be your preference to get to the port in Galveston from a hotel near Hobby airport. Are we better off doing car service, Uber or going back to the airport and using the Carnival shuttle?

We leave tomorrow to head to Houston; we are staying at a Hobby airport hotel, then heading back to the airport to catch 9:30am shuttle through Galveston Limo Service; it was much cheaper to do this than go straight to Galveston. The hotels are much more expensive there and then you have to take a Taxi the next morning, which is extra cost. The round trip per person (if booked online) is $40.00.

Ok, help me please. My 9 yr old son will be w us. I'm wondering if khaki shorts and a nice shirt w boat shoes will work on formal night. Is this fine? Or will they send us back to rm to change? He has outgrown his khaki pants. Do i need to get the pants? Or will the shorts work?

 

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I say do it at your own risk; we forgot pants, and my son wore nice shirt and khaki shorts - almost got turned away; it's up to the Maitre D and waiters...

Hi Kristie! DH and I are on the 6/24 cruise on the Freedom as well. It is our very first cruise and I am already getting nervous because DH seems to be getting cold feet. We are celebrating our 15th anniversary and leaving our 4 girls with Grandma and Grandpa for the week!

adriana

Have fun Adriana!! You will love it :D We are taking our 18 y/o son and his two friends, who just graduated High School. We'll probably only see them at dinner, lol!

4!! We cruise on Sat, but leave on Friday!! This has been scheduled for almost and year and we are READY!!!

Per John Heald's Facebook page:

Here are the movies to be shown in June on the 13 ships that have theDive In Movie big screens:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Star Wars Rogue One

Beauty and the Beast

La La Land

Sing

The Boss Baby

Passengers ( Its Guests not Passengers FFS)

The Arrival

The Shack

Hidden Figures

The Lego Batman Movie

Moana

Doctor Strange

Captain America: Civil War

John Wick: Chapter 2

Thank you!!

We cruise a week from tomorrow!! So excited - have planned for almost a year... Celebrating our son's high school graduation and we ALL deserve this trip, LOL :D

Does anyone know what movies they're playing on the Seaside theater?

Thanks in advance! :)

Kristie

I always take my flat iron; no problems!!

I always take a power strip ... only one outlet in the whole cabin.

I always take a highlighter - when I'm looking through the fun times the night before, I highlight anything I am interested in, and then when I go to look at what's going on the next day, I don't have to comb through the whole thing again.

We always bring cards; it's fun to hang out in the library or deck 5 along the wall people watching, and hanging out, playing cards, trivia, etc. :)

Have FUN!!! You will LOVE IT!

It was a great ship/crew already. Dry dock renovations can only add to what was a great cruise. Many of the cruise snobs won't consider the Elation because they "only sail the newer bigger ships" [emoji849]

 

 

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I've gotta say, I sailed Elation and won't again; partially it was b/c it was a smaller ship, and I didn't like the extra movement. However, the main reason was the condition of the cabins. THey were GROSS. Especially the bathroom. The whole thing smelled of urine, and it wasn't because they didn't clean, but because it was all old, and ingrained in the tile work. The main areas of this ship were very nice and clean, but...

16!!!!! :cool:

Hi All :)

We are taking a shuttle from HOU to our hotel the day before we cruise to a local Texas City / Galveston Hotel. I'm trying to find the best prices of course, there are only a couple that I can find hotels that actually shuttle, even in Galveston.

So your advice ... if we go from Texas City to cruise port, our transportation could be pricey; but hotels on Galveston aren't cheap. Found one that was, after taxes, $195 per night that looked decent. Doesn't have to be amazing, just clean. But it didn't provide shuttle, so we're still out cab fare... And there are 5 of us, plus luggage, so it won't be cheap.

What do you all think??

Thanks in advance for your advice! :)

Going with a group of 6 (3 couples), so instead of my usual YTD, thinking it will be easier to do set time late dining. Does anyone know the table sizes in the MDR on the Elation (or other Fantasy class ships)? We want our own table, but just want to make sure they have tables of 6.

We were on the Elation in January; there were six in our group; we didn't ask for our own table, but got it; it was a large booth that you could enter from both sides, and there was more than enough room.

Edit - we had set dining at 6pm.

Excellent Review!! Cannot WAIT to sail the Breeze, your in detail review has been amazing!!

I've not been on the Breeze, but I believe it is at 5pm.

Great review so far! Looking forward to the rest... :) We sailed Glory, exact same itinerary last Summer, I did a review (no pics). LOVED GLORY!!

Thank you to everyone who's replied! I was just reading that Glory has that new American table dining concept..and many do not like it. Has anyone tried it?

Here's a link to my review - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2081638

Did this EXACT itinerary last summer. Was amazing and loved Glory. Loved the new American Menu / dining room concept.

You will have a great time, and get a Cabana on HMC if you can, you will NOT regret it!!

Booked a 7 day cruise out of New Orleans last week (3/23). Checked today, and cruise is $80.00 cheaper - and Carnival WILL NOT match their own price. I know that if I had booked Early Saver they would have, but I could not book Early Saver because the cruise is 45 days out. I know $80.00 is not a huge difference, but it annoys me that they won't match their own price. Been cruising with Carnival for many years....now thinking of switching.......did talk to a supervisor, and while they were sympathetic, there was ..."nothing they could do....."

If you've cruised Carnival for many years, then you must know this is how it works ... We all know this, if you're doing any research at all or travel Carnival frequently. So why are you complaining? You knew this going in.

My biggies, already mentioned, are power strip, air freshener, and highligher.

I haven't seen pump hand soap for bathroom; I hate sharing / using that little bar.

If you can swing it and there are some available, get a cabana. It is not required but it is like heaven on earth. I went last year and I LOVED it. My husband is not a beach person but I think he will even like it there. I can picture him lying in the hammock in the shade, reading a book.

Ditto this!! We aren't really beach people either, but LOVED, LOVED, LOVED HMC!!! We cannot WAIT to go back. We rented a cabana and it was AMAZING. Best Water / Sand I've ever seen on a beach and the Cabana is THE WAY to go. I was not convinced before, but would never do without it now... :D

Hi Kristie,

We sailed the same time you did, and had a great time. It was disappointing not being able to dock at Progresso, but I've been there before, was just planning on more shopping.

Did you go to any karaoke? Dan and I sang a lot!

Btw, do you remember the Captain's name?

Hey Candy!! We sang with you in the Romeo and Juliett Lounge!! That Karyoke was a BLAST!! Best of teh whole trip. We were supposed to meet you later, but I wasn't feeling the greatest. We sang Sweet Dreams. Was great to meet you! ;)

Just returned from the Elation and wouldn't go on it again. I like Carnival, but not doing an older, smaller ship again. The main areas were nice, but the stateroom we were in was very run down, out of date, and the bathroom smelled of urine. Gross.

Nevermind. I apparently suck at reading. :-(

Don't worry, I think it was just kind of confusing, I was getting ready to ask why they are going to fly from Houston to Galveston, LOLOL!! :D I re-read it, and get it now...

Thanks for the review. I remember Elation for her vast expanse of aft deck space. :cool:

This much is very true, and it was nice back there! :)

While throwing deck chairs overboard is very dangerous, your response to this issue is beyond reasonable.

 

1) Carnival is responsible for the safety and well being of the offending passenger. You do not know this person's circumstances. While it is entirely possible they were drunk and angry, maybe they had a disability or disorder that was not under control. This person also may not have had a passport, making re-entry to the US a nightmare if they were dropped at the first port. Regardless, they likely didn't want to make a bad situation worse. Image the safety problems they would have if they dropped off a passenger at the first port, and the passenger was unable to return to the US or was injured or killed while trying to get back? That person's safety still matters, even if they did something very stupid. Security assured you this person was being observed and they had a handle on it. Why was throwing them off the ship the only option in your mind?

 

2) Any passenger could injure you at any time. Another person could have thrown a deck chair, punched you, kicked you, etc. This could happen any time we are on a ship or on land. Don't want that risk? Don't leave your house. Your paranoia is your own problem, not Carnival's.

 

 

Carnival handled the issue, and you should have been able to return to enjoying your cruise. (You did not mention any other deck chairs arriving in your balcony) Instead you vindictively insisted that you should be in charge of the other passenger's punishment, haunted customer service and security and made your own trip much worse. Carnival responded very reasonably, you did not.

 

 

 

As for the other issues, while they seem exaggerated, do your research. A little knowledge before hand may have helped you improve your cruise (like bringing earplugs and knowing the room service menu is limited) or allowed you to decide that this wasn't the cruise for you (It is no secret that Carnival shows are frequently not very popular).

Completely agree with this. While yes, you want to be safe, you reported it, then you let it go unless it happened again. YOu have a big fat zero right to know who it was, Carnival is not allowed to give you that information, they probably just told you whatever to make you happy and go away, rather than sound somewhat rude and tell you it was none of your business ... which it wasn't. As long as it didn't happen again, it wasn't your business...

Also, re Comedy show - you said they should have the customer is always right mentality, but that's not true. They weren't rude and you should have picked your cabin better - I'd never pick a cabin with a major club or meeting venue above me...

Aruba - what proof do you have that Carnival knew they'd close this early? That's just silly. They have no idea if contact last minute by port authorities and have no control over a port closing. Call Aruba... lol

Wow, you were offended by a Jesus song? You've got deep set issues. You'd probably be cheering on the songs dropping sexual hints and the F word, but offended by anything else anyone else likes.

This must be your first CCL cruise, since the room service menu for breakfast is continental and the regular room service lunch menu has always been the same...

Good Morning All! Just off the Elation from my 3rd cruise, all with Carnival. I must say, of all my cruises, it was my least favorite. That doesn't mean I had a bad time, it just wasn't amazing like the last two.

First, we ported out of New Orleans - none of us had been there, and we really loved it! Would definitely like to go back. We did a city / cemetary tour through Cajun Encounters. They picked us up and dropped us off right from our hotel, which was perfect! Very good tour. We stayed at the Sheraton on Canal street, right at the French Quarter and very close to Walgreens / restaurants, etc. Good hotel, could see cruise ships from room - watched the Elation pull in on our boarding day! Was great. Had some great food - poboys from Johnnys, and dinner at The Gumbo Shop. Both great.

On to the cruise. First off, what they did in dry dock for this boat, I'm just not sure. I'm not picky about rust and stuff on the outside of the ship (honestly, who cares), but after reading some reviews, I definitely noticed it while waiting in line to get back on the ship. The main public areas on this ship were all very nice and very clean. All bathrooms very clean in public.

We had FTTF, which I loved! Our second time having it. Our luggage was at our room before we got there and we went STRAIGHT to our room. Was great. We were in an Ocean View room on the Main deck. The cleanliness mentioned in the public areas did not extend to the cabins! This was not the fault of the stewards, they did an EXCELLENT job of cleaning every day. But the room was REALLY run down. Walls were dirty and scuffed. The bathroom floors / walls were made of the same material, some kind of weird tile, and it was NASTY! Our bathroom smelled of urine the whole time, including when we first arrived. It was permanently embedded in those tiles. Very disgusting. Won't go on an older cruise again, just for this reason alone - was gross.

They still had the boxes in corners with tv / life jackets. This was annoying, only because we had 4 people in our room, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. But our steward was great; great service all week. Asked for an ice bucket and had ice fresh twice a day! So no, they're not in the room, but you've just got to ask!

One of the closests had the safe in it, which took some of our closet space away - I guess this is just an oldership thing. Don't like it though.

One of our favorite places to hang out is the Promenade deck. For the Casino, trivia, bands, etc. Also, during quiet times, we like lounging in the really great seating all along the windows on this deck. They had the seating on this ship, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable as the Glory or Freedom. I know, weird that I'm evening mentioning it, but there were not back cushions along the windows, and big gaps, and just no comfortable place to lean back. I thought it was strange. But not horrible. Just had to find a different place to relax and read :)

The food was good. Not 5 star, but just fine, and what was expected of this cruise. Went to brunch. Tried Taste Bar for the 1st time (was good). Ate in Dining room every night. This ship has the old menu. Was good. We had the new on Glory. Don't prefer one over the other. Although my son DID prefer the bread basket to stay on the table, lol! I will say, I like the less formal, wood top table to the cloths. Having the bread and water on the table was nice, not that we ran low, but after watching our waiters run around, it would have saved them a LOT of time not bothing with refilling these things.

Enjoyed the hot tubs. Never got in pool. Don't really drink, but got a couple and they were as expected / good.

REALLY missed having the Dive In theatre. Missed other 2.0 upgrades, but won't sail again without the big screen TV on deck. DEFINITELY preferrred Guys and the Burrito bar to the Grill / Mongolian Wok. But the burgers WERE good on this ship.

Stops were Cozumel / Progresso. At Cozumel, we went to Passion Island - 2 of us by Catamaran - 4 of us by speed boat. By the way, it was NOT a catamaran. It wasn't bad, just not a catamaran, and I was looking forward to that, because they are neat boats. We did the Screamin' Eagle Speed Boat in St. Thomas last year and it was A LOT better than this one. They barely got wet my husband said and didn't do nearly as many fun spins, etc. Our last one was a blast and you got soaked (which was the point). Anyways, the island was BEAUTIFUL, BUT, for me anyways, the water was uninhabitable. There was SO much gunk in it (noone's fault, but mother nature), but it was gross, and I didn't even like the feel of it running over my feet. I would never get in it. The water was so clean and clear near the cruise ships, and just wasn't here, and made it pretty disappointing. The food was OK. Nothing great. Nothing really nasty, but some on the border. Guac was delicious. It was unlimited drinks / sodas. They do some fun activities with everyone. However, I will say, this is not somewhere I would go again.

Other stop was Progresso, but due to high winds we couldn't stop. Speaking of that, this ship (even before the high wind days) rocked and rolled! :) I've never felt a ship move like this. Luckily noone in our party got sick, but it was happening everywhere. I know part was due to winds, but part I think was due to a smaller ship. For this reason, I'll probably not go on a smaller ship again.

Went to 2 family friendly comedy shows. 1st one was really good. 2nd one was the same guy, and I thought, oh, we liked him, it should be good. Nope! He used the same routine! Seriously?? You only do 2 or 3 family friendly comedy spots and you can't come up with a new routine for each one? Um. No. Not good.

Anyways, I feel like this was a negative review, but we did have a good time in general. Just not as good as previous cruises.

Hope you find this helpful and please feel free to ask any questions.

Also, there were places across the street like Holiday Inn Express which could possibly be cheaper, but I paid $135 as an internet, pay ahead rate, which was really similar to the "cheaper" hotels, and was totally worth it!