robear14

There's no change for the Miracle showing up on the booking engine. As of now, she's staying on the west coast through April 2016...

At least the crew is aware of the issues. They have 9 weeks to fix them until I'm on;).

I wonder what's going on with Holland's Ryndam - she hasn't left yet either.

Thanks for the review. Hopefully they'll get everything sorted out in the next few sailings... although they were later leaving tonight than last week.

I'll be sailing in ten weeks... maybe after a few constructive letters from guests, Carnival will set things right.

The updated deck plans are now on Carnival's website:

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-pride.aspx

I'd like to see some new ports too. If they put another ship in San Juan to do more "exotic" locations, or did their usual southern route (what the Valor does now) one week and switched to something else the week after, they could go to other places.

Umm, well, sure hope you weren't the dude being pulled out of the pool at Naci, then pushed head first into a trash can by a woman so you could puke. . . yikes!

Thankfully, that was not me - but I did see that. He seemed like a fairly big guy, so he probably either had WAY too much, or he just can't hold his own...

We went to Nachi too! I have to say it was a lot better than Mr. Sancho's.

I have to agree with your review... Uninspired is a very accurate word. I thoroughly enjoyed my cruise, but the ship itself needs an overhaul bad. The Paradise was delivered in the same year, but I don't remember it seeming as bad.

The only smell I noticed was in the hallway near our room on deck M... it consistently smelled of cigarettes.

Are you referring to the hot tubs on Lido at the back of ship? That was kind of disappointing.

During the future cruise seminar last week on the Elation, the cruise specialist said essentially the same thing - limited water and a/c... which apparently was why she said she went to Vegas while the ship was in drydock earlier this month.

We were at the check-in area fairly early and there were probably 50 or so contractors being processed in a separate line - they all had a large yellow nametag that had "contractor" on it.

We also noticed more when we got off the ship at Progreso.

Still has the "old" menu. I will say that I didn't notice any difference from my other 5 cruises on other ships. I found the MDR service to be very fast - we were normally done all the courses in about an hour.

There were a lot of contractors boarding on the second sailing after drydock. I think they were mainly electrical workers because the big CAT container next to the funnel was always open and the area was closed off.

This was the third fantasy-class ship I've been on, and it felt the oldest / most run-down which was a bit of a disappointment right after a drydock. There were things you could tell that were replaced or worked on: carpeting in certain areas, cushions on seating areas of Promenade, the funnel and jogging track were freshly painted, and certain areas of the hull were repainted.

They did add the Taste Bar, but it's weird to have that since it's supposed to be a "preview" of what you can get at a specialty restaurant... which the ship doesn't have.

They always ignore the King Bed request and I have to ask to have the beds moved together.

Just got back from cruise number 6 with Carnival, and this has been the case with me as well.

From what I can tell, 6225 is an 8D.

6255 is an 8J... maybe a typo?

There are no available cruises Oct. 24th through Nov. 7th in 2015. This gives her a 2 week period where she'll be "missing." The cruise that starts on Oct. 18th is a 6-day with a different itinerary than what she normally does. So my guess is this is when she'll get a drydock.

Here is the reply from the beards:

Hello Rob,

*

Thank you for contacting us.* We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.

At this time we do not have any information on the renovations and improvements for the Elation during Dry dock. Please check back in a couple of months.

Thank you*for choosing Carnival.**

*

Sincerely,

*

The Beards

I just submitted a question on John Heald's blog... hopefully we'll get some information. :)

I'll be on the ship on the cruise that starts on the 13th, which will be the second cruise after drydock.

I'm really hoping it gets the Guy's Burger Joint. I've been thinking about sending a question over to John Heald's blog to see if there's any info. You'd think that with three months to go, they'd have everything finalized... but who knows.

We had one of these cabins while on the Valor in January. Ours was one deck below the bridge which was really nice because the crew is very quiet! The location is also great because you don't get a lot of people walking the hallway.

I did learn the hard way that they wash the bridge windows every morning around 7...

We were there in 2008 (and I confess to not knowing at the time about the homphobia). We enjoyed "swimming with the stingrays" at Stingray City, and then had a very relaxing lunch with magaritas at (where else) Margaritaville looking out at the water.

When we went there in Sept. 2013, we booked a private excursion that took a catamaran to the stingray sandbar followed by snorkeling and had a blast. I'd do that again if I went back to Grand Cayman.

The first time we went, we just walked the beach... a cheaper option, but still fun.

We did it and it was great. We made our reservation right after we boarded the ship for that day. If you opt for the steakhouse on embarkation day, you get a free bottle of wine with your meal. I'm sure you've researched it, but on embarkation day, the MDR is open seating for dinner since the ship doesn't leave port until 10pm.

We did this on the Valor in January. The first time we got the charm and the "recipe book" which really is just the menu that you checked the martinis you wanted. The second time we had to ask for the charm.

It really is fun to watch the bartender pour all four at the same time. They have to use five shakers nested in each other and the glasses have to be lined up just right so that nothing spills out. It really is a good deal, and once you find one you like, you can order the big version of it. I was cruising with three others, so we were able to share and sample all of them.:D

It's scheduled for the end of September to early October: 9/25 - 10/9

If you look at the itineraries, there isn't a cruise listed for those dates.

Of course everything is subject to change, but it's been those dates since at least this past September when we booked our October cruise.

Hope everyone had a blast! The 1/12 cruise had amazing weather everyday, so I'm hoping we left some sun for you!

Were the LGBT meetings still at Jeanne's Wine Bar? That's where it was during our cruise and Valentina was always the bartender - she was awesome and made some great drinks.

We just got back from the 1/12 sailing; we got to the port around noon and our bags were at our room around 1:30 - we didn't have FTTF. In fact, the room next to us had FTTF and their bags were probably at their room only a half hour before ours.

The check-in line wasn't too long when we got there, we probably waited 20 minutes until we got our cards and were on our way to the ship.

Someone mentioned that the facility wasn't air-conditioned - I'm pretty sure it was. It was a hot day outside and the building was very comfortable. They also have some "Big Ass Fans" in the building. (If you look up, they actually have a "Big Ass Fan" logo on them)

If you're uncomfortable with the lines, then yes, I can understand that FTTF is very much worth it. I've just never seen any benefit other than that from my past cruises, and I've never gotten a "zone number" thing on any of the cruises I've been on.

As for San Juan, I highly recommend getting there a day or two earlier and staying in Old San Juan. The port is within walking distance to a bunch of small hotels and the food there is fantastic!

Was there a week ago - loved it! We went on the first day (while still in San Juan) and got the free complimentary bottle of wine. We were worried we wouldn't have our luggage in time since you have to dress up, so we made the reservation for 7. Luckily we had our luggage around 1:30 even though we boarded around noon so we were fine.

I had the filet mignon; I think it was a 9oz piece and it was cooked perfectly.

The desserts are completely different, so if your heart is set on chocolate melting cake, you may not get it! I thought about asking for it anyway even though it's not on the menu but I got the chocolate sampler instead which was great.

It was a great experience with great service; if you like steak of any type, I'd definitely recommend it.:)