Indytraveler83

I'm staying in E69 on the Elation (her sister ship) in a few weeks, and have been told to expect it to be noisy during the day, but it should quiet down after midnight. My strategy is just going to bring earplugs and to use them as needed.

IMO, the location is too good to pass up if you can deal with a little noise.

Hello!

We will be in Cozumel and have an excursion booked until 1PM, but the ship is scheduled in port till 4PM, leaving us enough time to do something, but not enough to really travel around. We were hoping to hang out at a beach for a little while before getting back on the ship.

We will be on the Carnival Elation, and I can't seem to figure out where it will be docking in Cozumel, and I'm just looking for a nice beach that is fairly close to the dock to spend a little time. Any ideas?

The price sounds decent, but not great. It all depends on how much that balcony and extra space are worth to you. I'm on the elation in a month, and would likely turn down the same offer. My 2 cents anyways.

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).

Due to the smallish size of Fantasy class ships and there are no decks of passenger cabins between promenade and lido decks, we can spend a week onboard and never use the elevators. Everything is 1-3 decks up.

 

 

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Thanks! I was thinking about that when I accepted the upgrade. Being a first time cruiser, I'm hoping it'll make the ship feel a little smaller and easier to navigate. At least I know I won't have problems finding my room!

Funny thing is that I almost missed it. I read all the time about calls from the upgrade fairy, but I didn't know the upgrade fairy used email too! I read on here earlier about an email offer and checked my own, sure enough I had one. Did the upgrade online without ever picking up a phone.

Point for cruise critic, woulda missed this if I didn't check this forum obsessively!!

Glad u went for it!!! I too got an offer on the Elation from an inside to an ocean view that I couldn't pass up and went for it... from the main deck to the upper deck... and glad i did. I told them they can now call me for an upgrade from an ocean view to a suite anytime!!!! :)

I'd never pay the asking price for a suite on the Elation, but if they offered a free/cheap upgrade I'd jump on it in a heartbeat. Maybe we will get even luckier! I bet the suites are hard to sell! Hopeful thinking never hurts!!

Those are in a great location, Empress Deck near the lobby is the best place to be on a Fantasy class ship IMO.

 

 

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Awesome! Glad to hear! What have you liked about this area on the ship? I wanted to do more research on this before pulling the trigger, but rooms were going fast (most of the Empress Deck room are now sold out, save a few in the far forward section) and I really wanted a window in the first place.

I certainly saved a lot of money taking advantage of this, prices keep going up for my sailing, and my cost for the room is well below what they are asking right now!

We are both night owls and noise before midnight wouldn't bug us at all (unlikely to even be in the cabin by then) I told the better half about the offer and explained the pros and cons, and he said to go for it. He was very excited about being so close to the action and neither of us mind earplugs if they are necessary.

e69 and some earplugs it is! The location is too good to pass up! Thanks for the advice guys!

E69 and e71 are what they are offering. It also shows e 172 and 174 as options (only need 1 room). But I wasn't sure on those either

I have an interior room and have been offered an upgrade to an ocean view room for $30. The rooms in the offer are below the library and very near guest services. Good idea? I can tolerate some noise as long as it isn't crazy late at night (like under a club). Any quick advice would be greatly appreciated. Our interior is near the back of the ship in a quiet area, but is unfortunately far from everything.

Hello!

I'm having second thoughts on the excursion booked to Dolphinaris, and I'm hoping you guys can reassure me!

My traveling companion has said the one thing he wants to do on our trip is swim and interact with dolphins, the rest is all just bonus to him. So I booked a trip to Dolphinaris through Carnival for the "Dolphin Swim & Ride, with Unlimited Food & Drink"

Now the reason I chose Dolphinaris over the other options is that I was attracted to the unlimited food and drink, as well as the extras that Dolphinaris is said to include. From the website: "snorkel with tropical fish in our natural aquarium, and venture onto the ocean for kayaking and paddle boarding, all at no additional cost."

Has anyone been here and experienced these packages? Is the snorkeling and kayaking a legit option? I'm trying to make the most of our time in Cozumel, and this sounds perfect, but I'd like to know if it sounds better than it is...

Thanks again for a great review!

Just wanted to let you know that your pics and good review helped motivate us enough to book our first cruise, and we're gonna go on the Ecstasy. I hope we have as much fun as you did!

I saw this last night and clicked on the description. It seemed to be a warning that you cannot plan a shore excursion from most home ports.

For instance, my cruise leaves from Port Canaveral, so I cannot do any shore excursions in that port. (pretty sure there aren't anyways). I think it is intended mostly as a warning for ports that are home ports for some ships, and stops for others.