Carnival Elation with Family Group

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

Hey my niece is getting married in FL next November and her sister has organized a post wedding cruise on Carnival Elation on which many of the family members are booked. We are mostly adults but there are two teens and one pre-schooler in the group. I'm supposed to be the cruise expert in the family so everyone is coming to me with questions, but I have only been on one other Carnival cruise, and I have never been to either of the ports. So I need a little Cruise Critic expert advise.

 

 

 

1. Elation! I think it is going to be similar the the Inspiration only it has a few of the std rooms available as balconies. Any other big differences I should be a ware of?

 

 

 

2. Amber Cove - I've heard horrible things about the locals in Dominican Republic being very rude. I have never had this experience in any port - pushy or hustling, over zealous sales tactics, but never out right rude. However, it looks like there are some very interesting waterfall excursions or beach excursions in the area.

 

 

 

I don't know if I should tell the whole family to just stay in the port area, or venture out on an excursion. I've read that you need wrist band for $20 for the unlimited zip line, but how about the water slide? Read that the stairs can be hot. Do they let you wear water shoes on the slide and do you need a wrist band?

 

 

 

3. Grand Turk - I've read that Jack's Shack and Margaritaville are fun. I remember when the port opened that Carnival fixed it up and put in some sort of Nasa display about the astronauts who splashed down near the area. Is there any reason to do an excursion or should we just enjoy these sights which seem to be very budget friendly.

 

 

 

Any advise on any of the above would be greatly appreciated! I'm supposed to be the expert but I know that you guys really are.

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

I could really use some help on this, any body have some helpful suggestions?

[jetsfan58]

Good afternoon. I will try and provide a bit of information for you and your family. Fortunately I was selected once to be the Cruise lead for a family reunion cruise.

 

We sailed the Elation back in December 2017. A very nice ship. It has the Guys Burgers and other restaurants of choice. I cant eat any type of spice so I did not eat the burgers. My family raved about them and the Blue Iguana.

 

We have two adult sons so I cant help with the kids activities. We also booked two ship forward inside cabins and felt absolutely no movement during the entire cruise. We really enjoyed ourselves and will be cruising this ship again. The Jacksonville Florida Cruise Port is very easy to enter and exit. We entered the terminal about 11:30 AM and were eating lunch at noon.

 

Hope you enjoy the Cruise.

[Essiesmom]

In her drydock last year, Elation had balconies added to many OV cabins, plus a whole new set of junior suites and insides on deck 14. Those are the best cabins...The insides for 3 are much larger than the regular cabins. They added usb ports to all of the cabins, and a fridge in every cabin. So there will be a lot of differences from Inspiration. EM

[Drazil65]

Have never had any issues with any of the ports you mentioned, Amber Cove is nice and a cheap place to hang out (not sure why you would have such horrible reports, no issues) especially with kids as the pool is awesome, water slide is smaller but was free and part of pool when were last there ( less than year ago). Maybe let the people you are traveling with do some research and make their own plans (then you dont need to worry about who is having a good time and who is not). Kids really enjoy the zip line every times we have been there. It is small and not too high, which is great for the kids.

Hope you all have a blast!

[SadieN]

Two suggestions when sailing with a large group.

1. Assigned Dining

2. Don’t herd cats.

 

 

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[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

No excursions needed for Grand Turk. Not much to see anyway. It's a beach stop.

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

This issues with the local was mostly regarding when people ventured outside the port area. These are just online reviews and reports that they were yelled at and harrassed by locals. Who know maybe the person who was writing the review was the one that was rude and the locals were just responding in kind.

 

The other thing I have heard was that folks were shocked at what the area outside the immediate report looked like. I think that these might not have been seasoned travelers. Domoninca Republic is still considered a developing country so yes there will be poverty unlike what folks are used to seeing back home.

 

My group is not experienced travelers so I don't know if I should suggest an excursion or just hang out at the port area? I'm up for anything but I am just trying to figure out if the concerns are real?