Elation 3/28 review!!!

[CruisinTXGal]

OMG OMG OMG What an awesome vacation!!! I don't think we will ever do a land based vacation again! We had the most awesome time we've ever had. The service was nothing short of spectacular. We loved every aspect of the cruise. I will post more in a bit, I had the first two days typed up and when I went to post it gave me an error, and I don't have the energy to start over right now.

 

Dawn, I'm so sorry I never found you! I forgot all my important info here, including your cabin number, but I thought surely we'd run into one another at some point. I decided on the last day to go to the information desk and see if I could find you that way, but DH got sick so we spent the last day in our cabin. I know one of these days we WILL meet in person. LOL Maybe at the meet and mingle.....

 

Anyway, more later.

 

Elation 3/28/04

 

[tpear3]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise and can't wait for a review. Specifically, can you answer ?'s about camp carnival activities?

 

NCL Sea - 10/00

CCL Inspiration - 11/01

 

12/19/04 Elation cruise

[txadmin2]

I'm here anxious to hear from you also. To avoid losing my reviews, I usually do them in word and then cut and paste. Have lost some long posts in the past and it isn't much fun.

 

Judy

 

 

On the beach in Cozumel in...

 

Elated to be on the Elation on 11/14

[JenandBuddy]

Can't wait to hear your review, we are sailing 8/22

Jen

 

Elation 8/22/04

Destiny 12/03

Victory 11/02

Destiny 11/01

US Lines Patriot(Hawaii)2/01

Sensation 11/99

Sovereign of the Seas 5/95

[gymbrat33]

I'm glad that you enjoyed your cruise!

 

Imagination 8/02

Glory 8/03

Victory 3/04

 

Days til Miracle Partae Pirates Cruise from Tampa

 

[cruisinfamilytx]

I was on the Elation on 3/14. How old are your children? I might be able to help with camp carnival questions.

[tpear3]

We have a 16, 14, 13, 10, 9, 7, 5, and 4 going--and no they aren't all mine!!! Read that they do a "sleepover". I know you pay for babysitting, but what about the 10-3 sleepover? The older 3 are all girls, the rest are boys.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

NCL Sea - 10/00

CCL Inspiration - 11/01

 

12/19/04 Elation cruise

[MRIrene]

Don't give up on the review. We are dying to read it!

 

Majesty of the Seas

 

 

 

 

[Randy & Carmen]

Yes.....we want a review and pics!...lol..I booked while you were gone.....I go May 23rd!....woooohooooo!

 

Click Here For THE PARTAE PIRATES ROLL CALL THREAD

 

CLICK HERE for "Partae Pirates" Cruise Info on Miracle 2/13/05

 

Randy ~ Build17@aol.com

Dallas, TX

 

Destiny-5/00, Victory-3/01, Pride-6/02,Celebration-11/02,

Conquest-3/03,Glory-9/03,

RCI Mariner-1/04,Triumph-3/04,Elation-5/04,Sensation -10/04, Miracle - 2/05

 

Days til Elation Cruise

 

Days til Sensation Cruise from the Bayou

 

Days til Miracle Partae Pirates Cruise from Tampa

 

[hilltopfamily]

can't wait to hear all about it! Glad you had such a wonderful time (although too bad DH got ill last day )

 

Will eagerly await the details!

 

and to the person asking about the slumber party--I have my camp carnival pages right here from 2 weeks ago on the Celebration. It was the 9-11 year olds group, & was $26 for 1st child, $14 each sibling.

 

Penny

Disney Magic Eastern 7/2003

Spring Break 5 days onboard Celebration! Mar 22 '04

Aug 1 '04 Carnival Elation--Our 3rd Cruise!!!

[CruiseFever]

It's always good to hear about another great cruise experience!

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/04

Star Princess 10/04

Carnival Spirit 12/04

 

[tpear3]

Thanks hilltopfamily for the "slumber party" info. Even though we have enough kids for a party--thought it would be nice for them to be controlled! We can't wait for 12/19!

 

NCL Sea - 10/00

CCL Inspiration - 11/01

 

12/19/04 Elation cruise

[CruisinTXGal]

I'm sorry I didn't get back to the thread sooner. I was so hacked that I lost my first LONG post that I just had to walk away from it for a while. LOL

I can't help with the Camp Carnival questions because my kids didn't go with us this time. They WILL be going next time, though. I kept thinking how much they'd enjoy everything, and there were lots of kids their ages onboard. The children that were there seemed to be having a blast with the Camp Carnival crew, though.

I will get back on the review tomorrow, I promise.

I think DH got water in his ear while we were snorkeling. He had a very severe sore throat but no other symptoms, and it went away pretty quickly. Guess thats what we get for snorkeling after 3 "drinks by the yard". LMAO Other than that it was literally a flawless experience. We had the best time ever. I do have pics, I'll get it all sorted out this week. My room is a WRECK. It looks like my luggage exploded when I set it down. LOL Gotta get my life back in some sort of order and then I'll get my pics posted.

Randy, you lucky dog! I am dying to book again. I was thinking we might book for later this year for another parents only and then take our kids this time next year. How is the caribbean cruising in October? Geesh, I want to go back RIGHT NOW. Hacks me off that someone else is enjoying my cabin, being served by my waiters, drinking MY drinks of the day! How dare they!

More tomorrow I promise!!

 

Elation 3/28/04

 

[StaceyM]

Cruisingal, can't wait to hear about your cruise. We will be sailing on June 20. My DH and I went without our daughter on Celebration last July and had a great time but decided we would probably have more fun with her on the ship so we don;t have to worry about her. We are going with 4 other families in June which are all her friends. We don't think we will see much of her. She is 12. How were the days at sea? what excursions did you do? Can't wait to hear.

[almitra]

I, too, am anxiously awaiting your review!!!!

 

 

Militant Breastfeeding & Homebirth Proponent-Sandra Carmichael

 

Mardi Gras 6/79

Mardi Gras 6/79

(back to back cruises)

Celebration 8/02

Splendour of the Seas 3/03

Jubilee 7/03

Conquest 1/04

Celebration 1/04

Elation 2/04

Elation *coming again* 1/05

[CruisinTXGal]

Stacey, the days at sea were awesome for us. We didn't do many organized activities, mostly we sat on the lido deck and sunned and that kind of thing. My idea of vacation is having nothing expected of me, so just sitting with a drink in my hand in the sun was my idea of heaven on earth. I'll get into a little more detail in my review, though.

We went to Chichen Itza in Progreso, we did our own thing in Cozumel, which turned out to be getting REALLY drunk on Paradise Beach and snorkeling and we went cave tubing in Belize. All three excursions went off without a hitch. I'll get into more detail about that, too.

 

Ok, here is day one. I'll get the rest posted within the next day or two, probably a day at a time.

Let me begin by saying that although I have no other experience to compare it to, I can see why Carnival loyalists are so loyal. I can't imagine our experience being more awesome than it was. Our crew was consistently friendly and helpful. We didn't pass a single crewmember that didn't greet us, and the second we needed or wanted something it was there. Our room steward was awesome. He introduced himself to DH almost immediately after we settled into our cabin. I never did catch his name, which makes me mad at myself, because I would sure have loved to give his name on the comment card. Our wait staff, Junior and Narine were nothing short of wonderful. I also have to mention Corina in the atrium bar. That girl made the best drinks and had the cutest personality. She worked like a dog, too, and always with a smile. Every crewmember we encountered had the absolute best attitude and genuinely seemed to enjoy what they did. There was always someone cleaning something, too. I was SO impressed with the impeccable service; it was definitely one of the highlights of our cruise.

The ship is GORGEOUS! She is so clean and looked like she is maintained beautifully. For the duration of the cruise she was spotless. My only complaint was a couple of dirty public restrooms toward the end. Other than that I was in awe of how beautiful she is. She will definitely always have a special place in my heart.

Day one was pretty rough. We got up very early to catch our 8:30 flight, and then the Carnival shuttle from IAH to the port. A Carnival rep was there to meet us in the airport and guided us right through the process of catching our shuttle and giving us all the pertinent info for our return. There was absolutely no confusion in the airport and within 30 minutes we were on our bus on the way to the port. When we got to the port we waited a LONG time to get off the bus, and then had to sort through all the luggage being thrown off to find ours. We finally got into the terminal about noon, and the lines (security and funpass) took an hour and a half to get through. We were finally onboard at 1:30. We went straight to the purser’s desk to put cash on our Sail and Sign account, then to the shore excursion desk to book the Chichen Itza tour. After that we headed back to our room to put down our bags, and I called the salon right then and made both my hair appointments. Thanks to all of you I really felt like I knew what I was doing! Within a half hour of being on the boat we had the business part of the trip out of the way and were on the lido sipping drinks of the day. Speaking of which, this may have been in large part why our trip went sour the first night. DH and I were very happy when it was time for the muster drill and downright drunk after. We both started feeling a little green around the gills when the ship sailed and the real movement started. My advice to a first timer is to go easy on the drinks until you get your sea legs. LOL That, coupled with the fact that we were both exhausted from a full day of travel made for a very unpleasant evening. I can definitely see why many of you prefer to fly in the day before. We will most likely do it that way from now on. We were tired and cranky and a little sea sick, so after the first course at dinner we excused ourselves and went back to the cabin and crashed. I went to sleep that night believing I had made a HUGE mistake booking a cruise. I’m so glad I was wrong.

 

More to come!

 

Elation 3/28/04

 

[Burly]

I wished I had met you and your Husband. The first night was ruff because the ship was shaking and rolling. Our dinner table was really moving. Paradise Beach was awesome. I had a ball there. We should have stayed the whole day. I wore Fernando out he was my bar attendant. He just kept bringing buckets.

[CruisinTXGal]

Burly, I bet we were at Paradise Beach at the same time, because we went early that morning, got a terrific spot on the beach and camped there all day long!

I LOVED Paradise Beach. That was the drunkest I got on the whole trip! I have NO idea how we got back to the ship.

 

You may have seen me if you were on the lido for the "Hairy Chest Contest" or if you watched the travelog. I was one of the two judges. I was the one who got thrown across the guy's shoulder and carried across the stage. LOL

Disclaimer here: It was my first cruise. I had NO idea what I was volunteering to do.

 

Elation 3/28/04

[CruisinTXGal]

Day 2

The second day was MUCH better. I woke up at around 7 am and woke DH up for some breakfast. After breakfast we headed back to the cabin to change into our swimsuits and found a couple of sunny spots on the lido deck. It was still fairly early and we had no problem finding a chair. We brought our own liquor, but decided to reserve it for emergencies (in case we were broke toward the end of the cruise ) so we spent a really lot on alcohol, especially so on sea days. We spent the better part of the day relaxing on the lido. Burly, I agree about Mike. He was doing trivia and it was SO irritating after a while. The PA was way too loud and he has a very grating voice.

Anywho, after we had had our fill of sunbathing we explored the ship some. I had a 6 o’clock hair appointment, so around 5 we headed back for showers. After my shower and hair appointment DH and I got dressed and headed for the captain’s cocktail party. That was such a blast!! I loved seeing everyone dressed to the nines, and we met the most awesome people. The cocktails and conversation were a wonderful beginning to a terrific evening. Our dining table seated ten, but only us and two other coupled ever showed, and one of them didn’t come for formal night. We did enjoy getting to know the other couple, Matt and Jessica, though. They had had a rotten first day as well, but we were all in good spirits that night and were able to laugh about it for the most part. I told them about cruise critic. They may be lurking about somewhere. J This was our first full meal in the dining room, and we weren’t disappointed! DH and I both had the lobster tail and the prime rib and both were superb. After dinner we checked out the ship’s night life. We landed in the casino, but neither of us likes giving our money away for no reason at all so we didn’t stay long. LOL We were pretty tired so after we packed for the next day’s shore excursion we turned in fairly early. That was a common thread in this trip that I didn’t understand. We are usually night owls, sleeping late and staying up late, but we both couldn’t seem to sleep past 7 am, so we were both very tired by 11 pm or so. That was ok on port days, but it was rather irritating on sea days, because I really wanted to enjoy more of the night time activities.

All in all it was a terrific and relaxing first sea day. I was feeling much better about our decision to cruise that night when I went to bed.

 

Day 3, Progreso

As I mentioned we scheduled the ship’s shore excursion to Chichen Itza because it is such a long trip I was afraid to risk using a private company for this particular excursion. We were up at the crack of dawn again, having breakfast on the lido. We went to the sports deck to watch the ship port in Progreso and then headed to the room to grab our bag and head for the gangway. We were among the first off the ship, and our tour guides found us almost immediately. We were on bus #1, on our way to Chichen Itza less than 20 minutes later. The ride was long, 2 hours, but our guide was wonderful. He spent a lot of the time telling us about Progreso and about the Mayan ruins we were about to see, and about the Mayans in general. I really enjoyed the info he shared with us, and it made the trip go by a lot faster. When we arrived our actual guide took us under a tree and talked to us for a long time about the ruins and the Mayans. He took us to the ball court and the temples and told us the significance of each. It was really awesome being there. We had one hour of tour and one hour of freedom to explore on our own. After the tour we decided to make a pitstop, and we walked for what seemed like forever to get to the remote restrooms. Just as we were getting back and walking to the large temple to ascend the steps we saw that they were roping it off. Apparently a poor man had a fatal heart attack at the top, and of course, they closed it until he was brought down. I was amazed by the attitude of some of our fellow tourists about this unfortunate turn of events. A poor man had lost his life and many were complaining that they weren’t going to be able to climb to the top. We were disappointed, to be sure, but we felt so bad for the family of this dear man, we weren’t about to complain. I hope that none of his relatives had the misfortune of hearing the selfish comments of some. We overheard a group discussing what had happened. Evidently he was there with a large group, all of which were family. He had had open-heart surgery just three months before. He said he didn’t feel well just a few steps up but kept going anyway. When he reached the top he had a heart attack and died. It was a very hot day and there was no breeze at all, so I suppose that didn’t help matters any. I just hope his poor family is ok. I can’t imagine how hard that was for them.

We waited for a while to see if they were going to reopen it, but they never did and we were running short on time so we decided to hit the little shops at the entrance. I haggled for 2 beautiful little dresses for my daughters and we headed back to the bus. We dozed most of the 2 hour ride back. We didn’t have a whole lot of time when our bus arrived back at the pier, but we did a little window shopping before heading back to the ship. We really loved the tour to Chichen Itza, and thought Progreso was wonderful. Our guides were awesome, as well. They made a long trip seem not so long and were obviously proud of their country and heritage. They totally rocked.

When we were back onboard we went to the aft deck behind Tiffany’s to eat pizza and jeer at the late-comers. That was a great deal of fun. LOL We sat on the aft deck and watched the sun set before going back to the cabin for showers.

We went to the dining room for dinner and both couples were there that evening. We really enjoyed getting to know the other couple, Shelley and Steve. They were delightful! After dinner we went back to the cabin, pretty darn exhausted, and I was asleep in just a few minutes.

OH, I discovered the fruit punch on this day, too. Now I know what all the hullabaloo is about! Just a tip, Cruzan coconut rum and fruit punch tastes JUST like a pina colada snow cone!! I am so not kidding! LOL

 

More tomorrow......

 

Elation 3/28/04

[Burly]

I like the day by day thing you got going. It lets you go into more detail. That is funny you mention goint to bed early. The other couple we was with got up early to exercise but Ken was in bed by 10:30 every night. He only seen one show the talent show. He couldn't explain why he was so exhausted. I told him 20 Rum drinks may help. LOL They also went on that tour and Ken was dissapointed he didn't get to go up to the top but was upset about the man. He said the wife had his medicine down at the bottom. That is so sad. It was a very hot day.

[tpear3]

I am so enjoying your review. We are also normally night people; however, seem to see every sunrise on a cruise!!!

 

NCL Sea - 10/00

CCL Inspiration - 11/01

 

12/19/04 Elation cruise

[MRIrene]

We are still sitting here staring at our monitors waiting to read the rest of your review.

 

 

 

Majesty of the Seas