We've gone and done it!

[schazzy]

I'm sure some of y'all will think we're crazy, but we cancelled our 8-day on RC Adventure OTS and booked a 5-day on the Carnival Elation. As I mentioned in another post, we were second guessing the 8-day for a few reasons and since we had a refundable deposit, we cancelled, and revisited an idea we had a while back to do a land and sea vacation. We decided we are going to do a weekend at Disney as we haven't been in a long time, then go on a 5 day cruise on the Elation to Grand Turk and Amber Cove. We chose this cruise because it falls in our preferred time frame, we actually love the Fantasy-class and we haven't been on the Elation yet, this cruise is sea day, port, port, and sea day, and most of all it's a shorter cruise with no stops in Freeport or Nassau. We'll save going to the ABC's and trying another line for future cruises. I'm so excited! 

[bury me at sea]

I don't think you're crazy at all.  It sounds like a fantastic plan.

 

Enjoy!

[Aplmac]

14 minutes ago, schazzy said:

I'm sure some of y'all will think we're crazy, but

we cancelled our 8-day on RC Adventure OTS

and booked a 5-day on the Carnival Elation. 

 

I'm so excited!

.

BEST Thing you've done today!!

.

[funat55]

I love the idea.  You get the best of both worlds, Disney World and a cruise.  

[Jamman54]

Not a bad move. The Elation is a great ship!

[Purvis1231]

We done Disney and a cruise three times. 

[xDisconnections]

What was the itinerary on the Adventure of the Seas?

[motheroftwocats814]

Great idea! Enjoy!

[schazzy]

5 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

What was the itinerary on the Adventure of the Seas?

 

Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. 

[Port of Tampa]

Sounds like a good move.  Have fun we have always cruised on Carnival and had a blast. Trying RCCL for the first time this May.  

[ober134]

I also like the fantasy class ships. Been a few years since we sailed Elation, but loved it when she sailed out of new Orleans.

[obx_fintoo]

Congrats!!  We really enjoy the Elation.  I am doing that same itin this May and plan to post a review when we get back.  It will be our first time to either of those ports.

[schazzy]

6 minutes ago, obx_fintoo said:

Congrats!!  We really enjoy the Elation.  I am doing that same itin this May and plan to post a review when we get back.  It will be our first time to either of those ports.

 

I'm looking forward to your review!

[Mediterranean_Honeymooner]

Sounds like a great plan to me!  I ❤️ Disney.

[ZoeyVictoria]

While I was working (in SW Florida) I preferred a lot of short vacations, but I retired in 2017 and my daily life is changing.  We enjoy the Keys, but that is a long drive from central Florida where I moved after retirement.  It is also a long drive to go to Miami for a short cruise, so booked a four-nighter on the Victory (with a stop in Key West) and will head to the Keys when we leave the ship for an additional two nights there.  I enjoy reading about other blended vacation plans, always willing to hear new ideas.

[schazzy]

55 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

While I was working (in SW Florida) I preferred a lot of short vacations, but I retired in 2017 and my daily life is changing.  We enjoy the Keys, but that is a long drive from central Florida where I moved after retirement.  It is also a long drive to go to Miami for a short cruise, so booked a four-nighter on the Victory (with a stop in Key West) and will head to the Keys when we leave the ship for an additional two nights there.  I enjoy reading about other blended vacation plans, always willing to hear new ideas.

 

I hear ya, we really don't want to drive all the way from SC to FLA just for a short cruise, but we had been saying we need to go to Disney again, it's been many moons ago for both of us, but still want a cruise, so Ta-DA! 3 nights at a Disney resort with days at Epcot and Magic Kingdom, then off to umbrella drinks and sea air! 

 

You have reminded me that we need to get back to Key West again sometime, we really enjoyed our stop there back in 2010.

 

 

[Jamman54]

When our boys were growing up we would do the split vacations just about every year. We would stay on site at Disney or Universal for 5 days, then do a 5 day cruise from Tampa, Port Canaveral, or Jacksonville. They got their park fix, and I got my cruise fix! My one piece of advice, and I see that you are doing it this way, is to do the parks FIRST, and then the cruise. The chaos in the parks will kill you, so you need the cruise AFTER to relax!

[schazzy]

35 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

My one piece of advice, and I see that you are doing it this way, is to do the parks FIRST, and then the cruise. The chaos in the parks will kill you, so you need the cruise AFTER to relax!

 

Exactly!! Another couple whom we are friends with, decided that for their honeymoon they would do a 7 day on the Oasis OTS and a weekend at Disney afterwards. They said that was a BIG mistake, they came back wore out and broke. 

[NolaKait]

That sounds fun! Also, the Elation is my favorite ship, so far! I have been on it three times and would again if it still left from New Orleans. To me, it seems less crowded and easier to navigate than othe ships. Hope you have a great vacation!

[SkyMaster]

I too, think this sounds like a GREAT idea, and plan.  Doing the cruise after Disney is also well thought out, and is no doubt the way to go. 

Wish I could join you.  LOL

 

"SKY"

[grandmarnnurse]

12 hours ago, schazzy said:

 

Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. 

Those are my favorite islands!

[scpirate]

I guess im the only one here that did not enjoy my elation cruise.t he grandkids loved it but it was their first.i think alternating between carnival and other cruise lines is making carnival look bad .i got one more carnival coming up then its back on msc.

[SNJCruisers]

Since you need an alternative point of view.....I personally think you're nuts to give up an eight day cruise to the ABC islands for a cruise on a Fantasy class ship.  You gave up a better ship as well as better ports.  But it seems like you're happy with your decision, so hopefully you'll have a great time.

[grandmarnnurse]

9 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Since you need an alternative point of view.....I personally think you're nuts to give up an eight day cruise to the ABC islands for a cruise on a Fantasy class ship.  You gave up a better ship as well as better ports.  But it seems like you're happy with your decision, so hopefully you'll have a great time.

Totally agree. That 8 day itinerary is far better than the other, but it is whatever the OP prefers, and whatever itinerary fits their schedule best. As for the ship, I have always been a person that feels the ship is the destination, but lately I’ve been looking at some older, smaller ships for their itinerary. I haven’t bit the bullet and booked them yet, sticking so far to Dream class ships, but for 2021 I’m looking at a Mediterranean cruise on the Radiance, which is a remake of a smaller ship (I think the Victory). 

[schazzy]

On 2/18/2019 at 10:06 PM, SNJCruisers said:

Since you need an alternative point of view.....I personally think you're nuts to give up an eight day cruise to the ABC islands for a cruise on a Fantasy class ship.  You gave up a better ship as well as better ports.  But it seems like you're happy with your decision, so hopefully you'll have a great time.

 

Well, when we booked it, we couldn't find an itinerary for our preferred dates next year that we liked for a 7 or 8 day Carnival cruise that wasn't a repeat of the western we had already done or the eastern we are about to do. I found that 8 day with RC that went to all 3 ABC that was in our preferred date range, and after some apprehension about trying a new line was quelled by people telling me on here that the lines are almost the same and that we would like it, we booked.

 

 

Well, later on, we started thinking more about it and realized the following:

 

1. We were more excited about the ports than ship honestly, and the more we thought about the fact that we would only spend a total of about 24 hours in port, the rest of the time that includes 4 full sea days will be spent on the ship and with the more we have read and seen about it, we are not sure if we will actually enjoy it and we don't want to be stuck on a ship that long if we don't.

 

2. It leaves from Ft Lauderdale. We do not fly, and while I have driven that far before and thought I could do it again, I have reconsidered it, and I'm not really wanting to do it again, especially not for a cruise that I'm doubting.

 

 

3. We love Disney and been talking about going back for awhile and we figured combining that with a cruise was a great idea. As far as the cruise goes, like I said earlier, we love the Fantasy class ships, we don't need all the bells and whistles to enjoy a cruise, and these little old ships cover all our basic cruise needs. We actually like the glitzy, crazy, tacky Farcus decor and the layout of the ships. So a cruise on the Elation is perfectly fine for us.

 

 

The ABC islands will still be there and possibly as early as 2021 we will find a southern Caribbean cruise we like and will go. But for right now, we are happy with our decision, no matter how nutty it is.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by schazzy