Elation 3/2/06 Cruise Review

[jbsvette]

Backround:

 

My wife and I are age 30+ adults with two daughters 14 and 9 (they did not travel with us). We are from the DFW area and this was our first cruise. I booked the cruise in January and we cruised March 2nd to March 6th. We are veryyyyy laid back, easy to please, and we are not the type that complains at resteraunts, hotels etc.. unless there's a major malfunction.. and even than, we are easy to forgive if the situation is made right.

 

We drove to Galveston the afternoon before our cruise and arrived at the hotel about 6:30 Wednesday evening. Mapquest took us through a part of Galveston that was pretty scary and we were looking at ourselves hoping the hotel wasn't in that neighborhood. Thankfully the hotel was located at the Seawall only 2 miles from Pier 21 which is where you Embark. Galveston is a little over 300 miles from Dallas.. Took about 5 hours.

 

Embarkation:

 

We arrived at the Pier at about 11am. You must drop of your checked in luggage before you park your car. My wife and I both had backpacks we kept food, water extra set of clothes etc... (Let me stop here and say, "Thank God for Boards like this one" There is invaluable information on these boards and it helped make our cruise a success. OK... Embarkation was painless (be sure to arrive early). They let us on the Ship about Noon... We had lunch on the lido deck while waiting for our room to be ready.

 

The Ship Elation:

 

I was pleasantly surpised. When we pulled up to the dock and I saw the shear enormity of this ship, I was awestruck... It's a floating 10 story building almost 3 football fields long... WOW!!! Yes, I know there are bigger ships but this was the first time I saw a cruise ship up close and I was amazed. The ship was tastefully decorated, dark woods, bright colors (not gawdy like I had feared).. I'm not going to go into too much detail, here's the link to the pics I took while on the cruise.. http://community.webshots.com/album/548338073kgGJoB/0 You'll get the picture :)...

 

Our Cabin:

 

We had a suite with a balcony U101... After being spoiled with a suite, I will never cruise without a balcony unless someone pays for it :).. Once again, not too much detail here,, there's pics at the link.. I will say this, if you like to read, meditate, be awestruck by the vastness of the sea, get a balcony.. I spent an hour each day on the balcony. It was very inspirational...

 

 

The Food:

 

Most meals we ate at Tiffany's... My wife and I like that place alot. It had a nice bar and great ocean views... The food was average to good. For some reason it seemed the food was better the first 2 nights than the last 2 nights. We had primerib, roast chicken, cheeseburgers, pizza, ice cream blah blah blah... and everything was good.. Nothing stands out as being outstanding though.

 

Entertainment:

 

Average... They had the usual, comedian, musicals, rock band that was damn good, jazz, piano bar etc...

 

Playa Del Carmen

 

Our itinerary took us to Play Del Carmen. I liked this place. We were off the ship and in a cab in 30 minutes. You actually dock in the middle of nowhere and the cab takes you to Playa Del Carmen about 5 miles away. I think it was $10 for the cab fare each way. We spent the day on the beach and shopping. They have some really neat shops.. and the beach is gorgeous. We didn't book any excursions.

 

Deembarkation:

 

We were one of the first to leave the ship... It was a breeze. The key here is to be able to handle all your bags yourself and you will be the first group to leave. We were off the ship and in our car in less than an hour.

 

Highlights

• The staff was awesome
  
• The ship was clean as a whistle
  
• The ship was beautiful
  
• Our room was spacious
  
• The weather was outstanding
  
• We were totally relaxed
  
• Drinking rum drinks and laying out on the pool deck
  
• Watching the sunrises and sunsets
  
• Playa Del Carmen- The beach and shopping
  
• Watching my wife have a great time
  
• Taking pictures of a funnel cloud at sea
  
• The fellow cruisers were awesome. We met some really nice people
  
• Spending time on the balcony

Low Lights

• The food was average
  
• Wished my kids would have had the experience
  
• Going home

Tips and suggestions

 

• Stay in Galveston the night before and "Eat at Joes Crabhouse"
  
• Get to the ship early.. They will let you on around noon than you get have lunch and some drinks while waiting for your room.
  
• Get to the pool deck by 10 am.. The pool is packed by noon and it's hard to find a lounge chair.
  
• Tiffany's is a great alternative to dine if you just want it to be you and your significant other
  
• Don't overpack and take only what you can handle by yourself and deembarkarion will be much easier.
  
• Get a balcony suite if you can afford it.
  
• Leave all your worries behind
  
• Don't let one bad incident or one rude person ruin your whole trip (let it slide)
  
• A vacation is only as fun as YOU make it

Hope this was helpful, Be sure to visit the link and check out the pics. If you have any additional questions, email me at jimblake62@yahoo.com

 

Happy Cruising

Jim

[jbsvette]

Has cruised RC Splendour of the Sea and what they thought...???

[jdcml]

I was a little concerned when you started with "we are not the type that complains" - I kept waiting for the BUT...

I'm glad to hear some more information about Elation. Seems like a lot of the information lately has been centered around the newer bigger ships. We are heading out on Elation when it comes over to Miami on 4/30. It’s also good to hear that everything is clean as a whistle. With it going to dry dock soon I can only imagine what it will look like for us.

Thanks for the information - hopefully the staff will be as awesome for us without too many changes while it’s out of commission.

Time to book the next one so you can experience it with your daughters! Only 9 more to go for Platinum :D

[WannabeaTraveler]

Is Tiffany's the buffet?

 

I'm glad you had a good time. We're leaving on Elation this Saturday!!!!

 

Thanks for posting the link, the pics were great.

[jbsvette]

I liked Tiffany's... Sit in the back, table for two and get great views of the ocean.. There's a nice bar back there tooi with a grouchy bartender.. LOL.. He's alright though...

 

I really liked being on the Elation.. She isn't going out of Galveston any more for the 4 and 5 day cruises :( ....

 

You will have a great time... Don't forget to write and let us know about your experience.

[Debs224]

Hey JDCML,

We will be on the Elation on April 30 as well. Can't wait!! I love to cruise, but haven't been for a long time (to long to tell) and this is my hubby's first. See you on board.:cool:

[MeLuvDaSea]

We will also be sailing on the Elation 'this Saturday'. I like the sound of that. Don't be too bummed out about the ship leaving Galveston in April. It is only subbing for the Esctacy, which is also a Fantasy-class ship. The Esctacy is pretty gawdy but otherwise a nice ship. I like gawdy anyways....

 

Thanks for the review. I will check out your pics when I get home from work today. IT has Webshots blocked here at the office. :mad:

[jbsvette]

It should get you excited...

 

Have a GREAT cruise :D

[MeLuvDaSea]

Very nice photo album. I especially like the sunset shots over the ocean. I have taken quite a few like that on my other few cruises. Thanks for posting this. Now, if I could only sleep for the next 5 days... or get real busy doing something to take my mind off it... oh well, back to looking at Elation pics! :)