Another Elation Review

[verab]

Hi everyone, just back from the Elation on 6/27. Let me start by saying we had a great time and would go again in a minute! The ship was nice, the staff incredible and we never had a minute to be bored. I think the key for us was that we got involved. We had friends in almost every event. I highly recommend that you get up and participate instead of watching. This is our 6th cruise and the first time we have really gotten involved. Hence it was the best cruise we have had. Okay enough of that soap box.

We arrived at the terminal at noon. My husband dropped us with the luggage and we used EZ Cruise Parking. I would recommend this, they are a block away from the terminal and will shuttle you and your luggage back and forth. Although we didn't want to lug all of our luggage around, we choose to be dropped and got a porter right away. Check in was easy, except we arrived right at the busiest time and probably waited in line for 1 hour. You can go early like our friends and then wait in the chairs for an hour. Either way you are waiting. We went straight to our cabins, which we thought were smaller that most, even though they advertise that they are bigger. Then off to Tiffany's for lunch. Spent the rest of the day checking out the ship, doing the muster drill and meeting our Cruise Critic friends.

Monday was our first day at sea, we enjoyed hanging out at the pool most of the day working on that suntan. Didn't do a lot that day.

Tuesday in Progresso. YUCK! We went to the beach. It is not nice! The vendors harrass you every 2 to 3 minutes to buy something. Not only that but the ocean is not great. The kids kept getting eaten by something called Sea Lice. I would highly recommend a shore excursion if you can find one you like or stay on the boat!

Tuesday was Cozumel. We went straight to Paradise Beach. It was WONDERFUL! The beach was nice, the water was beautiful and there was plenty for everyone to do. We drank alot and had lunch there too. The food was great and our waiter Fernando was excellent. We meet Paradise Tom and took him milk and twisslers. He bought us 4 ladies a drink and gave us some yard cups. Very nice guy! Highly recommend you go to Paradise Beach. It is only a small cab fare to get there.

Wednesday was Belize. We really had no problem with the tendering process. They do not announce how to get off the boat. So just know to go the Cole Porter Lounge. You can either mix in with the people who have Carnival excursions or wait until 8:30 and they will pass out tender stickers. We got tender 1 and 2 by doing this and got to Belize at 10. We did the Coral Breeze Shark Ray Alley. Some of our people stayed on Caulker Cay and explored and enjoyed it. They found a little bar that had great Pina Coladas and fresh Lobster tail for $8. We went snorkeling at coral gardens first. Coral Gardens was okay, I have seen much better snorkeling and there is a strong current so you must swim. 3 of our people were pushed up against the coral and cut a little bit. Then we went to Shark Ray Alley. It was cool. The sharks don't stay around for long, so you need to be prepared to get right in. After snorkeling we went back to Caulker Cay for lunch which was okay. We didn't have enough time to expolre the Cay, so we took alot of pictures on the beach. It is absouletly beautiful! Wish we had more time to explore. One complaint about coral breeze was the boat. Apparently, there normal boat was broken down and they squeezed us all on the way too tiny boat.

Next were our 2 days at sea. They went by way to fast. We hung out by the pool in the morning and then enjoyed activities in the afternoon. My DH won the Hairy Chest contest. (don't know if that is good our not, but he did an awesome job) We had fun doing the dance classes with Allison. She teaches a country line dance, saturday night fever and salsa in the Mikado Lounge. Another thing we did that was really fun, was that we bought a horse the first day. We had fun taking her everywhere with us and promoting her and the races on Saturday. She didn't win, but we met a lot of people and had fun ust acting silly with her. All in all it was a great cruise.

Now here are the things that need work. (you knew it was coming) The shows, did not enjoy them at all. The first big production show as BAD...we wanted to leave but were trapped by where we were sitting. I recommed you find a place that you can get out of before you go to any of the shows. Another bad deal was the pool band, we would have been happier with the radio or the Jimmy Buffet CD's they played before the band came out. And last but not least, Camp Carnival needs some work. The hours are not great they close from 12 - 2 everyday and then again around 5. After 10pm is an additional charge. If you have late seating for dinner you are definately going to pay. My daughter went everynight after dinner from 7 - 10 and at that I had to make her go a couple of times. The difference is on the Disney cruise I had to make her come out of there children's program.

Okay, enough! Sorry so long...If you have questions please ask. I have all of the Capers and I have prices for shore excursions if you want.

[aggieastrosfan]

Sorry, I can't help laughing at all the Elation reviews. Every single one agrees on one thing - the pool band is HORRIBLE.

 

Carnival - I know you're out there. Get a new pool band on this ship!!!

[verab]

bump

[PDC55]

verab - Thanks for the review. Myself and 3 of my friends are scheduled to sail on the Elation 9/26/04. By the reviews I've read about the pool band being so bad, I guess I should take the CD player and my own discs for musical entertainment.

 

Hey, asked this question on the roll call but since you just came off the Elation you would probably know. What time does the ship follow and is it the same as Cozumel? My friends have me in charge of excursions and I'm booking some outside of Carnivals. Knowing if the times coincide would really help.

[cruisereddy]

Verab

 

I'd love the capers and price list! My cruise is on the Elation 10/3 and I am an "addicted" planner! My DH hates it and wishes I would just go with the flow...but then who does he turn to when he wants to do something??? You guessed it...Me!

 

Also, as a side question...did you or anyone else on this board (particularly cruising on the Elation recently) take alcohol on board from TX or any of the ports and not get "caught"? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks for the review! And how do you plan to send me the capers, etc?

[davidaperryman]

Put your alcohol in the bags you give to the porters and it will be delivered to your cabin with no problem.

[crzndeb]

Wow, I wonder if it's the same pool band that was on the Spirit in Jan 2003...they were horrible too. That was the only bad thing about the ship and easy to get away from. I hope it changes by Thanksgiving week or I may have to recruit my own pool band on the ship. Hey Nancy and Gael, you ready this? You have 5 months to learn an instrument..LOL!!

 

Debbie

[verab]

PDC55 - The Elation runs on the same time as Texas. Which I am not sure but I think is the same time in Cozumel. We did have to change our watches for Belize, which makes me think that Texas and Mexico are the same times. Also, if you are looking for a beach, I highly recommend Paradise Beach!

 

Cruisereddy,

I will be happy to send you copies of the capers. You can email me your address if you would like. My email is Verapb@aol.com or if you prefer I can probably email them to you.

Vera

[USA41018]

We cruised on 5/23 and enjoyed the Elation. We always take Shore excursions because we don't trust going on our own.

[oldvato]

Sorry, I can't help laughing at all the Elation reviews. Every single one agrees on one thing - the pool band is HORRIBLE.

 

Carnival - I know you're out there. Get a new pool band on this ship!!!

 

 

No band. Go with recorded music. Sounds much better.

[cruizintexas]

Cruisereddy -- We are going to be on the same cruise. My DH, BIL, SIL will also be with me. Maybe we can have a drink together on Sunday! We are so excited. Our clocks must match. We are going to Galveston this weekend just to see her! We will also be there on Oct. 2 just to make sure we get there!!

email if you want.

paigebackntx@sbcglobal.net

[cruisereddy]

davidaperryman...do you mean give the bags to the porters at the curb or inside when we're checking in?? The bags don't go thru x-rays???

[PDC55]

Thanks for the info! It's nice to know for the "other" excursions besides those that Carnival offers.

[tngirl1979]

I do not understand about the horses?

[LisaTX]

I was on cruise with Verapb and posted a review as well - from a first timer. Nice job Vera and I would agree the pool band was HORRIBLE - they were so loud you could hardly talk!!! Did not go through as much detail as Vera but I was one of the friends that went early and would rather sit in the chairs than stand in line. We stayed at Econo Lodge (DO NOT STAY HERE) and took a cab to/from pier - that worked out great but the Econo is nasty especially since it is only a few years old. I thought the whole process of getting on and off the ship was a piece of cake!!!

 

Ready to cruise again....

 

LisaTX

[StaceyM]

Good Reviews Lisa and Vera. I was in their group of 24. We had an absolute blast and the key was to get involved in as much as possible. The deal with the horses is follows: On the first day at sea they have a "stick" horse auction in the main show room (Mikado). There are 6 horses up for auction and people bid on them. Vera paid 62.00 for hers. Throughout the week you dress the horse, name it, and come up with a story about the horse. The horse goes everywhere with you because on the last day at sea is when the big race is. The horse that wins the race gets 70% of the proceeds from the original auction. I think the winner of our race got about 300.00. The horse that is promoted the most gets 30% of the proceeds. This was really alot of fun and our group really got in to it. Our horse's name was bluebell (she was blue) and she wore a dress and hawaiian lei all week. Vera even bought her a sombrero in Mexico. One of the other more memorable horses was named Guido the pimpin pony. He wore a black suit and smoked a cigar. He was hilarious also. I highly recommend getting involved with the horse auction/race. It was really alot of fun!

[ksufan]

Thanks for the great information on the Elation. We are sailing on 7-18. We are staying at the Holiday Inn. Has anyone stayed there? We started to stay at Econolodge and after reading the reviews, I'm happy that we changed.

Sharon

[Travelitis]

If you're talking about the Holiday Inn that is along the sea wall, we stayed there last Oct. and certainly recommend it.

 

Deb - I can play piano or clarinet. The pool band uses keyboards, don't they? Nancy or you will have to tackle the steel drums. Cameron could play his violin. Maybe the awful pool band wouldn't seem so bad after we played (I use that word loosely) a song or 2. LOL!

 

Thanks for the review! I'd like to know if you could get pictures taken on nights other than formal night.

 

Did they give any reason why Camp Carnival was closed those hours? Obviously it's meal time, but I've read that Camp Carnival on other ships takes care of meals. On port days, was Camp Carnival running the same as on sea days? Not that I don't want to spend time with the "little darlings", but the point of taking them on a cruise is that you can have adult time, too. The hours sound as bad as a newborn's sleeping schedule.

[Optichris]

My wife and I were recently on the Elation (from 6/6-6/13), and I have to agree with nearly everything that was said here about the Pool band...they're just plain bad. I had read about them on these boards though, so I knew what to expect from them, and it is good for a laugh :)

 

I'd have to add, that we did the Isla Pasion (Passion Island) Excursion in Cozumel, and LOVED it. All-you-can-eat, and all-you-can-drink on a warm, quiet, and VERY clean beach...I miss it just thinking about it as I type this.

 

Although we enjoyed it, I would NOT recommend snorkeling in Belize; It really was a little overrated, in my opinion. We did the "Horseshoe Bay and Stingray" snorkel, where most of the coral was dead, and there werent too many stingrays hanging around - next time, we're bringing our Dive gear!

 

There's some pictures of our cruise, including those excursions (and the Progresso Ruins tour) here:

 

http://www.planetlowrance.com/pictures/cruise/index.html

 

Anyone that goes on the Elation will have a great time - I can't wait for my next cruise!

[PDC55]

Optichris - Thanks for the photos. They're the best I've seen so far and really do give you an idea about the ship. By the way, who was your cabin steward? Pretty imaginative with the towel creations!

[NDalfrey]

Deb,

I will start to learn an instrument right away...Andrew can play the drums for us, Cameron on the violin, Gael on the keyboard, DH can play the accordian (french version)...wow, we are half way there....People will talk about the Elation band for months...LOL

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Seawall a couple of weeks ago, awesome hotel, I would highly recommend it. When we cruise in November we will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express, another nice hotel. Can't go wrong with a Holiday Inn....and as the comercial states, it will make you smarter too...LOL

 

Verab....thanks for the review....I loved it!!

[Optichris]

Thanks for the compliments, PDC55! Our cabin steward was named Arman...Most of the employees on the ship were very polite and courteous, but I had to give a little extra to him, as he really did go that "extra mile" (My wife loves pigs, and was, pardon the pun, elated to find a piggy towel animal.)

[czechgal]

;) Thanks for all of the information. As a first time cruiser in January 2005, all of this is very helpful, especially about the alcohol :D and the excursions.

 

 

Lisa

[LisaTX]

Pictures can be taken every night - as we did quite a lot of this - my bank account shows it!!! HA!

[verab]

Travelitis,

The reason they gave for closing Camp Carnival was that they did not want the children there for long periods of time. Basically, they did not want the parents to leave them there all day and night. I don't know how it works on port days because we were not on the ship. About meals, they can have dinner with Camp Carnival but that is it. Camp Carnival needs a lot of work in my opinion.

Vera