redeemed Posted October 12, 2006 #1 Share Posted October 12, 2006 We have never been on a cruise before and are excited to finally get our hair full of wind. Some questions I have had a difficult time finding answers to are: 1. Will we find heat in January? I checked the temperatures off of the Carnival website and it seems that with the exception of FL, it will be relatively warm at the islands we will be porting at. Are the temperatures they list typical? Are we going to be needing jackets and such for the days we spend in FL pre-cruise and/or on the ship? 2. Are suites worth the money? We currently have an inside cabin guarantee booked for our family (2 adults, a 6yo, 3yo, and 1yo). We were not comfy with booking two cabins with the children being so young and were encouraged that they can accomodate us in one room. So, assuming we won't be in our cabin much, does this sound reasonable? It is beginning to sound like the cabins are very small. 3. We are considering staying overnight in Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise. Any recommendations for good hotels? What about transportation from Walt Disney World to the Port area? Are we likely better off to rent a car since there are 5 of us? 4. What is the Elation like? Is it a good beginner ship? We like to do things together as a family and I am not sure we will leave our older children in the CC programs. Will there still be things for us to do together? Thank you for your time in responding to us. I will also post under family cruising... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redeemed Posted October 12, 2006 Author #2 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Do most people do these? Is it easy to get around places without booking the excursions with the ship? We would like to check out Atlantis in Nassau but aside from that, we mostly just want to have fun with the children playing at the beach and in the water. We don't know what to expect - we just want to relax and enjoy each other. The children are too young for most everything anyhow but it would be good to have feedback on things not to miss or how to get to the best beaches (Nassau, Turks & Caicos, and HMC). Thank you again! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbles1209 Posted October 12, 2006 #3 Share Posted October 12, 2006 We have never been on a cruise before and are excited to finally get our hair full of wind. Some questions I have had a difficult time finding answers to are: 1. Will we find heat in January? I checked the temperatures off of the Carnival website and it seems that with the exception of FL, it will be relatively warm at the islands we will be porting at. Are the temperatures they list typical? Are we going to be needing jackets and such for the days we spend in FL pre-cruise and/or on the ship? 2. Are suites worth the money? We currently have an inside cabin guarantee booked for our family (2 adults, a 6yo, 3yo, and 1yo). We were not comfy with booking two cabins with the children being so young and were encouraged that they can accomodate us in one room. So, assuming we won't be in our cabin much, does this sound reasonable? It is beginning to sound like the cabins are very small. 3. We are considering staying overnight in Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise. Any recommendations for good hotels? What about transportation from Walt Disney World to the Port area? Are we likely better off to rent a car since there are 5 of us? 4. What is the Elation like? Is it a good beginner ship? We like to do things together as a family and I am not sure we will leave our older children in the CC programs. Will there still be things for us to do together? Thank you for your time in responding to us. I will also post under family cruising... 1. Can't tell you what the temperatures are like, because I don't know which islands you are going to. But, you can try this. Go to google, or ask dot com, and type in (example) temperatures for Half Moon Cay in January, and you get the info instantly. 2. I'm not sure how small the inside cabins are, I've only been on one cruise and it was an oceanview. We had 3 in our oceanview, yes it seemed a little tight at times, but never enough to be a huge inconvenience. We were never in the cabin that much. With 5 people, if it were me, and only my opinion, I would look at the suite. It's all in what kind of money you can afford to spend, and how much time you plan on spending in the cabin. 3. Don't know about the hotels. Didn't have to worry about renting a car and transfers. When we booked, we booked through a TA that got us a pre-night hotel stay and transfers included in the booking, all we had to do was show up. You may try the East Coast Departures board there's lots of information there. 4. We cruised on Elation this past June. It was our first cruise, and I was glad we started out on a smaller ship. It didn't seem like a smaller ship. I'm not sure what all there is for children that are the ages of yours to do, but they always have something going on. There's always ice-cream, whenever ya like, they have an arcade. Camp Carnival does offer a variety of things for children their ages, from soda parties, to slumber parties, story hours, play time, etc. To be honest though, I don't remember seeing a lot to do onboard that would include children their ages. Of course, I'm sure you guys can create your own fun, everyone makes their vacation their own. Whatever you decide, I hope you guys have a great trip. There are pics of the ship in my signature, hope this has helped:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbles1209 Posted October 12, 2006 #4 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Do most people do these? Is it easy to get around places without booking the excursions with the ship? We would like to check out Atlantis in Nassau but aside from that, we mostly just want to have fun with the children playing at the beach and in the water. We don't know what to expect - we just want to relax and enjoy each other. The children are too young for most everything anyhow but it would be good to have feedback on things not to miss or how to get to the best beaches (Nassau, Turks & Caicos, and HMC). Thank you again! :) Nassau I've never been to. We did book an excursion through Carnival in St.Thomas, and thoroughly enjoyed it, then we did some things on our own afterwards. Half Moon Cay is great for the kids, there is a spray up fountain, the picture I have for an avatar is Half Moon Cay. The water is gorgeous. There is a buffet lunch there, the people from the ship prepare, and everything on Half Moon is charged to your sail & sign card. Turks/Caicos doesn't have a whole lot, great stop for beach time though. Just make sure you all have water shoes for walking in the water. It's very rocky underwater, and hard to walk on. We managed to walk in and not get our feet cut, but don't ask me how. It's either that, Margaritaville, (which ya have to go by to get to the beach), or a horse and carriage ride. When we went in June, there were a lot of shops that still had not opened up yet for business. Nassau, I'm clueless about, never been there, but I'm sure someone that has will come along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhcw Posted October 12, 2006 #5 Share Posted October 12, 2006 We are also sailing in January, see below!!! Usually the weather is nice then, warm enough to swim at the different islands. We usually stay at the Radisson at the Port in Port Canaveral, it's a great place and they will shuttle you to the ship if you choose. Renting a car would also be an option for you, both my kids have done that and think the car rental folks will get you to the ship or back to your hotel. In Nassau in April we just walked down the dock and got a cab to Atlantis, (4.00 per person) then took their tour of the grounds and aquarium ($29.00) it was fun, but a lot of walking. You can also take a carriage ride in Nassau, shop, or just hang out. Not sure about shore excursions as we don't do many. HMC is the best stop and if you feel that you can afford it a cabana would be wonderful for you and your family. Kinda hoping we'll get one this trip. You go the shore excursion desk as soon as you get on the ship and sign up for one, think they are a little over $200.00 for the day but with a family to me it would be worth it. The Fantasy class ships, which is what the Elation is are very nice, older but still nice and IMHO a great start to cruising. Our second cruise was on the Fantasy:) I would definitely go to the Camp Carnival meeting the first night on the ship, check out everything and decide how you want to do Camp Carnival with the kids. I really don't like inside rooms, but that's just me. For five days think you can stand a regular cabin, but I would perhaps think about switching to an outside maybe a few decks up, not sure where you're located now. A suite would of course be wonderful but not sure whether you would want to spend the money. Hope I've helped a little, sure you'll have lots more info posted. Enjoy your cruise:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashell36 Posted October 12, 2006 #6 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Redeemed, we are doing our first family cruise (w/kids 9 & 4) on the Elation in less than 2 weeks. There is a mini golf course in the center of the jogging track. This was the big plus for us because the kids love it! I had the same questions earlier this year. What we decided to do is go to the beach in HMC and Grand Turk. In Nassau we are going to go on a glass bottom boat ride or tour Atlantis. You can go to Atlantis and walk around. You don't have to pay the $ for their tour. But, you dont get to go to the digs or the Aquarium. If you go to the port of calls board on the main page you can find a lot of info about Nassau. Prices for water taxi, jitneys and cabs are all in different posts there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty30907 Posted October 12, 2006 #7 Share Posted October 12, 2006 We have never been on a cruise before and are excited to finally get our hair full of wind. Some questions I have had a difficult time finding answers to are: 1. Will we find heat in January? I checked the temperatures off of the Carnival website and it seems that with the exception of FL, it will be relatively warm at the islands we will be porting at. Are the temperatures they list typical? Are we going to be needing jackets and such for the days we spend in FL pre-cruise and/or on the ship?... It will be warm. 2. Are suites worth the money? We currently have an inside cabin guarantee booked for our family (2 adults, a 6yo, 3yo, and 1yo). We were not comfy with booking two cabins with the children being so young and were encouraged that they can accommodate us in one room. So, assuming we won't be in our cabin much, does this sound reasonable? It is beginning to sound like the cabins are very small. We have had inside, window, and balcony cabins and we love the balcony cabins and will not sail without one. 3. We are considering staying overnight in Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise. Any recommendations for good hotels? What about transportation from Walt Disney World to the Port area? Are we likely better off to rent a car since there are 5 of us? We always go down the night before and stay at a hotel that allows us to leave our car and take a shuttle to the port. If you park at the port, it cost 10-12 a day vs. 4.00 per person per way on the shuttle. 4. What is the Elation like? Is it a good beginner ship? We like to do things together as a family and I am not sure we will leave our older children in the CC programs. Will there still be things for us to do together? Mar 31, 07 is our first cruise on the Elation, but from everything I have read here, everyone loves her. As our baby is 28 with 3 children of his own, we have never used CC pogroms. Enjoy your cruise and welcome to the Friends of Cruising (FOC)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucho Posted October 12, 2006 #8 Share Posted October 12, 2006 five in a cabin to me was no problem. me and my family did it in a inside cabin a few years back when my kids were that young, plus had my mother in law with us , being the only male in the cabin I made sure to get up early do my duties early and get out so the ladies could take there time getting ready for the day. same thing before dinner. weather that time of year I think sould be great, warm to do the beach without getting overheated. have fun and enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redeemed Posted October 12, 2006 Author #9 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Thank you for all your input. I just found the boards for the different ports so that will help I am sure. We will likely just make our own way around but definitely hit Atlantis and check everything out it has to offer those who are not staying there. We were actually booked there for a vacation before deciding on doing 5 nights FL and 5 nights cruising instead. We are hoping to get a good look and see if we would like to go back. I will look into cabanas. I do not know much about them but it might be a good idea. Also, I am going to find out about upgrading to an outside. I always thought it would be nice to see from our room - especially when we will be in there for naps and things. Thank you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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