grossac Posted September 28, 2004 #1 Share Posted September 28, 2004 Earlier I was typed up a rather long message with details and questions that I had. It took about 30 minutes. Well, I went to post it and lost it. That said, here is the short version. My wife(22) and I(24), newly married (12/27/03) will be cruising on Elation on 10/03/2004. Neither of us have ever cruised. I am looking for as much information as we can get prior to the trip. I am a bit of a planner and frankly I am very apprehensive about going off for 7 days and just not knowing what to expect. Deep down, I know that there is nothing to worry about, I just want to cover all of our bases and just be smart about it. So here goes. What would you say is the most important item(s) to bring aside from the usuals (clothes, money, credit cards, toiletries, etc)? Hair dryers - Any on board or bring your own? Irons - Any on board or bring your own? How much cash? What denominations? Is there a way to get cash if you run out? Is a money belt helpful during excursions? How much cash should I carry during excursions for taxi's, shopping, etc. Clothes - What kinds? How much? What about on board laundry? Is it worth it? Beverages- We are planning on paking bottled water for use mainly during the excursions, etc. Hw much is too much? What are the prices like for sodas, alcohol, etc? Cameras - We have 3 underwater cameras and 1 regular with about 4 rolls of film. Is this enough? What about a camcorder? I have seen underwater shots and don't think that I will really be taking that many underwater, but more near the water. What would you have done differently? What would you make sure you did over again? Excursions: Cozumel - Chakanaab for snorkeling and hiking and laying on the beach. Then shopping in town, and whatever mischief we can get into in town. Any other spots that are a must? Where is the shopping the best? Progresso & Belize - Any suggestions? Don't need to do more snorkeling. We just recently went tubing in Texas, so that's out. Looking for the most bang for the buck. I am more athletic than my wife, however physical activity is a plus. We will probably to the ruins in Progresso (I think that's where they are), but may need something else. Money is not as much of an issue as just making good use of our time. We don't want to be stuck on a bus/taxi for hours traveling to a spot to only spend an hour or 2 there and head back. What is there to do on board? I get board easily and the thought of 4 days on board with shows, casino, and sun bathing are just not that appealing to me. I want to DO something, not just casually sit and watch/lounge around. Ok, that's the short version. I will post more If I can think of anything else. Thanks! Adam & Megan Kingwood, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grossac Posted September 28, 2004 Author #2 Share Posted September 28, 2004 One more thing: I think that our room is 4A or something like that. It is unassigned though. How difficult is it to upgrade? What do we have to do? Does it usually cost much more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJS2K3 Posted September 29, 2004 #3 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Bring a hairdryer - people don't seem to like the one they provide. No Iron - fire hazard For Progreso/Merida info go see hdawson on the Progreso Ports of Call board. Here are some links for you: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=78024&highlight=elation+drink+prices http://community.webshots.com/album/116698226aBmXmW http://www.galvestongal.net/# http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jimcald/cruisestuff/Elation/shore_excursion_prices_april2004/ http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=52431&highlight=cash+onboard http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/entropym/pages/packing_list.htm This should get you started :) Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grossac Posted September 29, 2004 Author #4 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Great info! Thanks Jay. I really like the checklist. I think that I will have to sort through it a bit. My wife thinks that I am going a bit overboard, I just want to make sure that we think of everything. Also, the traveler check/cash info was great! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmm6075 Posted September 29, 2004 #5 Share Posted September 29, 2004 We just took our trip on Elation just two weeks ago. We had a blast. My wife brought her own hair dryer. She didn't like the low power one in the room. If you have many things to plug in, bring a small power strip. There is one outlet in the room The ships laundry room is awful. I guess they try to discourage you from using it. A real mess. We just filled a bag thursday with dirty laundry and they washed, and folded it for $15. It was worth it. We brought about $500 in cash in $1,$5, and $20s. Everything on ship has to paid for with your Sign and Sail card. The only things you can pay cash for are bingo cards and in the casino. Even with that, we spent all our cash and rang up a $500 bill on our card. It was fun though. Watch your drinking, thats what gets expensive.00 The cash came in handy in port. Security was never an issue. I just carried my wallet like I always do. I never carried more than $100 at a time anyway. The best place to buy souveniers is Progresso. They are the cheapest, and don't be afraid to haggle on the prices. Due to the weather, we didn't book any excursions. All of the good scuba ones were cancelled anyway. In Cozumel we made sure to hit Senor Frogs and had an awesome time. We also went to the beach at Play de Sol. It was beautiful. Make sure you negotiate the price of any cab before you get in. As far as clothing, all I wore all trip were shorts and t-shirts. It's very casual except at dinner. For dinner nights I wore slacks and polo shirts, and on Formal nights, slacks, a jacket and tie with a collared shirt. Make a point to go to dinner everynight in the dining rooms. It's really great. I went through 4 rolls of film, (none underwater) and filled 3 - 2 hour video tapes - annoying the hell out of my wife and friends most of the time, but they were glad I was filming later. I took my camera everywhere to capture at least a taste of everything we did and the people we met. We played a lot of bingo and won more cash than we did in the casinos. I won $125 and my friends won $600/$200/ and $150 playing bingo. It was a lot of fun. To stay busy, just participate in all you can. There is much to do, and not enough time to do it all. Make sure to have some bright ribbon packed to tie on your luggage at the end of the trip. While everyone was searching for thier bags, we found ours and were on our way out in no time. Thanks to these boards, I was very well prepared for my trip. I wouldn't change a thing. We had a great time on Elation and hope to go on another cruise soon. Hope this helps. Any other questions, feel free to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grossac Posted September 29, 2004 Author #6 Share Posted September 29, 2004 great info! Thanks! Your experience sounds like what I am hoping for / What I invisioned it to be like. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stircrzy Posted September 29, 2004 #7 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Adam, Go check out the "At a Glance" scans of the Capers (Carnival Daily News) at my link below. It is the short version of what's offered onboard daily. I hope you both enjoy your trip on the Elation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grossac Posted September 29, 2004 Author #8 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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