Just off Elation 4/17-4/22, feel free to ask questions!

Wife and I went on the 5 day cruise out of Jacksonville to Half Moon Cay and Nassau, had a great time! If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer as best as I can.

Yay!! How did you like it? Did the ship seem old/ run down? Were taking the last cruise before it goes into dry dock. How was the food? What did you do in Nassau? I'm guessing no feedback on the kids club ;)

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Do you know how many of the rooms have been renovated yet? Last I heard, they were on the Riviera deck. Also, did y'all make it to Half Moon Cay? Did you have the Cheers package? Still debating this one for our trip.

Do you know how many of the rooms have been renovated yet? Last I heard, they were on the Riviera deck. Also, did y'all make it to Half Moon Cay? Did you have the Cheers package? Still debating this one for our trip.

Are they working top down or from the bottom up? I didn't realize they were renovating yet. We're on Riviera in August. On the last trip before dry dock. That'd be a nice surprise to have an updated room.

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Yay!! How did you like it? Did the ship seem old/ run down? Were taking the last cruise before it goes into dry dock. How was the food? What did you do in Nassau? I'm guessing no feedback on the kids club ;)

 

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We definitely liked it, really enjoyed ourselves. You can tell most of the ship hasn't been updated in awhile but not in a bad way. The crew does work very hard at keeping everything clean. We didn't mind at all how anything looked.

We thought the food was great, especially the Chef's Table! That is by far the nicest food experience I've ever had, I highly recommend it if that's something you think you might enjoy.

This was our fourth time being in Nassau in as many years so all we did was sleep in that morning, get off the ship to grab a couple souvenirs for family back home, walk around briefly and get right back on the ship haha. We took advantage of no lines at Mongolian wok and plentiful Serenity loungers and non crowded hot tubs!

Yeah no direct feedback on the kids stuff, although all the kids looked to be having a blast when I walked by and when I saw them out doing their scavenger hunt stuff. We have talked with several parents who have said their kids love it for what that's worth lol!

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Do you know how many of the rooms have been renovated yet? Last I heard, they were on the Riviera deck. Also, did y'all make it to Half Moon Cay? Did you have the Cheers package? Still debating this one for our trip.

It looked like all the rooms on the riviera deck on the starboard side toward of the bow from the forward elevators were done and I'm guessing they are working on the port side because that corridor was blocked off by plastic sheeting.

We did make it to Half Moon Cay, even though there was a fairly strong breeze that day. Fortunately we are 3 for 3 on getting there lol... It was amazing as always. If you have never done so I recommend taking a cold beverage (or 2 or 3) and enjoying a leisurely walk all the way to the end of the beach, it is very deserted and peaceful and you can really feel like you're on an island by yourself when you are facing away from everything.

Yes we had Cheers, we have had it on all five of our cruises and it has always been a great deal. It's not hard at all to break even and it's nice not having to keep track of your bar tab and debate if you really want another drink. I can only imagine the terrible feeling of getting your statement the last night and seeing all those charges reading $7+ instead of $0.00 haha!

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Are they working top down or from the bottom up? I didn't realize they were renovating yet. We're on Riviera in August. On the last trip before dry dock. That'd be a nice surprise to have an updated room.

 

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Looked to me like they are working from the bottom up, all the new cabins and work areas were forward on riviera and main decks. There could have been more aft but we never went there. I know there was nothing new on upper and empress decks yet. I imagine by August you should get to look forward to an updated room!

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It looked like all the rooms on the riviera deck on the starboard side toward of the bow from the forward elevators were done and I'm guessing they are working on the port side because that corridor was blocked off by plastic sheeting.

 

We did make it to Half Moon Cay, even though there was a fairly strong breeze that day. Fortunately we are 3 for 3 on getting there lol... It was amazing as always. If you have never done so I recommend taking a cold beverage (or 2 or 3) and enjoying a leisurely walk all the way to the end of the beach, it is very deserted and peaceful and you can really feel like you're on an island by yourself when you are facing away from everything.

 

Yes we had Cheers, we have had it on all five of our cruises and it has always been a great deal. It's not hard at all to break even and it's nice not having to keep track of your bar tab and debate if you really want another drink. I can only imagine the terrible feeling of getting your statement the last night and seeing all those charges reading $7+ instead of $0.00 haha!

 

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Any great bars/bartenders that stood out? How was embarkation? (what time slot did you have).

Any great bars/bartenders that stood out? How was embarkation? (what time slot did you have).

Alexander at the lido buffet bar was cool, so was Patricia there. The starboard pool bar had several good bartenders, sometimes they would do tricks while making drinks. Most of the bartenders at the casino bar and atrium bar were good too. Gatsby's great bar outside the aft lounge was good too, it's never crowded.

Embarkation was great, we had the 2-2:30 slot. We ended up getting dropped off about 1:15 and handed over our checked luggage, went straight to security, only waited maybe 5 minutes to get to the check in desk, then on to the ship where our cabin was ready. It took maybe 30 minutes from entering the port to getting a drink at the bar haha.

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Thank you for the awesome review. We are taking the elation for our honeymoon and leave Monday. We are extremely excited because we have never been on a cruise before. When getting off at different places and exploring the beautiful areas, I'm aware that the cheers card doesn't apply. Do they accept cash or card?

The beach areas, is it crowded where you can't get a seat?

I'm sure I will have more questions as the day goes on. My mind is going crazy right now with prewedding stuff.

Thanks!

Thanks for the info... Good to hear that my cabin has been updated already!!!

We are sailing in early June so that is a plus.

Question for you, did they have a steel drum player? My wife loves the steel drums and was bummed when they took them off all the ships, but the last two cruises we have taken there has been one.

Thanks for the info... Good to hear that my cabin has been updated already!!!

 

We are sailing in early June so that is a plus.

 

Question for you, did they have a steel drum player? My wife loves the steel drums and was bummed when they took them off all the ships, but the last two cruises we have taken there has been one.

We just got off the ship this morning! Hope to post a review soon. They did have a steel drum player. We saw him by the pool and also in the atrium one night. He was pretty good. Enjoy your cruise!

How was the food?

Thank you for the awesome review. We are taking the elation for our honeymoon and leave Monday. We are extremely excited because we have never been on a cruise before. When getting off at different places and exploring the beautiful areas, I'm aware that the cheers card doesn't apply. Do they accept cash or card?

The beach areas, is it crowded where you can't get a seat?

I'm sure I will have more questions as the day goes on. My mind is going crazy right now with prewedding stuff.

Thanks!

Congrats!

At Half Moon Day use your ship card for purchases....Bahamas cash and credit card (some locals cash only).

Crowds at Bahamas depends upon how many ships...cruisetimetables is a great website to see how many ships in port that day.

Have a great cruise and wedding!

John in NC

Thank you for the awesome review. We are taking the elation for our honeymoon and leave Monday. We are extremely excited because we have never been on a cruise before. When getting off at different places and exploring the beautiful areas, I'm aware that the cheers card doesn't apply. Do they accept cash or card?

The beach areas, is it crowded where you can't get a seat?

I'm sure I will have more questions as the day goes on. My mind is going crazy right now with prewedding stuff.

Thanks!

On half moon cay you use your sail and sign card, just like on the ship except no cheers. Any other ports you can pay cash and some places can do cards, some are cash only.

There are plenty of chairs on half moon cay, especially if you walk down past the pirate ship bar where it's not as crowded.

If you think of anything else I'll try my best to answer. Good luck with the wedding stuff!

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We just got off the ship this morning! Hope to post a review soon. They did have a steel drum player. We saw him by the pool and also in the atrium one night. He was pretty good. Enjoy your cruise!

There was a girl playing the steel drum on our cruise, she played in the atrium a few evenings and by the pool a day or two. She was really good, we enjoyed listening to her a lot.

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How was the food?

We thought the food was good, we ate in the dining room every night except when we had chefs table. Also did sea day brunch both days. We never got much from the buffet except for Mongolian wok, the deli, and pizza. All of which we always think are awesome.

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How many dining choices are on this boat?

We are driving today and my husband said he wanted lobster. I haven't even looked to see what all of the options are for eating.

Any favorite places? And if so-could you provide what the dress code is?

How many dining choices are on this boat?

We are driving today and my husband said he wanted lobster. I haven't even looked to see what all of the options are for eating.

Any favorite places? And if so-could you provide what the dress code is?

Lobster is only available in the dining room, unless your cruise is longer than 5 days you will have to pay extra to get it from the steakhouse menu selections.

Options for eating are the dining room, room service, and the lido buffet, which has the 24 hr pizza and ice cream, the deli which is open 11am to 11pm, and a few other areas that have different selections depending on the day and time. Off the grill and Mongolian wok are by the pool, their hours vary so check the fun times for those. The taste bar is on the promenade deck by the casino and atrium, I think it's open 5-8 most nights.

We definitely prefer the dining room for sea day brunch and dinner, just don't dress like a slob and you will be fine. Elegant night is usually the first sea day so I would wear something nice for that night.

Mongolian wok is one of our favorites, go there embarkation day or port days and the line is shorter. The deli is another favorite, they have really good sandwiches and is usually pretty fast. Pizza is always good, especially late at night when you've been drinking all day lol. All these places you can pretty much wear whatever except for swimsuits you are supposed to put on shoes and a shirt or cover up.

Room service is available 24 hrs and is mostly free, they charge for some items now. We usually tip a dollar or two to the person bringing it but you don't have to. No dress code for it except you probably want to be somewhat decent when you answer the door, I'm sure they could tell some stories...