ledges1

My next cruise

Booked for convenience. I am on the Glory in January. Close to home (3 hr drive).

Enjoy the cruise. The Elation was my first cruise from Mobile in 2011. We have been on it 4 times.

This has left the original post long ago. We have discussed government conspiracy theories, profiling, etc…. Time for this post to be closed.

I did not give them access to my brokerage account. I took a picture of statement and uploaded. I also marked out my account # on my statement.

I was on the Elation 10/30. You still have to go to your assigned muster station. As always, there are TV videos that reinforce ship evacuations, just like the debarkation videos. However, there was a new online debarkation signup. We picked a time to get off the ship (we carry our luggage). We picked the earliest time. Debarkation was orderly. However, we met in the theater, which is one floor above Empress. The older people have trouble carrying luggage down 1 flight of stairs and the elevators are slow and small.

I used the app for the first time this week. 1. I downloaded the app. A few glitches but did get it to download. 2. Opened app and it requires you to open an account. 3. Opened and account, a few glitches again, but it opened. 4. Once in the new account, it ask you to upload a copy of your statement, it also allows you to take a picture and upload while the account is open. 5. Took a statement and redacted the other holdings, amounts, account #, addresses, etc. I did this when I mailed before. 6. took picture and uploaded and sent to Stockperks. 7. Received confirm that they would be back to be in to 2 days. 8. Received email telling me to open Stockperks account and complete cruise information. 9. Opened account and entered Carnival cruise confirm #, date of cruise, ship name, etc. and hit enter. 10. Received confirm email stating they would be back in touch. 11. Received confirm stating that I had received my $100 OBC for my 7 day cruise.

On the Elation, the party was at 4:00 PM.

I take a book on every cruise to read. It is a big ship, I have always found a quite place to read. I do not need total silence. I read in front of the TV at home while my wife watches her favorite shows.

On the last night of my cruise on the Elation (11/3), we had the P&D party in the Comedy Club. There were waiters walking around with premade drinks and wine. You could go to the bar and order drinks, which I did (beer). During the party, waiters were asking me if I needed another drink. It was free flowing and not rushed like some I have attended. It lasted about 45 minutes.

Jubilee. There are ports that are not worth the effort. Jamaica, Belize and Nassau are at the top of my list.

In Jacksonville cruise port, a dog sniffed all carry on prior to boarding. Also, there was a dog on the ship roaming the common areas during the boarding process. I saw it in the Atrium and the elevator lobby on the Promenade or Lido deck. I am glad they are enforcing security. They do need to know what is causing the false alarms.

Duh. I figured it out. Here’s my sign.

I am totally confused. What ship are you on? The Carnival Spirit sails from Mobile, it appears you are sailing from south Florida.

Mobile is a real parking problem with the lines. If you get there too early, they may send you to the overflow lot to wait to prevent blocking the street. However, you never know when to leave the lot to get in line. There can also be two lines trying to get into the parking deck. If you carry on your luggage, you have to wait in line with those dropping off. It is difficult to pass them and go into the deck. Also, you may want to consider prepaying if you are parking your car in the deck. If not, you have to get in a line after you park to pay at the kiosk.

I like an inside room for the value. Other than sleeping, I am not in the room. I like to be between the Lido and the promenade for easy access to the stairs vs the elevator. My preference would be a set of rooms above and below for a sound barrier.

A few remaining comments about the Elation. I took my first cruise on this ship in May 2011. The Comedy Club use to be in the back of the ship behind the Alchemy Bar. This area has been converted to balcony rooms to increase the capacity of the ship. The Comedy Club was move to a night club in the center. It is not very large. They added a Cherry on Top and placed it on the window side of the Promenade. The ship did appear to be in good shape and looked as good as it did in 2011. The ship no longer has a walking track but a gym is available with treadmills. I did got to the gym 3 times to use the treadmill. A great place for a lonely walk.

I have watched people during the muster drill demonstrations. They are not paying attention. Many will not even be able to remember the location of their muster station. I do not want to be on a cruise ship with a real emergency that requires abandoning ship. I fear the staff preparation is not adequate (I have no knowledge). The age, weight, language barrier (staff/cruisers) and mobility of many of the cruisers could complicate the process and lead to loss of life. I have witnessed the rudeness of cruisers debarking at the end of a cruise, add a true emergency and it may be chaos.

A few photos.

My wife and I were on the 10/30/23 (Mon-Sat) cruise from Jacksonville. The itinerary was Nassau and Princess Cay with two days at sea. This was my first time on the Elation since my first cruise in May 2011 from Mobile on the Elation. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Elation has been maintained since 2011. Our trip began with a 6-hour drive to Jacksonville on Monday morning. we left at 5 AM CST and were in the ship Atrium at 1:00 PM EST. Embarkation: There is ample surface parking at the port and a short walk to the terminal. They did have golf carts picking up people in the lot if you needed assistance. Embarkation was smooth and efficient. The outside of the ship looked great. There was very little noticeable rust on the exterior. The port had lifts on the exterior and the crew was painting during embarkation. You do have to walk up a ramp (no elevators or escalators) from ground level to the Empress Deck (7). Once on the ship. We went to the Lido deck for lunch. It was very crowded with no tables available for eating. This is a problem with the small ships, with no activities, the crowd tends to congregate on Lido. We decide to go to our room since it was 1:30 and unpack. Then we went back to Lido for lunch and there were plenty of tables available, but the buffet had been picked over. Dinner was on 3 hours away, so we had a snack. The sail away party was the typical sail away. It was interesting sailing under the bridge in Jacksonville. It is very close to the fin as you go under. Security: During embarkation, the port had a dog that sniffed all carry own luggage and bags. Also, there was a dog with the handler roaming the ship during embarkation. I had not seen this before. During the cruise, Security was visible throughout the cruise. Crew members dressed in black with Security on their shirts were visible in all common areas. Nassau: This was our first port. I have not been to Nassau in about 5 years. I was looking forward to seeing the remodeled port facilities. In the past, this has been one of my least favorite ports. On Wednesday there were 6 ships in port (Carnival Legend and Elation, 2 RCL, 1 NCL and Celebrity). The remodeled section is nice and hassle free with small shops and big prices. When you walk outside the fenced area, welcome to the same old downtown Nassau. It is one big hustle by the locals. We walked around for a short time and went back to the ship. We enjoyed a nice day on Lido. Princess Cay: This was one of the reasons I booked this cruise. A great day at beach. The morning started slightly overcast. We had our backpacks ready with towels, sunscreen and water. We anchored and the beach was insight. Then from above, "This is your Captain speaking" due to rough water and rain on the horizon we are unable to safely tender you to the beach today. We will enjoy a fun day at sea (not). The weather did indeed turn nasty, and the wind picked up. The Captain made the right call. It was a rough day at sea with light showers occasionally. We did get $17.95 per person port charge refund for the two of us. Food: I am not a food person. The food on Carnival is generally good. We did try some of the new dishes. 1st night: My wife had the Cobb Dinner salad. What can you say. It was a salad. I had the Vegetable Wellington. It was average. It would have been much better if it had been served hot. 2nd night: My wife had baked chicken. It was tough and dry. I had the mushroom soup and chicken cordon bleu. The soup was served slightly warm and would have been much better hot. The chicken cordon bleu had spent too much time under the heat lamp and the crust was dry. Creme Brule was on the dessert menu. One of our favorites. When we ordered, we were told the chef had substituted a pumpkin dessert. He did let us order the Creme Brule and we got it on the last night of the cruise. A negative becomes a big positive. 3rd night: I do not remember what my wife had. I had the Girod Main Street salad and the sea bass. The salad was a Ceasar with a half-boiled egg and bacon bits. The fish broiled in a broth with grits. It was OK. 4th night: My wife and I had the fried catfish. Not what you would get at home. 5th night: My wife had the Asian Dinner salad and she thought it was very good. I had the beef brisket. It was good and tender. I also had the Parched Pig Beer cheddar soup. It was served hot and I would order again. As I previously said, we had Creme Brule for dessert. This was our best meal of the cruise. We ate breakfast every morning in the MDR. We find it to be relaxing and not rushed. We think the food is much better than the Lido buffet. We can drink our coffee and visit with other cruisers. Comedians: Joe Morletti was the family friendly comedian and he was excellent. IT was interesting that on the last day of the cruise he did a matinee show at 3:45. I have not seen Carnival do a matinee show. Staff: As usual, the staff were great. Our room steward was friendly and on top of his job. We prepaid our gratuities and gave him some extra. The staff in the MDR was also very good. The Cruise Director did a good job and did not go overboard promoting himself as some do. Debarking: It was very smooth. We carry our bags and I was in my car at 7:40. It was a good cruise.

I have had it several times. It is good for ship bbq. The sides (beans and potato salad) are not up to par to land based bbq restaurants.

I would suggest completing the muster drill. If after 1:30, settle in your room (unpack). There are no real specials to rush to that you will not see the remaining part of the cruise. Explore the ship and become familiar. If you plan to eat in the MDR that night and want to enjoy it, do not over indulge with a heavy guy burger and fries at 2:30 or 3:00 o’clock (there will be plenty of opportunities). Enjoy a cocktail if that is your thing and relax. Do things that you think will be fun and relaxing.

Do not forget the overweights in skimpy swim suits (male and female).

I got the same message for the Magic. Call the Carnival 800# as the site suggest. If it is booked, there is the Horizon. I did it in Oct 2022 and had a great time.

It is nice to see families traveling by car and having a roadside picnic with homemade sandwiches. I am 68 and that is the type of vacations my family took. We always stopped at roadside picnic tables, got out the ice chest and made sandwiches. Occasionally, my father carried a Coleman stove and he prepared breakfast.👍