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Elation 7/26 Mobile Review/Info

conchead

By conchead,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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conchead

conchead

Posted
Posted

Please forgive and spelling and grammar errors.

I tried to break it down into easy to read section,

sometimes it worked, sometimes not..sorry

 

 

 

Day 1 Embarkation Day

Arrived at port 10:39

Waited until 10:45 to enter.

Through security, checked in

Received zone 2 boarding pass and

In waiting area at 11:00.

Check-in agent said boarding should start about 11:15-30.

Boarding began at 11:25.

First DoD history by 11:50.

 

From the time we entered the Terminal to the Lido deck 44 minutes! Pretty Good.

 

We ate lunch then went to Check out our cabin.

It was V-8 interior cabin at the very front of the ship. It was honestly all we needed. We hung out in there a while and rearranged the "roll away" to the foot of the bed then turned off all the lights and it was dark, very dark...nice.

Then headed out to get ready for the safety briefing which went quick and smooth. Sail away was delayed a while. I think the announcement said we waiting on clearance from the Coast Guard. We walked around a while and soon it was time to go get ready for dinner.

The wait staff was strange. The Head Waiter was Not friendly, almost to the point of being rude. There was no introduction and no smiling. The Asst Waiter was very friendly and constantly smiling, but again no introduction. We seemed to have to wait for everything. We were seated at a table for 3. We were not slow in ordering or eating yet we were almost the last ones out of the MDR.

I didn't see an empty seat anywhere so I don't know if they had a larger crowd than normal for the first night or what, but the experience was far far from normal.

I have made it clear on many occasions that I do not like Carnivals BBQ ribs, so tonight I gave them one last chance to make a good impression. Never again! They were absolutely awful. It was not even the fact they are cooked in an oven. I told my wife they tasted like they were about 3 days old and had been warmed up...even the sauce did not seem fresh. The grilled center cut pork chop was however, pretty good. All 3 of us ordered it and liked it.

My son also ordered the Lasagna which he absolutely went nuts over,

to the point of not finishing his pork chop and he is a meat eater like me.

We went to listen to hear music, see some shows and stuff like that the rest of the night.

We were all tired and went to bed about 12:30.

 

Day 2 Fun Day at Sea

We got up and went outside about 7 am to the "secret deck " on verandah forward deck. My wife went back to bed my son was still sleeping so I went to the Lido deck and ended up getting a little breakfast. I walked around a little and went back to the cabin. The family started waking up and went for breakfast, so I got a little more breakfast. Me and my son came back to the cabin and finally unpacked all the way. We went back to the Lido deck and just hung out til lunch ate then watched the master mixologist contest followed by the hairy chest contest. We went back to the cabin to cool off a bit and all 3 of us ended up taking a nap. Me and my son walked around an hour or so, came back to the cabin and the wife was still sleeping. Tonight is Elegant night in the MDR. Lobster for me, prime rib for my son, my wife ordered the prime rib and lobster. Dinner tonight was good. The service was almost the same as last night. The wife is not happy at all about it.

Tonight was the night for the big show called Rhythm. It was a pretty good show.

 

Day 3 Cozumel

Took our time getting started and got off the ship sometime before lunch. Coz was Coz. Just walked around a while did the usual shopping and got back on the ship and went to start looking for the runners for the Legend. There weren't too many. There was a small group that appeared to have someone missing or late. Some crew members were talking to them. One lady on the group had both legs bandaged at the knees and calf, left arm wrapped, right shoulder and it looked like parts of both feet. I ran into the cabin to get a coke came back in less than 5 minutes and they were all gone, but about 10 minutes later the ship was in the process of pulling in one of the gang ways and had people at the ropes when a man came up also bandaged up on one leg one arm and a shoulder they talked to him a few seconds and he boarded and they pulled in the ropes and gangway. I have no idea but it appeared they were in some kind of accident.

Dinner tonight was good and service was much better and the head waiter was more friendly and had an occasional smiler. The wife is happier.

I think it was tonight that the 2 tables next to us swapped some people around. One table was the parents and the other a 10 top next to us was the kids. 8 teens and tweens 1 little one and one older teen girl who looked like she was not happy about being put there. I understand that they are kids, but putting 10 together and basically leaving them on their own in the MDR is just wrong The parents were right next to them, but might as well have been on the other end of the ship. The kids were constantly stopping the waiter for every little thing making them have to stop what they were doing over and over again and the parents never said a word. You could tell it really was getting to the servers.

Dinner good service better wife happier. Variety Show tonight singing by Yolanda Barber and comedy by Lance Montalto..very funny guy/

Tonight was the big deck party. There was a lot of fantastic music by Music Degree. I think musically these guys are better than Music Manila from the Fantasy cruise, but not quite as friendly.

There was a lot of dancing the electric slide and stuff like that, a loooonnngggg conga line and more music by Music Degree. It was also the night of the Midnight Mexican buffet. Good Food!!

 

Day 4 Calica/ Playa del Carmen

We really liked this port. The one drawback is the taxi fare once you get off the ship .Unlike Progreso where the ship is 4.5 miles from town (long pier) and a free shuttle ride to town, the taxi fare from Calica to Playa del Carmen is $13 for 1-4 pax. ($26rt).

I finally did what I set out to do for the first time in 3 cruises. I ate street food in Mexico!! My wife and I both had tacos de pastor from a street vendor, cooked right in front of us and they were delicious...cheap too at only $1. After walking around and checking things out we were hot and thirsty and my son was hungry so we were going to go to one restaurant and the guy from the place next door said "go ahead but they are French I don't know what kind of cheese they use." He was right, they were French, so we went to his place...Restaurante la Gloria ..Comida 100% Mexicana . My son had quesadilla con pollo, my wife and I had a couple of rita's and chips and salsa

 

Past guest reception was ok, same as it was on the Triumph. Free drinks and food.

Dinner was good, but from the food in PDC and the past guest thing we were not really hungry. Service was much better tonight.

We went to see the show "Spin" tonight. I didn't really care for it too much. They spun a wheel and which ever city the arrow landed on they did some music and dance from that city. My wife was having some stomach problems and left the show early. My son and I finished it and went walking around the ship for a few hours checking things out then went to bed around 1 am.

 

Day 5 Fun Day at Sea

Got up went out on the verandah open deck and woke up and watched flying fish.

Got ready for the day and went for breakfast. Hung out on lido deck until it was time for Filipe's talk about debarkation. I was thinking that since we were cruising out of Alabama it might have some different info, it didn't.

Ok, I say this in the nicest of ways...

For a first time cruiser the stories and jokes are ok. I am still a "new cruiser"

and I am already tired of hearing the same stories about does the crew sleep on board? Does the elevator go to the front of the ship, the lady locked in her cabin. Our ship had a very funny comedian on board, maybe he and others could get together and write something new.

Ok we hit some rain this afternoon.

Me and my son were out on the verandah's open deck at the front of the ship which is about 15 feet from our cabin. We felt like Lt Dan during the big storm in the movie Forrest Gump. We got soaked came back in and just as we finished changing, about 3:35pm. there was an operation "bright star" deck 4 forward...in what sounded like something workshop.

We went to the farewell party where they were serving free drinks. I don't think they had any food at this one but we left early to go get ready for dinner, so they might have brought some out.

Dinner tonight was strange. They took our order and brought out the starters. Then our entire wait staff disappeared, The table to my left was on desserts when our main course came out. The table to my right and the one next to it were on track with us..having the same wait staff. I don't know what happened or where they went and no explanation was offered. As usual they sang their farewell song and as usual, my wife cried as did others.

After dinner we packed up and put our bags out in the hall and went to the Legends Show. I have read good and bad things about these shows, but don't think we went to one on the Triumph back in Jan...if they even had it. We liked it. I think it can be best described as the Karaoke Kings and Queens in costumes of the stars they are performing. Some were good, a couple were bad but a couple were really good. The final performance was Dolly Parton performed by Felipe Couto our CD...hilarious.Time to hit the lido late night buffet for the last time and sit out on the hot sticky humid Lido deck.

 

Time to go home...

We got up showered and went to breakfast and to wait for our number to be called. We got up and went to disembark as soon as they called our number and it was 1½ hours before we got in our car. Luggage seemed to be separated and spread out very good and easy to fine. CBP seemed to be the slow down. They appeared to be in no hurry asked lots of questions, seriously checked and compared photos on the passports to their owners, but did not charge any duty on excessive alcohol as far as I could tell. (I didn't pay any extra).

 

We pulled into our driveway at 5:54pm 101°

 

Just some other things.

We had a really good time. Felipe was an excellent Cruise Director. He is extremely friendly and approachable. He at the very least made an appearance at any of the bigger events if not being a part of them.

 

The Captain was seen several times all over the ship. He was even at the big deck party, not dancing the Electric Slide or anything like that, but he was thee talking with anyone who approached him, even posing for pictures.

 

Yes, the Carnival Elation does have "that smell" in some areas.

 

Overall the food was very good and most of the time the lines were not bad at all except for the peak times and even then they were not that bad.

 

The Warm Chocolate Melting Cake was very good, but...yes there is a but. It was always so hot you could barely eat it. Since we usually seemed to be some of the last ones out of the MDR which was not our fault.

We always were there promptly in line waiting at or before 6:00. I always felt rushed as we were served each course because of the initial wait each night between the time we ordered and were served. We were often served our starters as others were already on their main course. I don't know why, but it appeared all the ones served by our wait staff were also behind the rest of the other tables.

 

Here is a link to the pictures.

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x233/SDZD/Carnival%20Elation%20Cruise%20%20July%202010/

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zdawk92

zdawk92

Posted
Posted

:DYeah it was a great cruise!!!:D

 

Quick question, When are we going on another one:confused:

 

 

 

 

Just some quick comments from my point of view

  • I love the interior room, from now on I would be happy with an interior room every cruise, I loved the darkness.


  • The roll away bed was alot better than the regular bed. The regular bed felt like bricks compared to the roll away.


  • The food was good as always. This cruise we went to the MDR every night. So I had alot more things to try, Such as the escargot, stuffed mushroom, onion soup, chicken tenders with thai spices, and the smoked duck, which were all starters and they were truly amazing and wonderful dishes to try. The only main entree that stuck out as exceptional was the lasagna bolognese. The red wine sause for the flat iron steak was awesome after the first time I always ordered extra. Oh and one more thing as far as desserts warm chocolate melting cake is all I ever ordered.


  • Okay I know I am a kid so I am thrown in the group with the rest of them, but on this cruise the kids varrying in all ages were just all over the place very rambunctious even in the MDR. By the way there were about 800 on board according to Felipe.


  • The staff was great especially Felipe, although I have only been on 2 cruises he still stood out as an impressive CD. Our room stewardess Jenelyn was very nice, and took good care of us. I'm gonna kinda miss her. Our wait staff started off bad, but luckily it improved through out the cruise. Sadly he didn't introduce himself or the assistant so I don't know there names, but they were pretty nice in the end.


All in all I had a good time. I am going to miss it, and I can't wait till the next one. THAT'S IT FOR NOW, CHOW WOO HOO!!!:eek:

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ohyes

ohyes

Posted
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Loved your review, Conch! -- and found myself nodding my head several times. I had only a FLIP camera with me and kept forgetting to take it out and turn it on. :( Tomorrow, i plan to scan some Fun Times and post them. Reading Conch's great review reminded me of some of my cruise experiences.

 

Smelled "that smell", also. When reading about it on CC, I just assumed those folks had super sensitive noses...but, it was definitely there. Not enough to make me gag....but enough to make me wonder, Where is that smell coming from and why do we smell it? :eek:

 

Taking off from Mobile - We took the 12:30 shuttle to the port and waited a looooong time. After we got our Sign & Sail cards, the Carnival employee told us there was a problem on the ship and boarding was being delayed....for a whole lot of people. That room got very warm and folks were pretty crowded. DH found that photo they take right before you board and he said we are all wet with sweat and looked very tired. I never tried to find that photo, lol. We were so happy when they finally started letting us on. We were probably on the ship by 2:45-3:00...all had DOD's and sat on a bench "outside" the ship to view port activities. Our rooms were U10 and U12 (portholes). We were happy with the rooms and location. Our room steward was very nice. He kept us in ice and every time we returned to our rooms, they looked better than we left them.

 

Attended the welcome show the first night and liked it. That was the only show we attended. Felipe was very funny/friendly. Wish we had seen the Legends Show.

 

We were in the Imagination Dining Room (Your Time dining). Our first night, the waiter was not very friendly either. The next night, our waiter was soooo nice....we asked for him every night after that. We never had to wait on a table. Among my favorites: short ribs, chocolate melting cake (had that two nights). The only thing i never cared for was the mahi mahi - very dry the night I tried it. The fresh fruit tasted incredibly fresh...was it the cruise that made it taste so fresh? DH loved the flat iron steak and lobster, tiger shrimp. The bitter & blanc that I have seen recommended on CC was only offered one night and I failed to order it. Next cruise, for sure! We ate in the MDR for breakfast every day (yum to the salmon and bagel) and had lunch there on sea days. The Neptune salad was good. It looked so small when I got it (I quickly became a pig on this cruise and thought everybody owed me lots of food! - but turned out to be more than enough).

 

I think we hung out in karaoke just about every night, from 15 minutes to an hour. We spent time in Romeo and Juliet whenever Music Degree was playing. We enjoyed their renditions...they aren't the smilingest group, lol. A few ship officers were there every night we were, often with attractive female passengers hanging on to their every word. (Lots of good people watching).

 

We did the Past Guest party (a waiter who recognized us from the Lido Deck kept us supplied with Bud Lites that night and also at the Farewell Party). The appetizers at the PG party were quite good....even though food was the LAST thing I needed. (I refuse to get on the scales for a month).

 

In Cozumel we did the Cozumel Bar Hop. Two other couples were on the tour, one from another Carnival ship and the other couple had taken the tour several months ago and were currently staying at a hotel. It was interesting - took us through some streets of Cozumel and explained how the city expands, how there is no drivers test, why you see so many mopeds, etc. The eastern side of the island has no electricity - breathtaking views. We spent too much money. Each stop included one shot, but sometimes we had a beer or two - or salsa. We had lunch at Rasta's, the last stop. At Coconuts, a server came up and gave me a grasshopper to hold up to a chameleon that lives on a little bush at the bar. About 3 inches out, the chameleon shot his tongue out to grab the grasshopper - just like you see on slow motion on television. :)

 

In Playa del Carmen, we walked along the beach until we found a place which offered us 4 chairs for $15.00 and a bucket of 6 beers for $10.00. It was peaceful and beautiful. We left around noon, just as the beach was beginning to fill up a bit. I wish we had purchased some souveniers, but it was hot and we were ready to get back on the ship. Next time....

 

When we got back to the ship we all tried the Mongolian Grill. You put your vegetables and noodles in a bowl, hand it to a cook and tell them what kind of meat and sauce you want. He cooks it up and hands it back. very yummy. They do need a better ventilation system for those guys. I felt badly for them - very smoky working environment.

 

We attended the adult comedy show one night in the Cole Porter Lounge - i think it was Lance Montalto. I thought he was funny, but our DD and DS (ages 26 and 20) said they had heard about all those jokes in junior high. I teach school and we don't tell those sort of jokes at work, so i had not heard any of them. :p

 

DH and I attended the Marriage Show. That was very funny. The couple who had been married 50 years was so cute. We didn't expect to enjoy that, but were glad we went.

 

Any deck time we spent, was on the Serenity Deck. Just our style..no kids. (as mentioned already - lots of kids and most of them running - all the time, running) No pool, but when the ship is moving, the breeze made it okay. I did get in the hot tub a few times.

 

We hung out on the Lido Deck that night of the big party Conch mentions. (Sure wish I would have met some Roll Call folks). The Mexican buffet was scrumptious and the congo line was long, just like he said! More fun people watching.

 

The chocolate buffet was the only food disappointment for me. I had built it up in my imagination, and was expecting a grandiose assortment - like i needed it(!)

 

It was fun and we loved the Elation!

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Ashpalo

Ashpalo

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the reviews!!!

 

I'm glad to hear good things about Felipe, most of the reviews I had read on him were negative.

 

Conch - your pictures are great!

 

Ohyes - looking forward to seeing your Funtimes.

 

I'm getting really excited and it's getting harder and harder to keep it a secret from my daughters.

 

Only 10 more days. :D

 

Ashley :)

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ohyes

ohyes

Posted
Posted

Note: Now that this has posted, i can tell they are way too small. Any advice?

 

The 7.27.10 Elation FunTimes is attached as 4 different sections. Not sure this is the best way...of if it will work. (I'll look around the forum before I scan any more).

 

 

 

 

Did I mention the Elation was a great ship? :D

FunTimes7_27_10.jpg.48992c1d38648f2d0758d47d39394f08.jpg

FunTimes7_27.10pg2.jpg.d1866aafc7733c851a5863fb8d05ac41.jpg

FunTimes7_27.10pg3.jpg.44b69390ff7d130db001bee37a579056.jpg

FunTimes7_27.10back.jpg.43499d58b07de795d6e8b2194764ee16.jpg

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Ashpalo

Ashpalo

Posted
Posted
Note: Now that this has posted, i can tell they are way too small. Any advice?

 

The 7.27.10 Elation FunTimes is attached as 4 different sections. Not sure this is the best way...of if it will work. (I'll look around the forum before I scan any more).

 

 

 

 

Did I mention the Elation was a great ship? :D

 

 

Thanks for posting this one. Will you be posting the other days (please, oh, please)? :D

 

Ashley :)

 

Edit: Ooops - I just tried to open them, and I can't read them. I wish I had advice about how to post them bigger, but I'm "technologically challenged".

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conchead

conchead

Posted
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Posted
Thanks for posting this one. Will you be posting the other days (please, oh, please)? :D

 

Ashley :)

 

Edit: Ooops - I just tried to open them, and I can't read them. I wish I had advice about how to post them bigger, but I'm "technologically challenged".

 

Are you uploading them from a file on your computer?

If so, that is ..what I think is the reason they are small.

 

I will scan the ones I have and try and get them up in

the next day or so, I am back to work now.

so things might not get done as quick as before.

Work slows things down.

but it will be a link..like the picture link.

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Ashpalo

Ashpalo

Posted
Posted
Are you uploading them from a file on your computer?

If so, that is ..what I think is the reason they are small.

 

I will scan the ones I have and try and get them up in

the next day or so, I am back to work now.

so things might not get done as quick as before.

Work slows things down.

but it will be a link..like the picture link.

 

 

Thanks, Conchead.

 

BTW - did you know that the date for your Elation cruise in your signature is in 2009?

 

Ashley :)

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ohyes

ohyes

Posted
Posted

Thanks, Conch! If i can figure out how to post them larger, i will certainly do that...going out of town for a funeral today so may not have enough time. I really want to be able to do this (post them larger), and hope I can, i hope i can, i hope i can....

 

I had scanned them, saved them as picture files and then attached those files....

 

Love the photo of the Elation coming into Cozumel port. Thanks for sharing that, CJin. DH and I went up to watch the stragglers, but ended up sitting in the airconditioned area outside of the Cole Porter lounge and could only see tiny little people from those windows.:)

 

P.S. would I need to upload the scanned FunTimes to Photobucket? If I can find where others have posted copies (and I know they do it all the time!), maybe I could copy how they did it.

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hockeyluver

hockeyluver

Posted
Posted

Thank you all so much for the reviews, pictures and funtimes!!! I didnt know the Elation had a secret door, will definitly have to check that out!!!

 

Cant wait we leave in 16 days :D Dh decided last night that he was going to come too hmmm 4 in an inside going to be fun, it was fine when it was out two kids but our dd is bringing a girlfriend lol told dh he had to behave :p

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BigDfromTN

BigDfromTN

Posted
Posted

Thanks for those reviews Conch and Ohyes.

 

Its amazing.... We were in some of the same places many times and never got to speak. We were at the deck party as well but on the deck above lido kinda beside the stage. Great party and HUGE congo line for sure. We did not eat at the mex buffett. Too full from Dinner (late seating)

 

Good photos everyone!

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Terri102066

Terri102066

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review. I will be on the Elation in September and December. I will be VIP platinum for the first time. Can anyone tell me if there is a different entrance to go into vip check in or will you be directed once you get inside to where to go. Also how much wash and fold service will I get with platinum status. I would like to know so I can pack less.

 

Thanks everyone for the help.

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conchead

conchead

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Posted
Thank you for the great review and photos!

 

Question: Did you take the shuttle from the Hampton or did you walk? We are trying to decide which is going to be best for our family. Thanks in advance! :)

 

We walked. It was not a bad walk at all.

(maybe 10 min)

 

 

Right now in Memphis it is 103° and supposed to hit 105°

with a heat index of 127°. If it was like this,

I would be in a shuttle.;)

 

I feel like I need to go back to Mexico to cool off.:rolleyes:

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