Elation 3/31/11 cruise Review with: Pictures, Firsts, and "SERIOUSLY?" moments

[h_blond2]

Great review so far! I love the Elation and can't wait until May so I can be back on it again! I also loved the part about using your teacher voice! I have found myself using my teacher look on random children that are being a bit obnoxious and it works! :) I love having that power! lol!

[beachbum6264]

Being a car guy, I have to ask, what kind of car do you have that is so rare?

 

I have a Pontiac Solstice... just don't see too many of them out on the interstate (guess it's the lack of trunk space, not great for traveling. However, I've been on a couple of week long trips with it, no problem if you learn to pack light! 2 18" duffel bags is all the trunk will hold.

 

[beachbum6264]

Went up to dinner at 8:15 – I like the traditional dining times so that’s what we did (since K had no idea what any of that stuff meant, I booked for us both!!! ) We were in the Imagination Dining room, midship. We had a nice rectangular table by the window (PSA: if you have late seating, it doesn’t matter if you’re by the window or not, you won’t see anything because it is DARK out there!!! I’ve heard people upset that they didn’t have a window table…. Huh??? SERIOUSLY… )

 

Yep, nice lonnnggg rectangular table, set for 12. 12??? Seriously? We were the 1st two there…. Wondering who are these other 10 people we’re sitting with??? So we pick a couple of seats across from each other and soon others start to join us. Turns out to be 12 women – 6 groups of 2!! Two are mother/adult daughter pairs, the others like K and I, friends traveling together. 10 of us finished the week, one mother/daughter pair decided it was too crowded for their liking and requested a different table. They got a table for 2 in the other dining room. The rest of us had a great time and closed the dining room down each night. We were all sharing food with each other and having a great time. We looked around every night… to realize we were the last table still in the dining room! Poor Leonardo, we made him stay up too late. Sorry, Leo…. But we were just having too much fun!

Food was good, as usual. One thing about a 4 day cruise is they don’t have 2 of my favorites – the lamb and the escargot. Guess I’ll have to wait for August for those.

First night I had the flat iron steak – I like my meat cooked the way my Dad liked his, basically slap the cow on the butt and walk it by the stove once or twice. Stuff should moo when you cut into it. They actually do a pretty good job getting it done right. The mac and cheese that comes with it is amazing (John Heald had the recipe on his blog a couple of weeks ago if you are inclined to cook). Several at our table wound up asking for extra and were pleased to see an actual bowl of mac and cheese brought out, not another thimble full!

K discovered her new love that night…. Yep, warm chocolate melting cake. Once she learned it was on the menu every night she was a happy cruiser. I’m not a fan of really rich desserts, so that one is not my fav, but I will help myself to a bite of someone else’s from time to time!

 

We went to the Welcome Aboard show (mainly because I think you should do that at least once in your cruising life, and K needed to get that out of the way!!) Not much different from any other – just how good a deal did they get on those inflatable ships, anyway???

 

Headed off to get some sleep right after that…I’m like a baby in a swing while on a ship – it just puts me right to sleep. Thank goodness I didn’t sleep like a baby, don’t want to wake up every 2 hours and wet myself!

 

Sorry, didn't take many food porn pics this time...

 

Next…sunny day at sea

[paper1122]

I have a Pontiac Solstice... just don't see too many of them out on the interstate (guess it's the lack of trunk space, not great for traveling. However, I've been on a couple of week long trips with it, no problem if you learn to pack light! 2 18" duffel bags is all the trunk will hold.

 

 

Very nice! I too have a similarly impractical car a Honda S2000. DW and I are going to take our first road trip in it from FL to Deals Gap next weekend.

 

Great review so far!

[beachbum6264]

Very nice! I too have a similarly impractical car a Honda S2000. DW and I are going to take our first road trip in it from FL to Deals Gap next weekend.

 

Great review so far!

 

Someone's gonna drive the Dragon! We've done the Tail of the Dragon several times, a really fun ride. (for those who don't know, the Tail of the Dragon is a road between TN and NC that's 317 curves in 11 miles :eek:. I drive, dh says things like "Aren't you going too fast? How fast ARE you going? Are you gonna slow down? and other things I can't say here!!! :D FUN!)

[ckcb4u2]

Wondering which ports you went to, your pictures are wonderful thanks for sharing...... we are going to have 6 people in our group and are going to late seating at dinner and was wondering how fancy we need to dress , we are all pretty casual people ............it is a 1st time cruise for some of us any info about the elation would be helpful...........Thanks again

dixieshrake, DW and I will be on the 5/21 cruise also! It will be our 7th Carnival cruise, but we are bringing along my wife's sister and her husband for their very first cruise.:D DW and I will be celebrating 30 years of simmering hatred...oops...uhh, I mean marital bliss on 5/23, and we are really starting to get excited!

 

beachbum, I noticed the tote bag in the picture in front of the terminal and realized that my DW (flamingolady) has one just like it! It is her favorite as she loves all things flamingo (don't get me started on our lawn ornaments).:rolleyes: We are also staying at the Microtel Inn and Suites Saraland the night before our cruise. Did you have to make an appointment in advance for the shuttle to the port? We want to be on the first one if possible!:p

 

Really enjoying your review...so keep it coming!

[beachbum6264]

dixieshrake, DW and I will be on the 5/21 cruise also! It will be our 7th Carnival cruise, but we are bringing along my wife's sister and her husband for their very first cruise.:D DW and I will be celebrating 30 years of simmering hatred...oops...uhh, I mean marital bliss on 5/23, and we are really starting to get excited!

 

beachbum, I noticed the tote bag in the picture in front of the terminal and realized that my DW (flamingolady) has one just like it! It is her favorite as she loves all things flamingo (don't get me started on our lawn ornaments).:rolleyes: We are also staying at the Microtel Inn and Suites Saraland the night before our cruise. Did you have to make an appointment in advance for the shuttle to the port? We want to be on the first one if possible!:p

 

Really enjoying your review...so keep it coming!

 

Got ya beat, we just celebrated 33 years! Dh deserves a medal - or something.

We booked the shuttle when we got there, but there weren't many people going that day, but there were 60 headed out the day we got back :eek:

We were on the 1st shuttle, about 11:00. Don't know if calling ahead would help, but it couldn't hurt. Enjoy your cruise....wish I could fit another one in before she leaves Mobile.

[cuted126]

And then…. K’s first sunset at sea:

 

 

next up, dinner for ….. how many????

 

BEAUTIFUL!! Six cruises and I've never seen a sunset that looks like this!

[raylene5]

DW and I will be celebrating 30 years of simmering hatred...oops...uhh, I mean marital bliss on 5/23, and we are really starting to get excited!

 

 

 

OMG -- I LOVE that line! Too funny :)

[SenatorsFan]

OMG -- I LOVE that line! Too funny :)

 

That's what I was thinking! I just laughed out loud.:)

Great review, OP, I like your style.

Heather

[beachbum6264]

First day at sea.

 

I am not a morning person. Never met a morning I really enjoyed. Having to get up at 5:30 and start school (with a classroom full of eager 2nd graders) at 7:30 is the one thing I don’t love about my job. So…I take any excuse I can to sleep late. K, on the other hand, is an early bird. She’s up and out before me anytime we travel. This time she serves a good purpose….head up on deck and find us a good spot. I’ll be along later to find her! Works, because sure enough, I find her on the Serenity deck. Now, here’s a “SERIOUSLY??” – Serenity deck with piped in LOUD country music? Seriously? Loud? Country? NOT serene. I live 60 miles from Nashville and would not know a country music star if I ran one over on 2nd Ave. in Nashville (well, I did recognize Faith Hill in the mall once, but she had been all over TV). Just because most of us live in the south does NOT mean we like country music. Please, Please, get rid of that music….try for Serenity.

 

On the other hand…this is a good thing:

 

 

And they did make sure it was adults only, we never saw a child on that deck.

 

We went into Tiffany’s a grabbed some breakfast. Believe it or not, that was a first for me! I’ve always either eaten breakfast in the MDR or gotten room service on a port day. Got an omelet, it was pretty good.

 

We then headed out to meet our goals for the day…read, drink, eat, sleep, relax, repeat. I’m proud to say, we met our goals, but not on the previously mentioned unSerenity deck, we went up a couple of decks to where the aft pool is and found a couple of chairs on the rail and camped for the day.

 

Here’s proof:

 

 

 

enough said.

Lunch that day was also in Tiffany’s (another thing not usually done by me, when I cruise with dh he hates buffets, so it’s MDR lunches for us. Today was Caribbean I guess, I had jerk chicken, what they called ‘rice and beans’ (having lived in Nassau when I was younger, this is as close to peas and rice as I can get without having to make my own), and shrimp/calamari fritters (again, the Bahamian blood in me was wishing for conch fritters, but these were good, if not conch).

 

After all the hard work we needed a quick nap before we showered and got all dressed up for our Elegant Night dinner.

Lobster and shrimp, yum. No complaints from me.

Here’s most of the “stay until they kick us out of the dining room” bunch:

 

 

I think they had the show (Just Rock?) before dinner on this night. It was pretty good, I’m impressed with anyone that can sing, my only musical talent is that I can usually find a station on my radio (XM really helps!). I can’t even type the Happy Birthday song on key. I am hopeless.

 

We wandered the ship for a while after dinner, tried to get in to see the comedian, but it was just too full, so we called it a night. Put our breakfast order on the door and was rocked to sleep again.

 

Next: Another day in Paradise (beach), Cozumel

 

[Akgoalie7]

From one teacher to another, keep up the good fight!

 

 

 

Loving the review. Which is you in the picture?

[Ashleyshantel]

Loving this review! Keep it up:D

[LBumb]

great job so far.

[firefly333]

We went down to our cabin (R97, ocean view on starboard side, Riviera deck ) right on time at 1:30.

 

 

 

This was a big dissapointment to me. If the beds are put together (I was solo) you have to actually climb over the beds to stand by the window because of this table.

 

Ecstasy didnt have it ...but Triumph did. I hate that table in the corner .. I have another OV my next Elation cruise. Downside to this particular ship and one of the many things that is better on Ecstasy. Seriously ... design flaw to me to put a table on the same wall as the window ... dumb dumb dumb. Im too old to have to climb over the bed to stand next to the window.

 

Great pics.

[beachbum6264]

From one teacher to another, keep up the good fight!

 

 

 

Loving the review. Which is you in the picture?

 

Thanks! I'm the one in the back on the right side, black dress and pearls, on Elegant Night.

My 2nd graders were happy, I brought them all a Cozumel post card! They loved it. I was showing them pictures, and showed them the towel animals. I told them I went to a class to learn how to make them, of course, they all wanted me to make one. At school, no towels :D. Well, one of mine brought in a bath towel and a hand towel today!!! She went home clutching her elephant :D.

[beachbum6264]

Cozumel

 

We woke up right before the room service breakfast was delivered (right on time, too!). We were docking as we ate, so by the time we were ready to go all the long lines were gone. One benefit of being on the Riviera deck is it’s an easy walk down 1 flight of steps to disembark in port. K was excited, her first time in Mexico!

Deftly avoiding all photo attempts (a skill I’ve developed thru years of practice), off we go down the Puerta Maya pier.

 

 

 

It’s looking more like the pier did the first time I was there, before it was destroyed by a hurricane (not sure which one, but it sure did some damage). The duty free shops are open again, a welcome source of air conditioning.

 

 

 

We walked straight through the shopping area and over to the taxi area. We shared a cab with a family of 4 and headed to Paradise Beach. I’ve lost track, but it’s either my 6th or 7th trip there. They’ve started charging $2 per person for a chair (cheap), $12 for a wristband to use the water toys. Not what I want, so we’ve never done that. They have built a huge new pool now, it’s beautiful, and well done. I love how they built the ledge for the lounge chairs.

 

 

We would come back to the pool later, so we headed straight down to the beach. I lived in Nassau and on the Gulf coast of Florida growing up, so I have salt water in my veins….it was time for a ‘fix’.

 

We staked out our territory, getting there early insures a choice spot, lesson learned many years ago, and the shopping will still be there later. I’m sure. Pretty much positive.

 

 

Let the day begin….

 

[ratherBcruizin']

Cozumel

 

 

We walked straight through the shopping area and over to the taxi area. We shared a cab with a family of 4 and headed to Paradise Beach. I’ve lost track, but it’s either my 6th or 7th trip there. They’ve started charging $2 per person for a chair (cheap), $12 for a wristband to use the water toys. Not what I want, so we’ve never done that. They have built a huge new pool now, it’s beautiful, and well done. I love how they built the ledge for the lounge chairs.

 

 

 

 

Wow! That pool wasn't there last time I was. Looks great!

[Sundiego]

How much was the taxi to Paradise Beach?

[Kelane]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you can book another soon.

Will get back to writing the review later this evening... work interfered with it today!

Just wondering where in Middle TN you are? I'm in Shelbyville.

 

We are practically neighbors! We live in Nolensville.

We do plan to book another soon. My PVP told me to write and email and explain everything and he'd forward it to someone who might show us a little mercy. (No, we opted out of insurance this time because we booked it so close to sail time. Live and learn.) Haven't heard anything yet and don't expect to; but was impressed with his efforts.

 

Catching up...can't wait to read more!

 

Karen

[beachbum6264]

How much was the taxi to Paradise Beach?

 

A taxi for 4 was $13, a bigger van that holds 8 or so was $26, each way. Lots of taxis at Paradise Beach to take you back to the port, too.

[Kelane]

Very nice! I too have a similarly impractical car a Honda S2000. DW and I are going to take our first road trip in it from FL to Deals Gap next weekend.

 

Great review so far!

 

You'll love Deal's Gap in that car! Hubby and I were in Cherokee one night and a tree got blown down on the road back thru the park. We detoured thru Deal's Gap. We'd done it on the bike several times but this time, in his Corvette, no electricity in the whole area, water flowing over the roads...it was a bit creepy!

 

Hummm...lost out on the cruise but a road trip is starting to sound fun!

[beachbum6264]

We are practically neighbors! We live in Nolensville.

We do plan to book another soon. My PVP told me to write and email and explain everything and he'd forward it to someone who might show us a little mercy. (No, we opted out of insurance this time because we booked it so close to sail time. Live and learn.) Haven't heard anything yet and don't expect to; but was impressed with his efforts.

 

Catching up...can't wait to read more!

 

Karen

 

My brother used to live in Nolensville, on Ramblewood (behind the school). He's now in Brentwood.

Fingers crossed for you to get some mercy... and another cruise booked soon.

 

Had to take a break and let the real world invade my reliving the cruise (darn papers would not grade themselves, dinner would not cook itself... missing Leonardo each and every day!!). Will continue tomorrow...

[Kelane]

My brother used to live in Nolensville, on Ramblewood (behind the school). He's now in Brentwood.

Fingers crossed for you to get some mercy... and another cruise booked soon.

 

Had to take a break and let the real world invade my reliving the cruise (darn papers would not grade themselves, dinner would not cook itself... missing Leonardo each and every day!!). Will continue tomorrow...

 

We've both lived here all our lives so know Stonebrook well...and the dairy farm it was BEFORE Stonebrook. :)

We are off of Clovercroft on Burkehollow if you know the area.

 

It was "Wilma" that took out the Cozumel docks. I know personally because we were on the Conquest, getting the heck outta Cozumel as Wilma was coming in. Skies were pitch black at 4 PM. The ship was rocking and rolling and the folks who braved the dining room were leaving green before the entree was served. It was a long night of bonine and holding on to the bed!

I couldn't believe the pictures when we got home of the devastation in the paradise we'd just left...but then, that was the year of Katrina and all the others that came after (and totally rearranged our 30th anniversary cruise!). We've been back a few times since and this (my Feb. trip) was the first time things looked back to normal.

 

I'll check in tomorrow and finish the cruise out with you!

 

btw...did you happen to meet "Max"( Maksym Holovko) Tall, reddish hair, young; unique looking mixed in with all the dark staff onboard...bar service extraordinaire in the dining room and beyond? He remembered my name and portfolio # after the first night. He'd bring my cosmopolitan in the shaker and fill both my glass AND a wine glass from the table. (they waste entirely too much alcohol by not filling an overflow cup! I was very happy to help him NOT be wasteful!) Oh my...I still owe him an extra big tip from my Feb. cruise! ;)

 

But I digress...

 

G'nite!

Karen

[Sundiego]

A taxi for 4 was $13, a bigger van that holds 8 or so was $26, each way. Lots of taxis at Paradise Beach to take you back to the port, too.

 

Thanks. We will have 6 so I wasn't sure how that would work out.