My CARNIVAL ELATION 2015 Cruise Review With Pictures!

[thecruiserofships]

All the Carnival ships have a welcome aboard show the first night, the Elation will continue to have this show with a new set. The show is controlled and presented by each cruise director and can vary ship to ship. They almost always have some musical numbers and a comedian if they are on board. Some CDs bring up passengers for fun and games, some do not, also some introduce their entertainment staff and again, some do not.

 

Thank you for elaborating on my previous response. I have never been on a Playlist Productions ship before and I cannot speak about what they do in the welcome aboard show!

[thecruiserofships]

How long does it take to get to open water after leaving port? Do they charge state tax on purchases during this time? When do they open the casino? Will be sailing next Mar and have some unanswered questions about cruise.

Thanks in advance and enjoying your review.

 

- I have heard it takes between 7 - 10 hours to get off the Mississippi River, but do not have any concrete facts to back this up. I can tell you for sure, when the ship leaves at 4pm it is not off the river at 9:30pm.

- No, state taxes are not charged.

- The casino opened after the ship pulled away from the dock. In the Fun-Times a time was not printed, but it said after sail-a-way.

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions! I hope this helps!

Edited June 18, 2015 by thecruiserofships

[thecruiserofships]

Day 3 Part 2

Cozumel, Mexico

 

Carnival Ecstasy's Arrival In Cozumel:

The Carnival Ecstasy was scheduled to dock alongside next to the Carnival Elation in the early afternoon. After I finished eating lunch, I watched the ship pull in and dock next to us. The Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Elation are both of the same class of ships in Carnival's fleet.

My first cruise was aboard the Carnival Ecstasy in July of 2007. At this time, the ship sailed from Galveston and cruised 4 & 5 day voyages. It was great getting to see the Carnival Ecstasy again in person and looking at the ship brought back many fond memories of some of the other cruises I have been on. Currently the ship sails from Miami, but next year (2016) will begin to sail from Charleston.

 

The weather was partly cloudy in the early afternoon and I knew rain was going to come at some point. Many of the Carnival Elation's outside decks and pool areas were empty because many cruisers were still enjoying time ashore in Cozumel. The gangway was temporarily closed while the Carnival Ecstasy docked due to safety reasons. Within 5 minutes of the Carnival Ecstasy docking, the Carnival Elation reopened its gangway.

I wanted to go ashore again, but first I took a quick walk around the almost empty outer decks of the Carnival Elation.

[thecruiserofships]

I was able to look over on the ship from the outside decks of the Carnival Elation. While the Carnival Ecstasy has an upgraded pool and WaterWorks, the Carnival Elation has a basketball and volleyball court by the aft pool.

 

Getting Back Off In Cozumel & Seeing Others Get Busted For Law Breaking:

We got back off the Carnival Elation in the early afternoon for a short while. The gangway had very few people getting on or off and within seconds we were off the ship.

The cruise director as well as multiple signs on the gangway warned bringing fruit or food off the ship was a violation of local laws. Unlike previous cruises where people could get away with bringing food off the ship, fruit dogs and bag checkers were stationed on the pier. The job of the fruit dogs was to sniff everyone for fruit or food and the bag checkers did a quick check of everyone's bags to make sure no food was being smuggled into the country.

Side Note About These Confiscated Food Items: The local government was kind to the violators and only confiscated the food. These people could have been issued a fine or punished by the local authorities. Do not bring food into a foreign country from a cruise ship!

 

We wandered into a place that had a variety of shops. These shopkeepers were highly annoying and would follow cruisers around to try to get them to buy something. After hearing "Looking is free" and "Almost 100% off" for what seemed like a thousand times we left these shops and headed back towards the ship.

[thecruiserofships]

Unfortunately, we did not make it back to the ship before the rain started. The rain started as a light sprinkle, but quickly turned into a heavy downpour. We waited about 10 minutes in the shop on Puerta Maya's pier before making a mad dash to the ship. Luckily, we brought one large umbrella with us, but when we got between the two ships the wind was so strong the umbrella folded and broke.

 

Dinner at the Imagination Dining Room:

Once again, I decided to eat dinner in the Imagination Dining Room. We had the same waitstaff as the night before. These waiters remembered our names, drink preferences, and made recommendations about which foods to try. The service they offered was above and beyond!

 

The food was once again very tasty! Many first time cruisers don't know this, but you can order multiple food dishes in the main dining room without paying a fee (except for items marked as pay extra). I ordered two appetizers on this night. My appetizers were Caesar Salad and Fried Shrimp. For my main course I had Shrimp & Fries. That may sound like a lot of shrimp, but it was delicious and shrimp is something I only get to eat at Christmas. For dessert everyone at my table had Apple Pie. This has been one of our favorites since our first cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy.

 

Stormy Sail-a-Way From Cozumel, Mexico:

As we finished dinner, the ship was untied from the pier and free to sail. It was pouring outside during this time. We went to a covered area outside to see what we could see. I managed to get a few pictures before getting water on my camera lenses.

 

A Rocky Night At Sea and A Feeling Of Being Seasick:

When we returned to our stateroom our room had received its nightly turndown service and been cleaned. Our steward left a new towel animal and a copy of the next day's Fun-Times.

Later in the evening, the seas become very rocky and the ship was swaying from side to side. At first, the rocking did not bother me, but as it continued I started to feel bad. I never felt too bad, but the rocking made me feel disoriented. I tried to take a shower before going to bed, but as the ship rocked the water from the shower swayed with the rocking and got the entire bathroom wet.

Thankfully, I fell asleep quickly and was able to wake up feeling great. It rained outside for a good portion of the night, but when I woke up in the morning the weather was nice with some clouds in the distance. I will discuss that more on the next day's review!

[deeron51]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed review and especially for sharing it with us!

 

I will be sailing on Elation on the Sep 24th 4-day with my sister (who lives in Louisiana) as a birthday gift for her!

 

Deena (from NJ)

[thecruiserofships]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed review and especially for sharing it with us!

 

I will be sailing on Elation on the Sep 24th 4-day with my sister (who lives in Louisiana) as a birthday gift for her!

 

Deena (from NJ)

 

You're welcome! I hope you have a great cruise and happy birthday to your sister!

[thecruiserofships]

I will begin posting Progreso's review soon. I am almost done!

 

Thank you everyone for your patience!

[thecruiserofships]

Day 3 - Progreso, Mexico

Scheduled Arrival: 8:00AM Scheduled Departure: 7:00PM

Modified Arrival: 8:40AM Modified Departure: 7:40PM

NOTE: Times were adjusted due to a delay caused by rough weather the night before. The Captain gave us 40 minutes extra.

 

Breakfast At Tiffany's (Lido Buffet):

Once again, I ate breakfast at Tiffany's on the Lido Deck. The continental breakfast buffet line opened at 6:30am and the regular breakfast buffet lines opened at 7:00am. For cruisers that did not want to eat at Tiffany's the Imagination Dining Room hosted Open Seating from 7:30am - 9:30am. Today, instead of french toast, pancakes were served. I went through the general breakfast buffet first to get some bacon, sausage, eggs, and potatoes, but then afterwards went to the deli to get my daily omelet. The food was all good, but most of the breakfast foods are very greasy.

 

Arrival At Progreso, Mexico:

Due to the bad weather and choppy seas from the night before, the Carnival Elation was late arriving in Progreso by 40 minutes. We arrived in Progreso at 8:40am instead of the scheduled time of 8:00am. Our captain was kind enough to push back our time to set sail to 7:40pm. Before we could dock, the ship's captain turned the ship around to dock backwards.

[spleenstomper]

Did you see any tuxes on formal night? Any shorts in MDR on formal night?

[thecruiserofships]

Did you see any tuxes on formal night? Any shorts in MDR on formal night?

 

There were a few, but not many, people wearing tuxes on formal night. There were a few people were shorts in the MDR and they did not get turned away (I was a bit surprised as I have seen people get turned away for shorts before).

 

Hope this helps!

[thecruiserofships]

In Progreso cruise ships dock about 4 miles out from the mainland. The pier cruise ships use is connected to a larger pier that extends over four miles long. The leg of this long pier where cruise ships dock is close to the end of the long highway pier. At the end of the long highway pier is a dock for cargo ships that contains cranes to unload shipping containers. The four mile highway pier is constantly being used by large trucks to bring containers to the mainland, but on days cruise ships are docked will have buses running to transport cruise passengers to the mainland.

 

After we docked, I took a walk towards the front of the ship. Most of the ship's public outside decks were empty because many cruisers were waiting to go ashore or eating breakfast.

 

The front of the ship did not offer a great view, but it was nice seeing the Gulf of Mexico located to the north of Progreso. I thought the Carnival Elation was going to be the only ship docking in Progreso, but I would later be surprised when the Pullmantur Monarch arrived to dock with us (this was the same ship that was docked at a different pier the day before in Cozumel).

 

Getting Off The Ship to Visit Progreso:

Getting off the ship to go ashore in Progreso was very easy. There was no line at the gangway because most cruisers were already off to go on a shore excursion and some cruisers were still eating breakfast. After getting our Sail & Sign cards scanned to get off we were directed down the gangway. The ship's photographers were waiting to take photos, but we respectfully declined.

[thecruiserofships]

Due to the cruise ship dock being about four miles away from the mainland, there are many shops located near the cruise ship for cruisers that do not want to travel to the mainland. There is also a bar and restaurant located next to the shops.

All cruisers had to travel through the shops in order to go to the shore excursion waiting area or to get to the free mainland shuttle. According to signage located in these shops, this was the only tax and duty free area of Progreso. Cruisers were encouraged by the workers in the store to shop here. Unlike the shops at Puerta Maya in Cozumel, these shops were built with cruise ship passenger traffic flow in mind. Walking through these shops was easy and only took a few seconds.

 

Free Shuttle To The Mainland:

There is a free shuttle that departs every 20 minutes that will take cruisers to Downtown Progreso. When we got to the area of the shuttle's departure we missed the last shuttle by about 30 seconds. This meant we had to wait for the next shuttle to arrive. Thankfully, the shuttle arrived within 5 minutes for us to board, but it did not depart for another 15 minutes.

 

Before the shuttle bus departed an excursion salesperson that worked for Aut Progreso boarded to talk for the entire journey down the pier. He was selling shore excursion tickets through his company and was hoping to get his captive bus audience to buy the excursions. I tuned him out because I wanted to look outside and take some pictures.

The entire four miles down the pier was very industrial, but I had a great view of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There was other traffic on the pier, but most of it was large trucks moving cargo.

[thecruiserofships]

After our four mile journey on the pier to get to the mainland we were dropped off at a run down shopping area. The people working these shops were just as annoying as in Cozumel, but after being bamboozled in Cozumel we did not look at any items. I used the phrase, "I spend all my money in Cozumel yesterday" or "I forgot my wallet on the ship" to avoid having to listen to the shopkeeper's pleas to look at their stuff.

 

Riding A Tour Bus Around Downtown Progreso:

We paid to ride a two story bus around Progreso. The ticket station to purchase this bus ride was located in the same area where the free shuttle dropped us off. Each bus ticket was $5.00. We wanted to ride on the top of the bus to get the best view possible. It had rained about 10 minutes prior to us getting on the bus and the bus workers wiped down the seats on the top.

When the bus departed we were warned about low hanging powerlines. The tour guide's warning was an understatement. Some of the power lines nearly touched the top of the bus. There were times when I would have to completely slump in my seat to avoid being hit by a power line. It was much needed exercise dodging power lines, but this could be tragic if someone touches the power lines. For anyone that takes this tour I recommend sitting on the bottom only for the reason of low hanging power lines. Otherwise, the best view can be found at the top of the bus!

[thecruiserofships]

During The Tour:

One of the places we drove by was the beach. Progreso has beaches located adjacent to the roadway that goes to the cruise ship. Many of the beaches located near the long pier were being used by cruise ship passengers and other tourists visiting Progreso. The water here is definitely nicer than the water in the Mississippi River or the Texas Coast. After driving away from the beach we were taken into the town square area. This area has local government offices, many businesses, as well as a church.

 

After The Tour Ended - Visiting The Beach:

After seeing the beach on our bus ride around the city, we decided to go check it out for ourselves. Using the beach is free, but there are many chairs and tables tourists can rent. There is also a bar and restaurant along the beach too.

We visited the part of the beach that is close to the long pier that would take us back to the Carnival Elation. It was neat looking down the pier because it very long. There is a wooden walkway you can use to walk under the pier to get to the other side's beaches.

 

On the other side of the pier was another beach area, but also a small pier being used for fishing. This pier was free to walk down and I walked to the end to zoom in on the cruise ships. The Pullmantur Monarch was pulling in next to the Carnival Elation.

[thecruiserofships]

Ride Back To The Cruise Ship Terminal In Progreso:

After spending some time around the beach, it was time to head back to the Carnival Elation for lunch. We were lucky and were able to board a stopped shuttle bus. The ride was quick because the driver drove at a moderate speed. The ride took no more than ten minutes and once we were back at the cruise ship terminal area we had to walk back through the shops in order to get to the ship.

 

Getting Back Onboard The Carnival Elation After Visiting Progreso:

Getting back onboard the ship was a quick and easy process. Before being allowed to enter the cruise ship pier, we had to show our Sail & Sign cards and passport to a local authority. The officer barely glanced at everyone's card and passport. After the quick identification check, we were free to proceed down the pier to get back on the Carnival Elation.

Since the Pullmantur Monarch was embarking new passengers while in Progreso, the pier was filled with many service vehicles. The Pullmantur Monarch was receiving new food supplies as well as loading luggage for new passengers. Overall, the pier was not congested, but there were many locals working the pier to make sure the Carnival Elation passengers did not interfere with the Monarch's servicing.

 

Next I will post my long rant about the Elation's pizzeria.

[thecruiserofships]

Lunch At Tiffany's (Lido Buffet):

There were very few people onboard for lunch, which meant the buffet lines were not crowded. Once again, the buffet had a limited number of lines open. I first went to the grill for some chicken tenders and french fries. There was no line. While in line for the grill, I decided to get some chips & melted cheese dip too.

After eating at the grill, I decided to try the Pizzeria again. The Carnival Elation Pizzeria staff were very inefficient and this buffet line is greatly in need of improvement. I wanted "Pan" pizza, but was told by the worker he only had pepperoni. I told him I wanted "Pan" and not pepperoni. He told me it would be a 15 minute wait. There were no other cruisers in front of me and past experience shows it only takes about 5-6 minutes for them to make a pizza onboard. The crew member acted as if he did not want to make the pizza. I then asked if I could have a Caesar Salad (the pizzeria menu shows Caesar Salad is available) and was told it would take about 10 minutes for the crew member to only make the dressing. I took the piece of pepperoni that was already ready after I decided I was tired of dealing with the Pizzeria crew. This is only a minor complaint and represents the only problem with service I had throughout the entire cruise vacation.

 

An Afternoon Walk Around The Carnival Elation:

The best time to get pictures on any cruise ship is in the early morning before everyone wakes up or during port day. I decided to take a walk around the inside of the ship to take pictures and see areas I had previously not explored. The Carnival Elation is regarded as an older ship by today's modern standards, but the amount of work crew members did to the ship during my cruise shows Carnival is able to keep their older ships looking new. Throughout the cruise, crew members cleaned and maintained the ship to keep it spotless.

[thecruiserofships]

Walking Around On the Outside Decks:

The weather was very nice in the early afternoon. I decided to walk around to see the Pullmantur Monarch and look over on its outside decks. While outside on the lifeboat embarkation station decks, I happened to see a very high ranking crew member smoking directly under a "No-Smoking" sign. The smoking policies were not enforced properly on this cruise, but when the high up crew members don't care to follow the written policies it makes sense as to why the smoking policy was not heavily enforced for everyone below him.

It was hot outside, but there was a slight breeze that made being outside bearable. I was sunburned from Cozumel day and got a worse sunburn after being in Progreso. Being outside was not much fun with a sunburn.

 

Dinner in the Imagination Dining Room:

Once again, we ate dinner in the Imagination Dining Room and had the same waitstaff as the night before. The waiters remembered our names, drink preferences, and desire to have cheese with baked potatoes. The service was fast and all of the food was very tasty.

 

Nightly Turndown Service For Our Stateroom

After dinner, I quickly went back to the room to grab some camera batteries. The stateroom steward had already come to turndown the room for the night. I was impressed at the job he did with cleaning the room. He left us a new towel animal and flyers for the next day of the cruise.

The stateroom's window needed washing, but that was not a big deal. Carnival usually washes windows while the ship is docked in its homeport. Since we were able to see outside the window the slightly dirty appearance never bothered us.

[spleenstomper]

Thanks. I thnk we are going to stay on the ship in Progreso. What color wasmthe water there?

[thecruiserofships]

Thanks. I thnk we are going to stay on the ship in Progreso. What color wasmthe water there?

 

Staying on in Progreso is a good idea! You won't miss too much! I would probably do the same if I ever go back.

 

The water was a pretty blue when the sun was shining, but in the afternoon when some darks clouds came it turned an ugly blue.

 

Hope this helps!

 

To Everyone: I will be back to writing more review to hopefully post tomorrow! I needed a day off!

Edited June 21, 2015 by thecruiserofships

[thecruiserofships]

I am about to post Day 5 after a quick break. Please standby!

[thecruiserofships]

Day 5 - Sea Day

June 12, 2015

Last Full Day Of the Cruise :(

 

Early Morning Surprise From The Housekeeping Department:

The Carnival Elation's Lido Deck pool area was lined with towel animals in the morning. Immediately after walking outside of the atrium, guests were greeted with three towel humans and towel animals lining the pool area. While many would conclude this is a waste of towels, many children as well as adults enjoyed walking around looking at the towel animals. I wish I knew how to make towel animals as good as the crew members onboard.

 

For most of our day at sea the weather was alright. There were many clouds in the morning. However, it did not rain outside until later in the evening. The ship was rocking from side to side, but it was not near as bad as the night we departed from Cozumel. The rocking could barely be felt in the front areas of the ship, but while I was eating breakfast at the lido buffet (located aft) the rocking was worse.

After stopping to look at the towel animals by the pool, I walked around the outside decks of the ship. The morning onboard was peaceful as many lounges and places were empty. This is because many people were still sleeping or getting ready for breakfast.

 

EDIT: I heard green apples can help with motion sickness, but I did not think to try this during the cruise.

Edited June 21, 2015 by thecruiserofships

[thecruiserofships]

The Promenade Deck was empty at this time of the day. The Elation's Way Promenade was usually less crowded in the mornings because many activities that take place at the Drama Bar occurred in the afternoon. Also, there was nothing open on the Promenade Deck, but the Musical Cafe.

 

Breakfast at Tiffany's Lido Buffet:

The general breakfast buffet lines opened at 7:30am sharp. I arrived a few minutes early in the buffet to watch for the lines to open. Once the buffet lines opened, I went and got some food from the general breakfast buffet first. The selection was nearly the same as the other days, but french toast was being served today instead of pancakes. For those that may not know, french toast and pancakes alternate days in the buffet.

I got some bacon and sausage from the buffet and then afterwards I got a pastry. The ship's rocking started to bother me and I was already full so I did not eat an omelet. I have eaten an omelet everyday at breakfast for the past five cruises. My record has now been broken! :(

 

Tips For When The Ship Rocks

- Don't take big steps.

- Do not look outside.

- Eat Small Bites Of Food, If Dining

- Stay Positive!

[spleenstomper]

I've enjoyed reading along.

 

We did this same cruise on the Fantasy and we are trying the Elation this time. We enjoyed Fantasy the most, so I think we are smaller ship people.

 

Last time in Progreso, we went to Uxmal and that was great and weathe not too hot in December.

 

Our two Cozumel went: 1) high winds and water tours cancelled. It was freezing. We ran to Chankanaab (sp??) for the dolphin excursion: dolphin was nervous and the swells were hard to manage. But we got it done and got the photo and had to leave because we were freezing-- goose bumps, blue lips, etc.

 

2) we went to Nachi Cocum and *loved* it. Would definitely go back but we wanted to try something so this time we are:

 

3) Twister boat and beach time booked through Carnival.

 

Its getting close! Im getting excited.

[thecruiserofships]

I've enjoyed reading along.

 

We did this same cruise on the Fantasy and we are trying the Elation this time. We enjoyed Fantasy the most, so I think we are smaller ship people.

 

Last time in Progreso, we went to Uxmal and that was great and weathe not too hot in December.

 

Our two Cozumel went: 1) high winds and water tours cancelled. It was freezing. We ran to Chankanaab (sp??) for the dolphin excursion: dolphin was nervous and the swells were hard to manage. But we got it done and got the photo and had to leave because we were freezing-- goose bumps, blue lips, etc.

 

2) we went to Nachi Cocum and *loved* it. Would definitely go back but we wanted to try something so this time we are:

 

3) Twister boat and beach time booked through Carnival.

 

Its getting close! Im getting excited.

 

I hope you have a great cruise!! Thanks for reading, but the review isn't over yet!

 

It sounds like your last trip wasn't what you expected it to be. I know how that feels. I am also a smaller ship type of person, but I do love the Dream Class too. Anything with a Fun Ship tail is something I will sail on!

Edited June 22, 2015 by thecruiserofships