TONY G Cruzin in 7 days let me start this review

[tony_g51181]

Hello Everyone! I am going to do a review starting 7 days prior to boarding just to give everyone the insight into what sometimes goes into finding a cruise, booking, pre cruise parking issues/selection and or pre hotel selection. I will also give you a little insight into my past cruise history and then once I return update to the cruise review to share this cruise, as I always find some much useful info from others and wanted to share my own. This is written by me and in no way shape or form do I proclaim to be a professional and count on my spell checker to help along the way.

 

 

 

First let's start this off by formally introducing myself: I'm Tony G and I am from Augusta, GA (Home of the Masters) Sorry about the only think we have going for us lol. I have a huge passion for cruises, I wish I would have got a chance in my early years to know how much fun they are. So I am 34yrs old and back in 2010 my dad decided he wanted to take me on a cruise since I had never been. So we booked a cruise on Fascination out of Jacksonville. Man I was blown away from that moment I stepped on the ship.

 

This is me and My Dad (he thinks he is my older brother) Carnival Fascination 2010

[tony_g51181]

So which cruise did I pick this year and why.......Well I am giving away half of everything I own on October 15, 2016 (GETTING MARRIED) and I have a Post Wedding Cruise planned so far with 26 close friends two days after the wedding. Well for most seasoned cruisers know how hard it is waiting for a booked cruise to get here well that hit me just the same.

 

 

So my good friend /Best Man who I introduced to cruising 2 years ago and is now a cruise addict now made mention that we needed a pre cruise for our cruise in October...... well I initially took the first week of May off to visit my dad over in Israel however some changes and he will return to the states on the 7th of May. Since my vacation was already approved from work I began to look for cruises this week. Wanted this cruise to be a low budget cruise since I already promised my life savings towards the wedding lol....... We wanted to drive to the port and either Jacksonville or Charleston would be best possibly could do Tampa and visit some friends but ended up picking Jax.

 

So we picked all trips out of Jax and the only ship is the Elation now, not sure where the Fascination went and they had a May 2nd-May 7th cruise which was perfect. Discussed it with my friend and we were in agreement that was perfect....An added bonus is we leave on his 35th B day usually we cruise in May which is my b day month as well (11th) so this time its his b day!!!

 

So this is from Adam with the selfie stick. This is from our last cruise May 2015 8 day cruise on the Conquest

[tony_g51181]

Ok So we have our cruise booked which was only like two weeks out from the sail date and we pretty much got a room with the crew lol....its on the lower level Rivera and plain ole simple interior room. I have never been lower than 6 on any of my past 7 cruises but oh well we will rarely be in the cabin but to shower and change and maybe sleep but I have been known to sleep in the lobby or in a pool lounger!! So being that we are only about 4 hours away from Jacksonville port we were on the fence about driving down the day before or that morning. Remember we are on a budget!!! So after speaking with others on another page we were able to see cost of some park and cruise packages at various places around Jax. Now the deal maker or breaker would be cost of parking at the port alone and I think its like 75 dollars now I know its very close to the ship and convenient but we were able to find a deal online for a one night hotel with 7 days free parking for roughly 86.00 so we will now drive down that Sunday and see Jacksonville... maybe hit up the Budweiser Brewery?????

[Bookmarker]

maybe hit up the Budweiser Brewery?????

 

I will tell that Groupon has a tour for 2 for $12 if you want to hit up the Budweiser Brewery. I found it interesting when I went many years ago.

[tony_g51181]

Thanks I will check groupon to check what they offer.

[Clarea]

Good start, looking forward to this.:)

[tony_g51181]

So I was just able to book a Beer School class at 11am on the day prior to the cruise leaving which was only 15.00 per person and I sure that includes some sort of beer ! :) With that said I will pause this here and pick back up on this on Sunday morning when we will depart Augusta .......Sure we will have loads of Shenanigans to share and pics as I am a very picture taking person!!!

[reerun25]

Enjoying the pre-review so far! I am right across the river from you in SC.. Have sailed out of Jacksonville twice, we drove down the morning of, and used off site parking with free shuttle. For 5 days, I think it was around $30. Not sure if you would be able to find a spot now so close to cruising, but for future reference..

[tony_g51181]

So today is the day I am finally been waiting for!!! I just packed my luggage and I am prepared for my early departure tomorrow heading down to Jacksonville where Monday I will board the Elation. I also remembered to pack my wine in my book bag so there will be no issues. I am excited I get to put use my Masters bag and also can coolers that I just got this year. I will post more pictures tomorrow if I have time between the Budweiser Beer school/ Brewery Tour and randomness we find to occupy our time til we are on board!!

 

[tony_g51181]

Ok So today I will attempt to finish up some of this trip....I must say all of my expectations were met on the Elation....I had been worried due to reading other threads about the quality of the ship but it was in great shape. The food was great in the MDR and pizza and the sandwich shop were on point.

 

 

So its the Day prior to the cruise leaving so we jump in the car and get on the road for the nice 3 1/2 hour drive from Augusta to Jax......We planned to spend the Sunday getting a tour at the Budweiser Brewery.... If you ever have a chance visit I was shocked it was open on Sunday at 10AM.

 

 

 

This is me measuring up against a replica CLYDESDALE!

 

 

The self guided tour was Free and I opted to attend Beer School for 15 per person!!! Best Money I spent thus far.... I know you may be thinking you open a bottle or can and drink what do you need school about!! I was that person too!! However I have had my eyes opened and I can tell you that is not all thats too it!!!

 

First Free Beer once you walk in the door!!!

 

 

This is all the Beers that is brewed at this plant!!

 

 

At this point school was in session and the beers began to be opened!! We had Drew as our teacher or "Beer Instructor" he was amazing!!

[tony_g51181]

So after learning about Pouring Beer, and Glassware, Drew explained all the different beers in Jax and we began to sample!!!

 

At this point we were beginning to fill it and it was only 1130

 

So after the class was over we got a nice surprise we got a nice Glass to keep and a bottle opener along with a pocket beer guidle!! Then we got escorted over to the Tap Room and got more FREE BEER!!

 

This is Adam looking so excited , you can see the free stuff on the table!!

 

This was inside the factory floor they were working to get a package machine working

[tony_g51181]

So after the wonderful Brewery Tour/ School we decieded to head to Wal Mart and grab some last minute items, Can sodas and Juices....then it was off to the hotel..

 

Now we selected Jacksonville Plaza Hotel which was located about 10 minutes from the port but we selected it due to the fact it came with free 7 days of parking simply for booking the room no extra fee unless you wanted to use their shuttle service but we planned on Uber so that was solved.

 

The room was spacious and was clean no issues it was a perfect place to get No Sleep due to the fact I have a hard time sleeping prior to cruises! I am checking the clock every minute wondering what time should we leave the hotel to go to the port! lol Now this time around we did not have FTTF so we just planned on leaving the hotel at like 1030 but we will get to that......So after we checked in to the hotel we were kinda still feeling all the beer we consumed so we relaxed for a little bit. We before you know it , we slept the day away or some of it! We figured we would look for a place nearby to get some food and drinks. We asked the front desk for anything nearby with a patio as it was nice outside and she told us of a spot neaby call BJ's Brewhouse!!

 

Yea thats Adam again a little too excited but I must say this place was awesome.

[tony_g51181]

Great beer selection

 

And the food was amazing!!

 

So since the hotel was so nearby we opted to Uber .....who needs to risk a DUI so close to the cruise!!

 

 

This drink "Captain Damn" had my seeing double that night!!! it was my last drink and had my cruise ready!!!

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Thanks for coming back and working on your review!

[tony_g51181]

So boarding day has arrived we took an Uber from the Hotel on Airport Rd to the terminal which was 10.30 for the both of us....Now the funny thing is once we arrive to the gate where they checked everyones paper work our Uber driver does not have his drivers License on him so they tell us to pull over a designated parking spot.....The police come over and he explains that his wife must have mistakenly taken his wallet out the car. Now I don't know about most people but who knows their license # by heart well thankfully this driver did and gave it to the cop and less than 2 minutes later he returned and said have a nice day. So we get dropped off and we turned over our luggage to the porters and tip them and we are off to get checked in. Now this was my third time to Jax and seems the same process/layout as it was in 2010 that it is now. Very laid back/ not much to it showed our passports and boarding information, walked thru security didn't even bother me to check my sodas (had a 12 pack of mini cokes, 4 pack of cranberry and 6 pack of pineapple juice) went to the counter to check in and get photo taken and S&S card and then went to holding area where we sat for roughly 20 minutes until 11:30 when they started boarding. Around 11:15 they ran out of chairs and had everyone just standing in line waiting til we boarded.

[tony_g51181]

So once we officially board the ship it was around 11:50 and we were told about 12:30 our rooms would be ready. So our first venture was to Lido deck to grab some food from Mongolian Wok as it usually has a long line.

 

 

Then naturally I met a great guy that worked for Carnival, Naufel (spelling) and I ordered a bucket of beers which was like 22.50 maybe....

 

I like Blue Moon and I guess only comes in glass bottles, thus they served it in plastic cups!!

 

while I was eating my lunch I went ahead and purchased an internet package seeing I love sharing things via Facebook and also wanted to keep in contact with my family in the event of emergencies and it was a deal.

 

Not bad for the entire cruise where was this years ago!!

[tony_g51181]

So after eating and drink another bucket of beers (did I mention I was celebrating my best friends Bday and mine as well?) we it was well after 12:30 and we figured before we got too drunk we needed to drop off our carry on luggage at the room less stuff to worry about!

 

My home for the next 5 days!!

 

So we went down to rivera deck and found our room

 

Had to have the beds moved which worked out to make the room larger

 

Been a while since Ive seen one of these TVs but it did what it was suppose to do so no complaints here I did see some rooms had flat screens I guess its luck of the draw.

 

It did have this new looking Hi tech AC control and I must say of all cruises Ive been on this room stayed cool and never once had any complaints about the temp!!

 

Shower was a normal size the color was a new one for me a soft pink color but it too did its purpose. Just reviewing for those wanting to know.

[tony_g51181]

So we spent the rest of the time in port up on the Aft area awaiting for the Safety Briefing which we to the comedy club for and then walked out to the life boats where we were finally released to continue our vacation.

 

This pool remained closed the entire cruise for some reason , but the hot tubs were open.

 

Once we started to pull away I told Adam about the clearance on the bridge and he was amazed at how close the whale tail comes to it.

 

 

[tony_g51181]

So day 1 really nothing important other than enjoying the fact that we are on vacation and can do whatever we want. We did go to the MDR for dinner I apologize for no pics I was so hungry I totally forgot but will have some food porn later on. We sat at a table with two other couples and were missing two more couples which throughout the week we got a chance to meet I know sometimes MDR isn't for everyone every day so I totally understood. Our waiter was amazing and always took care of us he even performed magic tricks for us each night!!

[tony_g51181]

This was left on our mirror that night!!! Our room stewart Ryan made us feel like we have known him for years.