Back from the Elation - 8/27/18

[Joebucks]

Glad you had fun! It makes sense why you stayed on the ship. I couldn't imagine doing that personally!

[Crusin Karen]

Welcome back! Sounds like another great cruise! You can start repacking for Bermuda soon! :cool:

[crazy.cruzer]

On 9/2/2018 at 12:27 PM, Jamman54 said:

Ahoy Everyone!!! Ryan and I just got back from our 5 day Father & Son get away aboard the Elation from Jacksonville to Half Moon Cay and Nassau. We had a fantabulous time. This will not be a full review since Patti and I covered her extensively last October, (review is in my signature), and I am happy to report that little or nothing has changed since then, except the crew members. I will be uploading some pictures, the Fun Times, etc, to my photo hosting site in the next couple of days, and when ready I will let you know. I'll post some Ryan pictures here since many have told me they miss seeing him in our reviews. 😄

For us, this cruise was about having a "few" drinks together, gambling, and seeing a few comedy shows. I hope to make this a yearly thing with Ryan for as long as I am able. It still aches my heart that I never got a chance to do this with Kevin. I'll throw some tidbits at you, as much as my alcohol infused body will let me remember. 😄 If you have any specific questions, I'll answer them the best that I can.

Embarkation and debarkation was a breeze, Being a Diamond certainly helps.

We had an inside cabin (E101) on Empress deck. This was more than adequate for our needs. Room steward did a great job.

We had Your Time Dining (YTD). Never saw the dining room!

We both had Cheers and knocked it out of the park! We both maxed out 4 out of the 5 days, and the days we missed were by only a few. Buy it online pre-cruise and save yourself $5 / day.

Speaking of drinks, here's a shout out to some of the GREAT bartenders that took care of us this cruise. Wayan and Leonard at the Red Frog Rum Bar, Putu and Amie at Tiffany's, Momma Jo and everyone at the casino bar. If you see them make sure you tell them Jeff and Ryan say hello!

When we ate it was at Tiffany's (Lido). No problem with the selection and quality of the food. Most of what was on the MDR menu was also available up here.

Comedy shows, both PG & 18+ were all pretty good.

We both attended the Diamond event and the Diamond/ Platinum reunion and had a great time at each. Plenty on snacks and drinks, (which don't count against Cheers!). 😄

Half Moon Cay day - We both stayed on the ship. GASP! I know that's hard to believe, but Ryan is not a beach person, I was just there in April, but the main reason was that Cheers doesn't work on the island. My plan was to enjoy the nearly completely empty ship, relax in the pool, and having a "few" drinks that I didn't have to pay extra for. This brings me to my one issue during this cruise, which did turn out to not be an issue at all. Let me try to explain. Ryan and I elected to sleep in today, giving the HMC people a chance to eat and leave the ship. Around 9:30 I got my bathing suit on, gathered my towel and things, then went up to get my breakfast burrito at Blue Iguana Cantina. I then went over to the Red Frog Rum Bar to get a Thirsty Frog Red to complete my breakfast of champions, Sounds good so far right?

After having a few more TFR"s I decided it was time for a swim. I look at the pool and it was covered with netting. What? I noticed the Deck Officer over by the towel hut, so I went to pay him a visit. I asked him why was the pool closed? He said for routine maintenance. I asked him when will it be opened? He said sometime after 1pm. It is now only 10am. I kept my cool, didn't raise my voice, and told him that this was not acceptable. I told him that not everyone heads over to the island, and that some people, me included, would like to enjoy the pool when there isn't 100 people in it! I said that I would understand if something had broken or failed, but "routine maintenance" should be done at night after the pool closes, not during the day when people want to use the only pool on the ship. He told me that there was a pool at Serenity, to which I quickly replied that there is NOT a pool at Serenity, only hot tubs! I then told him that when I get my survey I will be sure to mention this on it, told him thank you, and went back to my seat at the Red Frog.

My buddy Wayan had observed all this. He was shaking his head saying they do this all the time, and that I should go to Guest Services and complain. About 10 minutes later I turned to see the Deck Officer testing the water, and a few minutes later the netting was removed from the pool and it was opened. I don't know if it was me that got this accomplished, but a few minutes later myself, and a few others were enjoying the pool!

Nassau - Ryan and I left the ship a little after 11 and made our way over to Senor Frog's, where for the next few hours we had a blast. Plenty of free shots came our way. We were back on the ship a little after 2. This was the reason I didn't max out my Cheers today! 😄

We entered the slot and blackjack tournaments. I made the final table in the blackjack tournament, and it came down to me and two others. Lost it on the final hand. It was fun with a great group of people.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but you have to remember, what happens on the Elation stays on the Elation! 😄

THANK YOU sooooo much for the review and photos!  We are cruising in january and youve answered a lot of our questions!!

[Jamman54]

18 minutes ago, crazy.cruzer said:

THANK YOU sooooo much for the review and photos!  We are cruising in january and youve answered a lot of our questions!!

 

Glad to have been a help. Enjoy your cruise! 😎