Live from Elation - May 7

[Victory748]

Well, I am writing this next to the window looking out on the beautiful Half Moon Cay.

 

So far this cruise had its ups and its downs.

 

Embarkation was very smooth. We got on in no time, and were up on the lido eating very quickly. The spinach and meat lasagna, yummy!!

 

We didn't leave until late. They said it was due to traffic, but we could still see them loading supplies and luggage way past 4:00. Due to this we had to decide between watching ourselves leave Miami or the Welcome Aboard show. We did the show. Comedian was only so so, but the Cruise Director is funny.

 

Dinner was good. Our wait staff seems good and attentive.

 

My mom got sick after dinner and is now being quarantied for 24 hours. She missed Half Moon Cay. We had bought the Horseback riding excursion, and they refunded her ticket, no questions asked. I still went down for the excursion. Tendering was long and disorganized but I don't know how they could make it better. When I got to the pier I went to the information desk and was told my 11:00 tour was rescheduled for 1:45. Ok. So I spent some time doing other things and came back at 1:30. Now they said it had been changed to 3:00. The last tender was to leave at 4. (We were 1 hour late getting in this morning so we are leaving an hour late) When I got there at 2:45, they wrote that my tour is cancelled and I will get my money back. I went to the purser and she documented what happened and I will hopefully get a little more than just my money back since I scheduled my day around this tour. She was very sorry and polite so we will see.

 

Tip: They are very disorganized in Half Moon so if you want to take a tour schedule the FIRST tour so you won't be pushed out like I was. There were several other tours that were cancelled as well due to the disorganization.

 

My mom is feeling better and will be allowed out of the cabin tomorrow.

 

Sorry my thoughts aren't better organized but for 75 cents a minute, this will have to do. :)

[JoeSmooga]

So sorry about your mom! Hope she is all better by tomorrow.

 

Keep the updates coming when you can... but more importantly, have fun on your trip!

 

Joe

[Illinoisgal]

hope your mom feels better. that sucks about the excursion! I board the Elation in 188 more days I think. Do you know if they redid the camp carnival? And is you happen to walk by the Romeo and Juliet can you see if they have a piano in there thanks!

[jdcml]

hope your mom feels better. that sucks about the excursion! I board the Elation in 188 more days I think. Do you know if they redid the camp carnival? And is you happen to walk by the Romeo and Juliet can you see if they have a piano in there thanks!

 

Nope, Camp didn't get any modifications in dry dock. Honestly it doesn't seem like much of the guest areas did really. I don't recall a piano in R&J but maybe.

 

Victory - hope things are better with your Mom. We just got off last week and had a few ups and downs. Enjoy the time though!! Not sure if you have plans in OSJ, but the $10 tour is as good as the $45 tour on board. We talked to someone off another ship in the rest area on the way home and they were diverted from OSJ due to the "protests" at the capital. Good luck getting there!

[Illinoisgal]

Thanks for the info, I am getting married on the Elation and our reception place depends on what music package we pick. I really want the piano but I dont want to end up in Duke's or the Disco. Thanks

[jckvpa0]

That's really to bad about your excursion.

 

Did your mom have flu like symptoms & go to the infirmary & that's how she got quarantined ? Hope she feels better soon!

 

I have heard that people type in word than copy & paste as not to waste minutes.

[jdcml]

Thanks for the info, I am getting married on the Elation and our reception place depends on what music package we pick. I really want the piano but I dont want to end up in Duke's or the Disco. Thanks

 

Ah, my fault, I must be thinking of the wrong location. There were a couple of places that we didn't venture in to. I was thinking of Jekyll and Hyde, the disco. I don't know of Cole Porter is available, but that would be nice. No piano there either, but a more traditional square dance floor. Congratulations and good luck with the location :)

[salty dingo]

Sorry to hear that your mom felt ill, but glad to hear the illness was short-lived.

 

Do you think it was something she ate, or seasickness, or something else?

[Victory748]

Hi again,

 

My mom thinks she ate something at lunch. Yesterday morning we went to the infirmary to get some medicine and they quarantined her for 24 hours. She is up and around today though so hopefully things are all better.

 

Everyone is getting ready for formal night now. Lots of photographers around.

 

We haven't won in the casnio or in Bingo yet. Boo...

 

May check back later in the week. Bye!

[cruisetmc]

Will you be stopping in Grand Turk?

[zqvol]

Will you be stopping in Grand Turk?

They are scheduled there on Friday.

[Debs224]

We had the same problem with leaving late last week. We actually didn't sail out of Miami until after 8pm, while we were having dinner - If I remember correctly. It didn't affect anything else though, since they moved our first stop (Half Moon Cay) to the end of the week.

[Debs224]

Will you be stopping in Grand Turk?

 

We were in Grand Turk on the Elation last week. Would be happy to answer any questions.:o

[momthecruisedirector]

Debs224

 

What did you do on Grand Turk? Did you go to a beach, if so, which one? Did you hear of anyone going to Gibb's Cay for snorkeling? That is what we'd like to do but I would prefer not to go on a ship excursion to get there so I'm looking for Island references.

 

Thanks!

[jdcml]

While its not a "final answer" its an answer none the less... When we were there last week there was no sign of "outside" excursions available. I didn't talk to anyone that had done anything other than what was available on the ship. It almost seemed that CCL had control over the terminal and there wasn't access to other vendors. I may have just not found the people that were able to secure something else though. We did the beach at the end of the terminal... The snorkeling wasn't fabulous, but the price was right :)

[AGCruiser]

My DH and I were on the Elation last week and went to Grand Turk. We took the Gibbs Cay / Stingray Adventure. First, let me just give you this peice of advice, take the later excursion if possible. We took the 9:30 excursion, I think that was the time and we saw no stingrays the whole time until it was time to go, then two came up. The captain of the boat was very rude and would not even let us stay to see if more would come in. We only got about 5-10 minutes tops to feed them and take pictures. The pictures I got were great, but their was no "swimming with the stingrays" involved. The captain even had the nerve to tell his workers to save the food for the afternoon trip. However, the Island was amazing and we just walked around on the beach, took pictures and sunbathed, however, I do not think that we got our monies worth, but my DH and I are not complainers, so we did not gripe to anyone at Carnival. I am sure the afternoon excursion was 10 times better because the stingrays were just coming in as we were leaving. We absolutly loved Grand Turk though, it is an amazing place - you will love it :)

[DeLosLibros]

While its not a "final answer" its an answer none the less... When we were there last week there was no sign of "outside" excursions available. I didn't talk to anyone that had done anything other than what was available on the ship. It almost seemed that CCL had control over the terminal and there wasn't access to other vendors. I may have just not found the people that were able to secure something else though. We did the beach at the end of the terminal... The snorkeling wasn't fabulous, but the price was right :)

 

Just so I understand, you simply walked to the beach at the end of the terminal, and was satisfied with it? We're trying to keep our Elation cruise (6/18) down to one big excursion for the whole week, and want to do that at St. Thomas. Anything we can do at Grand Turk for free (or VERY cheap) would be great!

[AGCruiser]

From what it looked like to me there is not that much to do in Grand Turk. It is my understanding just from talking with people on the ship that Carnival pumped 50 million dollars into Grand Turk and the Elation last week was only the 2nd ship in port. Now, I could be wrong, but that was the talk on the ship. Therefore, I highly doubt you are going to find any outside vendors at this point - maybe in a couple of years when it gets built up. If you are looking for something cheap to do - I would recommend Margaritaville - they have a pool, music, the best margaritas and pretty good food. I do not think you will be able to find a way to get to Gibbs Cay without buying an excursion over there - but I could be wrong.

[GracieC]

Did you see or hear of anyone going on the Sea Helmut dive? I am paying a pretty penny to take my kids so I am hoping that it will be a good experience.

 

What was your weather like during your week? Trying to figure out what to pack. We leave May 28th so I know it could change.

[seashell36]

My cousin & her new DH came back from their honeymoon cruise (out of Pt Canaveral) with pics of Grand Turk. She said that the beach has some glass on it (right near the pier). She did say that Margaritaville is nice. They also bought the bus tickets and went around the island - not a lot to see.

[momthecruisedirector]

Thank you for your responses. I'm rather looking forward to a port that feels more like a tranquil, stranded island - not much on spending time shopping and drinking. I think I will book the ships trip to Gibbs Cay, I am glad you mentioned taking the afternoon trip. There was no morning trip available and I was disappointed because I assumed first thing in the am would be better - thanks for that advice!

 

We generally like to book our own excursions and explorations to save money and not be in a big group and I would be happy to just hang out at Governor's Beach but reading about Gibb's Cay sounds just too good to pass up.

 

Thanks everyone.

[LMPego]

Did you hear anything about the Ultimate Snorkel on Grand Turk? We're scheduled for that.

[Victory748]

In fact we are still there, in the St. Thomas Time. 30 minutes of internet for $5.

 

I got refunded for my missed excursion (after a little hassle) and am waiting to see if I get any credit for the run around. If not, I will send an email to Uncle Bob and see what happens.

 

Today we did Godfrey's tour of the island. We chose just 1 hour of shopping as we are not big shoppers. Then we went on the tour of the island with Godfrey up to the highest point of the island. Banana daquaris, yum...

 

We chose Sapphire Beach which I think was the right choice as Coki seemed a little busy. Some kids that were there with us saw a sea turtle! The restaurant by the pool had breathtaking views, but $12 for a cheeseburger, wow!

 

Our weather has been pretty good so far. Cloudy and overcast for a lot of the day, but the clouds would blow through. No rain except for about 2 minutes of sprinkles.

 

Formal night was good last night. I had the stuffed quail and it was nice. The show Rythmn was good, but a little long if you are not totally into that type of show.

 

I will go by R&J and see if there is a piano there. I agree the Cole Porter lounge would be a nice place.

 

Tomorrow is San Juan. We may try to do the Rum Factory tour on our own.

 

We have booked the Ultimate Snorkeling in Grand Turk and will let you know how it goes. I tried to find a private tour as well, but most everyone I contacted was either located on the furthest island away, or already signed up with Carnival tours. I did find one but the prices were about the same as the ship prices. If you look at my role call you may be able to find the name.

 

The cruise has more ups than downs now...thank goodness!! :D

[pennme]

Victory748:

Can you tell me if they have a large Chess board set up anywhere on the ship. My wife and I enjoyed playing it on Paradise many years ago, and it would be nice if it were on Elation.

 

Thanks.

[salty dingo]

Victory, sounds like you are having a memorable cruise. Thank you so much for sharing it with us! Have fun and let us know how it winds up for you!!