Elation

[nascarcruiser]

We have friends that will be sailing on the Elation out of Galveston in October. It will be their first cruise. We have never sailed the Elation so can't give them any info on it or the ports other than Cozumel. Can anyone help? They will be sailing with a 10 year old ittle boy who is very shy as well.

ANy info on the following would help.

 

Ports of call and the best excursions

Camp Carnival

How many formal nights

Ship board activities

 

Thanks in advance guys. I have told them how wonderful our cruises on the Celebration have been and want them to have as wonderful of a time.

[nascarcruiser]

bump

[JettaGirl]

I was on the Elation in March. I had an amazing time and would highly recommend this ship. As for shore excursions, there is not much to do in Progresso except for the Mayan ruins. Its sort of a long drive to get there though. In Progresso all we did was hang out at the beach and have a good time.

 

In Cozumel I would recommend Paradise Beach or Chakanaab Park. We went to both and had an awesome time at both. We swam with the dolphins at Chakanaab Park...it was one of the best times I have ever had.

 

If the family is interested in snorkeling, Coral Breeze Limited is an AMAZING snorkeling experience. This was in Belize. Any questions about it, just ask away.

 

There is sooo much to do on the ship. Onboard activities were a lot of fun... there is always something to do.

 

There are two formal nights on the ship. I know one is on Friday but i do not remember when the first one was. It was either Monday night or Tuesday night.

 

If you have any other questions about the ship.. just ask way.

[airdale]

We cruised the Elation this last April and in Belize we took the River Wallace/Altun Ha excursion offered by Carnival. Fantastic river ride and at the ruins and the climb to the top of the one temple will wear out your 10 year old and he will sleep very soundly that night.

 

In Progreso we took the much closer ruins and rodeo excursion from the pier. Only about a half an hour bus ride, after which you go to the rodeo and have a really great Mexican buffet and watch the roping feats.

 

In Cozumel we also went to Chakanaab Park and snorkeled. They have a sandy beach "kids" swimming area also.

 

I hope this helps.

[hilltopfamily]

We cruised the Elation this last April and in Belize we took the River Wallace/Altun Ha excursion offered by Carnival. Fantastic river ride and at the ruins and the climb to the top of the one temple will wear out your 10 year old and he will sleep very soundly that night.

 

In Progreso we took the much closer ruins and rodeo excursion from the pier. Only about a half an hour bus ride, after which you go to the rodeo and have a really great Mexican buffet and watch the roping feats.

Glad I read this post! Hope you don't mind some further questions. We're strongly considering the Altun Ha/River Wallace for us next month. Did your 10 yr old enjoy it? Was the river ride tolerable heat-wise or were you miserable? I understand the boat is not covered & you're on it for quite a long time in the hot sun. And is the excursion just "too long" for kids to enjoy?

What ruins were you referring to in Progresso? Didn't realize that would be an option for us. Sounds entertaining! Can you give an idea on per person costs for these excursions, as there are 6 of us going (2 adults, two 13 yr olds, a 10 yr old, and a 7 yr old) thanks so very much.

[airdale]

I was referring to nascarcruiser's 10 year old. We didn't have a child with us.

 

The river boat is open and you should take a wide brimmed hat to cover from the sun. It was in the mid 80's when we were there and they said it was the HOT season. They say they have two seasons...HOT and HOTTER. I am not certain when the Hotter season starts. The river ride was about 1 1/2 hours long and the ruin tour is about an hour and you have about an hour at the village "lunch" lay over waiting for the buses from the other half of the tour to arrive from the ruins. There were some children with our group and they seemed to enjoy it? I know the wife and I were tired from the climb to the top.

 

 

 

From my cruise review...

 

In Belize we went on the Altun Ha Mayan ruin and the River Wallace tour, which is about 5 ½ hours long and costs $65.00 per adult and $47.25 per child. This tour starts out either by a fast 1 ½ hour boat ride up the river and a bus ride to the ruins and then back to town, or in reverse, a bus ride to the ruins and the river boat ride back to the dock. The riverboat is open topped so be sure to take a hat and sunscreen.

We lucked out and had the river ride first. The reason I say that is because after being out in the heat for the river ride and then the walk at the ruins…a 45-minute air-conditioned bus ride back to the pier was well earned. We stopped several times before entering the river and they explained about some of the city of Belize’s history that could be seen from the bay. Once we entered the river we stopped several times to view crocodiles, manatees, monkeys, bats, lizards and birds along the way. Once again our guides were very knowledgeable and informative! You ride up the river to a small stop over point with some trading huts and a place to buy lunch for $5.00 American. Lunch consisted of rice and beans cooked in coconut milk (very tasty), a piece of chicken with a flavorful but not a hot spice and a tomato, carrot salad. My wife did not eat but I did and enjoyed it. After about 45 minutes the buses arrived with the other half of our tour group and then we boarded the buses to go to the ruins. Altun Ha was said to be a minor complex for Mayan ruins. The information about the ruins was interesting and the structure you were able to climb was impressive. Once at the top you could see for miles over the surrounding trees. It was well worth the climb. Now the front of my thighs did not agree with that thought for a couple of days. You are climbing the ceremonial structure and there were no steps as such when built and the height of each “step” varies from about 10 inches to 2 feet. I feel it was worth the couple days of pain for the experience of the climb.

Now the bus ride to and from the ruins was on a road that our guide called the road of massages. It was anything but straight and only one vehicle wide. In fact at one point we were following another bus and its rear wheels were within a foot of each side of the blacktop. This road had about a 3-4 foot dirt shoulder on each side of it and the blacktop with its edges were broken off and very rough. We traveled about 45-50 miles an hour down this road and we were told from the start that the “LARGER” vehicle had the right-of-way. Now we slowed sometimes and the smaller cars and trucks went off the road to let us pass, but one time two cars were coming our way and we never slowed and neither did they and one pass us on the right and the other at the same time passed us on the left side of our bus. Now that’s excitement! When we arrived back to the pier we had about 1-½ hours to shop before we had to catch the last tender.

AH the tenders. In Belize the harbor is too shallow for the cruise lines to tie up at a pier so they anchor out about 7-10 miles and you have to take a tender into the pier. Now these tenders hold 50 to 100 people each and have three (count them 3, 200 or maybe 250 hp outboards on the back which make then fly so the trip from the ship to the pier is only about 15 minutes long. The day we were there the gulf was a little rough and when we weren’t hitting another boat’s wake we were hitting the waves. It was a blast! At least for my wife and myself because we have owned boats for the most of our marriage and have been out in some really rough water and have beat ourselves silly at times. Now others on board on both the coming and going trip were not so certain that it was all that much fun. Or at least by the looks on their faces. When an outboard can put up a 9-12 foot roster tail in rough water…you are moving right along.

 

 

In Progreso we booked the Dzibilchaltun Mayan ruins and Mexico Rodeo Show, a 5-½ hour tour costing $79.00 per person for adults and $66.00 for children 4-12 years old. It is about a 30-minute air-conditioned bus ride to the ruins. There was a lot of walking at the ruins and our guide was very knowledgeable and informative! You start out in the museum that I found quite educational, but I did notice that some people seemed bored. Now the museum is air-conditioned and once we left the museum we walked several miles over mostly level ground in about 85 degree heat and then we were able to climb one of the structures and we also visited a Cenote. A few chose not to climb, but the wife and I did climb and we both found it impressive. The way it was constructed to catch the sun and moon a couple of times a year at the equinox and but also the wind. Not much breeze that day, but the inner room of this ruin that was open to the elements and was about 20 degrees cooler than outside because of the way the structure’s openings captured the wind. We then got back on the bus for about 15 minutes to the rodeo and a wonderful Mexican buffet. After eating there was time to shop the small stands there to purchase different crafts. My wife got some great deals. The rodeo is unlike American rodeos where it is mostly individual competition. The Mexican rodeo is mostly the art of using the lariat in a team effort. There were several different folk dances performed and a great lady singer. She had a fantastic voice.