Back from Elation -- New CD, Flatwear Myth dispelled

[truecruiser]

hi guys. i'm back. our flight was cancelled after all. b/c it was pres wk, there were no available flights until the following wk. so, we were faced w/ 2 choices: get in the car and start driving, or miss the ship. we drove. almost turned back 3x, the weather was so bad. but we drove on, and made it. drive was brutal...

 

VIP embarkation was a breeze, and couldn't have come at a more welcomed time...

 

Cat 12 penthouse suite was nice. it was our first time in a cat 12 and we really liked the extra space. the bathroom doors in these suites swing in, not out, and there is no magnet to hold them in place, so it'll flop back and forth constantly (making noise along the way) if you don't have a bungie cord (we didn't) to secure it. we just kept it shut most times, esp. at night. (bring a bungee cord for this)

 

three people i never paid much attention to on previous cruises really stood out:

 

1. a photographer named Carlos from peru -- he was meticulous in setting up shots and it paid off. his pics were beautiful, and ended up being the only ones we purchased;

 

2. the captain, Pier Paolo Scala -- he was always communicating with us, and was often seen on deck greeting passengers -- very nice guy. wld love to sail w/ him again; and

 

3. cruise director Stuart Dunn -- very nice guy -- not overbearing, pleasant to listen to, and well informed. never really noticed (or cared about CDs that much, but i liked him). i chatted w/ him briefly one night. He said Goose left about 3 wks ago, and is not on another ship at this time, but is travelling. so, that's an update for ya, Pete:p

 

for the poster so worried about flatwear -- like i said in my post b/4 i left, i didn't ever remember there being a flatwear shortage. to that poster, i offer this: ...

[well, i tried to post a pic of my place setting -- which was overrun w/ too much flatwear, but i couldn't get it to work. i'll keep trying for you.]

 

port canaveral was freezing fri night, and very chilly sat. but weather got much warmer as we headed south, of course. cruise was good, as usual. just love it, and am looking forward to the next one. will post more particulars later.

[bobobeagle]

Thanks,

 

How was the weather during the cruise? Did you notice any move movement than usual?

[truecruiser]

The dining room

 

the singing and dancing was minimal on this cruise, and b/c of that, when they did do it, i actually enjoyed it.

 

no red, white, and blue (or whatever) teams -- loved that, as that is one thing i wldn't mind ever seeing again:p

 

the (very subjective) food was "good," but not (IMO) the "very good" that i always find on CCL. i actually sent back a steak the first night (have never done that, but this steak cld have been used as a weapon). the roast beef at the deli was tough and fatty, cld have been a bad piece. don't know. didn't order it again...stuck w/ the yummy turkey on country roll...

 

the maitre' d rarely spoke, and never visted the tables. this was a first. on every other cruise i've been on, they always do (at the very least), the minimum "drop by." i didn't care BTW, just pointing it out.

 

our waiter wasn't very involved w/ us. again -- no biggie, but usually, our waiters are always "chatting it up" w/ us.

 

debarkation

 

was a breeze. has to be the crew b/c on Fantasy, it was bedlam. CD was very orderly about it, and there was none of the cramming in stairwells and in hallways or elevators. we got off the ship fairly early, and did self assist for the first time ever. even though we didn't have a flight to catch, we decided to do it anyway b/c we had a 20 hr drive ahead of us and had to gear up for it and wanted to get on the road.

 

kid factor

 

i expected this to be insane b/c it was president's week. it wasn't. there were a lot of kids on board, but they weren't taking over the ship.

 

that's all i can think of for now. feel free to ask questions, i'll do my best to answer...

[truecruiser]

Thanks,

 

How was the weather during the cruise? Did you notice any move movement than usual?

 

it was very cold when we left port canaveral, but the winds were fairly calm, so the seas were fairly calm. when we got to grand turk, weather was beautiful. very, very warm. but as the the time to re-board the ship neared, the winds starting kicking up fierce. very nasty night. many, many people sick. boat was rockin' and rollin'.

 

captain came to past guest party that night and explained that the NE winds didn't shift as expected. he actually apologized for the weather (the guy was too nice). he said we'd be changing course around 9:30 p.m. and shld expect to see some significant improvement at that time, as we wld be heading into a N wind, and eventually, wld become sheltered by the islands of the Bahamas. it was great that he kept us so informed. when you are rocking that much, and hearing slapping so hard that it sounds like a "smash" all the way up on deck 8 in the Mikado lounge, you know it's nasty, and so it was great to have that 9:30 time frame to look forward to.

 

i had to take dramamine (which i rarely take when cruising). i went back to the cabin after dinner (the dining room was empty w/ all the sick people), and slept for an hour and a half. it did get better. and the kids were at the late night camp carnival party, so we headed to lido w/ our friends and began settling in for a great adult night when the beeper went off. 3 of the six kids (one of ours and 2 of our friends) had thrown up. so much for the fun night...back to the cabin it was.

 

once it got calm, it was calm the rest of the way. very nice sailing.

[sharecruises]

Thanks for a good review...really glad you were able to drive thru all that snow and make it to your ship in time!

 

That is nice to hear that they dropped the "red/white/blue" team stuff, that doesn't make much sense since nothing is won or lost LOL. Maybe other ships will follow suit

[The Stapels]

Thanks for the review, We sail on her tomorrow :D

[MrPete]

Great read!

 

I'm happy about the red white and blue team nonsence. I hope it's permanant. :rolleyes:

[bobobeagle]

Thanks

[truecruiser]

got it! lots of flatwear.

[steel123]

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you were able to make it to the ship even though the drive was difficult. How many hours did you have to drive? Did you like the Elation? I'm a little worried about motion sickness on this itinerary, but I'm excited that our April cruise on the Elation is starting to feel a little closer. :)

[truecruiser]

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you were able to make it to the ship even though the drive was difficult. How many hours did you have to drive? Did you like the Elation? I'm a little worried about motion sickness on this itinerary, but I'm excited that our April cruise on the Elation is starting to feel a little closer. :)

 

 

drive was about 20 hrs give or take (i think more "give" and we didn't stop a lot). Elation is a pretty ship, and the crew was great. i think you'll have a great time on her. FYI, if you've been on other Fantasy class ships, the layout of the pizza and deli is a little different. they are together, at the same station (pizza station), and the bar is in a separate area. different from the straight across the back set up. the configuration on elation is better b/c those nice windows in the back are now equipped w/ tables and chairs to look out and enjoy the view.

 

don't worry about the motion sickness, you'll get through it if you hit rough seas. and if you do hit rough seas, you hopefully won't be in them for long, as the ship is always moving and hopefully sailing toward calmer waters. have a great cruise!

[truecruiser]

double. sorry

[steel123]

We would also have to drive about 20 hours to get to Florida, too. We haven't done it, yet, but I was thinking of trying to drive down during the summer sometime. The important thing is you were able to go on your cruise. After waiting for months, it would be a disappointment not to be able to take your vacation. I would have driven, too, if it was the only way to get there.

 

Thanks for the description of the ship. I know you have been on the Fantasy, too, so it's a good comparison. I keep hearing good things about the Elation. Someone mentioned you can mini-golf, too. Did you have a chance to try it?

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement about the motion sickness. That's one of the things holding me back with cruising. I tried the patch last cruise, but I didn't like the side effects. Now I'm trying the non-drowsy dramamine or bonine and I also bought the wrist bands. I also bought "kids bonine" for our children. I've read so many reviews about this route being "rocky". The western caribbean was actually really smooth when we went in August so I might not have even needed to use the patch.:)

[truecruiser]

thanks for your good wishes, Steel. I'm glad we made it too! mini golf was fun for the kids. my little one really enjoyed it. Fantasy had it back in July, and they liked it then too.

 

trying to post a pic of the mini golf and a view of HMC taken from our balcony stateroom once we were back on board. hope it works. i have trouble posting pics.

 

re: the seas -- i don't think it's the route. i was wondering the very same thing you are b/4 i sailed, but now i don't think the course has that much of a consistent impact. this was a repeat itinerary for us, and we had good sailing last time until HMC (our 2nd stop), then we sailed out of it as we headed to nassau. to/from grand turk was fine, to (after a couple of hours of course) and from nassau, fine.

 

on this cruise, all was fine except from grand turk to HMC. bad again, but in a completely different spot. so, go figure.

[steel123]

Thanks for the pictures! The mini-golf looks like a good activity for the kids. The last cruise the kids spent most of their free time using the water slide, so this should be good for them, too. Half Moon Cay looks great! I remember you said you enjoyed it a lot on your last cruise, too. I'm looking forward to that stop. I think we're going to go to Atlantis while we're in Nassau. Our cruise is only four days, so we don't stop in Grand Turk. Since your cruise was during a vacation week, were there a lot of families on board? Our trip is also planned for a vacation week.

 

It does seem that this route is not the reason the seas are rocky. Since this was a repeat for you, you definitely can compare the motion. I suppose the rough seas can happen at any time and at any location. I'm happy to hear the crew kept everyone informed, too. We'll have to see how our April sailing is.:)

[Knights on the Beach]

Isn't it funny how many cruise myths we can dispel by actually going on a cruise? Yet another reason to cruise -- to prove wrong all the rumors! :D

 

I hope they have done away with the "Carnival Colors" game. They still had it on the Legend in December, but it wasn't quite as annoying as it was on the Glory. Or maybe I'm just getting better at ignoring stuff that doesn't interest me. ;)

[truecruiser]

Isn't it funny how many cruise myths we can dispel by actually going on a cruise? Yet another reason to cruise -- to prove wrong all the rumors! :D

 

I hope they have done away with the "Carnival Colors" game. They still had it on the Legend in December, but it wasn't quite as annoying as it was on the Glory. Or maybe I'm just getting better at ignoring stuff that doesn't interest me. ;)

 

yeah. i don't know about that. i just know they didn't do it this time, and i welcomed it:D . but then again, my friend thought she heard the maitre d' say in one announcement that our cruise was his last cruise. so maybe he was just going along for the ride, doing minimal stuff. who knows. cld be why he didn't go around to the tables too. but, that's a guess.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Cat 12 penthouse suite was nice. it was our first time in a cat 12 and we really liked the extra space. the bathroom doors in these suites swing in, not out, and there is no magnet to hold them in place, so it'll flop back and forth constantly (making noise along the way) if you don't have a bungie cord (we didn't) to secure it. we just kept it shut most times, esp. at night. (bring a bungee cord for this)

Great review! Thanks you so much!

And when ever you have a few moments, please please please,

could you give us a review of the Category 12 cabin and balcony here on this thread please?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=6392925#post6392925

Also any pictures that you have of the cabin/balcony...

Thanks you so much in advance.

CJW:D

[truecruiser]

Great review! Thanks you so much!

And when ever you have a few moments, please please please,

could you give us a review of the Category 12 cabin and balcony here on this thread please?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=6392925#post6392925

Also any pictures that you have of the cabin/balcony...

Thanks you so much in advance.

CJW:D

 

thanks. re: the cat 12 -- it was spacious, but when i first walked in i thought for some reason it wld be even more spacious. i think that idea came from walking past them multiple times on previous cruises where the cabin door was open with the room steward cleaning, and i just got a passing glance. but, i soon realized just how much larger it was, when i went to visit friends in the reg oceanview.

 

when i uploaded my pics for printing, i realized that i never took any stills of the room. i only took video. so sorry i can't share that.

 

the bathroom was large. has an area for toiletries along the wall. a jacuzzi bathtub, full vanity sink area. i am tall (5'10), so when i was showering, i felt like i was very close to the ceiling. it was a little wierd for me at first, but i quickly got used to it. DH is 6'3 and he never mentioned it.

 

the cabin was divided w/ the half-wall glass privacy divider. when you walked into the room, the walk in closet was to the left (this was sweet! all of our luggage for 5, plus carryons, fit against one side of the wall easily. there were hangers on both sides, and an entire area on the left to dump the gazillions of shoes. there were shelves in it, as well as the safe, and w/ all of this, the entire floor area into and out of the closet remained clear for walking), bath entrance to the right, then a little further down a large vanity area w/ 2 outlets (shock!), and a mirrored medicine chest against the left wall, full mirror in front of vanity.

 

a king bed was directly across from that.

 

past the privacy divider was a large sectional sofa. pulled out to what looked like a queen, actually. there was a fold up roll away for my daughter tucked between the privacy divider and the sofa (completely out of the way). an oval coffee table sat in the middle of the sectional seating area, and 2 sitting chairs w/ an end table were against the wall opposite the sectional. in addition, another end table was next to the sofa.

 

the balcony was not that large, but on this class of ship it was nice to have one finally. it had 2 chairs and a small table. this ship is older, so the balcony was dated -- white soild most of the way down, as opposed to full glass.

 

all in all it was really very nice, and i'll be hard pressed to not get it again when i sail this class. but you know how that goes -- they are very hard to come by and it's often the luck of the draw.

 

hope i answered all questions. if not, pls re-post.

[mikebarnett]

I'll be in the Bahamas next week and was wondering how warm the water felt in Half Moon Cay.

 

How was the weather outside on the ship? Windy, Cold?

[truecruiser]

I'll be in the Bahamas next week and was wondering how warm the water felt in Half Moon Cay.

 

How was the weather outside on the ship? Windy, Cold?

 

the weather in all 3 spots was warm. think the captain said it wld near somewhere around 90 in either grand turk or HMC (i can't remember...i had a very big headache in grand turk (from the night b/4), if you know what i mean:D) . but is was nice and warm in all 3 ports. there was also a nice warm breeze in HMC which kept you from feeling too hot. the water was not as warm as it was when i was there in july (close to a soothing bathtub), but it was still fairly warm.

 

i understand that the bahamas were very cold right b/4 we sailed (we sailed 2/17-2/22). and, as i said b/4, fla felt like it was in a deep freeze -- it was 30 degrees fri night in orlando. since the bahamas and cape canaveral are close to one another, cold in one spot is a good indication of cold reaching the other. so if you have trouble finding a bahama forecast, you cld still get a pretty good sense of temps by looking at the port canaveral forecast.

 

the cold was gone, and it was back to normal (much warmer) by the time we got to nassau on wed the 21st.

[Chmie]

Thanks a lot for your excellent description of the penthouse suite.

We are booked into one on the Elation for our first cruise next July.

It would be great if someone had pictures but your description was alamost as good. :)

[CruisinCindy55]

past the privacy divider was a large sectional sofa. pulled out to what looked like a queen, actually. there was a fold up roll away for my daughter tucked between the privacy divider and the sofa (completely out of the way).

 

Thank you so much for your posts. I've been reading them with great interest. We are cruising on the Elation in May for the Panama Canal cruise with 5 people in a Cat 12. I was wondering how the roll away would fit. Mom is curious about the balcony and how many chairs are on it. Other than that, the descriptions and pictures you and other people have posted are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!!!