Mother/Daughter Cruise on the Carnival Elation - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Thanks everyone! We had a great trip. I'll get started on the TR as soon as I can; we will be busy, busy, busy... school starts back next week; which means I go back to work and the kids go back to school. They have dentist appointments to fill cavities and pediatrician appointments to get last minute immunizations and sports physicals.... plus school orientations and back to school shopping..... Apparently I've procrastinated this summer and now we have a busy week ahead.
Glad you had a good trip. Looking forward to hearing all about it.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Glad to hear you had a good time!
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Originally Posted by debrabrown
Sorry I missed your leaving but I'll be here for the TR!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Can't wait to hear all about it!
Thanks everyone!
I've still not even typed up the full half day.... Things have been busy; but I expect to have a lot more time for it next week..... I did get my pics from the camera and the dolphin swim uploaded onto my computer today... (All I have left is to develop the pics from the water camera I took to chankanaab)- So, I'll go ahead and start posting what little I have done.....
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Thursday, July 21st: Travel Day
The alarm was set for 4:30am. Like any other vacation; I was too excited to sleep and the next morning I was very sleepy. We had showered and laid out clothes the night before as well as had everything packed except for a few last minute toiletries. Madilyn must have had trouble sleeping also, because she jumped up out of her bed as soon as she seen me walk down the hallway. Once we were both ready; I got the boys up. Wesley and Dillon loaded the suitcases; Madilyn and I only had one that we shared and the boys also had one for their time at their grandparents. The three oldest boys were told about the trip the day before; at the same time I had told Madilyn. I told them not to tell Winston we were going on a cruise as he is only 5 and I worried he would cry to go also; so rather we just told him they were going to a boys only sleep over at “maw-maw’s”. Well, he must have overheard someone say something at some point; because on the van ride he asked how long we were going to be on the boat! He was actually completely fine with us going without him and was excited for his sleepover; as were the rest of the boys. By 5:45am; the boys had been dropped off and we were officially in route to Mobile, Alabama.
We only made one stop at a rest area to use the bathroom. I had filled up the gas tank the day before our trip and was glad to see we were able to make the trip without stopping for more gas. We spotted the Carnival Elation at about 10:15am and I was so excited that we had gotten all the way to Mobile without getting lost as I am directionally challenged to say the least. Well, I should have knocked on wood when I had that thought because even though we could see the Carnival Elation we spent nearly 30 minutes driving up and down the road and getting lost trying to find port parking. I stopped and asked for directions several times; but just could not figure it out. Finally, and I do mean finally- we found the port parking. They really need better signage! As we only seen one sign for the port parking and it could only be seen from one side of the road! The gas light came on as we entered the port parking- so, that worked out perfectly!
It was nearly 11am by the time we pulled into the parking garage. It cost $70 to park for 4 days. They have you pay in advance, which makes disembarking go smoothly. The line for security was short and moved quickly. But the line for check-in was long and slow. Once we were checked in, we proceeded to have our picture made before boarding. This went quickly and we were easily on the ship by 12noon!
These were the best shots I could get of the super duper crazy long bridge you cross in Alabama! I wish I had gotten my camera out as we got on and let Madilyn record it; as it is truly one heck of a bridge!
Travel/Arrival Day Continued:
Once on the ship; we proceeded to the buffet for lunch. We had eaten donuts for breakfast on the road and had a few snacks along the way; but we had not stopped for anything substantial to eat. I was very disappointed in the buffet- there were literally only about 5 options on the buffet and they were all similar and not very appealing. I ended up only putting one thing on my plate- a pasta dish that while it was nothing special- I did enjoy it. Madilyn ended up getting in line for the Grill (a place pool side with hotdogs, burgers, fries, and chicken tenders) while I claimed a table and began eating my pasta. The line for the Grill was very long and slow moving. It is set up a like a buffet; Disney definitely has them beat on this- Disney gives you a plate with the food and has multiple places to get the same food and this keeps from having long lines for food. The entire week- the line for the Grill was always long and slow moving. Even though it did take a bit- Madilyn enjoyed her chicken and fries very much and actually said she liked them better than Disney’s! While the hot buffet was lacking- they did have a good size salad bar and a dessert bar that were both very good.
Carnival does not have free soft drinks like Disney does. They do, however sell an unlimited soda card. For the two of us- the cost would have been over $50 for our 4 day cruise. I had read a tip on cruise critic that they allow you to bring on your own soft drinks. So, that is what we did- we brought on bottles of coke and diet coke and that is what we had to drink with our lunch. They do have free lemonade and tea- both of which I tried and found to be flat out nasty. However, Madilyn did enjoy their complimentary hot chocolate very much!
It was very, very hot outside and we had carried on our swimsuits hoping to enjoy the pool and waterslide while waiting for our rooms to be ready. We were very disappointed to find out that both pools and the waterslide were closedL. I asked a staff member when they would open and she said they are normally open by now but are under maintenance and would be open later that day. I thought it was odd that I didn’t see anyone working on them. I was later told by a veteran Carnival cruiser that the pools are never open until after the ship sets sail.
It was SO hot and with the pools being closed their really was not much to do. We decided to go take a look at the kids club! Well, were disappointed to find out that Madilyn’s age group (9-11 yr olds) does not have an actually kids club room, but rather they meet at various places throughout the ship. Basically it works the same way Disney did their tween group up until recently. So, this was a disappointment as well. I’ll go ahead and say though- this did not turn out to be a problem in the long run- Madilyn enjoyed their kids club very much and they had a lot of great activities mostly in one of the lounges and sometimes in other places around the ship!
So, anyhow it was too hot to hang out outside with the pools being closed and most things were closed inside as well. This is another area where Disney exceeds as Disney had practically everything open as soon as we boarded the ship; on Carnival most things did not open till later. I learned my lesson; for future reference there is really no reason to board the ship early.
With nothing else to do; we headed to the main dining room to request a dinner change. It was only 12:45 and it didn’t open till 1pm- but we went ahead and got in line as it was just nice to be in the air condition. We had been waiting listed for the early dinner, but received the late dinner and I was worried it would be too late for us to eat. When they opened at 1pm- we were the second family in line, with one other family behind us. We all had the same request; and we were all three denied. I even told them “my time dining” would be fine/better than the late dinner- but they said everything was full.
****This is Madilyn standing in front of the main area while we waited***
***A model ship just outside the dining room**
We still had a bit before rooms would be ready, so we walked around and explored a bit.
**This was the 11-13 kids club, no one was in it- so we checked it out**
Madilyn also decided she wanted some more chicken tenders so we got in the long line again and then sat in the shade to eat. But it was just so darn hot!
She finished up eating about 1:30pm and we headed to see our room. We were on deck 6 in room 46 near the mid ship elevators. It was a very convenient location. The room was small, but since it was just the two of us- it was fine.
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The pictures from our room:
**They provide you with these canned drinks in your room that are for sale... This is a good sales tactic, but if I had younger kids with me that would be asking for them I would have found it annoying and asked for it to be removed.... Plus it took up precious desk space.... But, with it being just the two of us we were fine on space and I didn't bother asking to remove it...***
**A full pic of the desk area**
**We brought our own drinks onboard; I read this as a tip on cruise critic and it saved some money since Carnival does not offer complimentary soft drinks... We also brought a small cooler to keep a few drinks at a time in and our room steward kept it filled with ice daily- the rooms did not have a fridge/cooler....***
**The rooms were definately small, but completely fine for the two of us! The only thing about the room I truly missed from our Disney cruise was the couch! I enjoy having actualy seating space during the day rather than sitting on the beds... We only had a two person room, so perhaps the 3 or 4 people rooms offer seating- but I'm not sure that they do..... **
**We had two robes provided in the closet which I thought was a nice touch...**
It's very interesting to read the differences between Disney and Carnival and so many things that I thought would be the same too, like the pool opening and the soft drinks. I'm learning a lot reading this!
About This Page: 
. I'll get started on the TR as soon as I can; we will be busy, busy, busy... school starts back next week
; which means I go back to work and the kids go back to school
. They have dentist appointments to fill cavities and pediatrician appointments to get last minute immunizations and sports physicals.... plus school orientations and back to school shopping.....
Apparently I've procrastinated this summer and now we have a busy week ahead
.
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Deb
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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