Carnival Elation 5 Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 1 Part 2 June 8, 2015 New Orleans, LA Departure: 4:00PM
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Day 1 Part 2 June 8, 2015 New Orleans, LA Departure: 4:00PM
Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!
Welcome to Part 2 of my Carnival Elation cruise review! This part of the review will include a short walk around the ship, the muster station drill, sail-a-way, dinner photos, and some evening pictures of the lower Mississippi River. If you would like to go back to Part 1 please click here.
Promenade Deck - Photo Gallery Area
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Photo Gallery Register Area
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View of the Elation's Atrium
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After checking out the Promenade Deck, I decided to walk one deck lower to see the Atlantic Deck. Duke's Piano Bar on the Atlantic Deck was one of the nicest lounges on the Carnival Elation. Duke's Piano Bar has a New York City theme and includes NYC highlights such as a Statue of Liberty head, Empire State Building, and other city buildings. This lounge was clean and had a good smell.
Corner of Duke's Piano Bar
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Statue of Liberty Head in the Piano Bar
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Piano Area
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The majority of the Carnival Elation's shops are located on the Atlantic Deck near the front of the ship. The logo shops sell a variety of Carnival themed gifts. There is another shop on the Atlantic Deck that sells a variety of different perfumes, jewelry, and alcoholic beverages. Between the two shops, there are entrances to the Mikado Lounge.
Logo Shop Area of the Gift Shop
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Another Look Into The Shop
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Entrance to the Mikado Lounge
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After walking around the Atlantic Deck, I walked back up to the Elation's Way Promenade. One of the first places I visited was the Romeo & Juliet Lounge. This lounge was used for a variety of functions during the cruise vacation.
Walkway in the Romeo & Juliet Lounge
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Stage Area in the Romeo & Juliet Lounge
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Cookies At The Musical Cafe (For A Fee - Not Included)
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One reason why I like cruising from New Orleans is the Mississippi River. About an hour before the scheduled muster station drill I decided I wanted to walk around the outside open decks again before sail-a-way. Here are some pictures I took:
Mississippi River
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Port Administration Building & Bridge Above
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Barge On the Mississippi River
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Thick Puff of Black Smoke From Funnel In the Afternoon
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Other Side of the Funnel Releases Black Smoke Too
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Opposite Side's Bank of the Mississippi River
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Tugboat Connected To Barge Docked On the River
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View of the Erato Street Cruise Terminal
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Sign That Says "Release Gripes"
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The pier was still a very busy place around 2:30pm. Luggage and food supplies were still being loaded onto the ship. Many of the ship's crew members were re boarding after enjoying some time off the ship.
Food Supplies Sitting on Pier Waiting To Be Loaded
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Life Preserver At the AFT of the Elation
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Ship Sailing Upriver
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View From the Front of the Ship
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New Orleans Skyline & Sideview of the Carnival Elation
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Barge Sailing Upriver
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Ship's Funnel and Nautical Flags
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Sideview of the Ship - Service Barge Has Left
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Zoomed In View of Ferry Departing
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The pictures below should give you a better idea of the amount of luggage that still needed to be loaded around 2:30pm. The crew on the dock appeared to be working efficiently and all of the luggage was loaded well before time to sail.
Gangway Is Still Connected To The Ship Around 2:50pm
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Many Suitcases Waiting To Be Loaded at 3pm
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View Of The Suitcases From My Stateroom
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Muster Station Drill: The Muster Station drill is always a required event for every passenger on the cruise ship. My muster station was "C" which was the Romeo & Juliet Lounge on the Promenade Deck. The drill was scheduled to begin at 3:30pm, but was delayed due to stragglers. The ship's crew would not start the drill until all cruisers were present in their required muster stations. The drill probably started about 15 - 20 minutes late due to people being late.
In muster station "C" the staff was friendly and did an excellent job explaining all of the necessary safety information. Lifejackets were not needed for the drill, but the crew demonstrated how to put on a lifejacket. The cruise director, Brandon, made several announcements as well as the captain. Before we were allowed to be dismissed from the drill, we had to practice walking from our muster station to the lifeboats. This took less than five minutes and everyone cooperated. While we were outside at our designated lifeboat, it started raining and everyone was forced to get wet because we had no choice. Luckily, once the rain started the cruise director spoke quickly and ended the drill. Overall, the muster station drill was not that bad and is usually the most unenjoyable part of any cruise vacation.
In muster station "C" the staff was friendly and did an excellent job explaining all of the necessary safety information. Lifejackets were not needed for the drill, but the crew demonstrated how to put on a lifejacket. The cruise director, Brandon, made several announcements as well as the captain. Before we were allowed to be dismissed from the drill, we had to practice walking from our muster station to the lifeboats. This took less than five minutes and everyone cooperated. While we were outside at our designated lifeboat, it started raining and everyone was forced to get wet because we had no choice. Luckily, once the rain started the cruise director spoke quickly and ended the drill. Overall, the muster station drill was not that bad and is usually the most unenjoyable part of any cruise vacation.
Pier Behind The Ship As We Depart
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Erato Street Cruise Terminal
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Julia Street Cruise Terminal
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Sail-a-Way From New Orleans: As I mentioned earlier, I love cruising from New Orleans because of the Mississippi River. The muster station drill ended at approximately 4:15pm and within 5 minutes we were already moving. The ship's ropes were untied during the muster station drill. It was still sprinkling when we began to move, but it was a light rain that cleared up within minutes.
The outside decks were packed with cruisers wanting to catch a view of New Orleans as we departed. I chose the back of the Verandah Deck to watch sail-a-way. This area of the ship was crowded, but I managed to find a spot. Within 10 minutes we made our first turn on the Mississippi River. The Elation was able to make the turn smoother than the Carnival Dream. This may be because of the size of the ship.
Here are some pictures I took during sail-a-way:
The outside decks were packed with cruisers wanting to catch a view of New Orleans as we departed. I chose the back of the Verandah Deck to watch sail-a-way. This area of the ship was crowded, but I managed to find a spot. Within 10 minutes we made our first turn on the Mississippi River. The Elation was able to make the turn smoother than the Carnival Dream. This may be because of the size of the ship.
Here are some pictures I took during sail-a-way:
Riverwalk Mall - View As the Ship Sailed By
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Creole Queen Docked in New Orleans
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View of Crescent City Connection As The Elation Sails Away
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A View Of New Orleans As The Ship Sailed Further
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Buildings in New Orleans & Green Park Space On Ground
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A View Of The St. Louis Cathedral
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Looking Back As The Ship Makes First Curve on the River
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Opposite Side From New Orleans On The River
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Building That Says "You Are Beautiful" On It
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Looking Towards East New Orleans
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East New Orleans Side of Town
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Two Ships Docked Along River
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Barge Docked Along Banks of River
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Building With Many Tarps on Rooftop
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Large Crane
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Small Boats Docked and Water Tower in Background
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A Factory - I Believe Produces Sugar
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Ships Docked Waiting To Continue Upriver
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Two Ships Docked Along The Mississippi River
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Ferry Docked
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Banks of the Mississippi A Few Miles Out From NOLA
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Barge Sailing By on the River
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AFT Pool and Back of Funnel
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Industrial Looking Area
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After watching sail-a-way for a little under an hour, I decided to head inside to line up for dinner. Here are some pictures of the menus I took while in line for dinner:
TIP: You can click on the picture of the menu to make it larger!
TIP: You can click on the picture of the menu to make it larger!
Everyday Menu
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Dinner Menu For Night #1
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Dessert Menu For Night #1
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Dinner #1 In The Imagination Dining Room:
I had Your-Time Dining which means I could dine in a specific dining room from 5:45pm until about 9:00pm. My assigned dining room was the Imagination Dining Room. The entrance for cruisers with Your-Time Dining was in the Elation's atrium. On this night of the cruise, there was no line for dinner until a few minutes before 5:45pm. However, on later nights of the cruise, a long line would be formed by 5:30pm.
The food was very good! The hostesses working the entrance of the Imagination Dining Room were very friendly and did a great job getting everyone seated. We requested a table by a window to get a view of the Mississippi River as we sailed. Our dining room staff members did their jobs well, but were not above & beyond. I think these dining room staff members had just gotten on the ship for a new contract and were still trying to get the hang of the job. Although the service was not exceptional, we were well taken care of. I'm not complaining about the service, but I have had some crew members in the dining room that have gone above & beyond.
Here are the first night's food pictures I was able to get:
I had Your-Time Dining which means I could dine in a specific dining room from 5:45pm until about 9:00pm. My assigned dining room was the Imagination Dining Room. The entrance for cruisers with Your-Time Dining was in the Elation's atrium. On this night of the cruise, there was no line for dinner until a few minutes before 5:45pm. However, on later nights of the cruise, a long line would be formed by 5:30pm.
The food was very good! The hostesses working the entrance of the Imagination Dining Room were very friendly and did a great job getting everyone seated. We requested a table by a window to get a view of the Mississippi River as we sailed. Our dining room staff members did their jobs well, but were not above & beyond. I think these dining room staff members had just gotten on the ship for a new contract and were still trying to get the hang of the job. Although the service was not exceptional, we were well taken care of. I'm not complaining about the service, but I have had some crew members in the dining room that have gone above & beyond.
Here are the first night's food pictures I was able to get:
Assorted Basket of Bread
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Appetizer: Escargots Bourguignonne
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Appetizer: Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
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Appetizer: Spinach & Artichoke Dip
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Appetizer: (Two) Shrimp Cocktails
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Appetizer: Caesar Salad
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Main Course: Southern Fried Chicken
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Main Course: Pan Seared Fillet of Tilapia
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Main Course: Chicken A La Grecque
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Main Course: Grilled Flat Iron Steak
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Desert: New York Cheesecake
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New York Cheesecake With Strawberry Sauce
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An Evening View of the Mississippi River:
Before heading inside for the Welcome Aboard Show, I wanted to take a look outside. During this time I was able to catch a glimpse of the sunset and some houses along the banks of the river. There were many crew members at the front of the ship using their cell phones while we still had reception. At this point I could still use my phone without paying any roaming or searching charges. Here are a few pictures I took during my short time looking at the view from the ship:
Before heading inside for the Welcome Aboard Show, I wanted to take a look outside. During this time I was able to catch a glimpse of the sunset and some houses along the banks of the river. There were many crew members at the front of the ship using their cell phones while we still had reception. At this point I could still use my phone without paying any roaming or searching charges. Here are a few pictures I took during my short time looking at the view from the ship:
Front of the Ship With Sunset in the Distance
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Sunset is Starting To Fade
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Sideview of the Elation With the Sunset
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Ships Docked Along the Lower Parts of the River
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Little Road and Town In the Distance
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A View of the Mississippi River
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Towel Animal and Fun-Times Newsletter
Stateroom Nightly Turndown
Our stateroom steward came during dinner and cleaned our stateroom for the night. In the process of turning down the room,the stateroom steward left a towel animal as well as the daily activity newsletter for the second day of the cruise. Carnival no longer gives chocolate mints at night due to some changes implemented by the corporate office. I knew about this change before the cruise, but it was weird not having the tasty mints to end my day.
The stateroom steward also lowered the pull down bed during the nightly turndown. He forgot to put padding on the bed, but when he came in the morning to service the room he must have realized his mistake. After the first night the upper bed had padding and was comfortable. The room was comfortable, but I did not sleep well the first night because of being in a different environment.
Our stateroom steward came during dinner and cleaned our stateroom for the night. In the process of turning down the room,the stateroom steward left a towel animal as well as the daily activity newsletter for the second day of the cruise. Carnival no longer gives chocolate mints at night due to some changes implemented by the corporate office. I knew about this change before the cruise, but it was weird not having the tasty mints to end my day.
The stateroom steward also lowered the pull down bed during the nightly turndown. He forgot to put padding on the bed, but when he came in the morning to service the room he must have realized his mistake. After the first night the upper bed had padding and was comfortable. The room was comfortable, but I did not sleep well the first night because of being in a different environment.
Mikado Lounge With Sparkling Curtain Turned On
Welcome Aboard Show In The Mikado Lounge
The Welcome Aboard Show was at 10:15pm in the Mikado Lounge. This was the last time the Elation's cruise passengers would ever get to watch this show because the ship is getting new shows. The show started with the lead female vocalist singing "Holiday" by Madonna. The dancing part lasted about 5-6 minutes and then the cruise director, Brandon, spoke. He told us this was the last showing of this Welcome Aboard Show and the following day the set would be destroyed.
After the cruise director spoke two comedians performed. Both were good and had the audience laughing the whole time. Following the comedians, another singer performed and then the show was over. Overall, the welcome aboard was great and it was cool getting to be a part of the show's last time being performed.
The Welcome Aboard Show was at 10:15pm in the Mikado Lounge. This was the last time the Elation's cruise passengers would ever get to watch this show because the ship is getting new shows. The show started with the lead female vocalist singing "Holiday" by Madonna. The dancing part lasted about 5-6 minutes and then the cruise director, Brandon, spoke. He told us this was the last showing of this Welcome Aboard Show and the following day the set would be destroyed.
After the cruise director spoke two comedians performed. Both were good and had the audience laughing the whole time. Following the comedians, another singer performed and then the show was over. Overall, the welcome aboard was great and it was cool getting to be a part of the show's last time being performed.
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Next Is Day 2's Review (A Day At Sea)!
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