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Carnival Elation 5 Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 3  Part 2            June 10, 2015                 Cozumel, Mexico                 Arrival:  7:00AM               Departure:  7:00PM          
*** The times we were in port were extended at the start of the cruise by the captain!! ***           
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Carnival EcstasyCarnival Ecstasy Getting Ready To Dock In Cozumel
Carnival Ecstasy's Arrival In Cozumel:
            The Carnival Ecstasy was scheduled to dock alongside next to the Carnival Elation in the early afternoon.  After I finished eating lunch, I watched the ship pull in and dock next to us. The Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Elation are both of the same class of ships in Carnival's fleet.
              My first cruise was aboard the Carnival Ecstasy in July of 2007. At this time, the ship sailed from Galveston and cruised 4 & 5 day voyages. It was great getting to see the Carnival Ecstasy again in person and looking at the ship brought back many fond memories of some of the other cruises I have been on. Currently the ship sails from Miami, but next year (2016) will begin to sail from Charleston.

Carnival Ecstasy
A Front View of the Carnival Ecstasy
Carnival Ecstasy
Side View of the Carnival Ecstasy As It Pulls In
Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Elation
Looking Down the Pier With Both Ships Docked
             The weather was partly cloudy in the early afternoon and I knew rain was going to come at some point. Many of the Carnival Elation's outside decks and pool areas were empty because many cruisers were still enjoying time ashore in Cozumel. The gangway was temporarily closed while the Carnival Ecstasy docked due to safety reasons. Within 5 minutes of the Carnival Ecstasy docking, the Carnival Elation reopened its gangway. 
              I wanted to go ashore again, but first I took a quick walk around the almost empty outer decks of the Carnival Elation.
Cozumel Pilot Boat
Pilot Boat
Cozumel, Mexico
Looking Towards Cozumel
Carnival Elation Docked in Cozumel
Front of the Ship & View of the Pier
Puerta Maya
View of Puerta Maya & The Pier
Pullmantur Monarch
Monarch Docked at Its Pier
Carnival Elation
Carnival Elation's Jogging Track
Carnival Elation Jogging Track
Jogging Track
Carnival Elation Pool Area
Carnival Elation's Pool Area
Carnival Elation Verandah Deck Ping Pong
Verandah Deck Ping Pong Tables
                 The following three pictures are of the Carnival Ecstasy. I was able to look over on the ship from the outside decks of the Carnival Elation. While the Carnival Ecstasy has an upgraded pool and WaterWorks, the Carnival Elation has a basketball and volleyball court by the aft pool. 
Carnival Ecstasy
Sideview of the Front of the Carnival Ecstasy
Carnival Ecstasy Resort Style Pool
Resort Style Pool on the Carnival Ecstasy
Carnival Ecstasy WaterWorks
Carnival Ecstasy's WaterWorks
Cozumel
Catamaran Sailing By
Carnival Elation Basketball Court
Basketball Court
Carnival Elation Volleyball Court
Volleyball Court
Carnival Elation AFT Pool Bar
AFT Pool Bar - Never Saw This Open
Carnival Elation Deck
Stacked Deck Chairs on the Verandah Deck
Carnival Elation Atrium
A Look Down Into The Atrium
Food Confiscated Confiscated Fruits & Foods
Getting Back Off In Cozumel & Seeing Others Get Busted For Law Breaking:
            We got back off the Carnival Elation in the early afternoon for a short while. The gangway had very few people getting on or off and within seconds we were off the ship. 
             The cruise director as well as multiple signs on the gangway warned bringing fruit or food off the ship was a violation of local laws. Unlike previous cruises where people could get away with bringing food off the ship, fruit dogs and bag checkers were stationed on the pier. The job of the fruit dogs was to sniff everyone for fruit or food and the bag checkers did a quick check of everyone's bags to make sure no food was being smuggled into the country.  The photo to the left is of one of the the baskets of confiscated food.
Side Note About These Confiscated Food Items:   The local government was kind to the violators and only confiscated the food. These people could have been issued a fine or punished by the local authorities. Do not bring food into a foreign country from a cruise ship!

Carnival Ecstasy and Elation Docked in Cozumel
View From the Pier Between Both Ships
Carnival Elation
Carnival Elation
Fat tuesday Cozumel
Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday Cozumel
Cake Monument For People To Take Photos With
Carnival Elation Pier
Various Things Right By The Pier
Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Elation
Carnival Ecstasy & Carnival Elation
Puerta Maya in Cozumel
Area In Puerta Maya
Fountain at Puerta Maya Pier
Fountain Area Outside of Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Looking Back at Puerta Maya Area
              While Puerta Maya's shops are clean and conveniently located near the ship, cheaper items in shops can usually be found away from cruise ships. Across the street outside of Puerta Maya, cruisers can find a variety of different shops. Crossing the street is the only obstacle between Puerta Maya and these shops.  It took some time to cross because traffic on this road is heavy.
Cozumel
Building Across The Street & Road Signs
Cozumel Mexico Roadsigns
Road Signs With Distances
Cozumel
Street We Had To Cross - Slight Break In Traffic
Bars in Cozumel
Bar Area We Walked By
Cozumel Shops
Shops
Cozumel Shops
Row of Shops
               We wandered into a place that had a variety of shops.  These shopkeepers were highly annoying and would follow cruisers around to try to get them to buy something. After hearing "Looking is free" and "Almost 100% off" for what seemed like a thousand times we left these shops and headed back towards the ship. 
Shops
Row Of Shops
Cozumel Shopping Center Area
Shopping Center Area
Cozumel Shopping Area
Shopping Center
Fountains at Cozumel
Fountains
Cruise Ships Docked in the Distance
Ships Docked in the Distance
Taxi
Taxi
Street Traffic
Street Traffic
Cozumel
On The Side of Puerta Maya - Looking Towards The Other Side of The Street
Carnival Ship Funnels
Two Carnival Ship Funnels
Here are some photos taken back at Puerta Maya:
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
Puerta Maya
          Unfortunately, we did not make it back to the ship before the rain started. The rain started as a light sprinkle, but quickly turned into a heavy downpour. We waited about 10 minutes in the shop on Puerta Maya's pier before making a mad dash to the ship.  Luckily, we brought one large umbrella with us, but when we got between the two ships the wind was so strong the umbrella folded and broke. 
Front of the Carnival Elation
Looking Down At the Front of the Ship
Treadmills in the Gym
Treadmills in the Gym
Carnival Elation's Gym
Gym
                The first picture in the row below was taken in the Mikado Lounge.  One door to the lounge was left open and I was able to walk in to see the progress on the Playlist Productions Installation.  At this point in time, pieces of the show "Win" were being shredded and taken apart. 
Carnival Elation Mikado Lounge
Stage Construction & Set Teardown Occuring
Carnival Elation Atlantic Deck
Looking Towards The Shops on the Atlantic Deck
Carnival Elation Piano Bar
Duke's Piano Bar
Dinner at the Imagination Dining Room: 
                 Once again, I decided to eat dinner in the Imagination Dining Room.  We had the same waitstaff as the night before.  These waiters remembered our names, drink preferences, and made recommendations about which foods to try. The service they offered was above and beyond! 
Here are the menus for this night's dinner:
Carnival Elation Everyday Dinner Menu
Everyday Dinner Menu
Carnival ELation Dinner Menu
Dinner Menu For This Night Of The Cruise
Carnival ELation Dessert Menu
Dessert Menu
                  The food was once again very tasty!  Many first time cruisers don't know this, but you can order multiple food dishes in the main dining room without paying a fee (except for items marked as pay extra). I ordered two appetizers on this night. My appetizers were Caesar Salad and Fried Shrimp. For my main course I had Shrimp & Fries. That may sound like a lot of shrimp, but it was delicious and shrimp is something I only get to eat at Christmas. For dessert everyone at my table had Apple Pie. This has been one of our favorites since our first cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy.
Dinner
Placesetting For My Spot At the Table
Carnival Elation Imagination Dining Room
A Quick Picture of the Dining Room
Carnival Elation Bread Basket
Bread Basket With Assorted Breads
Fried Shrimp
Appetizer - Fried Shrimp
Chilled Shrimp Cocktail
Appetizer - Chilled Shrimp Cocktail
Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
Appetizer - Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
Caesar Salad
Appetizer - Caesar Salad
Picture
Main Course - Shrimp & Fries
Seared Fillet of Redfish
Main Course - Seared Fillet of Redfish
Grilled Chicken Breast
Main Course - Grilled Chicken Breast
Grilled Flat Iron Steak
Main Course - Grilled Flat Iron Steak
Picture
Dessert - Apple Pie w/ Ice Cream
Stormy Sail-a-Way From Cozumel, Mexico:
              As we finished dinner, the ship was untied from the pier and free to sail. It was pouring outside during this time. We went to a covered area outside to see what we could see. I managed to get a few pictures before getting water on my camera lenses. Here are the pictures:
Cozumel, Mexico
View of Cozumel In the Rain
Carnival Elation Lido Deck
Under the Lido Lifeboats As It Rains Outside
Carnival Ecstasy
Carnival Ecstasy
Carnival Ecstasy
Carnival Ecstasy
Cozumel
View of the Shoreline
Cozumel
Another View of the Shoreline
Towel AnimalTowel Animal & Fun-Times
A Rocky Night At Sea and A Feeling Of Being Seasick:
             When we returned to our stateroom our room had received its nightly turndown service and been cleaned. Our steward left a new towel animal and a copy of the next day's Fun-Times.
              Later in the evening, the seas become very rocky and the ship was swaying from side to side. At first, the rocking did not bother me, but as it continued I started to feel bad. I never felt too bad, but the rocking made me feel disoriented. I tried to take a shower before going to bed, but as the ship rocked the water from the shower swayed with the rocking and got the entire bathroom wet.  
               Thankfully, I fell asleep quickly and was able to wake up feeling great. It rained outside for a good portion of the night, but when I woke up in the morning the weather was nice with some clouds in the distance.  I will discuss that more on the next day's review! 

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A Fun Filled Day #4 (Progreso, Mexico) Is Next!
click here to continue to day 4 part 1
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