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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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!! ***
Click Any Photo To Make It Larger!
Carnival 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.
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.
A Front View of the Carnival Ecstasy
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Side View of the Carnival Ecstasy As It Pulls In
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Looking Down the Pier With Both Ships Docked
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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.
I wanted to go ashore again, but first I took a quick walk around the almost empty outer decks of the Carnival Elation.
Pilot Boat
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Looking Towards Cozumel
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Front of the Ship & View of the Pier
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View of Puerta Maya & The Pier
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Monarch Docked at Its Pier
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Carnival Elation's Jogging Track
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Jogging Track
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Carnival Elation's Pool Area
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Verandah Deck Ping Pong Tables
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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.
Sideview of the Front of the Carnival Ecstasy
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Resort Style Pool on the Carnival Ecstasy
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Carnival Ecstasy's WaterWorks
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Catamaran Sailing By
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Basketball Court
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Volleyball Court
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AFT Pool Bar - Never Saw This Open
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Stacked Deck Chairs on the Verandah Deck
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A Look Down Into The Atrium
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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!
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!
View From the Pier Between Both Ships
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Carnival Elation
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Fat Tuesday
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Cake Monument For People To Take Photos With
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Various Things Right By The Pier
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Carnival Ecstasy & Carnival Elation
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Area In Puerta Maya
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Fountain Area Outside of Puerta Maya
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Looking Back at Puerta Maya Area
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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.
Building Across The Street & Road Signs
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Road Signs With Distances
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Street We Had To Cross - Slight Break In Traffic
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Bar Area We Walked By
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Shops
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Row of Shops
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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.
Row Of Shops
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Shopping Center Area
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Shopping Center
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Fountains
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Ships Docked in the Distance
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Taxi
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Street Traffic
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On The Side of Puerta Maya - Looking Towards The Other Side of The Street
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Two Carnival Ship Funnels
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Here are some photos taken back at Puerta Maya:
Puerta Maya
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Puerta Maya
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Puerta Maya
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Puerta Maya
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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.
Looking Down At the Front of the Ship
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Treadmills in the Gym
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Gym
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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.
Stage Construction & Set Teardown Occuring
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Looking Towards The Shops on the Atlantic Deck
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Duke's Piano Bar
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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:
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:
Everyday Dinner Menu
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Dinner Menu For This Night Of The Cruise
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Dessert Menu
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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.
Placesetting For My Spot At the Table
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A Quick Picture of the Dining Room
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Bread Basket With Assorted Breads
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Appetizer - Fried Shrimp
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Appetizer - Chilled Shrimp Cocktail
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Appetizer - Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
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Appetizer - Caesar Salad
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Main Course - Shrimp & Fries
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Main Course - Seared Fillet of Redfish
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Main Course - Grilled Chicken Breast
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Main Course - Grilled Flat Iron Steak
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Dessert - Apple Pie w/ Ice Cream
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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:
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:
View of Cozumel In the Rain
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Under the Lido Lifeboats As It Rains Outside
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Carnival Ecstasy
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Carnival Ecstasy
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View of the Shoreline
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Another View of the Shoreline
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Towel 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!
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!
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