The Carnival Elation has been in dry-dock for the past few weeks to get several new enhancements and maintenance. Now that the dry-dock is almost over, Carnival has started updating its website and the ship's deck plans to reflect some of the changes made to guest areas of the ship. 

1. 30 New Staterooms Added
            At the back of the Promenade Deck, Carnival added 30 new staterooms. These staterooms are located where the Cole Porter aft lounge used to be. Based on the deck plans, most of the new rooms are either balconies or interior staterooms. I will update this once Carnival has updated the booking engine with specific room information. 

​2.  Addition Of A Limelight Lounge
           Due to the Cole Porter nightclub being converted into staterooms, Carnival needed to find a space to replace the old aft-lounge. During this dry-dock, Carnival converted the old nightclub to be a Limelight Lounge. Typically the Limelight Lounge is used for events such as the Punchliner Comedy Club or karaoke. 

3. Alchemy Bar
                The Alchemy Bar was added during this dry-dock. Guests on the Carnival Elation can find the Alchemy Bar located near the back of the Promenade Deck where Gatsby's Great Bar used to be located. The Alchemy Bar concept allows cruisers to have their bartender mix a variety of ingredients together to form custom drinks and cocktails. 

4. Cherry On Top
                     Carnival added a Cherry On Top to the Carnival Elation's Promenade Deck. The Carnival Elation's Cherry On Top can be found on the Promenade Deck near the internet cafe and Java Blue Cafe. Cherry On Top sells a variety of candies and sweets. 

5.  Java Blue Cafe 
                         The Carnival Elation's old coffee bar (called the Musical Cafe) was replaced during this dry-dock with the Java Blue Cafe. The Java Blue Cafe serves a variety of coffees and beverages for a fee. 

6.  Dreams Studio
                         The Dreams Studio was added to the Carnival Elation during this dry-dock. This studio is commonly used for photo sessions scheduled with the ship's Pixels Photo gallery photographers. Guests on the Carnival Elation can find this located by the Carnival Elation's casino where the old formalities shop used to be. 

7.  Bonsai Sushi Express
                             Near the front of the Carnival Elation's Promenade walkway by the casino guests will be able to see Bonsai Sushi Express. Bonsai Sushi Express serves a variety of sushi, sashimi, and rolls to cruisers that want to quickly get a bite to eat. This feature is not complimentary, which means guests do have to pay a little extra.

8.  Routine Maintenance and Work Completed
                              Although cruise guests usually look forward to enhancements made during a dry-dock, one of the main purposes of a dry-dock is do maintenance of the ship. This could vary from work to the ship's systems all the way to carpeting or refreshing basic things in the ship's public areas. 

All of this information is from the Carnival Elation page on Carnival's website. I also looked at the ship's updated deck plan when writing this post. More information could be announced soon, so I will update if I see or hear about anything else! 

        The first day of the voluntary USA cruise suspension is now in progress. This cruise suspension was announced yesterday by Cruise Lines International Association and later confirmed by Carnival Cruise Line. A letter from Carnival states cruises are cancelled through Friday, April 10th. Today in Galveston the Carnival Vista and Carnival Freedom both arrived as normal to let cruisers off.
              I traveled down to Galveston today to see both ships. The Carnival Vista was docked at cruise terminal #1 and the Carnival Freedom was docked at cruise terminal #2. The area outside the cruise terminal was crowded with debarking passengers, but not nearly as crowded as a normal cruise ship turnaround day. Some crew members could be seen in the area around the cruise terminals. It felt like a normal day even though there will be no embarking guests.

Here are some pictures from my visit down to Galveston: 
Click Any Picture To Make It Larger!

       The coronavirus outbreak situation has affected numerous people across the world. Cruise lines around the world have been feeling the impact of the coronavirus situation. Today (3/13/2020) Cruise Lines International Association Announced a voluntary suspension of US cruise operations. The voluntary suspension is scheduled to begin at 12:00am on Saturday, March 14, 2020. 
(Note:  Cruise lines can take this a step further and voluntarily suspend operations for longer if they wish).

What about cruises currently sailing?
               There will be numerous cruise ships throughout the United States that are scheduled to dock tomorrow for homeport operations (this is normal). When these ships dock, the ships will conduct debarkation operations. However, this voluntary suspension of cruises means that embarking guests will not be getting on. For cruises expected to end at a later time, most likely these cruises will end their voyages at the normally scheduled time unless an individual cruise line makes the decision to end the cruise earlier or is instructed to do so by authorities. 

What if my cruise was one of the sailings that is now suspended?
                  Check your cruise line's website for specific information about how cancellations are being handled. The entire coronavirus situation has been evolving over the past few weeks and cruise lines are having to constantly update information available to guests, travel agents, and employees. 

I Need To Talk To My Cruise Line, But The Phone Lines Aren't Working: What Should I Do?
                         The only thing I can recommend is you keep trying. Several people have reported online that calling cruise lines has been extremely difficult and the phone wait times have been long. This is due to several people calling with questions and to cancel or modify a booking. If you use a travel agent, I recommend calling him or her. 

This information is intended to be generic. For more information on the CLIA voluntary suspension I recommend you click here to view CLIA's press release. Please note, information is subject to change and can vary by cruise line. Please check with your cruise line for the latest information.