Galaxy Reviewed by Beth

Let me begin by saying that these are my own personal observations. Every person comes aboard with different expectations of a cruise. On any cruise one person can have a totally horrible experience and another can have the time of their life. But I know I benefit from a wide range of opinions when I?m trying to pick a cruise so I feel it can?t hurt to report my experience for others to compare. I have previously cruised on Royal Caribbean and Princess so that is what I am comparing things to. As Celebrity?s slogan is ?exceeding expectations?, I was anticipating a pretty high quality experience. So that said, here?s my take on the Galaxy...

Overall, this was a pleasant, relaxing cruise. But Celebrity did not exceed my expectations. I was surprised at how standard most things were, instead of above average as they claim. Lets start with the food, since they claim to have the best cuisine. It was good, but not great. Examples: runny scrambled eggs, soggy French toast, fatty veal, dry tenderloin. The breakfast buffet had essentially the same choices every single day. Usually there was one different selection. The buffet itself was presented very simply. One thing I noticed right away was how they were obviously trying to improve the buffet experience by having trays lined with linens, a server who hands you a tray and utensils, and waiters to carry your tray to your table. But what I found myself thinking was ?This doesn?t really do anything for me. I?d rather have better food choices and carry my tray myself!?. The lunch buffet seemed to always have very heavy dinner foods. Only once was I able to get a sandwich,! and they also had a salad bar (and a meager one, at that) only once. I sorely missed the daily salad bar aboard Princess. It was extensive and available all afternoon long, great for late lunches! On the Galaxy, if you wanted something to eat after 2pm, you were pretty much left with having a hamburger or pizza. (The only late-afternoon food available.) There was an ?afternoon tea? from 4pm ? 5pm, which had a few finger sandwiches and tons of sweets. (Note: We never tried the room service. But our tablemates told us that the selection was less than stellar. The only sandwich they were able to get was PB&J.) Another thing I missed from Princess was having the beverages available. The Galaxy provided lemonade, punch and iced tea during meals. But right after the buffet ended, they were promptly closed. Princess always had at least one drink station open where you could get a glass of iced tea. As such, we ended up spending quite a bit more on bar drinks (soda, wine, and a fe! w cocktails) than we ever have. ($400+ total bar bill) The dining room. Again, so-so. We had the late seating, which was supposed to be at 8:30pm. Several nights they opened late. We would see people from the early seating still coming out at 8:15pm! They would open the doors for our seating usually about 5 to 10 minutes late. If you had lunch at 1:00, you?re pretty hungry by 8:30pm, you want to eat! We were at a table for 4 with one other couple. I was a little disappointed with our table. I realize we all can?t have window seats, but we were way over on the far side, along the emergency exit wall, near the front. What I stared at for 7 days was a blank white wall with a red exit sign above the door. The dining room was supposed to be very elegant and beautiful, I wouldn?t know. I had my back to the whole thing. (Actually, I did get up one night and took a little stroll. It was very pretty. A lovely staircase led down to the lower level. The ceilings could?ve been a little taller, though. ) Now, the service. Definitely nothing! spectacular. Our waiters were VERY slow the first night. (They did improve as the cruise went on.) When we were eating our salad, most of the tables around us were already on dessert. Our head waiter never remembered the menu choices. When he would bring out the dessert platter, he had a cheat-sheet so he could tell us what the choices were. He also never remembered our names. (We played a little joke on him and wore nametags one night.) The others were better. The assistant waiter always remembered that I don?t drink coffee. And the wine steward was very friendly and chatty, delightful company! Our thought is that the head waiter is really the leader (after all, he gets the biggest tip). So if anyone should exceed expectations, it should be him. So... he should surely remember what deserts are offered, and he would probably remember our names (as they always have on our other cruises). The service was also very slow when we ate breakfast in the dining room. We only went ! once, then decided we?d stick with the buffet. We were seated at a long table with 9 others. They took our order quickly, but then people who arrived after us got their food first. I was pleasantly surprised when they remembered the 2 glasses of juice I?d ordered. The meal? Well, I?ve had better eggs benedict at IHOP.
The dinner food was also so-so. One of their salads was simply a chunk of iceberg lettuce with a few tomato slices on the side. My tenderloin was a little overcooked and pretty dry. One night, my veal was terribly fatty. The next time I had veal it was a little better. Positives: the Celebrity dressing gets an A+, yummy! (It has 20+ top-secret ingredients, so I?m told...) Some good sauces, and tasty desserts. The first midnight buffet we ate since we boarded pretty late. Pretty mediocre. Very greasy fried chicken, so-so ribs, good rice. We never had any of the other midnight buffets. Another thing I wanted to mention ? they had one ?Grand Buffet?. It was beautiful. Tons of intricately carved food sculptures, lots of ice sculptures and lovely presentation. But what I was thinking as I was walking through was why didn?t they put a little more effort into the daily buffets instead of all of this just once? It would?ve made the other buffets a little more classy (and went along ! better with the white-gloved waiters) to have had a few of those ice/food sculptures around those, too. And the viewing processional that they had for the Grand Buffet was ridiculous. It took WAY too long for all the passengers to go through the line to ?view? the buffet before it was eaten. If they wanted it to be seen before it was consumed, then it should?ve just been an open invitation instead of this incredibly long line. (Both Princess and Royal Caribbean had lovely buffets every night. We were able to get plenty of pictures as people were wandering around them. No line necessary. )

Okay, on to other service. Right off the bat, the service we received was definitely not on the same level as Princess. One thing in particular annoyed us. We arranged our own air, but purchased Celebrity?s transfers. The baggage tags specifically stated that if we purchased our own air, not to put the tags on our luggage. Our travel agent had told us that we needed to claim our own luggage, and then meet the representatives down in the baggage claim. Fine, we have no problem with that. So when we arrive at the airport, there are representatives there to meet us at the gate. They are asking everyone if they put the tags on their bags. We tell them we didn?t, as instructed. We tell them that we were told to go to baggage claim first. They have no idea what we?re talking about. Eventually another representative comes along who does seem to know whats going on. She tells us where to go to get down to the baggage claim, and that they?ll be someone down there. Well, there isn?t a! nyone down there, not right away. After about 15 minutes, we see someone from Celebrity. At this point we have gotten our luggage off the carousel. So he tells us to put the Celebrity tags on the luggage, and then put the bags back on the carousel! We couldn?t believe it! All this hoopla and then the luggage just goes back into the system where their people will pick it up anyway! We were expecting that we would have to take our luggage to a holding area or to a bus or something, which is fine. But to have us go all the way down there, meanwhile they?re holding the bus for us, to just put the stupid Celebrity tags on them and come back up was ridiculous. I have no doubt that if we would?ve just put the tags on before we left, our bags would?ve been picked up with everyone else?s and none of them would?ve cared that we weren?t forced to go down to tag the bags. Ok, that?s my piece about that. Moving on... When we were at embarkation, the agent was very short with us when we ! didn?t have one of the forms filled out. It had not been in the packet with the others so that?s why we had missed it. Then we get to our stateroom and our keys are not there as indicated. Also, our stateroom steward is nowhere to be found. On all of our other cruises, the steward has always been there to introduce himself and offer any assistance. We found another steward and told him that we didn?t get our keys. He told us to go down to Guest Relations and ask them to get us new ones. Now I?m not saying it was a horrible inconvenience or it upset us, but the standard service is that your keys are waiting for you in the room. In my opinion, above-average service would?ve been if that steward had gone and gotten our keys and brought them to us, not just told us to go get them ourselves. In regards to our cabin steward, he did his job. But didn?t ?exceed expectations?. Throughout the entire cruise, I never once met him. Each day the bed would be made, but he never really cle! aned the bathroom very well and never did any tidying up. On a positive note, he always had our pitcher filled with fresh water and our ice bucket full. The bed was always made promptly, and the laundry service was always returned promptly as well.

Now, entertainment. The shows were okay. I would agree with what I have read in other reviews ? it was as if the performers weren?t quite up to the level that the costumes and sets were. There were glitzy costumes and lots of music, but the dancers weren?t in synch and some couldn?t keep up. The acrobats took 3 tries to complete one of their stunts, and they didn?t close the curtains to change over some of the sets. The singers in the lounges were all very pleasant. When they didn?t have production shows in the theatre, the entertainers were better. They had a violinist one night who was excellent. They also had a juggler/comedian/magician. Although kind of a hodge-podge of jokes, stunts, and tricks, it was still somewhat entertaining. The theatre itself was very beautiful and well designed with good views and comfortable seats. Ok, a few comments about everything else. One of the reasons we picked Celebrity was all the activities they claimed to have on board. The volleyball and basketball courts were great to have, and the spa was very nice, as indicated. But I was expecting my spa services to be explained to me before they just jumped right in and started applying the treatment. The tv had a system to book shore excursions on it, but when I tried to book both of ours, I was unable to and had to go to the desk anyway. ( However, it was still very easy as I just had to drop my requests in a box. We got everything we requested. ) I would?ve liked to see better descriptions of the shore excursions, and some type of description for the movies playing in the cinema. Not even a poster around to give us an idea of the movie. They also re-played the same movies most days. They also replayed the same movies over and over again on tv. The only regular channels we got were CNN (from Europe) and TBS. Again,! these things were all better on Princess and RCCL. Another really nice feature on Princess was the re-entry procedure when in port. They had room cards that were scanned. You just had to swipe your card when you came on board. With the Galaxy, you had to present your card, as well as a photo-id to a crewmember when you came back on. Just by showing your card, they still have no idea if everyone?s back or not. And it was a little slower and less efficient than how it was on Princess. (No one ever had their picture-id ready.) With the scanning on Princess, it moved very quickly and the computer could tell them instantly if it had counted everyone or not. And for security, the computer would take a picture of your face at the same time that you scanned your card. So it was a really fast, efficient system. As far as other amenities/activities on Galaxy ? pathetic library. Maybe a total of 50 books, many empty shelves. A very nice computer room ? with no computers!! Just empty ! desks. A nice video-arcade for the kids, first time I?ve seen that. And finishing on a positive note, things I really liked -- TONS of deck space. I could always find a quiet place to go, and there were plenty of deck chairs to go around, even when we were at sea! Loved having the v-ball and b-ball courts, definitely going to look for that in the future! (Weren?t available on our past cruises.) Several fun activities planned, I wish there had been a better turnout by my fellow cruisers! We enjoyed all the fresh fruit in the morning, and the cookies in the afternoon.
So there you have it. As I said, overall a very nice, relaxing vacation. But the impressions made upon my husband and myself were not of superior service and food. We would probably take Celebrity again, but it wouldn?t be our first choice. (I am actually looking forward to taking another RCCL cruise now that they have some newer ships with more amenities and services! ) I?m sure if you ask someone else that was aboard with us, they?d say it was the best cruise of their life. So there you go. Just another opinion? :>

Constellation Review ? Baltic Reviewed by Sima

The Ship:
Connie is our favorite ship, this is our 3rd time on her. She is as lovely as last year, very comfortable and we know our way on her. The public areas are magnificent, the San Marco restaurant is as wonderful as ever.

The Cabin:
We booked our 8054 last year?s cabin. It seemed like we left it 2 weeks before. The beds were comfortable, the balcony was great, even though it was a little chilly this time to sit in it a lot. The wardrobe was large enough for the too many cloths we packed. The shower was big and the water pressure was good. The TV had a selection of movies to buy plus a few Celebrity channels but there was no list of programs.

The Itinerary
Dover, Oslo, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Dover.

Oslo
In Oslo we took a shore excursion called: ?Fjord Cruise & Norwegian Folk Museum ?. The boat was a very beautiful and old sailing boat. There were tables and chairs and people could get free coffee and tea. Most of the seats were on deck but there were some inside. As it was very cold and windy we preferred to sit inside. The scenery was beautiful. After the cruise, we visited the Norwegian Folk Museum. It has very interesting old houses, some of them we entered. It was very dark inside and difficult to enter and exit and we were told it was built that way in order to protect the house from uninvited guests. Afterwards the bus took us to see the ski jump. We enjoyed this shore excursion, the guide was very good.

St. Petresburg
We booked with Red October 2 half-day tours after reading so much about them on the Internet. The first day to the Hermitage and the second day to Catharine Palace in Pushkin. Upon arrival to the Constellation, there was a letter from Celebrity regarding disembarking in St. Petersburg for passengers who did not take a Celebrity shore excursion. It said to inform them in advance about our plans and to come to Reflections Nightclub before our own tour, in order to receive a number for disembarkation. We did inform them about our tours but we did not go to Reflections because we saw that we can leave the ship. When we exited there were two lines to the immigration offices. It took 20 minutes to pass it. Afterwards we searched for Red October sign and found the guide and driver. The car was a Mercedes. We drove to St. Petersburg and saw most of the famous landmarks of the city. We arrived at the Hermitage. The guide let us in without any lines (we paid for early entrance). We wanted to see the middle floor. The Hermitage is very beautiful but we felt we could have enjoyed it a lot more if we did not have to be dragged after the guide who kept us standing sometimes for 10 minutes near a single picture or statue, that sometimes we were not very interested in and talking too much about it. On our correspondence with Red October we asked for 1 hour in the Hermitage, he was not informed about it and after a very tiring hour, we told him that. He was offended, and asked us why didn?t we tell him that at the start. Afterwards he showed us some much more interesting rooms (what we wanted to see from the start). As we paid $5 for 1 camera, we thought it was allowed to take photos. It supposed to be allowed but after a few photos, in most rooms the guards kept shouting not Flash and even when we took photos without flash they kept shouting. So eventually we gave it up. The tour was an hour and a half or something. We felt that if we went alone we could have seen what we wanted a lot better. After the Hermitage, we went to pay for the day at the Red October shop, which took a lot of time, and they wanted us to buy things.

On the second day we drove to Pushkin. We arrived at Catherine Palace. The building is beautiful. We also had an early entrance, so did most of the people from Costa Cruise (2 ships in the port). The palace is magnificent! Since it is not as large as the Hermitage, an hour there was adequate to enjoy the place in spite of our guide. Here it was easier to take photos. Afterwards we saw the gardens and drove back to St. Petersburg in order to pay for this day.

St. Petersburg is a beautiful city, we thought that Red October would make it easier for us but they didn?t because we didn?t have the freedom to choose exactly what we wanted to see.

Helsinki
We didn?t go to any shore excursion in Helsinki, since we were too tired from St. Petersburg.

Stockholm
We took the Waterways Of Stockholm. It was a lovely 2-hour cruise. We saw how beautiful Stockholm is from the sea. The boat was a closed one and the guide was very good.

Copenhagen
We booked our limo (the same one as last year) and drove outside Copenhagen to Frederiksborg slot. The countryside is lovely and different from the city of Copenhagen. Our driver was wonderful. The castle is lovely. Now we appreciated the fact that we were on our own. We saw the beautiful rooms at our pace and skipped the uninteresting ones. We enjoyed the castle very much and bought some lovely souvenirs there.

The Food
We had a table in a great location at the San Marco. Since we knew most of the dishes it was very easy to decide what to eat. Today there is the fantastic Mocha cake, or today is the Calvados apple and so on. The food is so wonderful that just thinking about it makes us want to come back. Our waiters were wonderful and we almost never waited for the next course.

The Seaside café was good but not half as good as the San Marco.

We ordered Pizza a few times, which was great.

At the Cova Café we drank cappuccino that was excellent. I wish Celebrity would eventually make the Cova a smoke free environment next time we?re there.

The Entertainment
The Celebrity Dancers and Singers gave 4 shows. We saw 3 of them that were very good. Amongst others there were: Classic Pianist Brooks Aehron, comedy impressionist Scott Record who was great. The Celebrity Theatre is magnificent and we always sat at the same place.

We won $ 14 at the casino. It was very crowded and we saw people lose hundreds of dollars there. We sometimes play the Slots and go after we win.

It was a wonderful cruise and it went by too fast. We will surely return to the Constellation in the future.

Carnival Triumph Western Caribbean Reviewed by Li

Background Info - I'm Linda, 43, and I've been on 8 cruises before this. My daughter, Danielle, who is 13, has been on 7. My father, in his late 60s, also came along. He was on 6 cruises before this one.

We flew down the day before and stayed at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay Hotel. It is very nice but my father wished they would have had a coffee shop instead of just the restaurant. However, we found a Coffee Beanery across the street and even had breakfast there the next morning. Our room had a view of the cruise ships which we really enjoyed.

We took a cab to the ship rather than use the transfers. It just seemed more convenient to leave whenever we were ready. Since we were able to do our cruise check in at the hotel, we were able to walk right on the ship when we arrived at the pier. We were in our cabin by 12:45. After a quick look around, my father had to go to the welcome aboard buffet and my daughter and I just relaxed for a while.

Our cabin was category 8A, midship, on the port side. It was a good location. We really enjoy the balcony and are now too spoiled to go without one. We were assigned to the Paris Dining Room, main sitting. I went down to the dining room to check out our table assignment. It was a table for 8 in the center of the room. I asked if we could change tables to be nearer a window...they were able to put us at a table of our own just a few feet from a window. Our waiter was Christian from Trinidad and our assistant waiter was Thomaslav from Croatia. Both were very friendly and attentive. The food was also very good and we fully enjoyed our dining experiences. Besides dinner, we also ate a few breakfasts and lunches in the dining room. (Breakfast was open seating which I appreciated since we had early seating.) Our other meals were in the South Beach Club...either the buffet, Chinese, pizza or the Grille. It was nice to have so many options.

The shows were also good. I enjoy the production shows and all the other entertainment. Corey Schmidt was the cruise director and I thought he did a fine job. I really enjoyed his exotic bird show.

Our first port was Cozumel. We had decided to go to Chankanaab Park and had made arrangements over the internet for my daughter to swim with the dolphins. When we got to the park, I checked in at the Dolphin Discovery area and found out that her name was not on the list to swim that day. I asserted that we had booked and paid for the swim in February and if there was a problem, she should check further. She called her office and even had me get on the phone with them. After waiting a while, (maybe an hour?), they finally apologized for the error and made room for her at the 12:00 swim. All in all, it was worth the wait. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the photos and video they take are also great. It was well worth the money. I highly recommend swimming with the dolphins. I would suggest that if you book over the internet, you should probably confirm your reservation a week or so before you go to avoid what happened with us. Other than the dolphins, Chankanaab Park has many other things to do. We walked through the archaeological area and took a quick swim. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the botanical gardens.

In Grand Cayman, we took the Mermaid Party Boat. I hadn't heard much about this excursion prior to going but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The boat had 3 decks...the bottom deck with glass bottom sections, the top deck was open and the middle deck had the bar, tables and chairs, music and a ???dance floor'. The rum punch was available as soon as you got aboard. We went to Seven Mile Beach where we had time to swim and on the return trip really had a party on the boat. My daughter even won the limbo contest!

In Ocho Rios, we took the Cool Runnings excursion to Dunn's River Falls. We had been to the falls before by bus and decided we would go by boat this time. My father swam at the beach while my daughter and I did the climb. It's a beautiful spot and we enjoyed it. Since we weren't going anywhere else on the island, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to buy my Blue Mountain Coffee. When we returned from the excursion, I went to the building at the pier and found 3 small shops....not a lot of choices, but I was able to buy my souvenirs from Jamaica. Back on board, we had one more day at sea. I enjoy taking the dance classes, shopping and the entertainment. My daughter spent much of her time working on her tan with the friends she met the first night at the teen get-together. They've been e-mailing each other since we got back. My father just enjoys relaxing....and the casino! Although we each had different experiences, we all enjoyed the Carnival Triumph. We have already made plans to sail the Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Destiny next year!

Submitted by Linda

Imagination Caribbean Reviewed by Pam

EMBARKATION - Got to port about 1ish and although the crowd looked intimidating,

the process went a lot faster than I thought it would... There were many Carnival reps on hand and the lines moved quickly...We showed our docs, ID's, and activated our sail and sign cards and were onboard in probably 15 or 20 minutes...

Although we were hoping for an upgrade, the ship was sold out and alas, we had to deal with a Cat 1A cabin (upper and lower)... didn't matter to me since I wasn't traveling with my hubby... We found our cabin easily and unpacked right away... The cabin was bigger than I expected with LOTS of storage room... Our S&S cards were waiting for us and the Funvision was working just fine... Brought all our stuff in carry ons, so no waiting for luggage... Started touring the ship, taking mostly the stairs as I wanted to get SOME exercize... The ship is laid out in a manner that it is very easy to find anything and everything with no problem... Stopped at the Horizon for Pizza and Caesar salad... The lifeboat drill started late, as did sailing, and it was HOT standing outside in those life jackets... Could have done without all the stupid jokes as it took up lots of time... Went back in to cool off, found the sushi bar and indulged... None of the sushi was raw and they were all Maki Rolls, 4 choices and all delicious...Sake also available but was not hot the first day (it was after that)...

We had late seating dinner so we went to the Casino for a Rum Swizzle party... It wasn't easy finding a server with a tray of drinks, but we did... we also had our first encounter with the Video Diary team there... Played some "face up 21" for a while and headed for dinner in the Pride dining room... We had a table for 10, all women, ages 28 to 49... everyone seemed cordial and we talked and got to know each other... dinner was a LONG ordeal that first night and we were the last table to leave the dining room... went to see part of the welcome aboard show, which was ok if you like that sort of thing (doesn't thrill me) and then off to a lounge to see the Curveball Brothers.. They play mostly 70s and 80s music and are pretty good, except.. one of the guys was distracted by some blonde wearing very little clothing, and the other guy was trying to get people to buy him shots which he downed one after another... Went to the late buffet, but I wasnt hungry so didnt eat much of anything and then to bed... slept like a baby in the upper bunk!

Woke up the next morning REALLY feeling the movement of the ship, but did not get sick... Thank God for Bonine!

SERVICE - Service in the dining room was not that great, in fact, the first night it was disastrous...Our waiter Rey was fine but very quiet and reserved... Our Asst Waiter Matia, was a nervous wreck with no personality and never a smile... It took forever to get a bottle of wine and even longer to get it opened... My friend's bottle of wine was delivered to the wrong table so hers took even longer... When the head waiter Leland came around to check on us, we complained about the service and he assured us that it would improve... It did the next day, a bit, but Leland also made promises he didn't keep and never returned to the table till the last night, no doubt looking for a tip, which he did not get from anyone at our table... The Maitre D never showed his face at our table once.. no tip for him either... Service on the Lido deck was fantastic... Look for Tomasz or Ali and tell em Pamela says hi...
Our room steward, Ricky, was shy but friendly and efficient... Our room was always clean and we had 2 ice buckets always filled with fresh ice... We had a towel animal one night...

FOOD - We ate breakfast in the dining room each day and it was nicely presented and good... For lunch we did caesar salad and pizza nearly every day.. it was fast, convenient and delicious.. try the goat cheese and mushroom or the Napolitana (peppers, green and black olives, and mushrooms)... We had dinner in the dining room each night except for the day we were in Cozumel where we were otherwise occupied at Carlos and Charlies : ) The only thing I didn't like was the lobster, and I LOVE lobster... Mine was mushy though and I returned it for Quail which was delicious... The Rack of Lamb, Tilapia, and Prime rib were all wonderful as well and all prepared as ordered (med rare) For appetizers, the wild mushroom ragout and hand cut smoked salmon were great but the shrimp was just ok...

I am not a sweet eater, but I had to try some desserts as well and was pleasantly surprised at how good the Grand Marnier souffle was (how do they do that for all those people at once?) and the Cherries Jubilee was also very yummy...

WHAT WE DID - In Key West, we walked to town, about a mile or two and just shopped and looked around... Went back to the ship, had some lunch and laid in the sun... and then back for more sushi... This was formal night and everyone looked like they took their time getting ready... We went to the captain's cocktail party, had a few drinks, and went to dinner... took lots of photos after dinner (none of which I bought) and had a few more drinks... We wanted to see the comedian at 12:30 but were real tired from walking and the sun so we figured we would nap a bit... I woke up at 1am... oh well... The next day was Cozumel... we had breakfast, went to the shopping talk which was horribly boring and hung by the pool for a while... had lunch before leaving the ship, then took a taxi to Playa del Sol... Nice beach, free chairs, restaurant, immaculate bathrooms and good Pina Coladas ($4)... After nearly 3 hours in the scorching sun, I had my hair braided and then we took a taxi to town... Did some shopping and went to Carlos and Charlies for dinner and drinks... By the time we got back to the ship, it was too late for sushi : ( as they are only open from 5:30-8:30... went to the casino, hung out and later went to the deck party... You could tell that night who was having a good time for sure!
Our last day was at sea and we spent nearly all of it at the pool only taking a break for the debarkation talk... took a little nap and back for more sushi (of course)... At dinner we exchanged email addresses and said our final farewells to our tablemates... went on deck for drinks and finished the night by nearly closing the casino.. yeah.. it was late! In bed by 3am and for the first time heard noises in the hallway at 4:30am... some kids (maybe between 18 and 20), were out in the hall making LOTS of noise... My friend opened the door and asked them politely to keep it down... quiet for a minute, then CRASH!!!! they had thrown something at our door... I was too tired to look, but found out in the morning that it was a dinner plate that someone had left out from room service.... Up at 6am to get ready to disembark... after a little breakfast and closing up the cabin, we opted to wait on Lido deck... got an extra hour of sun as the ship kept paging someone that refused to go to immigration... We disembarked at about 11am... I did not see any dogs and I did not see anyone being pulled aside at all to be checked.. everyone just seemed to walk right out...

The average age of cruisers on this ship was probably 30-50, both couples and singles, although it seemed like more women traveling alone than men (darn!).. There were kids and teens onboard as well and were all well behaved when we saw them and all seemed like they were having a good time... Our cruise director was ok.. her name is Shawn Bussey... we rarely saw her... Most of the support staff was very friendly, always smiling and saying hello... All in all, I had a FANTASTIC time and can't wait to go again.... Next cruise, Ecstasy, this September, and hoping to book one for Dec with my kids as well...

Elation - Mexican Riviera Reviewed by Robin B

Before taking this cruise I spent hours on the Internet perusing rec.travel.cruises and reading any cruise review I could find. I got many good ideas and hints from fellow cruisers and included in my review are some hints and tips that I haven't seen mentioned in other reviews.

FIRST HINT: Be sure to take something warm to wear such a pair of long pants and a light jacket or sweatshirt as the first and last days at sea can be a little cool and breezy. I heard many passengers grumbling that their travel agent said it would be warm and ended up buying sweatshirts at the gift shop.

EMBARKATION - We stayed Saturday night at the San Pedro Best Western so we could park our car free for a week (although we were charged a higher room rate called the "cruise special"). We had heard it was good to get to the terminal early so we arrived at about 10:30. The good news was that there we no lines and we sailed right up to the counter, checked in, and were given a numbered boarding pass. The bad news was that we couldn't board the ship until 12:30 or so. But it was worth getting there early as we were able to get a place to sit and watch all of the other passengers arrive (we love to people-watch). If you are so inclined to book a massage, pedicure, etc., the spa staff set up a table so passengers could make appointments (they did offer some discounts for same-day services).

THE FIRST AFTERNOON - The first thing we had to do was get some lunch and since we had heard the pizza was good decided that was what we would have. And, yes, it did live up to its reputation. The next step was to go to Gatsby's Bar to change our seating time for dinner (we had been given late instead of early). Then it was off to explore the ship, have a beer, and unpack. We met our terrific cabin steward, Rodney Francois.
We asked him to make our bed up with a king-sheet and he happily complied. Our cabin was M58 on the main deck and we were a little worried about the fact that we might feel more movement near the front of the ship (I am prone to seasickness), and we did, but the seas were fairly calm and once the dramamine took effect, we were fine. We were also close to the breakwater point so we could hear the sound of the water and it would sometimes spray on the window, which sounded like soothing rain. The mandatory lifeboat drill has been discussed ad nauseum so I will just say it lived up to its reputation but we had fun talking to other passengers.
HINT: Ask the cabin steward for an extra blanket as the cabins can get a little chilly at night.

We went to the late seating and although we enjoyed our tablemates, discovered we really hated waiting that late to eat, so we talked to the maitre-d about changing to early seating. (Later that night a card was slipped under our door with the new time and table assignment.) I had the catch-of-the-day and found it to be quite tasty even though it was a fish I had never heard of, and my husband had the steak, which he said was good. Dessert was chocolate cake (I got mine to go and had it for breakfast the next morning) and guava torte. We went to the show in the Mikado Lounge (as previous reviewers have reported, get there early for a decent seat as they are many bad sight lines) and discovered the cruise director, Greg Kneale, was the same one we had when we sailed the same itinerary on the Jubilee four years ago. We also discovered he still had the same schtick and routines, but he was quite funny and entertaining anyway. There was also a magic show that was fairly good.

Then it was back to the cabin and my favorite time of day (besides meal times, of course). I just loved opening the cabin door to find the lights low, the bed turned down, mints on the pillow, and a cute towel animal on the bed wearing my sunglasses.

MONDAY - We woke up to cloudy but warm weather and after a breakfast in the dining room of eggs benedict (you are served one unless you specify two) and pancakes, found our spot on deck to camp out for the day. We started out on the side deck overlooking the pool but later found we liked the little strip in front of the running track overlooking the pool. It afforded a nice view of the sea and everything that was going on down below. So after spreading on the suntan lotion, ordering a few beers, we proceeded to enjoy the day while listening to the good reggae band, Motion. Ever notice how one always sees the same people over and over even though there are 2000 people on board? One guy we saw constantly we nicknamed "Bong Boy". He was a long-haired, somewhat unkempt fellow whose idea of dressing up was to don a pair of sneakers that weren't cut out. Anyway, he would wander the ship with a huge beer funnel and would party with anyone who would drink beer from his bong. He had quite a time! In the cabin was a brochure from the spa that listed services and got an appointment for a manicure at 1:30. I thought I would be charged the brochure price. Silly me! When I was presented with the bill, it was $13 more than what was listed. I asked about the difference and was told that the brochures were outdated and this was the current price. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I pitched a little fit and challenged the practice of charging more than advertised and the woman at the deck grudgingly lowered the price. I was told that it would be impossible to change all 1000 brochures, you know (noticed later that the receptionist was doing nothing but reading a magazine and I was very tempted to take the brochures and tell her this would be a good time to change the prices).
HINT: If you make an appointment for a spa service, ask the price before you go!

Then it was time to head back to the cabin where we found our robes waiting for us. For some reason, formal night seems to strike fear in the hearts of many cruisers and we were a little apprehensive about it. I had borrowed a beautiful beaded dress and was worried I would be overdressed but I didn't have anything to worry about. Dresses ran from Sunday best to Hollywood awards show kinds of gowns, and you know, it didn't make any difference. It was all festive and everyone was having a wonderful time, including us. After getting our pictures taken in three different settings, it was time for dinner. We found ourearly seating table and it was in a better location (not as crowded and noisy), our waiter Ilhelm from Indonesia had a great personality, and our tablemates were fun and we enjoyed getting to know them. Dinner was good lobster (ask for two if you like lobster) and prime rib. After dinner the waiters sang a song and served flameless cherries jubilee (Ilhelm said there were accidents with the flames and I could see where Carnival would be a little worried about fire!).
Since we didn't make the early Captain's party, we went to the later one and chatted with a nice couple while having free drinks. Then we stayed for the show Rhythm, which was quite good (similar to a low-budget Las Vegas review but we have seen worse). Then it was on to the Cole Porter Lounge for the couples and lovers party where my husband danced with me for the first time in 27 years!!! HINT: Go to many different places for formal night pictures if you want to buy one. It will ensure you get a good one.

TUESDAY - Before going to bed, we had filled out a card for a continental breakfast to be served to our cabin. Bagels weren't listed but I wrote it on the card with a "please" and received a warm toasted bagel with cream cheese - Yummy! After our walk on the track, had a late breakfast at Tiffany's. HINT: If you want eggs cooked to order, ask at the omelet station as they will cook them over-easy, etc. (except on the last morning of the cruise). The rest of the day was spent on deck even though the morning was cloudy and a little cool. It cleared up when we passed Cabo San Lucas in the early afternoon. From there the weather continued to get warmer and more humid. Dinner was one of my favorite fishes, Chilean Sea Bass and it was prepared quite well. After dinner found us in the Mikado Lounge where we saw Merle Hobbs, a very funny comedian. He had most of us women in stitches when he discussed men fitting into bathing suits and men's underwear. The second part of the show was a country fiddler, but I'll be danged if I can remember his name. He was excellent, if you like fiddle music, and it was like watching a legend as he used to be in the Sons of the Pioneers. After dinner we went to the duty-free store and purchased liquor to take home. We bought a litter each of Kahlua, Absolut vodka, Jose Cuervo Gold tequila, and received a free bottle of cheap rum. All of this was just $31.00! Returned to our cabin to find a pair of Carnival beach towels for use in the ports. However, they are quite heavy and we had brought our own lightweight beach towels, which we chose to take as they fit into my bag and we wouldn't have to fork over $22 each if we lost them.

HINT: It may be tempting to buy lots of booze, but keep in mind it must be carried off with your carry-on luggage, and even though they provide handy cardboard carrying cases, it's still awkward. We also didn't realize that extra duty would have to be paid as only one liter is allowed per person. But, fortunately, as we were debarking, the customs agent said we could get by with an extra liter each without duty.

WEDNESDAY - The ship docked at Puerto Vallarta bright and early. We had been on this cruise before and knew what we *didn't* like about the ports, so I researched the resorts and such and we decided to go on the Beach Party/Mayan Experience shore excursion (why it's called the "Mayan Experience" is beyond me?guess it's because the resort hotel is built in a Mayan design). We caught the 8am bus and it took us 10 miles north to Nuevo Vallarta and dropped us off at the Paradise Village Resort. After giving us the obligatory punch drink, we were led to a group of palapas where we could lounge away the morning (there seemed to be "authorized"

vendors and they weren't too pushy). We walked up the beach for about 1 ˝ miles and it was very nice. The pool areas at the resort are beautiful and if you want a quieter area, head for the north pool. Be sure to visit the mini-zoo on the premise. We went back on the 12:00 bus and walked over the Krystal Vallarta Resort for lunch and more time in the pool. After a few Coronas in the bar, we had a very tasty lunch and chatted with a fascinating couple from Denver. We just love the pool there and had a wonderful time drinking more beers and laying by the pool. We ignored the beach as the vendors were a little annoying but did stop at the little area of shops on the way back to the ship for t-shirts (good buys-decent t-shirts were 2 for $7.00). Headed for the dining room for dinner but for some reason, everything was off this night. Nothing seemed to be very good and we almost felt like the chefs didn't try very hard since most passengers weren't on the ship for dinner. The rest of the evening was spent sitting on the deck watching the Corona party. Unfortunately, even though it was a "Corona" party, Corona beers were still the same price - $3.50. Seems to me there should have been a discount!

THURSDAY - Mazatlan was our port today. Again we elected not to take an excursion and took a taxi to the El Cid Resort ($10). The El Cid is a huge resort with beautiful pools and they welcome Carnival passengers. After a nice walk up the beach and back, we lounged by the pool for a while and then walked down to Playa Mazatlan for lunch. After being hounded by vendors for most of the morning we were ready to head back to the ship by 1:00. We spent the rest of the afternoon in a lounge chair and had a blast going down the pool slide a few times. Dinner was at Tiffany's where we had one of the best entrees of the trip - shrimp, scallop, and vegetable brochettes. After dinner we attended the Repeaters Party, had a few free drinks and I had a wonderful chat with a retired librarian (my profession!).

FRIDAY - Up early to take the tender to Cabo San Lucas. We walked to gorgeous Sol Mar Beach. Backed by a couple of condo developments, it is a 1/4 mile or so long beach that borders the Pacific side and the waves are huge and thunderous, so no swimming! No vendors and hardly any people made for a very nice morning walk. After wandering through town, we boarded a tender and were back on the ship by 11:00. Sat on the upper deck where we had a beautiful view of Los Arcos rocks and the parasailers that flew by. The ship left about 1:00 and we were warned that it would get windy?and it did! Everyone had to leave the top decks and we found ourselves a sheltered spot overlooking the lido deck, which got extremely crowded since it was the calmest place to sun. After a while it was time to get ready for the second formal night. My husband wore his navy sport coat and I wore a long silk dress. It wasn't as fancy as the beaded number I wore the first night but it was still fine for the evening. After stopping for pictures in front the Titanic staircase backdrop (unfortunately they didn't come out very well), we had a few drinks in the Cole Porter lounge during their happy hour.

HINT: One side of the Cole Porter lounge is nonsmoking, which we didn't discover until about the 3rd night!

Dinner was chateaubriand and shrimp with a wimpy Baked Alaska for dessert (it didn't seem to be "baked"). The waiters did the macarena for us after dinner. The show that night was SPIN and neither of us thought it was as good as RHYTHM.

HINT: Get your change for the tips on Friday and avoid the long line at the Purser's Desk on Saturday.
SATURDAY - Woke to a sunny and breezy day, but my husband woke up ill with what seemed to be a mild case of food poisoning. After spending most of the day in the cabin (he did discover where the extra roll of toilet paper was kept, though--it's under the sink!), Ken and I went down a flight of stairs to the infirmary where he received a shot and pills for the nausea. The cost was $68.00 but will be covered by our travel insurance. He was feeling better that evening but still didn't go to dinner. During the day I wandered around the ship and attended the debarkation talk. I went to dinner and said goodbye to our new friends then spent the rest of the evening packing.
SUNDAY - Dabarkation was its usual downer, but we knew what to expect and were fortunately the third party to be called to leave the ship. After finding our luggage, we got a taxi back to the Best Western by 10:45 were on our way to Palm Springs, Las Vegas, and Lake Tahoe by 10:45!
HINT: If you didn't bring anything such as bright ribbon to attach to your luggage handle, purchase brightly colored sashes from a Mexican vendor. I got a lime green sash, cut it into thirds, and it was a breeze to pick out our luggage. It especially helped when I couldn't find one piece as it was easy to tell the staff member what to look for.

SUMMARY: All in all we had a wonderful time. It was a great deal as we had a Carnival credit card and had accrued $800 in credits, so our total cost with travel insurance was $1000 for a guaranteed ocean view cabin. You pretty much get what you pay for with Carnival (compared to other lines), and it does attract a certain "Las Vegas" type crowd, which means smoking, drinking, and partying. By the fifth day we were getting a wee bit tired of some of our fellow passengers and would have been happy to get off the ship after Cabo San Lucas. However, for the money the service was wonderful and all staff we encountered was very helpful and accommodating.

I hope you find this review helpful. Please feel free to email me if I can answer any questions. Robin B