Solo Cruise
I love cruising, the wind, the salt air, the unpacking once and getting to see different places. The one drawback is cruising alone is not cheap. A solo cruiser has two choices, allow the cruise line to pick a room mate for you or,,,pay the rate for two people and enjoy the stateroom all to yourself. I opted to pay for the entire stateroom. Since I am not independently wealthy, nor have I won the lottery my choices were limited to what I could afford. The Bahamas in February are wonderful, not too hot, but I had been there before. In fact this cruise was my 5th trip to Nassau. But it was a cruise and it was my first real vacation since July 2014. I was way overdue. It also helped that the cruise terminal was a mere 12 minutes from my apartment.
I wanted this trip to be a fantastic vacation so I purchased an unlimited beverage card. It got me a total of 15 drinks a day, a combination of alcoholic and/or nonalcoholic. I started with a Foster's Lager to get my vacation off on the right foot. I then set out to explore the ship and all she had to offer.
As is standard on all Carnival ships, the Elation had a waterslide. However, this being an older and smaller ship she only had the one pool. Interesting fact - Carnival had to shorten the Elation's smoke stack so she would clear the Dames Point Bridge while coming and going from Jacksonville.
As I wandered around I went looking for the jogging track as I planned on walking two miles every morning. I really did walk the first two days, then it got too windy and they closed off that part of the ship. The jogging track goes around a 9-hole mini golf course.
Back inside this is looking up towards the top of the atrium.
Eventually the dock lines were cast off and we turned and headed out towards the sea. We passed a heavily loaded freighter heading towards the docks.
The Coast Guard came and gave us an escort down the river and out to sea. At one point we had two escorts.
We passed Mayport's shrimping boats. Here is a flock of Brown Pelicans looking for food near the boats.
In addition to the Coast Guard we had an escort by several dolphins. The ripple in the water is the dorsal fin of one. You can click on the photo for a larger version.
We eventually passed Mayport Naval Base. By now it was close to sunset and getting pretty chilly up on deck at the bow of the ship
I headed back inside and admired all the floors of the atrium. It covers decks 7 thru 11.
Looking down towards the bottom floor of the atrium or the 7th deck. There is a bar at the foot of the staircase. Bear right past the staircase, walk maybe 100 yards and you are at my stateroom,,,how convenient.
I decided to head down to my stateroom and get freshened up for dinner. I stopped at the bar and got a Cosmopolitan. It was simply divine.
Back in my stateroom the sun was setting and I had a lovely view while getting ready for dinner.
The next morning we came into Freeport. Before we arrived I attended the art auction and won a bottle of champagne. I was hoping we would be closer to the town but no such luck. I opted to stay on the ship and lay out by the pool and enjoy the relative quiet. We were docked in a rather industrial area.
Near where we docked in Freeport, you could see the Carnival Dream undergoing renovations. She was originally launched in 2009
Before I headed to the pool I went up top to see more of the area. Elation's Bahama's Curtesy flag was snapping in the brisk breeze.
Before heading down I spied this oil tank with a painting of a sailboat at anchor. It bought back a lot of memories of the winter I had spent in the Bahamas.
Our next stop was Half Moon Cay - so named by the cruise line that bought it. In reality it is Little San Salvador Cay and I spent a night anchored here once. I can never forget how beautiful and blue the water is here.
Part of the island is very narrow.
This is where the tenders bring everyone ashore.
As I was heading back inside I had to take a picture of this piece of art. I really, really, really wanted it but at close to $2,000.00 it was out of my price range. Maybe in the future. The painting is based off a photo of the Napali Coast of Kauai the artist had.
As we were heading towards Nassau I was awakened by the bright moonlight shining in the window. I took several shots and this was the best I could get through my sea sprayed window.
Cruise lines always take lots of photos. This was taken on the first night and made their "Wall of Fame" which meant it was chosen by a group of photographers and it would be free, sort of,,,I had to ring a bell and do The Chicken dance.
I had this one taken on formal night.
When we finally got to Nassau I got off the ship and did some shopping. I could not resist buying the photo with the couple dressed up in the Junkanoo costumes. In the Bahamas junkanoo starts of the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. It is their version of Mardi Gras.
In closing I can say this was the best cruise I had ever been on. No one told me what to do or when we needed to do it. Everything was on my own schedule. I played trivia and won a gold, plastic trophy of the ship. I played Trivial Pursuit with some other people and came in 2nd place. I played Reverse Charades with a group and we all won medals. I paid $10 to support St. Jude's and I got a t-shirt and enjoyed an on deck dance party. I also got to meet some really nice people. I have my next cruise picked out but as a solo cruise I would need to come up with close to $3,000. That may be a ways off in the future.
I wanted this trip to be a fantastic vacation so I purchased an unlimited beverage card. It got me a total of 15 drinks a day, a combination of alcoholic and/or nonalcoholic. I started with a Foster's Lager to get my vacation off on the right foot. I then set out to explore the ship and all she had to offer.
As is standard on all Carnival ships, the Elation had a waterslide. However, this being an older and smaller ship she only had the one pool. Interesting fact - Carnival had to shorten the Elation's smoke stack so she would clear the Dames Point Bridge while coming and going from Jacksonville.
As I wandered around I went looking for the jogging track as I planned on walking two miles every morning. I really did walk the first two days, then it got too windy and they closed off that part of the ship. The jogging track goes around a 9-hole mini golf course.
Back inside this is looking up towards the top of the atrium.
Eventually the dock lines were cast off and we turned and headed out towards the sea. We passed a heavily loaded freighter heading towards the docks.
The Coast Guard came and gave us an escort down the river and out to sea. At one point we had two escorts.
We passed Mayport's shrimping boats. Here is a flock of Brown Pelicans looking for food near the boats.
In addition to the Coast Guard we had an escort by several dolphins. The ripple in the water is the dorsal fin of one. You can click on the photo for a larger version.
We eventually passed Mayport Naval Base. By now it was close to sunset and getting pretty chilly up on deck at the bow of the ship
I headed back inside and admired all the floors of the atrium. It covers decks 7 thru 11.
Looking down towards the bottom floor of the atrium or the 7th deck. There is a bar at the foot of the staircase. Bear right past the staircase, walk maybe 100 yards and you are at my stateroom,,,how convenient.
I decided to head down to my stateroom and get freshened up for dinner. I stopped at the bar and got a Cosmopolitan. It was simply divine.
Back in my stateroom the sun was setting and I had a lovely view while getting ready for dinner.
The next morning we came into Freeport. Before we arrived I attended the art auction and won a bottle of champagne. I was hoping we would be closer to the town but no such luck. I opted to stay on the ship and lay out by the pool and enjoy the relative quiet. We were docked in a rather industrial area.
Near where we docked in Freeport, you could see the Carnival Dream undergoing renovations. She was originally launched in 2009
Before I headed to the pool I went up top to see more of the area. Elation's Bahama's Curtesy flag was snapping in the brisk breeze.
Before heading down I spied this oil tank with a painting of a sailboat at anchor. It bought back a lot of memories of the winter I had spent in the Bahamas.
Our next stop was Half Moon Cay - so named by the cruise line that bought it. In reality it is Little San Salvador Cay and I spent a night anchored here once. I can never forget how beautiful and blue the water is here.
Part of the island is very narrow.
This is where the tenders bring everyone ashore.
As I was heading back inside I had to take a picture of this piece of art. I really, really, really wanted it but at close to $2,000.00 it was out of my price range. Maybe in the future. The painting is based off a photo of the Napali Coast of Kauai the artist had.
As we were heading towards Nassau I was awakened by the bright moonlight shining in the window. I took several shots and this was the best I could get through my sea sprayed window.
Cruise lines always take lots of photos. This was taken on the first night and made their "Wall of Fame" which meant it was chosen by a group of photographers and it would be free, sort of,,,I had to ring a bell and do The Chicken dance.
I had this one taken on formal night.
When we finally got to Nassau I got off the ship and did some shopping. I could not resist buying the photo with the couple dressed up in the Junkanoo costumes. In the Bahamas junkanoo starts of the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. It is their version of Mardi Gras.
In closing I can say this was the best cruise I had ever been on. No one told me what to do or when we needed to do it. Everything was on my own schedule. I played trivia and won a gold, plastic trophy of the ship. I played Trivial Pursuit with some other people and came in 2nd place. I played Reverse Charades with a group and we all won medals. I paid $10 to support St. Jude's and I got a t-shirt and enjoyed an on deck dance party. I also got to meet some really nice people. I have my next cruise picked out but as a solo cruise I would need to come up with close to $3,000. That may be a ways off in the future.
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