This time for my family of six it was a near perfect vacation for all of us and my feelings about Carnival have changed dramatically. I will just post some general things we saw, but not an entire cruise report, as others have done a good job of that. I had read every review of the Elation I could find on the web, and kept wondering if we were on the same ship some had written about. Everything was smooth from the embarkation, (standing is a rather long line gave my son and I plenty of time to check out candidates for the topless deck on the Elation. There weren't many).
I tried to convince my cold-natured wife to take a jacket, but I guess she thought I was kidding. The weather was cool through Tuesday, and after that the rooms, such as the Mikado, were too cool for her comfort. The food in the dining rooms was very good, with our waiter, Andrew, did a very good job, and bringing us several servings of each new thing we wanted to try.

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta, where my son and I had charted a deep sea fishing boat and the rest of the family went on a "Country Tour" I think it was called. Our fishing trip didn't produce many fish, but we had a great time, drinking Corona and Roger practicing his Spanish. He quickly learned more and soon became Rogilio for the rest of the cruise. My wife was slightly depressed by the poverty and trashiness of Puerto Vallarta, but the next day Mazatlan was a much prettier place.

Mazatlan was the high point of our vacation, as I had booked a tour to Stone Island over the internet. The Elation offers the Stone Island Tour for $69 per person, but on some review I saw where it could be arranged directly with a tour company for less. We made reservations with King David Co. The url is: http://www.mazatlangolfking.com.mx/tour.htm The price for what hopefully was a similar tour was $26 per person! I was somewhat worried that I had made a mistake, but as we were getting ready to leave the ship, I looked out the window and there was man holding a sign with my name on it. Hugo turned out to be helpful, funny, and made the day great. We were early, so he took us on a very interesting tour of downtown Mazatlan, including a large open meat market, many shops, and an old Catholic cathedral my wife wanted to see.

Arriving at the dock, we boarded a double-decker catamaran for our trip to Stone Island after a tour of the bay. As the boat pulled away from the pier, the free bar was opened and we headed out to see the sites, a pirate's cave, a lighthouse, some big rocks with birds on them where we all yelled and they flew up in mass. At Stone Island we got on a cart pulled by a tractor and went through a small village to the beach at the other side. I had been worried, but the beach was really nice, with a gently sloping beach that you could walk out in the ocean a very long way. One area of rip tides was clearly marked and we stayed away from that. We had the choice of a banana boat ride, horseback riding, and snorkeling beside just lazing away under the straw roofs. A delicious lunch was served and the open bar was great.

Going back to Mazatlan, we took a more direct route and it was a good thing. Everyone was feeling really good, the music was great, and Hugo and the other three crew members encouraged the dancing. Rogilio was dancing with my oldest daughter on the top deck, managing to not spill two tequila sunrises as the catamaran went across the choppy bay.
The last port of call was Cabo San Lucas and we just took a "taxi" to the downtown area for shopping. The place was really nice and clean and the shopkeepers spoke really good English. The short time there was enjoyed, but the next morning we heard some "horror stories" about a place called Lover's Beach. I don't think this is one of the ship-sponsored tours, but seems to be very popular. At breakfast the next morning a lady at our table told us how the boats that took them out didn't got right up to the beach, but told them to "get out" in about chest-deep rough water. Getting back in the boat was very difficult, with the waves very strong and virtually no help from the crew. The lady telling us the story told how one wave tore her top off. Another lady, who was very heavy, could not get into the boat, was crying, and had to pay another boat to "rescue" her. Our waiter told us that about 5 people drown there each year. I really think Carnival should warn people about the danger of this beach, as they warn about parasailing, motor scooters, and jet skis. I have written them about that.

As others have written, the casino and the slot machines were very "tight," but I won a slot machine tournament one night which pretty well made up the the rest of the machines. My wife was second place, so we had a pretty nice pay out. All in all, this was a really great vacation. We all wanted to just stay on the ship and go again the next week. At one point we thought we might, as there was some problem with customs and we didn't leave the ship until almost noon. Several people missed flights, but Carnival reps were busy changing flights and being as helpful as they could. We were escorted to the late checking line in order to make our 1:50 flight.

I'll be happy to share any additional experiences if anyone would like to write me.

Neal Brown