If you are thinking about taking a Country Cruise, think no more....go...go...go!!!! I had the best time ever!!! Constant concerts daily and nightly. Surprise Jam sessions by most of the artists. It is a experience you'll never forget. Carnival Cruise Line does a great job at making you feel welcome and I love the ship Elation, the rooms were nice, but if I ever do this again, I will get an outside Cabin with a window, hated not having one, even though I wasn't in my room much.

The very first day we traveled to Houston Texas from California and when we finally arrived in Galveston, we were greeted with a Sail Away party with a BBQ hosted by Judge Beans of Nashville. A great welcome after a long day traveling. After the BBQ, Wade Hayes, Trent Willmon, Shelly Fairchild and Jon Randall each did a jam session for all of us at the Sail Away party. Jeff Bates didn't arrive until late that evening so he wasn't able to perform. It was great, was a nice beginning to a fabulous vacation, all hosted by Kings Cruise Agency. They auctioned off some really cool items, like a couple of hats signed by a couple of the artists, an autographed framed picture of Trent Willmon, a couple of signed Wade Hayes Cd's and much much more. And all the money that was raised went to the Hurricane relief. It was a wonderful way to get to know all the others cruisers also.

We boarded the Elation on Thursday and got all settled in. That night was Jon Randall's concert in the Cole Porter Room, a Vegas style room and he and his band did a awesome job. I had forgotten that he had co-wrote "Whiskey Lullaby" but to hear him sing it totally brought major chill bumps. I liked the song but I really like it more now. Thanks Jon!!!! After his concert a bunch of us hit the disco & danced our fool heads off. I stopped by his Meet and Greet the next day and found out the poor guy had a little bit of sea sickness, he covered it all so well, I didn't even notice.

Friday started off with the Meet & Greets. I went to Wade's of course, in the Romeo and Juliet room and a few of us Wadies made some shirts to show our support to him, we even made him one. We got our cruise T-shirts there also along with some Fidalgo Bay Coffee. That night was Formal night. Everyone looked so great in their dresses and all, the men also looked handsome. We had to go to the Captain's Cocktail party in the Mikado Lounge first then to the Trent Willmon and Wade Hayes concert in again in the Cole Porter Room in our Formals, but it all worked out well. Trent and Wade rocked the house!!!!!!!! They sang their hits, Trent of course with his signature "Beer Man," but also "On Again Tonight," which I hear may be his next single, and "Louisiana Rain." He even sat in on Wade's set. It was great, I didn't want it to end. They even did an encore. Wade did his hits; "On A Good Night," "Old Enough To Know Better," and a few others, including a couple new ones. They even did an encore, doing a few covers like "She's Actin' Single, and "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink." Then they did my favorite, "Copperhead Road." Wade was very warmly welcomed, and Storme Warren of GAC TV even did a couple of auctions on stage. Trent's was a kiss and Wade's (while he was out of the room) was a personal serenade. Trent's auction went for around $300.00 and Wade's went for a whopping $600.00. All benefits from these auctions went to also to the hurricane relief fund. Then it was off to dinner in the Imagination Dining Room, tables of 8 or 10 were all set up and we had a blast even there. Our waiters were so fun and made it so enjoyable. After dinner we returned to our rooms to get more comfortable and to put on our dancing feet. While we were in the disco, we were told that some of the artists were going to be doing a Jam session near the Cole Porter room, by the piano. When we got there Jon, and his band members were jamming. Wade joined them a few minutes after we got there. It would have been so much better if they could have heard themselves. A ton of people showed up after a bit, but after asking people to be quiet several times by even Jon & Storme, the guys decided to pack it up. That evening we pretty much stayed up all night. Let's just say we watched the sun rise a bit and even watched them dock in Progreso.