Just off the Elation...review

[krisbtr]

Myself, hubby and 2 college aged sons got a chance to get away for a few days. Got a great price on an ocean view and an interior cabin so I jumped on it. This is our third cruise, and I decided to buy FTTF as a surprise for our boys. We had warned them about lugging along our carrying, water and soda...they were groaning about the thought, little did they know how easy it was to be!!

 

Embarkation day in NOLA was a little cool, bu sunny. We arrived at port around 11:00. We began breezing through every line with our FTTF documents. We never had to wait in any line! At one point my youngest asked why we were going through all the special lines. I finally told them about FTTF...they were thrilled. From car to Empress deck was under 20 minutes. We immediately dropped all our things in our rooms and headed to Lido deck. Tiffany's was almost empty so we filled up on pizza and buffet and the first drink...a mango margarita. After exploring the ship, we went back to our room to see about our luggage. They arrived sporadically, but my husbands bag was extremely late. We inquired at guest services, and she said she would refund our FTTF for that room since they had not lived up to their promises. We never asked for a refund, but she insisted. It took a couple more hours, but his bag finally arrived.

 

Our room was on the upper deck, right across the hall from the aft stairs and elevator. It was very convenient to our dining room, promenade and lido deck. Loved the location. After the muster, we headed for the serenity deck for sail away and more drinks. Stayed about an hour just taking in all the sights. Just chilled until dinner, then onto the casino. Turned in early for a good nights sleep until we heard a thud.....

[vital1]

A thud? Not good......we get on her the 21st so it's glad to see you made it home :-)

[krisbtr]

That thud turned out to be huge waves due to the cold from that had just moved through. All night the ship was rockin and rolling, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep due to the waves. Luckily, we took our bonine and none of our family got sick. A lot of the people did get sick, as the next morning the ships main areas were very empty. A lot of people we talked to said they were sick. Even the next morning it was difficult to walk. The captain finally changed course and it got better very quickly. So much so, that we enjoyed the warmer weather and laid out on deck. Lunch in the MDR and elegant night were both very good. Our waiter was I Wayan and we loved him.

 

Cozumel the next day was great. We did Mr. Sanchos AI. Loved the grounds, and activities. Our waiter wasn't the greatest. Had I not done my research here, he never would have told us about ordering a la carte. Drinks were wonderful and the boys loved jet skiing.

 

Carnival dedicated the Cole Porter lounge that night to a showing of the LSU Alabama game. A lively crowd and lots of fun.

 

Next day was gorgeous( at least the first half). Laid out on the serenity deck all morning. No kids in sight and also no chair hogs anywhere. An attendant was walking around, but not needed this time. Love, love, love this deck! Soon turned rainy and windy, so we went to MDR for lunch then to the chocolate buffet. Just chilled the rest of the day until the Saints game...being shown in the Mikado. Lots of people there, was a lot of fun.

 

Previous cruises we've always done self assist, but this time decided to try zone debarkation since we had FTTF. We were told to meet in the Romeo and Juliet lounge the next morning at 8:45. Someone came and told us to follow her...we were off the ship by 9:00!

 

In summary, I loved this ship. She was very pretty and well kept up. Captain said there were 300 kids on board, but I don't know where they were! No obnoxious kids running wild. Everyone we met was very friendly and genuinely happy to be there. Chair hogs were nonexistent. Even on Lido, we showed up one morning about 10:00, and there must have been 30 chairs open. I loved being able to have family time in such a relaxed atmosphere. I would sail on her again in a minute...especially this time of year.

Edited November 12, 2013 by krisbtr

[hill6]

No chair hogs on her either when we did the Halloween cruise.

[luvmysox1]

Elation is the best Fantasy class in my opinion. Most beautiful of them. Great crew and CD in April. That ship I will cruise any day over and over.

 

Can you tell I love Elation.

[PDC55]

Elation is the best Fantasy class in my opinion. Most beautiful of them. Great crew and CD in April. That ship I will cruise any day over and over.

 

Can you tell I love Elation.

 

I totally agree. She was the first Carnival ship I sailed on and has been my favorite so far. Her decor reminds me of old time cruise ships.

[maldenmusic]

I love the Elation and it is the one I have cruised on the most....and the one I will cruise on again in June 2014.