Carnival Elation Review

[CruizCuz]

The Elation is a great ship....prior to sailing, I read the reviews and was really concerned about all the negative reviews. I really thought I was going on a rust bucket that could barely float. The ship was immaculate, the staff cant do enough to help, always with a smile....Good food, great bartenders, excellent entertainment. There is always something going on to entertain the crowds. It is an "older, smaller" ship and I know the cruise snobs only sail the "newer, bigger" ships (another mindset I don't get :rolleyes:) You will have a blast, enjoy

I love sailing the "smaller" ships, especially when it's a family cruise. My kids do prefer the larger, newer ships because there is more to do. But when cruising with my older parents, it's MUCH easier for them to navigate around the ship when it's smaller. They also don't get lost as easily and have more freedom. I have also found (in my experience and opinion only) that the service is better on the smaller ships. I don't know the reason for that, but it's what I have found to be true. Thank you again for the positive review.

[First and Ten]

I will say that Jax is one of the best ports to embark from....plenty of parking right next to the terminal. I guess the Coast Guard inspection pushed things back and that will inherently cause chaos because you have a group of "firsties" lining up around 8 am. If that was the case and it delayed the opening of the terminal, I could see any port being a mess. That is why I typically arrive at 1:30 or 2 pm....At that time, barring no delays in boarding, you will have more Carnival personnel in the terminal than passengers

[momin05]

Glad to hear some good reports on Elation. We have sailed many Fantasy class ships (since Fantasy in 1995!) and loved them, but never Elation. And it seems like Elation got passed over when others were getting updates, so I was slightly worried. The only larger ship we have sailed is Sunshine and we liked it too. I do wish they would figure out a way to add a Red Frog Pub on the Fantasy class...replace one of the night clubs. It is just such a neat atmosphere in there and what I have always thought was missing on a cruise ship.

[First and Ten]

Glad to hear some good reports on Elation. We have sailed many Fantasy class ships (since Fantasy in 1995!) and loved them, but never Elation. And it seems like Elation got passed over when others were getting updates, so I was slightly worried. The only larger ship we have sailed is Sunshine and we liked it too. I do wish they would figure out a way to add a Red Frog Pub on the Fantasy class...replace one of the night clubs. It is just such a neat atmosphere in there and what I have always thought was missing on a cruise ship.

 

We went on the Elation as a last minute getaway for the price and the convenience. Are there a lot of bells & whistles, absolutely not (no specialty restaurants, no Red Frog, Iguana's)....so if you need those diversions to have a good time, the Elation isn't currently equipped for that (I believe it is slotted for the 2.0 upgrades in Aug, correct me if I am wrong on the dates). The ship is an older ship, to some people, that immediately scratches it off their list. Why?, no idea, but some cruisers only like "newer"....The ship is CLEAN. The crew is always cleaning, polishing, etc. The entertainment was great, always something going on....I thought the Production Shows were excellent. Now, are they going to be nominated for a TONY award, of course not, but they are entertaining! Was the food in the MDR 5 star, no (I have yet to find a cruise ship where the food is incredible. Its banquet hall food). The food is good, the buffet is good....We had an OV room and its your typical room on a cruise ship....overall great time and well worth the $ spent. I would do the Elation again in a heartbeat

[momin05]

We went on the Elation as a last minute getaway for the price and the convenience. Are there a lot of bells & whistles, absolutely not (no specialty restaurants, no Red Frog, Iguana's)....so if you need those diversions to have a good time, the Elation isn't currently equipped for that (I believe it is slotted for the 2.0 upgrades in Aug, correct me if I am wrong on the dates). The ship is an older ship, to some people, that immediately scratches it off their list. Why?, no idea, but some cruisers only like "newer"....The ship is CLEAN. The crew is always cleaning, polishing, etc. The entertainment was great, always something going on....I thought the Production Shows were excellent. Now, are they going to be nominated for a TONY award, of course not, but they are entertaining! Was the food in the MDR 5 star, no (I have yet to find a cruise ship where the food is incredible. Its banquet hall food). The food is good, the buffet is good....We had an OV room and its your typical room on a cruise ship....overall great time and well worth the $ spent. I would do the Elation again in a heartbeat

 

Except for our two Sunshine cruises, we have sailed exclusively Fantasy class and love them, so no worries about that. Honestly, clean is my #1 criteria, so that is good to hear. How long ago did you sail? Did you happen to have any time dining? We have any time for 7 people, which makes me a little nervous (usually just the three of us). We sail on the next-to-last sailing before the month-long dry dock. Getting excited!

[First and Ten]

Except for our two Sunshine cruises, we have sailed exclusively Fantasy class and love them, so no worries about that. Honestly, clean is my #1 criteria, so that is good to hear. How long ago did you sail? Did you happen to have any time dining? We have any time for 7 people, which makes me a little nervous (usually just the three of us). We sail on the next-to-last sailing before the month-long dry dock. Getting excited!

 

It was a 5 night....Nassau (I don't particulary like Nassau so we hung out on the ship and had the entire pool area to ourselves. I think there may have been 4 other people in the pool)....The other stop was Half Moon Cay, which is absolutely a gorgeous beach. We booked last minute, so got relegated to Late Seating, which was fine. We ate in the MDR 3 nights, Lido 2 nights. We spent a lot of our time on the Serenity deck. If you are a Serenity deck person, plenty of seats, but limited number of chaise loungers. Only about 12 of them are under umbrellas. If you wanted one of those "prime" loungers under the umbrella, get there early. I personally would get up around 7 am to secure 2 of them. By 7:45, those loungers were taken, normally by the same 6 people reserving the other spot for their spouse. They had a lot of stuff going on during the day at the pool and at night. At the time we sailed, there was no specialty restaurant (don't know if they are getting one or not). I assume you are sailing out of Jax? Jax Port is great. Parking for the 5 nights was around $75....short walk to the terminal, pretty close to 95 if you are driving home. Back to dining, it was just the 2 of us, we dined with 2 other couples we did not know (yes, the horror, we actually dined with strangers!!!!!!!!!!....inside joke to some other posters on here momin05, not directed to you), I cant imagine an issue with 7 people, but I don't know. According to the CD, the ship was full and I was shocked as it never felt crowded. I think the Mongolian Wok had a 10 minute wait one day, that was literally the only line we encountered. Omlete/sandwich station only would have 1 or 2 people qued up, same with the pizza station. The buffet when we went the 2 nights was a ghost town. Seriously, if there was 10 other people dining up there, it was a lot. The main pool has I believe 2 slides, pools are small like on most ships....I cant say enough about the ship and the crew. If you are looking for a basic cruise and I use "basic" because there aren't any specialty restaurants or Ice Shows or rock wall, the Elation is awesome. Would definitely cruise that ship again

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts from your cruise.

 

Keith

[Ga_Peach_12]

This girl is going on her first cruise in 7 days :) I am so excited. It's a girls trip ( 5 of us) ... I am one of those girls that doesn't get to dress up often and I am actually looking forward to the formal evening. I do have a question though...will I be completely out of place if I dress up every night for dinner? I don't mean like in a formal gown or anything just dressy?

[kprestidge07]

No ma'am you won't! I wore dresses or dressier shirts with jeans. You will fit right in!

 

 

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[GS92]

I think you may have just made it! I remember seeing 90 something with a new door. I wish I had paid more attention for you!

 

 

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You don't know how right you were! We are in the last two renovated cabins on the main deck! Very happy to see the new doors on both cabins when we walked up!

[futureCPR]

Thank you for your post. We're cruising on the November 9th sailing for our wedding, so I was super stressed that there wasn't going to be enough for people to do aboard the ship and in Freeport. We're a group of approx. 70 people now, so the fact that they're adding more bars is a big sigh of relief. We're all getting the Cheers package as well. We did the initial ship tour in April (while they were doing renovations to Deck 4), but I scheduled another tour in October to see the "after" changes. I'm especially happy that you enjoyed the shows. My mother and future MIL don't like drinking as much as the rest of the group, so they've decided that they will catch a show or two while we flock to a bar.

[Ga_Peach_12]

Thank you for your post. We're cruising on the November 9th sailing for our wedding, so I was super stressed that there wasn't going to be enough for people to do aboard the ship and in Freeport. We're a group of approx. 70 people now, so the fact that they're adding more bars is a big sigh of relief. We're all getting the Cheers package as well. We did the initial ship tour in April (while they were doing renovations to Deck 4), but I scheduled another tour in October to see the "after" changes. I'm especially happy that you enjoyed the shows. My mother and future MIL don't like drinking as much as the rest of the group, so they've decided that they will catch a show or two while we flock to a bar.

Go with them to the shows..they will serve you while you watch :)

[Whimsy88]

This girl is going on her first cruise in 7 days :) I am so excited. It's a girls trip ( 5 of us) ... I am one of those girls that doesn't get to dress up often and I am actually looking forward to the formal evening. I do have a question though...will I be completely out of place if I dress up every night for dinner? I don't mean like in a formal gown or anything just dressy?

 

 

You will not be out of place - you'll see a little bit of everything in the way of how people dress for dinner - none of it wrong, just personal preference. If you enjoy dressing up, go for it! DH and I have 3 boys and spend all of our time running them around - we enjoy a chance to dress up and enjoy a nice dinner, and we take full advantage of it! I love the chance to wear a cocktail dress! ;)

[CruzinKittie]

Thank you so much for the post!! We are going next month, so excited!

 

I actually am glad they don't hold fast and steady to the dress code. I'm short (4'11") and it's hard for me to find dress clothes. I wear capris and polo shirts all the time with flats. Do you think that will be okay?

[momin05]

Thank you so much for the post!! We are going next month, so excited!

 

I actually am glad they don't hold fast and steady to the dress code. I'm short (4'11") and it's hard for me to find dress clothes. I wear capris and polo shirts all the time with flats. Do you think that will be okay?

 

That is fine for dinner in the MDR. Maybe a little casual for elegant night but you won't be turned away.

[CruzinKittie]

Thanks <3