Elated we finally gave Carnival a shot - Elation, Feb 16, 2019 review

[bostongal965]

About us: my DH & I are both 53, and this was our tenth cruise, first on Carnival. We are platinum on NCL, and sailed once on Royal's Enchantment of the Seas (liked it just fine, and would sail on RCCL again if the price and itinerary were right). Anyway, we were reluctant to try Carnival for the usual reasons people say. However, we both had so many friends who had sailed Carnival and loved it! We were looking at a warm location getaway for February - I'm a teacher and so I don't have a lot of leeway in dates and driving to a port is more budget-friendly for us. It seemed like all the NCL choices were all 7 day cruises to places we've been numerous times out of ports that were a full day's drive away...so, I started exploring what Carnival had to offer.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that Carnival offers 3 - 5 day cruises out of ports a little closer to us, and we decided to give the Carnival Elation 5 day to Nassau a shot.  We like to pre-pay as much as possible, so we pre-paid gratuities and bought the Cheers program. I did not prepay the spa or excursion we did, since they were kind of last minute decisions, but I love that the option is there.

 

Embarkation - Jacksonville: Holy moly, this was, by far, the easiest embarkation we've ever done. Getting to the port - easy. Setting up the on-board account - easy. Getting on the ship - easy. We arrived a little early, and went to the longer line, but we were still on the ship in 30 minutes or so. Really pleased with Carnival on this one.

 

Muster: I wouldn't normally review the muster drill, but this was so much easier and a lot more fun than any others, so I thought it deserved a shout-out.

 

The ship: The size was fine - we prefer ships of that size in general. It seemed like it has a lot of nice features that families would enjoy. The Serenity area was small, but very nice with the aft view. The refreshed spaces from the last dry-dock were really nice.  The one thing that really was odd to me was the décor...I'm not even sure how to describe it.

 

On the two sea days the pool deck and Serenity were very crowded, and there was a lot of chair-hogging going on - that was frustrating, but obviously a problem on other lines, too.

 

Our room: Very nice inside room - more spacious than the one I had on the NCL Epic. Comfortable bed, decent storage - though I wish it had a few more drawers. I liked the bathroom set-up a lot - one of my favorites from all the ships I've been on. Good sized shower (and I don't mind the shower curtain).  We saw our steward a couple times, and he was very friendly and personable. We opted for morning only service, which was also fine.

 

The drinks: This is one area where Carnival really knows what it is doing! First of all, the Cheers package was great - NCL has their "free" drink package perk where you only pay gratuities, but if you paid out of pocket, it is really expensive, and doesn't cover as much as the Cheers package does. I love that bottled water and specialty coffee were covered as we took advantage of both every day. The drink menu for the two pool bars were out of this world - so many terrific drinks. The guava margarita and blue margarita were two of my favorites.

 

The food: I didn't think the buffet was as good as some of the NCL ships I've been on - it was kind of small, crowded, and oddly laid out. The choices didn't thrill me. Desserts were meh, but the soft-serve ice cream was a favorite. However, Blue Iguana and Guy's Burgers were FANTASTIC! I love that those were both included options. I also really, really liked the Pizza Pirate.

 

We had late dining, which was a first for us - NCL does "Freestyle" and we had any time dining on our one RCCL cruise - so we were ready to try something new. Turns out it was just like having a standing reservation for dinner - we ate at a table for 2 - no "Marge from Dubuque" to entertain with tales of her grandchildren, lol.  We did like having regular wait staff each night - that was really nice. I thought the food was decent, and the Carnival chocolate melting cake really is something else!

 

Finally, we loved the Sea Day Brunch - that was a real plus for us. Also a real plus is that Carnival still does complimentary room service. We were tired after snorkeling in Nassau, and it was really nice to just order up a couple sandwiches. I hope Carnival doesn't go the way of NCL and start charging a "convenience" fee. We also ordered a pizza on the last night - it was worth the $5.

 

The entertainment: We went to two shows and found them to be decently entertaining. We also went to Duke's for singalong, but that was kind of weak - there was a group in there that kind of dominated the venue, and some of their song choices were not really fun in my opinion. We played trivia and Trivial Pursuit - I love the different variety of trivia offered. 

 

The ports: We went to Nassau and Half Moon Cay. We've been to Nassau several times - we did the straw market, Pirate Museum, and Junkanoo beach in the past and Atlantis holds no appeal for us. We were thinking about staying on the ship, and then my husband suggested snorkeling. We hadn't been snorkeling in a few years, but we were going to have a beautiful warm day, so we decided to go for it. We had a great time and saw so many beautiful fish - really glad we went. 

 

Our other stop was Half Moon Cay which we knew was going to be a beach day. Oh, my, what a beautiful stop! By far the nicest of the three private islands (NCL's Great Stirrup Cay and RCCL's Coco Cay) that I've been to - just a stunning beach. We were too busy in the water to eat at the buffet, so we headed straight for Guy's Burgers upon return to the ship.

 

Disembarkation: Here's one area that was strange for us. We were taking our own bags off - no big deal. We had a forward room on deck 4, right near the stairs to disembark. However, on the last day, they wanted us to take our stuff up to 9 to wait for the all clear, however, they shut off the elevator bank closest to us.  That whole situation was a real head scratcher. Once things got going, we were off quickly, through customs, and out to our car in under 30 minutes.

 

Final thoughts: Not only are we happy that we gave Carnival a chance, we're looking at them for our mid-winter escape next year. As many have said on all three boards, NCL, RCCL, and Carnival all have a lot more in common than not. Each has things they do really well, and being on a cruise sure beats being at work! We'll be sailing Carnival again.

 

 

 

[bostongal965]

A few pictures - looking back as we leave Nassau, and then a few from Half Moon Cay.

[bostongal965]

A few random shots from around the ship on sailaway day. A couple shots of the water slides - a huge draw for the kids - one little boy was in tears on the last day that he couldn't go on them anymore...awww...this seemed like a decent ship for kids between the water slides, the mini-golf, Dr. Suess, and the 24 hour soft serve! 😀 A shot of one of the bar menus (I think the Blue Iguana bar).

[bostongal965]

Fingers-crossed that this video works - we took a video of the ship as we passed under the bridge leaving Jacksonville - it seems like the Whale Tail isn't going to make it...

[Treyatl2006]

Great review... I sailed on the Elation summer of 2017 and had a great time. These older ships are great for quick inexpensive getaways. We still like to sail on the newer and more expensive ships but it nice to catch these deals in between to hold us over for the big trips.

[DebJ14]

So glad you liked the Elation.  We sailed on her once out of San Pedro in September 2001 and then 3 times while she was in Galveston.  She has always been on our list of favorites.  I too like the smaller ships. 

 

We sailed the Vista in January 2019 and hated it - too many people, too small public venues, and horribly laid out. 

 

In fact, we hated it so much we came home and cancelled a cruise on the Vista for 2020 and booked on the much smaller and older (but much prettier) RCCL Enchantment of the Seas.

[bostongal965]

13 hours ago, Treyatl2006 said:

Great review... I sailed on the Elation summer of 2017 and had a great time. These older ships are great for quick inexpensive getaways. We still like to sail on the newer and more expensive ships but it nice to catch these deals in between to hold us over for the big trips.

Exactly our thoughts! This was just a trip to see the sun, wear flip-flops and relax away from work and winter weather. It was perfect for all of that - and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. Being open to sailing on Carnival gives us three new port options less than a day's drive away (Charleston, Jacksonville, and Mobile) and some new ships and ports to explore.

[bostongal965]

21 minutes ago, DebJ14 said:

So glad you liked the Elation.  We sailed on her once out of San Pedro in September 2001 and then 3 times while she was in Galveston.  She has always been on our list of favorites.  I too like the smaller ships. 

 

We sailed the Vista in January 2019 and hated it - too many people, too small public venues, and horribly laid out. 

 

In fact, we hated it so much we came home and cancelled a cruise on the Vista for 2020 and booked on the much smaller and older (but much prettier) RCCL Enchantment of the Seas.

The Enchantment of the Seas is our one and only RCCL cruise, and we really liked that ship! One of the best pool decks for an older ship. I thought the Elation packed in a lot of good stuff for its size.

[MrFunInTheSun]

15 hours ago, bostongal965 said:

 

Final thoughts: Not only are we happy that we gave Carnival a chance, we're looking at them for our mid-winter escape next year. As many have said on all three boards, NCL, RCCL, and Carnival all have a lot more in common than not. Each has things they do really well, and being on a cruise sure beats being at work! We'll be sailing Carnival again.

 

 

 

 

So very true!

 

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us!

[tandemcruzr]

We live in Morgan County, GA and can drive to Port Canaveral in a day -- but we drive the day before departure and spend the night in a hotel in Cocoa Beach. Glad you liked the Ecstasy. We like the Fantasy Class ships.

[bostongal965]

39 minutes ago, tandemcruzr said:

We live in Morgan County, GA and can drive to Port Canaveral in a day -- but we drive the day before departure and spend the night in a hotel in Cocoa Beach. Glad you liked the Ecstasy. We like the Fantasy Class ships.

 

We're just outside Atlanta, and Port Canaveral had been our go-to port. We like to stay at the Radisson Resort at the Port the day before - feels like you're on vacation even before you get on the ship! It's about a 7 1/2 hour drive for us, so being able to shave 2 hours off that (not to mention saving money and time on all those toll roads) was a big draw to sailing out of Jacksonville.

[Nic6318]

Hi Bostongal

 

I am glad you had a good time, you are making me jealous.

 

I have not been able to go on a cruise this winter, have to settle with a few all inclusive getaways. 😊 It's second best for me, but I can't complain too much.

[AllWeDoIsCruise]

Did you happen to take any pictures of the FunTimes? We are leaving on the 16th and I cannot find FunTimes that are recent anywhere? Thank you!

[Essiesmom]

I agree about the lack of drawers, but they sacrificed them to give you the fridge.  That fridge cabinet is where drawers used to be.  EM

[bostongal965]

5 hours ago, AllWeDoIsCruise said:

Did you happen to take any pictures of the FunTimes? We are leaving on the 16th and I cannot find FunTimes that are recent anywhere? Thank you!

Sorry - I didn't think to take pictures before I tossed them - I'm a very negligent and erratic photographer! I can tell you that elegant night was the second night.  If you have any questions that I can answer, I'll be happy to.

[bostongal965]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I agree about the lack of drawers, but they sacrificed them to give you the fridge.  That fridge cabinet is where drawers used to be.  EM

Oh, wow - that makes sense.  I liked having the fridge more than I needed drawers, so that's cool.

[bostongal965]

5 hours ago, Nic6318 said:

Hi Bostongal

 

I am glad you had a good time, you are making me jealous.

 

I have not been able to go on a cruise this winter, have to settle with a few all inclusive getaways. 😊 It's second best for me, but I can't complain too much.

I haven't tried an AI yet - we have friends who love them. They keep trying to convince us to try one with them, and we keep trying to convince them to try a cruise with us!! Hahaha.

[maldenmusic]

We cruised several times on the Elation and enjoyed it. That was before it had the upgrades such as the water park. It looks like it would be even more enjoyable now.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing your first Carnival cruise with us.

[sparks1093]

Thanks for your thoughts! Come next month we will also be graduates of the three lines NCL, CCL and Royal. And as I understand it the forward elevators are closed off so the crew can use them to bring luggage down to the staging area for off-loading. Oh, the next time you sail CCL order a side of peanut butter to go with your warm chocolate melting cake, a tip that I've picked up on the boards.

Edited March 4, 2019 by sparks1093

[bostongal965]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

 Oh, the next time you sail CCL order a side of peanut butter to go with your warm chocolate melting cake, a tip that I've picked up on the boards.

That sounds AMAZING!