Elation from Jacksonville observations - March 18

[Tigerfan85again]

I have cruised Princess a few times and this was my first Carnival Cruise.  Spring break week, with all the unattended kids you would imagine. Carnival staff was really efficient at cleaning up the corresponding messes.  I was impressed by their efficiency and they worked hard to clean up all of the spilled food, dropped ice cream and glasses and dishes left everywhere including in the elevators, elevators lobbies and under and behind things on deck.  They know what they are doing.   

 

Embarkation was fine, but I will say if you bring a passport rather than trying to use birth certificates, you will avoid a very long slow line at debarkation.  I had not read that advice before, and I always travel with a passport, so at a certain point we were just waved to the left up to the kiosks where there was no wait at all.  Another fun thing with the passport in Nassau was stopping in to get them stamped.  Very easy in the building just to the left as you leave the docks and their stamp is cute.

 

Food was good in the main dining room the first few nights.  Very, very low attendance at the main dining room meals compared with Princess. The buffet was always crowded.  Food on the buffet was not great with the exception of the fruit and desserts, but about what you would expect.  Blue Iguana good, Fieri burgers were good.  Breakfast at the sit down restaurant was so much better than the buffet that we stopped going to the buffet for that.  We also had a nice sit down breakfast on debarkation morning.

 

Our main goal was to get some sun and go snorkeling.  We took a glass bottom boat and snorkeling tour in Nassau and had very good snorkeling.  The excursion was listed as sold out, but the boat was only about 1/3 full.  We saw tons of fish in very clear water and the ride there and back was pleasant.  We snorkeled at Princess Cays (just using our own masks and snorkels - no fins needed there) at the snorkeling area at the far end of the beach well past the buffet.  Snorkeling was also good and we saw plenty of fish including a cool blue founder.  The rest of our time we mostly spent on the serenity deck where we could find sunny or shady seats and eventually have a turn in a hot tub.  

 

My adult daughter ate some food from the princess cays buffet and I didn't.  We think this may have been the source of her illness that night. We skipped dinner but finally had to call guest services after midnight. Someone from the medical center met us and was well prepared to deal with everything.  While I filled out a detailed form listing every thing and every place she had eaten for the past 3 days (all on the cruise ship or princess cays at this point), she received an injection for the nausea as well as meds for nausea and cramping.  She was told to isolate in the room for 24 hours.  That last sea day was rainy and she slept all day in any event, so it was no challenge to isolate.  Room service brought crackers, ginger ale and gatorade when we requested them to try to keep her hydrated.  By debarkation she was able to eat some oatmeal in the dining room and walk herself off the boat.  She received a future cruise credit for the lost day, but I doubt she will use it.  

 

On the last night the kids and their parents were squeezing every last drop of fun out of that cruise.  The fun extended all the way down to the lowest decks where kids loved playing chase up and down the halls and through the elevator lobbies until the wee hours.  None of this was really unexpected for us as we knew what we were getting into by booking a last minute spring break cruise, and if you book this cruise, you probably need to know that too.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, Tigerfan85again said:

I have cruised Princess a few times and this was my first Carnival Cruise. 

Just be aware that if it was a souvenir stamp (not an official government stamp) it can invalidate your passport, because your passport is only supposed to be used for official government purposes. Overzealous CBP agents have been known to make an issue of it

 

[notscb]

Sounds like y'all had a great time. How did you find the condition of the ship and the overall size? I'm hoping to get a chance to go on the Elation while she's still in service to experience small(er) ship cruising.

[bafinegan]

We have done 4 cruises on the Elation ( and several on other fantasy class ships)  because Jacksonville port is only 4 hours from us.  We LOVE the Elation I( and the Fantasy class in general).  Love the smaller feel.  Only thing missing is a steak house.  Try and get a cabin on deck 9.  We had a cabin there on our 2/5/2024 cruise.  It is so convenient to EVERYTHING.

 

baf

 

 

[Tigerfan85again]

The ship looked fine to me.  For a shorter cruise, there is probably enough to do.  We went to the piano bar and I did one work out in the gym.  We toured the spa and it looked nice.  Many people were in the casino.  Kids didn't seem to have long waits for the water slide. We saw people playing ping pong and mini golf.  Comedy shows were filled to capacity - get there 15 minutes early.  Main dining room meals were uncrowded at the main seating, as was breakfast.  Buffet could be overwhelmed at main eating times.

 

If they are giving souvenir stamps in the official government port building (offices there - not a store or a kiosk), I would be surprised, but it's not a question I asked.   It looks like a perfectly normal passport stamp saying Bahamas Immigration, Prince George Wharf with the date of arrival.  It has a marlin on one side - which is why I say it's a cute one.  Bonaire had a flamingo on theirs, Quebec a maple leaf, so I don't think just bc it's a cuter than average stamp it is not legit.

[simplelife]

2 hours ago, bafinegan said:

We have done 4 cruises on the Elation ( and several on other fantasy class ships)  because Jacksonville port is only 4 hours from us.  We LOVE the Elation I( and the Fantasy class in general).  Love the smaller feel.  Only thing missing is a steak house.  Try and get a cabin on deck 9.  We had a cabin there on our 2/5/2024 cruise.  It is so convenient to EVERYTHING.

 

We love the Elation also. On our recent sailing we had a cabin on deck 9 and loved it, Just steps from the Serenity Deck and Alchemy Bar. Java Blue, Casino, and Entertainment on the same floor, Lido one deck up. Dining room one floor down,