Be Honest!!!!!!

[Kurbanfan]

Let's take another look at what the Elation is doing, and we'll find the reason(s) why the product is not meeting expectations by some long time cruisers.

1. This is the first summer season for this ship sailing out of San Diego, down to Baja.

2. Trips are short hops only, and alternate between a 3 day and a 4 day.

3. One trip is to Cabo and back to San Diego, the other is to Cabo, then Ensenada, then back to San Diego. The Mexican ports are party ports, not known for their museums.

4. The cruise fares are very inexpensive.

5. The ship holds just over 2,000 passengers. For the last two sailings out of San Diego, they took on 2,300 each trip.

 

Add up all of the above while keeping in mind that Carnival is marketing this ship/itinerary to a certain clientele (not even the usual Carnival passenger) and the cruise becomes a time bomb waiting for someone to light the fuse. Trouble in one form or another is bound to happen.

 

As for the ship itself, with the constant turnover of more than 4,000 passengers over a period of just 7 days, the ship's interior will get tired very, very quickly. It has nothing to do with the age of the ship. Put the Crystal Symphony in the same situation, and the same wear and tear would happen.

 

Bottom line: With 4,000 passengers on/off every 7 days, the crew gets tired too. It's alot to ask of any crew and of any ship.

 

First of all let's get your facts straight. This was a 6 day cruise not a 3 or 4 day cruise as you mentioned. This particular cruise does not even sail 3 days.....it sails 4, 5 & 6 days. The fares are not inexpensive. Now if you are talking about the Paradise that does the 3 & 4 day cruises to Baja I would agree.

Please explain what you mean by certain clentele:confused:

I am paying the same price for a oceanview cabin on this 5 day cruise as I did for a balcony on the Liberty.....

And yes I would be the usual Carnival Passenger.......

It all boils down to sailing during a holiday weekend.........

 

Also the second cruise out of San Diego just got back today. The OP was on the first cruise which was 6 days and the second cruise was I believe 5 days. Where are you getting 4,000 passengers in 7 days???

[wizard-of-roz]

First: This was NOT a "cheap cruise"....it was a 6 day cruise and cost as much as our 7 day cruise with Celebrity/Princess and NCL.

 

Second: Stuart was our CD and is a delightful young man....you could sense his frustration with some of the people in this crowd. But, he carried on!

 

Third: I didn't hate my cruise (I really disliked the food/poor maintenance of some of the areas of the ship and the roudiness that was going on, unchecked ).....I disliked what occurred and didn't enjoy the public areas as much as I usually do on a cruise!.....

 

I truly made the most of it by enjoying our new found friends and by watching some of the best shows, I've seen on any cruise! The beds were delightful as was the bedding! Our cabin was very roomy and had lots of storage space! Our steward was very attentive and congenial! Our dining room service was excellent! A++++++!!!

Anytime I get to spend with my dear husband is special time for me!!!!!

 

Fourth: We've been on a "4" day cruise on RCCL and I loved that cruise....It was so much fun! There were lots of younger people on board and we totally enjoyed their company and that cruise experience!!!!!

Fifth: We booked this week, specifically, because "school was in", in L.A. and I thought it was going to be a very quiet week!!!!! I wasn't thinking about the rest of America!!!!:eek:

[truecruiser]

...Second: Stuart was our CD and is a delightful young man....you could sense his frustration with some of the people in this crowd. But, he carried on!

 

...

 

stuart dunn is back on elation? wow! musta been my glowing recommendations to guest relations, LOL. :D :p

 

stuart dunn handled debarkation like a dream when i was on that ship -- the best of any CD i can remember. to hear he blundered it to such an awful extent is surprising to me. (not being sarcastic, it really is surprising). maybe his crowd was way too tough and there was nothing anyone cld do to get a handle on them.

[Mikel1733]

First: This was NOT a "cheap cruise"....it was a 6 day cruise and cost as much as our 7 day cruise with Celebrity/Princess and NCL.

 

Second: Stuart was our CD and is a delightful young man....you could sense his frustration with some of the people in this crowd. But, he carried on!

 

Third: I didn't hate my cruise (I really disliked the food/poor maintenance of some of the areas of the ship and the roudiness that was going on, unchecked ).....I disliked what occurred and didn't enjoy the public areas as much as I usually do on a cruise!.....

 

I truly made the most of it by enjoying our new found friends and by watching some of the best shows, I've seen on any cruise! The beds were delightful as was the bedding! Our cabin was very roomy and had lots of storage space! Our steward was very attentive and congenial! Our dining room service was excellent! A++++++!!!

 

Anytime I get to spend with my dear husband is special time for me!!!!!

 

Fourth: We've been on a "4" day cruise on RCCL and I loved that cruise....It was so much fun! There were lots of younger people on board and we totally enjoyed their company and that cruise experience!!!!!

 

Fifth: We booked this week, specifically, because "school was in", in L.A. and I thought it was going to be a very quiet week!!!!! I wasn't thinking about the rest of America!!!!:eek:

 

My son and DIL got back in to San Diego this morning from Elation. I will be very interested to see what he has to say. He and DIL along his in laws were on the Elation last May 2006, so he will have a comparison to go by. I'm hoping you just hit a bad week.

[wizard-of-roz]

I'm sure that the debarkation "tie-up", (4+hours)- was caused by some people from Greece, who were difficult to find because of a language barrier and the San Diego police criminal investigation that was being filed by two of the passengers!

None of which can be blamed on Stuart or his wonderful staff!

[jbhcw]

Have read this thread with total amazement at the different opinions of different people:) I'll be on the Elation Monday, and my only concern is-a lot of kids. That being said, one of our best cruises was on this ship in January doing a 5 day out of Port Canaveral, it was wonderful:)

 

Another thing, I paid more for an OV on this cruise than I paid for a balcony on the Liberty in September, so IMH these are not cheap cruises at this point in time, they may come down after summer is over.

 

I also tend to not use the public restrooms on any ship old or new, especially the ones near the pool deck, they are almost always awful:eek:

 

Hoping everyone on the 06-07 sailing has a great time and I'll be sure to come back and do a little reveiw on my 06-11 sailing:)

[Darlipoo]

My son and DIL got back in to San Diego this morning from Elation. I will be very interested to see what he has to say. He and DIL along his in laws were on the Elation last May 2006, so he will have a comparison to go by. I'm hoping you just hit a bad week.

 

I will be very interested in hearing your families reviews. Thanks in advance.

[clackey]

Oooh good lord, what am I in for?????????? You Carnival lovers, please make me feel better taking my first Carnival cruise!!:eek:

Don't let this stuff scare you. If you take two people and ask them a question, you will get at least 2 answers.

 

We have sailed the Elation 3 times and have no bad news to date. Sure she's old and not as fresh as the newer ships, but she is still fun. As for the stench that was mentioned, I have smelled sewage on every ship that I have been on. Not constant, but sometimes it is there. If there is a subject that would cause me to be upset it would be the food. If the food is lousy, I will let everyone know. Sorry, but I can honestly say that I have been pleased on every cruise.

 

Take your cruise with an open mind and see what fate brings you. You might be surprised.

[Boatdrill]

First of all let's get your facts straight. This was a 6 day cruise not a 3 or 4 day cruise as you mentioned. This particular cruise does not even sail 3 days.....it sails 4, 5 & 6 days. The fares are not inexpensive. Now if you are talking about the Paradise that does the 3 & 4 day cruises to Baja I would agree.

Please explain what you mean by certain clentele:confused:

 

Also the second cruise out of San Diego just got back today. The OP was on the first cruise which was 6 days and the second cruise was I believe 5 days. Where are you getting 4,000 passengers in 7 days???

 

My apologies. I didn't realize that the cruise that the OP was referring to was the first cruise out of San Diego after the repositioning. I thought the OP was talking about the second cruise. You are correct, the first cruise from San Diego was the 6 day trip. And yes, that 6 day was difficult for many, and continued on to the pier post-cruise during debark. Additional security guards were brought into the luggage tent to help the ground staff handle angry/upset/ unruly/rude/what-have-you passengers.

 

You are also correct about the length of trips the Elation is doing. I meant to write 4 and 5 day. My apologies. In any case, it's 4,000+ passengers every 9 days. That's alot of traffic, and remains a very high number.

 

As for "certain clientele"....Carnival is advertising the Elation cruises on hard rock radio stations in San Diego, and on KFI in Los Angeles, for example. Something they do not do with the Spirit, which does 10 day Mexican Riviera trips from San Diego (Sept - May). They are targeting a specific market for these short trips.

 

As for cruise fares, the brochure rate for an Elation 4 day cruise begins at $849, or approx. $212 a night. As we all know, the brochure rates are always higher than what is actually paid. Anytime you can get a cruise fare under $200 a night, most would consider it inexpensive.

 

I'm not trying to start a train wreck here. It's just a description of the product, and how it's being marketed.

[yosh12]

Price point, itinerary, age and size of the ship. All plays a big part whether people want to believe it or not. From the OP description, I'd expect nothing less from the Elation (which is why I would never sail it either).

 

It is exactly like those short hops over to the Bahamas. I wouldn't do any of those either.

 

If you've never cruised before, or are not expecting much, you won't be disappointed.

 

I can't imagine why anyone who has sailed newer or larger ships on other lines would even consider this ship? But...to each his own I guess.

[Kurbanfan]

My apologies. I didn't realize that the cruise that the OP was referring to was the first cruise out of San Diego after the repositioning. I thought the OP was talking about the second cruise. You are correct, the first cruise from San Diego was the 6 day trip. And yes, that 6 day was difficult for many, and continued on to the pier post-cruise during debark. Additional security guards were brought into the luggage tent to help the ground staff handle angry/upset/ unruly/rude/what-have-you passengers.

 

You are also correct about the length of trips the Elation is doing. I meant to write 4 and 5 day. My apologies. In any case, it's 4,000+ passengers every 9 days. That's alot of traffic, and remains a very high number.

 

As for "certain clientele"....Carnival is advertising the Elation cruises on hard rock radio stations in San Diego, and on KFI in Los Angeles, for example. Something they do not do with the Spirit, which does 10 day Mexican Riviera trips from San Diego (Sept - May). They are targeting a specific market for these short trips.

 

As for cruise fares, the brochure rate for an Elation 4 day cruise begins at $849, or approx. $212 a night. As we all know, the brochure rates are always higher than what is actually paid. Anytime you can get a cruise fare under $200 a night, most would consider it inexpensive.

 

I'm not trying to start a train wreck here. It's just a description of the product, and how it's being marketed.

 

They are also advertising this cruise on country stations.....and talk stations.......

I believe they are just trying to get the word out because it is a new cruise that alot of people don't know about. I would say that's good marketing....

And it's still $100 more p/p then the Paradise :)

[truecruiser]

Price point, itinerary, age and size of the ship. All plays a big part whether people want to believe it or not. From the OP description, I'd expect nothing less from the Elation (which is why I would never sail it either).

 

It is exactly like those short hops over to the Bahamas. I wouldn't do any of those either.

 

If you've never cruised before, or are not expecting much, you won't be disappointed.

 

I can't imagine why anyone who has sailed newer or larger ships on other lines would even consider this ship? But...to each his own I guess.

 

Ahhh...the world is full of those that know nothing, but pretend that they do...

 

you are the "posterboy" for this principal.:rolleyes:

[terri910]

Did I mis-read the OP, or does he/she think that people that don't have the same opinions aren't being honest???

 

I figure any time someone here gives an opinion on their specific cruise experience, that they are being honest. What would be the point of lying?

[truecruiser]

Did I mis-read the OP, or does he/she think that people that don't have the same opinions aren't being honest???

 

I figure any time someone here gives an opinion on their specific cruise experience, that they are being honest. What would be the point of lying?

 

no. you read correctly. but somewhere in between the many pages of this thread, she clarified her position and stated she did not mean to have it come off that way.

 

the issue seems to have diverted into one where some of us (like me) are vehemently stating that sailing on a Fantasy class ship does not mean you will get a cheap vacation w/ subpar service and low class people.

 

this is in response to what some posters (other than the OP) have "concluded" as being the reason for her bad sailing. no doubt, she had a bad sailing, but it wasn't b/c it was a "fantasy class" ship, it was b/c she had a bad sailing!

 

bad sailings happen on occasion, and they happen on every class of ship. but some are failing to recognize this. (all they need to do is search the boards to find out how wrong they are, LOL).

 

i happen to have had very good cruises on the fantasy class ships (as did many others), and take issue w/ those who say they are the bottom of the barrel and the reason her cruise was bad. those that say this, obviously haven't used the search function.

[Kurbanfan]

 

i happen to have had very good cruises on the fantasy class ships (as did many others), and take issue w/ those who say they are the bottom of the barrel and the reason her cruise was bad. those that say this, obviously haven't used the search function.

 

Or have never sailed those ships.....

Same mentality as those who bash Carnival but infact have never been on a Carnival ship:rolleyes:

[truecruiser]

Or have never sailed those ships.....

Same mentality as those who bash Carnival but infact have never been on a Carnival ship:rolleyes:

 

yup. hey, you wld join me for steamers and a bucket of beer if they g=had it onboard, wldn't ya? BTW, i tried your beef jerky. Jeeze! thought i was gonna lose my teeth ripping through that stuff! was tasty, though.

[Kurbanfan]

yup. hey, you wld join me for steamers and a bucket of beer if they g=had it onboard, wldn't ya? BTW, i tried your beef jerky. Jeeze! thought i was gonna lose my teeth ripping through that stuff! was tasty, though.

 

LOL!

[mamaskittles]

My first cruise on Carnival was on the Legend (spirit Class).

Loved the food, the crew, the itinarary, my cabin, entertainment.

Hated the public restrooms UGH. My inept cabin steward and especially the horrible rowdy ill mannered other passengers on board.

I booked the Miracle for this year and looking forward to it.

Would have booked the Legend but they moved her.

I assumed my experience this time will be different because I don't think the horrible rowdy ill mannered people from last year will be on this trip .

If they are I will again try to ignore them (very hard) enjoy the food, greet the crew, revel in the itinarary, luxuriate in my cabin, and smile at the entertainment.

My point... each cruise is different even on the same ship, from the same port etc.

I don't think anyone lies about their experiences, some people kvetch about everything, others wouldn't ask for water if they were on fire.

But it is true that if you post negatives in an even balanced review some other cc'rs get indignant. I don't know why. It seems silly.

I always believe...

MY cruise

MY experience

MY money

MY opinion

calling people liars is just not cool no matter how you try and disguise it.

[truecruiser]

... some people kvetch about everything, others wouldn't ask for water if they were on fire.

...

 

ROFL.

[Kurbanfan]

But it is true that if you post negatives in an even balanced review some other cc'rs get indignant. I don't know why. It seems silly.

 

 

You and me both........

[G.C]

wizard,

Since I was not on your cruise I can only say I am glad I was not. Sorry you had such a bad cruise. It is a shame some familes on your cruise allowed their children to run wild. I am suprised you had so many issues with the ship. I see by you sig. you have had some issues in the past. It is to bad you have had some bad cruises. I wish you nothing but wonderful cruises in the future.

 

For others about to sail on the Elation we have sailed on her twice in the last eight months most recently in May out of Canaveral. We have had almost perfect cruises each time. It is our favorite Fantasy class CCL ship. We found the crew to be very freindly and the food good. Was it the best cruise experience we ever had no not all. It also cost about half of my best cruise ever. Was my last Elation sailing the best cruise value I ever had yes it was. Great ship as good freindly crew good food over all for the price the Elation is a very good deal. Everyone we have sailed with on the Elation loved that ship.

 

If you want the best service, food and cabin I would not as do the OP did. Purchase the lowest deck on an inexpensive cruise.

[wizard-of-roz]

G.C.......Exactly what are you referring to when you mention "other complaints?" I have written about NCL and my dislike for their venue's and passenger service, is that what you are referring to? Uh! Oh! That sounds defense......Duck, Roz!!!!!:eek: OMG, you guys have me talking to myself!!!!!!!!

 

This cruise was not a "cheap cruise!" And, booking on the "lowest deck" has nothing, at all, to do with the problems on board!

This cruise, in cost, was equal (in price) to our Diamond Princess, on a higher deck NCL/RCCL and Celebrity (all on higher decks!)

What happened on THIS SHIP, at THIS TIME.....has NOTHING to do with the location of our cabin or the price of the cruise.........

 

No bad cruises.......just some bad experiences.........I know how to turn those damn lemons into lemonade.....

 

:p 24 hour ice cream can take the pain out of anything!!!!!!!!:p

[G.C]

wizard,

I have no idea what you may have said in the past regarding RCL. I only note you say "Never again" on you sig. regarding RCl. I was not trying to give you a hard time. I am honestly amazed that you had such a bad experience on a ship I have sailed on recently and enjoyed so much. I have never heard anyone ever mention a bad smell while on the Elation. I am not doubting you smelled something awful either. Nor were the bathrooms in the common area dirty. I would never use those anyway but thats just me.

CCl is not an expensive cruise line. Also the Elation is not a bad ship either. I just did not want others to think that due to your experience alone they should panic and cancel or not buy an Elation cruise.

 

I hope all you future cruises are just as you want them to be.

[jbhcw]

Agree with GC's posts. "If you want the best service, food and cabin I would not as do the OP did. Purchase the lowest deck on an inexpensive cruise."

 

The Elation in January was truly a good cruise, cheap too:) The Elation is IMHO one of the best of the Fantasy Class ships. Our food was great as was the service from all of the crew.

 

Someone else belittled a Bahamas cruise, our five day did Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Nassau, nice stops IMO:D

[Barkingowl]

I can't imagine why anyone who has sailed newer or larger ships on other lines would even consider this ship? But...to each his own I guess.

 

I cruised on Elation in January because a group that I have been cruising with for a few years, decided to book the group on her. It was a Bahamas itinerary & it was fun. The Elation has more of a family atmosphere between the passengers & the crew since it is a smaller vessel.

 

One of the bar servers in the Inspiration dining room recognized me from a cruise I took on Fascination in 2005. She told me about the upcoming repositioning cruise in May, & told me that I should be on it. I took her advice & got a cabin.

 

There were good & bad things about that particular cruise, but in general I had a good time. I have, however, decided never to cruise on a Fantasy class ship again. Why? Well they don't have enough moderately priced balcony rooms. I hate to admit it but I'm a balcony snob.