Family Celebration success
Carnival Elation Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
5 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 07, 2015
Ship: Carnival Elation
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: U193
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
We really enjoyed our cruise on the Elation as we celebrated several family milestones. This was our third cruise on a similar ship with the same itinerary. In the future I would prefer a different ship and itinerary, but this one was the best choice for the timing and price. The lady who checked us in was training so it took us longer to go through the boarding process, but since we had a larger family delays were expected. The food was wonderful. I was not pleased that steak or lobster was no longer offered as a meal for the captain's dinner as it was on previous cruises. I had scheduled to celebrate the different birthdays and anniversaries when I booked, but nothing was ever done even though I confirmed the events with several reps. Our waiters and room attendant did a fantastic job and always provided exceptional service. One of the comedians, Mutzi, was a highlight of the ship entertainment. My entire family enjoyed his shows. The evening shows were well done with Epic Rock being the best. The shops and pictures are overpriced as expected and there are times everything feels like a money trap. My teenage sons had fun but at times felt like everything was more adult driven. We took our daughter to Camp Carnival off and on and she loved every opportunity. Overall we had a good time but some of the evaluation is based on us doing our own excursions at the different ports. We were happy with Carnival but will review some different options for our next cruise.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Ship tip
In Cozumel we took our own taxi to a public beach and then paid for a snorkel excursion. We paid $30/person and it was the best snorkel excursion of the 3 trips to Cozumel. The other two times we purchased through Carnival or CruiseOnly and they were more expensive and not as enjoyable.