Bad service and cold food

Carnival Elation Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Elation

5 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 20, 2017

Ship: Carnival Elation

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: E210

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The crew did not know all aspects of the ship. If you ask the same question to different crew members, you would get different answers each time. The crew did not seem to be knowledgeable about the ship/rules/etc. For example, my boyfriend asked where he could purchase a Aloe bottle and each crew member gave a completely different answer, so we found ourselves walking all around the ship trying to figure out the real answer and wasted a good hour of our vacation time.  Our stateroom was missing a room service menu, we waited over an hour after calling to request one, and still no menu. My boyfriend went to guest services and they did not seem to have one there for him to grab (which was weird- Holland never had that problem) but assured us they will expedite the issue... only for him to come back to our our stateroom and wait another 45 minutes before having to go back and ask again.I requested two bathrobes and had to remind the crew the next day again that we have yet to receive them. Lets not talk about the time we found ourselves with no toilet paper. Almost every meal we had on board was cold. One perfect example was the one cold pancake in the middle of a stack I ordered from the Seaday brunch one morning.To add on, the description from the waiter was completely wrong from the food I really got.  To make matters worse, at one point, the bread basket I received before my dinner meal had an half eaten bread piece in it! When I pointed it out to the waiter, he did not seem to care at all, simply grabbed it and replaced it without saying one word!  Come on! As if things could not get any worse, when my boyfriend went to purchase the CHEERS package, they told him that I am forced to purchase it as well, even though I do not drink AT ALL. So basically Carnival make about $310 in profit out of pure awful customer service.That was almost just as much as I paid for the cruise itself!  Although we even heard stories of others purchasing the CHEERS package and getting away with the other not purchasing it. So that is what we get for following the rules I guess.  I understand there were probably people before us who abused the system and shared drinks, but another solution can be figured out to solve that issue besides lets force everyone to purchase the package. The only positive part of the vacation were the other guests on ship. Everyone was nice and very fun to hang with. I  met some of the greatest people I have met in my life. Although I am sure there are many other cruise lines that attract amazing people as well, so I defiantly would not recommend this cruise to others.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Jacksonville, Florida

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

1 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 48

18 Comments

AdorableMuppet    6 years ago

Wow. You sound like a bad person and I bet even Jesus doesn't like you.

loweed    7 years ago

Uh, couldn't you have walked to the buffet, and brought the food back in the time you waited, went to customer relations, then waited more? Then, ask your steward for a copy. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have had the menu in your state room. As for the Cheers, it is on CCLs website. I don't leave for another 7 days and booked my package a month ago (at a very slight discount).

Dutch3901    7 years ago

Albgre, you show no past cruises in your cruise history.... not even this one ...You might not recommend this cruise but I certainly have... we loved it last year. My experience is that each cruise line that we've sailed with, the drink package has to be purchased by both adults in the cabin - only one of the two adults isn't an option. I'm not certain if all lines are like that but the three cruise lines that we have cruised with, that is the case. I'm pretty sure Carnival isn't going to make an exception for you. You can purchase a lot of drinks for the $310, since you don't drink. It's my viewpoint that you aren't "forced" to purchase the package, you simply have to comply with the terms that applies to all those who purchase the Cheers package. I'm glad that you at least found some enjoyment and wish you well in future cruises...

Oldrip    7 years ago

You said that you had cruised 4 to 6 times...  Well you surely did not learn anything...   Quit your bitching and stay home.

careinhart    7 years ago

Lol what a whineass! Next complaint will be they had to actually pay for the cruise. Suck it up buttercup!

rianncoto    7 years ago

We had a wonderful time on the Elation in January. Going back May 15-20 for our anniversary.

tiffanytierra7    7 years ago

If you look for negatives , you'll find it. Try and enjoy your vacation and just enjoy yourself. Bring your own sunblock, and maybe be willing to accept that not everything goes as planned but at least you're getting to go on a trip many others won't bc they can't afford. I can't wait for our cruise May 1-6! It's our 3rd one and we only cruise with CCL. Never been disappointed ☺

djshort    7 years ago

Hahaha...walked around an hour looking for an Aloe bottle. What's that? Is that the exact wording you used? If so, that's your fault. Now if you asked for a bottle of Aloe lotion for sunburns you might have had a better response to your question. Wondering which crew member held you down & forced you to buy the Cheers Program? Sorry, we've been on too many CCL ships and have yet to experience any of your complaints. Find your post highly suspicious and not in anyway reflective of this cruise line.

m3layne    7 years ago

I loved the Elation and the crew was awesome to us. Granted we didn't have any of the same issues.

melissalyn    7 years ago

lol. I'm so excited for our trip on the elation may 1st.

starspangled    7 years ago

snow flakes, paid all that money to BITCH

mk3141    7 years ago

I suspect your boyfriend needed the extra drinks

melissalyn    7 years ago

hmmmm you could have saved money and just not got the drink package. Sure he didn't drink enough to make up for what you spent for yours. also I went on that cruise last year with my boyfriend and we had such an amazing time we are going again may 1st. small ships are not gonna be as glamorous as big ships. not moving your mega negative response to your cruise

DottieDiehl    7 years ago

Your 1/2 right. When I called, the customer service rep. Wasn't sure if they accepted the medical issue & made an exception with doctors note or not.

gri5thj    7 years ago

Caveat Emptor

theall123    7 years ago

Just do your research. Carnival never hides any price info from you. Had you looked up the drink card info before, you would've known. Poor planning on your part...

DottieDiehl    7 years ago

Carnival makes no exceptions for the Alcohol package. Same thing happened to me & I had a note from my surgeon stating I had just had surgery & could not drink alcohol with my medicines. Needless to say, I just book with Royal Caribbean.

theall123    7 years ago

....troll....

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