Had a Blast on Elation

We left on April 3, 2017 for a 5 nights Bahama cruise from Jacksonville Florida.  This was our first cruise so we dont have any other experiences to compare it to.  However, we have stayed at several all inclusive resorts, so some of our critiques from from that.

The Ship:  The ship was big.  12 Floors.  We found it easy to navigate around the ship, only got confused a few times with the Inspiration and Imagination dining rooms because they are named so similarly.   A lot of people say that this ship is outdated, again we have nothing to compare it too but felt that it was kept up well.  Didnt see anything nasty and the rooms were clean.  Compared to an all inclusive resort it was very nice to have everything close together.

The Room: We stayed in room R157 on the 4th Floor (Riviera).  Our room was super.  We had the beds pushed together into a King size and had the bunk lowered for our 5 year old daughter.  We also had ocean view, which I dont think I could do without, we loved it.  The stewardess kept our room immaculate and the bathroom clean, floors swept, etc.  Towel animals every night.  

The Food: The food wasnt great.  Main dining room food was okay, but it was very gourmet.  So if you arent into that kind of food you will be disappointed.  We didnt try the room service, but the menu was similar to what was found everywhere else on ship.  The Lido buffet was bland and similar every day.  We got tired of eating pizza 3 times a day.  The sandwich buffet was very good though and I ate there once or twice a day too.  Lines were outrageous to get food.  Also liked the Dr. Suess breakfast but not sure why they charged an extra $5 as the menu was similar to that of Sea Day Brunch.  Elegant night wasnt all that elegant, so Im not sure why they call it that.  Just a few more people dress up a tad bit nicer than usual.

Pools: These are horrible.  The drop to get into them was scary our child didnt even want to go in.  I couldnt get in because I have lupus and have a hard time getting up and down ladders and the ladders in that pool were not handicap friendly.  The water was also freezing in all the pools.  My child would only go in the hot tub, which was hot on the sunburn.  Ive seen pix on other ships and their pools look better.

Ports:  Freeport was a waste of time.  We did an excursion All Inclusive Beach Getaway.  Had we not done that, it would have been a complete waste.  I dont really know why the cruises even stop here.  Half Moon Cay was the absolute best.  We rented a clam shell for $30 and had lunch at the BBQ.  Which was pretty much more of the same as what was on ship.  The water was gorgeous and sand was soft.  Nassau, I could take or leave.  A lot of upscale shopping like Gucci, Guess, Pandora, etc.  My daughter got her hair braided and it was a waste of money.  $50!  We walked around for a short time then went back to the ship.

Entertainment:  The singers werent the best we've ever seen, but the show was awesome nonetheless.  We saw Epic Rock and the Soul one on the last day.  Our Cruise Director, Kevin was the BEST.  He really made our trip wonderful.  He was funny and fun to be around.  The last night they did an 80s Trivia/Sing Along and it was a ton of fun.  The whole ship was singing in that Atrium!  Also they did Build a Bear Workshop and our daughter loved it.  Prices were similar to that of the real store and it was a great souvenir to bring home.  

Photographers:  OMG! They are every where!  Be prepared to get your picture taken every time you turn around.  It felt like paparazzi!   They did a nice job on the photos where you actually went there and posed for them, but the shots trying to get you leaving the boat or coming back from the port all nasty and sweaty just dont make good photos.  They also dont organize them well and they WASTE so much!  They print EVERY SINGLE PICTURE and display them for all to see.  They need to come up with a system similar to Disney, with their magic band.  Why not use our sign and sail card to link to our pictures and then we can see what we want.  Maybe purchase a CD or downloads or something? The pictures were super expensive too!  $22 for an 8x10.  We seriously had about $400 worth of pictures in our hand by the time we found *most* of our pictures.  There were thousands and thousands of photos to look through.  Such a waste to throw all those pictures away.

Motion of the Ocean:  Now I was told by several people that you cant feel the boat.  Feels like your on land they said.  Yeah, they lied.  Two-Three days you could see the boat moving out the window.  It didnt end up bothering me, but man it was rocking!

Overall, this was an awesome trip.  I do want to go on a cruise again sometime.