Five day Caribbean cruise, not what I expected

Item: Carnival Elation
Rating: 3.9
Author: Dawn2089

Carnival Elation Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Dawn2089

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 13

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 21, 2017

Ship: Carnival Elation

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: M96

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was my first time ever cruising. I wasn't really impressed. Too many issues. I don't think I'll be going on another cruise.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

This process took forever. When you are told to board at 2:30, they should tell you that you should arrive to hours earlier to get through the lines.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food was good but the pizza too a long time to order because there was never a person at the counter and one of the ice cream machines was broken the whole time. This created long wait times. The burgers were amazing and we really loved the imagination restaurant.

Pizza Pirate

2 out of 5

The service was extremely slow here. It was open 24 hours but you had to wait a long time to be serviced.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

One of the hot tubs was broken and was cold the entire cruise. The other one was already full of people.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The Diva show was fantastic! We enjoyed watching several shows. I would've enjoyed the bar better if it were a non smoking area.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Our room was always clean. We loved the house keeping staff and the cute towel animals.

Ship tip

Check your charger account before debarkation day. The cruise liner slips in a bunch of hidden fees that they aren't forthcoming about. These fees are adjustable but if we didn't check, we wouldn't have known.

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Ports of call

Jacksonville, Florida

3 out of 5

Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)

4 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

This port is in a scary part of town. I was not impressed.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

It was better than embarkation because I expected the long lines.

8 Comments

JnTcruise 6 years ago

Cruising isn’t for everyone. I happen to love it!

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HappyCamperSue 6 years ago

I would try another cruise line. Carnival is not everyone’s cup of tea! Trust me! I would rather cruise Holland America, but when you only cruise with a suite, balcony minimum, it is less expensive, and I just make the best of it. I get the Cheers program and a full day of spa appts when we are at sea. My husband is the fan of Carnival, but his tastes are certainly different than mine and I am slowly learning to compromise.

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obaranov 6 years ago

Oh don’t give up on cruising because of experience. Smaller ship might not give you a wow factor . I have sailed with at least three other cruislines and it was different experience on each one of them ... you have to know ins and outs of everything. Next time either try bigger carnival ship that has been built in late 2000s or try Royal celebrity or NCL always read reviews... it’ll help you choose the right ship for you.. with a buffet each line has its twerks and usually redundant with the stateroom you always can tell the person who cleans ur room ur preference and they will be happy to try to make you happy.. activities also depend on the ship size and the company... if you looking for better price always look at reviews cuz sometimes you have to pay couple of extra bucks to have a better things to do onboard.. embarkation depends on the cruise line and the actual port ... it was only once it took us a bit of a time and it was with royal Caribbean cruise line.. the main thing I ran into the problem with was disembarkation from royal Caribbean ships.. takes forever.. the embarkation process : sad part no one really tells you when to arrive... the best thing to do about it get there earlier.. as I said each line has its up and downs and really need to find a line that really going to work the best for you and the family. And never forget to read the fine print

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sandjforever 6 years ago

excited to be going on Elation in 19 days. Will be my 6th cruise!

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riley1220 6 years ago

Kevin is best part of the Elation! Lol. And the shows.

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Sorry it didn't turn out well. Not to rub it in but, we have had five great cruises. And have three this year!

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MrBill 6 years ago

There's a cup for every saucer and it's obvious that cruising is not your cup of tea

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JayRCruiser 6 years ago

If ice cream and pizza lines outweighed the customer service of the staff and entertainment then it's clear what priorities are more important. To each their own, doesn't seem like cruising is for you.

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