Relaxing and short. 5 days isn’t enough IMOP. You no sooner get unpacked and settled and its time to get back at traveling.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was our first time to use Faster to The Fun with Carnival and it was worth it! Fastest Embarkation I’ve ever been on. We practically walked up the ramp and onto the boat in less than 10 minutes. Only time we stopped walking was to wait for carryon scan, Passports to be confirmed and to stop for a embark pic. Besides that we didn’t sit or stand once! Straight through walkup!!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Highlights:
✔️ Chefs Table Private Dinner
✔️ Guy’s Burger Joint (Best Ship Burger To-date)
✔️ Breakfast in the Imagination Dinning Room
✔️ Ice Cream on the Lido
Food was great on this ship. We had ok lines in the morning for breakfast on the lido but best is to head to the dinning room and have eggs fresh made to order.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Glad they recently completed an update on Elation with the addition of the slides on the back of the boat. Sadly someone’s child defecated in the slide area early on the last day and caused the slides to be shut down for the remainder of the day. 😳🙄
This ship is in need of more pools. Only one main pool located on the Lido and two of the four hot tubs are dedicated to the serenity deck so that makes the others crowded at all times of the cruise.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Not a big fan of the entertainment provided in the show rooms on this cruise. They weren’t very family friendly and at times the dancing/ outfits were pushing Vegas level scantily dressed. Compound that with bending and thrusting butts into the air and it didn’t take long to remove my family from the room.
It’s ok to have performances that are more risqué but those should be indicated more in the Funtimes and only performed after regular evening hours IMOP.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
Our 8yr old son didn’t care for the a activities provided in camp Stingray. Our 6yr old girl was also in tears on one of the evenings when we came to pick her up. Complaining of being bullied by other kids, instructed the staff and said they told her to “just stay away from them” and did nothing to separate them from her.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Great staff as always with Carnival. Remembering our families names and paying special attention to say hello when walking around the decks and seeing them outside of their positions on board.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Updated cabins are really nice. USB outlets are great for modern needs. Pull down bed over the main beds isn’t ideal but its practical.
Ship tip
Fantasy class ships are a great way to start cruising. If you’ve been on other cruise lines though or bigger ships in Carnivals fleet I would strongly suggest saving and spending the money on a bigger class/ ship.
Large port that can get crowded at times. We had five ships in port that day so it was overly crowded at times.
Shopping feels dangerous and 3rd world.
Great excursions offered. We did the dolphin experience at Balmoral Island and had a great day.
Very little to do off the ship at this port without traveling for an excursion. Makes for a good day to stay on boat and take in everything unless someone lets their kid make a BabyRuth in the pool and keeps you from having fun all day in the water.
Food wasn’t that great but the beach was good. Strongly suggest wearing water socks here. Rocky in areas but crystal clear waters make them easy to see.
Didn’t get to explore this port. Stayed the evening in Orlando and caught an Uber in the Embarkation morning.
Wished could have checked bags in earlier and gone down to Cocoa beach for a few hours before getting on board.
We stayed on as long as we could, had breakfast, one last ice cream and headed off for the day. Never have understood why some people hurry off the boat in the morning on the last day unless they have a plane to catch.
Those babies have to watch there potty times it seems. Glad over all your family had a great vacation. I hate that the bullies wasn't asked to leave the camp, that shouldn't be tolerated. This is everyone's vacation including the children. Let the parents deal with there bad kid!
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