Over all, Carnival, the ship and the staff were all very impressive and we had a great trip. Both of us got a little ill but we are blaming the accidental intake of sea water in port for that! I do need to state that Sal Pitera was our travel agent and created a number of problems for our group. We also found his behavior with some of our group members inappropriate and offensive. We would recommend that no one use his company.
We would so do this again in spite of the little things that went wrong!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We purchased the Faster to the Fun package so we were able to get to our cabin quickly. I have vertigo so the climb was a bit unnerving for me.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was great! We, as first time cruisers, were under the impression that food was available all the time. It was often not. We tried the buffet twice and found that most of it was closed when we wanted to eat. There was about a 1/2 hour wait if we wanted to eat that way. So, we ended up just getting the pizza.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Most of our activities took place with the group we were with. We did run into problems with those as, apparently, our travel agent/cruise director did not communicate with the ship's staff about room reservations (days/times) that we would need a place and we had to forego some of the things we had planned.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We only caught a couple of shows on our trip but did find the talent impressive.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward, Adi, was awesome! Our dinner server, Philip, was always a joy! The staff that we would encounter around the ship were always smiling and very polite. The bartenders knew our names by the 2nd time we came to them. I found this impressive as they were not always in the same bar! The young lady that did my hair was fabulous! We chatted up a storm and she did a great job!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We were told that Elation was one of Carnival's "older" ships. I found it to be very clean and well maintained. We even had our cabin window marked to be sealed as part of regular maintenance while we were in Amber Cove!
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was clean and the bed was VERY comfortable! The only "issues" we had were that there were 2 drop down bunks in our cabin and the ladders for them were stored in one of the closets taking up quite a bit of hanging space. We also had to call to have the hinges of the second closet door repaired while we were there as they were loose and about to fall off. The bathroom could use a few shelves for storage above the head. But I would absolutely stay there again.
Ship tip
Double check food availability and locations when you get on board. Check hours for room service also.
We had a private group function here. Again, our travel agent/cruise director failed to make the necessary travel arrangements to get our group to and from the location. The port it's self was very pretty and there were tons of places to shop!
We did not realize that with the Faster to the Fun package, we could have gotten off the ship earlier than the rest of our group. so, we stayed with our group to disembark with the general passengers. It was a very long and uncomfortable process. As someone with vertigo, I can get quite dizzy on stairs. The ships stairs are a little narrow and steep and being forced to use them with their glass railings was, personally, very uncomfortable. I highly recommend the Faster to the Fun package!
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