First cruise in a while, not Great, but OK

Carnival Elation Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

wagoss56

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 19

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 25, 2023

Ship: Carnival Elation

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: U136

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The internet worked ok, but it was difficult switching devices. I had to go through customer service and they had to charge and then credit my account for another package before they could get it to work (after several tries). Everything I switched devices, e.g. iPad to laptop, it took 4-5 tries before it worked. Speed was ok for working from the laptop. The fact that you can't load the app once you sale was also troublesome. We had one member that forgot to load the app and unless we pay for internet, they couldn't download the app. Speaking of the app, they need a way to allow the user the adjust the reminder times. A default 15 minutes often was not enough

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Very smooth embarkation process. Took about 40 minutes to get through security once we had gotten in line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I didnt have any "bad" food, but other than the Guy's burgers, everything was mediocre. The cake deserts tasted pretty much the same, even the Red Velvet cake, Vanilla, strawberry, etc. they tasted sweet, but no differential in taste. The carrot cake from the dining hall didnt tast much different, but the icing was better. Breakfast left a lot to be desired. The food was lukewarm, at best and the eggs tasted powdery, some of the worst eggs I ever had (only tried them once). The pancakes were kind of tough and and chewy and left a lot to be desired. My wife loved the pizza, but it was too thin for my liking. The salad bar had a good variety and was good the couple of times I ate from there.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

We didnt use the pool and although I intended to play corn hole, shuffleboard and mini-golf, I never did.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Not very impressed. Not enough variety and the Karaoke was annoying because it was 9p%, even during the 'adult' shows. The love and Marriage show was great, but nothing else stuck out.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

This was the one great experience. Everybody from the stewards to the dining staff were great. Some people complain about the mandatory gratuities, but it was well worth it.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The ship was clean and I liked the layout.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The cabin was clean and had plenty of room for two people. It was cleaned daily and the AC worked well. The biggest complaint, and a big one for me was the lack of a working refrigerator. We asked about it within 15. Instes of entering our cabin and were told "we don't have any spares", it we can bring you ice everyday. NOT acceptable and guest services said they couldn't do anything about it. We brought soft drinks and energy drinks on board and didnt use them because the drinks got watered down immediately.