Underwhelming service

Item: Carnival Elation
Rating: 2.2
Author: Emae2009

Carnival Elation Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Emae2009

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

2.2 out of 5

Verified Review

4 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 03, 2023

Ship: Carnival Elation

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: U64

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Not bad for a first cruise experience but definitely curious to try a bigger boat or even another cruise line. Service just wasn't as friendly as I would've hoped. Lots of attitude and no one really tried to accommodate us at all with anything. Split up our breakfast group for no reason when it was pretty slow in the restaurant, and just not super friendly anywhere. Again, except Oleg in dining and our steward Katut. They were delightful!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Oleg in the main dining room was delightful! He went above and beyond to work with what they had to offer. The ship ran out of lobster so we didn't get that which was upsetting, food was never HOT just warmish, melting cake was always hard, and most staff were unfriendly. We had the late dinner and missed a lot of entertainment because every night they told us the kitchen was behind so we'd spend 1.5+ hours trying to eat dinner. Some nights we left without dessert because the wait times were outrageous. Very disappointed in the bubbles package. Switched to Pepsi (YUCK! Bring back Coke) AND they were out of lot of the soda options. Spent a lot of time walking around trying to find someone with sodas we enjoyed. Also went to breakfast with a party of 6 and they put 4 on one side of the restaurant and the other two on the other side and told us there was no where to sit us all together. There were several tables empty and it was not that crowded. We had to ask 3 seperate people before they finally allowed us to sit together.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Very disappointed to see how tiny the pool was. It was so small and packed we didn't get to go in it one time. Putt putt course was so so. Wish there would've been more outdoor activities. They were all very underwhelming and so crowded.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Singers were very talented. The piano bar was excellent. Wish the comedy show would've been longer than 30 min. The opener was not really funny at all and all guests we spoke with agreed. But the headliner Alex was great.

Children's Programs

Parents only cruise

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

Room stewards Katut was phenomenal as well as Oleg in the dining room. Everyone else seemed bothered by any interaction they had to have with you.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

A little tight but it was nice.

Ports of call

Jacksonville, Florida

3 out of 5

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

3 out of 5

Took a while to get to the beach but it was nice. We did jetski excursion in the rain.

Thumbs Up 0

Bimini, Bahamas

2 out of 5

Underwhelmed by this port. It was very pretty but definitely not all a whole lot to do.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

11 Comments

stwoodburn 1 year ago

Pools are small and crowded. Dinner especially at assigned times takes 90 mins at min. Melting cake has never been hard for me, sometimes too runny. Staff can’t be more polite in my experience.

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mrspayne427 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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gmababy 1 year ago

Everybody in your cruise can take a 12 pack of sodas.

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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PrincessMeka 1 year ago

I would try another Cruise Line , Royal ,Celebrity and Virgin are more a-par to what I’m accustom to with service .

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javawoody 1 year ago

Welcome to cruising

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ericbran 1 year ago

Definitely try a larger ship!!!

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed review. Sorry your first cruise was disappointing. A bigger/newer ship may be better for you.

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Welcome to cruising! Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Itspeace4me 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing.

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SRAlbritton 1 year ago

Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise with us. Sorry it wasn't up to expectations. Definately try a bigger ship.

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