Carnival Elation Cruise Reviews - Reviews

A little disappointed we were not able to reach our last destination which was the Half moon Cay due to uncontrollable situation when Mother Nature says no.  The whole crew were excellent and friendly. Kuddos to Kevin for the hardwork. The showtime everynight was the best. We will surely come back for the next cruise with Carnival cruise ship. Thanks for the experience it was our 18th wedding anniversary celebration. 

My favorite part of the cruise was the dining staff. Virhkam was the best! Least favorite part was the third party because the entire cruise our party had to deal with them since they wouldn't hold up to their word for our on board credit where never received. Their apology was giving us 50.00 gift card to use towards our next cruise. Which in my opinion 50.00 compared to the thousands we spent already to book the vacation as is. Will definitely be booking elsewhere for future vacations let alone cruises. 

There was 16 of us celebrating my Mother in Law's 96th birthday.  The staff was amazing, they treated her like a queen.  Not a day went by that at least a dozen Carnival employees didn't recognize and acknowledge her with Birthday wishes.  We booked the cruise on the Elation, out of Jacksonville, due to the convenience of the local port.  The ship is much smaller than most we have cruised on and is in the process of doing room upgrades (much needed), some of our gang's room had already been upgraded and some not, we had a suite and it had not been upgraded :(.  Food and service was the best we had experienced.  Will definitely choose Carnival again! 

John McCann and our room steward, Ivan, were definitely the highlight of the trip.  Both were personable and professional and gave you the feeling that the the customer mattered.

The ship, when underway, rumbled incessantly.  Something like the rumble you got in an old pickup when the universal joints were going bad.  It NEVER stopped.

The "Oceanview" room was not anywhere near as nice as the picture in the reservation photos.  The window was approximately half the size shown and you couldn't see out of it due to pitting and cloudiness between the panes.

I must say, the food was excellent and the dining room staff were outstanding.  The buffet was good food, and the wait staff kept the dining area clean.

Two things really bothered me about the cruise.

First, it took forever to get a drink in the Casino or at the Casino bar.  One of the bartenders kept forgetting people's drinks!  Two bartenders is half what you need to service that bar.  There should be one dedicated to the wait staff, at least. In the Serenity adults only area, I gave up after an hour and went to get my own drink.

Second, ice was spilled in my room next to the bed.  The stench that resulted from that spill was terrible.  The ice had partially melted and the water that got into the carpet must've activated something lying dormant...mold or whatever...Ivan did his best to get it out, even had the carpet cleaned, to no avail.  The smell was not as overpowering, but it was still there.

I will not sail on this ship again.

This was a fun cruise. The food was a little disappointing to me but who can really complain when there's an all-you-can-eat buffet? The rocking on this ship was the absolute worst I have ever experienced. I understand the winds were rough, but surely something can be done to steady that vessel. Also, the organization of exiting the ship for excursions needs to be addressed. My group had the faster to fun pass but this had no impact on us exiting the ship faster than anyone else. Leaving the ship when we pulled back in to the home port was also a mess. Needless to say, I did enjoy myself because of the company I was with, but there are some areas to improve for Carnival.

The cruise was a good time. Worth the value . The food was excellent  ,variety with many choices. and desserts were awesome. Wish we would have had more time in Freeport. Half Moon Cay was spectacular, a piece of paradise!! Comedy shows were great. The staff was wonderful. Only improvement would to add some more bartenders. We waited for drinks to be made most of the time. Unfortunately no time spent in Jeykll/Hyde nightclub do to it being a smoking club. We were disappointed with areas for people smoking.

First, We loved the Serenity Deck. 24 hrs of relaxing music and 2 hot tubs on the back deck. Spent much time relaxing and reading there.

Second, loved the shows. Well done and entertaining with great performers. Very professional.

Third, the food was always delicious at every restaurant and buffet.

Fourth, Kevin, the cruise director, was so lively, fun and engaged with all of the passengers and crew.

The entire staff was accommodating and hard working.

The only disappointment,  the stop in Freeport. There is so many visible decaying buildings and trash everywhere. It was depressing! However, knowing that the main industry is tourism, I felt compelled to spend money on the island.

We will definitely cruise on the Elation again!

Check in process was long and tedious. Food variety on board was ok but not that great. Service in restaurants was ok but not great either. Overall the cruise was fine but not what I expected. It was not bad , but internet connection was terrible, entertainment was pretty lame.

Where we boarded the ship was perfect we drove 18 hours to Jacksonville, FL and enjoy the road trip, Getting on the boat was pretty easy as for checking you on.  The only draw back was we didn't have our suits so we couldn't lay out until our suitcases came and it was like 2 hours or more later.  Then it was to late.  The housekeeper for our room was delightful and got to know us.  He remember our name every time he saw us and always had a smile on his face.  The room was always prepare and ready for us.  The food was good.    Was surprised with all the kids, and we both think we would do an adult cruise for our next one.   And I have kids and grandkids but there were a couple of times kids were not appropriate in the areas of the ship.   The food was amazing if you left there hungry it was your own fault.   Wish there was a bigger area for the Serenity area people would lay towels out and not show up for hours to lay out, and there was not room for that.  Entertainment was good. Disappointment was not being able to make one of our ports to Half Moon Cay I was told so much about it and that is why we book for this excursion and then we ported at Key West instead due to weather.  That was a bummer.  Over all it was nice to get away, the place was clean.

This was our first time cruising and we had a blast!  We have 2 children 12 and 13.  They went to the Circle C group 12-14 the first night and made friends.  They hung out with them every night!  My husband and I were able to go to dinner and shows every night.  The rooms were clean, the shows were great, the food was awesome!  It was a wonderful experience and so easy with kids!

This cruise was good for the price I paid. However if I had paid more I would have expected a little more. Most of the staff were very courteous as well as the cruise director Kevin, he was very entertaining. The dining room staff seemed to be overworked as we spent well over an hour each night for dinner, also at breakfast when we went to the dining room. The food was amazing as always, but I was a little disappointed in the small amount of fruit that was offered. There was no fruit buffet at all except for the sour grapefruit or you could order a fruit plate in the dining room. In the past I seem to remember there always being a fruit buffet at some point in the sailing. Also the ship could use some updating as well. The atrium, dining rooms, library and all of the different bars were very nice, but the rooms appear to have never been updated. Our room was the basic room with a view. We never enjoyed the view due to the window being so dirty. I thought they cleaned the windows in between sailings, obviously they did not on this cruise. The bathroom needed some serious cleaning and updating too. The bottom of our bathroom door was rusted off and the shower tiles were showing mold as well as the screws were rusty. The water pressure was great tho, and plenty of hot water. This was my second sailing on the Elation, but definitely my last. I do understand that the ship is rather old and it shows especially in the cabins. The price was fair for the amenities offered.

McCann and Kevin!! Omg, they were amazing, along w the rest of the staff. We asked every crew member personal questions, to get to know them. All the staff was more than accommodating.  We had a reroute due to weather but well informed communications.  We had delays w disembarkment, but no biggie, kevin was fantastic. 

The on board entertainment was sooooooo much fun. 

Entertainment.com was very helpful.

If you are age....buy the drink package.....its well worth it. 

I will sail again, but not for a couple of years, need to save up.

Alot of us experienced sea sickness but that cant stop the fun.

If u r +21 w no kids....do NOT go during spring break, i had a 16 y/o on board so ni biggie here.

Would not recommend sailing on the Elation.  The ship is in bad need of refurbishing.  The service was fine, however the disembarkment  was complete chaos with little or no communication was the process started.  The dress code for dinner was anything goes.  Saw baseball hats, cutoff jeans, and overall sloppy dress.  Thought resort casual was supposed to mean some type of quorum. 

Food and entertainment were the favs.  Ship and ports were a big disappointment. Nassaue was announced as unsafe and to be leary as there is terrorism there against tourists!  So why did you take us there!?!?

Wonderful staff and crew, clean and nice beds.  Ship is outdated and revamping.  My understanding is that it will be going in for updates in the next month or so. The Grille an Deli are excellent.  Joseph in the restaurant is fabulous! Good coffee bar and won in the casino!  Really great jewelry store, Christian, Carmen and Issac are fabulous!  comedy shows were hilarious!  If I was to take this cruise again I would avoid Freeport, they shouldn't even go there...Cant wait to see the updates to the ship!!

The ship itself is ok. It served its purpose of a fun party-barge, for a girls' weekend. The staff and food were excellent.  Our cabin was simple and a bit outdated, but that didn't bother us at all.  The young people in the show were great!  Honestly, the only complaint I would have would be the other cruisers.  There were some really rude people.  It was interesting to me the crowd that this cruise attracted...a number of whom were manner-less and downright crude. It was fine for a girls' weekend.  We can handle it.  But, I would never bring my children on this cruise, and I'm not sure my husband would have enjoyed it either.  

This is our 3rd Carnival Cruise, first time on the Elation.  The Elation is very similar  to other Carnival Ships.  It does tend to rock a bit more than others, however I like that or why be on a ship? I enjoy sitting on deck and doing nothing at all, this is my idea of a vacation and I will do it again. 

I was disappointed a little in their medical response.  I am an EMT so I may have expected more.  On our departure day, a lady fell while walking down the stairs (In port).  I was the first to assist, she had a 4" laceration on her leg. I instructed others to call for assistance and get a towel, even 2 crew members.  I acquired a towel and wrapped her leg.  The crew members, which appeared to have zero medical training, did their best and showed up with only a wheelchair, no medical kits. 

I recommend training a dozen crew members as EMTs. They should have a backpack with medical supplies with AED and be able to get to any part of the ship in 5 minutes.  This may be out of their scope, however I hope someone realizes how important this is. 

My favorite part was the freedom of not having to do anything. Would like to have had a little more variety of foods .We had a great time and will be planning a trip for October as  we speak 

Great cruise for the money.    Dining staff was friendly helpful and attentive to our needs.    Half-moon Cay  was one of the cleanest teachers I have ever been on.    Would have been nice to spend a couple days there .   The rooms were OK but in need of major cleaning and or updating.    Would not pass a white glove test.   Should offer hairdryer. 

Just got back from a 5 night trip to the Bahamas on the Elation cruise ship. The staff was so friendly and definitely made this trip even more enjoyable. We were placed at a table with awesome dinner guest and could not wait to see them, as well as our servers, at dinner. Exceptional service! Loved that our waiters and stateroom attendants knew us by name and greeted us every time they saw us. The decks were kept clean and the shows were so fun!