Carnival Elation Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was your staple cruise, with lots of couples and families with children -- and typical cruise food. A variety of activities and shore excursions were available, but some of the excursions were hopelessly overstated and we got our money back for two of them. Still, we had fun and found the service to be good. A bargain overall.

Had a great time till the day we were getting off and they sent us a letter under our doors telling us they have our Cokes and water bottles we had in our suit case and said for us to pick them up in the Cole porters club well we went down there and they told us they disposed of it but yet people were coming out of there with liquor everyone don't drink we don't but they could have gave us ours back it cost a lot of money and it ruined my vacation and my friends and that was the. First time they ever been it didn't sound like they wanted to go back because of that

THIS CRUISE WAS AN AWSOME CRUISE WITH A FEW MEMBER OF OUR CLASS MEMBERS.. 25 YEARS IS A LONG TIME FOR US SO WE WENT BIGGGG? EVERYONE ENJOY THEM SELVES I CAME BACK WIYH A HEAD COLD IM STILL FIGHING

this was our first cruise and we couldn't have asked for s better experience! Webster our cabin steward was tremendously helpful and will be one of the many  reasons we cruise again! Arvin and Harold, our waiters were wonderful during dinners! They knew after the first night that we all had drink preferences and we're sure to accommodate!

We can't wait to cruise again! (Now if only it were a little more economical)....

We're gold members of Carnival and I have to say the Elation was not that great to me. It's an outdated ship. It definitely needs to have more pools for adults. The food was not as good as the other ship's we've been on. The shows were pretty good.  The embarkation was horrible! I will never go out of NOLA. It takes forever and the debarkation was the worst! We waited almost 2 hours for our zone to be called.

The best part of our cruise was the dinner. Our waiters  

Danijel, Norman, and Agung were excellent!!!!!!!!!

Norman was always with a song he was singing. so happy!

Over all we enjoyed ourselves as we were with a group and two of the people were married in New Orleans over the weekend. However, we were not impressed with the food or service in the dining room. One of the best meals we enjoyed was brunch on a sea day. We ordered the steak and eggs and it was very good.

Probably won't cruise Carnival again.  I've cruised with Carnival before, as well as Royal Caribbean and Princess. The ship was old, decor was old, theater was smelly.  Only ONE electrical outlet in the entire cabin for 5 guests to utilize for phone charging, curling irons, etc! Cabin steward was surly and so was the wait staff at breakfast in the dining rooms, every time. Comedians were great but the rest of the shows and activities were severely lacking talent. Cruise director was annoying, not funny. Food was just okay. Seemed like a lot of school cafeteria food.  No sushi bar even though one was advertised. No shrimp cocktail ever on buffets, and you have to pay $20 extra if you want steak or lobster tail. Fun cruise, of course, but I would always choose Royal Caribbean or Princess over Carnival from now on.  Not worth the little bit of money that was saved.

This was my first cruise so therefore I can't compare it to another but it was great the ship was very clean, food was great, and customer service was excellent from the waitress to the cleaning crew . I went my sisters and my mom for spring break and we didn't have no complains. We are now planning a family cruise with thin the next six month

The boat was beautiful, but a little small. My husband and I have been on a comparable Royal Caribbean cruise. The food on the carnival was not as good, but the service was excellent! Our porthole room on carnival was more spacious than our ocean view room on Royal. We also liked the entertainment better, but overall we liked Royal Caribbean a little better for the overall experience. 

Last year cruised 5 nigths to Bahamas in Fascination and we had lobster nigth, now Carnival says that lobster nigth will be free only on seven days cruises or longer. Just to bother this time I asked the waiter what happened with lobster nigth and he told me that ALWAYS have been on seven days cruises, that is not true. Well besides the $ 20 lobster, rest of the meals have been downgraded, and please, go to Red Lobster or Dennys to learn to grill fish.

My wife and I were born in the 50s and had to watch the same group of performers 5 nights singing more or less of the same music.

I absolutely enjoyed my first time cursing! I went thru and my agent helped me a lot!! I will differently book again through her. Loved it! 

We  have been on 7 cruises with Carnival and Princess...This was by far the best cruise ever...Everyone was so nice and friendly.....Had a ball and our grandchildren loved their first cruise! Will be back!!!

The food was great and it was great to be able to dine at our convenice.I was totally disappointed in the wait for a drink at the bars. Most of the bartenders ignored us because they where understaffed. Lucia was great though. If she was working we typically had no long wait. To bad the rest wasn't that way. There was one other guy at the pool bar that was amazing too. They are the only reason it's not a bad review. The few poolside activities was fun and highly entertaining like the hairy man and synchronized swimmers contest. There really should be more of these types of things. It helps socialize more people and it's entertaining. 

Had a great time! Only reason I didn't give it a 5 is because of the spa. I paid right at 60 dollars for my wife a manicure that the nail polish started flaking the next day and they wouldn't fix it!!! I will cruise again but will skip the spa area!

Felt like it was a budget cruise. Nothing fancy old outdated and cheap buffet food. Service was great but everything else just wasn't what expected for our honeymoon. Rushed at ports wish we could have enjoyed it more. I got sea sick heading out and both me and my husband got very sea sick coming back. We had prescription patches and nausea medicine and still didn't help. We planned to take a family trip in july with the same cruise but now having second thoughts. Husband also got food poisoning we think from eating in Mexico.

We chose Carnival because we have always had superb service and everything has always been organized. While off the boat we had an amazing time, but I can not say the same thing for while on board. The cruise was very unorganized and we had some negative experiences with some of the staff. For example, when disembarking the ship in Mexico there were no signs pointing to where we needed to line up. The assistant cruise director, Gary, proceeded to yell at all of the people in different lines and make the statement "It's like working with kindergarteners." This was completely inappropriate and not how to treat your guests. This could have been solved with easy communication via signs on where the correct place is to line up. This was not the only time Gary offended us and other guests during our trip. The cruise ship was also unorganized on communicating to the passengers when certain events were canceled. It is understandable that shows/actives must be canceled due to weather, however it is not acceptable to inform the passengers at the exact time it is supposed to start. Overall, we had a good vacation, however that is mostly because the time off board. I have cruised many times with Carnival, but I can honestly say that this might be my last due to Gary and the unorganization of the ship. 

We were able to experience some great excursions while in port; however, I wish there had been more events on the boat. The food and staff were amazing.

ENJOYED MY TIME ON THE CRUISE WOULD RECOMMEND. SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE BEVERAGE CARD A COUPLE OF DAYS WHILE ON THE CRUISE.  I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SEARCH THOSE OPTIONS.

I think our biggest issue with the cruise wasn't the older ship, or the subpar food - we expected that from reviews and of a cruise in general. We, like most people, however - thought of a cruise as similar to an all-inclusive type of vacation. We knew alcohol wasn't included, but neither is much else - including water and soda. At every turn there is an attempt to squeeze another penny out of you for some service or another. Soda costs pennies per ounce! We aren't big soda drinkers anyway, but what a slap in the face! Not even all dining options are included, and it looks like Carnival and other lines will be offering less and less in the future. We read articles about their new ships, where there will be more paid food options than those that are included.  Furthermore, there was no attempt to even feign elegance. There was zero money spent on production value of any of the entertainment on board. I remember my mother telling me about a cruise she took about ten years ago (on Carnival) that had incredible performers and broadway quality shows, as well as ice sculptures and entertainment during meals - that included fresh seafood and themed midnight buffets - none of those things were included on this trip. 

The "entertainment" was laughably bad. We spent over 2k ($3500 when you add the cost of the ticket and about 1k on actual services) on board the ship and still got push back when we challenged a $20 charge that was posted to our account in error (that still has not been removed). There is no emphasis on customer service or creating special moments - things that would make all of the extra charges and forced gratuities seem more valid. Here is the point - for the same price we ended up spending on this cruise we could have spent nearly 2 weeks in Europe - exploring real culture and eating real food - instead of make believe culture in crowded ports and subpar food. It was also unsettling how exploited workers from other countries are. We spoke with several of the staff about this. A Filipino person who has worked for the line for about 5 years told us that if a white American were to start doing the exact same job they would immediately make more money, because of the difference in labor laws between the two countries. This seemed pretty absurd and down right racist to us. People should be paid the same amount for the same level and quality of work. This same worker lamented that the way tips and gratuities are shared is unfair, and that over his five years he ended up making less than what he would have made had he stayed in his home country. This was especially upsetting considering that not only are your daily gratuities automatically charged, but everything you purchase has an automatic 15% gratuity placed on it as well. We are pretty good tippers in general, having both worked in the service industry in our younger years, but this seemed extreme. Standard tip rates on alcohol are 10%, not 15 or 20 (event though that is what we usually tip), but it was the principle of being forced to tip that amount with no real emphasis on customer service. We ended up making our own fun. We enjoyed both excursions that we took, and we made friends with many folks we met - but by the end of the trip we were left wondering what we actually paid for. Was it just a big floating (aging and slightly dirty) hotel? In that case the value is exceptionally poor.  All of this is doubly frustrating because we feel this type of vacation especially hurts middle class and poorer Americans who see a cruise as an "affordable" option - evidenced by the type of folks who dominated this particular cruise (think floating Walmart - and that isn't meant as a dig, those are my folks and my heritage, even if I have done well in my life). I am sure for these folks this vacation was hard earned and saved for extensively - and then they get so little for their money.  Lastly - the disembarkation process is a mess. They get you on really quickly (to begin that nickel and dime squeezing I am sure), but the process for getting you off of the boat is awful. They get you off quickly (to get the next people on - which happens within seconds), but then there is no organization or order in getting through customs or out of the port - this process takes hours. Where are the happy Carnival folks making the lines move quicker? To be clear, the delay wasn't at customs, but just getting off of the gangway and to your luggage.  Again - we were really disappointed in the value of this vacation. For spending nearly $3500 for 2 people (and that was with a cheap room, and very little purchased alcohol - we did spend nearly $1200 in the Casino, but felt we would have spent less time there had there been any quality entertainment on board) we could have had a pretty decent vacation just about anywhere in the world.