Carnival Elation Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We've taken three cruises with Carnival, this time on the Elation out of San Diego. Usually great food was most of the time cold. For the most part service was excellent. My wife was treated poorly in the spa. She made an appointment to have her hair cut & highlighted. She was given a card with the appointment time. She arrived five minutes early with my son who was also having some spa services. The desk attendant acknowledged that the stylist would be with her shortly. After waiting thirty minutes, the stylist rudely said she wouldn't take my wife because she had a client coming in. We had an appointment card, the appointment in the spa's computer and a stylist too busy to render the scheduled service. This may be the last Carnival cruise this family ever takes...

The ship definitely needed updating, staterooms a little outdated.

All my friends love to cruise. Was expecting food to be excellent, but was not impressed. Lobster one night was good, steaks however were not. Could eat unlimited food, but didn't want to because of poor quality.

Very noisy (kids) at night, should have a quiet time after 10pm Main showroom very boring with dancing girls, comedy much better would have preferred a balcony would have preferred outside decks all the way around with lounge chairs

I must say that I did my research before sailing on the Elation and everyone was correct in that it was an amazing ship. Carnival is amazing in that they provide so many activities to do on the ship and their shore excursions are amazing. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly and they should be nominated for the ship of the year. Mexcio was wonderful and warm. I had the 1A cabin and my cabin steward showed the utmost concern keeping the room very clean and the icebucket always topped off.

Very happy & feel good!

We sailed on the Elation June 2008. San Diego to Cabo then to Ensenada and back. First timers for a family of 7 and it was a memorable trip. We had 4 year old kids including seniors on our voyage. That was a nice scenario for planning and the logistics of it all. The kids programs 2-5yr was nice. It reminded of a day care setting and all the programs for pre-school activities. Drop them off and come back at a later time, usually a few hours or so. They give U a pager if the kids are ready to go or just to remind U to p/u while having a good time on your own. They had other age group programs appropriate for their age group all the way to teens planned throughout the ship. The kids staff was great, friendly and enthusiastic. There were 3 to 4 staff for our group of 8 to10 toddlers. For the rest of the family, the seniors loved to venture out on their own it was great. They would disappear all day and only to meet up on our assigned dining table .Our family was large enough so to have our own table each time. It was up to you whether U wanted to go fancy dine with better food or go buffet at Tiffany upper deck. Was looking for fresh mango or papaya, but there was none, at least the regular dinner/lunch time. Staff was impeccable, from the stewards to the waiter and assistance. These guys were great. Didn't know, but room service was free 24/7 what ever U wanted, just felt like to tip a little when they get there. Everyone was happy and greeted U with a smile. The shows were "B" rated but entertaining. Managed to get into a bingo game, but didn't win the various several hundred to 3000 jackpot. Anyway saw a bon voyage program with the staff, and good to see the captain has a personality on to see the other side of being a captain. Cool for the 1st timers like us. Excursion we took the beach resort trip to Cabo, kind of expensive, but nice relative to the other excursions. But 5 to 6 hrs standing on land is not enough to enjoy it all. U were limited to one excursion on the allowed time or go on your own. Risky for a family of 7 venture out and get back in time. U got 2 luv it when U have a couple guys with M16 at the port security. Overall trip was memorable and recommend for the 1st timers. The trip was a good check to see if U were prone to motion sickness, but was not enough to deter us and to my surprise, my stacks of Demerol didn't use. But on the flip side, U knew U were on a ship.

The ship is beautiful and elegant. There were lots of activities for all age groups.

It was very nice and clean. The food in the buffet was not good and the food in the dining room was not warm enough and the coffee was not hot. Breakfast in dining room was poor. Entertainment was good, wished they would have had more ball room dancing.

The ship was a bit old, upgrades in the in the room are recommended. Overall cruise was fine if you enjoy cruises, my husband liked it, me not so much. If you are lazy and like to be told what to do on a vacation this is the place you need to go to. Ridiculous 20mins drill to start off your vacation is mandatory on the ship before leaving port, dinner seating times are arranged with other strangers at a huge table...you do not get your own table seating so if you are anti-social this is not the place for you since you will most likely have to make conversation with your other ship mates.

I was totally expecting a cheap Vegas buffet for 5 days. I was totally wrong. The food was amazing. The staff was extremely good. Never questioned me and never gave me attitude. Ship was also very clean.

This was my first cruise and I was very impressed with the Carnival Elation. It was so well maintained - kept very clean - especially for being 10 years old. The cabin was kept neat and clean by our room steward, though the decor is dated the beds were very comfortable and we found room to store all the over-packed items we brought. The dining staff were great, saw to our every need and made sure no one ever went hungry. Food was good and sometimes great but be sure to listen to the waiter's recommendations to ensure a pleasant meal. Buffet line was good - some better than others - and enough variety to never eat the same thing twice if you didn't want to. On board activities were entertaining though we didn't make it to too many evening performances - Stewart the cruise director and his assistant Marky-Mark made the trip memorable and even entertained us with their announcements. Excursions were over-priced for what was provided but as first-timers we didn't know any better. Cabo was beautiful and the weather couldn't be better on the port days - Ensenada was busy and La Bufadora is a must see...just for the experience. Overall the cruise was a success and I enjoyed the floating hotel convenience with good food, great support staff and comfortable accommodations - would do it again!

As cruise ships go, this was a PLAIN JANE. No special bars or entertainment with ocean view, we consider this a family only cruise and not suited for the more sufisticated senior travelers. Due to the rowdy noisey teenagers, and young people, we are going to spend a little extra and upgrade our cruise line next year.

We were on this cruise line on our honeymoon when the ship was only 1 years old. Nine years later the ship is old and out of date. We had fun,but were very disappointed to see that the shows that we saw 9 years ago were the same - only different people. You need to refresh the entertainment.

we were at first apprehensive about sailing especially with a child, but we had the best time all the employees were awesome, from the porter to the photographers, even our child enjoyed himself he couldnt wait to go to camp canival, my son has aspertus autisim and the girls were great with him. My husband and myself got to really enjoy ourselves without really worrying about our son, we knew where he was the whole time. We are not drinkers, which we cant rate you on the bar services but we did gamble and won after the guys tought us how to play craps it was fun. And the nightly dinner was great our server and his asst were the best I think our table was always the loudest every nite. I defintly recommened it to everyone i talked to when we got back. We are certainly doing it again.

I think the ship was everything i expected. Beautiful, big and tons of things to do. We were never bored once on our 5 day cruise. We loved all the activities that they offered. The dining was wonderful and all the service was great.

If you like people and are social you will love the cruise vacation.

Since we were paying a low fare for a 5 day trip on a 10 y/o Carnival ship, my expectations were somewhat subdued, but they were greatly exceeded. The Elations comfort, cleanliness, condition and interior appearance was better than just fine; the entertainment very good and in mostly good taste; food excellent; good gym; nice room; superb service; and the water slide was fun. I won the speed slide contest, woo hoo! We got off in Cabo San Lucas and enjoyed a water taxi ride around the Baja peninsula and close to 2 hours on Lovers Beach. I snorkeled much of the time and wished wed had a bit more time just to soak up the ambiance. We stayed on the ship in Ensenada, and even I enjoyed just sitting around and reading a lot on this one. Though the ship was very full, it didnt seem overly crowded, could always find a decent place to sit and take in the views while relaxing with a book or napping. This was our 8th cruise (counting our 14 day HAL Alaska trip as 2 back-to-back cruises), and 2nd on Carnival. Well go on another Carnival cruise in June, and they have something to live up to! Before the cruise, we checked our bags as early as theyd take them, and headed to the Maritime Museum next to the cruise port. At the last minute, we changed our minds and went to the Midway Museum. Excellent change of plans, as we spent 3 hours there and could have easily spent another 2. San Diego is a nice place to cruise out of, as the airport is less than 15 minutes from the port, and with inexpensive direct flights from Denver and Colorado Springs, it would be pretty easy to fly the day of a cruise and be one of the first on the ship (or take in one of these museums). We had a one night Marriot certificate that was close to expiring, and didnt want to chance the weather in April, but would probably fly on embarkation day most other times of the year. We also easily made an 11 am flight home, and could have made a 10 am without trouble.

my kids and i fell victim to the recent ata air line bankruptcy, and luckily i was able to book the cruise. it was an amazing experience.

this was the best vacation i had taken in my life,my first cruise and the beginning of many more cruises. I wonder why i never took any cruises in the past ,i missed out but its never too late,my family had a great time. It was like a dream and many many sweet memmories,we are already planning our next cruise with carnival,the staff were extremely freindly and courteous and i will recommend this cruise to any one who is seeking the best vacation of their life time.