8/23/14 Carnival Elation - A review of the good and the not so great

[Cheetah474]

My family (DH, DD(13) and I) went on our 2nd Carnival Cruise on the Elation August 23-28. Overall, it was a nice cruise vacation. I'm going to give you an overview of our experiences. I do have pictures to add but I can't figure out how to add them into the text, so I'll ask DH to help put them in tomorrow.

 

About us - Me (40) and DH (40) and DD(13) enjoy traveling. Each summer we try to take a nice vacation that takes away from our urban (Chicago) environment and someplace that is at least quiet, if not warm. We decided to take a trip on the Elation primarily because it cruised out of NOLA and went to Cozumel.

 

The Good:

 

Overall impression of the the ship - The Elation is a beautiful ship. Every day, I saw details like the stained glass windows and the light patterns in the the lounges that impressed me. The ship was *very* clean. There were staff around constantly washing windows, cleaning hand rails, clearing tables, ect. I never went into a public restroom that was not spotless. It's clear that the staff works their butts off to keep that ship in great shape. It's older and there are places where it's clear that new paint is needed, but I did not walk around the ship thinking that it was in need of urgent remodeling and repair.

 

The Food in the Main Dining Rooms - The food in the main dining room was consistently good. We are not big fans of buffets so we ate breakfast on port days in the Imagination Dining Room, Seaday Brunch in the Imagination Dining Room twice and dinner in the Inspiration Dining Room each night. Of all of the meals, only my DD's meal on the first night (the Flat Iron Steak) was a complete failure. Specifically, the steak was semi warm, chewy and overcooked (direct words of my dd). Typically, I think that adults should take the words of a 13 year old picky eater with caution, but DD's favorite restaurant is Texas de Brazil. She understands the different cuts of beef and can tell a perfectly cooked medium vs. a medium rare in a second. So, when she said thumbs down - I believed her. From that point on, she and DH ordered an entree from the daily specials. I had the Indian vegetarian meal 4 of the 5 nights. Each night, I enjoyed a great meal. We tried escargot, alligator and frog legs. All three were something that will not do again, but DH and DD enjoyed them. The desserts were uniformly fantastic. I truly enjoyed the Bitter and Blanc, tiramisu and Grand Marnier souffle.

 

The Dining Room and Stateroom Service - We had Luis, Alfred and Larry for our dinner service. They were all attentive and friendly servers. We always felt welcomed in the dining room. Our room steward, Paulcy, also did a great keeping our room clean and filled with plenty of towels.

 

Comedy Club - We enjoyed the family friendly comedy and the adult comedy on two different occasions. The comic, Paul Lyons, did a good set at the opening night show but we did not choose to go to see him for his family friendly night. The 2nd comic, Kelly Terranova, was really funny. His family friendly as well as his adult comedy was entertaining. I would actually go see him do a comedy set if he was ever in the Chicago area. The lounge used for the comedy shows, The Cole Porter, was the perfect size and space for it. I also think that the most personable drink waiters and bartenders are at the spot.

 

Carnival Addressing a Situation Really Well - So this goes in the category of a problem that was more than adequately addressed by the company. Here's the situation. We had late seating - which really works out well for us. We were seated at a 6 top booth but who ever was assigned never came to eat in the MDR. Our booth was directly across from a large table that probably sat 10 people. The first night the table was filled by a group of 20 something ladies who were very pleasant. The second night a very loud group of 20 something guys came in. There were about 7 of them so they went to various tables trying to encourage women to come sit with them. I would say that most of them acted drunk (although they may not have been) when they walked in and they became progressively louder as the meal progressed. What was particularly obnoxious was the loud cursing and "colorful" language they used to describe how the various body parts of the women they hoped to "hit" in the club that night would be. Now, I totally understand that behavior out on the Lido deck. In fact Carnival encourages it in a variety of ways, but when you're trying to have dinner it's rude, especially when you don't have place to go. I don't think that Carnival's staff (the servers or the maitre'd) can or should police the behavior of the guests. So, we ate our dinner and left as soon as possible. The third night, the loud group arrived about 15 minutes late. They had some ladies with them this time and the loud and obnoxious behavior began again. DH (who is a very, very calm person) got up and spoke with our head waiter about moving to another table. The maitre'd immediately stated that he recognized the issue and would move us to another table. He was apologetic (which he did not need to be) and stated that he was sorry that we had to move. The next day we got a note that we had been given an onboard credit that was equivalent to about one night's meal. When we arrived for dinner on the 4th night, the maitre'd met us at the door and escorted us to our new table. About 5 minutes later, his assistant came over and stated that they wanted to give us to have bottle of wine on house due to the issues we experienced over the previous nights. She asked us our preferences and brought over a *very nice* bottle of wine. I didn't expect either gesture, but I appreciated them both. It was nice way to acknowledge that the behaviors of some guests are just unacceptable without calling them out or making us feel like we had unreasonable expectations about what should happen in the MDR. We thanked our waiters and the maitre'd on the last night of the cruise with extra tips (we had already prepaid gratuities prior to the trip). DH made an interesting point to me during our much more pleasant dinner on the 4th night - maybe Carnival should charge cost of the bottle of wine and the onboard credits to the folks at the loud table - I think that he may be right. :rolleyes:

 

Cozumel - We had a great day at Mr. Sancho's All Inclusive. We did not book through Carnival and had a really nice time. The entire trip cost three of us (with food and drinks included in the price) about $220. We were off the ship by 9:30 and back on around 2:30. No problems at all getting off or on. I'll post a review of Mr. Sancho's on the Cozumel board if you're interested in reading more.

 

That's it for now. I'll write about the "not so great" things tomorrow.

[Mutumbojimbo]

Thanks for your review. We're taking this cruise in December to celebrate my wife's graduation.

 

 

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[Selivsey]

Can you tell me more about the Indian vegetarian meals? I've never seen them described before. My son and I are vegetarians and I'm looking for things he might be able to eat. Thanks for the review!

[Cheetah474]

Can you tell me more about the Indian vegetarian meals? I've never seen them described before. My son and I are vegetarians and I'm looking for things he might be able to eat. Thanks for the review!

 

I really enjoyed the Indian vegetarian meals. I'm not a vegetarian but I felt that after eating a day full of burgers, fries and other unhealthy food it would be a good choice. Each night I was served three different vegetable dishes along with a dish of basmati rice, an onion/tomato pickle, a lime pickle and raita(sp?). The first two nights there were lentils along with two other dishes (potato/cauliflower and eggplant curries). The third night I there were no lentils but peas, spinach paneer and eggplants. The 4th night was chickpea, potato and another dish ( I have to say that the 4th night is a bit fuzzy due to the bottle of wine :-) ). The food was well spiced and portions were appropriate. I think that if you're familiar with good Indian food, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the quality. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer.

 

 

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[F27TW]

. I don't think that Carnival's staff (the servers or the maitre'd) can or should police the behavior of the guests. So, we ate our dinner and left as soon as possible. ..... It was nice way to acknowledge that the behaviors of some guests are just unacceptable without calling them out .

 

 

Its wonderful the way that your Maitre D was so concerned about making you happy ... definitely Bravo to him for that .. BUT ...

 

I do feel that he should have done something about the rude goons that were being disruptive.

 

Its his responsibility to ensure a nice experience for everyone .. so when a group gets rowdy and obnoxious, it very definitely IS his job (even backing himself up with Security, if necessary) to put a stop to it ...

 

Calling them out is what he absolutely should have done, IMO .. because a lot of other people who were afraid to complain didn't get moved, didn't get the compensation you got for speaking up. If he let them continue to get away with this kind of disruption in the MDR, then shame on him.

[Cheetah474]

Its wonderful the way that your Maitre D was so concerned about making you happy ... definitely Bravo to him for that .. BUT ...

 

I do feel that he should have done something about the rude goons that were being disruptive.

 

Its his responsibility to ensure a nice experience for everyone .. so when a group gets rowdy and obnoxious, it very definitely IS his job (even backing himself up with Security, if necessary) to put a stop to it ...

 

Calling them out is what he absolutely should have done, IMO .. because a lot of other people who were afraid to complain didn't get moved, didn't get the compensation you got for speaking up. If he let them continue to get away with this kind of disruption in the MDR, then shame on him.

 

I understand your point and part of me agrees with you. I really, really wish more people spoke up

about the behavior. That said, I think that, as a company, Carnival 'talks out of both sides of their mouth' meaning that the whole atmosphere on the boat was to drink, be wild and have fun and drink. The same guys that came into the MDR already drunk at 8:15 were being served more alcohol all through dinner and were being sold after dinner drinks by dessert. The night we moved to our new table, the maitre'd specifically said to us, "It's hard to do anything about this, especially on Cozumel day." So I don't really know if this the issue of the specific maitre'd or the company as a whole.

 

 

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[F27TW]

I. The night we moved to our new table, the maitre'd specifically said to us, "It's hard to do anything about this, especially on Cozumel day." So I don't really know if this the issue of the specific maitre'd or the company as a whole.

 

 

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Kinda sad .. and unfortunately that's why Carnival will always be known as the rowdy party boat line. They allow this crap to happen.

[Cruise or Lose!]

I may sail the line known as the "geriatric" line (HAL), but while that line is owned by Carnival, I have never witnessed such boorish behaviour on a HAL ship. My one experience with Carnival was not pleasant due to the rowdy party crowd. No thank you, HAL it is.

 

 

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[Cheetah474]

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Kinda sad .. and unfortunately that's why Carnival will always be known as the rowdy party boat line. They allow this crap to happen.

 

Agreed

 

 

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[Msbabynurse]

Looking forward to reading more! Elation has a special place in my heart. I will sail on her for the third time in just 15 more days. The last time we sailed her (January of this year), there were some unpleasant odors that we noticed especially near my daughters room. She had an upper deck, aft. It wasn't bad enough to dissuade me from booking again but it's nice to hear they are on top of things.

 

 

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[Cheetah474]

Overall, I think our vacation was nice and most of all I enjoyed spending time with family. The positives outweigh the negatives but I did want to share our experiences that were not so great as well. This is absolutely not a "Carnival Sucks" type of thing.Here they are:

 

Buffet Food at Tiffany's - We ate lunch each sea day either in Tiffany's or on the Lido deck. DH and DD always ate burgers, pizza, sandwiches or chicken tenders. I tried the entrees a couple of times and they were not good. Specifically, they were either very bland or too salty. The one exception was the jerk chicken and rice/peas one day. The desserts were bad - which was really surprising considering how good the MDR desserts were each night.

 

Entertainment in the Evening - Let me start by saying that the shows when, they occurred, were good. The dancers were good and the singing was good. The comedy shows were good. The issue is that it seems to me that there should have been some sort of Carnival production each night. There were only 3 shows ( Welcome Aboard, the rock one and Win!) that were full Carnival productions. The other days were basically audience participation type "shows". I think that the overall entertainment level of the ship would improve with at least a show option every night.

 

Mongolian Grill - Failure 4 out of 5 days. The veggies were fresh, but the noodles being used (bean threads) were too thin to hold up to the cooking techniques and sauces that the cooks used. The result was a goopy, sticky mess. When Chinese egg noodles were used, the stir fry was fine. My advice - make sure that egg noodles or wide rice noodles are being offered - otherwise just skip it.

 

Music on the Lido - I miss the live music on deck. There were days when the music was so loud on the deck that it was uncomfortable.

 

Lack of Supervision and Activities from Camp Carnival (9-11) and Circle C (12-14) - My issue was that each day a big chunk of the activities included an unsupervised scavenger hunt. I think that it's lazy programming on Carnival's part to have the majority of the activities to be kids either playing video games, having a dance party or going on scavenger hunts when they don't even start activities until around noon each day. I know that it's not easy to keep tweens and teens entertained, but I really think that there should be just a bit more creativity in the activities.

 

No 21+ only club - At 40, I still want to go to a club, but I don't want to be at a club with teens. I felt stuck between the older crowd at the piano bar and the younger crowd that filled the club. I believe that there were open spaces not being used that could have hosted a truly an adult only club experience for us "new old heads" (35-50 year old folks). Maybe cut some karaoke and add some more dancing options.

 

No curfew for kids under 18 - Ok, maybe there is a curfew but it wasn't enforced. There were not a lot of kids on the ship (on 214 according to the Camp Carnival director on the first day) so this cruise had a definitive "adult" vibe. That said, after 11 pm there were roaming packs of 9-14 year olds running through halls, playing tag and hanging out in the pool - without adult supervision. One night, DH and I were returning to our cabin at midnight, there was a pack of 10-12 years old in the atrium, running around, using whistles and generally just being a rowdy 10-12 year old boys. We did observe a security guard ask the boys to stop and they did - for about a minute before they ran around again. Of course, a big part of this is that parents need to supervise their kids but the other part is that Carnival should also make a clear policy about supervision expectations for parents and tweens.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your report, I think there is always good and bad with every cruise, hopefully the good out numbered the bad.

[Naomi John]

I noted your DD was 13. Did she partake in the activities with Circle C? On my last 7 night cruise, my DD, (age 12), really enjoyed meeting her new friends at Circle C. was wondering if the same for a 4 night.

 

FYI - Love Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel!

[Cheetah474]

DD did a couple of activities and thought they were just "ok". I think that it was hard for to make new friends because most of the kids that came on the ship came with sibs or groups of friends. It's a bit surprising to me as she makes friends easily and is a pretty friendly person.

 

 

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[nol4am]

The burgers you refer to, were they from guy's burger?

[Cheetah474]

The burgers you refer to, were they from guy's burger?

 

Nope - no Guy's Burgers on the Elation.

 

 

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[PaperSniper4]

.......

Carnival Addressing a Situation Really Well ........ The second night a very loud group of 20 something guys came in. There were about 7 of them so they went to various tables trying to encourage women to come sit with them. I would say that most of them acted drunk (although they may not have been) when they walked in and they became progressively louder as the meal progressed. What was particularly obnoxious was the loud cursing and "colorful" language they used to describe how the various body parts of the women they hoped to "hit" in the club that night would be. Now, I totally understand that behavior out on the Lido deck. In fact Carnival encourages it in a variety of ways, but when you're trying to have dinner it's rude, especially when you don't have place to go. I don't think that Carnival's staff (the servers or the maitre'd) can or should police the behavior of the guests. So, we ate our dinner and left as soon as possible. The third night, the loud group arrived about 15 minutes late. They had some ladies with them this time and the loud and obnoxious behavior began again. DH (who is a very, very calm person) got up and spoke with our head waiter about moving to another table. The maitre'd immediately stated that he recognized the issue and would move us to another table. He was apologetic (which he did not need to be) and stated that he was sorry that we had to move. ...... It was nice way to acknowledge that the behaviors of some guests are just unacceptable without calling them out or making us feel like we had unreasonable expectations about what should happen in the MDR. ........

 

........

 

Gotta strongly disagree with you. It IS Carnival's responsibility to handle unruly guests anywhere on the ship. It is not proper to relocate other people so they don't have to "call out" the offenders. You were doing nothing wrong, the loud mouthed loafs were. It's that simple. If the dining staff cannot handle that, then security should have been called.

 

There is NO excuse (IMHO) for innocents to be inconvenienced so that the guilty parties could act like spoiled kids. I think throwing them overboard might have been a bit too much, but still.......:rolleyes:

[Cheetah474]

There is NO excuse (IMHO) for innocents to be inconvenienced so that the guilty parties could act like spoiled kids. I think throwing them overboard might have been a bit too much, but still.......:rolleyes:

 

I think that at the time my DH would have agreed with you :D

[PaperSniper4]

There is NO excuse (IMHO) for innocents to be inconvenienced so that the guilty parties could act like spoiled kids. I think throwing them overboard might have been a bit too much, but still.......:rolleyes:

 

I think that at the time my DH would have agreed with you :D

 

Good! We're on the Elation next March and hopefully someone like minded with be available should the situation warrant! Ha!:D