Just back from the ELATION

[marimojo]

My cousin and I are taking Elation on May 7th. This is her first cruise - so I think she will love the ship. My first cruise was on Carnival Celebration and it was very close to retirement time for that ship. It was like a bucket of bolts. But it was one of the best cruises ever. I hope my cousin has the same experience. We are on the Empress Deck, I think, in an ocean view. I hope it is not too noisy. I do appreciate the info - as long as my cousin has a great time, then I will too.

[cocoaloco]

I was onboard for the initial 5 day from JaxPort and the preceding 21 day journeys cruise. Loved the ship. My other carnival experiences (18 cruises) were all on larger ships.

 

The elation is very well maintained and I thought the crew and staff, particularly the guest services people, were great. Food was wonderful.

 

My cabin was E43 and all was good. it does have the box for the life vests in the corner which is a hassle for the housekeeping staff.

 

We stopped in Grand Turk for a medical evacuation. Hope the person recovers soon !

[colewade]

What floor upper deck were you on? I've book Verandah and I'm wondering if we need to upgrade or abandon this ship.

 

 

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We were on Deck Six (Upper Deck) with cabins above and below us. Very quiet. The Grand Suites are down on level six as well at mid-ship.

 

I would think that the verandah deck would be very quiet at night - when it matters most. You have officer's quarters below you and the fitness center and spa above you. No restaurants or bars. Some noise during the morning and day if the fitness center gets heavy use.

[loretta5ue]

 

 

 

We were on Deck Six (Upper Deck) with cabins above and below us. Very quiet. The Grand Suites are down on level six as well at mid-ship.

 

 

 

I would think that the verandah deck would be very quiet at night - when it matters most. You have officer's quarters below you and the fitness center and spa above you. No restaurants or bars. Some noise during the morning and day if the fitness center gets heavy use.

 

 

Thanks, we're gym users (we even shower there when we have an inside cabin). I did not know about the officers quarters.

 

 

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[colewade]

Ugh - I was afraid of this. I just booked this for a Nov sailing b/c it was so cheap. I'm bringing along a first time cruiser and that's kind of disappointing to hear.

 

Colewade - Did you have anytime dining? Who was your waitstaff?

 

Also, what is the Captain's Cocktail party and when is it?

Length?

Free drinks?

I wonder if they will do this on a 5-day cruise.

 

Do you think the Elation is more run down looking than the Fantasy?

 

We always book fixed late seating at the largest table possible. We prefer this because you get to know you table mates and sometimes share cabs and tours. I also like the consistent wait staff. They get to know your preferences on day one. Gusti (Main waiter), I Madi and one other person formed a team of three. You often get teams of three at these larger tables.

 

I think the other poster is correct. These hour + events were a staple on all cruises several years ago, but now it is relegated to the longer cruises. I have a feeling that this is one of the few distinctions on the cruises that Carnival labels “Journey’s” which are usually longer than 7 days. Carnival did it very well. Maybe even better than on the Princess and HAL cruises I have taken in the past where the drinks were small and watered down and few if any appetizers.

 

I really didn't think the ship looked run down at all. It did look a little dated in places. Though the Fantasy has had a major refit, adding many new balcony cabins, Elation is 8 years newer and had a less extensive refit in 2014. The structure of the ship has not been modified with boxy add-ons like some others in the class. At least from the outside, it makes for a more pleasing appearance. We had an issue with the air conditioning, which was fixed right away. The hot water was tricky; almost too hot at times, and required careful adjustment. Not a big deal to me.

 

I did a full review under Carnival Elation User Reviews. You might find that helpful. I think I rated it 5 stars. That is a stretch…. on second thought. The truth is probably closer to four - meaning among the better cruises of the 13 I have taken. Since it was I tie I rounded up. I can only speak to my experiences as others have spoken of theirs. We had a fabulous time on this ship. The service was very good. I set my expectations pretty low and was pleasantly surprised.

 

The one complaint, which seemed universal, was about internet connectivity - spotty at best. Some passengers were very angry that could not access the social media package that they had paid for. It did not help that this sailing had a huge Facebook group. The biggest I have ever seen on any sailing. Elation does need a major upgrade in this regard. I simply would not buy it.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=531777

 

I hope you have a great cruise! No matter which one you choose.

[hard_eight]

I'm also from Jax and enjoyed Fascination for quick cheap get aways. We sailed her 6 times in last 3 years. Was skeptical about Elation, I think we will sail from PC in the next one.

 

Same here, did the owner's suite for one last hurrah last month.

 

PC next time sadly.

[SummerXU]

We saw your ship pull into Grand Turk and pull right out again. What happened?

 

I was on the 10 day Journeys sailing as well. I prefer the newer, bigger ships, but chose this for the itinerary. I was pleasantly surprised in that I felt she was well-maintained, all things considered. She's older and smaller, but she looked better than I expected. That being said, I won't do another Fantasy-class ship unless it offers another awesome itinerary like this trip. I just prefer all the bells and whistles offered by the mega-ships.

 

We had to alter our course and stop in Grand Turk for a medical evacuation. This also put us back into Jacksonville later than expected for debarkation.

[dawne577]

We too were on this cruise, specifically the second leg: San Juan to Jacksonville. We were sailing to celebrate our 40th anniversary and have to agree with people who say that any cruise you're on is a good cruise. But there are degrees.

 

Ship Condition: The ship was generally in good condition. Everything was clean and (mostly) well maintained. True, the TVs were not flat screen, but our objective was not to do deep couch sitting, binging on TV shows. Face it, what you mostly see are ads for ship tours--over and over again. Toss in the pitch for Diamonds International, and you pretty much have the main ingredients for TV aboard ship. But a little more disconcerting was the fact that the lifeboats were way up on deck 11. That's a long way down. Even more problematic was the day that the water pipes broke in the crew quarters. There were no water and no flush toilets until about 5pm.

 

Passengers: I'm going to guess that the average age was about 50. The majority were very friendly and helpful. Luckily there weren't many teenagers, and so we had no roaming bands, no sprawling legs to climb over in the hallways and no elevators with all of the buttons punched just because someone thought it was "funny." And it was a relief not to stand in line with underage drunks while re-boarding the ship in ports. Thus, no obscenities and no unnatural acts (like the time we were subjected to watching a 12 year old girl, beer bong in hand, suckling on her mother's breast).

 

 

The Cruise Director: Hennie van Heerden, from South Africa. His main gifts were impersonations, and his ability to translate the Captain's announcements into understandable English. We never saw him out and about the ship. One morning, as we were walking in the rain to the Lido Buffet, he came on the PA to tell us how it was a beautiful day outside. A few minutes later he came on the PA again to tell us "whoops"--it was actually raining outside. We both had a mental image (no doubt unfair) of Hennie laying in bed, ice pack on his head, hung over from a hard night drinking. On other Carnival cruises there has always been a "Groove for Saint Jude." Carnival describes it as a "special dance event" to raise money for the children's hospital. It's a great event, lots of fun, and the cruise director is always there dancing his heart out. Hennie was no where to be seen. No one was—or would be--dancing. No one was sure how to buy the T-shirts and Teddy Bears sold to raise money.

Edited May 19, 2016 by dawne577