Help me choose! 5 day Elation out of Jacksonville or 4 night Liberty out of Port Can

[melgent]

This will be our 15th cruise overall but I have never been on either of these ships. If you are familiar with either the Elation or the Liberty, I would love your opinion. The ports are the same, I am just trying to determine which ship would be better. We love laying out and gambling at night. This will be a trip for DH and myself. Thanks!

[RHilla619]

If the ports are the same, and price is similar I would always opt for the extra night!

[nwo4life]

5 > 4

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[JawjaFatBoy]

Liberty is larger and has the 2.0 upgrades like Guy's, but I'll take the extra day every time.

[momof4girls]

If it's after Elation's dry dock, I'd go with that one. Otherwise, I'd choose Liberty.

[1956]

I will always take the extra day. The ship really don't matter to me. Never had a bad cruise!

[cuppettmd]

Hey, our last two cruises were on these ships. We were on the Elation in Oct and the Liberty in Jan. This was our first time for both. While I really liked the Guy's and the Blue Iguana on the Liberty, there were a few things that I didn't like as much. Our cabin was only serviced once a day. There seemed to be a lot of congestion around the public areas. (Lido restaurants) and I'm still not sure about the American Table. The Elation had better shows even though the Liberty had a live band. The Liberty seemed to be more of a "party ship" if that matters to you. All of that being said, I just booked the Elation for Oct.. (after Drydock). We just like the Fantasy class! Be Blessed! Mikey

[Kermarkim]

I've never been on the Elation, but just got off the Liberty yesterday. This is my 6th Carnival cruise and although I just took this 4 day/3 night cruise with one of my girlfriends as a last minute getaway for us (no husbands and no kids). I could honestly say it was probably my best experience. I had taken the longer trip Thanksgiving week on the Magic and although it was a bigger and new ship there were a few mishaps but still had a lovely time. This past weekend on the Liberty, everything was perfect. Our checkin was effortless and was in our cabin within 20 minutes of arriving at the port at around 1 p.m. Our cabin steward steward serviced our room twice a day and came immediately when I needed more ice and an additional customs form. He was always present in the hallways and very nice and accommodating. We gave him an additional tip at the end for his service. We ate at Diamonds Steakhouse one night for the additional $35 and it was incredible. Way too much food. But delicious and the service was impeccable. Only ate at the main dining room the first night and did anytime dining. Service was excellent. I tried to eat at all the specialty dining but couldn't do it on a 3 day cruise. I ate at Barbecue place-superb. I had a Guy's burger everyday-delicious. I had the Seafood Shack Seafood Platter for $12-very tasty. Had a late night snack of the terribly thin pizza and who knew it would be so delicious. I don't know how they get it that thin but it tasted so good. I did room service, they arrived in under 30 minutes-shocking. Comedians were good, the Rock and Roll show was great. Tim McGraw did a concert which was sold out so we didn't attend, but everyone we spoke to said it was excellent. I could go on and on, but my vote is definitely for the Liberty. Oh lastly debarkation was smooth and fairly quick. I was on the Empress deck and we were the first deck called if you hadn't checked your bags. I am planning to return this summer with my 14 year old and his buddy.

[arpie05]

The Liberty seemed to be more of a "party ship" if that matters to you. quote]

 

I have to say this probably a fair statement. I was in Cape Canaveral over Presidents Day weekend and I can see the ships leaving from the condo's balcony. It has to be at least 1/2 mile to the Jetty Pier (prob 3 different housing dev between us) and of the 5 ships I saw on Sunday - the Liberty was the only one where I could actually hear the music. We could hear people talking over the loud speaker. When I heard the noise approaching - I was surprised it was a ship because in 8 years I have never heard one from that distance before.

[CoW mAn]

If you're American I'd suggest Jacksonville as you get the extra day, Jacksonville's pretty nice, and you go under a bridge which is cool.

 

If you're not an American then go Port Canaveral because the customs area in Jacksonville is tiny, understaffed, and doesn't make any sense. When returning to Jacksonville they wake the "aliens" up like an hour before everyone else, announce your name ship-wide if you're late, make you wait like 45 minutes for a quick conversation. Then when you leave the ship with everyone else you have the exact same conversation with customs all over again. It's nutty.

[melgent]

A huge thank you to everyone!! We decided on the Elation since we get the extra day. I will post a review when we get back- we sail April 8th.