Elation April 2 - 7 mini review

[ober134]

Background:    After several months of soul-searching and financial analysis, DH and I decided to retire. We are 62 and almost 64. We have cruised somewhat regularly since 2012, mostly with Carnival. We like the brand and are comfortable with it. This particular cruise was rather "last minute". I'm a planner, and I enjoy travel research almost as much as the actual trip. Like most others on these boards, we had a couple cruises cancelled, rescheduled, etc. the past couple years. I finished my healthcare job the end of February, while DH worked thru March. Our son is getting married the end of April, so we had a short window to squeeze in a cruise. I looked at our Offers, and Lo 'n Behold... there was a fab promo offer for this sailing. I personally enjoy the Fantasy Class ships; they are a dying breed so might be last chance to sail Elation. We immediately booked it 4 weeks out. I scrambled to make flight, hotel, transfer reservations.

 

Pre-Cruise:  Spirit Airline had best price for non-stop PIT->MCO. I crossed my fingers and booked late flight  for day prior (April 1). We arrived to Pgh airport in a whiteout blizzard! Not an April fools joke... just Mother nature in Western PA. Landed at MCO after 10:00 pm in a rainstorm. There were people everywhere!! Sleeping in corners, in long lines at car rentals, etc. I guess there were weather issues/delays/etc.  We had reservation at the Doubletree/MCO. Complementary shuttle - was a bit confused which door to go to for pick up. Like I said, it was pouring down rain. There are 3 levels on the B side, and we couldn't find the right door... But we accidently stumbled upon it just as the van pulled in. DoubleTree was comfortable, but it was a late check in and early check out, so I can't give many details. At about 9:15am we checked out and took hotel shuttle back to MCO to get Carnival shuttle service. Side Note: I researched several options for other shuttle and ground transport to Port Canaveral, but some were already booked up or pick up times later than we wanted. The R/T carnival shuttle was almost as expensive as the price we paid for the cruise, but it was convenient and worked out better than I anticipated. The waiting area was jam packed since Mardi Gras was also sailing out same day. We were loaded on the bus and departed approx 10:15.... off to PC!

 

Embarkation: This was fairly quick and easy. I had the VeriFLY app loaded with all our documents (I had paper back up just in case). Our arrival time was 10:30-11 and we walked in just about 11:00. I told agent we had VeriFLY - he looked at the approved/accepted comment and never asked to see the paper docs. So I recommend using this app. And we were on our way. Used passports for facial recognition and we were ship by 11:30!! Also note in port that day, Disney Fantasy and Mardi Gras. The port was busy, but the Elation terminal was fine.

 

Cruise/Ship: First impression - Yes this is good. Elation is showing her age like a fine wine or a retired 62 yr old women who worked in a hospital during a pandemic, but I digress. Other impression - wow this ship seems empty. With the updates and added cabins on the promenade and sky decks, I was afraid it would be crowded - particularly since it is Spring Break season. Rarely if ever did it feel crowed. Occasionally there was a short line at the buffet or Guy's Burgers, but moved quickly. This sailing went to Amber Cove and Grand Turk, both ports we've been to several times - we had made no plans or excursions. The trip was really just a get away for R&R.  Note: we did find out  later that there were 2100 passengers on board, so that's approx 84% capacity. I was unofficially told that 500-600 of those passengers were <18 years old. Mostly well behaved, but clogged up hot tubs and pool. We spent most time on Serenity, which is rather small but adequate for a ship of this size. Also - it was super easy to use Carnival Hub to keep track of opening times, menus, etc. Make sure your phone can read QR codes... DH has an android (I hate it and keep trying tp talk him into an iPhone... but that is another story), and we both had to rely on my iPhone since the android wouldn't read QR's. Internet: we did not purchase, but I talked to many ppl who complained about connectivity issues.

 

Dining: Perhaps because we had reasonable expectations (we got this cruise for cheap plus OBC), but we found the food options and quality pretty decent. We ate in the MDR for supper 1st day - this would be our only complaint - Service on that first day was dreadfully slow. from check in to dessert was just under 2 hours. I could not see any reason why it took so long. This ship has no specialty dining venues. During the cruise we ate at MDR a couple times, Buffet a couple times, Guys once and Blue Iguana once and also the deli and pizza. We did Sea Day brunch also - this is usually my favorite and I was not disappointed. Must Note: as others have stated, the cakes served during the lunch buffet are the bomb. Don't miss this. Buffet desserts for dinner time were kinda yucky; so we actually had just dessert one night in the MDR.

 

Entertainment: As I previously stated, we made no plans for this cruise and just went with the flow. The show lounge had Epic Rock. Due to "technical issues" the show was presented Concert Style - no costumes/choreography. Rumor had it that no lightly/sound hands on ship. It was good - those kids can sing! We attended the Love/marriage show which is always good for some adult comedy. We never made it to the Piano bar, which I missed doing. Violin Duo in atrium was good. Rock band playing at Casino Bar was good - they played "oldies" from 80's and 90's. The karaoke was pretty full each time we passed by. Comedy shows were a couple times throughout the cruise, however did not attend any, so I can't comment. On sea days there seemed to be quite a few ppl having fun with the Trivia. All in all there always seemed to be something going on if that's your thing. Primarily, we enjoy meeting people and having friendly chats.

 

Disembarkation: Since we use passports/facial recognition... this was a super easy and quick process. The Birth certificate line was long, and I'm unsure how much time it took folks to navigate that side. We were outside the terminal in no time, and found the Carnival shuttle to MCO right outside the door. 

 

Random Thoughts:

• Don't pass by the Alchemy Bar. The best craft cocktails at sea, and great engaging bartenders.
• Smoking - Wow this was a pleasure, there was very little smoking in the casino. I could actually spend time time in there without turning blue or come out smelling like a stale ashtray. Perhaps it was the mix of passengers, unlike my last cruise (Horizon) where we spent a total of 10 minutes the entire cruise in the casino due to excessive amounts of smoke haze.
• Staff was superb, as usual. We did feel the Lido Buffet was understaffed.
• I've seen postings here and elsewhere re: Using Uber to go between PC/MCO. Just for fun, I priced an Uber once off board at PC.... OH MY it was over $300. I guess surge pricing and Spring Break?

 

Pics to follow. Any specific Questions? I will do my best to reply.

[ober134]

Edited April 11, 2022 by ober134
try to flip pic/add comment

[ober134]

sorry - trying to pics to upload correctly. 

[Joe817]

3 minutes ago, ober134 said:

sorry - trying to pics to upload correctly. 

It happens to all of us. I've heard that to keep the photo vertical, the camera must be  vertical also. Can't verify that though.

[ober134]

Funship

[ober134]

11 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

It happens to all of us. I've heard that to keep the photo vertical, the camera must be  vertical also. Can't verify that though.

ok

[ober134]

OK - sorry folks. even when I rotate left or right, pics still post sideways... so I will post no more 🤥, but will try to answer questions to best of my ability. I know this isn't the newest and most exciting ship, but we had a wonderful time. Met many interesting people and thoroughly enjoyed ourself. BTW if anyone knows the trick to posting pics, let me know and I'll give it a whirl...

 

Thanks for reading.

[Ralphinsc]

On 4/11/2022 at 3:10 PM, ober134 said:

Background:    After several months of soul-searching and financial analysis, DH and I decided to retire. We are 62 and almost 64. We have cruised somewhat regularly since 2012, mostly with Carnival. We like the brand and are comfortable with it. This particular cruise was rather "last minute". I'm a planner, and I enjoy travel research almost as much as the actual trip. Like most others on these boards, we had a couple cruises cancelled, rescheduled, etc. the past couple years. I finished my healthcare job the end of February, while DH worked thru March. Our son is getting married the end of April, so we had a short window to squeeze in a cruise. I looked at our Offers, and Lo 'n Behold... there was a fab promo offer for this sailing. I personally enjoy the Fantasy Class ships; they are a dying breed so might be last chance to sail Elation. We immediately booked it 4 weeks out. I scrambled to make flight, hotel, transfer reservations.

 

Pre-Cruise:  Spirit Airline had best price for non-stop PIT->MCO. I crossed my fingers and booked late flight  for day prior (April 1). We arrived to Pgh airport in a whiteout blizzard! Not an April fools joke... just Mother nature in Western PA. Landed at MCO after 10:00 pm in a rainstorm. There were people everywhere!! Sleeping in corners, in long lines at car rentals, etc. I guess there were weather issues/delays/etc.  We had reservation at the Doubletree/MCO. Complementary shuttle - was a bit confused which door to go to for pick up. Like I said, it was pouring down rain. There are 3 levels on the B side, and we couldn't find the right door... But we accidently stumbled upon it just as the van pulled in. DoubleTree was comfortable, but it was a late check in and early check out, so I can't give many details. At about 9:15am we checked out and took hotel shuttle back to MCO to get Carnival shuttle service. Side Note: I researched several options for other shuttle and ground transport to Port Canaveral, but some were already booked up or pick up times later than we wanted. The R/T carnival shuttle was almost as expensive as the price we paid for the cruise, but it was convenient and worked out better than I anticipated. The waiting area was jam packed since Mardi Gras was also sailing out same day. We were loaded on the bus and departed approx 10:15.... off to PC!

 

Embarkation: This was fairly quick and easy. I had the VeriFLY app loaded with all our documents (I had paper back up just in case). Our arrival time was 10:30-11 and we walked in just about 11:00. I told agent we had VeriFLY - he looked at the approved/accepted comment and never asked to see the paper docs. So I recommend using this app. And we were on our way. Used passports for facial recognition and we were ship by 11:30!! Also note in port that day, Disney Fantasy and Mardi Gras. The port was busy, but the Elation terminal was fine.

 

Cruise/Ship: First impression - Yes this is good. Elation is showing her age like a fine wine or a retired 62 yr old women who worked in a hospital during a pandemic, but I digress. Other impression - wow this ship seems empty. With the updates and added cabins on the promenade and sky decks, I was afraid it would be crowded - particularly since it is Spring Break season. Rarely if ever did it feel crowed. Occasionally there was a short line at the buffet or Guy's Burgers, but moved quickly. This sailing went to Amber Cove and Grand Turk, both ports we've been to several times - we had made no plans or excursions. The trip was really just a get away for R&R.  Note: we did find out  later that there were 2100 passengers on board, so that's approx 84% capacity. I was unofficially told that 500-600 of those passengers were <18 years old. Mostly well behaved, but clogged up hot tubs and pool. We spent most time on Serenity, which is rather small but adequate for a ship of this size. Also - it was super easy to use Carnival Hub to keep track of opening times, menus, etc. Make sure your phone can read QR codes... DH has an android (I hate it and keep trying tp talk him into an iPhone... but that is another story), and we both had to rely on my iPhone since the android wouldn't read QR's. Internet: we did not purchase, but I talked to many ppl who complained about connectivity issues.

 

Dining: Perhaps because we had reasonable expectations (we got this cruise for cheap plus OBC), but we found the food options and quality pretty decent. We ate in the MDR for supper 1st day - this would be our only complaint - Service on that first day was dreadfully slow. from check in to dessert was just under 2 hours. I could not see any reason why it took so long. This ship has no specialty dining venues. During the cruise we ate at MDR a couple times, Buffet a couple times, Guys once and Blue Iguana once and also the deli and pizza. We did Sea Day brunch also - this is usually my favorite and I was not disappointed. Must Note: as others have stated, the cakes served during the lunch buffet are the bomb. Don't miss this. Buffet desserts for dinner time were kinda yucky; so we actually had just dessert one night in the MDR.

 

Entertainment: As I previously stated, we made no plans for this cruise and just went with the flow. The show lounge had Epic Rock. Due to "technical issues" the show was presented Concert Style - no costumes/choreography. Rumor had it that no lightly/sound hands on ship. It was good - those kids can sing! We attended the Love/marriage show which is always good for some adult comedy. We never made it to the Piano bar, which I missed doing. Violin Duo in atrium was good. Rock band playing at Casino Bar was good - they played "oldies" from 80's and 90's. The karaoke was pretty full each time we passed by. Comedy shows were a couple times throughout the cruise, however did not attend any, so I can't comment. On sea days there seemed to be quite a few ppl having fun with the Trivia. All in all there always seemed to be something going on if that's your thing. Primarily, we enjoy meeting people and having friendly chats.

 

Disembarkation: Since we use passports/facial recognition... this was a super easy and quick process. The Birth certificate line was long, and I'm unsure how much time it took folks to navigate that side. We were outside the terminal in no time, and found the Carnival shuttle to MCO right outside the door. 

 

Random Thoughts:

• Don't pass by the Alchemy Bar. The best craft cocktails at sea, and great engaging bartenders.
• Smoking - Wow this was a pleasure, there was very little smoking in the casino. I could actually spend time time in there without turning blue or come out smelling like a stale ashtray. Perhaps it was the mix of passengers, unlike my last cruise (Horizon) where we spent a total of 10 minutes the entire cruise in the casino due to excessive amounts of smoke haze.
• Staff was superb, as usual. We did feel the Lido Buffet was understaffed.
• I've seen postings here and elsewhere re: Using Uber to go between PC/MCO. Just for fun, I priced an Uber once off board at PC.... OH MY it was over $300. I guess surge pricing and Spring Break?

 

Pics to follow. Any specific Questions? I will do my best to reply.

Nice review! We were on the same sailing as you guys and agree with pretty much all you have said. We splurged on this one a little bit with a suite upgrade since it was almost a free cruise and we had a ton of OBC paid for our drinks, internet, and a poolside cabana in Amber Cove.

 

The internet was indeed pretty bad and downright unusable on the first day. I had tried to upgrade my internet package to the highest tier thinking that might help, but it never did. I went to guest services with the intent of just seeing if that charge could be reversed and they refunded our entire internet package (I think they were doing that for anyone who came up, the person immediately before us had the same thing happen)

 

Dining was fine, though I did have one steak in the dining room on the second night that was downright terrible. Everything else was pretty good.

 

We spent a ton of time in the Alchemy (loved Milos and Melina!)and Piano bars (Daniel was a riot!) and enjoyed all the fun and hijinks, and we may have been spied dancing a time or two to the band. The pools were a little crazy on sea days with all the little ones but Nikko and Sherwin kept us with drink in hand and enjoying the fun atmosphere. For having not been on a cruise since the whole world went sideways, it was perfect.

 

We loved our fun time on the Elation just like you guys did! Wonderful little ship! Thanks for the review!

 

Ralph and Paige