Carnival Elation Review - 9/29/08 (LONG)

[JMKreno]

Greetings Cruise Critic,

 

I have been lurking on these forums for about 2 years, but have always been obsessed with cruising (and transportation in general - big airliner buff also).

 

I meant to post this about a month ago, but just have not had the time (so names of people have now vanished, but other details should be good). So I hope this review is helpful to someone.

 

I've been wanting to get back on a cruise since I was on the Celebration 10 years ago with my parents (I was 17 at the time) and I remember every cruise I have ever been on (even the SS Independence back in Hawaii when I was a wee 5 years old) but financially and time wise it just hasn't worked out until recently. Also, my wife hates to fly and living in Reno, the nearest port for us is LA and San Diego. I had to work on her for a few years to open her up to the idea.

 

However, her parents decided for kicks to take a 5-day cruise on the Carnival Elation out of SD last November and of course asked me to help them plan their trip. This got the cruise blood flowing and I was able to get them some great deals and make all their reservations and arrangements. They ended up having a FANTASTIC time and came back raving about the fun they had (even though my mother-in-law got seasick).

 

So with this encouraging news, I was able to convince my wife to give a cruise a chance. SHE BIT (keep in mind her family had never taken a trip this large..EVER..they just didn't travel much when they were growing up so my wife is scared to death of planes and boats)!!! I couldn't have been more excited (well, my wedding and daughter's birth were a bit more exciting, but this was a close 3rd)!! We decided then that we would go with our daughter who was then 9 months old, my in-laws (mom, dad, and sister), and my grandmother-in-law (father's mother). We felt that doing the Elation 5-day again would be the perfect "starter" cruise for my wife, her sister, and their grandma (as well as to see how my daughter did).

 

I went ahead and started looking for a good date to have the cruise. We were thinking about the same time frame (November of 08) but I know how the weather can be on the west coast at this time and didn't want to risk having any large waves (well...waves of any kind really :D) that would make my wife never want to cruise again. So I looked at the end of September and found a great rate on the 5-day to Cabo and Ensenada. I found out if this would work for everyone and went ahead and booked it. I went ahead and called Carnival and checked on any discounts available (Senior rate for my Grandma-In-Law and Military rate for my father-in-law - I did not qualify for past rate since I was with my parents on the last cruises). They quoted me some very good rates and I went ahead and booked 3 rooms. One oceanview for my father and mother-in-law and inside rooms for my wife, myself and my daughter (who would at the time of the cruise be 19 months) and another room for my sister and grandma-in-law. Budget was a concern for this cruise so and since I was more concerned with going on the cruise itself than getting a window I didn't really care about having the inside room! Once I was off the phone with the agent, I was almost euphoric (I am going on a cruise again!!!!!) then it sank in that I now had to wait almost a year...YIKES! How will I make it!

 

After the initial shock and excitement, I started to research everything I could about the Elation. Compared to the ships I have been on, the Elation was gigantic. I had followed the development of the major lines (CCL, RCCL, etc) and was well aware that the newer ships made the Elation look tiny, but since I had never sailed these, I would have no frame of reference except the Holiday class of ships. I came to CC and researched everything I could on the ship: rooms, decor, food, activites, ports of call, embarkation, debarkation, the city of San Diego, hotels, etc. You name it I researched it. I had to fill in the gap between Thanksgiving 07 to September 29, 2008!

 

We opted to spend a few extra days in SD as we were going to drive in. The drive with my daughter I knew would be about 11 hours (650 miles) so we wanted to have plenty of time to get to get settled and unwind. I booked a Motel 6 in SD (I used to book more expensive hotels, only to regret it later because I could have spent the money elsewhere - never had a problem with Motel 6). I made all the arrangements. I knew with 7 people, bags, and a week long trip, it would be hard to find a single vehicle to fit everyone and still be more economical than driving 2 cars. We ended up deciding that it was cheaper to drive 2 cars down (a large van is expensive) and park them in SD at one of the park and rides (found a great deal at $7.50 a day within walking distance).

 

The time slowly creaped toward the cruise. I could not wait.

 

Then finally, THE DAY ARRIVED! I could not sleep the night before. In fact, I couldn't focus on anything the week before at work or at school.

 

We left on the Saturday before the cruise at 4am (the cruise left on Monday) and meandered our way down I-80 to Sacramento and then down I-5 all the way to San Diego. I won't bore anyone on the details of the drive, but it was uneventful (except where my daughter had to have ketchup with her chicken in the middle of nowhere on the I-5 with semis flying by at 80mph and nowhere to pull off except the shoulder :eek: and that ketchup happened to be in the trunk). Once we arrived in San Diego (a full 15 hours later...) we opted for a good night's rest.

 

Sunday was spent enjoying the sites and sounds of San Diego. I attempted to go to the Star Trek exhibit at the Air & Space museum in SD, but time was not permitting and people wanted to go to Coronado and see the ocean (it was fogged in the entire time we drove through LA & SD). So we finished up the sightseeing at Balboa and drove the Coronado bridge to Coronado Island. Spent the day on the beach there. I couldn't believe that the following day I would actually be out ON the ocean I am now looking at! My daughter absolutely loves the ocean so this was a fun day.

 

Once we finished up we headed back to the motel for a quiet evening and got ready for the trip.

 

I was unable to sleep well that evening I was so antsy for the cruise. We woke up bright and early and repacked the cars. We grabbed a coffee at the gas station and our 2 car caravan headed for downtown SD. We took the scenic route right down the PCH and into downtown. Once we came around the bend by the Hyatt and Marina, the ship came into full view. SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL! Gleaming white, flags draped! She was screaming EXCITEMENT from bow to stern. She was huge. I know that people that have been on the Conquest and other Carnival (or even RCCL ships) think the Fantasy-class ships are small and boring, I think they are incredibly beautiful and huge in their own right. We drove down the road and parked in the lot directly in front of the ship since it was only about 9am and we could not start boarding until 10:30. I took a bunch of pictures and walked with everyone up and down the boardwalk looking at the Midway and other ships at the museum.

 

Once 10:30 came around, my father in law and I dropped everyone off with the bags in front of the pier and proceeded to the park-n-fly by the airport to drop the cars off. Hopped on the free shuttle back (although we learned later that the distance wasn't as far as it looked so we could've probably walked back faster than waiting for the shuttle). Once we got out of the shuttle we gathered everyone up and were now able to start embarkation. We brought our bags in, dropped them off at the proper location (we did not use porters even though we had a lot of bags) and proceeded into the terminal. This was painless. No lines. We were immediately flagged to a desk and proceeded to get our S&S cards and finish the documentation (check IDs, etc). This was a quick 10 minutes and were given boarding group 5. We went and grabbed a seat (my daugher did very well during all of this) and waited for the boarding to start. At 11:30 prompt, boarding started and we waited about 15 minutes when the finally called our group. We went to security, had about a 5 minute wait (enough time to empy my pockets and get the bags on the conveyor) and were through with no problems. We then took the obligatory picture and walked out to the gangway! There she was! The Elation is in GREAT shape from the outside. Sparkling white. They were working on some windows up on the promenade (maybe cleaning them?) but otherwise the ship looked immaculate. SHE WAS EVEN BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT UP CLOSE! I can't image how big a Conquest ship must look this close! We continued up the gangway and swiped our cards and took our picture! I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM ON BOARD!!!!!!

 

We proceeded to the Lido deck (father-in-law remembered how to get there, and since I had been studying my deck plans, knew exactly how to get there) to grab a bite! Within a few minutes we were all at Tiffany's grabbing some lunch! I went out to the Lido and grabbed a Cheeseburger and Fries. Tasted great to me! I don't remember what else was on the buffet, but everyone seemed happy and it smelled great. There were only a handful of people in the buffet at this point, so there were plentiful tables and no lines. We then proceeded down to our room which was on the MAIN DECK, room M223. I was a little worried about being in an inside room after reading so much about the ocean view, but I was pleasantly surprised. Room was clean and more than large enough! There was a rollaway in the room, but I quickly called the room steward (Marlon I think his name was) and it was changed out within the hour to a crib. Sure, the colors are a little..late 90s (I don't remember Salmon and purple being popular colors, but I could be wrong), but the room was more than functional and definately spotless. The room had a queen bed (with the FANTASTIC carnival comfort bedding) a chair, vanity area and a nspacious bathroom. The TV is of course one of the old style Zenith TVs that were so big (literally) in the 90s, but it served it's purpose just fine and never once did I feel I lost out on anything with the decor as it was (in fact, by the end of the cruise I became fond of the room). Yes, I agree the box in the corner with the lifejackets was a bad design, but I am glad they are fixing this in the refurbs of the Fantasy ships. I will say, though, that the monochrome picture of the SS Leviathan above the box was quite nice (the plastic piece that goes across the corner). I enjoyed having it lit from behind when we got back to the cabin at night. Does anyone know if they keep these after the refurbs? The hallways do not appear outdated at all (new carpet?) and I enjoy the monochrome ships they have lined up down the hall (although, I did find it Ironic they would include the Titanic...most people wouldn't even notice though). I liked seeing all the ships I could identify (the REX, NORMANDIE, etc).

 

We got settled in and unloaded our carryon bag. There was more than enough storage in the room. Drawers in the vanity as well as ample closet space for all three of us (my daugher is still not potty trained completely so we had to bring a weeks worth of diapers, wipes, and lots of extra clothes).

 

My daughter took a quick nap on the bed and we then put her in her stroller (we brought her umbrella stroller which was a godsend) and started to explore the ship.

 

 

REVIEW PART 2 COMING SOON w/ some pictures (my fingers hurt!).

 

If anyone has any specific questions, please let me know (even if I haven't discussed it yet). I also took about 1500 photos (not of all rooms though, I don't drink so I didn't get some of the bars) so if you have any requests, i will see if I have something that'll work for you.

 

Thanks!!

[Kurbanfan]

Holy cow! This is a long one........can't wait to see your pictures:)

[getmeontheship]

What a great reveiw so far can not wait to hear more.

[Hockey Addict]

YAAAAAY! Another review... and it's gonna be a GOOD one I can tell! Thanks so much for posting it... I have a long wait ahead of me!

 

I'm excited! I can't wait to read more!! :D

[JMKreno]

Just a little more before I get back in tomorrow...sorry if this is so long. I can shorten if wanted!

 

Now we started to explore. I had my camera in hand (this annoyed my wife immensely, but I had to do it!) at all times. We then went down to the Riviera deck to my in-laws Oceanview room. It was R249. They had a great view of the water. We all decided to go up to walk around the ship. We went up the D elevators to the Promenade deck and went out to the Elation Way. The Cole Porter lounge and access to the Inspiration Dining room (downstairs) were located here, but I never went in this location (so no photos…SORRY!!). I thought the Elation Way was quite beautiful. The décor isn’t something I would have in my home, but I thought it was perfect for the cruise, elegant yet fanciful. I have always been a big fan of fiber optic lights and I thought the use here was just right. Walked down past the Drama bar and the coffee shop/pastry bar. This looks relatively newer, nice marble floors, seating areas and an LCD TV showing the news. The desserts looked FANTASTIC. We ordered a piece of the chocolate cake, it was HUGE and only a few dollars. The same thing on land would be comparable in price (if not more!). There were numerous other items available: coffees, giant cookies and other pastries.

 

We then continued down the Elation Way past the casino. I can’t really say much about the casino living in Nevada. We try to avoid gambling here so we didn’t do any on the ship (although my SIL did win about $100 on the cruise). But the casino does look to be a good size with a good variety of games. I did not really notice any smoke smell coming out at any time during the cruise. At the end of the Elation Way is the Sushi bar (open in the evenings) and the selection, while small, looked good for sushi. I am not a sushi fan so I did not use this, but it seemed to be busy whenever it was open. This then opens up into The Atrium. This is something I have never had on any of my cruises. The Celebration and Holiday do not have this feature and I thought it was beautiful! Really made the ship seem even that much larger than it really was. The glass ceiling allowed a lot of light in and the piano playing in the atrium bar filled up the room. It was very elegant IMHO. I actually like the colors in the Atrium (and in general on the Elation). The room has lots of sparkling lights in the ceiling and a nice shade of pink/purple (not really sure how to describe the color).

 

 

 

PART III TOMORROW!!

 

Thanks!

[caribbean dreams]

If you think Elation is an Awsome ship, wait until you see Spendor (sailing out of Cali also) and as excited as you were, you WILL be cruising again! LOL!

[Hockey Addict]

Nooooooooooooo don't make it shorter.... you're doing awesome! Thanks again! I can't wait for the next part!!! :D

[rebeljohn]

Enjoying your review so far.................Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us..............

[yogi2929]

What a great review. We are sailing on the Elation in 2 weeks. Do you remember the name of the parking lot? Did you make resservations? Thanks for your answers.

[Rouge Wave]

What a great review. We are sailing on the Elation in 2 weeks. Do you remember the name of the parking lot? Did you make resservations? Thanks for your answers.

 

Having sailed Elation to Cabo many times now (and will do it two more time before she stops the Cabo run) I think the best place to park is San Diego Airport Parking Company at 2771 Kurtz Street. Very well priced and a Secure parking area. A fast, timely and free shuttle Often discount coupons to be found on their web site. sdap.net

FYI, do not think the parking lot across the street form the Cruise Ship Port is worth the money. It is costly, It is also not as close as it appears to be to the port... do the walk up the street to cross the streetand then back down the street to the terminal building and you will see what I mean.

OP, thanks for the review, but I wonder , do you intend to also post your review in the ship review area on Cruise Critic so people who do not go to the cruise line boards (like this one) can find it?

[jnv]

thank you so much for your review - I really enjoy it so far. Please do not shorten it up, there are many of us who love to read all the details! We sail in another month, and since we have never sailed carnival, it is great to read reviews. The Elation sounds like she is in very good shape, hopefully you can let us know what you thought of the dining room, the food, entertainment, etc. Thanks again. Looking forward to your continued review!!

[JMKreno]

I took a few snapshots of the Atrium (only about 60 or so) and then we proceeded to search the rest of the ship. We went down to the Galleria shops (Atlantic Deck I believe) and since it was not open yet we just looked around. This is a nice area, not terribly large, but has a few shops (logo wear store and the usual jewelry and alcohol shops that would open for duty-free shopping when at sea). The Mikado Lounge was open and so we just glanced inside. This is a nice showroom done in shades of green, very Japanese in style. I think the room is very elegant and does not appear to be showing much in the area of wear and tear. We then walked around the atrium to the Imagination dining room where we would be eating . We did have to talk to the MD when we boarded, since all three of our cabins were either in different dining rooms, different times, or different tables. The MD had no problem getting us a new table together during the late dinner which worked well for us (I’ll explain later). Also on this deck is Duke’s Bar (New York theme with a giant Statue of Liberty head – again I do not drink so I cannot say how the piano player was, but the room was always full of people) and the Mark Twain Library. This was a lovely room done in a southern style reminiscent of the mid-late 1800s with models of paddle-wheelers all around the room. The selection did not look large, but it was a very peaceful room to sit and read a book. Most of the time I saw people playing chess or playing cards (oddly I rarely saw anyone in the actual card room, which was also on this deck, but tucked away in the corner – aren’t they changing this with the refurb?). At this point, we went rode the elevator back up to the Sports Deck to check out Camp Carnival. My daughter was too young to enjoy the scheduled activities this time around, but we did want to find out what she could do the next time we go cruising (when she would be old enough). We also looked into what options we had with our daughter and it was nice to know that there were times we could come up and play with the toys with her. However, we never did end up using the play time as my daughter had plenty of fun elsewhere. Perhaps next time!

At this point we headed back down to the lido deck to check out the pool area. One thing I will note, the ship is in fantastic shape. The only areas where I felt a fix up was needed was in the elevators. You could see the wear and tear on the buttons and the walls, with a lot of scratches in the glass/panels. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was still in GOOD shape, but it’s definitely time to fix! This was about the only area where I felt a major overhaul was needed. Also, one of the Atrium elevators was out of commission for a few days of the cruise and never did get working before we left. We did see technicians, though, working diligently. For those who are worried about this ship looking out of date or looking worn, DO NOT WORRY! For a ship that has had tens of thousands of passengers over the last 10 years, I am surprised the ship isn’t in MUCH worse condition. The crew does a fantastic job.

We then went out into the middle pool area. There were a lot more people on board now so there was a bit of a line at the grille (MAYBE 10 people deep, but it moved quickly) and large groups milling about with carry-on bags and some luggage. The deck was in great shape and the pool area quite inviting. There is also a stage area and a bar out here. The stage area is where all the games and music was played on the Lido during the cruise. There are a lot of sunchairs out here, as well as on the deck above overlooking the pool area. There are also a lot of tables and chairs in the shade to enjoy a meal (I never saw a situation where there wasn’t a few tables available even during peak times). We then went back into Tiffany’s and wanted to go back down to our rooms to get our lifejackets for the muster drill. I like the décor of Tiffany’s. It has a melted copper appearance in various colors. It is very artsy. The buffet was set up on 2 side of the room, with a salad bar and the 24 hour soft serve ice cream/dessert station in the middle. The deli/sandwiches were at the end of the salad bar (and MIGHTY delicious…I had a turkey and cheese and a ham and cheese Panini on the cruise – both were FANTASTIC) and the 24 hour pizza station in the corner. There was also another bar in the other corner of the restaurant. This is where we would eat most of our food. I really liked the aft lido eating area. You can get to either side by exiting from the corners of the room. I think it took people a couple days to find this area, since the doors are not visible from most of the room, as there was almost no-one ever in this area. I would grab a table and watch the wake with just a light breeze. You could also access the side walkways and grab a table on the edge from here as well.

 

 

I am thinking I might trim out some excess detail in the later reports (my fingers hurt!) and just give some specifics. If anyone wants more detail, you can always ask me!

[Kurbanfan]

What a great review. We are sailing on the Elation in 2 weeks. Do you remember the name of the parking lot? Did you make resservations? Thanks for your answers.

 

I don't remember the name of the parking lot across the street, but I can assure you that you can't miss it. No reservations necessary. We have sailed out of San Diego on different ships several times and I would park no where else. If you are sailing on the Elation you will only need to park it there for 4 or 5 days so it won't be that costly. It is sooo convenient. Just walk to the cross walk and you are right there........

It is especially nice once you are off the ship you just walk right across the street in your car and you are out of there within minutes......no waiting for shuttles or taxis.......

Good luck!!!!

[caribbean dreams]

What a great review. We are sailing on the Elation in 2 weeks. Do you remember the name of the parking lot? Did you make resservations? Thanks for your answers.

 

 

Yuu may also want to check out Mission Brewery parking, We have been very happy with them so far, the parking is $7 a day with a coupon.

Here is the link if you are enterested.

http://www.longtermparking.com/COUPONS/cpmissionsan.htm

[phinfan63]

I am thinking I might trim out some excess detail in the later reports (my fingers hurt!) and just give some specifics. If anyone wants more detail, you can always ask me!

 

Don't do that ~ I'm really enjoying your detailed report. So many people come on and say "we just got back, any questions" ~ it really takes the fun out of it.

 

Just take your time and give us the details ~ please :D

[phinfan63]

OK, I'm rescuing you from page 5 ~ I don't want you to have to look to hard for it cause I'm still hoping to hear about the rest of your cruise :)

[Kurbanfan]

We are still waiting for more:)

[Hockey Addict]

Don't forget about us! Post some more when you can!! :D