Just off Elation - 1/5 through 1/10

Good Morning All! Just off the Elation from my 3rd cruise, all with Carnival. I must say, of all my cruises, it was my least favorite. That doesn't mean I had a bad time, it just wasn't amazing like the last two.

First, we ported out of New Orleans - none of us had been there, and we really loved it! Would definitely like to go back. We did a city / cemetary tour through Cajun Encounters. They picked us up and dropped us off right from our hotel, which was perfect! Very good tour. We stayed at the Sheraton on Canal street, right at the French Quarter and very close to Walgreens / restaurants, etc. Good hotel, could see cruise ships from room - watched the Elation pull in on our boarding day! Was great. Had some great food - poboys from Johnnys, and dinner at The Gumbo Shop. Both great.

On to the cruise. First off, what they did in dry dock for this boat, I'm just not sure. I'm not picky about rust and stuff on the outside of the ship (honestly, who cares), but after reading some reviews, I definitely noticed it while waiting in line to get back on the ship. The main public areas on this ship were all very nice and very clean. All bathrooms very clean in public.

We had FTTF, which I loved! Our second time having it. Our luggage was at our room before we got there and we went STRAIGHT to our room. Was great. We were in an Ocean View room on the Main deck. The cleanliness mentioned in the public areas did not extend to the cabins! This was not the fault of the stewards, they did an EXCELLENT job of cleaning every day. But the room was REALLY run down. Walls were dirty and scuffed. The bathroom floors / walls were made of the same material, some kind of weird tile, and it was NASTY! Our bathroom smelled of urine the whole time, including when we first arrived. It was permanently embedded in those tiles. Very disgusting. Won't go on an older cruise again, just for this reason alone - was gross.

They still had the boxes in corners with tv / life jackets. This was annoying, only because we had 4 people in our room, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. But our steward was great; great service all week. Asked for an ice bucket and had ice fresh twice a day! So no, they're not in the room, but you've just got to ask!

One of the closests had the safe in it, which took some of our closet space away - I guess this is just an oldership thing. Don't like it though.

One of our favorite places to hang out is the Promenade deck. For the Casino, trivia, bands, etc. Also, during quiet times, we like lounging in the really great seating all along the windows on this deck. They had the seating on this ship, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable as the Glory or Freedom. I know, weird that I'm evening mentioning it, but there were not back cushions along the windows, and big gaps, and just no comfortable place to lean back. I thought it was strange. But not horrible. Just had to find a different place to relax and read :)

The food was good. Not 5 star, but just fine, and what was expected of this cruise. Went to brunch. Tried Taste Bar for the 1st time (was good). Ate in Dining room every night. This ship has the old menu. Was good. We had the new on Glory. Don't prefer one over the other. Although my son DID prefer the bread basket to stay on the table, lol! I will say, I like the less formal, wood top table to the cloths. Having the bread and water on the table was nice, not that we ran low, but after watching our waiters run around, it would have saved them a LOT of time not bothing with refilling these things.

Enjoyed the hot tubs. Never got in pool. Don't really drink, but got a couple and they were as expected / good.

REALLY missed having the Dive In theatre. Missed other 2.0 upgrades, but won't sail again without the big screen TV on deck. DEFINITELY preferrred Guys and the Burrito bar to the Grill / Mongolian Wok. But the burgers WERE good on this ship.

Stops were Cozumel / Progresso. At Cozumel, we went to Passion Island - 2 of us by Catamaran - 4 of us by speed boat. By the way, it was NOT a catamaran. It wasn't bad, just not a catamaran, and I was looking forward to that, because they are neat boats. We did the Screamin' Eagle Speed Boat in St. Thomas last year and it was A LOT better than this one. They barely got wet my husband said and didn't do nearly as many fun spins, etc. Our last one was a blast and you got soaked (which was the point). Anyways, the island was BEAUTIFUL, BUT, for me anyways, the water was uninhabitable. There was SO much gunk in it (noone's fault, but mother nature), but it was gross, and I didn't even like the feel of it running over my feet. I would never get in it. The water was so clean and clear near the cruise ships, and just wasn't here, and made it pretty disappointing. The food was OK. Nothing great. Nothing really nasty, but some on the border. Guac was delicious. It was unlimited drinks / sodas. They do some fun activities with everyone. However, I will say, this is not somewhere I would go again.

Other stop was Progresso, but due to high winds we couldn't stop. Speaking of that, this ship (even before the high wind days) rocked and rolled! :) I've never felt a ship move like this. Luckily noone in our party got sick, but it was happening everywhere. I know part was due to winds, but part I think was due to a smaller ship. For this reason, I'll probably not go on a smaller ship again.

Went to 2 family friendly comedy shows. 1st one was really good. 2nd one was the same guy, and I thought, oh, we liked him, it should be good. Nope! He used the same routine! Seriously?? You only do 2 or 3 family friendly comedy spots and you can't come up with a new routine for each one? Um. No. Not good.

Anyways, I feel like this was a negative review, but we did have a good time in general. Just not as good as previous cruises.

Hope you find this helpful and please feel free to ask any questions.

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. We sail on Elation in March. I have read about the age of the ship but that the service is always good on Elation. Service is important to us (me) on vacations...... I'm a bit of a princess....;)

Thanks again!

Thanks for the review. My wife and I will be on this ship next week. I'm hoping the weather is a little calmer... I've had issues with motion sickness in the past and don't want to spend any of my valuable cruise time feeling queasy! This'll be our first time on the Elation; our first cruise was on the Conquest which is a bigger ship. We hardly felt that one move all.

We were getting off Elation as you were getting on. Our party of 8 all commented on how smooth the sail was (except for one evening). Sounds like you guys were in more weather, with the high winds though.

This was our second cruise on Elation. We were on Empress Deck this year and our room was much better than last year on Main. Not sure if they did anything to it during dry dock -it did have a flat screen TV, but still had the box for the TV and the lifejacket boxes in the corner. My kids room across the hall had the old style TV.

I must admit I also wondered what on earth did Carnival actually do to this ship in dry dock. Like you we have cruised Glory before to, and would have really loved to have Guys Burgers and the Dive in Theater on the Elation. And why did they not get rid of that awful box in the corners of the room?

All in all we had such a great cruise. The service was great, the room was quiet, the kids made friends and enjoyed the kids clubs, the shows were good, food was terrific, the weather was pretty nice except for one day.

We are going on this cruise in april. Texcrsr what was your room number? Sound's like you had a good state room, we are booked in m139 might like to change if i can:)

Hi Cricket551- we had E106 and the kids had E108. We loved the Empress deck and would stay on that floor again. So close to all the fun, but still a peaceful room. (last year we were in M99 and M97, and the rooms weren't the best, but we did cruise Elation again.)

I agree with you on most of you observations. Elation was my first cruise in 2004 and she was great back then. I said her again in 2012 and didn't feel the same way. The ship needs a major renovation. The bathroom is very dated, the TV's are old, the lifejackets are still in the box close to the bed. The ship rocked and rolled a lot in 2012. I even had to put a chair close to the closet just to keep the closet door from opening. Most passengers I talked too felt the same way even though the seas were smooth. I don't plan on sailing the Elation again unless she gets a major upgrade. Plus I don't like Progreso anyway.

I sailed this ship back in May 2014 and was not impressed. Side note: I have sailed multiple times on Carnival on the Sensation/Fascination so I might be spoiled. But this shipped seemed very small to me and I did have issues with motion sickness during the cruise as well as several others in our group of 22. With me it doesn't take a lot of motion for me to get sick - I can get sick in a car - but for my daredevils (husband and 18 yr old Daughter who is a college cheerleader/flyer) them getting sick says a lot. Just be prepared for it. My motto "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it"

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Thanks for the review. I remember Elation for her vast expanse of aft deck space. :cool:

Thanks for the review. I remember Elation for her vast expanse of aft deck space. :cool:

This much is very true, and it was nice back there! :)

Hi Kristie,

We sailed the same time you did, and had a great time. It was disappointing not being able to dock at Progresso, but I've been there before, was just planning on more shopping.

Did you go to any karaoke? Dan and I sang a lot!

Btw, do you remember the Captain's name?

Hi Kristie,

We sailed the same time you did, and had a great time. It was disappointing not being able to dock at Progresso, but I've been there before, was just planning on more shopping.

Did you go to any karaoke? Dan and I sang a lot!

Btw, do you remember the Captain's name?

Hey Candy!! We sang with you in the Romeo and Juliett Lounge!! That Karyoke was a BLAST!! Best of teh whole trip. We were supposed to meet you later, but I wasn't feeling the greatest. We sang Sweet Dreams. Was great to meet you! ;)

I'm so glad to read your reviews. Reports of rocking made my day because I like that. I was disappointed that it didn't get any upgrades in the renovations though. It makes me wonder why carnival won't invest in that ship. We are sailing in July.

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I sail on the Elation on Feb 21st. This is my third time on her. With that said..it baffles me on why one would knowingly go on a older ship and complain on the lack of such things as Jumbotron screens and speciality restaurants like Guys burgers ! You know all of this prior to booking. I have sailed on many ships and when I go on the smaller older ships I am never disappointed because I know what to expect. Some people are just happy with complaining about things !

I had a question about the family friendly comedy shows. We will have our 13 year old with us in July. Would that be something we could take him to see?

I had a question about the family friendly comedy shows. We will have our 13 year old with us in July. Would that be something we could take him to see?

Yes, the family friendly show is appropriate for a 13 year old.

Just be sure to get there early to get a good seat.

Or any seat actually.

Elation has a certain intangible charm to her.

I have read about the age of the ship but that the service is always good on Elation.

Only 10 days until we onboard Elation! Super excited! I have always loved the ship.

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Thanks for your review, sorry to read of the bathroom odour.

..it baffles me on why one would knowingly go on a older ship and complain on the lack of such things as Jumbotron screens and speciality restaurants like Guys burgers ! You know all of this prior to booking. I have sailed on many ships and when I go on the smaller older ships I am never disappointed because I know what to expect. Some people are just happy with complaining about things !

The OP never said a word about not knowing about the lack of 2.0 upgrades – she simply said she missed them, and that she won't sail again on a ship that doesn't have a Dive In Theater.

Thanks for the details...nice review. :):):):)

I sailed this ship back in May 2014 and was not impressed. Side note: I have sailed multiple times on Carnival on the Sensation/Fascination so I might be spoiled. But this shipped seemed very small to me and I did have issues with motion sickness during the cruise as well as several others in our group of 22. With me it doesn't take a lot of motion for me to get sick - I can get sick in a car - but for my daredevils (husband and 18 yr old Daughter who is a college cheerleader/flyer) them getting sick says a lot. Just be prepared for it. My motto "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it"

 

Actually, you mentioned above that you were spoiled by sailing the Sensation/Fascination in the past and it made this ship seem small...Actually, all three of these ships are sister ships and are the exact same size.

 

Good Day!

 

Brad

Regarding the bathroom odor...I have encountered this on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships. It has nothing to do with the age of the bathroom or the tile. If you look closely, you will notice that they keep a toilet brush in a white plastic container right next to the toilet. That is what is producing that awful urine odor. Just ask the stateroom attendant to bring a new one and it will go away, I promise.

Good Luck!

Brad