Short, Sweet Elation review because no one reads them anyway

[maldenmusic]

There doesn't seem to be much interest on CC about the Elation-older ship, not as large and fancy as the newer ones. But that's why I like the Elation and sadly, just took the last cruise we will do on her for a while. My daughter and I are both teachers and we take a yearly cruise and since NOLA is close enough for us to drive to, that is our "home" port. Any other ports don't make financial sense. The Elation is leaving NOLA in April 2016 and being replaced by the Triumph so we will be Triumph cruisers in the future. I have cruised on the Triumph and actually didn't like it very well but that was in 2011 and I hear there have been upgrades. We cruised out of NOLA on June 27 and stayed in cabin E91, an ocean view. We were put in a different line during check in which was a faster one; when I asked why the attendant told me it was because we used passports and had done the online check in. We were in Zone 1 and were onboard right behind the FTTF around 12:20. We arrived at the pier about 10:30. NOLA has always been a problem free embarkation for us. (2 cruises out of Mobile made NOLA look even better) They did not use the zone cards this time but just stamped your boarding pass which makes sense. We walked immediately to Lido and got in line behind 2 other people at the Mongolian Wok for lunch. My luggage was there at 1:30 when we went to our cabin and my daughters got there soon after. Our cabin had thermostats this time; 6 Elation cruises and we have never had a thermostat so that was nice. The dreaded muster drill scheduled for 3:30 didn't actually start until 4:15 and was outside the casino for us. But this time we did not have to go outside on deck so it was short and sweet. We set sail around 4:30. Weather was nice and we stayed on the Lido deck for a while. We always enjoy the cruise down the Mississippi River and we hit the Gulf around 11Pm; we were lucky enough to be watching for the pilot boat to pick up the river pilot. It's always fun to see them step from the ship to the tiny pilot boat. We missed the Welcome Onboard show. Instead of having the 2 shows (Win, Spin, etc) they had a comedian, The Magician Bob, who was hilarious on the first sea day. He called my daughter up on stage to help him with a magic trick. After seeing the other shows so many times I knew all the words, this was a great show. We saw both comedians, Caroline Picard and John Mulrooney and enjoyed that. John had been on a previous Elation cruise so we'd seen him before. The last sea day we got to the see the premiere of Epic Rock. It was ok; my daughter enjoyed it more than I did. It looked like the Elation had decreased their number of dancers overall and the Bobby Whavers Show band which has been part of our Elation cruises was not there this time. They had a few singers/ guitarists performing around the ship and we listened to them a few times. We played a lot of trivia and spent lots of time in the Elations Way just relaxing by the windows. And before you ask, we do not eat in the main dining room. My husband and I did a few years ago and it was all right but truthfully, I have to get dressed up enough in real life and prefer eating in the Lido buffet or at the Mongolian Wok. Hard to believe, I know. This cruise seemed to have fewer children on it overall and the ones that were there were fairly well behaved. And there were fewer of the obnoxious, rude adults that you always encounter on ANY cruise. For our last Elation cruise it was a good one. Forgot to mention the port days. In Cozumel, we hopped in a taxi and went to Playa Palancar like we usually do. Nice, uncrowded beach on the SW side of the island. At Progreso we took an AP tour to Technotel to enjoy the beach without so many vendors. I guess this review wasn't so short but hopefully it was sweet!

[burtie]

Thanks for the review. I think you are very lucky to be so close to NOLA. It is one of my favorite places to visit. Have been on a couple of cruises out of there and loved them and the 3 day stays after the cruise. Can't afford the air fare anymore so have been going out of Seattle the last couple of years.

Keep cruising and enjoy life!!!

Burtie

[DarthGrady]

Well I appreciated it, as well as the pics! I love the old Fantasy class ships, especially the Elation and Paradise since they are still mostly in their original configuration. The aft pool area is a favorite hang out mine, so I was sad to see Carnival remove them when they added the Waterworks on other ships of the class.

 

I haven't been keeping up with the future CCL deployments, where is she going after NOLA?

[Mommy2three]

Thanks so much for the review. You are right in saying there isn't much mentioned about Elation on CC. My husband and I will be on Elation on August 31st for our very first cruise (with many more to come, hopefully). I am constantly looking for reviews from Elation but sadly, there aren't many.

 

We live about an hour and a half from New Orleans so we will be arriving around 10:30ish on the day of the cruise.

 

We will be in Cabin E89. First time cruising so we have no clue what to expect but it has to be better than sitting at work.

 

We did get FTTF just so that our room is ready when we board because we will most likely carry on as having my luggage out of sight makes me very nervous.

 

Thanks again for the review.

[Staceman225]

Ahhhhhh..... The Elation. You never forget your first ship. Thanks for the review. Since she is moving to Jacksonville I may get to sail on her again.

[Jdfireman]

Well I appreciated it, as well as the pics! I love the old Fantasy class ships, especially the Elation and Paradise since they are still mostly in their original configuration. The aft pool area is a favorite hang out mine, so I was sad to see Carnival remove them when they added the Waterworks on other ships of the class.

 

I haven't been keeping up with the future CCL deployments, where is she going after NOLA?

 

Yes I agree with this fine chaps statement the older the better

[Joie]

We just sailed the Elation in March.....and will sail Dream in November....like cruising from New Orleans.

We enjoyed the Elation very much.....smaller sometimes in quite nice....only thing I really missed was the outdoor theater......at night watching a movie under the stars in quite nice and relaxing....sometimes a litte chilly though :)

You will enjoy the trip....how can you not like a cruise anytime??????

[bury me at sea]

I have never sailed on this class ship and enjoyed and appreciated your review. Thank you.

[marshhawk]

I appreciate your review, I would say that we see less reviews than questions about free drinks and FTTF-so these days any review should be appreciated to the utmost.

 

We are on the elation in January, it's a days drive for us, Jacksonville is closer, heck, I think Tampa is closer, but I digress. We love NOLA! But we will hate missing the Fascination out of Jacksonville. I don't think the repeat Jacksonville fans will enjoy the intimacy of the Elation (oh I know, they are the same class of ship but they are different).

 

Glad you had a good time, we cant wait to board again in January with our friends, who also enjoy the smaller Fantasy class of ships.

 

I guess you are saying however that you would have had to dress for dinner if you had gone to the MDR, but I read in most cases, you do not have to dress up. ?? I would like to hear more about your Cozumel excursion -we have run into a snag -our excursion that we want has yet to appear, and it was the second reason for the cruise. :eek:

Edited July 10, 2015 by marshhawk

[peggyo]

Thank you for posting on the Elation. We will be on her in January, our first time, and like you say, not alot to read about.

Happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise. I can't wait!

[justusfour2014]

We sailed on Elation last October. We had great weather, went snorkeling fir the first time - dang what family memories were made! The ship needs a LOT of TLC but we had a great memorable cruise.

 

Thanks for the review. I hope yours was just as memorable as ours!

[mzloolue]

Did you happen to notice if Elation has the Seuss breakfast?

[sarahbeth476]

Thank you for the review. My friends and I will be on the Elation in September and I'm eager to read anything about this ship.

[Gallivanting Souls]

OP, thanks for your review! Did you drive in day of cruise or stay over night at a hotel? Did you do anything in NOLA? I would love to hear more details on this.

[winddawn]

I enjoyed your review. I've sailed on Elation a couple times and enjoyed it both times. The only issue I had was with the cabin being pretty scuffed up both times. The lack of balcony cabins on Elation is a downside too, but the staff are phenomenal, providing great service. NOLA is my favorite embarkation port too. I'm excited to see Triumph coming to NOLA since it has balcony cabins and the 2.0 upgrades with Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. Triumph will be in dry dock next year around late March, so I booked the first cruise of out dry dock for April. I like the idea of being able to do a 4 or 5 day cruise on a ship from NOLA with the 2.0 upgrades. I often prefer eating supper at Lido too. After so many cruises over the years, the main dining room isn't such a big deal to me either, especially since the food has changed so much.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos.

[islandatsea]

Thanks for your review! We enjoy cruising on the Fantasy class ships, very easy to get around. Found service and food to be very good during our cruises.

[h_blond2]

OP, thanks for your review! Did you drive in day of cruise or stay over night at a hotel? Did you do anything in NOLA? I would love to hear more details on this.

 

We did not stay in NOLA before the cruise...we spent a few days in Pensacola and drove in from their the day of the cruise. We have toured St. Louis Cemeteries 1 and 3 and ejoyed them both. We have also toured the Villalobos Rescue Center twice...definitely a highlight of our short time in NOLA.

[missouri_chick]

Thanks for the review..We cruise in 48 days on Elation..It takes us around 9 hours, so I'm assuming you drove in the day before, as you live a couple hours farther than us. Too bad we can't just drive to Illinois and hop on a ship in the Mississippi from there!! Thanks so much for your info and the pics. She's older but still cruises the same ports as the bigger ships.We can't wait for the Triumph either, as we mostly drive to port as well. Maybe we will see you on the Triumph one day..:) Happy Cruising!!:)

[molme]

Do any of you that have posted here have any suggestions on some place to stay the night before the cruise that has a park and cruise package? We will be sailing on the Elation in Mar and looking for a place to stay. Most of the place you have to pay anywhere from $25 per night just to park your car at their property to stay the night. Even thinking of staying in Biloxi the night before and driving to NO the morning of the cruise and parking at the pier.

[Cqis]

I also enjoyed your review. I have not cruised on Carnival for some time. Cruising on the Elation with 11 others in Sept. It is one of those events decided at a club. 8 of us will be 70 this year. August, September and October. We meet every year for the 4th of July. While we were on Frenchman at Mason's ( great music)we decided to cruise for our birthdays. We got amazing prices. 8 turned into 12 and still going. Oh - did I mention that I live in New Orleans. Only 3 classmates have to get here.

 

There is a parking lot across the street from the pier for $20.00 a night. I can not recommend a hotel because there are soo many . Go to NOLA.com. Plenty of information there.

 

Sailing on HAL in Oct. Yeah, 2 cruises this year.

[JonV]

I also enjoyed your review and can't believe how quickly time passes. I was on the Inaugural trip of the Elation (first paid passengers) when we brought her from Miami to Los Angeles and San Francisco Mar 20 - Apr 6, 1998. I loved that 16-day voyage through the Panama Canal and we went right into SF after LA. We had a nice stateroom, U90, and because no one had ever used the jetted bath, the first time I used it all the jets were aimed up and shot out the bathroom and onto the wallpaper when it turned it on. After a few hours the wallpaper started to peel off the wall and I felt so bad. They quickly fixed it and I remember it fondly like an old friend. Joe Farcus was on that cruise and I got to meet him and Kathy Lee Gifford got on the ship in LA to film a commercial. She used to sing a song about each ship that Carnival gave out on VHS tapes if you requested it.

[sjn911]

I also loved your review and my first Carnival cruise was Paradise, 2009 but remembered a friend telling me about each roll out in the years they came out...loved the size and all the service and food...know I need to try other classes now but would not hesitate the Elation or Paradise again...or any Fantasy class that was a fit where I was headed...Sarah

[Kasmir]

Thanks so much for your review. My husband and I are doing a B2B on her in December, and I read everything I can find about her. We cruised out of NOLA last December on the Dream and enjoyed it too, but decided to try the Elation this year.

[StylishCurvyGirl]

Great review. I live close to Nola as well and will be leaving from there next year. First Carnival cruise only been on RC so far. I hope I like it!