Elation Review

[traveling queen]

We are taking our 3rd Carnival Cruise. What does one have to do to receive the Platinum or Gold or whatever the perks are? Nice Cruise report. Sounds like you had a blast.

[cheshyrkat]

To be sure you get the gold card you have to give your TA or PVP your past passenger number. That will automatically tip them off to have your card be gold instead of blue and red. As far as perks...for the Gold there aren't really any. Just the different colored card.

[Mgetta]

In just 86 days, I'll be leaving the deck to go to the Monet dining room for the 6:15 seating. It sure makes me impatient when I watch that webcam.

[BCarlton (Bob)]

Hi -

We are sailing on Thursday - Turkey Day cruise!

My wife would like to know if there are hair dryers in the room or should she bring hers?

Any help would be great.

Thank you.

 

Peace to you -

[cruzzza]

I also would love to know if there are hair dryers in the room. I hate to use the packing space if there's one already there. Even if it's one of those takes a few more minutes because it's a little crappy one, I'd rather leave mine at home. More room for shoes!!!

[Mgetta]

There was no hair dryer in my OV room.

[cruzzza]

Oh, another question... are there 4 dining times? I think I've read that there are. I signed up for late - is it possible to request a specific time during the late? In other words, can I request "first" late seating instead of the "second" late seating?

[cheshyrkat]

Oh, another question... are there 4 dining times? I think I've read that there are. I signed up for late - is it possible to request a specific time during the late? In other words, can I request "first" late seating instead of the "second" late seating?

 

I have only booked through Carnival and I mostly used the website...You can request the first or second of either seating. I personally requested the second early seating for the one coming up. We'll see what I get!

[momof4boys]

My Cat. 12 had a hair dryer. (May have been left there from previous sailing.) Other rooms do not have dryers. Purser's desk has hair dryers--just ask for one. I loved the ELation. It was wonderful. Have a great time. :)

[Mgetta]

Oh, another question... are there 4 dining times? I think I've read that there are. I signed up for late - is it possible to request a specific time during the late? In other words, can I request "first" late seating instead of the "second" late seating?

 

Yes, early seating is at 5:45 in one dining room, and 6:15 in another. Then late seating is 8:00 in the first dining room and 8:30 in the second. You can request a specific time, and if they aren't already full you'll get that seating.

[cruzzza]

Thanks Chesh & Mgetta, I will email my TA tomorrow. I really didn't expect to be able to request first-late-seating. O.K., now that you've enlightened me, can I bug you with another dining question? I think I'm going to request first-late seating, which is at 8:00 if I'm correct. Is there anything that I need to be aware of that would cause me to want to avoid that time? I've heard one of the dining rooms has more motion than the other. Also, I do not want to miss the past guest party. Will my dining time interfere? What about show times? I would prefer the 8 PM time, but if I'm going to miss out on anything, I can handle waiting the extra 30 minutes.

 

I feel like a first timer with all these dining questions, but I haven't had the late seating since my first cruise in 1998. The last cruise I was on was a 2 day to nowhere, so the rules were kind of thrown out. Thanks for all your help!

[Mgetta]

We had 8:00 dining on our Elation cruise and I personally didn't like it and would have preferred the 6:15. My reason is that I really enjoy going to the shows, and for both late seatings the shows were at 10:30. So we'd finish dinner, have only about 30-45 minutes before it was time to walk to the show and get seats. The show was over at 11:30 and I couldn't stay awake much past midnight. Therefore, we didn't get to spend much time in the lounges listening to the great music which I really enjoy. But if you are a night owl, I didn't have any other complaints about the 8:00 seating. On the days you go ashore it gives you time to rest and cleanup before dinner.

[cheshyrkat]

Yes, the first late seating is at 8 (usually) and it's a good time to avoid a dining room full of children, if that bothers you, but I just can't wait that late to eat!! And I fall asleep...I'd crumble and eat buffet or minute steaks by 7!! But that's another thought...If your dining time interferes with shows or something, you can always eat at the buffet. I don't remember what time the past guest party was but my Conquest sailing was all screwed up and they only had 2 dining times because the ship was half full. We had the "late" seating at 6:30pm. I don't know what time the other seating was.

[cruzzza]

Thank you guys so much for your help. I think I will stick with my original preference of 8:00. I also enjoy the shows. Getting out of dinner, having 30-45 minutes to walk around before the show sounds good. I don't mind missing the music in the bars. I did miss some midnight shows in the past because we had 5:45 dinner and was ready for bed before they started. I think if I start my night later, I can hold out longer! I am not a night owl, but I can always sleep late in the mornings. I remember having that extra time at night to get ready for dinner and I know I'll enjoy that since it takes me a while to get ready! I may get hungry before dinner, but if I'm in my stateroom getting ready, I won't be as tempted to eat. It will be an anniversary cruise, so I do want to avoid kids, also. Thanks for helping me make up my mind!

[4yanx]

Steve:

As a recent cruiser on Elation, I am hoping that you can help me regarding dining times. I plan to post this on a couple of other threads, too, and anyone who has cruise Elation recently is more than wlecome to respond. Let me first say that I am heading up a family party of nine, which include my 90 year old mother-in-law who thinks this will be her last “fling”, as it were. We have four cabins reserved on Empress Deck – all in the E60’s. As such, we are assuming that we will be assigned to the forward “Imagination” dining room. We further notice that in all of the Capers we’ve managed to see that the “Imagination” dining room handles the 6:15 and 8:30 seatings, while the “Inspiration” handles 5:45 and 8:00.

We had originally requested the 8:00 dinner seating based on our original port of call times and before we knew which dining room handled which seating. Since, our ports and times have changed such that both calls will be over by 4:00. Thus, we are thinking of requesting the 6:15 seating instead.

Two questions, if you will. First, did they follow the same schedule/dining rooms during your cruise? Second, is there any compelling reason you can see to choose early or late seatings? Thanks so much in advance for your consideration.

David