Longest Elation review ever...

[LMPego]

Elation review 5/14/06-5/21/06

 

This was our first Carnival cruise and unfortunately, our first experience with them after the booking state was horrible. Luckily they redeemed themselves the rest of the week.

 

The Carnival representatives at the Miami airport when we first arrived were very rude and not helpful. We had to seek someone out at baggage claim and ask them where to go and she waved her hand and said “over there”. Then the woman that walked us to the bus was rude and turned a corner, so we followed her and she turned around and yelled at us to “stay over there”. Not good. Then we got on the bus and the bus driver and the Carnival employee that collected the transfer tickets were yelling at each other. If I did that at my job, I would get fired. My boyfriend and I looked at each other and we were both really nervous about what kind of vacation we had signed up for.

 

We got to the terminal and we had VIP check-in because we had a category 11 demi-suite. Totally worth the money to bypass the line of people waiting to check in. They had only 1 woman checking in VIPs, but she was very efficient and friendly and it was nice to be sitting on a big cushy couch instead of waiting in line. Then we collected our S&S cards and onto the ship very quickly.

 

I thought the ship was really beautiful. I know it’s older, and I had read reviews where people called it “gaudy”, but I thought it was really pretty and very clean. It’s so smooth. I really never felt waves. I heard they were pretty bad one night but I must have already been asleep. The ship is also very easy to navigate. We knew where everything was within 24 hours. The Elation is a really nice-sized ship (but I’ve never been on one of the really huge ones) – there are plenty of amenities, but it’s still small enough so that we really got to know other passengers that we kept running into and also the social hosts and assistant cruise director. They have a terrific staff right now. Very energetic and young and seem to get along really well. George/Jorge the cruise director had a back injury and we didn’t see him around the ship too much when he wasn’t “on”. I liked that there weren’t too many announcements and then only in the public areas of the ship. Our last (and first) cruise was on Disney and there were so many announcements in the room that I was getting really annoyed. It was perfect on the Elation. There would be maybe 3-4 during the day to tell people what activities and shows were going on (in case you forgot after studying the Capers)!

 

The food in the dining room was okay. Acceptable, but not terrific. We had a waiter who is obviously new and didn’t speak English that well, but was so nice and went out of his way to make sure we were happy. The beef is your best bet. I wasn’t impressed with the desserts in the dining room. My boyfriend had lime sherbet almost every night and I had a cappuccino and a cheese plate. I thought the food at Tiffany’s during lunch was usually a lot better that what you get in the dining room at night. Plus, they had a nice dessert selection at lunch. We had some fantastic chicken and turkey. I also liked the “Taste of Nations” every day and that you could go to that like or the other line, so there was a nice variety of food. I am not normally a cheesecake person, but every day at lunch there was a different cheesecake and that was the best thing I ate all week. They had a walnut and green tea cheesecake one day that was so good I had 3 pieces. It was also really nice to have the deli. Twice during the week we got sandwiches at night and kept them in the fridge to take on our excursion the next day and they were terrific. The roast beef at the deli was really good. By the way, the sign when you’re getting off the ship states that you can’t take fruit, vegetables, or nuts off the ship – it doesn’t say anything about meat and bread.

 

First port was Half Moon Cay and it was very pretty. We took the kayak tour with Nikki and it was a great way to spend the morning. Lunch was really good on the island. Grilled burgers and hot dogs, but also jerk chicken and a really good chili fried rice. After lunch we snorkeled off the beach. There aren’t a lot of fish, but they are starting artificial reefs, so in a few years there will be more variety. There are some crazy jacks that go right up to the shore and are completely unafraid of people. There’s also a rock wall that is full of crabs and they were really fun to watch.

 

The second day was our first at sea day, and I thought there was a good variety of activities. We went to morning trivia and then hung by the pool for awhile. The water slide is really fun. In the afternoon there was a scavenger hunt, and it would have been fun even if we didn’t win (but we did!).

 

We did attend both formal nights, but we did not dress overly formal. I had a nice dress that I might wear to a wedding and my boyfriend wore a dress shirt and tie but no jacket. I felt that most people were appropriately dressed in the dining room (at least in our area). I saw a couple of teenagers during the week in the dining room in shorts and t-shirts, but I think they were checking in with their families and not eating. I thought the waiters singing was fun – that’s what I think of as a cruise. We also had a singing maitre’ d who was terrific. I would say that the first formal night was better attended because it was a sea day. The second one was our day at Grand Turk and we didn’t sail until 7:00. We had 5:45 seating, and I think most people were still at the beach.

 

We took the St. John Island Tour out of St. Thomas. Great way to see the island. The ferry trip was pretty rocky, but beautiful. We had a great bus driver. You can stay on the bus to see more of the island or get out for a couple of hours at Trunk Bay, which is what we did. There is an underwater snorkel trail and it was terrific snorkeling. Lots of fish, barracuda, sea urchins, and tons of coral formations. Pretty easy snorkeling, too. When we got back we did the Sky Ride on St. Thomas and it’s a terrific view. We didn’t get to shop St. Thomas since all the shops seemed to be closing by the time we changed our clothes and got back off the ship.

 

We did the rainforest tour out of San Juan and that was a great way to see most of Puerto Rico. It’s a long bus ride, but you get to see a lot of the island. We had another great driver who knew a lot about the flora of the island and was very informative. I heard from another group on this same tour that they couldn’t hear their driver at all, so I guess I was lucky to be on the good bus. The rainforest is beautiful, but I would have liked to have more time to hike the trails. It seemed a long ride for a short walk, but I’m glad I did it. We didn’t shop Old San Juan at all since we got back at lunch time and had already been on the move all morning. We decided to board and eat lunch and hang by the pool. If we hadn’t been leaving San Juan so early, we would have got off the ship and walked around a bit, but it just means we’ll have to go back!

 

Grand Turk has the most beautifully colored water I’ve ever seen, but the snorkeling was disappointing. The water was really choppy and I think that along with 30 people jumping off a snorkel boat kept the fish away. There isn’t much by the cruise terminal. There’s a Margaritaville and a shop (the flip flops I wanted to buy cost double at the shop than they do online), a nice pool, the cruise terminal with liquor and handbags, and a few locals selling items. I did buy a necklace from a really nice local lady and her granddaughter, but there’s not much to do unless you’re in the water. Go back in 10 years and it will be totally different. We saw a lot of people collecting conch shells, but I wasn’t sure if we could take them, so I asked when we were getting back on the ship and they said it was fine, so I put on my beach shoes and got back off the ship. If you go to the beach on the opposite side of Margaritaville, there are little rock caves with tons of conch shells buried in the sand. I found the most perfect pink conch shell that weighs about 5 pounds. Walking back to the ship, a gentleman asked me what I paid for it, and I told him that I worked for it.

 

Saturday was our last at sea day and we mostly took it easy. I went to towel animal folding class in the morning and it was really fun. We sat by the pool and watched the “Survivor at Sea” contest. It was loud but fun. In the afternoon, they had up close and personal with some of the staff members so you could ask them questions about working and living on the ship and it was interesting. At dinner, the waiters sang “Leaving off the Fun Ship” to the tune of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and I got all choked up because I didn’t want to leave!

 

Debarkation day was really easy and smooth. We did relaxed debarkation and took our time eating breakfast and didn’t have to stand in line to get off. The staff loading us onto the bus and at the airport were much better than embarkation day.

 

I would definitely cruise with Carnival again. I’d like to try another ship but wouldn’t hesitate to book another Elation trip if the itinerary changed.

[slick52]

I've been on the Elation and your review was very nice.

 

Thanks! :D

[LMPego]

The cabin stewards were terrific - I certainly didn't mean to leave them out. Also, they need a DJ on the Elation. I kept hearing the same songs by the pool all week and the ends of the songs kept getting cut off, so it was driving me a little nuts but not enough to leave the pool! The band they had by the pool was terrific, though.

[GracieC]

Few questions--We leave on Sunday! Whoo Hoo Did you go to the bar with the piano player? How was that? Did they have a wine tasting session? I enjoyed that last cruise. Did you know anyone who did the Sea Helmut dive on Grand Turk? How was the weather?

[LMPego]

I'm so jealous - I wish I could get right back on. I did not go to the Piano bar, but saw the piano player at various other places around the ship. He's very good in a cruise-ship kind of way...

I think there was a wine tasting, but we didn't go.

I don't know anyone who did a helmet dive. The weather was beautiful. Was your question in general, or on Grand Turk? Grand Turk was the hottest and most humid day, but everyone kept telling us that it's not usually like that. The other stops were beautiful - mid-80s and not too humid. Overcast when we pulled into St. Thomas but cleared up quickly. Drizzled in the rainforest (go figure). Our second sea day was partly cloudy and a little cool, but we didn't want our stuff to be wet so we sat by the pool in shorts and t-shirts.

You will love your cruise. Give Big Sexy a hug from me (he's taking over for George for a couple of weeks).

[cruiseapril]

Good review. We'll be on the Elation next year, so it was helpful to read your reviews of the ship and of Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

[cruizinrican]

Here we come! I can't wait! Thanks for a great review and not too long in my opinion. The detail was great! I would never try anything called walnut and green tea cheesecake but after hearing you loved it so much, I will defiantely try it now!

 

We cruise Sept.10 and we are counting down!:)

[zqvol]

Here is another:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=350812

[Schadenfreude]

Thank you so much for the review! I haven't read much about this new itenerary and was slightly nervous - but it all sounds lovely, especially your tip for the conch shells...I'd love one as a real souvenier if it's OK to take them. I leave TOMORROW for Miami and board on Sunday! WAHOOOO!!!

[LMPego]

Please just don't take them out of the water - those are living animals. There are tons on the beach to hunt for.

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for all the Elation info!