I was very eager to write my review of the Elation since we just returned on June 20th. I have found all of the information on cruise critic to be very valuable! Let me begin by saying that the main reason that my husband and I picked the particular cruise was the fact that it was close to home and we didn't have to fly. This was our 5th Carnival cruise and have not been on any other cruise lines.

Embarkation: The port at Galveston needs some work. The parking situation there is horrible and seems to be very unorganized. We parked in one of the satellite lots and took the shuttle bus to the ship but that took us an hour and a half. Because we had booked a suite, the only line that we had to wait in was the security line to xray our bags. Then we were personally escorted onto the ship from the Skipper's Club. After talking to many other passengers about where they parked, I would suggest that the best deal seems to be spending the night before at one of the local hotels and then letting them shuttle you back and forth to the ship. Many of the Galveston hotels will allow you to park your car there for the week for free so look into that.

The ship: It probably didn't help that the last Carnival cruise that we took was on the brand new "Pride" 2 years ago. The Elation looks tired and a little worn. We have been on 2 other Fantasy class ships, the Fantasy and the Fascination but that was when they were fairly new. This cruise seemed to be sold out so I think that Carnival should do a little refurbishing of the ship. Down our hallway was a huge water stain all the way down the hallway. Read more