We've been on 17 cruises, 10 of which were with Carnival. The Elation is new to Jacksonville, so we thought we would give it a try. I have to say, out of the 10 Carnival cruises, even with this being an older, remodeled ship, we were very surprised. The Entertainment Director and his Assistant (Kevin and Matthew) were very good and a lot of fun. The showers on the older ships are bigger, and have really good water pressure, if that's something that interests you. The Dining Room Staff were right up there as well. I think onboard the ship, if I had to pick something that wasn't up to my expectations, I would say it's the fact there is no steak and/or lobster on formal nights anymore. To get it now, there is a $20 upcharge. The regular meals were just that, regular, but good. The entertainment and shows were good. The band in the Casino was really good. The Piano Bar was lame - the piano player spent so much time talking to guest, he hardly ever played, and when he did, it just wasn't what you would expect from a Carnival Piano Bar. The Room Stewarts did a really nice job, with the exception of when I sent out my cloths to get washed/pressed, my underwear came back pink..... not a good look, trust me.

As for the ports, we went to Freeport first (we have been there too many times to count and wish they would just go to their private island and skip this place). We signed up for the "Luxury" Sail Boat Trip, which was "supposed" to include all drinks and food. We got ONE drink the entire time out, and the food was a Bento Box of some kind of tuna casserole. And did I say there was no shade for the entire trip. When the trip was over, the return bus was over 45 minutes late getting back. This one cost us $199 and Carnival will be hearing about this next. From there we headed to Nassau. We decided to do the Walking Beer Tour, which was so much better because of the guide. She was outstanding and provided a lot of history about the islands new beer brewery and stories of the old pirates. This was fun. Overall it was a pretty good four day vacation that I would do again. Oh yea, I'm a recovering smoke-a-holic (2-pack a day for 30+ years), so I really can't stand smoke, but the Elation's filter system made the Casino visits bearable, and I don't know, other than not having smoking, if there was anything else they could have done - and I for one appreciated their efforts! Get out there and enjoy cruising.