Carnival Elation Cruise Review by janetcs

Our room was ready by about 1:30. It was nice and big enough for 2 people, with plenty of storage space, drawers, shelves, 2 closets with lots of hangers, a sofa and table, and queen size bed. There is a vanity with 2 electrical outlets and 2 more outlets on the TV cabinet. No hair dryer, clock (except on TV display), nite light, or coffee pot. :( Liquid soap & shampoo fill dispensers in the shower and some sample toiletries are on the counter. The medicine cabinet has enough room to store all of your toiletries. The refrigerator was not very cold, but our room stewardess kept the ice bucket full without asking. Sodas and water are provided in the room, but charged to your S&S card if used (about $2.50 for sodas & $4 for water). I thought the bed was too firm, but my husband liked it. 4 nice, soft pillows. The air conditioning is adjustable. The balcony is small (about 5' long by 3' wide) with a partially obstructed view (a life boat in front of half the balcony). Bring a bungee cord to keep the balcony door open (a smashed soda can in the door frame works too). Our luggage arrived within two hours. Reviews I read strongly suggested putting locks on luggage, but we were later told by a crew member that locks were not allowed and would be removed. One of locks had been removed, but the other two were intact. An in room safe can be accessed with a credit card (use the same credit card each time) free of charge. Take time to read the information in your cabin and the "Carnival Capers" newsletter delivered nightly. 3 first run movies are offered without charge on your TV each day in addition to regular channels and Carnival channels. Carnival channels show ship's position and facts, live coverage of the Lido deck, and some programs & shows from the Mikado Theater.

You receive "deck plans" at embarkation. The top deck has a padded jogging track, a miniature golf course, and an observation area. Most of the clubs are on the promenade deck and were crowded at night. Tax free shopping is on the Atlantic deck. Prices on some items were considerably less than on land. There is a basketball court and a very large chess game. The casino is small. Use cash because if you get cash from your S&S card, the fee is 3%

A girlfriend suggested emptying a water bottle, filling it with your choice of alcohol, and placing it in checked luggage without any other water bottles (the density under x-ray may be different than plain water). We brought a cooler with 6 sodas, 2 bottles of wine in our carryon (carryon with wheels was easy as we had to take it with us until our room was ready) and I packed several bottles of water in my checked luggage. No problems. We purchased a soda card for $6 per day plus gratuities, but only used it 3 times (good at the bars which were crowded and difficult to get to at times) and were told it could not be used for room service. Though you can purchase drinks most any place on board, passengers carry drinks everywhere on the ship, including into the Mikado Theater. I used a plastic wine cup from a drink purchase on the Lido deck for my own wine. There were wine glasses in our room and room service will provide a very basic cork screw if you ask. Drinks on ship range from about $5.50 to $7.50 plus 15% gratuity. Scheduled events begin promptly at or ahead of scheduled times. The muster drill time was announced overhead and we thought we went at that time, but found everyone else was already there and the drill was in progress. The speaker commented on our late arrival to everyone present who all turned to look at us, which was embarrassing. After the drill, Corey, a very nice crew member, offered a ship's tour, which we took with several other passengers. He showed us the public areas and gave us information on activities, etc.

We chose "your time" dining and were assigned to the Inspiration dining room (written on your S&S card). We requested a table for 2 and were accommodated both nights. We were happy about that because many of the people at assigned tables appeared to be mismatched and not really enjoying each others company. Service in the dining room was poor the first nite, but better the second nite. The flat iron steak was ok, the prime rib was good, the baked potatoes were not fully cooked either nite, and who knows what the vegetables were. We did share a chocolate melting cake which was great, but very rich. Formal night was on Saturday in the main dining rooms. Passenger attire ranged from casual to dressy, but I never saw anyone in a tux. The captain and higher ranking crew members were available on one of the decks that nite to meet passengers. I'm not sure what is meant by "Captain's Party" as we couldn't find any "party." But we asked the cruise director where they could be found and she introduced us to the captain and crew.

Tiffany's is a buffet style restaurant on the Lido deck. The food was mediocre. The Pizzeria is in the back part of Tiffany's. Just outside of Tiffany's is a "snack bar" with seating, which has more of a selection than I thought a snack bar would have; hamburgers, omelet station for breakfast, Mongolian Barbeque for lunch(that was great), deserts, etc. There was a midnight Mexican buffet one nite at Tiffany's, but we were already asleep. About 3 hours after we departed San Diego, we encountered thick fog. For the next 24 to 30 hours, an unbelievably loud fog horn sounded every 60 seconds and could be heard everywhere on the ship including our room. I had a difficult time sleeping the first nite because of it. And it almost made me crazy.

Room service was prompt and had a more extensive menu than reported in reviews I read. It included several varieties of sandwiches (hot Rueben sandwich was great), steak, salad, deserts, drinks, etc. The coffee wasn't very good. You can fill out a form for room service to be delivered at a specific time and leave it on your door. It’s expected that you tip for room service.

I attended a country western dance class in the Mikado Theater and a "Thriller" dance class by the Drama Bar at no charge. Both were fun, but crowded. We enjoyed the hypnotist show and the "Spin" dancing & singing show in the Mikado Theater. We didn't arrive early for any of these, but were still able to get seats with unobstructed views (there are a lot of poles throughout the theater). There was a comedian in one of the clubs at nite, but it was too crowded and no available seats. Towel animal class, bingo, welcome program, debarkation information, dance class, shopping information, a version of "The Newly Wed game, etc. were held in the Mikado Theater.

Ensenada is probably what you would expect. Not very exciting. Shore excursions were easily purchased on board and all Sunday excursions were still available on Saturday. My husband has several healing fractures in his foot, so we took the "Gold Coast Tour" because it involved the least amount of walking. It consisted of a scenic bus tour along the coast (the driver drove very fast along winding roads by high cliffs and even passed several cars, which was scary) to a Mexican restaurant overlooking the beach. We stayed there about an hour and were served margaritas and chips with salsa, included in the tour price. You could also purchase the buffet for $15 or order from a chalk board menu for about $8 per entree. From there, we were driven to what I think was their "convention center" for a tour, and then had the option of returning to the ship or being dropped off in the shopping district of Ensenada. We chose shopping. Shop owners were very eager for our business and we were able to negotiate some prices. There are several bars and restaurants on the same street. The Carnival "Recommended Shops" seemed more expensive than other shops. And yes, we did encounter several children selling Chiclets gum and women with small children begging. All were very persistent. If you give money to one, you are swarmed by several others. We never could find the shuttle back to the ship or even a taxi, so we walked back (about 10 minutes). You must pass thru a security screening to embark; x-ray for packages and a metal detector, and show S&S card and ID.

The debarkation information in the Mikado lounge was not like the reviews I read. No offensive solicitations for extra tips, no cheesy songs or slides, etc. It was simply informational. I believe breakfast was served on debarkation day until 9 am. Room service is not available that morning. Debarkation was also easy for us due to our cabin category. Tags with debarkation numbers were delivered to our room on the last nite of the cruise. We placed these on our luggage and put the luggage outside of our room on the last nite between 9 and 11 pm. We were in the first group to debark after Immigration finally located the few stragglers required to check in with them. Their names are announced overhead. You are given a form to fill out for customs the last nite of the cruise to declare any purchases ($800 duty free per person). We handed that to someone on the way off the ship. He did not appear to read it and we were not stopped or questioned about our purchases, nor was any luggage checked. We tied colorful tags on our luggage so they were easy to spot once inside the cruise terminal. There were several attendants, but no one checked what luggage you were taking. Rows and rows of cabs wait in line for people debarking.

Overall, we enjoyed the cruise, (with the exception of the fog horn). Some reviews I read had me convinced that we would be hounded by crew members to purchase anything and everything. We didn't feel that any of the crew members were pushy with services or drinks, tho we were approached for drinks several times on deck. A simple "no thank you" worked. The same was true for the photographers. We had our pictures taken a few times, but always with the option to decline. They were displayed, but no pressure to purchase. Every crew member we encountered was friendly and helpful. Do bring a sweater or light jacket because it can be chilly on deck or even in some of the public areas. There's always a long wait for the elevators and not all elevators go to all floors. Be prepared to use the stairs. Our bill at the end of the cruise was $250 total which included drinks, shore excursions, and on board purchases.