I bid and won this cruise from an online agency because we have used this agency 2 times before and are very pleased with the service and email response. This particular cruise, the agency had a plate full of designer chocolate delivered to our cabin and the next day, a bottle of champaign (sp).

The embarkation was not handled too badly and we arrived in our stateroom quickly after testing the buffet. So far so good. Then came the meals-Swill. A fellow passenger was ill one full day with vomiting/diarrhea, another passenger said he'd never put so much into his mouth and taken out so much from his mouth in so short a time and that if this was a restaurant, he'd never return. We found the food to be particularly bad as compared to other cruises that we have been on. Many leftovers were used and understandable since this is one area that one can save a lot of money with. But, even the filets that were prepared were tough. Most other ships had the herbal tea set out for consumption but on the Elation one had to ask for a bag of tea. (Regular Lipton teas were by the coffee maker for passenger pickup) When my wife asked for a herbal tea from one of the busgirls, she promptly got it for her and handed it to her with the plastic gloves still on after scraping plates. I noted that the inside handle and surrounding door area in the pizza prep area was filthy from being opened and closed. It had what looked like grease and soil from staff entering and exiting the pizza prep area.

Never met our cabin steward until the last full sea day. Children were stomping up and down the halls, slamming doors and waking us several times during the night. We were GLAD to disembark, now the wife never wants to cruise again. The food is one MAJOR reason to cruise but on this cruise it was like being at a 2nd class truck sop on some highway in Wyoming. Read more