Carnival Elation Review
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We were cruising for our anniversary for the second time. The first was on the Monarch of the Seas(RCI) two years ago. We lucked into the cruise due to my sister buying a vacation club and then be relocated to Alaska. She wasn't able to use her points so we used them to book our cruise.
We booked the OV guaranteed rooms and ended up on the Aft of the Empress Deck. The rates for the OV guaranteed were only $30 more than than the Inside Guaranteed. It was nice having the window as we could tell when the sun was up. Our previous cruise we were in an inside cabin and it was like being in a cave.
Embarkation-Embarkation was smooth.We arrived in New Orleans at around 11:45. We parked at the Fulton Place parking as it was $12 a night. There was a free shuttle that dropped us off at the port. It was actually close enough that walking wouldn't be out of the question. We were on the boat and in the buffet enjoying lunch in about 30 minutes or leaving the shuttle.
Cabin Review
Ocean View
The room was plenty spacious for the two of us. The view is out the back of the ship. There is enough space in the window for my 190 lb. self to sit comfortably. The bed was comfortable. My wife did request a pad and extra pillow which was promptly added. Our steward Mal was excellent. The room was always cleaned with fresh towels. There were of course the obligatory towel animals and chocolates on the pillows every night. If you don't bring an alarm clock you can get a wake-up call which arrived as scheduled every morning.
The closets were a little on the small side. Being on the end of the ship there was no noise from people walking through the halls. The engine noise was not much more noticeable than from other cabins about mid-ship and back. If anything the hum of the engine was conducive to sleep. Coming in and out or port there was some noise but it wasn't isolated to the area we were in. If you have ever cruised before you know what I am talking about.
The bathroom was small. There was shampoo and body wash in a dispenser on the bathroom wall. There were also samples of shampoo, toothpaste, and breathe right strips in the medicine cabinet above the sink.
Definitely bring a power strip as there is only one plug. The TV was archaic but we didn't come for the TV. The only complaint about the room was the water temp in the shower. It would fluctuate wildly from hot to cold at any given second.