Embarkation and disembarkation was very easy..I would recommend FTTF.. Cabin and luggage were ready when you board.. The ship was beautifully maintained.The cabin was very cozy,comfy bed.Our steward Gusti kept the room clean.Cam the cruise director was awesome, he was very entertaining and energetic..Enjoyed the game shows,fun squad had lots of energy as well..There was a variety of places to eat..So many activities to choose from.. Trivia,karaoke,comedy shows.etc.. Ports were easy on and off.Freeport is mostly industrial so I'd recommend doing an excursion. We did The Grand Bahama tour,the bus driver Warren G and guide Keno made the tour fun, gave us history about the island went to Taino Beach as part of the tour and it was very beautiful,Lucaya market was great,enjoyed the conch fritters.. We didn't do any excursions in Nassau, We walked the straw market,queens staircase and fort fin castle.. the locals were very friendly.. Beautiful blue water,great food.. I would definitely do this cruise again and highly recommend as well.. Read Less

Would never recommend to anyone to take this cruise. The ship is clean, but worn. The rooms are fine for a quick three day cruise. The staff was friendly and kept things cleaned and replenished. They only do room service once a day, but for a short trip that was ok. We opted for mornings. The food was mediocre. They didn’t change the buffet offerings. They did have a Mandorin, pizza, bbq and burger station, but with the exception of the pizza station (another story), they closed at 5-6pm for the evening. Then your only food option was the buffet or dining hall. All day you could get pizza, however it was small 10” personal pizzas made in small quantities, and cut in half. Kind of made to order, but really slow, and had long lines. Their drinks are expensive, and they add a gratuity to each drink. Depending on your drinking habits the package CHEERS, maybe a better deal. We didn’t purchase but we’re way under had we purchased. They make both people in a room buy it, and if one doesn’t drink, you’re screwed. Embarking went well, and organized, however disembarking has a lot of room for improvement. They made provisions for wheeled chair people, but people with canes were pretty much on their own. We finally asked because two members of our party couldn’t walk the distance and a staff person cut us in line. There were lots of groups, wedding parties, bachelor groups, and mostly was an under 40 crowd. They do have an adult only area which we discovered on the day of the Bahamas, so we stayed on ship and enjoyed the area. They have a huge bottled water in your room and charge $3:95 to use it. That’s pathetic. Bottled water is so cheap, they should be giving them to each room. The band Blue Wave was very good. They are almost too talented for this ship, they were very entertaining. The first day out to sea they had dancing on the pool deck, they shot off streamers which went up and into the ocean. I was pretty appalled by that. That is an unnecessary activity. Personally this is one of the worst cruises I’ve ever been on. It was just a three day get away, but next time I will go on another line. Read Less

The cruise was so much fun! There was a big group of family and the staff was very accommodating! We had so much fun! Harold my room attendant was so nice and helpful!! Hong our waiter was funny and very sweet to us! Definitely made my vacation so awesome ! I will never forget this great experience! Room was clean and ship ride was smooth!! I would definitely do this again!!!! This was my first cruise and I was very happy with the whole experience. My family and I had such a great time spending the time together. The food was awesome!! Couldnt get eneough of the guys burgers!!! Everything was delicious!!! Rooms were stocked with towels and the animals made out of towels were a fun touch! Slept really well on the comfy beds!! Asked for extra pillows and got them! Me and my family are definitely considering another cruise vacation in the future! Read Less

Restaurants: Food was horrible. The Buffet(s) was closed almost every time I went to it (5:15pm, 7:15am, 6pm, normal times) The Guy's burgers were good but the rest sucked. I ate soft ice cream with a fork, got served a warm coke with 4 ice cubes, I had a flat iron steak that was as tough and tasted like a boot sole, the service was atrocious and I waited well over an hour in the dinning room for pasta which tasted like it was prepared 2 weeks earlier from a can. Bars: they close early so there's no way to get 15 drinks from you Cheers Package, there's not enough time in the day. You have an 18% gratuity included but if you don't tip, they aren't coming back. The Casino Bar stays open late but it's tiny and the only bar open so it takes even longer to get a drink. Shows: I'm not big on shows but most people we talked to liked them generally. Princess Cays, Nice, beautiful, same crew as the ship so service was bad and we had to pay for all drinks and tips and the lunch was long line and dry hamburger (1). Ship: Nice weather and smooth till we headed home and with a 60 mph wind we go tossed around. Boarding and Debarkation was fairly easy. I will never, ever, never set foot on the Carnival Ecstasy again, Read Less

Going to list the overall cruise in sections: 1. Day 1 (Disembark) – Cruise launch was great no complaints. 2. Day 2 (Fun At Sea) – Nothing to say about this day. 3. Day 3 (Half Moon Cape) - I woke up by a loud banging and power drill noise from Deck 0 where the ship crew stay around 7 – 7:30 AM in the morning and continued throughout the day. Dismissed it because we had a good time Half-Moon Cape. Went to the service desk kiosk to check our sail & sign cards balance for our cabin and found a unannounced “Gratitude” fee for each person in the room which came out to $108 dollars. Talked with the service desk crew in this order: 1. First person we talked to mentioned that we had to pay this because the whole crew gets this tip (not true) for services rendered. 2. Second and last person helped us remove the charge entirely from our cabin. This shouldn’t take two attempts to remove this charge including if you’re already tipping the crew via cash already. 4. Day 4 (Nassau) – My wife and myself were both woke up by the loud bagging around 6:30 AM and I was not happy with this. Called room service about it and they said they will investigate it. Within a couple of minutes, I hear the intercom go off about two or three times for only the crew to hear without waking up all the guests on the ship and the noise stopped. Few minutes after that the room service manager came to the door wanted to investigate the room for the noise, told her that it already stopped and asked her if she called somebody about it because after a few minutes I got off the phone with her the noise stopped. She didn’t answer my question and said “Sir, it’s impossible for the crew to be working at 6:30 AM because they start working at 8 AM” and left which made me very not happy. Some time in the afternoon she called us back and said she was sorry about what we went through and gave us six $10 coupons for buying drinks which was nice, so we let it go. Nassau was a big disappointment since it’s all about shopping here or going to the amusement water park so didn’t have much relaxation or fun on this one. 5. Day 5 (Miami) – At 5:45 AM we got the loud noise once again which woke us up yet again. My wife was very angry and started stomping on the floor to make them stop which they did for a bit, but they started again in short multiple bursts so we couldn’t sleep at all. Got off the ship very tired. Overall – It was fun for a couple of days up to the Half Moon Cape but after that it was poor experience. Also, Randy Rose (Director of Entertainment) really needs to not reuse the same songs\ dancing routines in the Disembark Party & Nassau - Mega party…FYI…CHANGE IT UP. Another advise Randy, don’t dance in front of the guests while they’re getting off the ship on the last day from the long trip, the rest of the crew is maintaining a professional atmosphere saying goodbye to everyone except for yourself. COME ON! Read Less

We chose this cruise because it was the Music City Concert Cruise. We didn't care which ports we were visiting because for us it was all about the concerts we were going to hear. It started from the beginning - with embarkation. Due to an accident on the roadway we did not arrive at the ship until after 2:00pm. We had to carry all our luggage on ourselves. Thankfully we were able to go directly to the cabin and leave the luggage. The cabin was just about what we expected for an inside cabin. The carpet needed to be replaced as it was very stained and dirty. We went up to the Lido deck to have some lunch. The buffet was completely closed as was every other place to get any lunch. The only place with any food was the pizza place - with a line wrapped around the pool. You didn't get to order what you wanted - you took whatever came out of the oven next! This ship is OLD, very dark and extremely dated. I couldn't decided if the windows were extremely dirty or just so old they were marked. There was lots of heavy dark metal scroll work and the colors were terrible. Areas of the ship smelled of mold and sewer. This smell never did go away - it was there day after day. I felt sorry for the passengers who had cabins in that area of the ship. The service was very good. It seemed that all the staff went out of their way to try to please because they knew the ship was so bad. They all worked very hard to make sure we had everything we needed or wanted. The food in the dining room was surprisingly good. There were not a lot of dessert choices, but the chocolate molten cake was amazing! Also, the steakhouse was beyond great - the shrimp in the shrimp cocktail were huge. We had the 9 oz filet and it was grilled to perfection. The cheese cake was soooo good and was huge!! There was enough to feed four people. We did not engage in any of the activities on board as we were attending the concerts. Also, we only went to the "Love and Marriage" show - which we left. I understand this was for "mature" audiences however, simulating sex acts on stage is inappropriate for any age. We understand that Carnival is the "party" cruise line but again no class at all. We did not leave the ship as we had just been in Nassau in October and it was to cool for us to do any water type activities while at the island. Will think long and hard before going on another Carnival cruise. Maybe in a year and on a larger, newer, ship. Read Less

Overall cruise was grate ...this is our first cruise with carnival and we had a blast... of course everything was not going to Be perfect, NoNo our cruise director was awesome she definitely keep me entertained.. as Long as she was apart of the events we where there outstanding job NoNo!!!’ Looking Forward to cruising with you again!!! We where looking forward to Princess cay, was not what We imagined the food was cold and I was not entertained.. but I am glad I experienced it so I know What not to do... once again thanks to NoNo and her crew for keeping us entertained while, our stateroom was lovely we had some awesome time on the Balcony we had a lot view, a day at see was jus relaxing Serenity area was just peaceful and beautifully we are very pleased with our trip everything flows grate from getting on coming off... Once again thanks NoNo for a wonderful experience!!! Read Less

My 5-Night cruise aboard Carnival's Elation from Jacksonville, FL to the Bahamas accomplished my primary goal: relaxation. This was my first Carnival cruise, my first cruise out of Jacksonville, FL, and my first Solo cruise! I was impressed with Carnival and would go on them again. The Jaxport was easy to get to and embarkation/debarkation easy. And Solo-cruising...what's not to like? I got to do what I want, when I want! All I want to do on cruises is find a lounge chair near a pool and hot tub, and rotate reading to swimming, back to reading, then to Hot tub, repeat. Most days on this cruise, you could find me up on deck reading, but no pool/hot tub time; they kept draining the pool in the day and refilling it that night and the heaters on for the hot tubs didn't work (and no staff could explain why). It was a little cooler than my usual January cruises, but the sun was warm! BUT the Elation is the PERFECT size ship! It's older, but refurbished, with everything within an easy walk! Lots of nightclubs and bars, great nightly entertainment in the theater, two comedians, deck parties, informal food stations (the BEST hamburgers were from Guy Fiero's!!!) and good food (not great like RCL, but pretty good). My Inside Cabin was the biggest I've had in years; newer, larger ships keep reducing the cabin sizes. Very comfortable and great service by attendant, Joey. I didn't pick its location, my cabin was "to be assigned" and it was perfect location, mid-ship. First day onboard, I treated myself to a "Hot Stone Massage" by Tavia in the Spa, whose magical hands released so much tension and stress from my body! Even the bottoms of my feet felt better after her massage with the hot stones! It was so good, I treated myself to a second treatment on our last full day by Tavia again to release any further remaining tension before I returned to work on Monday! All in all, a great cruise and I would go "solo" again! Nothing more freeing than being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want! LOL! Read Less

The Elation has been kept up beautifully and she doesn't show her age. New carpeting, paint, and loving care has done wonders to keep her in her original 'glory days' condition. I booked last minute and was able to snag the last available cabin, which happened to be an ocean view on the Riviera Deck, aft, port side, just above the water level; it was fresh, roomy, plenty of storage, and even a fridge! Nice size shower with good water pressure and really hot water! The food offered at the Lido buffet was always a treat, with a nice variety, and beautiful desserts; no waiting in line during the 'off' hours. Other dining options included at no extra charge are the main dining room for sit-down-service, a burger place,a pizza place, burrito bar, and an in room service menu. There is steak-and-lobster offered in the dining room for a minimal cost, and sushi is available for purchase on the 9th deck. There is always something going on around the ship, and it's always fun to try something new. The shows in the main theater were top notch talent, accompanied by fun music, and stunning special effects. The casino is always a fun option, and cocktails are avail for purchase just about everywhere. (I attended some of the raffles, which offer free mimosas!) The service was great everywhere, the entire crew was always friendly, but not intrusive. Half moon Cay is indeed a paradise for those craving beach activities, as easy or as strenuous as desired. Nassau is the place to buy souvenirs, and $4.00 buys a taxi ride to the beautiful Paradise Island where the Atlantis Resort has made certain areas available to the public at no charge, and other areas are available for a fee. Their casino is open 24 hours, and there is no charge to the general public to stroll through, or try your luck! Having cruised over 40 times and on many different lines and ships, I find Elation to be one of my favorite for a short cruise. There are bigger ships, and newer ships, but Elation never ceases to amaze me. Read Less

This cruise was booked last minute. We decided to sail out of Charleston SC for the first time. Usually sail out of Baltimore or one of the Florida ports but decided to try Charleston as it was only a 2 hour drive from home. Was a little concerned after reading reviews of the port and the ship. Have sailed on this class ship before so we were somewhat familiar. We arrived at the port at our assigned time of 1130 and there were no lines. Dropped off our luggage and got into the pay to park line.This line seemed very unorganized. the people taking your credit card just kind of walked around complaining about there job.Thankfully the lines were short. Were directed to the parking lot took the shuttle to the terminal. Have to say this the crappiest port I'll ever sailed out of.The area looks like it should be condemned.What an eyesore. Check in was easy and fast and we were soon on the ship having lunch. Went directly to Guys Burgers,and had a great burger and then to the pizza place. Pretty good pizza.The deli also had good sandwiches. By this time the buffet was getting very crowded so we left. Most of the cruise we could not find a seat in the buffet. The weather did not cooperate as was cold except the one day in Nassau.Went one time to the dining room for the Sea day brunch. This is 95 % breakfast and 5% lunch. Not a lot of variety there and if you are hungry just order 2 of everything because the portions are very small. Never went back for brunch! Had anytime dining for dinner never had to wait. Service in dining room was ok. The food was kind of hit or miss.Our cabin was a basic outside cabin and we had enough room. The cabin guy did a good job.Shows were ok and the comedy shows were great. Did self walk off and were driving home at 8 oclock. Bottom line if you are looking for a cheap no frills cruise this is it. I will give the Carnival Sunshine a try when she arrives in Charleston later this year. Every one seems excited about that. Just remember you get what you pay for. Read Less