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Love a Small Ship! 

Monaco (Monte Carlo)

I purchased pix from one of the dinner night, and received a special offer with a butterfly cards which had expire date of 9/30/22 however when I went online the offer had already expired on 3/31/22. Didn't appreciate receiving invalid promo. The pictures were great if was hard to only pick one set, but they are a bit pricey and the special promos help the value but if they are invalid that is not a good experience.

All other parts of the cruise were good, we didn't go to many of the shows since it was our first cruise we were a bit disoriented and by the time we figured everything out if was time to go.

The 3rd bed in balcony groom was a bunk bed, would have preferred a sofa bed. It was a bit tight for an over 6 foot person.

We loved our attendant at dinner she and the rest of the team were great. Getting extras and special  orders for our family.

Promo cards for pictures

Went to amber cove and grand turk for spring break.  If you go on cruises for the food this ship is definitely not for you!  The buffet breakfast was just about the same everyday.  Eggs were absolutely the worse eggs i have ever seen in my life.  The trays with the eggs had atleast a half in of water on top of them.  Previous trips on carnival were ok food wise but this one was different.  Even the pizza was very bland with little to no taste.  I almost threw up 2 nights in the ‘fancy’ dining.  They had fried country chicken on night and i thought theres no way they can mess that up…..  chicken crust was in chewable and was like eating rubber.  THE ONLY THING GOOD WAS GUYS BURGERS!  They were really good!  Food was made fresh and was the highlight of our eating.  Drinks were overpriced just a can mtn dew ran close to $4.  Also the casino was almost laughable:  Card tables had automatic shufflers and would almost bet there were not shuffling at all.  Unbelievable hits for dealers and 90% bust rate for players.  And the slots were tighter than i have ever seen.  The carnival crew was great except for 1 guy that was a arrogant someone.  Our housekeeper armando was great as well!  Amber cove was great!  Friendly people and the waterfalls were amazing.  Grand turk people we not friendly and dirty.  Margaritaville was our day there.  We though the food was going to be good but they didnt have half the menu.  Tvs hardly ever worked, even on clear days was consistently searching for signal.  We have another cruise booked on a newer ship this summer with carnival and we are optomistic it will be better.  Choose wisely

Disappointed 

I chose to sail on Carnival Elations because the cruise line is fun. This was not the case on the 5 day cruise that I took with family. The food was awful, you have a bit over 1500 or more guests on a cruise, and you put only 4-5 entrees on the buffet 1-2 meats, mash potatoes, grilled veggies that were awful and the menu never changed. The clumped rice, hard rolls. The breakfast wasn’t any better, pancakes were so rubbery I couldn’t even cut them. The main dining room brunch was a joke. The dinner was a hit or miss. The only food that were good was the tacos, but how many tacos can a girl eat. Guest started complaining about the food. Now when it came to sanitizing, they were not on top of their game. Luckily I bought my own Lysol. The bathroom never smelled like disinfectant, it smelled like urine the entire time. Let’s talk about the towels? Well the towels were so dingy as though they were not washed with bleach, my grand daughter put water on a face towel and the towel literally turned brown, you could see dirt stains on the towels. I immediately call guest services. The first show on the cruise was good, but it went down hill from there. I know that we are trying to get back to a sense of normal, but they could have offered better service. I have cruise on other ships with carnival and this one was the worst. I know a good cruise and this wasn’t what I expected on my vacation. I will not say that I won’t cruise with carnival again, but I will go back to my other cruise lines. Royal and Norwegian. I hope that they  care enough to make it a relaxing cruise. Make sure you pack your own towels, disinfectant wipes because you need it. Very disappointed ☹️

Disappointed!

Our family enjoys going on cruises and try and go every year once or twice. Except last year we had 4 canceled on us because of Covid. We have cruised Carnival most of the time. Have been on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Carnival is much more family friendly. I read the reviews for the ELATION before they dry docked her last year. WOW! Not good...OUR Service was terrific in the main dining room. Mr. Made and crew were AMAZING. The food was good and if we did not like it Made went and got something else for us. I know they need to save $$ after last year but PLEASE bring back real butter in the MDR, not the stuff you serve now. Our room this time was on Main deck and DAVID our attendant was also AMAZING, very kind and friendly and met all our needs. It was an interior this time and was one of the largest (great layout) we ever had with interior. We have had Suites, ocean view and balcony- and all have been very good. ENTERTAINMENT: we only saw one comedian and played Bingo, (always required by daughter) went to couple of games. Granddaughter had a wonderful time in Camp C...  We went to Princess Cay and was wonderful. Food was NOT good- even the burgers were black because were all burned and they wanted us to eat them- NOT!!. Food at Tiffany's is not very good either. We ordered room service twice and the service was good but the sandwiches were cold both times. But the Fries were at least warm so they were edible so we knew they let sandwiches set. GUY'S burger is the place for lunch. Our only complaint AND IT IS NOT CARNIVAL'S FAULT. We have gone to the Blue Lagoon excursion four times prior so wanted to go again-it's beautiful. When we got their we were made to walk to other side of Island to the Ocean side that is NOTHING but full of rocks. Many complaints and we were told that all the beautiful spots at the Lagoon were sectioned off for other Cruise Lines and we were not allowed their. WILL NEVER GO BACK, makes no sense- WE had a great time on our cruise. On way back Ship did Rock A lot- did not like that- Yes we will certainly be back on Carnival as soon as we can.

Great Time!

I chose this cruise because it was zero dollars and I just had to pay port fees. The food on board was not appetizing. The buffet had a small selection of choices. Desserts tasted like they had just been taken out of the refrigerator. There wasn't much to do on the cruise. The excursion to Amber cove was a bore and the food there wasn't good either. Bathroom in the room always smelled horrible and like it hadn't been disinfected in months. Even after using lysol I brought with me it still smelled. Towels were dirty. The only good part of this cruise was Grand Turk. That is a beautiful place. I would not cruise on the elation again. I have never been as bored and ready to go home as I was on this ship. The staff is nice and friendly though. I'm glad the cruise was 0 dollars because I would have felt that I wasted my money.

Not what I was Expecting

This is our third time to sail on Elation. It’s the oldest and smallest ship in the Carnival fleet. This is our 18th cruise and we’ve been on the largest and smallest ships and might like the Elation the best due to its small size (less walking) and the outdoor eating area in the buffet. Yes, it’s got some rusty spots but as we’ve learned the only difference in the largest and smallest ships is more of the same. We were in a suite and it was roomy and had a nice soaking tub, great shower and regular sized balcony. We visited Amber Cay Dominican Republic and Grand Turk. Not much in Amber Cay so we just toured around on our own and got back on ship. In Grand Turk we rented a golf cart and toured the whole island stopping at beaches and other sights along the way. Take something to drink with you! Covid had shut down many of the small places to stop and get a meal or drink that we had visited on prior trips. The staff on the ship was great and we had much fun in the dining room each night.

We wanted a five day cruise on Carnival leaving out of Cape Canaveral in January. We booked in early November, so the new stricter vaccination protocols hadn’t started yet. Carnival was in constant communication with us regarding their requirements, I am very thankful for that. 

The ship although somewhat older, was pristine, everyone wearing masks, and the crew was so kind and professional as they always are. Ship attendance was down, but no complaints on getting an open deck chair anytime! The room steward’s, wait staff and bar staff were amazing. The shipboard musical entertainment wasn’t up to the usual quality, but trivia and the comedy shows were excellent. 

The food was okay, some desserts were not particularly good, but the entrees made up for that. 

It was a great trip, easy on and off the ship. Although not the best of times for some to consider a cruise. I would certainly do it again.

An older ship with an incredible crew!

This was our first Carnival cruise and it did not meet our expectations.  Several areas were done well but as our title says, there was a lot of room for improvement.  We had a lot of fun but our expectations was that Carnival as FUN, FUN, FUN & we did not see that.

Paully (Cruise Director) & his team were awesome!!  The Love & Marriage show was very funny & the contestants were easy to root for.  We enjoyed the trivia, bingo, & adult 2 lies/1 truth shows.  While the Fun Squad was awesome, the venues or mechanics of the games need to be reviewed. The trivia was at the Drama Bar which is some seating in a Major walkway next to the casino.  Whenever the casino is open, all you can hear is the creepy clown & carnival music from the casino games.  If your playing trivia, you would like to hear the questions.  There also were several times when a trivia question had more than 1 answer & they only took what was on their answer sheet.  There were several open venues available to have these activities in instead. 

We played bingo 4 times & enjoyed it even though we didn’t win.  The prizes were much bigger than we anticipated & they could have made them smaller low cost prizes (free bubbles package, internet, specialty dining, etc) while charging less & having more winners.   The music trivia was very rushed & could have been more of a dance party instead of hurry up & get to the next activity.  

We spent 3 nights at the piano bar & really enjoyed it.  

The nightly entertainment was very poor & brought the entertainment rating down from a four to a two.  I’ve seen several high school productions that were much better than these shows.  We went to the Divas & Rock shows.  The production & overall entertainment was not good.  After the first three Rock songs I didn’t know, we left.  I’ve listened to rock music all my life, so I was very disappointed.  We left & went to them piano bar & the rock songs there were much better!

I gave the overall dining experience a 3 rating even though the food was tasteless & bland.  The service in the main dining room was excellent if you sit on the left or odd numbered side.  If on the right or even numbered side expect 2 hour service because they want to serve everyone at once instead of as soon as you are ready.  We had the unlucky opportunity to eat on that side for the sea day brunch.  We left after 90 minutes & took our dessert to go.  It was 45 minutes before we had any food brought to us which made us miss one of our trivia times.  Completely unacceptable & a waste of our time.  Over the course of the cruise we found items that were good (salmon & bagels for breakfast) but the consistency overall was very poor.  We learned to order more than one appetizer or dessert because of the poor quality & inconsistency of the food.  The Carnival Lava Cake was my go to dessert. I ordered it 5 times, one was excellent, 2 were runny, & 2 were over cooked.  Guys burgers & the taco bar was okay.  The best breakfast is the omelette bar on the lido deck.  We wished we found it before day 4 of the trip.

We enjoyed sunset in the hot tubs on the serenity deck (adults only) on 3 evenings.  The best was when we left Amber Cove & saw the island float away behind us as the sunset was on our right.

My wife broke her ankle before we left & had mobility challenges so we didn’t leave the ship when in port. The hot tubs & pool are not handicap accessible.  The hot tubs have four steps up to the entry and then three steps down into the water.  She chose to crawl into & out of the water to enjoy this part of the cruise.  She also had mobility challenges in the public restrooms with the location of dryers in relation to the sink. 

We asked several other cruisers why they go on carnival & no one was able to give us a clear reason. Our first cruise was on Royal Caribbean & so will our next one.  We thought Carnival would be more fun & it was not.

Fun time but lots of improvement possible

The Elation was renovated in 2017. The ship is beautiful. We stayed in extended balcony cabin. The room was very nice, comfortable and everything worked perfectly. This ship is smaller compared to the newer ones yet it offered excellent service throughout. The food was very good even though the choices are somewhat limited. No Crème Brule. We selected formal dinning this time. The dinning venues are quite nice even though they are not elegant at all. The tables and chairs are basic and something you would find in a fancy cafeteria. We changed our dinning assigned table to a table for two. They try to cram everyone next to everyone leaving social distancing out the window. Staff was very attentive and friendly. One thing that we noticed was very few restrooms in the public areas. The satellite signal was poor and barely worked most of the trip. The bars would fill when a game was on, but the signal would last 2 to 3 minutes and not come back for 30 minutes. The bars would empty. There was plenty of cowboy music, oldies and Trivia. Since this ship does not have an outdoor screen the movies were shown in the theatre or lounge. All of the movies were oldies. TV channels were limited and outside of Carnival information channels and the free movie channels (2 of them) none of the others ever worked once we left port Canaveral. The Lido deck and Tiffany marketplace was very nice. Buffets were small and limited offerings but what they did offer was very good. The buffet was open until 9:30pm but the Deli was open until 11pm. Pizza was always open 24/7. There are 2 ice cream stations which was nice. In the marketplace there is a bar (unusual) and it has 4 big TV's to watch at one end. I liked this setup. Best place to eat was Blue Iguana and Guys burger during the daytime. Breakfast at Blue Iguana is an excellent choice. Pool is rather small. For those with Gold and up, get your free 2 bottled water at the bars and the free pin at the photo shop. Casino was very modern. Mikado main show lounge was very nice but poorly designed as far as seating is concerned. There were seating areas for large groups which was very nice. The seats were comfortable. Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic was very nice. You can walk to the resort free pool. Beautiful and very large. Bimini was beautiful. A tram takes you to the beach (free). The beach is very clean, crystal clear water. There is security everywhere. The entertainment shows were excellent. The singers are some of the best we have heard and we have sailed on more than 20 cruises. All in all the Elation was worth it. The prices are low and a great choice for those who want to enjoy good food, have a great time and just relax on a more conventional ship this is it. The Carnival Hub app always worked. Download it before getting onboard. This is a more conventional ship compared to the modern ones. Cabins open by inserting your sail card. With COVID restrictions limiting capacity, now is the time to cruise and enjoy with a lot less people.

Great Cruise On Older Ship

The first evening at dining I had asked for a Caesar salad they bring me a salad with anchovie sauce!!! Then later that night I had turned on the faucet yellow water was coming out. I decided to go to dining waiting a half hour before my appetizer even comes! Then to top it off they don't social distance some people were wearing masks as other DIDNT CARE!!!When we were on the elevator we had seen a mask there on the ground went to dinner when we came back the mask was still on the ground! When we arrived at our first destination which was amber cove everyone was in the hallway waiting to get off the ship NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE was social distancing and we all waited for a good 20min!!! My fiance needed a wheelchair because of his disability and wanted to charge him 185.00!!! Needless to say they do not care if your disabled or not!!!

old ship needs to be scrubbed

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