Cruising on the Elation was a nice way to start our Wisconsin winter escape. We have been on several Royal Caribbean cruises and two Norwegian cruises (one the week after the Elation), but this was our first Carnival Cruise. I read the reviews and knew this was an older, smaller ship, but we found everything in good repair and the ship comfortably delivered us to warm weather, which was our number 1 priority.

Common areas were attractive and not overly crowded. Hot tub space was at a premium. We did manage to find a spot in one on the serenity deck during sail away and it was a great place to enjoy the sunset. The serenity deck was nice, but rather small, and it did fill up. There were frequently some hot tubs closed, but I guess I could see why they needed to close and clean them and adjust chemicals with the heavy use. We went to use one on the serenity deck after dinner one night and it had a lot of scummy foam on it.

We had cabin R3, which has two portholes for the price of an inside. The room was quite large, but needed more furniture. There was room for a loveseat where a lonely small backless chair sat. The bathroom was good sized and the shower was great. The bed was a little firm for us and we received the requested extra padding. Carnival still leaves little chocolates on the pillows at night. You will not need an alarm clock on port days in this cabin, as the engine noise during docking and sailing away is loud! I only saw our room steward briefly in the hall the first day, but our room was always made up when we came back from breakfast and dinner, so I felt his service was excellent. Read more