This was a family cruise with our four teens and mother who is in her 70's. We were looking for a relaxing vacation for everyone and this fit the bill. We shared 3 inside cabins and had no issues with any of these. Wife and I took a Holland America Alaska cruise in August so it was good to compare the two.

The Elation exceeded the HAL ship in the FUN category. There were more fun events, fun atmosphere, fun cruise staff, fun dance and nightclub scene. Carnival really does have the fun ships. In most other areas the HAL ship was better, including overall service level, food quality, and general organization. The Elation had more lines - waiting in the Lido for lunch, waiting for dinners seating was 10-30 minutes for "Your way" dining, waiting in lines to board the ship. All this didn't create a bad experience, but we did notice the difference while on our HAL cruise.

Service was good but not great. One night we felt like an afterthought to our waiter in the dining room. Our service was much slower than other nearby tables. Service was good the rest of the trip. Read more