Carnival Elation Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,134 reviews

Carnival Elation - Okay for the price, not perfect

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Elation
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Doremimi
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jul 2011
Cabin: Ocean View
Traveled with children

My husband and I stayed in an oceanview stateroom with our two sons, aged 13 and 15. Our overall cruise experience was fine. We had a wonderful time, and our kids can't wait to go back, although next time we may try a different cruise line. I think that one of the reasons our experience was so enjoyable was the fact that we chose to look at everything with a positive attitude - we were determined to have fun, so we did. There were definitely aspects of our cruise experience that were less than satisfactory, and often required a good sense of humor.

By far the worst part of my experience was Spa Carnival. I had decided I wanted a full-body massage on one of the days at sea, so I looked on their website to see what my choices were. In the massage category, choices were extremely limited, and a simple massage was not on the list. The only way I could get the massage I wanted was to combine it with a seaweed wrap for $269 - not what I wanted, but it seemed to be the only way to get a massage, so I booked it for the first full day onboard. I thought about waiting until I boarded to see if there were more choices but feared they would be booked up if I waited. On the day of my appointment, a flyer was placed in our room advertising all sorts of much less-expensive spa treatments that were closer to what I wanted, but it was too late to cancel without being charged half of the price. I actually enjoyed the treatment, but when it was over, the masseuse proceeded to subject me to a lengthy high-pressure campaign to sell me nearly $400 worth of products I didn't want, but that she insisted I simply had to have or my seaweed treatment would be useless. It took me forever to convince her that I couldn't afford what she was selling (nor did I want any of it), and finally I bought a $60 product just to get out of there. It was extremely upsetting and stressful, which pretty much defeated the purpose of getting a massage in the first place.

Then she pointed out to me that unlike most of the services onboard, spa treatment tips are not included, so I tipped her $20. Altogether, my spa "experience" cost me $350, and all I wanted was a massage, which I could have gotten for $139 if I had waited and booked after I boarded (or $80 if I just waited until I got home). Even worse, the specials for the last day onboard were even cheaper, but by then my feelings about the spa were so sour, I didn't want to set foot in the place again. Note to self: Next time, when the masseuse goes to leave the room for me to dress, I will say, "By the way, thank you for the massage, but if you walk back in here with any products, not only will I not buy anything, I also will not tip you. If you don't try to sell me anything, not only will I tip, but I will schedule another massage for later in the week and you'll get another tip. Have a nice day."

Cabin Review

Ocean View

Cabin 6B

Placement of bunks made for a very painful vacation. If I had a dime for every time someone in our family smacked their head on the wooden frame of one of the bunks, I could afford another cruise. Disney solves this problem by placing the two bunks on the same wall, like real bunk beds, and they don't put bunks over the heads of the people sleeping in the main bed, so they don't even have room to sit up in bed.

Otherwise, fairly good use of space in terms of closet and shelves.

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