Carnival Cruise Lines - Elation Review

The Elation is part of the Carnival cruise line. Carnival links the words "The Fun Ships" to it name, trying to connect that concept in our minds. While this may have appealed to me at one time, it really isn't what I look for in a cruise these days. I was a bit worried the cruise wasn't for my family but it was such a good deal I went ahead and booked it! Some of my fears were justified but all in all we still enjoyed ourselves.

All areas are rated 1-5 stars

 Cabins ***

The Elation's rooms are a bit larger than most lines which is a nice bonus when traveling with children. We had two rooms on the Empress deck which is on the 7th floor. Our rooms were almost smack in the center of the ship which is my favorite place to be because you get less motion there. This turned out important on this trip because, despite her size, this ship had a couple days with A LOT of movement.

Our rooms were both quads, meaning they slept four. We had two regular twin beds (my husbands and mine were pushed together) as well as two Murphy like upper bunks. These were easily manipulated with a small rail on the outside. They had ladders, which were stored (in the closet) when the beds were up.

Dining ***

The Elation follows traditional dinning, which means all of the passengers are assigned a specific table in a specific restaurant at a specific time. Usually, there are two choices, one early seating and one late. On the Elation, there are four: two early (5:45 and 6:15 p.m.) and two late (8 and 8:30 P.M.) in their two dinning rooms. We had the 5:45 pm seating in the Inspiration restaurant which was early for us. We sat at a table for 10 with a single mom and her two great kids who were the same age as my two youngest and so that was nice. The food was fine - nothing great, nothing horrible.

There is also a buffet (Tiffany's) that is open for all three meals and of course 24 hour room service, for the price of a tip. Breakfast and lunch are served in your perspective dinning room with open seating along with the grill out by the pool. A lot of repetition with limited choices available

For in between eating there was tea served with sweets daily at 3:30 and the Sushi Bar which opened nightly from 6-8 with a limited selection. My kids all soon fell in love with both the 24 hour pizza bar and 24 hour ice cream station!

Entertainment *

Honestly, nothing stands out on the Elations entertainment! They had a decent comedian but sadly, their cast acts were no better than a high school production! There were multiple places for late night music ranging from a single piano to a disco. They have a lot of LOUD announcements and even more sophomoric activities like the Hairiest chest contest where a blindfolded woman does the judging. This is NOT a cruise for passengers wanting to have a relaxed, laid back vacation!

Toddlers *** School Age **** Teens ***

The Elation's kids club is called Camp Carnival and is available for ages 3-16. It is divided into four age groups - 3-5, 6-8, 9-11 and 12-15. The first two groups are signed in by an adult who is given a beeper while the older two groups can sign for themselves.

The kids have an amazing 2,500-square-foot play area with climbing mazes, a computer lab and a 16 monitor video wall showing popular shows and cartoons. There is a children's wadding pool with a small slide and for the older kids there is a 114 feet water slide into the pool on the Lido deck.

You are given a daily list of activities so the kids cans pick which ones they want to attend. Most of the activities are free but there are some they charge for. The two we paid for were build a bear and the "stay up party" where the kids were watched from 9PM to 3AM and the ones who stayed awake got a metal and mine wore it off the ship LOL On the last day, all the children got a Carnival Beach Bag and T-shirt from their counselors.

Adults **

The Casino always seemed to have a lot of people. We went a few times and came out about even. They had tournaments going all the time.

The Elation's pool were always packed, which is fine as all of my kids hate the salt water. It stings your body and really hurts when it gets in your eyes. The fitness area was okay and seldom had more than 1/3 of the machines in use.

Like most hot weather cruises, the majority of passengers veg out around the pool. This often leads to drinking around the pool and on Elation, this was really true! There was a large group younger, louder passengers who became louder as the day wore on! This is not a cruise for those wanting peace and quiet!

There are some great crew members on the Elation but there are more that make no effort to smile or even seem pleasant. And the cruise director appeared to have more caffine than the rest of the ship! Carnival recommends $5.50 to your headwaiter, $1 to your assistant waiter and $3.50 to the cabin steward per person, per day.

Overall **

While the Elation has a nice kids program, they seem to draw in a more rowdy crowd. If you want a low cost cruise with over the top décor where you can be loud, rude (smoke on both sides of the ship) an leave your brain at home, then this is the ship for you!

The 3rd and 4th person (in the same cabin) are always a terrific deal!