Carnival Elation Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,134 reviews

Perfect ship for a first-time cruiser

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Elation
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emcofield
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Sep 2018
Cabin: Balcony
Traveled with children

We chose this ship mainly for the price point and the itinerary. It was our first cruise, and a lot of the recent reviews were making me very nervous about this ship. But we found it to be perfect. Yes, it's a smaller ship. But for us, that was great-- fewer people meant fewer lines, and a smaller ship meant we were able to find everything easily. The staff was friendly, and so was everyone we met on the ship. We had a perfect cruise, even without the "frills" the bigger ships offer. This ship still has blue iguana (those tacos are AMAZING) and guy's burger joint (very good), and it has lots of areas for nightlife-- there were 3 separate shows to see (Epic Rock was great), a piano bar (Laura is awesome), dance clubs, trivia games, live music in several places around the ship, and of course, pizza and ice cream whenever you wanted it. One liked to sit on the balcony and look at the stars, one liked to head to ALL the entertainment and games and play and interact with the cruise director and the staff, and one enjoyed the ability to have no schedule at all and just lay around the pool soaking up the sun. Nassau was busy-- we didn't spend much time in port since we had an excursion scheduled. Half moon cay was absolute perfection. Prettiest beach we've ever seen. We had a great time and everyone is already asking me to plan another cruise.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8D

Our balcony was a great place to unwind a little after being in the sun. Two chairs are there and they look the same but one actually lays back-- which was nice to do and listen to the waves and read. The room was always clean (Wayan is great!) and we found it to be sized perfectly for two people. Shower is smaller than one at home, but about the same size as you find in hotel rooms overseas.

Port Reviews

Jacksonville

Embarkation flowed smoothly. We had a check-in time of 12:00-12:30, but accidentally arrived early at about 11. We did not purchase faster to the fun, and we were on the ship by our expected arrival time. Just a few lines, nothing crazy-- I've waited in longer lines for a 5 minute roller coaster ride, so this was no big deal. Porters were friendly and we did tip, but they certainly didn't request it or act like they required it.

Half Moon Cay

This was the nicest beach we've ever been to. Sugar white sand, crystal clear turquoise water, a cook out buffet with lots of choices and options, and plenty of chairs for everyone. We spent most of the day bobbing around in the water. We didn't rent any equipment or floats, and it ended up being a really cheap day for us!

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