Carnival Elation Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,134 reviews

Worst Cruise Ever!!

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Elation
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Liz-Sem
2-5 Cruises • Age 30s

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Sail Date: Jan 2020
Cabin: Ocean View

My two best friends and I planned a Birthday trip for this cruise back in August. All of our birthdays are in January and the destinations (Dominican Republic & Turks and Caicos) seemed so perfect. Everything was going smoothly up until the very first night. We experienced extreme rockiness aboard the ship. The ship was making very unusual sounds that had many of us scared. This was my 3rd cruise and I had never heard anything like it. The director of the cruise failed to update us on these weird sounds. Throughout our first night, at about 12am we heard scraping sounds and the ship began to shake. We were absolutely terrified but thankfully, the noise and shaking eventually stopped. By Monday morning, the captain notified us through the speakers that we would not be able to make it to Dominican Republic due to the engine having problems. The speed of the boat slowed down tremendously and there was no way were going to make it to our destination in time. We were outraged. We had excursions planned for ATV riding and Ziplining. This was going to be the highlight of our trip, and missing out on it due to THEIR own error was uncalled for. However, they let it be known that we would be refunded for all excursions. Carnival also mentioned that we will receive $50 in return which is absolutely ridiculous!! Tuesday morning comes, we reach Grand Turks as promised. The captain gets on the speaker to notify us that the wind is too strong and we will not be able to go to Grand Turks. You can only imagine everyone’s reaction to hearing about a cancellation twice in a row. We were heartbroken, we were livid and didn’t want to believe this was actually happening to us. We took time off work, we scheduled flights, we planned everything extensively. All of our money went to waste and all Carnival wanted to offer us for a SECOND cancellation, was another $50!! They expressed time and time again that it was due to the strong winds that we couldn’t dock, but we all know for sure it didn’t have anything to do with the wind. It was without a doubt, their poorly made engine. We were stuck on the boat for 4 days and we felt as though we were being treated unfairly. Everyone on the ship absolutely deserves a Free Cruise. The captain made a decision to dock at the nearest location for the next day, which was the Bahama. Thankfully we actually made it there and off the boat...because by this time, no one wanted to believe a word they were saying after being let down 2 times in a row. We were being lied to. They stated that we couldn’t get a refund because it was due to the weather which is out of their control. I spoke with Jen, the director of the ship. She stated that it’s in the fine print of not being able to receive a Refund. I told her I understand that part, but what about the engine?? I asked her is that in fine print too? Because the engine has absolutely NOTHING to do with us. That is on their part. The engine was suffering due to human error. When I asked her that question, she did not have an answer for it. The very same day the captain told us we couldn’t dock to Grand Turks due to strong wings, that night, being on the ship felt like a nightmare. I was dozing off in bed when it began to shake tremendously. All the champagne glasses in our room and everything on the counters rattled viciously. I was having a nervous breakdown, I was palpitating because I was fearing for the worst. I just knew we weren’t going to make it home. I was in such distress, it took me forever to fall back to sleep. Once again, this has been the worst cruise experience for me and I would not wish this on anyone. There was many people on the ship cruising for the very first time. My best friend was one of them and I hate that they had to go through this for their first experience. It was very traumatizing. The last thing I want to mention was how the Director of the ship appeared to not have any concerns for the people who simply wanted more out of this horrible situation. Carnival set up a Q & A where all passengers got to meet in the theater and ask any questions they had about what had just occurred with the canceling of our destinations. The director’s attitude was very unpleasant. She was being sarcastic and nonchalant when it came time for her to answer any questions. I was in shock because this didn’t seem like the same upbeat, lovable person who was dancing, hosting, and entertaining passengers just hours before. Everyone who was onboard Carnival Elation January 11-16 most certainly, deserves a free cruise after what we endured!

Cabin Review

Ocean View

The cabins were just as pictured

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