Almost perfect! by
A Traveler from McDonough, GA.
Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros:
The food was wonderful and the ship was beautiful. Good customer service!
Cons:
The bunk bed setup in our cabin and the ship's early return back to San Diego because of a medical emergency. We did not get to enjoy a full day at sea! The debarking process was also questionable.
I thought the ship was beautiful and clean. We had a great time. The food was awesome and the customer service was great. I was a little disappointed that our day at sea was interrupted when we had to go back to San Diego to bring a passenger who had gotten sick. We ended up spending our entire "day at sea" at the San Diego cruise ship port instead. We were literally there for 8 hours or so. We ended up with a mechanical issue with the ship and it was very frustrating. Both the casino and the shops remained closed the entire time we were parked at the port. So we did end up getting a little bored...staring out the windows at the city of San Diego instead of ocean waters. However, this did not affect our arrival into Mexico the next day. During the delay, it would have been great to receive more frequent updates as to our statues since it was such a long delay!
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality We had bunk beds and we were not aware of this at the time of booking. Hotwire should work to make this a very clear distinction.
Ship Staff Quality Overall the ship staff was very friendly and accomodating. Good customer service.
Entertainment & Activities Good entertainment options!! I loved the shows and the casino!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Great Cruise! by
A Traveler from Fairfield, CA
Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros:
Price
Cons:
Ensenada, Mexico
Overall it was a great trip. Food was good, staff was great, and the price was definitley right. I've been on 5 cruises with four different cruise lines now. This one is the most fun of them all - and the cheapest.
Ship Quality The ship (Elation) is a little bit older than most. Although, it has everthing I (we) needed, so no complaints.
Dining/Food Good food, great staff.
Stateroom Quality We got a good deal on an inside stateroom. It served its puposes (there to sleep in). Anyone who spends too much time in the room is a bozo anyway. Again, great staff.
Ship Staff Quality Couldn't have asked for better.
Entertainment & Activities Always something to do.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Better than we expected !!! by
James & Lillian B. from Chino Hills
Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros:
Unlimited activities and food.
Cons:
Room was a little too cool
Very clean throughout......enjoyed the food......hospitality......activities.......bed was very comfortable......all for a great price
Ship Quality The decor was very nice.....the atrium area was classy.....overall clean everywhere....ship size had me in amazement the whole cruise
Dining/Food Great food.....had buffet food anytime and classy restaurant at special times.
Stateroom Quality like most, the room is small ( expected )....but could not turn down the AC far enough....ok by me, but my wife was constantly cold.....decor was average ( not a big deal to me )......
Ship Staff Quality staff was remarkable.....very helpful.....waiters were even suggesting shows......great sense of humor and attitudes from most of them.
Entertainment & Activities great layout of activities for every day.....quality shows.....one or two not so good.....but that made 9 out of 10 very good
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Canival Elation by
A Traveler from Southern Arizona
Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros:
Staff - Food - Massage Therapy -Shows
Cons:
Paying Extra for Soda
Our 1st Cruise. Overall we were very happy with this cruise.
Ship Quality
Dining/Food The food was excellent - Dinners were served in courses and all the meals were AAA+++
Stateroom Quality Room was small yet adequate. Beds were very comfortable
Ship Staff Quality Great staff. Friendly and attentive
Entertainment & Activities Good shows and other activities - plenty to stay busy if you choose to do so.
Children's Programs Based on other customers who had kids on board - They said the accommodations and programs for the kids were great.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
So So cruise line. by
A Traveler from goodyear az
Sailing date: Sep 2009 Pros:
The ship was clean.
Cons:
THE FOOD. THE SHOWS
The ship was clean and the employess were friendly. Seemed like 90% of employess spoke english as a 2nd language so customer service was lacking in that aspect. I had to order some soda to the room and had to ask them a few times untill they finaly figured out what I was asking. The room was nice and clean and they kept it that way. Food was very bland and gross. My breakfast consisted as a bunch of fruit and a few pancakes. The deep fry their bacon and they sausage was made up of something gross. They use alot of filler foods to make things go a long way. The shows reminded me of High School plays. There was a comedian that was so so but the show only lasted 30 minutes. Come on give me a break. Wasn't worth going to and waiting. There are no decks where you can walk around the entire ship. I learned my lesson and will review ships better prior to going on another one. This was my 2nd cruise and the prior one was on Royal.
Ship Quality
Dining/Food The worst part of the trip was the food.
Ship Staff Quality Helpfull but spoke limited english.
Entertainment & Activities Lacking. Ice carving??? boring. Bingo so they can take more of your money. High School skits/shows.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
nice cruise by
neil g from phoenix, az.
Sailing date: Aug 2009 Pros:
beach at cabo was great
Cons:
less service on ship. less personal.
five day trip to cabo was great. great town and a lot of beach activities to do. carnival cruise ships give you good value
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
Collapse List of Ports
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico go to the beach and can layout in front of bars or hotels as long as you buy something.
Don't Miss: beach
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
"A Great Cruise" by
A Traveler from Tucson, Arizona
Sailing date: Jul 2009 Pros:
Entertainment
Cons:
Having to pay for Sodas. I don't drink.
All I can say is that it was terrific. We enjoyed just about everything. Our cabin was very comfortable. Our dinners were outstanding. Our cabin was alway's nice and clean everyday. Only thing that was bad was that we could not go swimming due that there were to many kids, even the hot tubs were taken by the children.
Dining/Food For desert there could be bigger slices of cake or better selection.
Stateroom Quality Very comfortable.
Ship Staff Quality Very friendly and very helpful.
Entertainment & Activities Very good entertainment.
Collapse List of Ports
Ensenada, Mexico The tour of the water splash and shops were very nice and great. The winery that we visited my wife said the wine was so ugly that they could have served better wine and more people would have purchased alot more wine bottles.
Don't Miss: The blow back force of the water and the splash it makes. Shopping!!!
Catalina Island, California Was not that good. Could have better things to do and enjoy.
Don't Miss: It's not a great place to go and see.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
A great first impression! by
Marie L from Phoenix, AZ
Sailing date: Apr 2009 Pros:
I loved all the staff from around the world...much different then taking a regular vacation and dealing with rude people who seem unhappy with their jobs.
Cons:
I did not like being in Ensenada, it was dirty, and very scary. I got dropped of by a bus in the middle of nowhere and barely saw any fellow tourists, but did see some scary looking guys dressed militant with bandanas covering their faces and carying large guns....I went back to the ship
The cruise was great! It was my first cruise so I can't really compare it to anything but I loved it. The only complaint was getting off at Ensenada but that is hardly the cruise lines fault. I traveled with several friends and they went somewhere else in the city and had a whole different experience than me....so I guess I was just in a bad neighborhood and they were all the fun and other tourists were. The room was nice....though it was a few days before I got to experience the cute towel animals they put in your rooms for you. The entertainment was great....lots to choose from. All around, a vacation well worth the money, you get everything, food, lodging, entertainment, and travel!
Ship Quality The ship was very beautiful....lots of places to take nice pictures with nice backgrounds
Dining/Food The food was great, I loved the melting chocolate cake with icecream....I think I ordered that every night at dinner
Stateroom Quality The room was nice, clean and enough room to walk about. The room is a nice place to go to have some quiet and to sleep.....other than that you don't really spend that much time in there....too much going on the ship.
Ship Staff Quality I loved our dinner waiter we had each night, he was very attentive and friendly, and made us feel like we were his only table.
Entertainment & Activities Great fun, karoke, comedy shows, and even poolside hairy chest contests! There was so much more to do...but I was there working so I did not experience as much as I could have.
Children's Programs I did not have my children with me....but I did take a look at the childrens programs for future use and I thought it looked really fun for the children.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Great family friendly cruise! by
A Traveler from San Jose, CA
Sailing date: Jun 2009 We went on this cruise to have quality time with our 3 boys (ages 8,6,4). To be honest, we were nervous about Carnival since they have had a "party" reputation in the past. We were very surprised and impressed! The ship, although a little dated, was very clean, had all of the immenities that we were looking for, and provided for a wonderful time together as a family!
A few highlights: The food had much more variety available than we expected. In addition to the normal buffet line, there were several other places to get panini sandwiches, mongolian bbq, thai and asian food, salad and fruit items, rotisserie chicken, and the standards of burgers, hot dogs, pizza and tons of desserts.
Also, the room layout was the best we've experienced on a cruise! There was very little wasted space. We had the smallest interior cabin and had 5 beds and we still had plenty of space to move around in the cabin!
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
Children's Programs Great kids programs! Our kids were only in for a few hours, but loved it and we felt very comfortable with dropping the kids off.
There is a great kids' pool over by the sports deck that was always warm and I watched the crew stop by to check the chemical levels. The only problem is that it is fairly small (10 feet in diameter), so it got quite crowded. On the day in Ensenada, we stayed on the ship and our boys had the entire pool to themselves for about 2 hours - it was great!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
Port of call skipped and received no co by
Frank P. from Barrie, Ontario.
Sailing date: Feb 2009 Pros:
Dining room food and service
Cons:
Expensive drinks
The ship did not stop at Ensenada as scheduled due to a medical problem with a passenger.The passengers were not compensated for this loss of the port of call.We only received a rebate of Ensenada port charges.
The ship is older than most and windows everywhere needed cleaning.Buffet style dining was average as was the entertainment.
Ship Quality Windows needed cleaning
Dining/Food Dining room food was good but the rest were average for a cruise ship.
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Did you find this review helpful?
