Totally agree we LOVE the atriums and I hope they bring them back. It's such as wow factor walking into those everytime. We live about 12 mins from the Jacksonville port and I think this smaller ship gets bad reviews just for that but we always have a great time. Hope it stays that way. We have sailed the fascination, ecstasy, and elation and loved them all.
Absolutely! Big ships are great, but small ships are too! Love not having the big crowds. Grand Central on the excel class is no atrium! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I LOVE the Elation!! My wife and I are musicians and our first ship contract was on the Elation! This is a really nice walk down memory lane! Thank you for such a great review. The only parts of the entertainment I heard you talk much about were the production shows, the piano bar, and the comedians. Did you guys talk about the live musicians? That's always my favorite part (cuz that's me! lol)! Also, Epic Rock is my favorite show! Can't agree with you more, Scott!
Thanks for the kind words! We loved the Elation! One of my favorite things to do is listen to the live musicians! There was a guitar duo that I loved! I thought the girls voice sounded like a young Natalie Merchant. Plus they did some Pink Floyd, so that was awesome! The violinists were great too!
Thank you so much for the vlogs and the review on the Elation !! My wife and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary on the elation next August. I have PTSD and issues with large crowds, but love live bands and people watching. Your videos have helped alleviate my worries!
Thanks so much for the kind words! The Elation is such a great little ship! We think you'll have a great time! Happy anniversary to the two of you! We have a couple more years before we hit 30 years! 😊
You can always find a quiet place on a ship if the crowds get a bit much! Take along a book, a tablet with videos loaded, some music pre loaded, and enjoy a peaceful relaxing day with sea breezes! Congrats on your 30th, our 20th this December!
We’re doing the Elation for the first time in August and then again in Oct. I’m excited! We’re also doing a port hole! My first cruise was the Ecstasy 7 years ago. My 2nd was the Pride a few weeks ago. I thought the Ecstasy was so much prettier than the Pride! Seeing the atrium of the Elation makes me even more excited to cruise on her!
I've sailed on Elation twice and have another booked for March. I too have been on the bigger ships. I love them. I typically take 7 day or longer cruises. This trip I'm taking my girlfriend who has never been on a cruise. I think the Elation will be perfect for her first time. Less people. Smaller ships are unfairly underrated. Elation is a great and well maintained ship.
We think the Elation will be perfect too! We loved not having as many people on board. Felt much more laid back. Hope you guys have a great cruise! Thanks for watching!
Just subscribed. I was recently on wonder of the seas. I’ve been trying to get my footage up as well. Love the review, you all did a great job. I will be on this ship in a few weeks. Going from the largest ship in the world to one of the smallest is going to be a fun time!
TYVM! We haven't been on the Wonder yet. Looks like an amazing ship! We really liked the small ship feel of the Elation. Could have used a few more dining options, but hey. Can't wait to see your footage of the Wonder!
I'm glad you caught the ship passing under the Dame's Point Bridge. Thats a unique part of its departure. My favorite part of the elation were the comedy shows at night.
Going under the bridge was pretty cool. We want to go out of Tampa to go under the Sunshine bridge. Typically comedy is our favorite thing too. We just didn't care for the comedians this time.
Thanks for the video series! I just watched the whole set from your trip and really enjoyed it. My wife and I and another couple are going this February, and we too were concerned about the size of the ship. Your vlog has shown that it can still be really fun. Thankfully all 4 of us are casino addicts like Kim, so we'll always have that to do.
Thanks so much for watching! The Elation is definitely a smaller ship, but was great for that 5 day get away. The casino got Kim's approval, except for the fact that it took her money! Lol! Hope you have a great cruise!
I'm tickled that you guys enjoyed it Having said that, the cruise hubby and I took on it last April was why we won't EVER sail Carnival again. We had a horrible experience with crew (short staffed so they were over it,) ship was filthy, fights broke out onboard-at least one per day, and it reeked. I was so disappointed!! Anyhoo, I'm hoping that improvements were made for others to enjoy this old ship.
Oh that does sound bad! Luckily we didn't have any of that. Except for the short staff. I think that is gong to be the new normal. Hope your next cruise is much better! Thanks for watching!
Looking forward to cruising on Elation later in February. My wife and I love the smaller cruise ships. Our first cruise was Norwegian Majesty. We have cruised the mega ships and do not enjoy them as well.
We sailed the Fascination 3 times and loved that ship! This coming May 2024 were on the Elation and we can't wait to get back on a Fantasy class ship again!!
thanks for sharing your Carnival Elation review like your video bookmarks/chapters very much the dining chapter @25:08 was very interesting. The food served looked attractive AND delicious....my favorite chapter !
We went on the elation out of Jacksonville in Nov. and we had a blast also and you guys are right Gabe was absolutely awesome for a cruise director, overall it was a great vacation and we are planning on going again soon same ship can't wait. I wanna try a bigger ship one day but I don't think it could be much better than the Elation (to us)
Gabe was great! Yeah we really loved our cruise on the Elation. You do have to try one of the mega ships at least once. It truly is a different experience. We liken it to an amusement park. Lol
We just got off the Mardi Gras which was spectacular! Now we are booking the Elation. From the largest ship to the smallest. I was a little concerned until I watched your video. Now I'm excited to try it out! Thank you!
Awesome! We had a great time on the Elation. Not as many people and it feels more relaxed! The one thing we did miss was all the different places to eat.
I cruise last October on the Elation and we ran into some rough weather the comedian was joking about the ship rocking even during his act he was having a hard time standing on stage is reaction to it made it all the more comical
Elation was our first cruise last year and it was for our anniversary on August 21!! We love that ship and would definitely be going back on it in the future. After that cruise we are hooked and already got our 3rd cruise booked for New Year's week on Carnival Freedom. Our 2nd cruise was on the Mardi Gras back in January and we had a blast on it.
You are picking a lot of the same ships we have done! We haven't done the Freedom yet. A New Year's cruise sounds awesome! Hope you have a great cruise!
@@seatrippinwkimandscott we have been looking at MSC and Royal. But everyone we talk to that has been on the MSC keep saying the food isn't that good. I have some videos of Elation and Mardi Gras on my channel.
The port holes are nice for 2 to 3 days cruises, honestly a week or longer the balcony or even wondow may be more expensive but is a great choice for comfort.
Hii Kim and Scott,nice video.. I think i serve you a drink when i was on that ship,i was a bartender in Casino Drama Bar. I was on Carnival Elation from Sep 28' 2023 until April 25' 2024
We've never been on any of the newer/bigger ships. We took our first 2 cruises on Carnival Fantasy and got hooked on cruising. We will be on the Sky Princess for Christmas and that will be different. We're on Carnival Spirit Dec. 3rd and looking forward to that too ( small ship). We've never parked at port either. Always parked at the hotel we stayed at or off site parking. Love those tall atriums too. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for watching! You have to try one of the bigger ships at least once. It is an experience. We take our first Princess cruise next April. We are excited! You will have to let us know how you liked Princess!
Great video! I have wanted to sail the Elation for quite a while, but can't find an opportunity to be in or near JAX to justify the travel. Looking at your video, the port building and parking look almost identical to the port of Baltimore. I agree with you, Scott, get the muster done ASAP.
TYVM! We haven't sailed out of Baltimore yet. That is on our to do list. We used to be from the Baltimore area and it would be great to sail from our "old" home! Jaxs was super easy!
I live in Jacksonville. I love sailing out of my home port. I love the Elation. It's a great cruise to ha ve time away. It's is nice to sail on a smaller ship. Her sister ship the Facination is also a nice small ship.
I've been on Sunshine, Sensation which is no longer existing and Holland America Oosterdam. Going on Elation in April and it definitely looks smaller than all three previous ships but smaller crowd sounds better.
The Elation is definitely a smaller ship, but sometimes that is perfect! We had been doing so many of these Mega ships and it was so nice to come back to a more relaxing cruise without all the crowds!
That was the first time I had ever used them, and I was really impressed how good they worked! I now have several of the Blisslets brand. I do like them, however, I feel like they stretch out too easily. I think their policy is they will replace them, but I haven't bothered. I also have a regular "sea bands" pair, and they seem much tighter and don't lose their shape.
I believe you can check in 14 days before your cruise...midnight eastern time. We have a video about that too! As soon as it's midnight, you can start checking in online. You don't have to fill in everything. Just keep hitting skip so you can get to the "pick your time spot". Save and go back in to fill in all the stuff you skipped.
Great video. We are scheduled for March on the Elation. We are new to cruising. How do you know what kind of parties are on the ship ahead of time. (Example the 80s party) we want to be prepared for the parties. Thanks
Thanks so much for watching! You are going to have a great time on the Elation. This site has a list of all the parties on each ship. cruiseline.com/forum/post/new-theme-parties-on-carnival
We joined the Facebook group for our sailing. That's how we figured out what night was what event. Here is a link that lists the events for each ship. cruisewithleo.com/carnival-cruise-theme-nights-parties-schedule/
I’m going on my first cruise ever in less than 36 hours! My 15 year old daughter and are going on a 4 day cruise on the elation to Freeport and Nassau. My daughter has been on two cruises previously. I’m so excited. We are definitely on a budget but it’s been a tough year for my family and we really need this break together. Does anyone have any recommendations for a 1st timer?? Thanks so much!
Wow! That's exciting! You're gonna have a great time! One tip is on embarkation day, most people head to the buffet when they board. If you want to avoid the crowd and lines, goto Guy's Burger or Blue Iguana instead! They are really good!! Also, bring sea sickness meds just in case, because you never know what the seas will be like. Make sure you have the Hub app downloaded so you can see all the fun activities on board! I hope you and your daughter have an amazing cruise!!! 😃
Regarding the guard shacks, even with no ship present at the port it is still a secured area and you would not get past the first guard shack without the required credentials.
Yeah was strange that it doesn't have a specialty dining venue as those are money makers for the cruise line. But, it really is nice to sail on the small ships every once in a while.
I've seen some other videos of Elation and definitely seen the Casino Wizard game there. Not sure which games they have programmed in it though. Some casinos don't always have all of the games in the Wizard machine available. We're going on Elation in 3 weeks and will see for ourselves.
It was fun! However we weren't able to make it to the princess cay Island. The waves were too intense for the smaller boats to take us. Gabe was an amazing cruise director!
@@brittanymack6453We have heard the Seas have been pretty rough the last few weeks! Sorry you didn't get to stop at PC. But, now you have a train to book another cruise.
We don't think so. We got FTTF for our first couple of cruises. Mainly for the benefit of getting on early. Here on the Elation we had the earliest boarding time and it was wall right on. Now on the disembarkation maybe. But I have heard the Elation changed disembarkation since we cruised.
I’m still debating on it, too. My first cruise it was only $50 for FTTF. This time it would be $99. Not horrible, but just trying to decide if it’s worth it? We love being on the ship early so we may still do it just for that perk.
