Did not live up to expectations...
Written: Nov 24 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Excellent quality boat...great kid activities on board...heavy handed pouring at the bar.
Cons: Rude bar service...low quality of "fine-dining" food...excursions recommended were limited and expensive.
The Bottom Line: I would recommend spending a bit more and trying a different cruise line...if not, be sure you ports of call are worth the visit.
|
|
|
| brunoandolini's Full Review: Carnival Elation |
Over all...I was disappointed by the time my family and I spent on the Elation out of Galveston. The other reviewer I just read went a bit overboard on a few things, but I agreed with most. Getting onto the ship was a piece of cake.
The parking was a bit expensive, but the shuttles and dock crew were quick and helpful. Our luggage arrived at our room around 6:30 PM. The ship was clean beautiful throughout (a bit gaudy, but it's a cruise ship) and there were a lot of mild "hellos" and "welcomes."
Later in the cruise, we noticed a charge of $50 per person for gratuity spread amongst the crew. That came to $200...that could have been added to the original cruise price for better budgeting for our family. I noticed where we could have adjusted the $200 gratuity up or down...we left it alone. Over all we tipped $300 for the cruise...not including the 15% added to all the drinks and the dock crews.
We reserved our spot on the ship two months before the cruise, however, we were not given our requested dining time of 6:30 PM. The Maitre D' told us we were out of luck on changing this. We had an 8 yr-old and a 2 yr-old with us on our trip. Our 8:30 dinner resv was a bit late for a 2 yr-old. Plus the main shows were 8:30 and 10:30...that means we saw neither if we went to our assigned dinner resv. The food at the dining room was bland (trying to satisfy the elderly and children?) with cheap products (15 years in F&B Management tells me this). The Maitre D' was a bit tired of his routine (don't blame him) but our service captain was just good. His back-waiter spoke NO english, but tried VERY hard to please us...just the language problem. I'm guessing there was a bit of a show in the dining room after the main courses, but my kids were too tired to wait around. I tipped the service crew, but not the Maitre D'.
The casual dining areas were accommodating, the service was "scared," and the food was ok with a good variety, as expected. Hot food served hot and cold food served cold (nice touch appreciated). A handful of service members were friendly and genuinely asked of our experiences. However, there was a lot of standing around as I cleared my own table about 80% of the time.
The bar staff was very rude at every bar I visited. Maybe they were tired of pouring sodas for every Soda Card that was sold for endless sodas during the cruise ($27.50 + 15%grat). A 15% gratuity was added to every drink or specialty food purchased. Some bartenders, usually the older ones, were so rude that the customers were discussing how rude...out loud...they were in front of them. One NEVER looked me in the eye or smiled ONCE! A bright light of our cruise was a young man named Willem of South Africa. We tipped him on the last day of the cruise and verbally let him know how much we appreciated his attitude, patience with my kids, and service.
Another highlight was Lowell our cabin steward. He was professional and went out of his was to help us with a kind smile. On a very windy night, my wife and youngest son were sick and Lowell helped change the bedding and he even hand-washed my son's "sleeping buddies" and personal blanket. Hopefully, most of the $200 went to him, but we tipped him the most cash by handshake.
That brings me to the room. We were in the Main Deck and the room seems small at first, but we spent very little time there, and the room was just fine (no window). Seasickness was easier on the "upper beds" because you rocked head to feet...not side to side. Water was scalding hot...that was a good thing.
My 8 yr-old (we lied and said he was 9 because the 6-8 yr-old group outings were very boring) loved "Camp Carnival" and the water slide. They had swimming, games, and other cool activities that kept his attention. We also had him stay through the 10 PM - 3 AM sleepover on our second to last night so my wife and I could spend the night at the casino (can they add a Texas Holdem table?). They brought him to our room at 3:20 AM exhausted and happy! My 2 yr-old also had a great time there. They kept him till 1 AM...sleeping and dry. The counselors there were very friendly and accommodating! The kids had a great time, but I don't think the cost:fun ratio was even.
The trip's ports were rescheduled because of the worst year of storms to date. That meant we had to debark at Progresso and Vera Cruz. Progresso's "excursions" were not great, but they had a nice market to shop for hand-made goods. However, the so-called beach excursions were not worth the $130 to take my kids to the beach. Yes, we were allowed all the beer we wanted during our time at "Corona Beach," but my son's don't drink yet! That was a waste. There were no excursions that didn't include a city tour at Vera Cruz, but they had a cool Aquarium that was inexpensive and well worth the time to get there. The shops set out on the streets sold mostly CRAP from japan and china.
When you come home and are ready to debark, find out when your group gets to leave, find a table and chairs and wait. This is a long, but not too long process and you don't want to be standing in the areas designated for the time you must wait. There is no reason to hurry.
We were told about great experiences on cruise lines from our friends and family. We were the only ones that took Carnival...our mistake. For a family of four, we spent about $3500, chalked it up as an experience, and were disappointed. We will be staying at another "all-inclusive" resort during our next vacation...they set the bar too high for Carnival.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Friends
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
brunoandolini
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.