Elation Review March 2-6

I am lucky in many ways in life and part of which is were I live in Seabrook a small waterfront community southeast of Houston with its basis in fishing (Almost Gone), the NASA Johnson Space Center and Boating. Moderate in winter, Hot and Humid in summer and located 15min from the Houston cruise port and 35 min from the Galveston cruise port…by boat or car… Cruising out of Texas is relatively new, but has caught on fast with Carnival, RCL and Norwegian participating. We have a selection of ships but suffer from limited Itinerary due to location with Western Caribbean/Mexico the norm as ports. The Texas ports are easy to get to and you might try it as cruising an option.

My wife surprised me with a four-day cruise on Elation for my birthday and was my first trip on this boat and second for my wife. Similar in designs to eight other Carnival ships Elation is the seventh of Carnival's eight Fantasy class vessels that was built in 1998. If you are on one, you know where stuff is on all of them. Elation has some of the better décor than most and quickly became one of my favored Carnival ships.

Embarkation

Galveston is a commuter port with a majority of passengers driving to the port and parking cars. Parking costs from $35.00 for a 4 day to $50-60 for a seven day. Unlike some ports most of parking requires you to drop off bags and then go park and ride a shuttle bus back. In general Embarkation in Galveston is a snap and from drop of to boarding is no different this time taking us less then half an hour. We had the privilege of priority boarding but elected not to as the regular line was so short. Getting off is not much harder except customs.

The Room

If you have been in one Carnival room you been in them all…this trip my wife booked inside as I’m one of those who likes an inside cabin if I cant get a balcony…actually refused an upgrade to outside cabin...it’s a strange quirk from sleeping in modified shipping containers during the day to protect night vision from my days as a military aviator. The room’s is fine and lots of samples of bath and hygiene items in the toilet. Carnival is upgrading linens and beds and made things nicer. The room size is always a nice surprise compared to other cruise lines.

The Ship

Elation at eight years old is ready for a major refit which I think is happening in the next few weeks other wise she is in fantastic shape and very polished…other than a small scuff here and there she really seems well maintained. The ships company was excellent and professional at all times. The crew attitude can make or break a cruise and I would rate this well above average. For propulsion geeks Elation was the first cruise ships with Aziopods and hull vibration is minimal through the ship. Other than one coffee station, all I saw was in working order.

Food
Hey this is Carnival… food and lots of it…some good, some okay…best pizza at sea…in general the food in the dining room was good and the Lido/Windjammer lunch our first day at sea with Indian specialties was excellent. Of note is the German Headwaiter that sings every night… if you close your eyes you would think old blue eyes is back. He also can switch to Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Bonnie and I had seen him before a few years back on Conquest, this is a treat.

Ports

This is a four-day which means Mexico…Cozumel is still limited so we go to Calica, which is a rock quarry with nothing there...but only $10.00 by cab to Play Del Carman. We spend the day at Mamitas on of the north Playa’s where topless is okay and good deals of beach goers are European. Beer is cold and cerviche is always some of the best…good day until our nice and unexpected and tablemates showed up to see the sights as he put it. Some people really need to get a grip and respect others space…my euro wife grudgingly covers to stop the gawking… otherwise Playa Del Carmen is still hurting from Wilma and is slow to recover as well. Facilities that are open and working are all crowded.

The People

I find that each port produces a certain crowd that sail from it…the majority of passengers are from Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana…this being said it’s a modest friendly bunch…Formal nights are much more dress up than you might expect… particularly for the ladies…if I take a uniform, I rarely have to buy another drink the rest of the cruise. Of some note is the large number of Gay Groups that like the port of Galveston and cruising, Particularly around Halloween and Mardi Gras. We were on Rhapsody at Halloween with the "Pirates of the Gayrribian" and the costumes were fantastic! Made for an interesting and entertaining cruise...oops...onother missed review...

New Platinum Class

Carnival has a new Platnum level recognition for repeat cruisers that kicks in at the tenth cruise and it just happened to start fleet wide with this cruise, and hey it was a good deal. Pre dinner, Hors d’oeuvres, Petifors, bottles of Champaign, priority boarding and departure…pretty much bend over and kiss it type service if you showed a platinum sail and sign card.

Carnival In General

We like them for several reasons, proximity and value for the money; they are not a bad first cruise, although I prefer other Cruise lines. For me a four-day getaway means I can be in my office till noon Thursday, be on the Boat by two, go to Mexico and be back in the office Monday at 1100 a.m. and with Military discounts offered by Carnival the long weekend costs less then $600 with parking and tips included for two. For seven day and longer I prefer other lines but am happy with the Fun ships if that’s what works out.