Bill and Peggy Domres

Age: Bill is 59 and Peggy is 54
Occupation: retired
Number of Cruises: 10+
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Elation
Sailing Date: December 1st, 2002
Itinerary: Mexican Riviera

We had been on a 4 day carnival cruise about 5 years ago and could not recall anything negative about that cruise. My sister-in-law had never been on a cruise any we decided to take her on this one. I have read most of the reviews and would like to comment on some of the negatives that I read. Also within the last year we did the transatlantic crossing on the QE 2, you will see comparisons to that here also.

Embarkation: arrive at the pier at 11:30 on the date of your arrival. If you are arriving by car suggest you drop companion and baggage off and them park your car. The cost is $10 a day and they only accept CASH, so be prepared for this. It will take approximately one and half hours to get luggage picked up, stand in line to get your cruise line credit card, picture taken, and then shown where your room is. I found this time within a half an hour to other cruise lines. If you have read other reviews they all say the same thing.

Occupancy: there were 2400 people on the cruise of which about 450 were children or teens. We are not water people and did not spend much time near the pool but on the occasions we were there I DID NOT see any riotous behavior by the kids. Also during the whole trip we did not encounter any disturbances or rude behavior by the kids. Remember you were a kid once yourself, now face your own punishment. Also for 2400 people on the ship you will wonder where they all are. The ship is so big it absorbs everyone easily.

Food: I found the food to be very good and far superior to the QE2. The waiters were excellent and the rapport that our table had was very nice. Anytime I asked for two entree's they supplied it cheerfully. There is some complaint regarding treys in the buffet room. If you think about this you will come to the conclusion if people had trays they would load up with food they would not eat. This is a cost factor. We had late seating for dinner and therefore were not very hungry at midnight. We went to the buffet and usually just sampled stuff. I found the buffet to be adequate but not super. The grand buffet is excellent and do not miss the chance to take pictures.

Rooms: we had a ocean view room on the Riviera deck which is the lowest passenger deck. This is where you want to be. The lower deck and in the middle of the ship. Very little noise and a lot less rocking than the upper decks have. The room was quite a bit larger than the QE2 and much nicer. The three of us cruised and lived very comfortably for 7 days. The room steward was also excellent.

Tours: we only went on one tour and that was Randy's horse ride in Mazatlan. Recommend you do this for the $45. Other than that I cannot offer any advice on the ship stops.

Debarkation: again about an hour to hour and half standing in line. Be prepared to do it and it won't stress you so much.

Overall: I found the ship, crew, and food to be far superior to the QE2. I expected a lot from the QE2 and was pretty much disappointed. While the three of us cruised for $1450 and got a lot for the money. I suppose the cruisers who wrote negative articles about Carnival may have valid points but I could not find anything negative. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer your questions honestly.

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