Carnival Elation

by Unknown

The Elation is a ship built in 1998 for Carnival Cruise Lines. It was the first ship to have the azipod propulsion system. Everything you read about the Elation will include a small blurb about the azipod system. You may wonder what the heck that is so I’ll tell you. It’s much like having font wheel drive on your car. Instead of the energy source pushing the ship it pulls it instead. This makes maneuvering the ship much easier so you can be confident there won’t be any listing or tipping over of the ship on your cruise. Also it reduces those vibrations that cause motion sickness in people like myself. Enough about mechanics though because Carnival’s got the fun don’t they? Yes sir, they do.


The Carnival Elation has three swimming pools. One with a 214 ft water slide! This is where the music is and the pool games. Expect it to be busy the first few days. My favorite pool is the one at the back of the ship on verandah deck because it takes new passengers about 3 days to find it so for the first couple days of your cruise it is uncrowded. The last pool is the kiddie pool on promenade deck at the ship’s aft (back). This pool is a bit like swimming in a toilet with all the babies in their swim diapers-which are not allowed.


If gambling is your thing then head down to the Casablanca casino. There are more than 200 slot machines to choose from including several mega cash machines that are linked with other Carnival ships fleetwide. The biggest jackpot that I have seen was over a million dollars won on the now defunct Carnival Jubilee. I stick to the slots, I figure it’s the quickest way to lose my alloted gambling cash then I can get on with the rest of the cruise. If you are a more sophisticated gambler than I there is also roulette, black jack and Caribbean stud poker to play. Free drinks on a cruise-impossible you say? Not so. You can attend wine tastings or as we do go to check out the art an hour before the famed art auction where they pass out free wine and cheese. If you have been on more than one cruise with the same line you can attend the past guest party. Don’t dismiss this as a waste of time if you like to drink-the drinks are free and plentiful and all you have to do is watch a short spiel where the cruiseline pats themselves on the back for giving you a great vacation. There is usually one evening where the liquor is free for tasting in the shopping area.