Carnival Elation

The ship

Short breaks and compact Fun Ship energy

Carnival Elation is a Fantasy-class Fun Ship from 1998: about 2,050 guests at double occupancy, compact by today’s standards, busy by design, and regularly refreshed for short warm-water hops. She is not Dream or Excel scale — and that suits short-break bookers who want the Fun Ship formula without learning a megaship.

Main Dining Rooms and the Lido buffet cover included hours. Specialty dining is the paid layer: among them a steakhouse, with Guy’s Burger Joint and pizza or grill windows for casual bites. Drink packages and covers sit outside the cruise — price those before you book.

Evenings run through the main theatre, comedy and piano bar, then the casino. Daytime is the pool deck and Camp Ocean for children. She is compact Fun Ship living aimed at short Caribbean and Bahamas weeks.

On board

Dining, shows, short-break decks

1. 01

   Dining

   Main Dining Rooms handle included evenings. The Lido buffet is fast before Bahamas tenders. Specialty steak nights repay a reservation on a short cruise — one good steak night often beats three mediocre extras. Guy’s Burger Joint and pizza windows fill between.

2. 02

   Shows

   The main theatre, comedy club and piano bar cover Fun Ship evenings — spectacle sized for a compact ship, not a West End transfer. Programme titles change by season, so check your sailing.

3. 03

   Pool deck

   Pools and sunbeds own the daytime on short warm-water weeks. Loungers go early on embarkation day. Cloud 9 Spa treatments are typically extras. There is no Bolt coaster here.

4. 04

   Spa, gym, casino

   Spa, gym and casino cover wellness and optional evening spend. Drink packages sit outside the cruise — decide what you will actually drink before you buy a package on a short hop.

5. 05

   Kids

   Camp Ocean runs age-banded programmes that shift by sea day and port day. Families on short breaks who will use the clubs and the pool get the most from her.

Fit

Who she is for

• Guests who want short Caribbean and Bahamas Fun Ship hops on a compact Fantasy-class map.
• Families and friend groups happy to budget drinks and maybe one steak night on a three- or four-night week.
• Not the ship if you want Excel thrills, enrichment-led mid-size calm, or a long voyage product. Choose Dream/Excel or a UK line instead.

Where

Where Elation tends to go

Carnival typically programmes Fantasy-class ships on short Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries from US hubs. Bases shift year to year.

Treat this as the ship’s range, not a fixed timetable. When this guide is public, sailings with two or more UK agent prices will sit at the bottom.

Before you book

What the brochure skips

• Specialty dining, drink packages, spa treatments and many shore tours sit outside the cruise. Price the holiday as the cruise plus what you will actually buy.
• Compare UK agents on the same sailing — same ship, same date, cruise-only, two guests. The hero price should be the lowest bookable one, not the first logo you recognise.