--- Daniel L. Reardon
I had a fantastic time with my family on the Mexican Riviera aboard Carnival Elation over Easter Vacation in 2004. We always love the onboard experiences, from the great meals to the wonderful entertainment to the time relaxing with a book by the pool.
With grilled burgers and hot dogs by the pool, 24 hour pizzeria, Chinese food, deli sandwiches, sushi and a great international buffet, Carnival regularly wins awards for best casual dining among cruise lines. Their dining room experience has continued to improve over the years, despite the fact that many of the casual cruisers attracted to Carnival never make an appearance in that venue. On Elation, my family enjoyed the great food all over the ship. While Amy likes to experiment with new tastes, Jay loves being able to order steak, potatoes and Caesar salad any time he wants for dinner. Julie and I had no trouble finding something great to order.
Entertainment on Carnival is always exciting and loud. In fact, everything about Carnival, from the games by the pool to the decorating to the big shows, is exciting and loud. They don't seem to know the meaning of the words "under statement." Instead, the philosophy is that more is better. If one palm tree is good decorating, then three with Christmas lights must be better in the world of Carnival. The big shows draw enthusiastic responses from the...you guessed it....excited and loud crowd. One of my favorite venues is the more intimate piano bar, where a gifted singer happily plays requests for guests sitting around the oversized baby grand on bar stools.
You'll find more beautiful people dancing with drinks in their hands around the pool than on any other cruise line, but there are also plenty of folks enjoying good books in lounge chairs. The circular waterslides on Carnival are probably appreciated more by me than my kids, especially when the water temperature hit about 80 degrees.
The kids seemed to prefer spending more time in the game room, where they became part of a fun group playing cards and board games. As always, the kids and I played a lot of trivia games, and we came away with a "24 carat solid gold plastic ship on a stick" trophy.
As the commercials ask, "What's your idea of fun?" You can find it on a cruise.
