I just had a horrible experience with the Carnival cruise lines (Elation). We had a party of 32 people. Departed Sunday 2/15/09 at 5:30 pm. I was impressed with the room setting. We had 5 people in my cabin (U197) 6th floor. There were 2 above pull out beds one king size bed and a cot. I slept on the cot which was extremely comfortable. We were headed to Catalina island ans Ensenada Mexico. Unfortunately we were unable to sail into Catalina the following day due to extreme weather conditions so our schedule was switched around. Instead we spent the first day out at at sea. The first day was lovely. Very nice view, excellent dinner and fun entertainment in the Casino, the the horror begins the following day. On day 2, I was beginning to realize that the Sail and sign cards were a ripoff. They charged me everytime I needed to get money out of my account. Most services would only accept sail and sign cards. What they don't tell you is they automatically take 20% off each drink or service that you get. Myself not knowing that, was tipping the servers on top of that. The cards are confusing when it comes to playing the slots and what not. (I prefer to tip my servers to my satisfaction). I wasn't happy with all the service I recieved and don't feel it was fair that I had to tip "everybody" 20%. I was very upset when I recieved an itemized statement the next day which is how i found out about the tipping situation. I brought it up to the Purser desk's attention and they deducted 40.00 from the service grautity fee, yet they left the itemized tips that were deducted. Which left the tips out for the dinner servers, maid etc. Even though both sides averaged about 40.00 it was still unfair that the deduction was taken from the workers. I would of rather tipped the servers on my own individually. So I ended up paying the 20% per server and what I added on top of that which totalled about 80.00 worth of tips. I was not happy with that at all. I also got charged 5.00 tips on an item that I never tipped. they did deduct that, however some of the servers were not very honest. Each time I wanted to gamble i had to pay a fee to use my sail and sign card. they refused my ATM. If I used my ATM it would cost me 5.00 each time. If I used Sail and sign it would cost me 1.50. yes of course that is better but it isnt fair we get charged to use our cards on the ship when we have no choice. I spent approximately 15.00 just in charges to use my sail and sign card. Luckily I had enough money in my bank account but I wasn't expecting to spend that much money. By using that sail and sign card, it is very difficult to keep track of what is coming out of your bank account, even when they send statements to your room you could still overspend and not even know it. My final bill without souveniors was 400.00. Just for myself. Which in cluded one night of cocktails, a beverage fun pass, and a few night of gambling. With the souveniours, I spent over 600.00 on that cruise not including my fair. I was not happy at all and was only intending to spend about 300-400.00. The gift shops sales are a ripoff. They say you can buy 2 hats for 20.00 or 2 for 20.00. Most hats only cost 10.00 anyway, so in other words they force you to buy 2. Same with clothing like 65.00 for 2 sweat shirts. You cant just buy one. for half the price. Not one single toilet on the ship had seat cover for sanitary reasons. The room service was quick however, you were only able to order sandwich's. The only late night food available after hours was Pizza! That's it! Just pizza! Unfair for gluctose intolerant patients. The buffet was extremely small with very little choices and the food was not all that great. The dining food was not all that great either. I had one appetizer that i was very satisfied with and a particular steak dinner. One dinner consisted of prive rib with onion rings on it. I thought it was tacky! The beverage server at dinner was very slow. the matrde came to our table once through the whole trip and just said hi. Guess i was expected to tip him for that! It took 5 times to get a fruit salad order correct. The casino was inconsistantly opened and closed. The maid service consisted of clean towels and beds made. Thats it. No clean glasses, no supplie refills or anything. We got 1 bar of soap for 5 people 2 razors (1 man 1 woman) and a small pack of tooth paste. There was no tissues or anything. There was only one outlet in the whole cabin so with 4 people in that room with cell phones, it was very hard to charge each battery and use the outlet for blow dryers and other accessories as well. I was appalled that it was okay for a child to play and win money at bingo (gambling) but the children could not sing Karoake. It didnt make sense. the excuse from the purserer was very lame. I was angry because that child who won at bingo (7yr old 240.00) should not have been able to gamble. An adult could have won that money like me or some other lucky player. Kids should not have been allowed to play. But they should have been able to sing. Just odd how that worked. The final day at sea was the worset because while we were in mexico, the ship was all shut down, (no casino, no gift shops, entertainment etc). All we could do was either swim in the cold or take naps. there was nothing to do. i chose not to go into the town in Mexico. That night everything finally opened at 10 pm. The casino closed at 2:30 am. I was pissed. When I got to my room, I ordered room service and they refused to serve on the final night. They rushed everybody off the ship the following morning. I paid 3 days worth of sodas but only got 2. It was supposed to be 6.00 a day. I paid 18.00 for 2 days! I will never go on the carnival cruiseline again. if you feel like getting ripped, Bon Vyage with them. Foolish. they are ripoffs! 600.00 down the drain with nothing to show for. Ruined my Valentines day holliday. They will suck into your debt card so make sure you bring plenty of cash. I have more to add, but i am so mad I dont feel like sharing any furthet. They suck! Bottom line!