angiegal

I'm thinking since they were disembarking, maybe they were waiting for an elevator and she stood on a suitcase or something. How else could an 8yr old go over the railing?

I have an 8yr old and this brings me to terrible sadness for that family and their days ahead.

 

 

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I can't seem to wrap my head around the HOW either. My first thought was leaning over the railing to look down below. We just got off the Sensation on Monday and traveled with a 3 year old. He was fascinated with pressing his face against the glass to get a better look at what was happening in the Atrium. We do our best to constantly be vigilant about safety, but sometimes, things happen so quickly there's nothing you can do. I can't even begin to imagine what this family is going through!

We were on the Pride out of Baltimore in December 2 years ago. We loved it! We live in Pennsylvania so it's was an easy drive for us, no hotel, and no airfare. Embarkation day was cold and the muster drill outside sucked but by the next day, being outside was fine. We wouldn't do it again because we're all getting tired of the same ports (I know, first world problems). Leaving Baltimore and going under the bridge at night is beautiful but getting off a cruise ship and having to dig your car out of the snow was a rude awakening.

We only cruise once during that time of year, but the Christmas festivities began when the Christmas decorations went up.

I know the Sensation doesn't get many reviews and I don't want to spend too much time here, but here's a quick synopsis.

The Ship

It's an older, smaller ship. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Vista, but it's clean and in good condition. The purple is a bit.... purple! And the decor is outdated in my opinion. But as long as you go into it knowing it's not the Ritz, you'll be happy!

The Crew

Helpful and friendly as we've always experienced. Of course you will encounter the occasional unhappy crew member, but no one is chipper every second of every day. This is our youngest son's second cruise and we once again found the crew members went out of their way to interact with him. A bartender sword fighting him while he waited for a smoothie, lots of high fives and people remembering his name, a waiter tucking his napkin into his shirt and a room steward asking about bedtime to make sure turn down service would be done early enough. We tipped quite a bit this trip because crew members really anticipated his needs.

Entertainment

This was the first cruise I didn't have a face to face interaction with the cruise director. We had Steve from Canada and I have no complaints, but I don't really feel like I had enough interaction with him to form an opinion either way.

We took part in our share of trivia of karaoke, saw two shows: 88 Keys and Studio VIP, and enjoyed some time at deck parties. Nothing in particular stood out as amazing but I don't have any complaints either. The shows were OK. Not bad, but not quite as good as others we've seen on Carnival. They really reminded me of a high school production to be honest. I'm not sure if I'm becoming more jaded as I get older or they are declining in the wow factor.

Casino

This is the first time I actually spent some time in the casino. The smoke smell bothers me so I usually avoid it. It's a small casino, but there were a few times that it was nearly empty that I could at least tolerate spending some time in there. There were a number of slot machines not working but I pretty much stayed with those. I ended the trip up $1. Woo Hoo!

Food

Food is subjective so I won't say too much here.

We typically ate breakfast on the Lido deck because I love the Blue Iguana Cantina breakfast burritos!

Lunch was in port two days and Lido the other two days. Throughout our group we hit Guys's Burgers, Blue Iguana, the Deli, Pizza Pirate and the Lido deck. There was something for everyone and even though there were a few misses, for the most part we were pleased.

We had dinner in the dining room each night. We like YTD but ended up eating at 6 every night. We had different wait staff each night which made tipping at the end of the cruise a bit of a pain, but we never had to wait for a table. Three nights service was great, food was good, and we were all pleased. The last night was the worst service I've ever had on a cruise ship. There was so much time between courses, our orders were wrong, food was cold, and the head waiter was sweating bullets.

We all went to the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast and I have to say that it was a waste of $5 per person. Hubby, youngest and I took part on the Pride and I would have rated it right up there with a Disney character breakfast. But this definitely was not up to par! We were taken to a table that was already full, then to a table that had room for 4 (there were 7 of us) then finally put at a table in the back. The hostess kept saying that we shouldn't have brought more people than we reserved for. All 7 of us had reservations and paid. I even showed her the letter confirming our reservation and her only response was "it isn't my fault". Interesting, considering none of us even complained. We were all patient and took it in stride. Because we were at a table in the back, we apparently didn't have wait staff assigned. Others were eating their parfaits before we even had menus. Juice and bread never came. Coffee finally arrived at the end of the meal and half of us were served breakfast a good 10 minutes before the other half. The character interaction was super rushed! Thing 1 and 2 come around to every table but your table is called by number for the Cat in the Hat and Sam I Am. We pretty much had time for a picture and a quick high five and that was it. While we were eating, someone came around with stampers to "autograph" our son's menu. For comparison's sake, on the Pride, a crew member put the stamper in each character's hand so he/she could "autograph" the menu after our interaction with them. We also had a lot more time with each character and weren't called up by table number. I'm not sure if I would give it another try or not. I know it's only $5, but even if it had been included in the price of the cruise I don't think it would have been worth it.

Speaking of weird upcharges, the Taste Bar is now a Sushi Bar that charges between $1.50 and $5. I don't remember that before.

We only used room service once and were pleased with the food and speed of service. We didn't have any of the new upcharge items but we had tried a few on the Pride.

We never had to visit guest services this trip, but every time we went past, there seemed to be a line.

Debarkation

It was slow. Uneventful but slow. Having long lines going through hallways, we did see a number of people yelling at others for cutting in line only to have to offender say they were just trying to get out of their rooms. Lots of crew members were standing around looking at their phones during debarkation, as well. I don't remember seeing crew using phones before this trip. My daughter and Dad had a 12:05pm flight from Ft. Lauderdale so we did self debarkation and I was worried they weren't going to make it on time. It was just under an hour from the time our self debarkation group was called until we were actually able to go through customs. Thankfully, QLS Shuttle was waiting for us and got us to the airport in just the knick of time for their flight. The rest of us weren't due to leave until 12:50pm so we were fine.

Overall, a great vacation, fun cruise, and being rerouted to Nassau wasn't a big deal!

Booze Cruise Atmosphere

I know after the last two posts, you're probably prepared for complaints. I know I'm a bit of a grump and even a prude at times!

Honestly, my only complaint here was a group of boys (probably 8 or 9 years old) who had the run of the ship. They were constantly running, bumping into people, climbing up and jumping off furniture and railings and just being brats! I saw crew members talk to them on two separate occasions, but even on the last morning, they were still running around unsupervised.

There were, I believe, 2 wedding parties, a number of girls' weekends, bachelor/bachelorette parties, birthdays, groups, etc. and there was definitely some partying going on! There was the typical Hairy Chest contest, twerking on the Lido deck, swimsuits and bare feet at the buffet and all that Carnival jazz but it was easy enough to find a quiet place when you needed a break or something going on when you wanted some fun. This trip was no boozier than a cruise to Canada from New York in my opinion. From my Dad down to my youngest, everyone had a great time! I wouldn't hesitate to book another quick trip like this.

Muster Drill

It just sucked. There's no way around it on this one.

This was the first cruise that we've been on that the crew used iPads to scan our sail and sign cards before the muster drill. In theory, it's great. In reality, I'm not sure if some of the crew doesn't know what to do or if it's the guests that just don't want to be bothered.

Four of our party were in the Fantasia Lounge. Their experience was pretty typical. Went in, had your card scanned, find a seat, wait for the drill. Twice there was a crew member who read off a list of names of people who hadn't had their cards scanned yet. After the instructions, they made their way to the life boats and were done.

Hubby, youngest and I were on the Lido deck. Here's where I reiterate, it sucked! People kept going up a deck even after multiple announcements that you had to be on the Lido deck, not up above. Kids and even a few adults were in the pool despite multiple staff members telling them they had to get out of the pool before the muster drill could begin. After the third announcement, the pool was finally empty. There were a few announcements saying we still have X number of people that need to have their sail and sign cards scanned. I believe the last announcement was 50 people. But eventually, the muster drill started. Tons of people were eating and had drinks, lots of phones were out, multiple conversations were going on, kids were running all over the place. It was pretty much chaos. Normally, I don't care what anyone else does, especially on a cruise. But we are trying to raise a respectful young man. It's really hard to make a 3 year old stay quiet, pay attention to the crew (within reason) and stay in one place when half the people around him are talking, eating, and goofing off. Although it's hard to blame the guests for doing it when the crew on stage are chatting away among themselves. At one point, two of the camp carnival staff were practicing some sort of dance. During the muster drill. I know, I know, I'm a crotchity old woman, but I remember a time when you had to put your life vest on, stand packed like sardines by the life boat, and get yelled at for making a noise during the muster drill. We've made progress. But there's got to be a better way to do it.

Enough complaining! Muster drill was done and sailaway was not far behind!

We just got off the Sensation a few days ago and I thought I'd share a few thoughts on our adventure.

I traveled with my husband (41 and 46), children (3, 19, 21) and our oldest son's fiance (21), and father (59). We traveled from Pennsylvania and flew in to and spent the night in Ft. Lauderdale the day before and used QLS shuttles to get to the Port of Miami the next morning.

Check In and Embarkation

This is the first time we've cruised from Miami. It was fast, but pretty inefficient in my opinion. We arrived at 10:15am and had a 10:30-11am check in time. We dropped off our luggage with the porters and went right inside. We decided to check in together since it was the first time my older children were responsible for their own paperwork, my Dad had only been on one cruise before and my daughter's fiance was a newbie. My Dad and daughter were first in line so they went first. Dad was fine and directed to the security line then lounge. They scanned my 19 year old daughter's boarding pass and told her to go through security then to check in upstairs. No explanation why. Son and his fiance went next and my son's boarding pass didn't scan on the first try so they told him he had to check in upstairs. When asked why, the rep shrugged and said next. Hubby, youngest and I all checked in fine. We asked about our daughter and son and once again the response was a shrug and next. From the time we dropped off our luggage until we were standing in line upstairs (post security) was 15 minutes.

There was no line at the upstairs check in so my oldest son went to check in by himself and his boarding pass scanned and he was checked in without issue. The only explanation for the issue downstairs was "they should have just tried to scan it again". Hubby and I went with daughter and she was also able to check in as well. This rep said that because she was under 21, a parent had to check in first. Easy peasy, but they could have just told us that downstairs and she could have been checked in right after us. After she was checked in, the four of us had our pictures taken. The rep then asked if we wanted to add a credit card which I had already done online but, for whatever reason, it wasn't showing. We added the credit card again, double checked to make sure the youngest didn't have charging privileges, and headed to the waiting lounge. Again, the whole process was less than 15 minutes.

While we were waiting we were informed of the itinerary change from Cozumel to Nassau by both announcement and a letter. We had already received emails and texts about the change as well. We had about a 20 minute wait before they started boarding and that was when we realized that we all had different boarding groups. My Dad had 5, son's fiance was given 4, and I had 2. We checked in one right after the other, all with the same person, so I have no idea why they were so different. I'm not usually a rule breaker, but when they called for group 2, I told the others to put their cards in their pockets and board with us. No one even asked for the card. Just before entering the gangway we all had our pictures taken (the second time for 4 of us) and we were on board.

Everything was fast, but we all felt a bit frazzled and a little unsure of what had just happened. We have a few Carnival cruises under our belts and travel quite a bit, but it felt like we had been rushed through and didn't get everything done. Right after we got onboard my son asked why we didn't have our sail and sign cards. I knew from here that some ships were now leaving cards at the door, but didn't realize the Sensation was one of them. I explained it to everyone and my Dad kept complaining that someone could take his card (he doesn't even like to use a debit card at the grocery store so no amount of reassurance was going to make him happy). When we were allowed to go to our cabins, all the cards were there, tucked behind the room number plates in tamper resistant envelopes (even though my Dad was still annoyed ;)).

By noon we were all checked in, onboard the ship, had lunch, and were exploring some of the ship.

Not sure what state you are in but in Pennsylvania we have some offices where you can get a copy of your birth certificate same day. I'd imagine other states do as well. Unfortunately about three weeks before our last cruise my son couldn't find his birth certificate and took advantage of the same day option.

Our last two cruises we brought a toddler so we tipped more. Our room steward got $20 on the first day and we requested twice a day service. He got another $20 on the last day of a 4 day cruise because we received excellent service. He used my son's pirate toys (eye patch, sword, etc) to spruce up the towel animals. We always had small bags for diapers and extra towels. He even specifically asked about our son's bedtime to make sure turn down service was done early enough to not interfere with his routine. As far as other staff, my guideline is typically $1 for any bag and $2 for any suitcase that's handled, $1 for every 2 plates served, and $1 a drink. It's not perfect, but it's a good way to estimate how many singles I need to bring and a good guideline for my older children to learn.

I don't have secrets to share, but I just got off the Sensation yesterday. Older, smaller ship but still lots of fun! Have a great time!

You can get milk through room service 24/7. On the lido deck and in the dining room you can ask for milk as well. In the dining room they will even wash the sippy cup for you. In our experience the fridge is just a cooler so I wouldn't trust it with milk very long. This last cruise, we had a hard time getting whole milk after the second day, though.

There is a standard kids menu (pasta, cheeseburger, grilled cheese, etc.), but children can eat of the regular menu as well. A few times we just ordered our son a side dish like broccoli or an appetizer like spring rolls (he loved them!) and let him share from our plates as well. We've found the staff to be very accommodating when it comes to kids!

Unsolicited tip: We didn't use camp ocean, but took advantage of the scheduled parent/child play times. On our youngest son's first cruise my husband surprised to see that they were the only two people who showed up the first day. After talking to some other parents at dinner, while on lido deck, etc. we realized that people just didn't know about it. The second day, and every day after, there were at least half a dozen toddlers there which made it more fun.

And yet, here you are responding.

I'll be sure to read and give my opinion on every post in a timely manner from here on out.

Keep checking. You never know when they are going to be available. We did it once because we were bringing at 18 month old with us and I really wanted access to our room right away. It was nice, but I don't think I'd pay for it again.

Sigh, does ANYONE not read the contract they electronically sign? They dont have to do anything. They dont have to give you choices. They dont have to give you a refund. Itinerary changes happen, especially in peak hurricane season, and it tells you right there on the contact you signed saying you read it. The reason you got nothing is because the full cruise still went on in its entirety didnt it? 8 days before the hurricane even hit FL! The next cruises were either cancelled or shortened. Thats why they were given options.

EXACTLY!! I just don't understand some people! Read what you are agreeing to, especially if you're going to book a cruise during peak hurricane season! We are leaving tomorrow from Miami headed for Key West and Cozumel. There's a tropical storm brewing as we speak. Am I worried about an itinerary change or port cancellation? Nope. I'll show up tomorrow, get on the ship, and have a good time, even if we just spend every day at sea. Because I have read my contract, have realistic expectations and I know that sometimes changes have to happen to keep guests and crew safe at sea. It really isn't that difficult.

My DH and I did it all. We had family trips with the 3 children and then trips that we enjoyed by ourselves and then I had my trips with my girlfriends, leaving dad at home with the kids.

 

Now that my kids are grown, have children of their own and my DH has passed away, I enjoy vacationing with them as adults [they each take turns cruising with me] and I give the grand's a turn with me too.

 

You'll always have doubts whether you're doing the right thing or not, it's to be expected of a caring and loving mother. That said, allow yourself the "me" time, it will make for a much more loving and caring you!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

I love when my parents vacation with us! The kids love having great experiences with them like Disney World, camping, snorkeling, meeting a dolphin... Plus, we have built in caregivers if we want a date night. Best of both worlds. We are very blessed to be able to travel with them! My Dad is coming with us on our next cruise but my mom is staying at home because she's not a fan of cruises :confused:

I always travel with my DD (now 11), she is my travel partner and I enjoy experiencing our adventures together. My boys are now 26 and 28 and live in different states. I long for those days of traveling with them too.

 

Judging from all the responses here...I am the oddball :):)

You're not the only oddball here. We've never vacationed without our children outside of our honeymoon. I certainly don't judge others who do, but it's just not for me.

Thanks for the review! We are looking at the Vista mainly because of the Family Harbor options. :)

But if you are flying, they won't let you on the airplane without a passport

 

 

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If you're flying into and out of Miami, why would you need a passport to fly?

My first few cruises I didn't because I didn't even realize they could accept cash. I remember how bad I thought service was! Once I learned the power of a few dollar bills, service got much faster and more personal. For servers, I almost always tip an extra $1 because they have to find me and not spill my drink in the theater or by the pool. Bartenders, it depends. At Alchemy where they make me a special drink I tip extra. When any bartender makes my kiddo a Shirley Temple with some flair, a nice tip and a mention on the comment card!

We haven't done it before but will on our upcoming cruise so it's a little easier for the 3 year old to find our cabin. Yes, we are always with him when he's in the hallway, but it's a little more fun for him and he feels "important" when he gets to the door first.

I think all of my reason have already been posted, but I'm a nervous traveler. I worry about every "what if" scenario. Once I'm on the ship, I don't worry anymore. And whether we drive in or fly in, we almost always stay at a hotel close to the port the night before. If we have an 11am check out, what else is there to do but head to the port. My kids like to get in the pool, and I'm not a fan of the pool after day one so we like to take advantage of it on the first day.

Carnival does a great job decorating for Christmas. Wreaths, trees, a mailbox to send letters to Santa... We had an ugly sweater contest, a carol singalong in the atrium and it even "snowed". There will be a list available soon of when the ships get decorated. I believe it's the week after Thanksgiving but don't remember for sure.

Wow! We are supposed to go their the first week of October and just assumed the port would be skipped. Great news!

We are having this debate right now. Our 3 year old will be with us when we go to Cozumel in about 2 weeks. He's been on one cruise before but it was Nassau and Freeport so we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. My biggest concern is what to do with the seat while we are at the beach and IF they taxis would even have seatbelts. Last time we were in Cozumel, we didn't have a toddler but we were crammed into a van for the scariest ride I've ever been on! My son, who was about 15 at the time, had to sit on my lap. I can't imagine being in that situation with a toddler!

We did the Victory from 8/21 to 8/25. We were delighted with Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel. You can find them online or Facebook. I'd almost book another cruise there just to visit them again!

Good to know! I'm still exploring our options. There's 7 of us between the ages of 3 and 59 so we have a big age range to please :D