alymb03

My upcoming cruise will be my second time with fttf. Both cruises had a tendering port so that added to my value. I also used guest services a lot the first time. This one, I will have an infant so boarding quickly, having my cabin ready and express luggage delivery are especially attractive to me. I say buy it while it is available and you can always change your mind and cancel.

Thanks for your post! We will be sailing the Sensation as a large group in November. A lot of first timers so I am worried about their impressions of Carnival. Hope they can look past the old ship and have a great time too!

Congrats and yay for you! We like to be surprised as far as gender goes, so there is no way for us to do Early Saver I guess...

LoL I guess this is another benefit of having convinced my husband to find out the gender. He wanted to be team green!

After we booked, I told my husband that we are LOCKED IN to the baby's name now. No name changes with Early Saver!!

Good luck with both the rest of your pregnancy and your cruise!

This upcoming cruise will be our second cruise with our egg, peanut and tree nut allergy son. The last cruise (and this cruise), we did Any Time Dining, so we had a different waiter every night. We made sure to be very clear with him/her about the allergens and they were very helpful with answering questions and checking with the kitchen to make suggestions on safe choices. We also made a note on the reservation ahead of time.

The buffet was a little harder. We stayed clear of anything questionable and stuck to the same stations that had very little chance of cross contamination because they didn't serve the allergens. It was easier to eat in the dining rooms as much as possible.

Woohoo, sounds like a fantastic cruise!!! Have fun!

I booked yesterday for my unborn son. We did the Early Saver First Dibs promo, so we did have to provide a name. Luckily, we have this figured out already. The Carnival rep assured me multiple times that I will be allowed to update the birth date after our son is born. He did put a note in for me as well, to help my anxiety lol

Our next cruise will be my 8 year old's second cruise. He has egg, peanut and tree nut allergies. We did not and will not allow him to eat in Camp Carnival. No biggie and is much easier/safer for everyone involved. Don't trust other people to be as diligent in allergy safety as you are.

The Carnival Sensation is one of our most favorite ships in the Carnival Fleet.

 

I will say, fondly, if you love the color PURPLE, you will absolutely love The Carnival Sensation.

 

She's an older ship. Very easy to navigate. Not quite as crowded as on other larger vessels. Sensation has an intimate feel to it, we always make friends on her, it's that kind of ship.

 

The Piano Bar is amazing I love the "Hand" motif. There usually is a great pianist/vocalist on board and the nightly shows are fun and rowdy. We really become part of the show. If you go on the first night, then you will be expected the rest of the nights, as it won't be the same without you, it's that much fun and full of camaraderie.

 

My favorite spot, the Casino, though small, is very up to date with current table games and lots of slots.

 

The Comedy Lounge located aft is also fabulous as all the seats are good seats to see the shows. A word of Caution: The Adult-Only Comedy shows are a total "Laugh Your Pants Off and Tinkle" Funny and a riotous hoot. HOWEVER, if you have an aversion to hearing the "F" bomb multiple times or hearing about various male and female intimate body parts or about frolicking adult bedroom acts and even alternate lifestyles, I would not recommend attending. It's all this and more! Very, Very Naughty.

 

One of the most beautiful night clubs on any ship sailing today is the Sensation's Michelangelo Lounge. This is where, in the Sensation's heyday years ago, they would have live Jazz and Cover Bands or special musical guests when the ship did longer itineraries. Now, on these short cruises, it's a Karaoke Bar. The statuary (Think Roman columns and statues of naked David and his sister in full blossom everywhere) just seem odd paired with Karaoke. But nonetheless, the bar is beautiful.

 

The Kaleidoscope Disco located next door to the Michelangelo is also kind of cool, though dated, it still resonates DISCO and is a whole lot of fun each night (Especially because they have security stand at the door keeping the young-ins out!) I think it's called Retro now!

 

The Serenity Deck was the first one we were ever on, it's small and intimate and kids definitely are kept out of here and chair hogs are virtually non existent because of the Deck Stewards. One word of advice, if you stay on the ship while it's in port, it gets very hot back there at Serenity at times, especially if there is no breeze or the ship is stuck between two Royal Caribbean "Something of the Seas" behemoths. When in port, we hung out up on the Sports deck by the funnel where there was a wonderful cross wind.

 

The water slide is so much fun that I, being 56 years old, still have the time of my life going down it, over and over, and thanks to Carnival, get to be a kid again. Somehow I always seem to swallow water when I get to the bottom because I have my mouth open screaming or laughing. It never fails, I know I am coming down to the bottom of the slide and you would think I know better by now, but nope, there I am, with an open mouth ready to insert a gallon of chlorinated water automatically.

 

The balcony cabins are an add-on feature off the side of the ship, except in the suites where they are original construction. Any suite is fun because of the size of the room and the extra space on the balcony. As this is an older ship, at the time of it's inception, no one knew how much balconies would become in demand, as they were still only considered a premium extra. The regular cabins, (oceanview and inside) are pretty much the same (a Carnival Standard) and are very comfortable. The Junior Suites on the Veranda Deck all have original balconies and they are actually what a "Standard" balcony cabin is today, on the larger, newer ships.

 

I love Joe's coffee bar. Great Cappuccino with a shot of Baileys. Daily Breakfast of Champions, I say. (After my Bloody Mary, of course)

 

Speaking of breakfast. The main dining room has the standard sit-down breakfast menu and the Sea-Day Brunch. And Room Service has smoked salmon with bagels on the door hanger. We do both every day.

 

The Lido Buffet is actually pretty darn nice and we like it better than on the Carnival Breeze (which we just returned from this past Thanksgiving). I like the pizza, deli and bar located all together, kinda like one-stop-shopping. There are plenty of seats outside to sit enjoying the ocean or port view as well, kind of like eating alfresco.

 

The buffet lines flow smoothly and I love the salad bar in the center which is always fresh, along with the 24 hour ice cream (yummy) located there too.

 

My favorite is that we make sure our cabin is always on Empress Deck, just about 40 feet from the Atrium Bar, so literally I can roll right out of bed in my PJ's and get a Bloody Mary and go back to the room to get ready for the day. My kinda cruising.

 

We have found that the staff is, well, Sensational, pardon the pun. It seems to me that customer service is different on the smaller ships. More genuine, more active, more participatory. The staff wanting to go out of their way to please the Guest rather than just go thru the motions.

 

If you love Martini's then you will love the Polo Lounge, located aft, just before the Aft Lounge (Comedy Club). We have always loved the skill, conversation and experience of the bartenders here. Great to also watch sports during the day if that all important game is on.

 

For Dinner, the Main Dining rooms have always offered us top notch service and the food has never disappointed. It's like going to a wedding every night. Also, don't be shy, talk to the folks around you. It is very intimate seating. There is no Steakhouse or alternate dining restaurant, however the "Steakhouse" selections on the main dining room menu ($20 upcharge) are all wonderful options. In addition, one special treat is the "Chef's Table". For $75 pp/adults only, we got a magnificent back stage tour of the kitchen during dinner preparation, a 5 course meal prepared in the kitchen by the Head Chef along with all the wine and champagne I could enjoy all included and served to us at a private table for 12 in what they call The Library (adjacent to the main dining room). Plus, when we got back to our cabin there was a Carnival Cookbook, a commemorative photo of us with the Head Chef, a signed thank you note and some heavenly hand made chocolates. Fabulous!

 

On formal (Carnival calls them "Elegant") nights, because of the short cruises, we have found it not to be as "Formal" as on other ships. As we are two guys and when we are on longer cruises, we still travel with and wear our Tuxedos. On the Sensation, we don't much see any Dark Suits and Tuxes anymore, but, we also don't see shorts and jeans. We do see lots of dress shirts and ties with nice pants. For our upcoming cruise in February, we will be wearing Evening Shirts with ties and dress pants. Not bringing a jacket.

 

For $2.99 per case, we always order from Carnival's Bon Voyage a case of water to be delivered to the cabin on embarkation. We also order a few six packs of sodas and some beers to have on hand in the cabin.

 

Play Bingo! This is an old fashioned throwback from the by-gone era of cruising and it's a lot of fun, plus someone is going to win, it might as well be me (or You). The pull-tabs that accompany the bingo package are exciting and we won $500 on our last cruise.

 

We chose the 5 day February 29th, what we call The "Sun", sailing. It's all Sun-Days of Relaxation and no ports, just ship and sea and beach. Sea Day-Grand Turk-Half Moon Cay-Nassau(stay on ship) itinerary.

 

Whatever you choose to do, remember YOU ARE ON A CRUISE! YAY! Have a blast and enjoy the Sensation. We know we have and we will again!

 

Wow, thank you for this great summary of the ship! I can't wait to experience it for myself!

What a handsome young man and a great review! I will be taking a 6.5 month old baby on a cruise later this year and hope to turn him into a well behaved frequent cruiser as well!

Well it depends!

 

The time to celebrate big package only includes 20 people - every additional person adds $30. We are assuming around 100 attending so that extra 80 people will be an additional $2,400.

 

You have to go on the cruise so your room cost is an added expense(we booked a grand suite since this is our wedding) plus your excursions, on-board spending, tips...everything can add up quick!

 

We are going down the night before and having a welcome dinner at the resort so room costs (grooms dad is paying for the dinner - woohoo!). We are also doing welcome gift bags for every guest.

 

We sent save the dates, and are sending formal invitations. We have budgeted for the most expensive picture package they offer....just in case!

 

Is all of that necessary? Not really! It just all depends on what you and your fiance want to do!

 

I am an accountant, and I have tracked every penny I've spent - from postage stamps to the wedding package! Right now we have spent around $7k. That number includes our cruise, our pre-cruise hotel stay, my cousin/hair/makeup stylists cruise room and hotel stay, the wedding package base price, save the dates (including envelopes/printing/postage), our wedding party cards asking them to be in the wedding, and my wedding dress.

 

We still have to:

- pay the balance on our wedding depending on the number of people (we are at least expecting this to be $2,400)

- pay for the flowers (we ordered real-touch bouquets/bouts/wristlets)

- tip the waiters/hostesses at the wedding (we pre-paid our cruise tips plus always bring extra for exceptional service)

- order the items for our welcome bags (not sure about this cost yet)

- pay for the pictures

- grooms suit (the place I bought my wedding gown is letting us rent suits for the entire week for the price of a typical 1 day rental - hallelujah!)

- gifts for bridal party (thinking of OBC)

- pay our license fees

- pay for our formal invites/postage

 

We actually booked our cruise using gift cards I got through verizon smart rewards (automatic 10% discount) and we have enough of those to cover our on board purchases!

 

Total price is so subjective, there are so many options to consider. Just sit down and talk about what is important to you and establish a budget! We are on track to come in just right with what we budgeted in the beginning. Have fun planning!

Hmm, thank you for breaking it down like that! We are from NJ and the current venues we are looking at with everything seem to be falling between $12k and $15k. Before the honeymoon. I am trying to get a sense of the cost of an embarkation wedding to see if it would end up being cheaper but it's very hard to compare.

Would anyone be willing to share how much their Carnival wedding cost total? I see the brochure prices but wondering what the final number can end up being. I am interested in the embarkation wedding with the Time to Celebrate or Time to Celebrate Big package but would love to hear any experiences! Please tell which package you chose and what extras you added on with your total cost. Thank you so much! :D

Wow, that is exciting! Hope you all have a wonderful trip!

I noticed that, that is why I was wondering :o

Happy to confirm then...

I think it's been quite awhile since any shore excursion promo codes have come out.

Easily googled:

Carnival comprises eleven individual cruise line brands,[8] operating a combined fleet of over 100 ships, totalling over 190,000 lower berths, and with new ships on order.[2][9] Executive control of each brand is by geographical location, with Carnival Corporation controlling operations in North America, Carnival UK controlling operations in the United Kingdom (including operations of Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, P&O Australia and Cunard Line) and Costa Cruises Group controlling operations in the rest of Europe. P&O Cruises Australia is operated by Carnival UK as a sister company of P&O Cruises.

AIDA Cruises, Germany

Carnival Cruise Lines, United States

Costa Cruises, Italy

Cunard Line, United Kingdom

Holland America Line, United States

Ibero Cruises, Spain

P&O Cruises, United Kingdom

P&O Cruises Australia, Australia

Princess Cruises, United States

Seabourn Cruise Line, United States

This was an offer to my mom but I did the booking so they called me and I passed on the info.

1) 8 days Carnival Splendor

2) 9 days before sailing

3) 2 people

4) Booked a military guaranteed. Got 8D Balcony on Empress

5) Offered an Ocean Suite on Empress for $199 a person

They did not take it bc they were already happy with their room. They received a free upgrade at check in on our 2005 cruise while also under military rate. Just food for thought.

Question...my mom and I are cruising together and will have two separate sail and sign accounts. If I buy the cash will they know who to credit it to?

 

 

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You get to select which person in the room receives the "gift" when you purchase it.

So glad our cruise Sat is out of NYC :), don't have to fly. We were planning on the train to Penn station from central NJ to avoid 320.00 parking fee. Second time on Splendor, going to try all of the things we didn't get to last time. It was not my favorite ship, we were not impressed with the atrium area as only a small part of it goes to the top with a lower ceiling over the rest that felt closed in.

Also the pink donut decor on everything was ugly and the dining room ceiling did look like it was covered in fried eggs instead of the oyster/pearl thing!!

But the price is right and we will be taking a cruise to warmer places we hope!! Bringing a few books and card games and just hoping for no rain in the Bahamas!!! Going to try the brunch and burritos and relaxxxxxx :) Never had a bad cruise and don't intend to start now..

Haha, I think it would be fun to cruise out of NYC in the snow.... as long as it was warmer, sunny weather down South! We are also going up from central NJ but are going to park at Port Imperial in Weehawken and ferry across. Have fun, I am on the cruise after you!

I'm curious how Eli will do. Does anyone know if he has subbed for CD before? I know he's on the entertainment staff so he should be pretty comfortable.

This will be my fifth birthday cruise and the only thing I've ever got is the candle in my dessert with "Happy Birthday" lol....

I don't plan on spending much time outside for the first and last days when we take our cruise. Still, can't waiiiiit! Have fun on yours!

I vote for the Valor based on the itinerary.

I booked guaranteed cabins and just received our cabin numbers either Monday or Tuesday for my cruise 1/12. That's about 5 weeks ahead. It varies though.

I'm on Sensation now. I was upgraded from a 1A interior upper/lower to an ocean view and didn't find out until I got checked in. Yay! I love my platinum sail and sign card. Gonna finish up my lunch and find a DOD! :-)

 

 

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Woohoo! Being platinum helps I'm sure lol enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the review and congrats on your marriage! Senor Frogs is expensive but I love the atmosphere!