Sensation 11/3/11 Cruise...Lots of Fun, Good Food, Friendly Staff

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Traveled with my sister on this cruise, we wanted a quick getaway and an opportunity to spend quality time together. We live in the Orlando area so the Sensation's itinerary fit the bill perfectly. Lots of reviews on these Boards are way too negative and put so much weight on one aspect of their cruise that didn't meet their expectations and blow it out of proportion. Overall, this cruise was a great mini vacation and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Sensation again, and again.

 

We drove an hour to the Port and arrived at 10:30 a.m. We had decided to park at the Port (Terminal #5) which has an outdoor parking lot adjacent to the terminal (don't think I would choose this next time as there are other options available). I drove up to the Porters and dropped off my luggage and my sister then drove around to the parking area. They are working on the parking lot, so there was construction going on. I found a good spot close to the tunnel leading to the entrance where I met my sister. Because I am Platinum on Carnival, we had a quick check-in and were escorted to the waiting area and assigned Zone 1. Carnival started boarding around 11:15 a.m. and we were one of the first guests to board right after the wedding party. We made our way up to the buffet on the Lido deck since our rooms were not ready. We parked our carry-on near a table and my sister headed to the deli for sandwiches and I headed to the bar for some nice cold beer. There is only one buffet area on the Fantasy class ships unlike the Conquest class ships but I love it that they have a separate area for the salad fixins and separate dessert areas. The deli, pizza and bar are lined up aft in the dining room. The Mongolian station (Port side), grille (Starboard side) and rotisserie (smack dab in the middle) are all located outside on the Lido deck. For anyone who has never had a sandwich from the Deli, they are all good!! I love the turkey grilled on a country roll, delicious. The rotisserie chicken was soooo good, they must brine it before putting it on the spit because it was so flavorful and moist, I ate some every day. The rotisserie area is also where they have the carving station...a huge roast beef on departure day, leg of lamb one day and the best turkey I've had in a long time. Alongside the carving station are side dishes to compliment whatever is being carved that day, i.e., horse radish, veggies, stuffing, cranberries, and mouth watering mac & cheese which I swear had sour cream in it and red skinned, creamy mashed potatos...hold on while I wipe the saliva off my chin.

 

After lunch, we made our way to the Fantasy Dining Room where the Maitre d' was available to help with questions about assigned dining, table location, etc. One of the perks of Platinum status is guaranteed dining time, we just wanted to snag a table for two (our preference this cruise so we could spend quality time together). Our room was ready (balcony room, mid-ship on Main deck) so we dropped off our carry-ons. The balcony rooms are not as large as similar rooms on the Conquest class ships but there was plenty of storage and we loved it. The major difference in the room was a lack of a sofa...there was a chair and small table in its place. While we were checking out our room, our suitcases were delivered and we unpacked quickly. Since my sister had never traveled on a Fantasy class ship, we explored. The Serenity area was very nice and never crowded, we always found a chair. We went back to the buffet area for some dessert...the cheesecake was pretty darn good today. We went back to our stateroom around 5:00 p.m. to change for dinner. My sister and I both had the mahi-mahi which was good (with mashed potatos, of course), salad, shrimp cocktail, warm, crunchy rolls and chocolate melting cake and butter pecan ice cream and chocolate ice cream, did we eat all that? Of course, we did.

 

Before I forget, the Platinum gift was a Carnival logo cooler bag, nice.

 

We did not attend the Welcome Aboard show, we were in the casino gambling our little hearts out. They had lots of activities tonight including the Adults Only comedy show. Before turning in for the night, we filled out our room service tag for the next morning (Ahhh, coffee on the balcony). Slept like a baby in those wonderful beds.

 

The next day was beautiful and after our room service coffee and danish, we went to the main dining room for breakfast which was hot and delicious. My sister loves lox and bagels and the dining room is where you get it. We arrived right on time in Nassau and we exited the ship after we had lunch (more rotisserie chicken, please) and they kicked us out of the casino when they were close to docking. We shared a van with other guests traveling to Atlantis for the day ($4 per person one way). Gambled for a couple of hours then made our way back to the ship for Cruise Elegant night. I'm very happy to report that dress up was alive and well. My sister and I both had lobster (or two), small but tender and yummy. We attended the performance of "Curves", a little risque for the youngsters in the audience but very entertaining.

 

Saturday was a sea day and we participated in as much as we could today. We also went to Tea Time at 3:00 p.m. There were only a few people in attendance and I wanted to go in the halls and drag people in because the desserts are spectacular. Tea Time on Carnival is a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of the ship. They had huge, fresh strawberries served with cream, a three layer chocolate cake with gooey ganache frosting, fruit tarts, three layer yellow cake with layers of lemon curd, scones filled with cream, cucumber sandwiches and lox sandwiches. If you've never attended Tea Time on the Carnival ships, you're missing some great food. They also had the chocolate buffet on the Lido deck. We gambled in the afternoon, went to Motown Hour near the Mirage Bar which was rockin' and people were actually leaving their slot machines to join us dancing fools. We went to the "Far From Over" show in the Fantasia Lounge and returned to our stateroom to quickly pack and put our suitcases in the hall for pick-up.

 

Always hate to leave the ship but we had a great time. Food was good, staff extremely friendly and entertainment venues plentiful. If anyone has any interest in purchasing the monkey/coconut heads, they had them for sale at the bars on Lido deck on Friday, I didn't see funnel cups or any of the others available on larger ships.

 

The parking lot now charges for four days ($60), think this is a rip-off because someone pulled into my parking spot and paid for that day also. We had a great time on our mini-vacation. If you have any questions, please ask away. I have all the Fun Times but no scanner but I can certainly answer any questions about activities. Keep an open mind and a sense of humor whenever you cruise, not everything will be perfect but it'll come pretty darn close.