My thoughts on my FIRST cruise.

[Kitty34]

Just sailed on Carnival's Sensation from NOLA to Calica and Cozumel. On a 1-10 scale I give our overall first cruise an 8.:) Some of my thoughts:

 

*I can't believe how long we are on the Mississippi before we get in the Gulf!! We set sail at 4:00 and didn't get into the Gulft 'til ll:00!!

 

*If you can work it, stay on the ship on one of the port days. A great way to enjoy all the amenities while the other 2000 are off the ship!!

 

*Sensation's crew are even friendlier than I expected, even after reading all the positive comments here on these boards!!

 

* Calica is literally just a spot where the boat docks....nothing is in walking distance. Nothing! Xcaret is very very close, tho. Great place!

 

*There are times the boat is very crowded esp the decks.

 

*I didn't realize how windy the upper decks are when the ship is moving. My son's room key whipped off the ship in the wind.

 

*Embarkment and debarkment is SO smooth!

 

* If you fly to NOLA definetly use the Airport Shuttle!! Great service

 

* Even tho I could feel the ship move I never got seasick!

 

Feel free to ask me any questions. Hopefully I have an answer!:D

[traveller99]

Hi, Kitty34. So, would you cruise again? Sounds like you enjoyed it and learned some stuff for the next cruise.

[4merlurker]

Welcome Back!!! Sounds like you had a great time!!!

[noobiegirl]

what did you wear for formal night? do you have to wear hose or dressy sandals okay??

[Kitty34]

what did you wear for formal night? do you have to wear hose or dressy sandals okay??

 

I wore a lavender knee length dress with dressy sandals. There were many people dressed more formal and less formal than me. :)

[Kitty34]

Hi, Kitty34. So, would you cruise again? Sounds like you enjoyed it and learned some stuff for the next cruise.

 

 

Yes, I would cruise again but I would definetly try out a different cruise line. We were docked near a Norwegian ship and it looked awesome!!:)

[celbercrz333]

Kitty,

Try Celebrity cruise lines. They are nice. Our first cruise was from NYC to Bermuda on Celebrity Zenith. We hit a tropical storm first night out. Our second cruise was supposed to go to Nassau last September, but Jeanne was there and so all we did was sail around the ocean for 3 days coming 35 miles from Cuba. We were on Carnival Fascination. Sounds like your cruise was right on target. Food is good, people get dressed up for formal night, wear bathing suits out to the pool and walk on windy top decks. I remember pulling into Hamilton harbor in Bermuda and the ship has to make a turn. The wind on the upper decks change direction and your hair goes everywhere! It's much more fun when you can get off at a port and discovery the land. While being on a ship for 3 days can be fun, I would prefer to do a port next time. Shipboard life can be sooo easy to get used to. No cooking, no cleaning, just relaxing and taking in shows at the theatre. Fun!

[Happy ks]

Kitty34, Welcome back, I'm glad you had a good time and will cruise again. It's a good thing to try different cruise lines. We have now gone on 7 cruises, 6 different lines. We plan on trying as many lines as we can. Our next little cruise is on RCI, but only because it is local and we only have a choice of 2 lines here, for the short market (out of LA/Long Beach area) and those are RCI and Carnival. We probably, so far have liked Celebrity the best, then RCI, then NCL. We have cruised Disney, which was fabulous, but would not cruise it again because our kids are now older. We have only had one experience with Carnival, but it was a short cruise, 4 day and they don't have great ships for the short market.

 

Our next new line will be Cunard, on the Queen Mary 2, then we are looking towards Oceania for a Mediterranean cruise in the far future.

 

Welcome to the world of cruising, it is addicting!

[hiram]

My family and I took the zoo cruise from the Audobon Zoo in NO to the Aquarium of the Americas. It's a nice little boat ride down the Mississippi. We saw the Sensation and the Noweigan Dream. My wife and are are taking our first cruise in May on the RCCL Empress of the Seas, and I took some pictures of the two ships from the MS river side. If you'd like, I could send them to you. I noticed that there were ALOT more balcony rooms on the Carnival ship vs. the Norwegian ship. I"m looking forward to my cruise and glad to know you had a good time on yours.

 

 

Hiram.

[basketlover]

I'm going on that same cruise in September and will be a first timer. Wondering how much you really spent? And what about getting on and off in No i keep reading horror stories because of construction. What was the best? the worst? what do you wish you had done? or what do you wish you hadn't done. What about packing anything you brought you didn't need or anything you didn't bring that you needed. Sorry for all the questions I'm just so excited and I can only live on the dream of the sea air right now!!!!!! Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!:D

[Kitty34]

I'm going on that same cruise in September and will be a first timer. Wondering how much you really spent? And what about getting on and off in No i keep reading horror stories because of construction. What was the best? the worst? what do you wish you had done? or what do you wish you hadn't done. What about packing anything you brought you didn't need or anything you didn't bring that you needed. Sorry for all the questions I'm just so excited and I can only live on the dream of the sea air right now!!!!!! Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!:D

 

Hi Basketlover. I will try to answer all your questions the best I can!!:)

 

How much did we spend? Cruises can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want after the initial fee. It depends on how many excursions you take (the ships are very expensive) and how much you drink and gamble.

 

We took a cab to the dock and the Airport Shuttle back so for us all went smooth. My brother and his family drove and they said NOLA is a nightmare!!

 

We packed booze and didn't drink it.:rolleyes: Thanks to these boards we didn't overpack or underpack too bad.

 

We did pretty much what we had planned except at Cozumel (our 2nd stop) we hung around the ship and enjoyed the peace and quiet after shopping in the am. Otherwise the ship is pretty crowded on Sea Days. I definetly recommend doing this!!:)

 

Feel free to ask more questions if you have any.

[Rodeomomof2]

Hey Kitty, we are going on the Sensation in a little over 5 weeks. We have a Jr Balcony suite booked, which room did you stay in? Was it easy to learn the layout? What time did you arrive and get onboard? Was the process easy? Did you find that the ship arrived on time to the ports as it stated in the itenerary? I read somewhere that if the schedule says 10am you had better plan for 12 because of delays and such. About the formal night, my husband is a cowboy through and through, his "formal wear" is a new starched pair of Wranglers and a nice dress shirt and his felt hat....do you think he will stand out too much as underdressed at the formal night? haha He said he was not buying a suit for the cruise, he managed to stay out of one for 34 years and was in no hurry to start now. I may can talk him into a nice jacket or something...what do you think? I am glad that you had a great cruise, we live in Mississippi and are driving down early that morning ( 3 hour drive) to get on board and can't wait. Any tips or ideas you want to share, please feel free! THANKS! :)

[Kitty34]

Hey Kitty, we are going on the Sensation in a little over 5 weeks. We have a Jr Balcony suite booked, which room did you stay in? Was it easy to learn the layout? What time did you arrive and get onboard? Was the process easy? Did you find that the ship arrived on time to the ports as it stated in the itenerary? I read somewhere that if the schedule says 10am you had better plan for 12 because of delays and such. About the formal night, my husband is a cowboy through and through, his "formal wear" is a new starched pair of Wranglers and a nice dress shirt and his felt hat....do you think he will stand out too much as underdressed at the formal night? haha He said he was not buying a suit for the cruise, he managed to stay out of one for 34 years and was in no hurry to start now. I may can talk him into a nice jacket or something...what do you think? I am glad that you had a great cruise, we live in Mississippi and are driving down early that morning ( 3 hour drive) to get on board and can't wait. Any tips or ideas you want to share, please feel free! THANKS! :)

 

Hi RodeoMomof2. We were on the Upper Deck aft. Not a bad room at all even with two very tall teenagers.:D

We arrived at the ship at about 12:45 and were on the ship and in our cabin by 1:30. There were a lot of people but Carnival sure knows how to herd (using that word for your husband's sake!! LOL) them thru. Your husband should be fine with just a nice jacket. We saw people very formally dressed and not so formal. Both were nice to see and no one makes anyone else feel uncomfortable, certainly not the staff.

The ship was on time at all the ports. Activities and meals were always on time, too. We never waited (long) for anything.:)

[serene56]

RodeoMom: You will be surprised on how formal formal night really isnt. I am sure they will not kick your DH off the ship for not waering a suit. My mom wore a pant suit. W esaw a guy on he Vogager were a tee shirt with the tux imprinted on the front.

 

Is the ship hard to get around?? Just know that deck 5 you can get anywhere you want--front/back up /down So if you are on the upper deck--get to deck 5 (one under you) and walk to where ever you gotta go then take the elevator. Being aft is great. get on the elevator and the food is there. Great for getting coffee in the morning- DOnt forget to take your insulated mug

[Rodeomomof2]

Thanks for answering my questions. I noticed on Carnival's web site this weekend that they have changed some of our itinerary times. Costa Maya was changed from 10 am -6 pm to 12 pm - 8 pm, I am not sure why, and how that will affect some of our excursion plans. We are certainly looking forward to going in 5 1/2 weeks. I appreciate the advice on formal night, I am sure we will find a way to fit in just fine. ;) Have any of you ever used the internet while onboard, just in case I wanted to e-mail my kids back home, I was wondering how much it was etc....:confused: ?