Quick review from Sensation 7/18 Bachelorette cruise. W/Pictures

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Just got back from the 7/18-7/21 Sensation Bahamas cruise out of Port Canaveral for my Bachelorette cruise.

 

First pic and drink of the day. I am the one in white.

 

The good:

- We had 2 rooms across from each other (window and inside). The window room had the "L" shape lay out which made more room for dance parties and getting ready ;) (of course the music was not loud, no worries!)

- Rooms more spacious than RC Majesty of the Seas, less spacious than Celebrity Solstice.

- Our room steward, Jose, was awesome! We left him nice notes every night and of course tipped him extra. The chocolates were bad.

- pool chairs! We actually NEVER had a problem getting chairs, believe it or not. Maybe because it was cloudy? We also got a late start to the day not sure if that helped. We were able to get chairs by the main pool and serenity area.

- Up-keep. Yes, the ship is purple and outdated but very clean!

- Atmosphere, yes this had that "party" feel people talk about with the reputation which was fun for this trip. Gregory from Orlando? One of the entertainment host guys was awesome. He did a good job trying to get people to party and bought me a drink.

-Casino- well it was smoky, yuck, but we had fun and won! I left in the green.

- Over-night in Nassau. We did not go out at dark in Nassau. There were some pretty serious warnings about being safe in Nassau so we just stayed out and went to the beach in the afternoon. But we like that the ship stayed docked. I get sea sick so I liked that we would not be moving over night

- I know, I know, but I am being truthful, we snuck wine on and it made it. We also bought several drinks but enjoyed drinking in the cabin before hand.

- Staff in general were awesome and seemed happy to be here. Except our main waiter (see below). We also had a nice talk with Ana who worked the Atrium bar. She was really nice and talked with us for a while in the middle of the day and gave us Prosecco.

 

"L" shaped window room

 

In Nassau:

 

Neutral:

- Tea time? Ok this is an odd ball review, not sure where to place it. I have a thing for macarons and desserts in general so I wanted to go to tea time. First, what the heck??? THE HAND ROOM? What was that LOL. Most random room for "tea time" we were cracking up in that room. Also the macarons, horrible, dry and nasty. It was just so random this tea time that I had to mention it LOL! The chocolate cake at tea time was good!

- Music in general was hit or miss. The girl DJ by the pool was bad, played odd music that you don't associate with being on a cruise. There was a guy that was better. The pianist during tea time could not play any of the "classics" not what I expected from tea time, he said he plays rock?

 

The "Hand Room" for tea time (yes, my one bridesmaid put beer in her tea cup LOL, how classy!)

 

The bad:

-One American outlet. The one in the bathroom did not work. This made for longer time to get ready for girls :) Maybe next time we will bring an extension cord.

- No fridge in room, however our Jose our room steward always had fresh ice for us but would have been nice to have a fridge.

- The food. We all found it to be poor in both the MDR and buffet. Only one night did we enjoy our food (formal night). We also felt the buffet had the same items every day. None of the buffet desserts were good. However, we did like the food by the pool more (how can fries, chicken fingers, and cheese go wrong haha). To be fair, my last cruise was on Celebrity so that is my most recent cruise trip to compare to. They food was 100X better on Celebrity.

- Long lines at buffet, pizza late night took forever

- Music in the "clubs" every night it was the same hip-hop. We tried to get some "EDM" music to play. Even the top 40 EDM songs (i.e. "I need your love" by Calvin Harris which is in the top 10 right now would not play).

- Our waiter in the MDR. WAS. HORRIBLE. He did not engage with us, interact, talk about the meals, nothing. He gave a hard time about ordering a second appetizer or main dish. Even if we ordered it with the first round he made it sound like it was an ordeal.

- Being a non-smoker, the ship did seem smokey

- Dress code from others in MDR. The first night there was girl in cut off little shorts and a mesh see through top with her bikini on (she was middle school/high school age). The Maitre D (I think) actually came on the mic and made a comment about dress code (is this normal?) it was really bad what some people were wearing. Then again, as I stated my last cruise was Celebrity in the Mediterranean which does tend to be more formal.

 

Overall:

The ships serves it purpose. We wanted a quick, cheap get away for my bachelorette party and this did the job! The food was poor, we all agreed, but we had a blast!

 

Like I mentioned before, my last cruise was on the Celebrity Solstice which is newer, has huge rooms and bathrooms, and amazing food. I do not think it is fair to compare the 2, especially since there is a 20+ age gap between the 2 ships (I think?).

My personal bottom line: If I want a quick girls trip again, I would book the Sensation. For our honeymoon- we will stick with Celebrity (which we are, the Equinox).

 

 

So this ended up being a little longer than what I thought, sorry! If you are interested, in my signature I have the link to my very detailed and picture heavy Celebrity review form last summer.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Thanks!

[CruisingGatorGirl]

here is a poor picture of the bathroom:

[HeatherC430]

I love the navy anchor shorts! :)

[Green4me]

Great review, we sail next week on same trip basically but no over night in Nassau, just noon to 8pm. Have sailed her twice before, like you said quick get away and this one make my DW platinum. :) When did they let you on board?

 

Thanks

[CruisingGatorGirl]

I love the navy anchor shorts! :)

 

Thanks!

 

Great review, we sail next week on same trip basically but no over night in Nassau, just noon to 8pm. Have sailed her twice before, like you said quick get away and this one make my DW platinum. :) When did they let you on board?

 

Thanks

 

Ours was advertised as noon-8pm also :) But we stayed until 6am the next day. From what I heard on board this is normal? I am not sure why they advertise it as only until 8 but I guess it is common to stay overnight.

 

Well, again it is advertised boarding starts at 1:30 but that is not true. I think we got there at noon and it was clear boarding had been going on for a while. Also, our rooms were available right away. They said rooms would not be open until 1:30 but we got to our rooms just before 1 I think and they were ready.

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Thanks for the review. I don't know how much wine you "snuck" on but all adults can bring on 1 bottle each. LOL.

 

What deck were your rooms on? Did the bathrooms have hair dryers?

[mamabird526]

Where did you get the cute pink shirts???

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Thanks for the review. I don't know how much wine you "snuck" on but all adults can bring on 1 bottle each. LOL.

 

What deck were your rooms on? Did the bathrooms have hair dryers?

 

Haha that was in addition to the bottle you can bring on. We sneaked a little bit on extra. I don't remember seeing blow dryers. There may have been but I brought my own and I do not recall seeing one. But I could be wrong.

 

Where did you get the cute pink shirts???

 

My MOH ordered them, I am not sure where. Sorry! If I talked to her tonight I will ask :) The said "final sail before the veil" I think and the back said either "team bride" or "bride" for me :)

[lovestx]

Hey Ashley,

 

Glad to see you had fun with your girlfriends. Scary but true....I thought about you last week and hoped you were having fun! I'm guessing that the cost of your Carnival cruise (per night) was significantly lower than your cost on Celebrity so that's a plus.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your wedding planning! I'm in midst of picking a June 2014 cruise to celebrate our daughter's high school graduation and my daughter keeps saying that she wants to stick with Celebrity since she does not want to be disappointed!

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Hey Ashley,

 

Glad to see you had fun with your girlfriends. Scary but true....I thought about you last week and hoped you were having fun! I'm guessing that the cost of your Carnival cruise (per night) was significantly lower than your cost on Celebrity so that's a plus.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your wedding planning! I'm in midst of picking a June 2014 cruise to celebrate our daughter's high school graduation and my daughter keeps saying that she wants to stick with Celebrity since she does not want to be disappointed!

 

Aww thank you! We had a blast! I did get sea sick the first night. I forgot to mention this, there was a strong vibration in the MDR night one. Perhaps it was because we were cruising fast? Anyway it gave me that "Car sick" feeling, different than the swaying side-to-side feeling. We only had that the first night. It did get me a little worried for the honeymoon cruise on X but I asked my fiance and we do not recall a vibration on X.

 

You're right, that was the biggest positive, the price! Duh, I forgot to mention that!

 

That sounds like a perfect graduation present ;) Are you think med? Or staying closer? We are thinking about doing as a family the 2015 Tahitian Treasure cruise that goes to Australia, Tahiti, and Hawaii.

[mcoakle]

My first cruise, in 1995, was on the Sensation. I agree that Carnival is great for an affordable vacation. If you go on expecting a Celebrity Cruise, you will be disappointed. Book it for what it is, and it is a great time.

 

Thanks for the review. I don't think they had the Hand Room back in the 90's.

Edited July 26, 2013 by mcoakle

[Txdisgurl]

We also sailed on this trip and was at Tea Time with you. I agree Gregory was awesome!

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

I used to get sea sick all the time, now I start taking Bonine every night starting the day before we sail. The last cruise I went on was very rocky and I did not get sick!

[CruisingGatorGirl]

My first cruise, in 1995, was on the Sensation. I agree that Carnival is great for an affordable vacation. If you go on expecting a Celebrity Cruise, you will be disappointed. Book it for what it is, and it is a great time.

 

Thanks for the review. I don't think they had the Hand Room back in the 90's.

 

I agree 100% It is great for a quick, cheap get away!

 

We also sailed on this trip and was at Tea Time with you. I agree Gregory was awesome!

 

Oh wow! Sorry if we had a case of the giggles ;) We could not stop laughing over the hands! That room was the antithesis of tea time! HAHA!

[lovestx]

Aww thank you! We had a blast! I did get sea sick the first night. I forgot to mention this, there was a strong vibration in the MDR night one. Perhaps it was because we were cruising fast? Anyway it gave me that "Car sick" feeling, different than the swaying side-to-side feeling. We only had that the first night. It did get me a little worried for the honeymoon cruise on X but I asked my fiance and we do not recall a vibration on X.

 

You're right, that was the biggest positive, the price! Duh, I forgot to mention that!

 

That sounds like a perfect graduation present ;) Are you think med? Or staying closer? We are thinking about doing as a family the 2015 Tahitian Treasure cruise that goes to Australia, Tahiti, and Hawaii.

 

Sorry about the seasickness. I really worried about that for me and my daughter on Equinox but we both managed o.k. (though we did have some rough seas one night).

 

We are considering the Baltics on Connie or the Western Med/Venice on Equinox since those are the cruises that work with our limited timeframe. Still may have to do a land-based vacation due to a niece's bat mitzvah smack in the middle of our planning....stay tuned :)

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Sorry about the seasickness. I really worried about that for me and my daughter on Equinox but we both managed o.k. (though we did have some rough seas one night).

 

We are considering the Baltics on Connie or the Western Med/Venice on Equinox since those are the cruises that work with our limited timeframe. Still may have to do a land-based vacation due to a niece's bat mitzvah smack in the middle of our planning....stay tuned :)

 

Can't wait to hear what you plan :)

[HeatherC430]

My friends & I are thinking of doing a 3 or 4 night cruise for my friends Bachelorette weekend sometime next summer. Any advice you have in terms of making the planning and/or onboard run smoothly for the group? I'd love to hear.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

My friends & I are thinking of doing a 3 or 4 night cruise for my friends Bachelorette weekend sometime next summer. Any advice you have in terms of making the planning and/or onboard run smoothly for the group? I'd love to hear.

 

Yes you should! We all agreed a short cruise makes an awesome bachelorette party! Well we had a small group, just 4 of us (2 cabins) so it was pretty easy.

 

We would pass notes to each other in the morning under the door whoever got up first not to wake each other up. You know with drinking and being up late we all slept as long as we could.

 

So when we got up, we said we were heading up to the buffet and would be back down after.

 

Since you can't use cell phones we communicated through notes which was fun and became a running joke :)

[Eeyoregon]

- I know, I know, but I am being truthful, we snuck wine on and it made it.

 

Why did you "sneak" wine on board? Have the rules changed? Wine and champagne have been allowed in your carry-on on my past cruises and we plan on bringing at least 5 bottles when we sail the Sensation next month. Now you've got me worried.

 

Anyhoo, thanks for the review and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

 

Gina

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Why did you "sneak" wine on board? Have the rules changed? Wine and champagne have been allowed in your carry-on on my past cruises and we plan on bringing at least 5 bottles when we sail the Sensation next month. Now you've got me worried.

 

Anyhoo, thanks for the review and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

 

Gina

 

You can only bring one bottle per person. We all like wine a lot so we sneaked some on. And the one bottle you are allowed to bring is the standard size, you can't bring the larger sized bottle.

[Eeyoregon]

You can only bring one bottle per person. We all like wine a lot so we sneaked some on. And the one bottle you are allowed to bring is the standard size, you can't bring the larger sized bottle.

 

Silly me...I missed where you said it was extra :o. We can legally bring 7 on board so that should be plenty for a 4 night cruise, LOL.

 

Gina

[LPYRCRUISER]

We have done 2 Sensation cruises over the last couple of years. We have become addicted to warmth and sunshine at some point during our harsh winters. It revives us to continue on through the frigid days. Dollar for dollar you can't beat a 3 or 4 day Carnival cruise.

 

We're not looking for extravagance or luxury. I want to be able to get up with room service bringing me coffee at the determined time, have breakfast at my leisure, and sit my can down in a lounger, to read all day long.

 

DH and I enjoy set dining in MDR and always find the meals quite good. I find it amusing that people continue to look for 6 star dining on Carnival We're really not into the dancing and partying scene, but from what I've seen, there is plenty of that to do.

 

.We have used the cruises on either end of a stay in the Orlando area and find it doesn't vary much from what that area has to offer. If I want a spectacular vacation, I would go a different route, either land based or cruise.

 

The Sensation suits our needs for a quick, warm, relaxing getaway

[Mrs.C05]

 

I love your shorts!!!!!! Can I ask where you got them??

[Stallion]

Rockin' the Fedora! I was just trying to explain to a girl that she ought to consider wearing a Fedora for the Lido deck. Good timing

[flounder315]

I think you should of wore a veil...