Carnival Sensation - May 1, 2014 - Quick review with a few pictures!

[slord12]

Hello again!

 

Just returned a few weeks ago from my second 3 day cruise on the Carnival Sensation. My first trip was last year for a bachelor/bachelorette party with friends.

 

I am an accountant, and was desperately seeking a quick getaway after tax season. My boyfriend is a teacher, and of course spring break around here falls during the height of tax season. I mentioned a girls weekend to my mom though, and she was all for it! This would be her first Carnival cruise, and second cruise ever. I gave her and my dad a 5 day cruise on Norwegian Dawn as a gift for Christmas the first year I had a big girl job. I will include her comparisons to NCL.

 

Let's get started!

 

My parents are actually building a house in Flagler Beach, FL so we decided to head down a day early so that I could see the house for the first time. My dad made the trip with us so he could stay and get some work done on the cable and internet while we were gone. After an uneventful 4.5 hour drive, we had arrived. We ate lunch at the Matanzas Inlet Restaurant. This is a very divey restaurant, but the food is simple and good. My favorite things about this place though are the views, it's gorgeous outside, and the homemade datil pepper sauce!! I had never heard of a datil pepper, but oh man this stuff is TASTY! It has a sweet taste, but it's not overpowering.

 

Not the best weather at the time, but you get the idea of the views.

 

 

 

By the way, the story of how Matanzas got it's name is pretty interesting. What's even more interesting is how A1A was completely wiped out during a hurricane and there are now dirt roads leading to ocean front homes where A1A used to run.

 

It was finally time to go see the house! It looks great, and as I'm writing this, my dad and boyfriend are loading up to start moving in this weekend.

 

We went shopping at the Super Target in Palm Coast and managed to buy $75 of stuff I didn't know I needed. We did get a few Cokes and some ginger ale to take on the ship with us.

 

We met my dad at the hotel and lounged around the lobby talking and drinking coffee until it was time for dinner.

 

We went back to Flagler Beach to have dinner - pizza at Giuseppe's. We called it a night pretty early to get ready for our big day tomorrow!

[aqua blue me]

So what's your opinion on the Sensation? Food on board & nassau? I've been on one other Carnival cruise and think this one will compare about the same. I love NCL

 

 

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[slord12]

We woke up early and had breakfast at the Fairfield around 9:00. Since I've started staying there, they have really improved their breakfast. They had a good variety of hot and cold items. We kept it light since we knew we were about to eat nonstop for 3 days! We had the car packed and were on the road by 9:30. We stopped to fill the car up with gas, and pulled into the port parking lot around 10:45. It's just convenient for us to pay to park there and have our car so we can just hit the road when we leave.

 

We dropped our bags and a tip with a very nice porter and headed inside.

 

My mama was shocked when we entered the terminal, it was empty! We walked right in through security, checked in, and got zone 1 boarding cards!

 

 

We had originally booked the cheapest 1A room on the ship, on the Empress deck (deck location is more important to me overall than specific room location). A few weeks before our cruise the price started to drop! I was booked on a past guest rate that came with $120 in OBC, plus my $50 shareholder credit. I called to upgrade, and as luck would have it we wound up getting an oceanview room that would sleep 3 people for the same price, plus we got to keep all of our OBC. Woohoo! We wound up in room E-22. It is worth noting on my parents cruise with NCL, they were in a penthouse suite and were spoiled rotten. Just keep that in mind...

 

Shortly after we sat down, they started boarding. Diamond/platinum, FTTF, and zone 1 within 3 minutes of each other. My mama was already impressed!

 

We were on the ship by 11:12, no joke. I couldn't believe it. We decided to go ahead and grab lunch while the ship was empty. We were the first customers for the Mongolian Wok. I had noodles, tons of veggies, with steak, shrimp, and the spicy szechuan sauce. My mom decided to go with chicken and shrimp. We took our plates inside and the buffet inside was still untouched! It was amazing. We grabbed some drinks and enjoyed our food. I had the caramel cheesecake, and mama had the mint chocolate cake for dessert. Those are 2 of my favorites!

 

After lunch we walked right out and got 2 lounge chairs with an umbrella at the corner of the pool.

 

You can tell in this picture how empty the ship still was.

 

 

It still wasn't crowded when a little scavenger hunt game started. We were so close to the stage we easily ran up when an item we had was called.

 

 

Time for the first DOD!

 

 

We stayed by the pool until it was time for Muster. Our station was inside the theater, and of course we all lined up to walk to the lifeboats. It took about 20 or 30 minutes total. We noticed it got a little cloudy, and the wind picked up so we headed up to the front of the ship for sailaway.

 

 

We walked down the stairs at the front on starboard side and stayed there to watch the harbor pilot. My mom had no idea they did this. She was amazed. It was rather windy by this point and the water was choppy so it made it all the more interesting to watch. I got a video I will upload at the end with my gopro videos!

 

We had late dining (my preference) so we went to the grill for a snack of chicken fingers and fries. I love the chicken fingers they serve here. They are always so crunchy!

 

We finally went to the room to check it out and our luggage was waiting for us. Overall, I was very happy with this room. The location was so convenient to everything. I was most impressed with the floor space.

 

[slord12]

After unpacking and putting our stuff down we headed out to explore the ship. I showed my mom where everything was and how easy this ship is to navigate. She kept saying over and over again, the Dawn didn't have anything like this. I could tell she was going to enjoy this trip. One of her favorite spots was up top at the mini golf course, she loved the views from the front behind the glass panels. I didn't notice last year, but there are chairs there. She enjoyed sitting up there watching the water.

 

 

She had never noticed the whale tails on Carnival ships.

 

 

We went back to the room to get our shower bags to head to the spa. I do this every cruise. I love showering up there. The port side elevators are the only ones that go all the way up to the spa. We dressed up there in the changing rooms and then went back to the room to do our hair and makeup. My mom loved the size of the showers up there. On her NCL cruise, she was in a suite, so she was used to a full bathroom. She agreed the shower in the room was tiny, but she actually used it a few times in the morning and said it wasn't so bad for a quick rinse off.

 

We stopped by the taste bar, tonight was a chicken tortilla soup with some pulled pork. It was decent. My favorite band, music power, was playing on the promenade right near the casino bar. They are so awesome. Me and Jon listened to them every chance we got last year. After listening a while we decided to go to the Polo Lounge for a drink before dinner. There are stairs here that lead you right into the aft dining room. The bartender at the Polo Lounge was from Indonesia, and so nice. We enjoyed sitting with him every night.

 

The doors opened for dinner, so we walked down and our table was a 10 top right near the entrance. We sat right by the window, and were alone before 2 women showed up. Now, I have always had good tablemate experiences at dinner, but this one was just odd. They sat at the complete opposite end of the table, and wouldn't even look at us. I'm loud, so of course I spoke and said hello and asked where they were from. They looked at each other funny and said Georgia, well so am I!! As soon as I said that they shut down. I seriously think they didn't want anyone to know they were there. It was like they thought oh no these people are from Georgia too and may know someone we know. It was just awkward. Luckily a few minutes later 2 brothers from Boston showed up and they were very friendly! They sat near me and my mom and we had a good time talking with them.

 

Our waiters were Glenn from the Phillipines and Anthony from Saint Croix. They were awesome, we were done with dinner in less than an hour. Our bar waiter for the weekend was great too. On my last cruise we had a hard time tracking ours down. Not this girl, she was at our table first every night getting me and my mom a glass of wine with our dinner!

 

For dinner tonight I chose a caesar salad, escargot, flat iron steak, baked potato with sour cream and chives, and of course WCMC for dessert. My mom had the caesar salad, gazpacho, flat iron steak, baked potato with sour cream and chives, and she too had the WCMC. We waddled out and went to watch the welcome aboard show at 10.

 

Can I just say, I LOVE WEE JIMMY!! My first 2 cruises (Carnival Dream and Freedom of the Seas) I had no interest in the cruise directors. The Sensation changed that for me, he is hilarious. My mom was laughing so hard at him, especially when he starts dancing to "Teach me how to dougie"! Since we were still up I figured we may as well go ahead and catch the 11pm adult comedy show. The comedian tonight was just ok, I laughed a few times. The Punchliner Hostess was great though, something about her look and voice reminded me of Amy Farrah Fowler from the Big Bang Theory! She is funny and gives a great intro each night.

 

We were exhausted, so as soon as we were back in the room we instantly fell asleep. We were ready for our day in Nassau tomorrow!

 

[slord12]

So what's your opinion on the Sensation? Food on board & nassau? I've been on one other Carnival cruise and think this one will compare about the same. I love NCL

 

 

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I love the Sensation! It is an old ship, so don't go in expecting the latest and greatest. The service is the best I've had on any ship. I've never had a problem with the food either. Taste is so subjective that's hard to comment on, but temperature and quality wise, I'd say very good. I have never tried NCL, my parents enjoyed their suite, but my mom was VERY impressed with Carnival. Thanks for reading!

[aqua blue me]

We have a ocean view booked also. Thanks for all the little details and great pics!

[slord12]

I always wake up early on vacation, I just think I'm gonna miss something important I guess. I called around 7:45 and ordered a carafe of room service coffee for 2. It arrived just a few minutes later. We sat in the beds and drank some coffee and watched the news. We got dressed (by dressed I mean bathing suits and cover ups) and headed to the dining room. I used my free drink coupon for a spicy bloody mary, and my mom had the same. She ordered some melon, and I had a baked apple. We both had eggs benedict with hollandaise on the side (it always comes out cooked perfectly if you order it this way).

 

 

We headed up to the lido to get some sun while we made our way to Nassau. We enjoyed some more bloody marys up on the deck, and I tried my first twilight zone. I had no idea what it was, but I saw someone else get one and I had to have it. It was very good!

 

 

Gorgeous day in Nassau!

 

 

The ship was never crowded, no problems ever finding chairs anywhere you wanted. I think this was an odd week during spring break and summer vacation. There weren't a lot of kids either!

 

We have arrived!

 

 

2 neighbors in port, Disney Dream and the Norwegian Getaway. I may or may not have drooled when I saw the Getaway. Going to have to try NCL for that one!!

 

 

We had the all clear to go before noon, but mama and I decided to eat some lunch on the ship since we weren't snorkeling until 2:30. Today is the Caribbean buffet, and I am so glad we didn't miss it. The food was great. I had jerk chicken, rice and beans, fried plantains (put some salt on them - a little trick a lady in the DR taught me) and some other goodies. We had a nice view of the Disney Dream during lunch.

 

 

After lunch we had our bags so we went down and walked right off the ship.

[slord12]

It may be a few days before I can finish. I am working out of town tomorrow and Friday, then heading to Florida Friday night. Just a heads up!

[slord12]

The marketplace building was so empty since the other 2 big ships had been there for a while!

 

 

Once we were off the ship, the first order of business was to get our passports stamped.

 

I didn't know you could have this done at the port office on my first 2 cruises! We asked a lady inside the marketplace where to go and she told us to go through the security gate into this building.

 

 

We walked in and they told us to go down a long hallway to our right. I was fumbling through my folder to get my passport out, and was shocked to find I also had my boyfriends (it was still in the folder from my last trip). Before I could say anything, she had stamped that one too. I'm assuming she thought he was outside or something. Who knows! I joked with him once I got home he could have committed a major crime that day because his passport shows that he was in Nassau!

 

Anyway, we decided to walk through some shops downtown. Mama found some paintings for the new beach house and we talked to the man painting them for a long time.

 

We weren't meeting up for our snorkel trip until 2:30, so we figured we'd walk to Junkanoo and have a drink and chill for a little while.

 

 

 

Mama loved the atmosphere at Junkanoo, and wanted to come back after our snorkel trip. We walked next door to the Hilton and went through the lobby to the pool area. This looked like a good place to spend the day. We did comment though we could have just sat down anywhere and no one would have known the difference if we'd paid or not. They didn't seem to care at all. We used their restrooms then walked down the little pier to meet up with Basil!

 

[slord12]

We got checked in at the little stand, and picked out our fins (we use our own mask and snorkel). There was another group of 6. He loaded them into the first boat, then Basil took me and my mama in the second. It was so nice we sat right up front with a great view for the ride. It was very windy, so he explained where we going so we could have good visibility for snorkeling. On the way he pointed out landmarks to us.

 

We arrived at our snorkel spot, Spruce Cay!

 

 

He chose this spot since it was more protected from the wind. He told us this used to be used by a cruise line as a private island - not sure which one, does anyone know?

 

The snorkeling here was fantastic. Lots of live, colorful coral, and so many fish!! I have video/pictures on my gopro I'll upload at the end.

 

He let us snorkel for at least an hour and a half, I think longer. I was pretty tired by the time he told us we had to head back! He had soda and bottles of water for us to drink. On the way back he took us to millionaire's row at Atlantis and let us see all the yachts up close and personal. Atlantis was amazing. I've never been, but just the detail from the outside is impressive. I have more pictures of this on my other camera as well!

 

Once we got back, we tipped him and thanked him for an awesome day. It wasn't even 5:00 yet so we walked back over to Junkanoo and hung out at Glorias. I'd sat here on my last trip and love the guy that works there. I'm pretty sure he's always drunk, but he's very nice.

 

 

 

We were starving, and I can't come to Nassau and not get conch fritters - we demolished these!! She cooks them to order so they are piping hot and fresh!

 

 

We enjoyed our afternoon in Nassau, and my mama is so ready to go back. She kept saying how awesome it was and how much my daddy would love it. They are actually planning on coming back in November during one of the Carnival LIVE dates.

 

We walked back to the ship around 6:30, there was absolutely no line. We grabbed our bags and headed up to the spa to shower again tonight. We finished getting ready in the room since tonight was elegant night we both wore long colorful dresses. We stopped off and listened to Music Power again (love them)!!

 

 

We got our usual spot at the Polo Lounge waiting for the dining room to open. We grabbed a glass of wine while we waited. Soon enough it was dinner time!!

 

Tonight my mama had the minestrone, stuffed mushrooms, prime rib, and the lobster - WCMC for dessert, obviously!

 

I had the greek salad, stuffed mushrooms, prime rib, and the lobster - black forest cake for dessert for me!

 

We headed to the theater for Curves, I love the bright costumes in this show (even if they are g strings)! Once Curves was over, we hit the sack. We were both exhausted from such a great day in Nassau.

 

[slord12]

Woke up this morning around 8:00 and called for room service coffee for 2! We layed in the beds and drank coffee and watched the news for a while. We finally got up and got going a little after 9. We were excited to try the brunch today.

 

We got to the dining room around 10 and sat at a table with a nice couple from Florida, and 2 ladies from Bristol, England. They were with large group on board. They were moms of some of the teens who had been competing in the world hip hop dance championships at Disney! We both ordered spicy bloody marys (typical) and my mama had the fruit to start, and I had the flaming tomatoes soup. It was good, but I prefer the tomato soup in the dining room at night. We both had steak and eggs for breakfast. They were fantastic. My eggs were perfectly cooked (nice runny yolk) and so was my steak. It was very tender to cut as well.

 

We were going through a rain storm after brunch, so we stopped in the theater for the trivia game show Wee Jimmy was hosting. It was entertaining and took up a good bit of our time. Once the show was over the rain had let up and we went up to our spot on Deck 11, under the overhang from Deck 12 where the whale tail is. We had several drinks up here and just enjoyed napping. We decided to go to the grill for a snack sometime in the afternoon, we split a cheeseburger and had chicken fingers and fries. So good!

 

I rode the water slides a few times today, there was never a line. It was overcast most of the afternoon, and finally started raining hard again around 5:00, but we were heading inside anyway. We did our usual routine of showering at the spa and were ready by 6:00. We wanted to go to the Polo Lounge this afternoon to watch the Kentucky Derby. We got our seats at the bar, and soon the whole lounge filled up to watch. It was a lot of fun!

 

 

 

After the Derby, we went back to the front of the ship for the 7:00 show "Far From Over". I love this show, because I love 80's music. The costumes are also great in this show. My mom LOVED it. She commented that these shows were better than on NCL's old ships (not comparing to the new ones with Broadway caliber shows and Blue Man Group). We both had a twilight zone in the theater, and she ordered hers in the disco ball cup, she was fascinated by the souvenir cups Carnival offered.

 

After the show, it was time for our final dinner! We had 3 girls join our table tonight, and thankfully it was the only night they were there. They were so loud and obnoxious. You could tell Glenn and Anthony were very frustrated by them too. Not to mention they sat down almost 30 minutes late. I am so glad Carnival is looking to close the dining rooms after a certain time. It is so rude and disrespectful to the staff to roll in at your leisure. You should do anytime dining if that's how you're going to be!

 

Rant over, for dinner tonight mama had the cream of mushroom soup, mahi, and WCMC!

 

I had the crab cake, cream of mushroom soup, mahi, and WCMC! So sad to eat that last WCMC for a while.

 

Waiters dancing to gangnam style!

 

 

After dinner we went to the shops to buy our liquor. If you buy it on the last night you can go ahead and take it to the room with you. We bought 3 bottles of rum and a crown royal. We went to the Plaza Lounge for the 10pm comedy show. We got there early and caught the end of superstar live kareoke! This is awesome, you perform with the live band behind you. I know my dad would have to try that!

 

The comedian tonight was hilarious! There were some obnoxious groups in the crowd, who got escorted out fairly early in the show. That was the rudest thing I saw on board all weekend. The comedian made a joke of it while they were walking out and they probably felt pretty stupid. Other than that, great show!!

 

We made it back to the room by 11, made sure our bags were packed up and filled out our customs form. We ordered room service to be delivered by 7:00am.

 

 

Room service was right on time so we sat around and ate until self assist was called off. Our room location was convenient for this since we were on Empress deck. We walked right off and through customs in no time. We were at a different terminal because the Carnival Liberty had just arrived to PC! No big deal though, we were right next door, and I enjoyed seeing this ship. My liquor case handle broke on the escalator ride down, luckily no bottles broke. We were in the car on the road by 7:35!

 

It was another fantastic trip on the Carnival Sensation, and I know there will be plenty more to come.

 

My mama was so impressed by Carnival. She said she would rather cruise with Carnival again than NCL any day! Her and my dad are planning a trip on the Sensation for later this year.

 

Thanks for reading!

[mrstriceasnice]

Thank you for your review and pictures. I am getting married on the Sensation in January of 2015 so I love and info I can get! Sounds like a fun fun time!

[Lil_One]

Thanks for the review! I did this trip with my sister several years ago. So fun! I'm hoping to talk the hubby into doing this 3-day for my birthday in Aug. Our Dec cruise is just too far away!

[tawaik]

Very nice review and thank you for sharing:)

[slord12]

Thank you for your review and pictures. I am getting married on the Sensation in January of 2015 so I love and info I can get! Sounds like a fun fun time!

 

 

Thank you for reading! Me and my boyfriend are planning to get married next year and we are thinking of the Sensation. We want our friends and family to come and cruise and that 3 day trip will be perfect so we can spend time with them then go do something else for our honeymoon (probably another cruise lol). Keep me posted on your wedding, and do a review once it's here! I would love to hear the details of how it went! Congrats!

 

 

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[slord12]

Thanks for the review! I did this trip with my sister several years ago. So fun! I'm hoping to talk the hubby into doing this 3-day for my birthday in Aug. Our Dec cruise is just too far away!

 

 

Thanks for reading! It is such a fun trip, perfect quick getaway! I hear you on the December cruise, I was just thinking today how I didn't have one booked coming up!

 

 

 

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[slord12]

Very nice review and thank you for sharing:)

 

 

Thank you for reading! I mostly do these for myself it just helps me remember fun little details from my trips. I always like hearing that others enjoy them!

 

 

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[aqua blue me]

Thanks for all the great previews of your trip. Our trip will be the 26th Olivia Newton. We are planning on doing Junkanoo beach!

 

 

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[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[slord12]

Thanks for all the great previews of your trip. Our trip will be the 26th Olivia Newton. We are planning on doing Junkanoo beach!

 

 

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Thanks for reading! My parents are wanting to do the LIVE for Kansas in Sept or Nov - let me know how the concert experience was. Have a great time!

[slord12]

Thanks for the report!

 

Thank you for reading!

[loves2knit]

So grateful to see such a positive review of Sensation. My hubby are heading out in a few weeks for the 4 day trip and I was thrilled to see someone provide pictures and detailed information. I believe the trip is as much fun as you make it and it sounds like you and your Mom had a terrific time. I have been on the Imagination (5day) and Inspriation (4day), but never on the Sensation. I am encouraged this is going to be an enjoyable trip thanks to your review. Thanks again for such a great review.

[mrstriceasnice]

Thank you for reading! Me and my boyfriend are planning to get married next year and we are thinking of the Sensation. We want our friends and family to come and cruise and that 3 day trip will be perfect so we can spend time with them then go do something else for our honeymoon (probably another cruise lol). Keep me posted on your wedding, and do a review once it's here! I would love to hear the details of how it went! Congrats!

 

 

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Thank you! i will most definitely do a review. I am really happy with the way Carnival takes care of the details so I don't have to bother from 1500 miles away. We are taking the four day cruise with our friends and family so that we can come back and enjoy the space center and relax with just each other. :)

[Surfwench]

Thank you for the trip down memory lane. :-) First cruise was Sensation in 1999. She is still looking great!

[SMSACE6]

Thank you for your review of the Sensation. I have a soft spot for that ship. She was my first Carnival ship, and also my first solo cruise, way back in 2000.

Thanks for posting your review and photos.:)