Just off the Sensation if you have any questions.

[jaxfl]

OK I am ready...

[jaxfl]

Well we just got back home from a weekend on the Sensation. We have been on the sister ship the Fascination sever time but this trip on the Sensation it fit you time frame. We have sailed out of the Cape 4 times and as usual getting on was so fast with the FTTF I did not have time to set down and we were in our balcony cabin U215. Really it took like 15 minutes from the first doorway at the terminal and half that was walking up the ramp and down the hall to the room. Like the Fascination the rooms are small but I feel the balconies are large enough, we had a lounger, 2 chairs and a table and had room to walk around. I spend about 45% of my time on the balcony so for me it works.

Let us talk food and food service… has this degraded over the last 2 years. It really depends on who you get for your wait staff, but then again I think the kitchen has a lot to do with it also. The first night we went to the Main Dining Room, Jose is one of the slowest waiters I have ever seen, speaking of seeing, I think I only saw one of his assistance once the 2 ½ hours we were there. He had 4 tables, and could not handle the flow. At our table there were 6 people and one would get an appetizer then someone else would get theirs about 5 minutes later then another would come and so forth. I watch a young waitress handle 8 tables and serve all of them including the ones that came in after us their appetizers, diner and dessert before you got our meal. The next night we changed servers and things were much better. Now the food is nothing to write home about in the dining room. The cooks, just simply do not season the foods. Except for the butter and the eggs benedict nothing was great, even the little lobster is not a top choice product and the prime rib needed horseradish to be eatable. NOW I am easy to feed heck I think Golden Corral is good food, so you know it doesn’t take a lot to impress me. About Golden Corral, Carnival might think about hiring their cooks from that restaurant chain. As far as drinks I did not get the CHEERS program and only had a $212 bar bill and was only asked to buy or if I wanted a drink maybe 4 times over the weekend. Not a pushy as they used to be.

I don’t think I ever saw my mysterious room Stewart the whole trip but I would leave a note and it would happen. The cabin crew that you see every day did not seem as friendly as in years past they would say morning when you initiated the hello but most just kept to themselves and worked. I must say for the age of the ship it is beautifully clean and the cleaning teams are always busy someplace.

Any way any questions ask and I will get back to you.

Edited December 15, 2014 by jaxfl

[willyy]

Did you keep the funtimes? If yes can you scan and upload.... Some People Keep then and some dont, Hitting the SENSATION for New Years and I like to read up ahead of time. Also do you remember the comedians names? Thanks for any info you have.

[scrapperv]

Would you go on the ship again? Did you eat anywhere else on the ship? Favorite part of your trip? Thanks.

[CruisinCrow]

What did you end up doing in Nassau?

[jaxfl]

Would you go on the ship again? Did you eat anywhere else on the ship? Favorite part of your trip? Thanks.

 

First no I did not keep any of the funtimes, actually I just read through them once and trash them.

 

comedians and the shows... I lessoned to 1 and people laughed but I did not think he was that funny. The only funny one was about dry cleaning his suits. The shows were Christmas and my grand daughters school has better actors, but the girls are pretty.

 

Would I go on the ship again, yes, because it is easy to learn your way around and you don't have to walk for blocks like on the Dream to get from one end to the other.

 

Did you eat anywhere else on the ship? There are limited choices on the Sensation, Main Dining, Lido Deck Buffet, pizza that was not that great, the sandwich deli that I normally like, but on this trip there was only 1 person working the sandwiches and he did not really care. If you walked up to the counter, he would let you stand there until you said, something. He also only made 1 sandwich at a time so line gets long at lunch. It is all Carnival food, no special restaurants, however, that being said... on the main dining menu you can order for an EXTRA $20 a stake... I watch one couple get that and only eat half then order off the regular menu...so I don't think it was to their liking.

 

Favorite part of your trip? Just hanging out and relaxing on the balcony with a drink, and not having to rush (had anytime dining) so no schedule to adhere to and just chill.

[jaxfl]

What did you end up doing in Nassau?

 

I went to the chocolate factory "Grayfields" a long walk and it is a little place inside a bunch of buildings that is a resort and restaurant and cigar factory and a nice garden area. They gave out tiny samples and to tell the truth it was kind of bitter, not like milk chocolate or even an American Dark. I also picked up some rum for friends and just walked around. They are rebuilding and there is major construction all around the terminal area. The nice thing is that we were there from noon until 8pm, and they (Nassau) had a lighted boat parade and fireworks show just before we left but I never did read or hear anything about it from the ship. I just happened to catch it as I was on the balcony facing the right way.

[jennraycruise]

Thanks for your review. My mother in law and I are going next Month on this trip. Wondering what to pack for a winter cruise. We are from Ohio. Is it cold on board the ship? Any must see or must do activities? She will likely spend a lot of time in the Casino I just want to relax as the kids will be home with their dad. What are your thoughts on the Cheers Program?

[CruisinCrow]

I do have the Fun Times, if you don't mind me posting on your thread. They are for the 3-day cruise: http://www.susancrow.com/pdf/sensation.pdf

 

Sounds like a nice day in Nassau. It must have been neat seeing the boat parade and fireworks.

[getupgo]

Hard to believe changed so quickly in 1 month. We had our time dining in Fantasy and all the food was well seasoned and service was great. Cabin steward was excellent. The buffet area was well run with tables cleared quickly. Wonder what happened?

[djcass4199]

We were on Sensation 2 weeks ago. One of the comedians was Happy Cole. Forget the name of the other one.

 

Jenray, the ship was comfortable inside and out on open decks. Might want to pack a windbreaker or a sweater just in case. One night was really windy on Lido and that made it feel chilly.

[jaxfl]

Thanks for your review. My mother in law and I are going next Month on this trip. Wondering what to pack for a winter cruise. We are from Ohio. Is it cold on board the ship? Any must see or must do activities? She will likely spend a lot of time in the Casino I just want to relax as the kids will be home with their dad. What are your thoughts on the Cheers Program?

 

 

Pack lite, but take a jacket. When we got off the ship back at the terminal it was very cool and a little windy, I am very glad I had a jacket, but my nose still got cold. You guys being from Ohio may think it is nice when we are wearing longjohns. Go to the shows and if you smoke the Casino is one of the places that the Sensation lets you. Most of the ship is smoke free.

 

I almost forgot.... "Is it cold on board the ship?" YES in some places. Our cabin had the AC running when we boarded and it was 57* outside. I turned it off and it finally got up to about 65* in the cabin. There are no heaters in the cabins, the AC only blows COLD air. The first night I and the wife were not what you would call warm, so I left a note asking the Cabin Stewart to turn on the heat or bring a extra blanket. Got a very nice warm blanket on my bed the rest of the cruise. The Cheers Program, did not use it just bought single drinks and left with a $178 tab. The wife does not drink so for the both of us (they wont do just 1) would have cost me $342+.

 

getupgoHard to believe changed so quickly in 1 month. We had our time dining in Fantasy and all the food was well seasoned and service was great. Cabin steward was excellent. The buffet area was well run with tables cleared quickly. Wonder what happened?

 

Like I said I think the Golden Corral Buffet is good food so you know if I complain it was not that impressive. The Fantasy and the Sensation are 2 separate ships and the cooks and waiters are different and the training and supervision could be very different too. The tables on the Lido Deck were cleaned pretty fast but not all that clean, just wiped off so sometimes still sticky/filmy. Never did see the Cabin Steward the whole trip but no complaints, I left notes and he did as asked.

[SurfCat]

.

 

getupgoHard to believe changed so quickly in 1 month. We had our time dining in Fantasy and all the food was well seasoned and service was great. Cabin steward was excellent. The buffet area was well run with tables cleared quickly. Wonder what happened?

 

Like I said I think the Golden Corral Buffet is good food so you know if I complain it was not that impressive. The Fantasy and the Sensation are 2 separate ships and the cooks and waiters are different and the training and supervision could be very different too. The tables on the Lido Deck were cleaned pretty fast but not all that clean, just wiped off so sometimes still sticky/filmy. Never did see the Cabin Steward the whole trip but no complaints, I left notes and he did as asked.

 

I believe that he was referring to the Fantasy dining room on the Sensation.

[AnnaNimitee]

Has Josh Waitzman come on as CD yet or is Jase still on board?

[AnnaNimitee]

Has Josh Waitzman come on as CD yet or is Jase still on board?

 

Disregard. Someone's answered the question for me. I was surprised to hear your thoughts on the food and service, too. We found it to be pretty good on Sensation a couple weeks ago. Guess anybody can have an off week/cruise, chefs and crew included.

 

We enjoyed our cruise so much, we booked it again for this week. Will be interesting to see if there's any change.

 

(For the person who asked about the Cheers program, we made very full use of it and found it to be a good deal for a 3 day cruise, but it really depends on how much you'll be drinking. We were fortunate enough to have gotten it at the previous lower rate on our 7 day, port-intensive Liberty cruise and found it to be worth it, but not sure if we'll do it at the higher rate on a longer cruise again. It IS very convenient in comparison with Bon Voyage and/or having to keep track of each mimosa.)

[sdharris]

Do they still sell the smoke stack bank/drink cups?

Going out Jan 22!