Onboard the Sensation

[esdoorn]

She is a great ship! Enjoyed our cruise on her this past April!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Zuzie1]

Sorry for the typos as well. Writing from my iPhone.

[cruzn buckeye]

Forgot two other quick thoughts

 

-We really like the taste bar. It's featured small bites from carnival's specialty restaurants around the fleet. Although tonight the man tried to say we could only have one serving from it. Please, this is a cruise...

 

-The ship gives you discount coupons for a bday on the day you celebrate. Notably $50 off a spa treatment or $25 off a bottle of wine. So pro tip: celebrate early so you have the cruise to enjoy and use.

Early? does this mean your birthday does not have to be during the cruise?

I am crusing in Sept., my bday is in October... will they do early celebration/

Or does it have to be during a cruise? Unfortunately , i don't cruise usually on my birthday...

[suesue25]

Thanks for the updates !! We are going to be on her in September. DH and I will both be celebrating our birthdays on board !! Mine at the beginning and his on half moon cay !

[Zuzie1]

Early? does this mean your birthday does not have to be during the cruise?

I am crusing in Sept., my bday is in October... will they do early celebration/

Or does it have to be during a cruise? Unfortunately , i don't cruise usually on my birthday...

 

Not saying make up you birthday, just mean celebrate it early in the cruise if it happens to be in close proximity. Better to get the coupons the first day rather than the last...

[winddawn]

Sorry for the typos as well. Writing from my iPhone.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Great tips. Hope everything is smooth the rest of your cruise.

[Zuzie1]

"You know the fish is over cooked when you need to ask for a steak knife" (more on that later)

 

Day 3 - We had a great day at HMC, here's the summary

 

Morning

In true Carnival fashion we arrived to HMC 30 minutes late. Pretty sure this impacted their preparation plans for the island as nothing was ready in our villa when we got to it. Speaking of Villas, I highly recommend the splurge. They are wonderful! We were in villa D, which turned out to be great because being further down the beach keeps you away from the crowds. Everything worked out perfectly. We got the crib and DD took a 2 hour nap.

 

Three tips - we put stuff on the row of chaises in front of our villa. It was nice to be able to sit in the sun when needed and also kept from people being on top of us. Like others have mentioned on here before, people don't realize the villas are private. So many people kept coming up to use our shower. One family even walked right in to our villa when we were swimming. Carnival/HAL need to figure this out. So keep an eye on your villa! Also, be sure to let the shorex desk know how many towels you need and they'll arrange for the villa to have towels. Beats having to lug them from the ship.

 

Food on HMC was standard BBQ food. Was pretty good.

 

Afternoon

DD played at waterworks then went to the Seuss read along. She loved both. I lost $40 at the casino. Oh well.

 

Evening

Taste bar wasn't open tonight - so strange.

 

Folks, I've tried to stay upbeat about the food, but tonight was pitiful. It didn't even feel like they were trying. I kid you not, one of the appetizers was fried shrimp and one of the entrees was fried shrimp with fries. In another example one of the everyday menu appetizers is a fruit plate, on tonight's menu a nearly identical fruit plate. Ended up ordering shrimp cocktail and fried chicken from they everyday menu. Both were good, but never imagined I'd be ordering fried chicken on a cruise.

 

The table next to us ordered the fish entree, it was so over cooked she asked for a steak knife. Oy.

 

Again it's not ruining the cruise, but if you've only cruised on carnival you are missing out food wise.

 

Look forward to Nassau tomorrow. We bought day passes to the Hilton.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Zuzie1

[Zuzie1]

Mid-Day Report from Nassau

 

Figured I would write an update as DD is napping and DW is having some mom-time up on the lido deck.

 

We're in Nassau today and it appears to be quite the busy day in port - two RCCL ship, the Carnival Conquest and our ship. I haven't been to nassau in over 20 years and I'm surprised by how little it's changed. The port area is still very run down.

 

We bought day passes to the Hilton via one of those resort day pass sites and it worked out perfectly. The hotel itself is very nice and is a very easy walk for the pier (about 10 minutes - make a right out of the port toward Senior Frogs, left at Senior Frogs, then fallow the sidewalk to the Hilton). We were one of the first day-passers to check-in so we had our pick of loungers or day beds (we took one of each). DD loved having the pool and ocean at her leisure. Food and drinks were also very good. We had a hamburger, jerk chicken (excellent!), chicken fingers, a few iced teas, a few bahama mammas (they have a special, buy two - get the third free), and a bottle of water - after our $80 F&B credit, we only owed them $20 more. Not bad. Would highly recommend it. If I had one knock on the place, it would be that the bar/restaurant doesn't open till 11am. Hard to even get a water before then.

 

Back on the ship now and looking forward to our evening ahead. I'll close with a few thoughts and a question.

 

-A lot of people on the ship seem annoyed by how dated it is - I don't get it, it's not like Carnival is hiding that it's old - plenty of pictures show that. Also, I have trouble understanding what people were expecting for the price. On the flip side, I'm embracing it. To me, it's part of the Carnival experience.

 

-The ship needs a window washing badly. The windows are so dirty on the outside, everything looks foggy.

 

Question:

For those of you who have sailed on Royal Caribbean before, what makes you book a Carnival cruise over RC?

[myisland00]

I would say price is why we booked Carnival. My boys wanted a water slide, and this one was one of the only ones we could afford with the updated carnival waterworks. If we booked Royal Caribbean, in order for us to afford it would have been a smaller ship with no water slide-just the rock climbing wall. The summer prices are always much higher than the rest of the year, even though it's considered hurricane season! Supply and demand at its best.

 

 

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[Zuzie1]

Final post of the cruise...

 

DD napped for three hours, needless to say I think it's been a good vacation.

 

After she awoke we met DW at the buffet for a pizza break. I must say that I've really enjoyed the pizza. The crust is perfectly thin and baked just right.

 

After pizza (and okay, maybe a few nuggets) we returned to the cabin to ready for dinner and pack.

 

Dinner tonight was a vast improvement over last night, probably the best night of all. We ordered anything that sounded good and it all was! Definitely try the French onion soup. My wife also liked the penne maresco.

 

So, with little time to reflect, here's my assessment of the cruise:

 

Ship: B+, yes it's dated, but as I've said before that didn't bother me. They do a very good job of tying to keep it in tip top shape. Everything is very clean. We loved waterworks. Cabins are a nice size, wish they had one more outlet. Only having two can be tough in the ,odeon world we live in.

 

Food: C, it was just okay. But honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be any better than this. I don't believe you sail on carnival expecting the best meal of your life - if it happens, it's an added bonus.

 

Crew: A+, the crew is fantastic. Everyone is super friendly and they work their tails off to make sure you are enjoying yourself. I love how most of the crew we talked with have worked for Carnival for 10+ years. That speaks volumes.

 

Itinerary: A, I thought this was a perfect itinerary for a 4 nighter. HMC was wonderful. I feel lucky we got there.

 

Overall: A-

 

It was a great trip and I'm very glad I tried Carnival. Is it my favorite line? Probably not, but I would definitely return if the price is right - it's certainly not as bad as some people make it out to be - far from it actually. Also to form a true opinion of the line, I think I need to sail on one of the newer ships.

 

Hope you all enjoyed my commentary - apologies if you didn't. Let me know if you'd like me to write about any other aspects of the cruise.

[RuthlessBoss]

Some people judge a book by it's cover. Yes, the ship is old, but old should not define whether one will have a good time or not. Fantasy class is really popular and almost makes you step back and enjoy the cruise in a more laid back manner instead of running from one end of a football field trying everything out on a newer and bigger ship.

[Zeta3]

Thanks for providing your cruise experience. We are also onboard now and have had a good time.

[disneylover89]

Final post of the cruise...

 

DD napped for three hours, needless to say I think it's been a good vacation.

 

After she awoke we met DW at the buffet for a pizza break. I must say that I've really enjoyed the pizza. The crust is perfectly thin and baked just right.

 

After pizza (and okay, maybe a few nuggets) we returned to the cabin to ready for dinner and pack.

 

Dinner tonight was a vast improvement over last night, probably the best night of all. We ordered anything that sounded good and it all was! Definitely try the French onion soup. My wife also liked the penne maresco.

 

So, with little time to reflect, here's my assessment of the cruise:

 

Ship: B+, yes it's dated, but as I've said before that didn't bother me. They do a very good job of tying to keep it in tip top shape. Everything is very clean. We loved waterworks. Cabins are a nice size, wish they had one more outlet. Only having two can be tough in the ,odeon world we live in.

 

Food: C, it was just okay. But honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be any better than this. I don't believe you sail on carnival expecting the best meal of your life - if it happens, it's an added bonus.

 

Crew: A+, the crew is fantastic. Everyone is super friendly and they work their tails off to make sure you are enjoying yourself. I love how most of the crew we talked with have worked for Carnival for 10+ years. That speaks volumes.

 

Itinerary: A, I thought this was a perfect itinerary for a 4 nighter. HMC was wonderful. I feel lucky we got there.

 

Overall: A-

 

It was a great trip and I'm very glad I tried Carnival. Is it my favorite line? Probably not, but I would definitely return if the price is right - it's certainly not as bad as some people make it out to be - far from it actually. Also to form a true opinion of the line, I think I need to sail on one of the newer ships.

 

Hope you all enjoyed my commentary - apologies if you didn't. Let me know if you'd like me to write about any other aspects of the cruise.

 

Thanks for the review! I really enjoyed it. Safe travels home. :)

[marksanson]

Enjoyed your review, we'll be sailing on Sensation in September. Thanks.

 

 

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[cruisybk]

Quick update...

 

Dining Table

Per the board, I emailed the maitre'd to request our own table. Never heard back so figured it was a no go. Just went to scout out our table and sure enough we do have our own. Very impressed. Will make dinner so much easier for everyone.

 

Muster Drill

It was exactly an hour long. Wow. Never had one this long. Is it unique to Carnival? First we had to meet in the theater and then got marched to the lifeboats. They insisted on everyone being quiet which I totally get, but hard for a 22 month old to understand. Needless to say we weren't the favorite people at the muster.

 

Future Cruise Desk

Contrary to what's online Sensation has one. If all continues like this, I'll be paying a visit. The other ships can only be better than this, right?

 

Oh, and we booked Seuss! Will let you know. Bon voyage!!

Thanks for your update. Did you email them the first day of sail and make your request or beforehand ? I am traveling with 3 small children and would love to be seated alone so we don't disturb anyone else's meal.

[Zuzie1]

Thanks for your update. Did you email them the first day of sail and make your request or beforehand ? I am traveling with 3 small children and would love to be seated alone so we don't disturb anyone else's meal.

 

I emailed them the week before. Once you are on board, your table number will be on your sail and sign card. You can swing by the dining room day 1 and see your table.

[esdoorn]

Thanks for your update. Did you email them the first day of sail and make your request or beforehand ? I am traveling with 3 small children and would love to be seated alone so we don't disturb anyone else's meal.

 

 

My wife and I sent a message to John Heald (Carnival Brand Ambassador) on his facebook page one week beforehand and he arranged a table for two for us as requested.

 

It was nice as he replied to the message and said he would do it for us, so it was nice knowing this was taken care of in advance.

 

Link to his page: https://www.facebook.com/JohnHeald/?fref=ts

 

 

Just submit you request at the top the feed were it says "Write Someone on this page'. Make sure you like his page!

 

Cheers!

 

 

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[Blank]

Thanks for the honest review will be on the Sensation in a week. The food review is a little worrisome, but I am sure that we'll be able to find something.

[disneylover89]

Thanks for the honest review will be on the Sensation in a week. The food review is a little worrisome, but I am sure that we'll be able to find something.

 

We were on her a few weeks ago and we enjoyed the food. She still has the old menu so we picked our usual's. We didn't think the pizza was as good as the other ships we were on though.

[tandemcruzr]

Thanks for the review. Glad you got to HMC. We are 2 for 4. Sounds like the adjoining cabins worked out for y'all. :)