Sensation Spring Break - March 13th-18th

[easyboy]

Thank you [emoji4]! Shockingly, I did not use a "real" camera for any pictures. All were taken on my iPhone and no filters were used on any.

That was amazing! Your phone is so much worth having then.

[mbrownferrier]

Thanks for thanking the time for the review. Glad the entire family enjoyed the trip

 

 

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[joepeka]

As others have stated, thank you for your time in creating a detailed report and providing some terrific photos. Well done! :)

 

I did not see this mentioned but I am curious how you found the passengers given that this was spring break? We've never done one and have read that, in recent years at least, if you stay away from the shorter cruises (3-4 days), the partying is pretty minimal. Did you find that to be true? We'll be on a spring break cruise next year (thanks to a grandchild's school schedule) and I'm always checking reviews from those cruises to see what others have experienced.

 

Thank you again!

[tvlworm]

Thanks for thanking the time for the review. Glad the entire family enjoyed the trip

 

 

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Thanks--glad you liked it! We had a really fun time!

 

 

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[tvlworm]

As others have stated, thank you for your time in creating a detailed report and providing some terrific photos. Well done! :)

 

I did not see this mentioned but I am curious how you found the passengers given that this was spring break? We've never done one and have read that, in recent years at least, if you stay away from the shorter cruises (3-4 days), the partying is pretty minimal. Did you find that to be true? We'll be on a spring break cruise next year (thanks to a grandchild's school schedule) and I'm always checking reviews from those cruises to see what others have experienced.

 

Thank you again!

 

 

Thanks--glad you enjoyed reading :)

 

I too was a little bit worried about it being a ship filled with a bunch of rowdy college aged people but it wasn't the case. There were a few groups of them but never saw anyone out of control. One of the groups had the captains suite above the lido and you could tell they were partying pretty well in there and they were definitely the most festive on St Patrick's day. That night too was the only time I ever heard outside noise from the cabin late at night. Was woken up by people walking past but that was the only instance we had all week.

 

 

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[joepeka]

Thanks--glad you enjoyed reading :)

 

I too was a little bit worried about it being a ship filled with a bunch of rowdy college aged people but it wasn't the case. There were a few groups of them but never saw anyone out of control. One of the groups had the captains suite above the lido and you could tell they were partying pretty well in there and they were definitely the most festive on St Patrick's day. That night too was the only time I ever heard outside noise from the cabin late at night. Was woken up by people walking past but that was the only instance we had all week.

 

 

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That's good to hear. Thanks again!

[tandemcruzr]

tvlworm -- Thanks for your review. We were in Nassau on the Ecstacy. We went the opposite direction than you and caught a cab to the Fish Fry area just beyond Junkanoo Beach. Had lunch at Two Brothers and it was way more than we could eat.

 

Glad you got to HMC. The previous week, we had rented a cabana to surprise the couple who were sailing with us. We were in the show lounge with our Excursion Ticket when they announced conditions would not permit tendering. :(

 

Oh well, we'll just have to try again. BTW, we have been to HMC 5 times -- but have only gotten there twice.

[tvlworm]

tvlworm -- Thanks for your review. We were in Nassau on the Ecstacy. We went the opposite direction than you and caught a cab to the Fish Fry area just beyond Junkanoo Beach. Had lunch at Two Brothers and it was way more than we could eat.

 

Glad you got to HMC. The previous week, we had rented a cabana to surprise the couple who were sailing with us. We were in the show lounge with our Excursion Ticket when they announced conditions would not permit tendering. :(

 

Oh well, we'll just have to try again. BTW, we have been to HMC 5 times -- but have only gotten there twice.

 

 

Did you sail the same week as us? The ecstasy was docked immediately behind us in Nassau. We were standing on the back of our ship waiving to people on the ecstasy as it pulled away :)

 

We did the same waiving to guests on their balconies on NCL Escape got more than we bargained for when this guy came out. [emoji38]

 

 

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[drgonzogoo]

We did the same waiving to guests on their balconies on NCL Escape got more than we bargained for when this guy came out. [emoji38]

 

 

I hope someone reported that guy... trying to smuggle plums out of the bahamas..... for shame..... :')

[tandemcruzr]

Did you sail the same week as us? The ecstasy was docked immediately behind us in Nassau. We were standing on the back of our ship waiving to people on the ecstasy as it pulled away :)

 

We did the same waiving to guests on their balconies on NCL Escape got more than we bargained for when this guy came out. [emoji38]

 

We were there Saturday, Mar 18. Had done a 5 day the previous leg when we missed HMC.

 

HaHa -- I guess you have to be careful when you are waving to strangers. :D:D

[tvlworm]

 

We did the same waiving to guests on their balconies on NCL Escape got more than we bargained for when this guy came out. [emoji38]

 

 

 

 

 

I hope someone reported that guy... trying to smuggle plums out of the bahamas..... for shame..... :')

 

 

LOL [emoji23] I was laughing at the neighbor chatting with him, I can guarantee he had no idea what was going on the other side of the partition!

 

 

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[tvlworm]

We were there Saturday, Mar 18. Had done a 5 day the previous leg when we missed HMC.

 

HaHa -- I guess you have to be careful when you are waving to strangers. :D:D

 

 

Sorry HMC was missed, it sounds like weather issues were really all over the place the first few weeks of March. Several crew members mentioned the sailing prior to ours was incredibly rough and that there were sick people everywhere, including a lot of employees.

 

 

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[ohioworkingmom]

Thanks for the review, we sail on her in 59 days!!

[tvlworm]

Thanks for the review, we sail on her in 59 days!!

 

 

Thanks and hope you have a wonderful cruise!

 

 

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[gigito2]

Thank you for your review!

[tvlworm]

Thank you for your review!

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

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[JaniceB]

Thank you for your review. Did anyone try the slides on the ship or use the kids club?

[tvlworm]

Thank you for your review. Did anyone try the slides on the ship or use the kids club?

 

 

Thanks! My kids did try the slides and had fun, IMO the waterworks area on the Fantasy class is my favorite as it's completely separate from the main pool area and has a huge deck area with tons of loungers.

Unfortunately I can't comment on the kids club as my kids have never been to any of them on any ship we've sailed.

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Thank you for the detailed review. We recently sailed on Carnival Triumph in March (DH and DD first cruise, which they loved and became instantly hooked).

 

Due to odd scheduling for next year's school Christmas break, we had the opportunity to book the January 2, 2018 four-night on Sensation from Miami to Nassau and Princess Cays. The first few reviews on the Cruise Critic main page were pretty terrifying, even though Triumph's are similar, and we are not extremely picky about the kinds of things that seem to stick in some peoples' craws.

 

Your review was reassuring enough for us to go forward and book it!

[tvlworm]

Thank you for the detailed review. We recently sailed on Carnival Triumph in March (DH and DD first cruise, which they loved and became instantly hooked).

 

Due to odd scheduling for next year's school Christmas break, we had the opportunity to book the January 2, 2018 four-night on Sensation from Miami to Nassau and Princess Cays. The first few reviews on the Cruise Critic main page were pretty terrifying, even though Triumph's are similar, and we are not extremely picky about the kinds of things that seem to stick in some peoples' craws.

 

Your review was reassuring enough for us to go forward and book it!

 

 

That's great! I'm so glad it was helpful!

 

I'm too not the pickiest traveler and knew certain things going in that it's not the newest or the biggest and that it would have the bright Carnival decor but none of that bothered me in the slightest! I actually liked the purple, the only thing that cracked me up was the giant hands in the piano bar [emoji38]

 

Hope you enjoy it and have a great cruise!

 

 

 

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[ohnonotbunny]

Just returned from our 5 night sailing over our spring break onboard Carnival Sensation. We departed on March 13th, traveling to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. It was hard to find many reviews on the smaller ships prior to our trip so hopefully this will be helpful for others.

Before I get into the day by day, a little info on my traveling group. We had 5 people in total, my DH, DS age 13, DH, age 11 and my mom. This was my 6th cruise, 2nd time on Sensation and previous sailings on Carnival Conquest, Magic and Breeze along with NCL Epic. For all others in my family, it was their first time on Sensation and a smaller ship.

 

We took advantage of the ship sailing out on Monday and flew into West Palm Beach on Friday, arriving mid-afternoon. We rented a car for the duration of our trip and drove down to Islamorada in the mid Florida Keys. Traffic almost the entire time was an absolute nightmare finally improving shortly before Key Largo when the speed limit changes to a whopping 45mph! Enjoyed the next day with a much more leisurely drive to Key West for a day of sightseeing. Booked tickets in advance on Groupon for one of the hop on/off trolleys and had a great day seeing all the sights. We were hoping to stick around to watch the sunset at Mallory Square but due to it being a Saturday during spring break, Key West was in full on party mode and by 430p wasn't exactly as family friendly as it was earlier in the day with overly inebriated people passed out in public. So headed back to our hotel in Islamorada.

 

Sunday we headed north to Miami for a one night stay at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Great location for a single night pre-cruise stay. Longer duration stays I would most likely return to staying in the South Beach area as there is so much more to see and do. We did enjoy strolling around Bayside but it was mainly normal stores and restaurants that we have here at home and on vacation we try to eat at places we don't have. The highlight of the Holiday Inn for me was "ship spotting" from the window and getting excited for our cruise to begin!

 

 

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First of all, I have to say I absolutely love your break down that you did in this blog. I wish more people would break it down like you have. I have put together a surprise cruise for my parents. Something they have been trying to get together for 8 plus years. They have wanted to take all of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren on a cruise together and it has never been able to workout. So I am making it happen. I went through all of your posts and have been unable to save the pictures that you took of the actual ship and your funtimes. Is it possible that you can email me the full images or I can add you to a Dropbox that I have made for the Carnival Sensation and you can share them there?

 

I would be using the pictures as part of my reveal presentation that I am making.

 

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

Ocy Delgado

813-334-0937

Ocy.delgado@gmail.com

 

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[tvlworm]

First of all, I have to say I absolutely love your break down that you did in this blog. I wish more people would break it down like you have. I have put together a surprise cruise for my parents. Something they have been trying to get together for 8 plus years. They have wanted to take all of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren on a cruise together and it has never been able to workout. So I am making it happen. I went through all of your posts and have been unable to save the pictures that you took of the actual ship and your funtimes. Is it possible that you can email me the full images or I can add you to a Dropbox that I have made for the Carnival Sensation and you can share them there?

 

I would be using the pictures as part of my reveal presentation that I am making.

 

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

Ocy Delgado

813-334-0937

Ocy.delgado@gmail.com

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the review.

 

I’m happy to send you pictures, I’ll try to get that done later today. I’m not familiar with Dropbox but too could try that as well.

 

Thanks!

[mamaboss]

Fantastic job! I have family sailing her in a few weeks. First timers on Carnival Line. Can anyone verify if the standard balcony cabins have a small refrigerator in them or just suites? Thank you again for the lovely report and photos!:D

[earlyout1101]

We sail in 13 days. Thanks for the insite of what is to be expected. This will be our first time on a Carnival Ship. Can't wait.

[tvlworm]

Fantastic job! I have family sailing her in a few weeks. First timers on Carnival Line. Can anyone verify if the standard balcony cabins have a small refrigerator in them or just suites? Thank you again for the lovely report and photos!:D

 

 

 

We sail in 13 days. Thanks for the insite of what is to be expected. This will be our first time on a Carnival Ship. Can't wait.

 

 

 

Thank you both, glad you enjoyed the review. I’m not seeing anything mentioned in the balcony room descriptions that they have a fridge, only seeing them listed in the suite categories.