Carnival Sensation - Bless her Heart - Preview and Report

[KmomChicago]

Your review is very entertaining. Thank you so much for taking the time to pay it forward.

 

 

 

Hi Daphne’s Mom. You are most welcome. It’s true I have been helped greatly by others and I noticed that Carnival’s Fantasy class ships' date=' which have over time become the entry level, bargain basement of mass market cruises, were running lean on positive, detailed, recent reviews.

 

Perhaps people feel everything to say has already been said. Or perhaps we are all more interested in the popular new girls such as the one we are sailing in March 2018.

 

My pathetic, babbling impressions won’t get the kinds of views seen for some of the better, bigger, or newer ships or the more appealing and entertaining reviewers, but there are still thousands of first time cruisers coming down the pike. Many will end up on Sensation or one of her old sisters and in my opinion all those cruisers will have a better time if they can get their questions answered and if their expectations are realistic. It’s gratifying to help even in just a small way.

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Hi, Misty. That's quite a pedigree you've got there. Trying to hit the entire Carnival fleet? A worthy mission and one we would like to undertake. I recently saw a June 2018 sailing on Carnival Vista to San Juan for 7 days that is a bit less than we paid for Oasis of the Seas, and also from a closer port (NY area I think), but it was not available at that price when I booked OOTS. If it had, we would have chosen that instead.

 

 

 

Sensation was rather shiny and new when she hooked you. I'm sure she'd love to see you again soon. :)

 

 

 

Looked it up and it was actually Carnival Horizon, June 5 from NYC for a good price 7 nights and stopping in San Juan. I think this would have been a better option for us than Oasis in March, but not by much. DH had asked for the next cruise to be on one of the big new ships and visit PR.

 

I don’t know if I failed to check thoroughly all options, or if this sailing was listed at a higher price when I was ready to book.

 

 

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[blarko]

Truly enjoying your review. Like you mentioned, I probably won’t be cruising this ship, however, once I started reading your review, I was hooked, thanks to your very entertaining style of writing. Thanks for sharing.

[KmomChicago]

Truly enjoying your review. Like you mentioned, I probably won’t be cruising this ship, however, once I started reading your review, I was hooked, thanks to your very entertaining style of writing. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you blarko. Thank you very much; that's high praise indeed. Let's face it, most of us are only interested in reviews for the specific ships we're sailing or at least considering. I'll be sure to tell the voices in my head that you appreciated my efforts to sift out and share the better bits. It's a noisy place, that head of mine.

[LakeLadyJ]

Thank you for your review! I look forward to checking it every day for new pics and info. I'll be on the Sensation in March as my first ever cruise. I truly believe that any vacation is what you make of it and I intend for it to be wonderful!

[KmomChicago]

Thank you for your review! I look forward to checking it every day for new pics and info. I'll be on the Sensation in March as my first ever cruise. I truly believe that any vacation is what you make of it and I intend for it to be wonderful!

 

Hello LakeLadyJ and welcome to Cruise Critic! Now that you're here I hope you won't be a stranger. Thank you for the encouragement. That kind of flattery is guaranteed to get you even more of my so-called-wisdom, and you will be glad to know more photos are coming.

 

I predict your first cruise will be a spectacular experience because:

 

1. Cruising is awesome

2. There is nothing quite like the "newness" of that first cruise, and

3. That great attitude! Going in planning to love it has a lot to do with actually loving it!

 

In spite of the occasional grumbly, "they need to scrap this old barge" type of review, the fact is most people I see on these ships are obviously having a good time. There is a bit of a learning curve and almost a guarantee that you will learn something that you would have done differently "if you had known" but those details are so unique based on all of our own preferences. I enjoy this learning process as much as the rest of any travel experience.

 

The vast majority of people never post reviews at all, but the thirst for revenge seems to be just enough motivation for a few to put their anger into words for all to see. You sometimes see a review from someone who joined Cruise Critic last week, and they say, "this was our 17th cruise and by far the worst!" Really, you never joined before to tell us about the other 16 wonderful cruises over the past 20 years, but couldn't wait to get home and start spitting this venom at us because some grubby, noisy kid splashed you at the pool?

 

I don't let a whole lot of stuff get to me, but it grates on me that those negative nellies skew the ratings for ships that provide an excellent overall value for your average low-maintenance, working class person just looking to get away for a few days without going bankrupt. Yourself, for example. So go have a ball and please tell us all about it.

 

Haha. Have to add, as I am typing this, my mom is on the phone with my dad and stepmom and guess what the 3 of them are talking about? Yup. This cruise we took. This AWESOME cruise.

[Namelocg]

Hi Kmom,

I was also on this cruise. It was Carnival number 43 for me and I must say that while the rocking the first night didn't bother me it was one of the worst cruises weather wise that I have been on. The first night I went to the MDR for dinner at 7:30 and there were only 4 other tables. But the worst part was returning to my cabin after breakfast and the announcement that our port call at Princess Cay was cancelled and finding my cabin steward on the floor in the hallway hugging a trash can. I felt so bad for him. I can't imagine how many others got sick, both passengers and crew. Anyway, since I no longer take pictures and can barely keep one cruise straight from another I am really enjoyed seeing what I did and saw on the Sensation. Looking forward to more.

Gale

[KmomChicago]

DH loved Fort Charlotte but my dad didn’t get into it, or Nassau in general. Just wasn’t for him. He was ready to get back aboard for some more soft serve.

 

DH and I went to the Pirates of Nassau Museum attraction after the others were back on the ship. This starts off with a big mock up of a seaside village where a pirate ship has docked.

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Continuing at the pirate museum in Nassau.

 

 

 

Life Aboard a pirate ship. I’ll stick with the Carnival Sensation, thank you very much.

 

Dinner in the MDR. Can’t remember if it was Formal night or smart casual night.

 

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

 

I’m not giving the answers. You’ll just have to take your own cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

 

 

Nasty ends for most of the more notorious pirates.

 

But some got away.

 

Trying to get artsy here.

 

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Hi Kmom,

I was also on this cruise. It was Carnival number 43 for me and I must say that while the rocking the first night didn't bother me it was one of the worst cruises weather wise that I have been on. The first night I went to the MDR for dinner at 7:30 and there were only 4 other tables. But the worst part was returning to my cabin after breakfast and the announcement that our port call at Princess Cay was cancelled and finding my cabin steward on the floor in the hallway hugging a trash can. I felt so bad for him. I can't imagine how many others got sick, both passengers and crew. Anyway, since I no longer take pictures and can barely keep one cruise straight from another I am really enjoyed seeing what I did and saw on the Sensation. Looking forward to more.

Gale

 

 

 

Hi Gale. Yes the weather was quite terrible by the standards of your typical tropical cruise and yet, looking back now that is one of my favorite things about it. It was such a unique situation, I felt kind of fascinated by the experience. Hey, no risk of sunburn, amirite? Okay I realize this attitude makes me a straight up weirdo but that’s nothing new.

 

Yes I heard a lot of the crew got sick. I took my Bonine around 8 and was in a deep sleep by 9. Slept 10 hours which was like heaven so really the whole rocky thing and bad weather thing didn’t bother me much.

 

43 Carnival cruises. All respect to you and your elevated (Diamond I assume) status. I’d love to make up a special survey for you:

 

1. Favorite Carnival ship

2. Favorite port

3. Favorite non-Carnival vacation

4. Age on first cruise

5. Longest cruise

6. Best cruise memory

7. Worst cruise moment

8. Worst cruise weather- Carnival Sensation 2018 (just helping you get started)

9. Worst port

10. Least favorite Carnival ship

 

Probably none of this is any of our business but I’ll leave that up to you.

 

 

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[Namelocg]

Hi Kmom,

 

43 Carnival cruises. All respect to you and your elevated (Diamond I assume) status. I’d love to make up a special survey for you:

 

I was actually the only diamond on this cruise which I found out by accident when I went to guest services to have a minor problem taken care of.

 

1. Favorite Carnival ship- Breeze, but I have not been on Vista yet.

2. Favorite port- Aruba in the Caribbean, Barcelona in Europe

3. Favorite non-Carnival vacation -Trip to Israel and Egypt when my brother lived in Israel

4. Age on first cruise -A lot younger then I am now

5. Longest cruise -14 night TA, Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona with a week in Spain after the cruise

6. Best cruise memory - All the wonderful people I've met and remain friends with

7. Worst cruise moment -Having my luggage delivered with everything soaked from being left out in the rain.

8. Worst cruise weather -Carnival Sensation 2018 (just helping you get started)

9. Worst port -Freeport, Bahamas

10. Least favorite Carnival ship -Sunshine, but loved her when she was the Destiny.

 

I have also sailed on Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Hi Kmom,

 

43 Carnival cruises. All respect to you and your elevated (Diamond I assume) status. I’d love to make up a special survey for you:

 

I was actually the only diamond on this cruise which I found out by accident when I went to guest services to have a minor problem taken care of.

 

1. Favorite Carnival ship- Breeze, but I have not been on Vista yet.

2. Favorite port- Aruba in the Caribbean, Barcelona in Europe

3. Favorite non-Carnival vacation -Trip to Israel and Egypt when my brother lived in Israel

4. Age on first cruise -A lot younger then I am now

5. Longest cruise -14 night TA, Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona with a week in Spain after the cruise

6. Best cruise memory - All the wonderful people I've met and remain friends with

7. Worst cruise moment -Having my luggage delivered with everything soaked from being left out in the rain.

8. Worst cruise weather -Carnival Sensation 2018 (just helping you get started)

9. Worst port -Freeport, Bahamas

10. Least favorite Carnival ship -Sunshine, but loved her when she was the Destiny.

 

I have also sailed on Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

 

 

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I love this, thanks for taking the time to answer. I have seen where the Sunshine is the very lowest rated of all Carnival Ships, meanwhile people speculate that the somewhat ill-fated Triumph might get the same treatment. For newbies, the former Carnival Destiny was so extensively rebuilt and refurbished a few years back that it is essentially a different ship, and to make that perfectly clear, the line renamed her Carnival Sunshine. You might think all that updating would make her a better boat, but then perhaps the rest of America is with me and my anti-beigeification campaign.

 

I don't think that's it though. I suppose I could scour the boards and find out how a massive investment in hardware has turned into an epic customer satisfaction fail. I don't think it's just nostalgia, either, like me trying to insist Mr. Toad was a better ride than Winnie the Pooh (it probably wasn't) or that Mission to Mars was a better ride than, well, everything they've put in the space since (jury is still out).

 

I guess we'll just have to book passage and find out for ourselves. Poor us!

[KmomChicago]

Good morning and if I don't see you, Good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

 

I revisited the early posts from this preview - report and found a few minor loose ends.

 

First, remember we paid $1290 for 3 people in an inside cabin on Deck 7 (Empress). This included port fees and taxes, prepaid gratuities, and trip insurance. Of these charges, the insurance is really, really, optional. So any sane person could deduct that $147 from the cost and end at $1143. This is less than $100 per person per day, the target cost my mom and I had back in the 1980's.

 

I just gotta tell you, I am completely gobsmacked by the number of people who complain about upcharges, how the cruise nickel and dimes you, how things are not what they used to be, etc.

 

$100 per person per day was a lot more money in 1989 than it is now. Premier was roughly the equivalent of the lowest priced Carnival cruises today. And back then, they had gift shops full of liquor (though we probably had only the two Johnnie Walkers to choose from, red and black, poor us), perfume, jewelry, etc.

 

They had photographers running around and a spot in the middle of the ship where you could optionally buy the pictures.

 

We got minimal alcohol included in the cruise fare, same as now, but there were bars where you could get a highball or a fruity concoction or a shot of tequila. Martinis were around but they were just simple martinis, not all this frou frou pink stuff. I think we got a free little glass of champagne for the captain's toast.

 

Mom and I went to complimentary wine tasting activity sessions and likely we shelled out some hard cash if we found a decent cheap bottle we liked.

 

Bingo was free, and the prizes were things like that same cheap bottle of wine, so maybe we didn't actually have to pay for it. I don't remember cash bingo for a fee, but I was barely of legal age and some of those memories are fuzzy so maybe they had it.

 

They had shopping seminars with lists of where to go in Nassau.

[KmomChicago]

With the many grumbly reviews of cruises being so terrible compared to the good old days, I am pretty well lost. Perhaps I am missing details or maybe those details never mattered to me. Maybe there was some lobster on the menu back then in the MDR, and I am certain there was no way to upgrade your meal for an extra fee.

 

The food was included, you ate it or you ate some other included food. For many years I promise I never heard a single person complain about cruise food. We were all so blown away by the sheer quantity and the dining room meals were beautifully presented with foods you didn't see at home, like Baked Alaska, which is not really all that special but looks spectacular.

 

I really don't care about lobster, never did and still don't. Why in heaven's name does anyone want caviar at any price? Think about what that stuff is. Then taste it once. Blecch.

 

I should be eating mostly spinach salads these days, with various fruits thrown in, whether I am typing away here at home or sailing the ocean blue. The menus have been updated to modern food trends and the portions have been trimmed to a reasonable size to cut food waste, and there is still far more scrumptiousness than I can shovel into my face.

 

Trivia was fun, the shows were fun, the comedian that I saw was fun, the live performers Pan Guru on his electric steel drum and Ebano Strings, the electric string duo, were absolutely exceptional and mostly ignored as people passed by.

 

In short, folks. This cruise was a steal. An absolute steal.

[KmomChicago]

This cruise was such a good price because it started on Tuesday, January 2, and a majority of American human children were expected to be back in school on that day. Mine was in school on Friday December 22 with the break pushed a week further into the new year than most.

 

Like most parents (I hope), there are not sufficient words in any language to express my deep love for my only child. So it is no problem to be shackled to her school schedule when planning vacations.

 

It does impact the wallet, however. A high percentage of people are in the same situation, so we are all trying to travel at the same times, and those times are called HIGH SEASON.

 

When I spotted this off-season priced sailing that fit our window, we jumped right on it. DH, DD and I had an oceanview cabin on deck 4 on the Triumph and it was fine. At that time it was only a couple hundred more total for the 5 night cruise and the rooms were bigger than insides so it seemed worth it.

 

I chose an inside for even more savings on this ship because on Sensation, inside and outside rooms are the same size, and DH did not like it. He said he needs a window to help him feel oriented on the ship. In the inside, with the rocky first night, he did not know if the ship was going "forward, backward, upside down. . . " okay, okay, I hear you. You don't like it.

 

No more inside cabins for cheapo Kmom. Too bad that's what we have coming up on Oasis already and too bad outsides are sold out, and too bad a balcony upgrade (there are very few left) would not be a little more money but rather a LOT more at this point.

 

The Sensation filled up completely and there were piles of rugrats so apparently a few other school districts had the same oddball breaks. I have to admit, the ship did feel crowded. The Triumph was full last March but this felt more crowded to me. This did not bother me, but dad did not like it. If he cruises again, he will get a balcony and spend a lot of time on it. He had little interest in the entertainment, but he did go to the veteran's events. He liked just looking around the ship and being on deck, venturing out for soft serve and other meals, and taking frequent naps.

 

To Holy Spearit who was considering a cheap cruise this year but leery of Sensation - I would say go for it, she's fine. But then with all my detail you can make an informed decision. Perhaps you are feeling you have had quite enough of the Sensation!

 

LMaxwell said the Fantasy class ships are not appealing compared to so many newer ships with their many great features. Quite simply, that's true. There's no Aqua Theatre or zip line, or flow rider, or ice skating rink, or rock climbing wall, or 14 restaurants, and the list just goes on and on. If you care, pick another ship. I don't care, I just don't. Even on the lowly Sensation, there were more activities than we could fit in. We never got to the water slide on the Triumph or on this ship (of course it was too cold to mess with on the Sensation, if it was ever even open, which DH says it was not). So I can't whine and cry about what pathetic little water slides they have, when we were so busy with other fun stuff that we never even tried them out. I assume the same goes for other lines. RCCI has the old Empress of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas, and they look like tiny little shrimps next to the new behemoth Quantum and Oasis class ships, and obviously they can't cram as many features into the smaller spaces, not that I have first hand experience.

 

TubT said the ship felt crowded and purple. Yup. Accurate.

 

I think my dad's room location R149 was a good choice, lower deck midship near an elevator. They heard a kid run by now and then but noise was really no problem.

 

ChickenLover8 said she is starting small - her first cruise will be on Sensation, so they can then work up from there. It's a good point. As I said, DH was in an oceanview cabin on his first cruise and did not like an inside after that. How do you keep them down on the farm when they've seen Paree? I guess I am alone in being able to move up and down in the class / quality spectrum without any dissatisfaction. Every time I get something fancy in my life, like flying first class, I assume it's a one off and life will go right back to the bargain basement, so I don't get used to it. But I recently read an article about taking free upgrades with some reasons not to. If you get a suites upgrade for free, will you ever be satisfied with anything less? Maybe better never to know what you're missing.

 

DH would have liked to see all 3 forts in Nassau, so if / when we go back, that's what we will be doing.

 

I wanted to win a Ship on a Stick trophy, but it is so much fun and there is mostly a supportive camaraderie among the players that you are just as glad when someone beats you fair and square, which happened. Every single game it happened. People ask John Heald for a free Ship on a Stick and I am like, NO, you need to cheat at trivia like Kmom if you want a Ship on a Stick! Hahahahahahaha. No hating, I don't cheat. Sheesh.

 

I do wish the Welcome Aboard show on the first night was earlier, like 8:15 rather than 10:15. What the heck kind of scheduling is that? The Playlist song and dance routines happen just 3 times, and this first one is totally inaccessible to early risers like DH and Kmom. We were barely conscious for Hasbro the Game Show at 7:30. Likewise the Love and Marriage show was quite late. On Triumph it was around 9pm but on Sensation it also was 10:15 on the third night so we skipped it. I will be posting some photos of Studio VIP from the last night, but fair warning the pics don't do it justice. It was a great disco theme show.

 

How was parking at Port of Miami? Great, just like every other reputable Cruise Critic member advises on these boards. Right across the street from the terminal. We have an F-150 which is kind of large and we found an oversize spot in the uncovered parking just outside the garage with no trouble. I may be cheap (no, I AM cheap), but I am not completely stupid. Whatever this parking cost us was worth it rather than being in some private lot in some sketchy Miami neighborhood. I used to go to Hurricanes games at the Orange Bowl and parking was on peoples' lawns in the questionable surroundings of the stadium. Oh boy. Just park at the port.

 

Carrying the luggage around is not a picnic as there are a couple of escalators to navigate in the terminal. I found an elevator to get up from security to the waiting area, and there must be one somewhere to get up to the gangway, but we schlepped along through a snaky line dragging our bags with us up an escalator instead. It was doable, but I could see a lot of people preferring to have the porters deal with it and accept that it would be a while before it all got to your room. At least one bag got lost that way, as we all got a little letter in our cabins asking us to check if we accidentally got someone else's luggage.

 

Faster to the Fun? Yes, for us, again this was the way to go. Worth every dime for us since we want to embark and disembark as early as humanly possible. I don't really care about being able to saunter up to the left window of Guest Services while an endless line to the right glares at me with hatred at being displaced by yet another entitled customer. But when DD lost her Sign and Sail card (not once but twice), and when I needed quarters for the guest laundry where my dirty clothes were sitting, because I has assumed it took the Sign and Sail card like the Triumph, I sucked up my pride and accepted my privilege.

Edited January 17, 2018 by KmomChicago

[KmomChicago]

A few words on the port excursion that wasn't, Princess Cays glass bottom boat. We were scheduled to get in at 10am, and we booked this for the earliest available time. I had assumed we would use our FTTF priority to get on whatever tender we wanted to return to the ship after the boat ride.

 

Princess Cays is a private beach resort area owned by the Carnival corporation, parent company of both Princess and Carnival Cruise Line. Several of the mass market cruise lines have one of these. Back in the day, Premier used the one now known as Blue Lagoon Island a/k/a Salt Cay via a private agreement with the island's owners. I have to say, many years later this still ranks as one of my all time favorite cruise experiences, and vacation experiences in general.

 

We had pretty much the run of the island and my then much younger mom and I walked some distance to find a secluded sandy beach area basically all our own. When Disney displaced Premier by taking over all of their best ideas and tripling the charges for it, they used some of that cash to buy their own fabulous deserted island and fashion it into the playground now known as Castaway Cay. That's cute. Castaways are people who are off on an island somewhere, and Cast members are all the people who make everything Disney happen for all of you eager consumers (you're welcome for the nearly 5 years I gave you).

 

Anyway I have to admit Castaway Cay is exceptional. It's huge, it's beautiful. It comes with a colorful history of pirates, and bootleggers and rum runners and so forth. It has an old runway supposedly used by these underworld types. They let us go wandering around all we wanted back in the day, but I don't know if that's still the case.

 

Meanwhile places like Stirrup Cay (Norwegian I think??), Half Moon Cay (Carnival and people love it), Labadee (Royal Caribbean, not an island but a big beach area on a little edge of Haiti), and Princess Cays (also not an island, a beach area on Eleuthera, one of the less-visited Bahamas islands) all sprung up. I think there are a few others.

 

Well of these, Princess Cays consistently gets the lowest rankings. I apparently can't stay away from such places. What's wrong with it? This is hearsay, but it's what I have heard and therefore what I will say:

 

1. Kind of small overall space for the crowds

2. Not much to do on the island except hang around the beach

3. Terrible sand, rough, sharp, rocky, cuts your feet if you don't wear water shoes

 

So I explained to my family that they would need water shoes which they could find at Walmart. So instead they went to mall type shoe stores and bought some kind of fancy Adidas flip flops, for almost $30. Which, furthermore, they hated, and bought only because "Kmom said we have to have these."

 

So we then spent a fair portion of the next day returning those, finding the last water shoes of the season at Walmart, which were too big but buying them anyway for just $5, then visiting Dollar General and finding the perfect water shoes for $8, and deciding to keep the $5 shoes rather than going back to Walmart yet again for just five bucks.

 

Good grief, can you believe all this? And then the port was cancelled anyway, and nobody donned any water shoes or nothing.

[KmomChicago]

After the Pirates of Nassau DH and I went to the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation

 

 

 

 

 

The museum is located in a building that was actually used in the slave trade at the end of the long main shopping street.

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Time to head back to the docks and ooh, let’s take a peek at a few other floating resorts, shall we?

 

When will the lines wise up and do a shore excursion that is a tour of their sister ship who will be in port at the same time?

 

 

I love this photo because it looks like the ship’s name is Norwegian Eric. Which is actually a Norwegian name! They should start naming them like that. Norwegian Leif, Norwegian Olaf.

 

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Back aboard and we are now on the last night of the cruise. We’ll be back in Miami early tomorrow morning. Time to go see Studio VIP.

 

 

 

Hmm. Was this necessary? I don’t know.

 

The dancers are a human disco ball. This is better in person. Maybe a good camera would capture the moment.

 

 

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[KmomChicago]

Here’s what the cabin looks like during last night packing.

 

We have a terrible mish mash of cheap beat up luggage. Nobody ever tries to rob us, wonder why?

 

 

One sock. This is why they come from Dollar Tree and not Macy’s.

 

 

If you are 12 or under you must wear this muster station band the entire duration of the cruise. Oops.

 

Good thing I made a point to pick up this sunscreen from Walmart since we forgot all our old sunscreens in Illinois. Never cracked the lid.

 

Bought 2 twelve packs of water and only used about 8 bottles. No idea what Pierre did with those we left behind.

 

 

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[pacruise804]

I

I chose an inside for even more savings on this ship because on Sensation, inside and outside rooms are the same size, and DH did not like it. He said he needs a window to help him feel oriented on the ship. In the inside, with the rocky first night, he did not know if the ship was going "forward, backward, upside down. . . " okay, okay, I hear you. You don't like it.

 

No more inside cabins for cheapo Kmom. Too bad that's what we have coming up on Oasis already and too bad outsides are sold out, and too bad a balcony upgrade (there are very few left) would not be a little more money but rather a LOT more at this point. Does Oasis have the virtual balconies? We were looking at a RCI cruise and they showed interiors that had a wall with the image of what is going on outside the ship. Hoping they do and that will be a nice compromise for your husband.

 

Every time I get something fancy in my life, like flying first class, I assume it's a one off and life will go right back to the bargain basement, so I don't get used to it. But I recently read an article about taking free upgrades with some reasons not to. If you get a suites upgrade for free, will you ever be satisfied with anything less? Maybe better never to know what you're missing. I'm more like you for this. I enjoy and appreciate the finer things, but there are times I am in the mood for simple too and want a campfire meal including s'more rather than a specialty meal.

 

I do wish the Welcome Aboard show on the first night was earlier, like 8:15 rather than 10:15. What the heck kind of scheduling is that? The Playlist song and dance routines happen just 3 times, and this first one is totally inaccessible to early risers like DH and Kmom. We were barely conscious for Hasbro the Game Show at 7:30. Likewise the Love and Marriage show was quite late. On Triumph it was around 9pm but on Sensation it also was 10:15 on the third night so we skipped it. I will be posting some photos of Studio VIP from the last night, but fair warning the pics don't do it justice. It was a great disco theme show. We also tend to be early risers. I think we will take your dad's idea and grab some naps if there is a late show we want.

 

Carrying the luggage around is not a picnic as there are a couple of escalators to navigate in the terminal. I found an elevator to get up from security to the waiting area, and there must be one somewhere to get up to the gangway, but we schlepped along through a snaky line dragging our bags with us up an escalator instead. It was doable, but I could see a lot of people preferring to have the porters deal with it and accept that it would be a while before it all got to your room. At least one bag got lost that way, as we all got a little letter in our cabins asking us to check if we accidentally got someone else's luggage. I like everything about carrying my own luggage except the escalator - especially getting on at the top.

 

Faster to the Fun? Yes, for us, again this was the way to go. Worth every dime for us since we want to embark and disembark as early as humanly possible. I don't really care about being able to saunter up to the left window of Guest Services while an endless line to the right glares at me with hatred at being displaced by yet another entitled customer. But when DD lost her Sign and Sail card (not once but twice), and when I needed quarters for the guest laundry where my dirty clothes were sitting, because I has assumed it took the Sign and Sail card like the Triumph, I sucked up my pride and accepted my privilege.

Those using the dedicated line earned that privilige - either paying for FTTF (maybe Suites too) or through multi-cruise loylaty to the line. No need to feel guilty for using something you paid for.

 

Well of these, Princess Cays consistently gets the lowest rankings. I apparently can't stay away from such places. What's wrong with it? This is hearsay, but it's what I have heard and therefore what I will say:

 

1. Kind of small overall space for the crowds

2. Not much to do on the island except hang around the beach

3. Terrible sand, rough, sharp, rocky, cuts your feet if you don't wear water shoes

 

So I explained to my family that they would need water shoes which they could find at Walmart. So instead they went to mall type shoe stores and bought some kind of fancy Adidas flip flops, for almost $30. Which, furthermore, they hated, and bought only because "Kmom said we have to have these."

 

So we then spent a fair portion of the next day returning those, finding the last water shoes of the season at Walmart, which were too big but buying them anyway for just $5, then visiting Dollar General and finding the perfect water shoes for $8, and deciding to keep the $5 shoes rather than going back to Walmart yet again for just five bucks.

 

Good grief, can you believe all this? And then the port was cancelled anyway, and nobody donned any water shoes or nothing.

 

Maybe there will be another use for the water shoes in the future. I'm grateful to this board for mentioning the rough terrain and need for water shoes - will be sure to pack them.

I'm looking forward to a day of doing nothing:cool: . Too often on the ship I end up not relaxing and wearing myself out with too many activities. I think I'll suffer through sitting at a beach and maybe spending some time in the water during early March;)

Thanks again for a great review. We are on a similar itinerary (don't remember if you have Freeport), but different ship.

[teacher34]

Kmom, I really enjoyed your review. You have a wonderful sense of humor and a great reading style. We have never done a 4 day cruise, because by the time we get down to a port, we want to make the drive worthwhile for us. Since I am a teacher, we are forever tied to a school schedule. I hate that, because you are right, things are so much cheaper in the off season. Also, I would love to do a New England cruise in the fall, but that will wait till I retire.

We have sailed on the Spirit and the Liberty and were satisfied with them. In March, we will be sailing on the Sunshine and like you, I have heard negative things, but as I read every review I could get about her, many people seem to love her. We sail more to be on the ship and look at the ocean than to go to ports, although we do go off for some ports. The thing that sold me on the Sunshine is their three level Serenity area. I am with children all day everyday, and when I cruise, I want to be able to go to a quiet adult area and look at the ocean and read a good book. I am set to enjoy the Sunshine, so we will see.

Again, thank you so much for doing your terrific review !!

[KmomChicago]

Those using the dedicated line earned that privilige - either paying for FTTF (maybe Suites too) or through multi-cruise loylaty to the line. No need to feel guilty for using something you paid for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe there will be another use for the water shoes in the future. I'm grateful to this board for mentioning the rough terrain and need for water shoes - will be sure to pack them.

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to a day of doing nothing:cool: . Too often on the ship I end up not relaxing and wearing myself out with too many activities. I think I'll suffer through sitting at a beach and maybe spending some time in the water during early March;)

 

 

 

Thanks again for a great review. We are on a similar itinerary (don't remember if you have Freeport), but different ship.

 

 

 

Thanks for your feedback! Oasis does not have the virtual balconies. I believe Royal Caribbean will be putting them on all new builds going forward but Oasis is actually getting kind of old, 8 years I believe and I guess the virtuals came later. The ship still has several staterooms for 2 available at a reasonable price, but being a spring break sailing all outsides for 3 are sold out (as are insides) and upgrading to a balcony would add $1700 over our original fare. DH agrees this is too much. We’ll be fine I am sure and spring for the window in the future. I expect to spend most of our time exploring this massive beast of a vessel anyway.

 

Napping theoretically would allow us to see those darned late night shows but I really never think about it. Maybe we’ll try it on Oasis.

 

I’m sure you’ll have a great time. It feels weird to be warning everyone about the Princess Cays sand that I was so concerned about and now it’s pretty unlikely I’ll ever even get there!! But I’m glad it’s helpful info for you. Enjoy every minute!

 

 

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