Sensation review 5/6-5/11 - bucket list cruise to Cuba

[pe4all]

This was my 26th CCL cruise.  I cruised with dh  and special needs dd   I will break down the cruise into categories:

 

Embarkation - 

    Very quick and easy.  Got to the port around 10:00, and walked onto the ship at 11:00.  Cabin was ready.  We walked around getting our bearings, then grabbed lunch at the buffet.  I hadn't been on a fantasy-class ship in a while, and was surprised to see how small the buffet food offering stations were.  I am so used to Conquest class ships!  We did like that there was plenty of seating inside and outside the ship.  

 

Cabin - 

  We were in U201.  Cabin was clean, and very, very warm when we arrived. Was smaller than the other balcony cabins we have had on other CCL ships. (balcony snobs here)  Luckily it cooled down.  I am always warm, and dh/dd are always cold.  I asked for and got a light blanket from our great steward (Avi) and dh/dd used the comforters on the beds. Our cabin had no sofa - just a queen bed and 2 uppers.  Dh bumped his head around a million times on the outhang where the bed above us was stored, and I kept hitting my back on the other bed (at our feet-end) when I had to duck under the upper to get to the bathroom, drawers, door, balcony.  At night it was interesting navigating in the dark to the bathroom!  I usually bring a flashlight with me, but this time forgot.  On Conquest they had installed automatic lights under the desk that would go on when you walked past at night.  Might be a good thing for Sensation to do.  Dh was not happy the balcony railings/ceiling was all rusted - really did not look great, but I know it is an old ship, and what sea air does to paint.

 

Dining/Food -

   Always subjective.  We are not foodies.  We did not starve, but the food was not as good as on other ships.  We had anytime dining, which we liked.  Sat at table 157 each night with Leslie and his team.  They were great.  Had my caffeine-free diet coke waiting for me each night without me asking after the first night.  Dh liked Guy's Burgers.  My dd loves their sauteed onions, and got them each time we ate in the buffet.  The pizza had no taste, imho.  Deli was fine.  What was really interesting to me was that the put the sushi station right outside the casino on a different deck than the rest of the food.  Poor planning, imho.  

 

Entertainment -

   Old ship, old shows.  Kind of need to be updated.  Steel drum guy in atrium good, as was the guitar singer.  We have been to love and marriage, hasbro, etc. and did not go. Comedian was good. Did not do any contests, and hung out in Serenity during the day, and casino a bit at night.  We were in the cabin by 9:30-10 each night to read and relax.  I was in the gym at 6 am each morning, and dh got their by 8 am.  Equipment good, but tv's didn't work on most machines.  Bring your own music.

 

Ports -

  Have been to Grand Cayman many times.  On this ship they give out tender stickers.  Have not had that on any other ship.  As we are platinum we did not have to have a tender sticker.  Just went down to the tender when ready.   We took a van to Royal Palms Beach club.  $2 pp to get in, $12 to rent a lounge, $15 for umbrella. (which we did not get)  Stayed for 3 hours (was really hot) and went back to ship.  Tender back was easy, as there was no line at the time we got there.

 

Cuba -

   This was the reason we took this cruise, as Cuba has always been on my bucket list.  We sweated out the announcement a few weeks ago that the U.S. might shut down tourists visiting Cuba (again) but luckily this did not affect us.  The $75 visa charge was put directly on our sail and sign cards the 2nd day.  We had heard nightmare stories about the lines going through immigration, money exchange, etc.  It seems Carnival has been experimenting with different ways to make this process faster.  On our cruise they just started giving out stickers to get off the ship.  Call your sticker, and you have 5 minutes to get off. (don't know how strict they were with this.)  They began giving out stickers at 6:45 a.m. the morning of Cuba debark.  People started lining up around 6:15 am.   If you were Platinum or above, the stickers were delivered to your cabin the night before, so you did not have to get on line.  We were given group 1.  They called our sticker around 7:30, and we got through immigration and money exchange by 8 am!!  So easy!  We walked 3 minutes to where our independent (private) classic convertible car/walking tour (6 hours long) would meet us, and hung out for 1 hour until our 9 am start.  We used Havana Journeys - great reviews on TripAdvisor, and had a fantastic time.  Havana must be experienced, imho.  If we had booked the same tour through the cruiseline (and it was sold out cause we booked this cruise kind of late for us) it would have cost $149 x 3 of us.  Havana Journeys cost us 180 cuc. - a savings of $267.  We had brought euros to change to cuc, as we would not be hit with the 12% penalty for exchanging dollars.  (When we exchanged back, there is no penalty to get U.S. dollars, so that is what we did.)  We tipped the tour guide and car driver very generously.  Getting back on the ship was quick and easy after we exchanged our money.  For all those classic car enthusiasts out there - we had a 1950 Studebaker champion bullet-nose convertible in bright purple.  Was supposedly owned at one time by a famous musician, and was supposedly the only one in Havana. People kept coming up to the car to take pics of it during the whole tour.

 

Debarkation -

   What a nightmare.  We always check our luggage the night before.  Kept waiting and waiting for our # to be called. (we were #1) By 9 a.m. we were getting antsy, as they had hardly called any self-debark decks to go.  We finally went down to the atrium, and it was a zoo!  Lines winding all around, all with people with their luggage.  We waited around 15 minutes, and hadn't moved an inch.  One of the staff saw my daughter did not look well (it was really hot) and pulled us out of line and took us to the front of the line, where we got off the ship in 5 minutes.  Found our luggage quickly, and then the next nightmare - getting through customs.  Lines were all over - again, not moving.  I have mobile passport, but the system was down in Miami.  Luckily a customs worker took mercy on us again, and let us go through the Global Entry line, which also was very long, but much, much shorter than the other line.  We were on our way to the airport around 9:45 (cab - no line!) and hung out until our 12:15 flight.

 

Conclusion -

  I am glad I took this cruise, as it is another item off my bucket list.  I only need 20 more sea days until I reach Diamond level on CCL, so there are definitely a few more Carnival cruises in my future.   I prefer the "larger" CCL ships, but will not sail on their new "mega-ships", as they are too large for me!   We have been switching between CCL and NCL, as NCL seems to have more European cruises to go on at this time, and we are trying to expand our travel boundaries.  If you have any questions I will try to answer them.  Next up - NCL to Greece in August!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MamaLady76]

@pe4all did you notice any smells on the ship?  We've booked for Cuba in 2020 and a lot of the reviews I've read on the ship mention a sewer type smell.

[pe4all]

1 hour ago, MamaLady76 said:

@pe4all did you notice any smells on the ship?  We've booked for Cuba in 2020 and a lot of the reviews I've read on the ship mention a sewer type smell.

We smelled something once - right when muster drill was ending, outside the elevator bank.  Otherwise, no sewage smells.

Edited May 13, 2019 by pe4all

[newcruiser1956]

I booked a private tour with Blexie cuban tours last time I was in Cuba  (his email is blexie100588@gmail.com  )  Private car (there is your old car ride) and a guide for 6 hours was $130 CUP's for up to 3 people. ( 3 people or 1 person, price is the same)  The guide really knew his history,  English was excellent.  Took me every place I wanted to go.    They have a standard tour of places to take you if you don't have special places you want to go.  I am going back on Carnival in 2 weeks and have booked with him again. I have a new list for him.  He has several guides working for him.  If you go to the Cuba boards you will find others that will vouch for Blexie also. 

[monykalyn]

Sailing this ship/itinerary in 19 days. Also in balcony. 

My only other cruise was with hubs last fall. This time we have the teens with us, so will be using the pulldown beds-so here is the stupid newbie question: will the room steward stow the beds in am and pull down at night? With 4 of us it'd be much easier to move around with the beds out of way. Not anticipating much time in cabin other than sleep/getting ready for dinner though.  TIA!

Newcruiser-we are booked with Blexie too! Good to hear so many positives. 

 

This is also my bucket list cruise/destination!!

[pe4all]

On 5/15/2019 at 4:18 PM, monykalyn said:

Sailing this ship/itinerary in 19 days. Also in balcony. 

My only other cruise was with hubs last fall. This time we have the teens with us, so will be using the pulldown beds-so here is the stupid newbie question: will the room steward stow the beds in am and pull down at night? With 4 of us it'd be much easier to move around with the beds out of way. Not anticipating much time in cabin other than sleep/getting ready for dinner though.  TIA!

Newcruiser-we are booked with Blexie too! Good to hear so many positives. 

This is also my bucket list cruise/destination!!

The steward will definitely stow the beds in the a.m. and pull them down in the pm.   Also - you can make use of the showers in the gym to cut down on waiting for your room shower to be free.  With 4 in the room you will need extra towels - just ask the steward and he will supply them each day.

[pokergirl34]

Hello, thanks so much for the review. We are booked on the same ship and itinerary this fall. Can you please elaborate on the sushi station? Is it a pay venue such as Bonsai on the Sunshine? We enjoy sushi and are glad there is some option on the Sensation. We knew going in the dining options are limited compared to ships we're normally on....it's great to read about another option. I

 

Any chance you walked by the piano bar? It's our favorite evening venue and are hoping it is roomy compared to the Sunshine or in a hallway like the Breeze. Our favorite was on Conquest class ships. 

 

One last question, we will disembark the Sensation then embark on the Conquest. Did you notice if the ships dock next to each other? We are planning on walking between the two ships, are in good shape, and pack pretty lightly. So long as they are docked together I don't see an issue even if it's hot.

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

[pe4all]

16 hours ago, pokergirl34 said:

Hello, thanks so much for the review. We are booked on the same ship and itinerary this fall. Can you please elaborate on the sushi station? Is it a pay venue such as Bonsai on the Sunshine? We enjoy sushi and are glad there is some option on the Sensation. We knew going in the dining options are limited compared to ships we're normally on....it's great to read about another option. I

 

Any chance you walked by the piano bar? It's our favorite evening venue and are hoping it is roomy compared to the Sunshine or in a hallway like the Breeze. Our favorite was on Conquest class ships. 

 

One last question, we will disembark the Sensation then embark on the Conquest. Did you notice if the ships dock next to each other? We are planning on walking between the two ships, are in good shape, and pack pretty lightly. So long as they are docked together I don't see an issue even if it's hot.

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

The sushi was $5.95 for I think it was 9 pieces - plenty for a meal.  It is just a small counter literally right outside the casino.  You order, get a buzzer, and around 5 minutes later your sushi is ready.  We also went into the piano bar.  It has it's own area.  It is smaller than those on the larger ships, but fine to hang out in.  The Conquest and Sensation were definitely docked next to each other, but I have no idea if you can walk between the terminals. (security-wise) The worst scenario is that you would have to walk totally out of the Sensation area, hit the street, make a right and walk to Conquest. (it was docked behind Sensation both when we embarked and debarked.)  I don't see it as a problem, as they are so close to each other, and there were sidewalk along all the streets there. 

[SFplusP]

Thanks for the review. We go on sensation in June. We've never been on a 4 day (which ours is). Do you happen to have any menu pictures or remember which menus they had? American table I would assume? We have a 1 year old so I'm trying to have orders ready 😂

[pe4all]

13 hours ago, SFplusP said:

Thanks for the review. We go on sensation in June. We've never been on a 4 day (which ours is). Do you happen to have any menu pictures or remember which menus they had? American table I would assume? We have a 1 year old so I'm trying to have orders ready 😂

Sorry - I do not "do" pics or keep anything from our cruises.   They definitely had American table menus - which were even different than the American table menus I had on Conquest in March.   DH loved the spaghetti and pizza off the kid's menu - had it 2 nights, while dd had the chicken nuggets and fries. (definitely not food snobs here!) I ordered off the regular menu each night.  We had your time dining, which worked out great for us.