Sept. 10th Sensation 4 day Bahamas Cruise-LONG Review

[bguppies]

My Wife and I were on the Sept. 10th sailing of the Sensation for the 4 night cruise to Freeport and Nassau. (my 1st cruise and her 2nd)

 

We drove down a day early and stayed with my folks who live 20 minutes north of the Port. (so we can’t help with any hotel or parking tips)

 

Embarkation Day:

We got dropped off at 10:45AM.

Dropped our bags with the porters and headed for the entrance.

5 minutes to get through security and up the escalator.

Already had filled out our Bahamian Immigration papers that came with our documents, so we proceeded straight into line and up to the counter in about 5 minutes.

We then proceeded to the waiting area, which already had about 100 people waiting.

Waited for a few more minutes for them to begin boarding at 11:30 or so…(of course you had to wait for everyone to take their embarkation photos as they boarded)

 

The cabin corridors were closed off once we got on board, so we proceeded to scout the ship and learn our way around.

Stopped by and found our dining room and table assignment.

Found the Polo Lounge which doubled as the Cigar Bar and Sports Bar on the Sensation.

The ship gets the networks from Denver, so being a Bronco fan, I got to watch the Broncos/Rams game at the bar and the bartender put on the Falcons/Panthers game on the flat screens on the wall for us football fans.

About 30 football fans all stayed in the Polo Lounge right up until the Muster Drill. (I snuck down to the cabin at halftime to get our vests and return)

Mustered in the Fantasia Lounge for 20 minutes or so, then had to march up to the Lido Deck by the lifeboats for another 15 minutes or so.

We then proceeded to our cabin to get ready for our early seating dinner and our bags had just arrived.

Dinner was great. (more in the food portion of my review)

The Polo Lounge was right above our dining room, so we headed up there directly after dinner so my Wife could watch her beloved Colts beat the Giants. (she and a die hard Giants fan had a friendly rivalry going all night)

From where we sat, we could simultaneously watch and listen to the Karaoke next door in the Plaza Lounge. (some pretty hilarious routines)

After the game, we strolled the ship some more, got a snack at the buffet and headed to bed.

 

Day 2:Freeport/Formal Night

Neither my Wife or I are shoppers, so we decided to stay on board in Freeport and enjoy the less crowded decks and pools all day. (since there is nothing in Freeport without a $20/20-30 minute cab ride)

Hung out at the pool all morning and into the early afternoon and then went to the cabin, threw some clothes on and hit the tiny market just off the ship for some souvenirs to take home for friends.

Went back and got dressed for the Formal dinner and left early, so we could hit a few photo stations on the way to dinner. (I think we did 5 stations, which wound up yielding 3 really good photos to bring home. But there had to be at least 15 different stations throughout the ship that night)

After dinner we proceeded back to our cabin to change into comfy clothes and returned to our hangout in the Polo Lounge to watch a few minutes of the Monday Night game and enjoy a cigar (me) and a smoke (DW).

Then went to the show, “Curves” in the Fantasia Lounge.

Any seat on the first floor of the lounge has a decent view.

If you get stuck on the 2nd floor, you can only see from the first row.

We wound up in the 2nd row and tried to see as best we could, but some loudmouth in the section next to us wouldn’t quit complaining that she couldn’t see. (throughout the entire show)

The music was an uneven mix and the performance, unless you were just there for the thongs, was mediocre.

Finished the night with a snack in the buffet and back to the room to get some rest for our day in Nassau.

 

Day 3: Nassau from 7AM-7AM

Woke up early.

Ship arrived about an hour early at 6AM.

Got to watch 2 RCL ships arrive while we ate breakfast in the Buffet.

Headed down early at 7:25AM to wait to debark at the posted 8AM.

The door was already open so we headed out.

We were doing a self guided walking tour I found on the Bahamas board. (thanks zydecocruiser)

See my walking tour review on the Bahamas board for more in depth detail.

The walking tour took us to our final destination, the British Colonial Hilton, where we paid our $15 each for the day pass for use of their facilities. (beach, pool, towels, floats, etc.)

A beautiful beach right near the ship, with a nice size pool just a few feet from the beach.

The only people there that day (with 4 ships in port all day) was us, 2 other couples from another boat, 3 British families staying at the hotel, a few more hotel guests and 6 or 7 dancers from the Sensation. (which made me feel like we definitely had found a good deal, as I assume they don’t have a lot of money or time to waste for their recreation and would know the best places to stop in port.)

Stayed there until it began to rain later in the afternoon.

Headed back to the ship.

Stopped at Senor Frogs for a few minutes. (definitely a lively party bar)

Hit a few souvenir shops on the way back, then returned to the ship for a snack and to freshen up.

Decided to do dinner in the buffet, instead of the dining room. (neither of us felt like dressing up at all, after relaxing at the beach/pool all day)

We then headed back to the Polo Lounge so I could enjoy the Cigars I got at the Graycliff and watch “The DaVinci Code” next door in the Plaza lounge. (then later, again Karaoke.)

Back to the buffet for ice cream then back to the cabin.

 

Day 4: Day at Sea

We were both a little sunburned after day 2 and 3, so we just floated around the boat and enjoyed our last day on the boat.

Watched the towel animal class, played a game of Bingo, hit the debarkation talk and watched the Newlywed game.

Again decided for dinner in the buffet and then headed to the Fantasia Lounge (early this time after day 2’s mistake) and caught the 80’s musical, “Far From Over” which was extremely entertaining.

We began to experience the only rough seas of the cruise around 9PM as we got closer to Florida. (I assume remnants of the Hurricane which hit Bermuda, which had been thrashing the Florida beaches while we were at sea.)

Went back to the room afterward to pack. (staggering down the corridors, like everyone else. We all looked drunk, whether we were or not.)

Was hilarious trying to pack with the extreme rocking.

 

Day 5: Debarkation Day

Woke early and hit the buffet a little before 6AM for breakfast.

Hung out in the smokers seats by the main pool until they called for our deck to debark. (around 8:30AM)

Got right off the ship, picked up our bags, porter walked us right through customs and out to the benches to wait for our ride.

 

The Ship:

I have to say, the ship was in great shape, contrary to some reviews on these boards.

I’d say that you would have to be looking for problems to nitpick, to find many things wrong with the Sensation. (I’d imagine if I wanted to waste my time looking for worn carpeting or scratches on walls/doors, I could find some if I looked hard. But WHY?!?!?!?!)

The only slight things I noticed was that there was some rust on the outer edge of the windows next to our dining table and the windows there and in the Polo Lounge could use some cleaning.

We experienced zero odors in our cabin or ANY of the corridors we traveled.

The staff were constantly cleaning throughout the cruise.

The tables in the buffet and just outside the buffet were usually cleared within a few minutes of the parties finishing. (except once when my Wife and I got pizza at 2AM, which I didn’t expect them to be fully staffed at that hour anyway)

 

The Food:

We ate the first two dinners in the dining room and the 2nd two dinners in the buffet.

Had breakfast and lunch every day at the buffet.

Everything we ordered in the dining room was excellent, except my Lobster the 2nd night was a bit overcooked. (got a 2nd tail and it too was overcooked)

The service in the dining room was great except for the 2nd night where they had to stop serving to perform their 9-11 “God Bless America” tribute.

Not our servers fault at all.

But took forever afterwards to finally get our desert course so we could make the show lounge. (which we wound up not being able to see due to arriving late and getting bad seats)

 

Breakfasts at the buffet were great.

Tried the scrambled eggs (at least a bit each day) and they were done perfectly 3 out of 4 days. The 3rd day they were slightly runny.

The omelets were good the 2 days I tried them.

Sausage, Bacon, Grits, Hash Browns, were all good.

Fruit, yogurt, milk, etc… all good each day.

 

Sandwiches at the Deli (especially the Reuben) were great every time we got one.

Pizza next door was also great.

Never much of a wait at either venue for our food.

 

All the various food we tried at the lunch and dinner buffets was good.

Buffet food of course, but I found it to be better than most buffets at regular restaurants I have been to.

Only tried one hamburger which was decent. (stuck mostly with Deli and Pizza for quick snacks)

 

The deserts were excellent.

Especially the Fat Free deserts (orange cake, chocolate cake, frozen yogurt)

 

The only negative to the dining experience was the odd way the drink stations in the buffet and lido deck were set up.

No definitive direction for people to proceed.

There was always a disjointed, confused crowd milling about trying to get a drink.

Both the coffee cups and drink cups were too small,(when they weren’t running out at lunchtime) which contributed to most people making many repeated trips for drinks, which I think helped contribute to constant crowds at the drink station. (luckily we had brought our own, large insulated mugs, which kept us from having to make more than one trip per sitting.)

There HAS to be a better way for carnival to set up these drink stations to facilitate quicker and easier use for cruisers.

 

The crew/service:

Our dining staff was good.

Our cabin steward was great.

Every crew member we encountered was always friendly and helpful with any questions we had.

(I wish I could say the same of our shipmates, quite a few, who I saw were quite rude to the crew.)

 

Our cabin:

We had an inside almost all the way forward on the Empress deck.

The Empress deck was a great location.

Close to everything on the 2-3 decks above. (only the gym was any sort of trek)

The steward kept the cabin constantly clean and my cooler always filled.

Plenty of space on the desk and in the bathroom medicine cabinet and counter for everything. (I saw no need for the over the door shoe holder everyone recommended)

Plenty of hanging closet space and drawer space.

No fridge and the ice bin was tiny, so I was glad I had my collapsible cooler.

The water pressure and temperature in the shower were excellent.

Also the beds were phenomenal as well as the 200 thread count cotton sheets and the duvet and duvet cover.

Not much to watch on the TV except one channel with 24 hours a day of Carnival commercials, one channel with constantly running shipboard talks, Denver area network channels, Latin TNT and a few other Latin channels.

Luckily we spent little or no time in the cabin to watch TV.

 

Neither of us are gamblers, shoppers or big drinkers (although I had a few “Miami Vice’s”), so we couldn’t help out with much info on the Casinos, shops or various bars other than the Polo Lounge (Cigar/Sports bar) which we frequented.

 

Hope the review is helpful to anyone thinking of sailing the Sensation.

I would highly recommend her to anyone.

 

 

I'll try to add anything that I think of later today or answer any questions for those cruising on her in the near future.

I saved all Capers and flyers left in our cabin. (but my scanner in broke, so I can't post them)

Will be happy to answer any direct questions from the Capers about days and times on the 4 day cruise.

Will also post my review of Nassau and our Walking tour on the Bahamas board later today.

Bill

[Breucklin]

Thanks so much for the review... :D

 

We will be sailing in 13 days....cant wait..

[BAHAMAS BOUND]

Wow, what a great review. We are sailing on Sensation Thursday of this week. It is our frist cruise and this helps a great deal. At least knowing what to expect, helps with the anxiety of the "first time" We are so excited to say the least. We are on the Empress as well Ocean view in the middle of the ship. I have read this is a great area to be. Thanks again!!

[bguppies]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=7804191#post7804191

 

Here is the link to my review of the walking tour and BCH on the Bahamas board.(an invaluable source of information)

 

Bill

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for your Opinion and Review, bguppies.

[pensh]

Thank you so much for your review. We are cruising in Oct. with our two kids (9,11). I was wondering about the shows. Are they appropriate for children? My kids like to hang out with us most of the time. Any info. would be appreciated.

[bguppies]

Thank you so much for your review. We are cruising in Oct. with our two kids (9,11). I was wondering about the shows. Are they appropriate for children? My kids like to hang out with us most of the time. Any info. would be appreciated.

The 80's show "Far From Over" on the day at sea was family friendly.(outfits mimicked the artists song they were singing. for example, dressed like Prince, parade of various Madonna looks over the years, etc..)

 

The show on the Formal Night/Freeport night called "Curves" definitely wasn't,(IMHO) as the main gist of the show was to show as much thonged butts as possible.

(the show was poor and obviously just there for the butt views, which you can see all day by the pool if that is a person's inclination. Why sit through a bad show?)

 

The newlywed show was funny also, but I doubt a 9 and 11 year old would find the sexual innuendo laced humor very funny.

 

They probably would enjoy the making towel animal class on the day at sea. (I know I did while I waited for the free cruise Bingo that followed it.)

 

Hope that helps.

Bill