cthrn27

Hello, all.  Wondering about the current Muster Drill situation.  Are we back to the in person, stand and listen?  Or have they remained virtual post covid.  Thanks!

Thanks to the help of many of you, I finally chose an insurer.  When I received the confirmation, they recommended that I print the confirmation of coverage AND the actual policy....ALL 63 PAGES!!  Is it really necessary??  Will it suffice if I print the confirmation and have the policy in my phone's email???  Will I be able to access the email on the ship (or in a foreign port?)?  Advice please and thank you everyone.

wonderful thread and so helpful. Thank you everyone

After many cruises, I learned something in Jamaica: If you dont have an excursion STAY ON THE SHIP.

Hello.  My older parents want to cruise but can't manage the luggage - not from/to the airport or to/from the ship.  They have limited mobility and can't manage walker and suitcase.  Anyone have experience on how to handle this???? Would appreciate suggestions.  Thank you

Thanks,  but they have limited mobility and can't manage walker and baggage

Hello.  My older parents want to cruise but can't manage the luggage - not from/to the airport or to/from the ship.  Anyone have experience on how to handle this???? Would appreciate suggestions.  Thank you

I am wondering why the rules for the cruises seem so different from the rules to stay at a land hotel.  We just spent a few days in Orlando....  no one asked if we were vaccinated.  everyone sat at the pool.  we all ate in the same room.  Masks were expected in the inside common areas for everyone.... no mask mandate at Universal, inside or out.  why isn't CDC regulating other industries to the extent they want to regulate the cruise lines?

We had walk off this year from the Sensation.

Unfortunately, last year debarking from the Paradise was the worst thing I've ever seen.  No walk off before the top decks were debarked.  I hope things have changed.  It appears that sometimes it has more to do with the ship....

Hello 🙂

Formal night was the first full day and it wasn't a sea day (Nassau).  Of course, if you are going to Jamaica, it is a different itinerary from ours.

I didn't ask for a hair dryer.

We have sailed on a few Fantasy class ships and this one had the smallest room.  Last year on Paradise our room had the narrow couch and small table in front of it, which we found comfortable to have.  Again, as it turned out, no biggie.  We spend very little time in the room.  We prefer people and ocean watching!  Hope you have a wonderful time!

1 hour ago, ober134 said:

Truly enjoyed your review. We sail on Sensation in 3 weeks. Sailed on her in 2016 and looking forward to it very much.

I am jealous!!  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  The people were so friendly!!  Enjoy

3 hours ago, Amadawn1 said:

 Where did you get your pina colada in Grand Turk?  I was thinking of trying a little bar and grill on the opposite side of the port (space capsule side) called The Beached Whale.  Supposedly they have great conch fritters as well.  Really happy to hear you had a great cruise!  

I think that might have been the place.  There was a smell of something delicious frying, but we were so warm, we just sat and sipped and regrouped.  I remember that they had 3 icy machines spinning pina coladas, something red (strawberry?), and a really unusal one with a name that started with "what's....".  LOL.  I was intrigued.  they served the drinks with a test tube like thing that held the alcohol.  They stuck it open side up into the drink and you could add the alcohol yourself.  They asked if you wanted 1 or 2 shots.  from my poor memory, you would think I had several, but only one....must have been the heat!!!!Lol

Sailed the 5 day Bahamas Cruise on the Sensation, July 2019

ARRIVAL: We flew into Miami Airport, and were able to check in to the ship there.  It was quick and convenient, and we only had to go through security once we got to the port.  There was virtually no waiting at all 😊

We were on board by 1:30.  I was expecting the Lido to be crowded, but it wasn’t bad.  We queued up for a Guy’s Burger.  The line moved quickly and the burger was still warm.  MMMM.  Topped it off with a rum punch, and our cruise was in full swing!

THE ROOM:  Having sailed on other Fantasy Class ships, I was still disappointed when we opened the door to our cabin.  The room was small – smaller than the room on the Paradise last year.  Gone was the small couch and table where we would eat our Room Service BLT (surprise!! It is just a delicious when you order it at the Deli and eat it in the Lido!).  The TV was tiny.  There was no refrigerator or hair dryer.  The walls were paper thin.  I wondered how I hadn’t known this cabin would be so….. lacking.  Turns out, not one of those things mattered.  We ended up LOVING the ship.  The warmth and sincerity of the crew outshone any perceived shortcoming of the room.

Our steward, Hamid, came to introduce himself.  What a nice man!  He was friendly, pleasant, and efficient.  I mentioned that the room was a bit warm.  He agreed and had a supervisor come check it out immediately.  The supervisor said he’d get a technician in right away.  By the time we returned from dinner, the AC was humming along at a cool clip.  There were no further problems with the air conditioning.

ENTERTAINMENT:  We enjoyed the musical shows very much.  There were 3, and we were able to see them all.  After the show, the CD, Deon, moved everyone along to the atrium where we stood around on 5 levels to see him sing, dance and entertain us with a musical trivia contest.  He had us all singing, clapping and swaying to the music.  It was great fun!

We always look forward to the comedy shows and these did not disappoint. Even more than the comedians, the Comedy Club Manager, Andy, was hilarious. We ended a few nights with laughter!  Ordered a Kiss on the Lips drink at the show.  DELICIOUS!

THE PORTS:  Honestly, I could go forever without seeing Nassau again, but there it was.  We walked through town and stopped at Del Sol to get our granddaughter a cute Tshirt.  Then, sweated our way to Senor Frogs, for a cute onesie for the new baby.  Always enjoy Senor Frogs.  A Security Guard offered me an unusual fruit.  You slice open the tough skin with your finger nail and there is a round, juicy, grape like fruit inside.  Then, back to the boat for some quiet relaxation while everyone else is ashore.  As this was one of our more relaxed cruises, we took time to enjoy watching the boat pull away.  We saw the lines loosened and released and got to watch the people running down the pier to get to the boat. 😉

We love Half Moon Cay.  It is a perfect, relaxing, fun, beach day.  The water is a beautiful, clear, blue.  We floated around and then relaxed in a chair until lunch.  Of course, that was plenty of time for me to pick up a bright red sunburn ☹  I really enjoy the jerk chicken lunch.  We were the only boat there and there was plenty of room to sit and enjoy the food.  Then, back to the ship before the crowd.  The tenders did a good job.

Having been to all our ports several times before, we did not schedule any excursions.  Grand Turk was no exception.  We wandered through all the stores and found cute little outfits for our grand daughters at Piranha Joe’s.  We explored the space capsule memorial and stopped for a creamy, refreshing Pina Colada.  We sipped and watched the water from a shady spot.  Then, back to the ship to cool off.  Grand Turk is HOT.

The last day was a Sea Day.  We planned on Scrabble in the library, but they did NOT have a game.  We enjoyed sitting quietly in the cool Library watching the water.  As you get older, different things strike your fancy.  On the cruise, it’s almost like discovering new things all the time.

We took advantage of the Tshirt sales (we always do), and then donated to the ST Jude’s fund raiser and got another Tshirt.  Hubby was happy.

FOOD:  Of course, we always look forward to eating at Guy’s. 
I enjoy the Blue Iguana for breakfast and lunch.  I tried a delicious breakfast burrito one day, and had huevos rancheros and an areapa (sp?) two other days.  I wanted to try the seafood tacos for another lunch, but ran out of time…. So many delicious choices.  Also, they have a tasty mango margarita.  Ole!

The Deli serves a delicious BLT, with fries or potato salad.  Never tried the fires, but skip the potato salad.  They have pretty good salted caramel cookies at the Deli.  My husband had several varieties of Pizza, and seemed to enjoy them all.

We liked Our Time Dining and the wait staff was wonderful.  We had a different waiter every day and none of them were bad.  Our favorite was Nenja.  Courteous and accurate.  The warm chocolate melting cake never disappoints.  Tried some cured salmon (Yum). 
Had the fruit plate a couple nights.  Sweet, ripe delicious fruit every time.  One night I had the crème brulee, but it didn’t have that hard sugar shell.  Still tasted good….

DEBARKING/CUSTOMS/MIAMI  We were a little worried about debarking.  Last year the ship we were on had horrible debarking.  Handled it completely different from any ship I’d been on before.  Sensation was more in line with the other ships and things were going smoothly.  On top of that, we booked an excursion for Miami.  We took Miami’s 10 Best.  It wasn’t the best excursion I’ve ever been on, but it was waaay better than sitting in the airport for hours on end.  It was a large, air conditioned bus with a driver and a guide.  The guide was quite knowledgeable and pointed out many things throughout the drive.  We saw South Beach (from the bus), Little Havana, and Windwood.  We got out (and got soaked) in Little Havana.  We went to a Cigar shop, a shop giving out Cuban Coffee, and stopped for some ice cream.  I had Mango and my husband had very berry.  We were both pleased.  There was an opportunity to go to restaurants, but we didn’t.  We headed to Windwood and were able to get out and view the fresco paintings…grafitti?

ISSUES: Booked on a lower deck in an Ocean view, one of our neighbors in an inner room, was a pot smoker.  The steward was aware, and I assumed the matter would be addressed.  It was not.  The neighbors smoked everyday.  And it was terrible smelling: like a skunk.  The steward sprayed our room with room deodorizer and that helped, but only for THAT instance.  I was surprised that the smell would go across the hall.  I was also disappointed that Carnival did nothing.  Before leaving home we received a form letter from Carnival reminding us that while Marijuana is legal in some states, Carnival goes by Federal law.  Therefore, no pot smoking would be tolerated.  Of course, NO smoking is tolerated in the rooms...well, I guess they don't really enforce that....

FINALLY, we had a wonderful time on this ship.  The crew was absolutely wonderful.  They always had time to smile and chat.  They didn’t just ask questions, they shared some of their lives with us, too.  And while they stopped to smile and chat, don’t think that the ship suffered.  It was one of the cleanest ships I have ever been on.  Turns out, my only real complaint was the pot smell (and that was more a worry about fire, though the smell was unusually awful).  Everything else was less significant compared to all the fun we had.  I would sail Sensation again.  If you do, I hope you enjoy!

OP here.  We were (hypothetically, of course) on a lower deck with an Ocean View.  The smokers were in an inside cabin directly across the hall.  Nothing to open.  And, the smell was very like a skunk.  That was how I pointed it out to the cabin steward, but he quickly informed me that he thought it was marijuana and told me where it was coming from.  Had we had a balcony, and if I could have opened the door, there would have been an option.  Why don't they let you open the windows???  the water isn't that high......

Say, hypothetically, on your cruise there is a particular cabin that is enjoying a product that requires matches or a lighter to be enjoyed.  They are in their own cabin, but the smell is unusually foul and wafts not only into the hallway, but into the other rooms..  An offhand question to the steward makes you think the steward is aware of this, and  you assume something will be done.  Unfortunately, nothing is done.  This is not a condemnation of the product, but a concern that any type of fire on a boat is a potential hazard.  This continues.  Do you say something?  to guest services?  would this get the steward in trouble?  would the people be kicked off?

Your pictures are great.  I'm enjoying the cruise all over again, without any of the work 🙂  thank you!

HI.  My husband and I were on this cruise and LOVED it.  The crew were absolutely amazing.  Hopefully I will crank out my review soon.  Really enjoyed looking at your pictures!  Aaahhh... memories!

Hi.  Just off Sensation 5 night

sail day

Nassau (Elegant Night)

Half Moon Cay

Grand Turk

Sea  Day

always fun

just back from Sensation.  They had honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, canned peaches, prunes.  I think they ran out of pineapple by the 4th day as I stopped seeing it.  Fresh apples and pears on the breakfast buffet.  The melons were out for breakfast, lunch and dinner/dessert.   Have to mention that the honeydew and cantaloupe were actually ripe.  Better than the last few ships I have been on.  yummy!

 Thanks all for hair dryer info.  I'll be able to pack a bit lighter.....or take something in its place!😊

Please advise. Thanks in advance

Wouldn't the What's App?  app work the same for free???

I certainly agree. ... EXCEPT, that app was so useful last year, and I DO need a newer phone....just NOT an iPhone....

Thank you, all.  Certainly not the answer I was hoping for, but it makes sense.  Time to get a new phone, I guess....

HELLO.  Just booked cruise and tried to download Carnival Hub App from Google Play Store for my Moto xt109.  Tells me it is incompatible with my device....but I used it last year.  Also, I went to the settings and says that software is up to date (version 5.1) Can anyone lend assistance, please???  I loved the app, but I'm not the most tech savvy....