Rainbowfalls

Hello everyone :)

I am back and already booked for another sensation cruise in Jan 2016. We decided this will be the last time we go on this ship but I have a couple of questions since I have not been up to date with all the goings on with carnival on what has changed lately.

I have read about the balconies being now smoke free and some things about the MDR menu changing but I do not know what has changed with that. Any help would be appreciated :)

Congrats to your parents! All the non-cruisers I know love to tell horror stories about all the terrible things that can happen on a cruise. This sounds like one of them. :D

Lol I know I just brush them off now especially since finding cc. And the person who told my dad has never cruised before but apparently brought up some website that states about only passports will be accepted. I think after being disproved they will stop listening to others at least I hope lol.

enjoy your cruise!!!

Thank you everyone, I didn't think it changed but I think last minute nerves are getting to them and making them doubt.

Has anyone recently used birth certificates instead of passports? Are they still taking birth certificates and ids? I am asking because someone told one of my family members that they just changed the policy and it's now stricter so you have to have a passport to travel even on a closed loop cruise. :rolleyes:

that's so cool!, are these room types on all ship classes? and how would I know when purchasing one that i am getting one that's actually an interior with window?

I have never been much of a fan of traveling coolers cause I find them awkward and really just another thing to lug around. We just take a wheeled duffle that we use to carry all of our drinks and also misc. stuff we cant fit into our other carry ons. This year I wanted to try to just bring one of those small collapsible coolers ( that holds a couple of 6 cans or so) and just add ice to it and leave the top open so we can chill whatever is needed without taking a lot of baggage space. I would think a backpack would also be very cumbersome.

Hello....I cruised with you last year on the Carnival Sensation. My dad and I leave out on the Carnival Imagination on Monday (we fly out on Sunday). We are going on a back-to-back on the Imagination and the Sunshine.

 

Enjoy your cruise

Thank you! I was so sad I didn't get to see you or your dad last year cause I was sick, you both seem to be such sweet fun people :) maybe we will meet another year? ^_^. I hope you both enjoy your B2B's and the Imagination. Hopefully next year I will try out a different ship instead of the Sensation lol. Have fun cruising!

The Sensation was my 1st cruise back in 2001. Can't wait to read your review as we are planning on doing the 4 night cruise over my son feb school vacation.

 

 

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:) I love how the Sensation is like the first cruise for a lot of people. It's like a fond memory and sometimes the beginning of an addiction lol. I hope my review will be helpful to you all and I will try to not wait months to make one like I did last time lol.

Thank you everyone! It's amazing how cold everywhere is getting we had wind chills in the single digits last night. Glad soon I'll be in the sand and sun just sucks time will fly :(. I do plan on making a long photo heavy review ^.^. I can't wait ^.^

9 Days!

Single digits!!!! ^_^!!!. Just 9 days till I am back on the Sensation away from all this cold. I have one week though to pack and get all final last minute things done before we hit the road. So right now panic and excitement are mixing together. I am still amazed that it's so soon, I swear just yesterday it was a month away lol.

Hi Rainbowfalls, I believe the answer to all of your question is yes. Last year I was on the Valor and they offered all of these free.

Hope to see you on the cruise in 15 days.

I can confirm number 1 and 2 for you- I did both on the Glory this month... Not sure about "cashing out" though- sorry :)

Thank you both!!!

I've never tried the Mongolian Wok onboard but may try it in a few days....is it similar to a General Tsaos chicken??? I hope that's not a dumb question

General tsos is deep fried and pretty much a chicken and sauce dish though sometimes broccoli or other veggies will be added. The mongolian wok is more focus on noodles and other toppings with different sauce options or combos basically a stir fry. hope this helped ^_^

Just checking to see if some of these are still valid.

1. Do they still give out decks of cards at guest services?

2. Can someone still get a lanyard from the casino?

3. Can I still "cash out" at the Casino also?

last time we really didn't shop around as much as we wanted to, so we did not pick up anything from the straw markets or grocery stores. This year I wanted to pick up a couple of things that are kinda well know of the area.

We love trying out different sodas or drinks that are special to certain places. Are there any sodas/non alcoholic or even alcoholic drinks that we should pick up and bring back?

We are considering a day-pass to the Grand Lucayan while in Freeport. Is it easy to get a taxi back to the cruise port from the hotel? If so, how long is the ride (I want to make sure I plan enough time to return).

 

Also, if you have visited this hotel before, please feel free to offer your comments. I'm especially interested in the infinity pool and beach area.

 

Thanks for your help.

Getting a taxi for wasn't so bad, just exit the ship and follow everyone to where there are taxis and vans lined up. They will ask you how many are in your party and then where are you going. We had to wait a bit because they were having larger parties that they were trying to fill up first before the smaller groups of people. It took maybe 5 mins or so to get a taxi/van. Expect to be kind of jammed in with everyone not that comfortable of a ride but it was fun. The cost was 10 p.p and about 20-25 mins just depending on the speed of the driver. When you got to the destination was when you would pay. They would ask you if it was one way or round trip then charge you accordingly. If you decided on round trip you would pay your 10 up front and they would give you a slip of paper for your return trip back. Make sure you keep a hold of this as it's the only proof you paid for the return trip.

The hotel is really nice, I was actually surprised for how much their passes are and how lovely the property is, it was defiantly worth it to us to pay for the passes. There are many pools and lounge chairs available to choose from. We only walked near the infinity pool and it looked pretty neat. The beach was very well cared for and not that busy at the time we went. There wasn't much as in people trying to sell things. We had maybe two guys that approached offering t-shirts and another parasail trip but we just politely declined and they walked off. Out of the two ports I loved freeport the most. The sand at the hotel was super soft and without any rocks from what I could tell, the water was a bit clearer then at Nassau. There are changing rooms and bathrooms that is available to those who purchase day passes. they were clean and stocked with soap, toilet paper and paper towels. Some things to mention was (at least during our time there) the pools were very cold but once we got in them for a bit it wasn't as chilly, the restaurants on property do not accept cash unless you are staying at the hotel, so bring a debit card or credit card with you if you think you might get hungry but want to stay on grounds, as expected the items are a bit pricey just sharing a hamburger and a small bag of chips without a drink came to around 13-15 dollars before tip, also keep your wristband on you or at least with you if it happens to fall off because after a couple of people just wandering on the beach they started to look at the wristbands.

Hope this helps any and enjoy your vacation!

Sorry to butt in with a question but do I use my free drink coupon during the seaday brunch or where?

age 29. We liked eating by ourselves and plan on doing it again in the years to come. Not that we dont like talking to new people, we just do not want to while we finally are able to sit together as a family. I think another reason, at least for us, is that most of my family is in the hospitality industry where we have to be nice and make small talk all the time. It's enjoyable sometimes just to be with my family and not have to talk a lot if I dont feel like it and not seem rude.

I would just call the hotel you are staying at, most of the time they would know the taxi fare from amtrak stations to hotel, or at least give you a number for the taxi services that you could call and ask. I did this for a trip to Indianapolis and was able to find out from the front desk and get a couple of numbers for taxi services to call when I arrived.

We will be staying at the Doubletree by HIlton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront , it has really good reviews and the pictures look amazing. Also it's only 6 mins away from where we will be parking at (the Radisson. ). Plus it has a restaurant on property and offers balcony rooms facing the ocean.

We used cash last year and plan on it again. We put 200 down for our 4 day cruise for 2 people it was no issue to set up. Have fun!

I loved reading your review! the sensation was the first ship I had ever been on and the one we are going to be on in just a few short weeks. There are not that many reviews about this ship and it's a pity so it's always wonderful when someone comes back and makes one thankyou!

My bf has onion allergies and had no problem with anytime dining. I called special needs weeks before the cruise then a couple of days before leaving just to make sure it was listed on his passenger information.

The first night we had dinner in the MDR the head hostess was informed we had been seated and she arrived with a menu of the night and told him what they could customize for the first night (since they really had no time to prep for him) and what contained onions already in it that they could not change.

She then gave him a menu for the next night and told him again what comes already prepped that they cannot really change but can kind of remake specially for him, and things that they can just not add the items to.

This happened every night. They were very helpful too because a couple of times since he had to order the night before when that night came he wasn't in the mood for what he preordered so they were able to adjust to the change.

I was very impressed with how they handled everything and made him feel a bit better (though embarrassed) about not having to look though all his food for a stray onion.

I love the review already, lol it's so cute and personalized. I cannot wait to read more. :)

any idea on how long this will last?

We went there back in December and it was ok. not the best beach we have ever been to and not the worst. The beach itself was rocky but the water very beautiful. Tons of vendors and locals which was pretty cool but at the same time I hated having people come up to us every 5 mins or so or shouting at us to buy something or get our hair braided. We did enjoy it, it's free so it wasnt like we had huge expectations and we did realize it was a local hang out but this year we plan to go to the hilton.