Sensation disappointment

[deavers]

Thanks for all the replies and information. It was a 4 day cruise. The staff was very nice, accomodating and always pleasant. There wasn't any offensive smells, the cabins were comfortable and the kids liked the camps they were in. It wasn't a horrible vacation, it just wasn't what we expected I guess. And yes, there will always be lines at the buffets, we expected that, just not the mass amounts upon boarding the ship and while at sea. We did eat in the MDR nightly and that was nice to not fight for a table, wish that option was available for lunch :) or maybe it was and we weren't aware of it. We try to eat early to be ahead of the crowds whenever we are on vacation any where. The ports were great, enjoyed ourselves in Freeport and Nassau.

 

The Sensation itself was very nice, the decor did seem outdated, but not offensive. Everything on the ship was clean at all times, that was never an issue. Please keep the suggestions of other ships for us to check out for possible future vacations.

 

Thanks again!

[beach410]

I enjoy the size of the Fantasy Class ships, but also enjoy seeing what other ships have to offer. My boys like playing basketball, so we are going on the Destiny this year, the Fantasy Class did away with BB when they added the slides. There were things I like and dislike about all the ships we have sailed on, and probably the biggest dislike is either the lines or the buffet layout (Triumph).

 

The pools arent made for swimming as much as for cooling down. You can eat lunch in the DR, I may try that myself this cruise, but like the variety of a buffet for lunch. I switched to eating breakfast mainly in the DR a couple of years ago. I find the pizza hit or miss, some ships I like it and others I dont. I enjoy cruising a lot, I also enjoy my land vacations.

 

Cruising does require some patience, there are more lines to deal with then your typical land vacation. Sounds like overall you had a nice time, maybe your expectations were high though and next time you will be pleasantly suprised.

[allenee]

Been on many cruises and the Sensation is one of my favorite ships. Had wonderful service and great food on our sailings. At busy times like breakfast, we ate at the dinning room instead of the buffet line. Looks like we may sail Sensation again in September. Been on other cruise lines but always come back home to Carnival.

[cwiggy]

Thanks for all the replies and information. It was a 4 day cruise. The staff was very nice, accomodating and always pleasant. There wasn't any offensive smells, the cabins were comfortable and the kids liked the camps they were in. It wasn't a horrible vacation, it just wasn't what we expected I guess. And yes, there will always be lines at the buffets, we expected that, just not the mass amounts upon boarding the ship and while at sea. We did eat in the MDR nightly and that was nice to not fight for a table, wish that option was available for lunch :) or maybe it was and we weren't aware of it. We try to eat early to be ahead of the crowds whenever we are on vacation any where. The ports were great, enjoyed ourselves in Freeport and Nassau.

 

The Sensation itself was very nice, the decor did seem outdated, but not offensive. Everything on the ship was clean at all times, that was never an issue. Please keep the suggestions of other ships for us to check out for possible future vacations.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

my apologies for referencing cleanliness and odours! Duh, I think I read several posts and then replied and mixed your comments with another thread. so sorry!

[deavers]

my apologies for referencing cleanliness and odours! Duh, I think I read several posts and then replied and mixed your comments with another thread. so sorry!

 

no problems! It's easy to get confused reading all these posts :)

[baldilocks]

To Travlerista,

 

In selecting our cruise line or your cruise line, we must each understand how we wish to travel and what things are important to us. Being some 'old geezers', we probably would not consider things that are important to 20's somehthings. Now as for information, I will list some of the areas you can check for informatiom. I hope this helps.

 

Vessel sanitation program: cdc.gov

Complaints: cruiseshipcomplaints.com

Fires: cruiseshipfires.com

Deaths: cruiseshipdeaths.com

 

The cruise critic site does a nice job of listing 'best picks'. The Cuise Critic poll for results for best overall large ships lists the top 10 large ships. Royal and Celebrity hold down 8 of the top 10 spots. Also, just look at the ratings for each ship on Cruise Critic. There are some other sites that I cannot recall at the moment.

 

P.S. There is another Costa ship presently adrift in the Indian Ocean. Carnival is going to have a bad profit year with all this going on. :(

[mander]

I've been on 3 cruises in last two years and loved them all for different reasons. I was just on the Sensation in January (before drydock) and it was wonderful! I have to agree the pizza was not the greatest but the food in the dining room was so yummy...loved the salmon and the indian cuisine! We didn't have a problem getting a chair on sea day. We weren't into swimming so didn't have to worry about a place in the pool. Spent a lot of time in serenity area and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Of course the buffet lines were long, but being on cruises before I knew what to expect. I had been on one other Carnival and Princess as well. Booked on the Breeze for January 2013 and can't wait!

[Disneycruisers]

Before we started cruising again after a 25 year gap, we check a lot of online facts and cruise histories. We came to the conclusion the Royal Caribbean was our best choice for us (60+ years young). We have not been disappointed. We have had just a minor 'burp' or two on our 10 cruises.

 

Carnival has had more accidents, fires, fights, etc. than other major lines....yes they are the biggest, but their record is beyond what would be considered as average. Our friends who have cruised both Carnival and Royal have almost all switched to Royal or Celebrity. Our personal favorite is the Freedom of the Seas out of Port Canaveral.

 

I spoke with our RCI captain on one cruise during a meet and mingle and asked him about Carnival ships as one was drifting off the Mexican coast. He did not wanted to get too specific but he did say the Carnival ships are designed differently than RCI ships and that redundancy of systems is not Carnival's strong point. I asked him about the incident were a Carnival ship sideswiped the Enchantment of the Seas in Cozumel (you can see it on YouTube posts) awhile back. He just smiled and said 'maybe a bad captain?. After Costa Concordia, it makes me wonder how many 'bad' captains they have.:eek:

 

Have you sailed Carnival before?

[baldilocks]

No. We have not sailed on Carnival. My post was on how we decided to use RCI rather than Carnival. My judgment was based on posted information, websites and personal interviews from people who cruised before on various lines. Our first cruise...a long time ago...was on NCL. You may have different criteria than us...which is OK. We just do a lot of research before dropping thosands of dollars on a vacations. We went to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in September. Planning helped us to see almost everything and at the same time having first class lodging and transportation at discounted rates (free lodging (Hilton), half price airfare (Delta) and half price car rental (Dollar). We are now working on 2013 vacations...providing the world doesn't end on December 21st !!!