Sensation Review June 13-18

[VanzaQueen]

Just got back from the June 13 sailing of the Sensation. We had a great time. It was our first cruise and I received a lot of good information from this board.

 

A few highlights and observations:

 

We were a group of 12 (3 families each with 2 teenagers). There were a lot of kids on this cruise. In fact most of the cruisers seemed to be extended families. That was fine with us, our kids made a lot of new friends. The ship was completely booked. A couple at our table at dinner had booked on the day before we left and got the last room. There were signs when checking in that said "no upgrades, full to capacity".

 

We had driven in on Sunday and spent the night before the cruise at the Hampton Inn at Six Flags. Very nice hotel, in a good area with a pleasant staff.

 

We left the hotel at 10:30 am and were pulling up to the drop off area at the ship at 10:50. The bags were left with the porter who then directed us to "pull straight down the road until you see the letter C and pull in that parking lot". We did and were in a little surface lot right next to the ship. We prepaid the $12per day and walked the block back to the terminal. I had been so worried about the parking situation, and we had even made a dry run the night before to check out the parking garages in the area. Other members of our group (we were part of a much larger group of about 15 families) had a more difficult time finding parking.

 

Getting on the ship was smooth and the lines moved quickly. We walked into the terminal at 11:00 am and were sitting on the Lido deck having lunch at 12:10.

 

First Impressions: Boy this ship is purple! Everything was very clean and well taken care of. All the staff were extremely helpful and pleasant.

 

Cabin Good and Bad:Our cabin was on the Riviera deck towards the front of the ship. Had no problems at all during the cruise. In fact we all liked the quiet atmosphere of being on the lowest deck. There was plenty of storage. The over the door compartment thingee came in handy for all of our toiletries (thank you for the idea, I also brought my duct tape but didn’t need that. But I knew it was there just in case.) We only saw our steward once-on the first day and never saw him again. Not sure if that is good or bad. But our room was always clean and neat and we figured he was just good at his job. The Bad: We had the drop down bunk beds for our two teenage boys which they said were very comfortable to sleep in, but they were a pain to try and keep from hitting your head on. Lots of sharp corners. Maybe we are just a clumsy family with tall boys, but as a mom I was constantly saying "Watch your heads". Of course I am the one who came home with two bumps on the back of my head from waking up in the middle of the night and doing the late night come back from the bathroom. Also our room was never cool enough. Our friends in the cabin next door were freezing. We had maintenance come and check the blower and they said it was fine. It was only really bad in the midafternoon and when everyone was trying to get ready for dinner.

Food:We brought 6 24 oz bottles of soda and 6 bottles of water. We packed them in the suitcase with the shoes. A couple of people in our group bought the soda cards ($31 and some change) but at the end of the cruise only one of the moms said it was worth it because she was a big soda drinker. The kids basically just drank the lemonade, fruit punch and milk. The food was wonderful. Ate all dinners in the Ecstasy Dining Room. The dinners were fabulous. We all were treated so well. Our group of 6 teenagers had their own table next to us and they all said how much they enjoyed having a nice dinner in the evening.We had the late seating of 8:00 pm and that worked out well for our group. Breakfast and lunch were on the Lido Deck. Pizza was a big hit, also the ice cream, deli and the burgers and fries. BLT from room service was the best. We all agreed that the cheesecake was nasty, each and everytime they would offer it, someone would try it just to see if it would be better and it never was.

 

Playa del Carmen-We did not take any tours so I am no help there. Lots of people did the ruins and enjoyed it. We took a cab into town, walked and shopped. Then went to the beach by the hotel section and sat and had a few drinks. Saw a lot of topless sunbathers. All in all we didn’t think much of this stop, if you didn’t do an organized tour. Heard bad stories of people who rented mo-peds and had troubles.

 

Cozumel: Took a taxi to Paradise Beach. What a lovely place. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Everyone there was extremely nice. It was $8 for a wristband for the water toys. Very clean and when we were ready to leave just walked out front and the taxis were waiting to take us back. $12 each way. Had a late lunch at Panchos Backyard and that was also very good. Nice place to relax while some finished up their shopping. Cozumel was great and we all wished that we had more time there. We had to be back on the ship at 5:30 pm.

 

We saw the ventriliquist one night and the comedian another. They were both very good. Stayed away from the song and dance shows. Everyone won a little in the casino. Mostly just kept even.

 

The weather was beautiful the entire time. Had a 5 minute rain shower on the way back to New Orleans, but that was it.

 

No one in our party got sick. We were all taking Bonine. Ship movement was never a problem. Seas were very calm. We had been worried because Tropical Storm Arlene had just come through right before we left. I never smelled the bathroom smell that I had heard so much about. Never had a problem with deck chair savers. But then we did our sunning at the aft of the ship away from the main pool and activities.

Leaving the ship went very smoothly. Left the Fantasia Lounge at 9:15 am and we were on the I-10 headed for home at 10:00 a.m. They did a great job.

 

I hope this hasn’t been too long or boring. I’ll try and answer any questions. I think our teenagers had the best time, we hardly saw them the whole trip except for dinner. Will we cruise again? Probably not anytime soon, but it was fun to try something different. We are a condo at the beach type of group. We were all pleased with the way things went and how we were treated. It seems the Carnival people have this down to a fine science.

 

[firstcruiserDB]

Thanks so much for the great review! Sounds like you and your families had a great time! We sail the Sensation one week from today...we can't wait! First cruise for us so your well-written review is so helpful!

 

One question (actually, I have tons but this is the only one I can think of right now!), I've done tons of "cruise shopping", but the one thing I can't find is a light weight sweater. Do I need one for the AC on the ship? Did you ever find yourself cool in the evenings and wish you had a sweater or jacket?

[DebbieOinKC]

Great review! We will be sailing on the Sensation 9/5/05, can hardly wait. :)

[VanzaQueen]

Only one evening it was cool, especially in the dining room, and a light sweater would be perfect. Other evenings it was very comfortable indoors, but the outside deck was muggy each night. Never really got a good cool down. One night we went to the Lido deck for the Mexican Buffet and were surprised no one was sitting outside. After being out there about 15 minutes and sweating profusely (excuse me, glowing) we all decided it was back to the ac for us.

[sa7776]

Couple of quick questions:

 

Do you know if the new bedding was on the Sensation?

 

Do you or any of the kids know what type of music was being played in the aft lounge.

[VanzaQueen]

Sorry, were never in the aft lounge, except for the late night comedian. The beds were very comfortable, but not sure what would qualify as "new bedding".