Virgin Cruiser...wait! I mean...just read my thread!

[mbdj12]

My wife and I are first time cruisers. We will be going out on the Carnival Sensation in April of 2019.

 

I have read many reviews about the ship. As usual, some great. Some, not so great. For me, it's about who I am with.

 

I am a planner and do not like to be taken by surprise. Especially, when it comes to finances.

 

We are very excited about this adventure as it is our first real vacation as a couple that we didn't drive to within 6 hours and as empty nesters and over 21 years of marriage.

 

I have read about the Cheers program (not for us), excursion fees, Bubble program, and I think that I've found out about all I can from the Carnival website for add-ons and more.

 

I am curious as to what advice you can give to a first timer. What should we absolutely do? What should we avoid? What is over-hyped? What are some little secrets that the normal folks might not know about?

 

What about waiting in line for hours for a buffet? What about assigned meal tables with people you don't know? Is there a fancy dress night? Are there any adult only areas?

 

What is the best place to fly into? Is there an inexpensive hotel that you like to stay at the night before?

 

Educate me! Feed me knowledge! Thank you so much for your wisdom!

[kctwinmommy]

My wife and I are first time cruisers. We will be going out on the Carnival Sensation in April of 2019.

 

I have read many reviews about the ship. As usual, some great. Some, not so great. For me, it's about who I am with.

 

I am a planner and do not like to be taken by surprise. Especially, when it comes to finances.

 

We are very excited about this adventure as it is our first real vacation as a couple that we didn't drive to within 6 hours and as empty nesters and over 21 years of marriage.

 

I have read about the Cheers program (not for us), excursion fees, Bubble program, and I think that I've found out about all I can from the Carnival website for add-ons and more. When it comes to these things, we've only ever bought the Bubbles card, for both myself and our son. I drink a lot of soda. And since we fly in and just get dropped off at our hotel, I have no desire to walk around to buy a 12 pack of soda before we sail. It just works for me. Honestly, we also book most everything we want to do before we go so that basically everything is paid for before we go. When we get off the ship, we have usually less than $100 in any extra charges, a couple of cocktails, some candy at the shop, and that's about it. Most of the shop "deals" really aren't that great, IMO.

 

I am curious as to what advice you can give to a first timer. What should we absolutely do? What should we avoid? What is over-hyped? What are some little secrets that the normal folks might not know about?

 

What about waiting in line for hours for a buffet? What about assigned meal tables with people you don't know? Is there a fancy dress night? Are there any adult only areas? I personally have never waited in line for "hours" for the buffet. It gets crowded, but it moves along very quickly. We usually sit with just the 3 of us, or with a larger group of friends we cruise with.

 

What is the best place to fly into? Is there an inexpensive hotel that you like to stay at the night before? I don't know what port you're sailing out of. But we have ALWAYS flown in the day before. I like to be there ahead of sailing to make sure we're not rushed. We have mostly sailed out of Port Canaveral, and stay at the Radisson there. Best advice, go to the section for the departures (FL, West Coast, East Coast, etc...).

 

Educate me! Feed me knowledge! Thank you so much for your wisdom!

My biggest piece of advice, is just go with the flow! Your cruise and vacation is what you make of it. Realize there are things out of your control (weather, ship breaking down, etc...) and there are things that you can control. Have fun, relax, enjoy what you want and that's it! Hope you have a great cruise!

[TomCruise48]

As you probably realize, this is one of the older ships without as many bells and whistles of the new ships. This ship sails on short cruises, so you are more likely to have a party crowd.

 

Long lines at buffet will not be a problem. Longest I've ever waited is 10 minutes. There are separate (usually short) lines for Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana (Mexican).

 

If you do not want to sit with others in the Dining Room, sign up for Your Time Dining and request a table for two from the Dining Room hostess when you enter. You may want to dine with others, hoping to sit with experienced cruisers who can answer your questions. You can do this with Your Time Dining as well by requesting a sharing table. You can order as may appetizers, entrees, and deserts as you want. There should be one elegant night where probably less than half of the guests will dress up.

 

Get involved in as many activities as you can. Download the Carnival Hub App to your phones. You can use the basic Hub App with the ship's WiFi for free to see all of the scheduled activities. Try to see all of the shows and go to the Comedy Club. The adult comedy shows can be raunchy depending on the comedian.

 

You can sign up on the Cruise Critic Roll call for this sailing to see what others are saying. Short sailings on older ships usually don't attract many Roll Call members.

 

We enjoy interacting with the crew and learning about their families and countries. Carnival has the most friendly crew members of all of the lines we have sailed. Expect to be addressed by your first name.

 

We find it less expensive to fly into Ft. Lauderdale and take a shuttle to Miami. We always stay in the Bayside area of Miami (no inexpensive hotels in this area) because there are so many things to do in this area and it is close to the port.

[lasvegascruising]

Boy oh boy, where to start. The first thing that comes to mind for me is sailing out of Galveston. We have stayed at the Drury Inn near the Hobby airport. I love this place. We live in Vegas and fly into Hobby(three hour flight)the day before, arriving about 5pm. This place includes a little buffet dinner with adult drinks and breakfast in the room rate. There has always been lots of folks there that are leaving for their cruise the next day. It is so fun just to sit in the dining area talking to everyone. Some folks are on the ship we are on and some on other ships. Next day we have used ship purchased transport(free shuttle back to the airport). So simple and surrounded by other cruisers that just makes the excitement so much more. Off to Galveston and it is a nice port. One cruise, we were delayed boarding(ship was late getting in) so we just walked over to a restaurant and had drinks and snacks. One other time fog really caused a problem. We didn't get to start our cruise until a day after we were supposed to. It was a disappointment but we turned it into a port day in Houston. We took an uber from the Drury to the space center. That was an amazing day and we spent the whole day there. I don't know where you are sailing from but every port we have sailed from has been just so exciting. You have asked many questions about various parts of cruising. When I read your post, the first thoughts that came to me were my experiences out of Galveston and I want to thank you for bringing happy thoughts for me!

[LarBear]

My wife and I are first time cruisers. We will be going out on the Carnival Sensation in April of 2019.

 

I have read many reviews about the ship. As usual, some great. Some, not so great. For me, it's about who I am with.

 

I am a planner and do not like to be taken by surprise. Especially, when it comes to finances.

 

We are very excited about this adventure as it is our first real vacation as a couple that we didn't drive to within 6 hours and as empty nesters and over 21 years of marriage.

 

I have read about the Cheers program (not for us), excursion fees, Bubble program, and I think that I've found out about all I can from the Carnival website for add-ons and more.

 

I am curious as to what advice you can give to a first timer. What should we absolutely do? What should we avoid? What is over-hyped? What are some little secrets that the normal folks might not know about?

 

What about waiting in line for hours for a buffet? What about assigned meal tables with people you don't know? Is there a fancy dress night? Are there any adult only areas?

 

What is the best place to fly into? Is there an inexpensive hotel that you like to stay at the night before?

 

Educate me! Feed me knowledge! Thank you so much for your wisdom!

 

The Fantasy class ships are the oldest ships in Carnivals fleet, but Carnival keeps them in pretty good shape. Expect it to be a little worn, but should seem well maintained. I've never been on the sensation, but the Ecstasy very similar, and we'd cruise it again.

First some misconceptions: You'll never wait hours for the buffet. When it is open (which is most of the time), you'll walk right in, grab a plate, and get food. You'll never wait more than a couple minutes for anything, I promise. But please do eat in the dining room when you can, the food is simply better, service should be excellent, and there is a good chance you'll meet someone fun and interesting. I remember our first cruise and all I learned about cruising from our tablemates.

Don't stress dress up nights unless you want to dress up. I wear khakis and a polo most evenings, spouse a sundress or something like that. You're on vacation, dress how you want(within reason). If you don't want to dress up at all, do the buffet. Oh, while we're in dining, DO eat at Guys Burgers... you're in for a treat!

Yes, the Sensation does have an adults only Serenity deck. Good place if you want to get away from the kids and the noise.

Flying in? Well, Miami international is the easiest, but we've flown in to both Lauderdale and Palm Beach because sometimes we're cheap and not afraid of taking public transportation to get to the cruiseport. Palm Beach to Miami cruiseport is less than $10 per person, but involves a bus to a train to another train to one last bus, so might not be for the faint of heart. Hotels? Lowest price is usually near the airport then cab or shuttle next day to cruiseport, but staying on South Beach, although more expense, is both nice and a very interesting cultural experience.

Well, I could drone on, but I know others will give much better info you can use, but I couldn't resist my two cents! Relax...Carnival is the fun ships, what a great life for your first cruise! I'm betting you'll have a great and relaxing time!

 

 

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[Sixtytwo]

Welcome to the very addictive world of cruising! [emoji41]

 

One bit of advice I would give is to be sure and learn that every activity on board is based on “ship’s time”. This includes what time the ship leaves the ports! Be sure you use a watch/device that does not automatically reset to time zone time. Going off on a shore adventure and returning to an empty port where the ship was when you left would be no fun at all! Cruise ships don’t wait for late arrivals (unless you are on a ship sponsored excursion).

 

One other tip...relax and enjoy your amazing cruise experience!

 

 

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[jmkel]

Order a Banana Split off the Kids menu in the dining room at least once for Supper dessert!!!! :p

[wms99]

I have never waited more than a minute or two for food. The longest, slowest line I've ever seen is the lunch line at the deli sandwich counter. The custom built sandwich takes time, and many think it's worth 5 or 10 minutes of their day.

 

 

 

Does the long line at customer service count? That one is bad, no way to sugar coat it.

 

 

 

 

 

I love the 2 Fantasy class ships we have sailed on.

[Melissalcsw]

Sounds like you're doing it right, your research!

Go with the flow and have fun!

 

Bring some hand sanitizer. I also bring some Clorox wipes, to do an extra wipe down of the room.

 

Have fun!

[cb at sea]

Don't worry about "eating with strangers"...introduce yourself....and you're no longer strangers! Everyone on the ship is there for a good time..see, you have something in common already! There may be lines in the buffet at peak hours, but they move along nicely. For fewer lines, simple eat earlier or later... And, there are other eating venues besides the buffet!

 

You can buy anything without a "package"...so don't feel you're limited to what you can get if you don't buy "bubbles" or booze package.

 

Excursions are pricey, so research your ports. Most things are very easy to DIY.

 

If you haven't paid the gratuities prior to the cruise, they will be added to your account. They cover your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiter.

[Lottacruises]

Just go have fun

[dmdiver]

Don't bother with the "shopping talks". They offer up some cheap freebies sometimes, but I felt they weren't worth sitting for 45 minutes to listen to someone drone on & on about the port shops. Plus, they are repeated on your tv if you are interested. I just remember sitting there thinking that I could be out on deck by the pool sipping an adult beverage.

 

I love the comedy shows on Carnival, Guy's Burgers, serenity adult area. And remember, the water slide is not just for kids. We've done fixed time dining and anytime dining. I like the flexibility of anytime dining, especially if I've been in port all day. If you like your waitstaff, you can always request to be seated in their section. Sharing a table is up to you with anytime dining. Sometimes you meet great people by sharing a table - we have always ended up sharing when we have done fixed time dining.

 

Take lots of pictures with the Carnival photographers. You are not obligated to purchase any of them, but we have ended up with some nice family photos as well as cute candid ones on the gangway. If you download the hub app, you can view them on there & purchase if you like. Then, you have a digital copy to either upload to your home computer or send off to print.

 

Finance-wise, we usually pay tips & excursions ahead of time. We also pre-order a package of water for the cabin. We prefer to take the plastic bottle on shore with us - weighs less & should we lose it, we haven't lost much. When we get low, we just refill from the tap - water on ship is fine. Our onboard account typically runs around $300 for both of us having drinks & purchasing a photo or two.

 

You may carry on a bottle of wine each (750ml) if you choose. We typically carry one on to enjoy on the balcony or (and this is the redneck in me) pour into my yeti to drink by the pool.

[Cruiser_1977]

Some great advice so far! I don't see that anyone has mentioned insurance. Please make sure to read the fine print. I personally prefer "cancel for any reason" type plans. I also make sure there is coverage for delayed embarkation and debarkation. Have a fantastic cruise :)

[Homosassa]

Don't try to pre plan everything. Enjoy each new experience as it happens and treat each day on a cruise as a present waiting to be unwrapped. And if you become aware of something you missed and might have enjoyed, think of it as something for next time.

 

Many times when traveling, it is the unexpected delay or diversion that leads to a memorable experience.

 

Don't depend on others opinions of what is best for food, entertainment, drinks, etc.. Try for yourself and form your own opinions.

 

I feel sorriest for a cruiser that must pre plan and reserve dinners and shows before setting foot on the ship because that is the culture of that particular cruise line or needs to read daily schedules from previous sailings of the same itinerary so that there each day is preplanned (and woe to the cruise director that might divert from the previous list of events).

[Joebucks]

Get some ideas of fun things you want to do. Don't over plan though. Try new things you wouldn't have otherwise tried!

 

As far as prices and hotels, the best is to just compare. We enjoy grabbing a hotel in the heart of Miami and enjoying a night or two down there. That's part of the vacation too!