Just Back from Sensation Any Questions ????

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

We just returned this past Saturday 6/22 from our 5 Day cruise on the Sensation. This was a cruise that was originally supposed to go to Cuba but the itinerary was changed to Grand Turk.

We were in Cabin M126 (Balcony)

Ports of Call: Nassau, Half Moon Key and Grant Turk

 

[jbethel11]

14 minutes ago, BoomerSoonerCruisers said:

We just returned this past Saturday 6/22 from our 5 Day cruise on the Sensation. This was a cruise that was originally supposed to go to Cuba but the itinerary was changed to Grand Turk.

We were in Cabin M126 (Balcony)

Ports of Call: Nassau, Half Moon Key and Grant Turk

 

First question: How was it like being on an older ship?

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

3 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

First question: How was it like being on an older ship?

We decided we prefer newer ships. Someone pointed out on our cruise the Sensation is almost 30 years old. Although updates have been made on the ship over the years it is still very dated.

The outdated areas/décor do not bother me as much as the size/layout of the ship. Our cabin was very small compared to those we have sailed previously. We are both larger people so size of the cabin is important to us, we often book in suites if we are able. Due to the cost of the suites on this cruise we opted for a Balcony. Also although the Sensation holds less passengers/crew it felt very crowded in public areas. It was nice deciding to walk from the front to the back of the ship didn't feel like making a huge commitment every time.

[jbethel11]

1 minute ago, BoomerSoonerCruisers said:

We decided we prefer newer ships. Someone pointed out on our cruise the Sensation is almost 30 years old. Although updates have been made on the ship over the years it is still very dated.

The outdated areas/décor do not bother me as much as the size/layout of the ship. Our cabin was very small compared to those we have sailed previously. We are both larger people so size of the cabin is important to us, we often book in suites if we are able. Due to the cost of the suites on this cruise we opted for a Balcony. Also although the Sensation holds less passengers/crew it felt very crowded in public areas. It was nice deciding to walk from the front to the back of the ship didn't feel like making a huge commitment every time.

Second question. Did it feel different to be on a balcony jutted out over the side of the ship like that? 

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

2 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Second question. Did it feel different to be on a balcony jutted out over the side of the ship like that? 

I liked the balcony. I've never cruised in a cove balcony but I have a feeling it is bit similar to that. Our other balconies have been much higher up with a deck or life boat below. It was nice to be able to look down and feel so close to the water and not have to look out to see the water.

[Warm Breezes]

Going on Sensation in October.  How was the food and entertainment on this ship?

 

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

39 minutes ago, Warm Breezes said:

Going on Sensation in October.  How was the food and entertainment on this ship?

 

The food in the dining room was good. There were some dishes we enjoyed and others we weren't crazy about. The sea day brunch was excellent.

We did not eat at the buffet for any of our meals. We also did not each sushi or seafood (I don't even remember seeing a seafood shack or other option)

Guys Burgers - they were good, just as I have had on other ships. In previous cruises you order the type of burger you want, this cruise you went through the line and they  handed you the plate with burgers and fries so you had to go over and add what you wanted from the topping bar. This created congestion and frustration as more people than usual swarmed around the topping bar.

Blue Iguana - the breakfast burritos are usually one of my favorite meals on the cruise. This was not the case this time. I tried them two separate times and the eggs/sausage were not warm and lacked flavor.

Deli - On the Freedom I fell in love with the meatball sandwich. I had two on this cruise, one was not put in the oven long enough and was still cold. The second time I asked them to leave it in oven longer and it was excellent.

Room service - we ordered late night room service one night. We ordered the firecracker shrimp and chicken quesadilla, both were delicious and well worth the minimal charge. We agreed this was probably the best meal we had on board.

Entertainment

Erin was our Cruise Director and we enjoyed her personality and enthusiasm. Her trivia events were fun, especially Friends trivia.

Playlist Productions:  88 Keys - we skipped this as we had seen it two other times. Studio VIP - was great, may be my favorite show so far. Amor Cubano - maybe because we were still mourning not getting to go to Cuba that this was one was just ok. It is a love story and the vocals were excellent, just no dancing. There were no costume changes and songs were sung by two performers while the others sat on stools and sung back up vocals.

We went to one bingo event, it was typical.

We went to karaoke a few times and the male host  was a complete jerk, not like any staff we have ever encountered on a ship. The other time we went there was a different host and she was great.

Our comedians in the comedy club were good. I believe their names were Marvin and Vince, I could be wrong. Andy the comedy club host was fantastic and is next in line for a cruise director job, he will make an excellent cruise director. I think we saw most of the shows.

The band on board was amazing. We caught a few of their shows.

Piano Bar Musician, Sam, was excellent at his job but again his personality was a little hard to get used to. He had a very dry sense of humor and didn't seem to care about the guest experience. I know its common for piano bar musicians to request tips but he seemed to mention it in between every song and refused to play one song because the tip attached to the request was not large enough. Again this didn't negatively affect my cruise, I enjoyed listening to him play and singing along with him I just ignored his banter between songs.

[Warm Breezes]

Thank you.

 

[DaisyGirl55]

39 minutes ago, BoomerSoonerCruisers said:

 

 

Piano Bar Musician, Sam, was excellent at his job but again his personality was a little hard to get used to. He had a very dry sense of humor and didn't seem to care about the guest experience. I know its common for piano bar musicians to request tips but he seemed to mention it in between every song and refused to play one song because the tip attached to the request was not large enough. Again this didn't negatively affect my cruise, I enjoyed listening to him play and singing along with him I just ignored his banter between songs.

 

 

Wow...that is kind of rude to not play a song because the tip wasn't large enough.  Sounds rather egotistical.  I thought he was there to entertain us...not for us to bow down and worship his piano playing and singing.  I'm glad it didn't have a negative impact - but I would have walked out - even if I wasn't the one that got dissed.

[beshears]

At this point, it looks like 8 of us might be doing the Sensation next year, going to Jamaica.  Some people can be very nit picky of what they want, but for myself, I go with the flow. 🙂

[KmomChicago]

6 hours ago, DaisyGirl55 said:

 

 

Wow...that is kind of rude to not play a song because the tip wasn't large enough.  Sounds rather egotistical.  I thought he was there to entertain us...not for us to bow down and worship his piano playing and singing.  I'm glad it didn't have a negative impact - but I would have walked out - even if I wasn't the one that got dissed.

 

Agree. He won't last long with that kind of attitude. There will be complaints and he will get fewer tips rather than more.

[spotte]

Do you happen to have the menus from the trip?  Were there clotheslines in the bathrooms?  Thanks.

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

59 minutes ago, spotte said:

Do you happen to have the menus from the trip?  Were there clotheslines in the bathrooms?  Thanks.

I'm sorry, I didn't get pictures of the menus.

There was a clothesline in our cabin.

[ddgg]

I have 3 questions....1. What deck are you on when you first embark in Miami?  2. Which dining room was for any time dining? 3. Do you know where the smoking areas are?

Thanks in advance

[KmomChicago]

42 minutes ago, ddgg said:

I have 3 questions....1. What deck are you on when you first embark in Miami?  Deck 7, Empress Deck. 2. Which dining room was for any time dining? Fantasy Dining Room, midship. 3. Do you know where the smoking areas are? Veranda Deck, Deck 11, overlooking the pool area.  It is a nice smoking area.

Thanks in advance

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

When the Sensation was docked in Port Canaveral we cruised on it regularly, 9 times, loved the ship. Got to know a lot of the crew. Always had a great time. The foods was also very good. So was the pizza. What we like about the buffet area, everything was laid out so perfect. Everything on one big room. Pizza, a bar, deserts separated so nice, two soft serve machines and around that center was fruit and more. Burgers were just outside of the buffet all under cover. We do not car to drive to Miami so we no longer sail on it. No crowded areas ever. It may be old but as they say. Gets better with age. A very comfortable enjoyable ship.

[bambidrummer]

On 6/26/2019 at 1:33 PM, Warm Breezes said:

Going on Sensation in October.  How was the food and entertainment on this ship?

 

I was on Sensation June 17th and then Miracle June 23.  The food was better on Miracle.  Entertainment was about the same on both ships.  

[tw67]

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 11:51 AM, BoomerSoonerCruisers said:

I liked the balcony. I've never cruised in a cove balcony but I have a feeling it is bit similar to that. Our other balconies have been much higher up with a deck or life boat below. It was nice to be able to look down and feel so close to the water and not have to look out to see the water.

We cruise on Sensation in August, and we also have a balcony on M deck, and have only had balconies higher up before, so we were curious how it will be so much closer to the water. 

 

There will be 4 of us in our cabin (me, husband, my son who will have just turned 21, and our 16 year old), and usually we get two cabins when we cruise.  I just can't afford another $800 for a suite on this cruise, and kind of planned this one last minute as a get away for my son's 21st birthday.  I am starting to get worried about the size of the cabin!  I already told my 16 year old that his shower time is limited, and if he wants to he can go to the gym to shower!!

 

How small was the casino?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

13 minutes ago, tw67 said:

We cruise on Sensation in August, and we also have a balcony on M deck, and have only had balconies higher up before, so we were curious how it will be so much closer to the water. 

 

There will be 4 of us in our cabin (me, husband, my son who will have just turned 21, and our 16 year old), and usually we get two cabins when we cruise.  I just can't afford another $800 for a suite on this cruise, and kind of planned this one last minute as a get away for my son's 21st birthday.  I am starting to get worried about the size of the cabin!  I already told my 16 year old that his shower time is limited, and if he wants to he can go to the gym to shower!!

 

How small was the casino? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Our cabin was small, maybe yours will be larger because it is for four people. We had the two twin beds converted to a king but there was not a sofa to convert to another bed. As long as you don't spend much time in the room and have some organization the four of you will be fine in the room. My SO took most of his showers in the gym.

The casino is small but was large enough for us. We only spent an hour or so in there. When walking by it never looked crowded.

Enjoy your cruise!

[tw67]

10 minutes ago, BoomerSoonerCruisers said:

Our cabin was small, maybe yours will be larger because it is for four people. We had the two twin beds converted to a king but there was not a sofa to convert to another bed. As long as you don't spend much time in the room and have some organization the four of you will be fine in the room. My SO took most of his showers in the gym.

The casino is small but was large enough for us. We only spent an hour or so in there. When walking by it never looked crowded.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you!!

[beshears]

It was mentioned that the "room" seemed small, and that may be true if there are more than a couple people in it, and how much luggage you have as well.  I will say, unless things have changed (I checked this several years ago) Carnival rooms are a tad larger (it may not seem like it but I checked the square footage) than any other (Holland American, RCCL, Princess, Norwegian) cruise line.

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, beshears said:

It was mentioned that the "room" seemed small, and that may be true if there are more than a couple people in it, and how much luggage you have as well.  I will say, unless things have changed (I checked this several years ago) Carnival rooms are a tad larger (it may not seem like it but I checked the square footage) than any other (Holland American, RCCL, Princess, Norwegian) cruise line.

 

True that Carnival is larger than some other lines; Fantasy class non-suite rooms are all 185 SF - inside, outside and balcony (with the balcony itself adding outdoor floor space).  I believe the same is true of Spirit class ships.

 

On several other classes of Carnival ship (Destiny/Sunshine, Splendor, Conquest, Dream, Vista), the outside rooms are 220 SF (which is about the interior size of a Jr. Suite on Fantasy Class) and you can definitely tell the difference.  We were in an outside room on deck 2 of Carnival Triumph and the room felt generously sized and comfortable, but still hardly what I would call a "suite" or even a Jr. Suite as on Fantasy class.  You essentially get the space that would be a balcony as interior room space instead, plus sunlight from your non-opening window.

[Frank12]

On 7/7/2019 at 12:50 PM, twodaywonder said:

When the Sensation was docked in Port Canaveral we cruised on it regularly, 9 times, loved the ship. Got to know a lot of the crew. Always had a great time. The foods was also very good. So was the pizza. What we like about the buffet area, everything was laid out so perfect. Everything on one big room. Pizza, a bar, deserts separated so nice, two soft serve machines and around that center was fruit and more. Burgers were just outside of the buffet all under cover. We do not car to drive to Miami so we no longer sail on it. No crowded areas ever. It may be old but as they say. Gets better with age. A very comfortable enjoyable ship.

I totally agree.  We sailed her 5 times when she was here.  My favorite Fantasy Class ship.

[tw67]

Where was your mustar station?  Inside or out on a deck?  I just need to get myself mentally prepared to be outside on a deck in Miami in August! 😊

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

1 hour ago, tw67 said:

Where was your mustar station?  Inside or out on a deck?  I just need to get myself mentally prepared to be outside on a deck in Miami in August! 😊

All muster stations were inside. Enjoy the A/C