Official Carnival Notice for Sensation & Fantasy

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I just called 1-888-CARNIVAL and was told by a very nice operator that they are indeed changing ships. The Fantasy is now taking the Sensation's route and the Sensation is taking the Fantasy woute.

 

The Sensation was having trouble keeping speed to make it to Grand Turk on time. Since Freeport and Nassau are much closer to Port Canaveral.

 

The ships are basically the same... made the same year with the same stats. You should still have a wonderful time.

 

The fantasy actually made her maiden voyage in 1990, while the Sensation made hers in 1993. The Fantasy was refurbished last September and looks good judging by the virtual tour on the CCL page.

 

Bill

[yesitsfree]

I just checked my 1/8/07 CC group cruise reservation on the Sensation and under "Your ship" it said Fantasy. Didn't recieve the email, though.

Same here. I never received the email either.

[cruisin2bahamas]

If you were booked on the Fantasy, your now on the Sensation, no wonder I could never find anyone going on July 2nd with us to the Bahamas on the Fantasy I myself am not going, someone must of know this lol OKAY.....

So now I'm searching for someone going on the 4 day cruise on the Sensation on the July 2nd. It will be myself, husband, and 3 children, we will be staying in the same suite on the Sensation, they told me at Carnival that whatever room number you had on the Fantasy will be the same on the Sensation, so Sensation here we come !!!!!

[cruise_pirate]

I just went tp Carnival.com and it is showing 4-5 day cruises on the fantasy and 3 day on the Sensation. I have sailed on the Fantasy and no complaints here as long as I get to go I am happy!:D

[cruisecastle]

Not Biting at this one !

 

What is there to bite on? I dont get it.

[REDSOX1]

What is there to bite on? I dont get it.

Some of us early on yesterday thought this was an elaborate April Fool's day joke, until we checked our reservation on Carnival and were switched to the other ship. Just seemed too weird to be true, but nothing suprises me at this point. I'm now on the Fantasy and happy about it, but feel for the switched Sensation passengers who are upset :(

[cruise_pirate]

Some of us early on yesterday thought this was an elaborate April Fool's day joke, until we checked our reservation on Carnival and were switched to the other ship. Just seemed too weird to be true, but nothing suprises me at this point. I'm now on the Fantasy and happy about it, but feel for the switched Sensation passengers who are upset :(

 

I feel sorry for them too but I bet Carnival is giving the passengers that paid more for a longer cruise the better ship :rolleyes:

[Ms Belvedere]

For those of us on the Fantasy, we ar emost disturbed. I called carnival, ist time I was hung up on. THe second time, the rep. was very nice and said we may be able to request a refund.

Bobo, I don't think you have anything to be upset about, the Fantasy is in great condition! You'll be on a ship that will ba ble to take you to your chosen ports, a crew that's been sailing together for some time and has things down to a science. I love the Fantasy and am a little apprehensive about going on the Sensation! ;) But I figure by May things should be under control on the Sensation.

 

You should go and enjoy your cruise, your ports, and the ship!

 

Ms B

[bobobeagle]

I love the Fantasy. I booked the Fantasy and have been moved to the Sensation!

[FloridaResident]

I was starting to get nervous with all the bad press so on Friday, 2 days after my final payment was made, I switched from the Sensation May 27th to the Glory's 7 day cruise for the same day. I had to "make my case" for them not to charge us any penalites for making the switch after final payment but they were nice enough to do it.

I am realllllly glad now because I just got off the Fantasy 2 month's ago and wouldn't have wanted to have gone on the same ship again.

For those of you that are now going on the Fantasy-you will LOVE her! She is sparkling clean, we had a wonderful cruise but I just want to go on a different ship.

Hopefully all the bugs will get worked out of Sensation soon.

[Ms Belvedere]

I love the Fantasy. I booked the Fantasy and have been moved to the Sensation!

Oh I'm sorry, I misunderstood. After re-reading your posts I see you're sailing on April 30th. Good luck with whatever you decide and are able to do. We'll be on her May 13th and I plan to write a review. I figure by then they have to have most of the problems in line. :)

Ms B

[salty dingo]

The recent safety problems which caused the delay on Sensation have already been corrected. The refurbishment should be winding down and the staff should be in a good routine by April 30.

 

The propulsion is not an issue with the Bahamas itinerary. I would not be worried about the ship.

[cruisin2bahamas]

I to phoned Carnival and they told me they were not under any conditions waivering anyone $250, so if anyone got that done I don't know how. I ask question after question and got the assurance that everything would be fixed by the time of our sailing which is July 2nd, and she told me the reason why they had some problems was because it was drydocked for a month. Well I don't know what to make of all this other than the fact that if the good lord doesn't want me to go he'll show me, and I am almost postive that things will be worked out by then so I'm not going to let someone stop me from having a good time. Carnival told me everything is fine. :confused:

[FloridaResident]

CRUISIN2BAHAMAS-

 

I guess I just talked nicely to the right person. I called to ask if it was possible to "upgrade" the cruise from the 5 day Sensation that we had booked (2 cabins, us and inlaws) to a 7 day Glory cruise, same day. I explained we had just made the final payment 2 days before and was it possible to just switch it over. While it did take almost an hour on the phone between the specialist going to his supervisor and then that supervisor going to their supervisor to get auth to waive any fee's (which I found out then were $250 pp which is crazy) it all worked out. He said he had to "make my case" meaning the fact that we were spending more money (upgrading), repeat carnival guests, and they had to check availability on both ships before they would agree to it. We were still able to apply a military discount to the new booking so it wasn't close to being sold out which helped things.

For the record, the specialist DID say that the press was blowing things way out of proportion (cause I used the "you're getting a lot of bad press too card for making my case too!):D

All I know is I have 2 cabins confirmed on the Glory and I am sooooo happy now.

 

As a sidenote, I did get the "we switched you from Sensation to Fantasy" email today... Had to call to confirm they showed us on Glory and they do. Just a goof up.

[lt]

I am very concerned with this switch because of the publicity and reviews of the Sensation. It was suppose to be already refurbished yet passangers complain of sewage odor, mold, dirty cabins!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bobobeagle]

I called and asked to switch as I have been changed from the Fantasy to the Sensation. I was denied the request despite the fact that I offered to pay more money for a sailing that is not even full. I am most upset that I took the time to reseach my trip and did not feel comfortable booking the Sensation for the very reason that it has been docked in NO for many months and despite that fact I am being changed due to Carnival's problem. This is no fault of mine, I have asked for nothing for free and if Carvinal persits in this manner, I will never sail with them again. I feel as if I am the only person who is not grateful to "give"Carnival my money for a trip that I did not purchase. I am sick of the "cheerleaders" on this site that act as if I should be honored that Carnival will allow me to sail.

 

Am I the only person on this site with this thought? Help. If you spend that much money you do not have to take this type of treatment.

[Undrhil]

Bobo, a lot of us on here agree with you. The problem is that voicing that opinion on here is not going to get anything done for you. You need to be voicing that opinion (loudly) to Carnival. You need to get anyone else affected by this change to voice the opinion to Carnival. If you make enough noise, someone is bound to notice. The problem is that Carnival has the law on their side because they crossed all their Ts and dotted all their I's when they were setting up the contract you agreed to when you booked your cruise. They are not required to tell you anything which you don't ask about. Sure, who thinks about asking what would happen if another ship has a problem and you get stuck on it somehow, but these are the questions which need to be asked before booking the cruise. Unfortunately, live and learn will be the quote for tonight, I think.

 

On the other hand, as many have said before, the problems which you are citing on the Sensation have more than likely been fixed and any which aren't will definitely be fixed by the time of your cruise on April 30. The propulsion system isn't damaged, it's not about to break down and stop moving ... if it was, Carnival would not be sending people out on it. The only problem is that it cannot achieve the speed necessary to make it to Grand Turk to match the 5-day itinerary. For going to Freeport and Nassau, there will be no problems with the speed it can get.

 

Yes, Carnival should bend over backwards because we have paid them money for a service and, by golly, they do! They *could* have put you on a garbage scow (or whatever other ships Berryberry was mentioning before) for that money you paid, but instead, they are putting you on a nice ship with a good crew who know what they are doing. They are also feeding you. Are you going to next complain that you have to pay for your drinks on the ship? Will you then complain about having to pay for parking at the docks?

 

Once again, I am not saying that Carnival is right to not let you change your booking, but you coming on here to complain about it is going to be just as effective as them hiring Mickey Mouse to fix the propulsion system on the Sensation. You need to take your concerns (in writing if you have to) to as high up in Carniva's brass as you can manage. The more feathers you ruffle, the more attention you get, the more likely you are to get something accomplished.

 

Undrhil

 

Sorry about the misquote ... berryberry mentioned about the other types of boats.

[bobobeagle]

I have. However, apparently no one else cares and Carnival refuses to do anything. I just feel as if I am the only one on here who cares and I am tired of everyone defending Carnival. Especially those who aren't effected or those switched from the Sensation to the Fantasy. I just wonder has anyone else complained. It is just bad customer service to move us to the problem. No one seems to get the point. This is totally Carnival's problem. Carnival should accept responsibility and repair it.

[Undrhil]

So, you are saying then that they cancel the cruises of the Sensation for two weeks, possibly three. The people who had been scheduled to cruise during this time would be up the creek without a paddle .. or maybe Carnival would throw them a bone. But you wouldn't care because you would be cruising high and dry on the Fantasy. Am I right?

 

Are you saying then that if these problems were plaquing the Fantasy and you were scheduled on it and they cancelled your cruise, you would be alright with that? I know I wouldn't be...

 

Undrhil

[bobobeagle]

Absolutely. Carnival should accept responsibility and repair the problems.

[Undrhil]

I doubt you would so easily accept it, but we can drop this now. We are in agreement. There is no need to further discuss this unless or until someone can bring new information to the table. Maybe you should see how the next reviews come in for the Sensation and see what you think then?

 

Undrhil

[morganboys]

the email I rec'd less than an hour ago from my pvp stats this

Yes, it was a FEMA ship and yes it has been refurbished. It went thru a soft refurbishment where only the cabins were changed out. This included: linens, bedding, wall coverings, carpeting, curtains, anything fabric.

Nothing else was refurbished. We just booked the fantasy today and was told after the fact this was the sensation. I hear a lot of bad things about the sensation. Now considering canceling.

[bobobeagle]

That is absolutely false advertising by Carnival. I am just angry. This would be my 4th Carnival cruise in 2 years. I previously experienced a 5 hours boarding delay and a missed port. However, it was weather related and I did not complain as Carnival could not control it. We are seriously considering cancelling and taking the 50% penalty as opposed to spending another $1,000.00 on board.

 

 

Good luck with your decision. I am very disappointed with Carnival

[salty dingo]

Bobo, sounds to me like you are more concerned with the principles involved in the switch than you are about sailing on the Sensation. Seriously - if Carnival made amends to your satisfaction (let you cruise the Sensation for free, for example) would you not give it a try? It can't possibly be as bad as you fear.

[Top-Cat]

Absolutely. Carnival should accept responsibility and repair the problems.

 

To repair the Sensation, it will have to go back to drydock. Per CCL, they plan to fix the problem during the next drydock which could be two years away.