July Sensation review - long

[DonnaD]

Okay, I am going to make a stab at a coherant review while still suffering from post vacation braindrag. We got home yesterday from the July 5th Sensation cruise, three days and four nights of Disney and a relatively uneventful drive back to North Carolina.

Our family of four had not cruised with Carnival before, but had with RCI. Our friends (another family of four) had never cruised.

We all stayed at the Sailport Inn in Tampa on July 4th. Our room had a double bed, a couch that folded out to a bed and a set of bunk beds, as well as balcony and kitchen. Rooms were nice, the grounds were well kept, but the hallways had a lot of trash in them. It is a quick walk to Crawdaddy's, Whiskey Joes and Rusty Pelican. We ate at Whiskey Joes since Crawdaddys was closed for renovations and had a good time. If you look at the brochure it appears the inn is on a beach, but the "beach" is the size of a tennis court so if walking on the beach is important to you you might want to consider that. For us it was a nice stop. We could see fireworks from up to nine locations across the bay that night.

Embarkation: Tampa is a very pretty down town and the port begged to be explored, but we were too excited about the cruise. We got to the port around 11:30. Staff were very friendly. The process was easy and we were on board by 12:20.

First impression. We knew there would be lots of purple and teal. My 14 year old's response was pure joy since this is his favorite color. Yes, it was very much a Vegas look, with nothing understated, but the did convey a "fun" impression. At night the atrium was very pretty, bright but pretty, well in a loud sorta way. Fun-pretty.

Stateroom: Yes, the beds are lovely! Comforters were great. The shower was larger than I expected. We did have a ceiling panel missing where the air vent flows in and it did not ever get fixed. However, on the positive side we did get a swinging towel monkey from the hole in the ceiling. We had the bowl of goodies in the bathroom - lots of neat stuff. Our room steward was very attentive, always there when needed, like when my hair dryer caught on fire and would not turn off. (and yes, I was using the right outlet) Also, noticed if we used the hairdryer (now, we had one provided by the room steward) when our friends in the next cabin used theirs it would blow a circut. Oh well, we were on vacation and my hair was gonna look wind blown at best most times anyway. My sons are tall 18 and 14 year olds and we all did fine together in the quad.

Excursions: In GC we booked a stingray city and coral reef snorkeling trip through Capt. Bryan's. It was wonderful!! Just 12 of us on a beautiful sleek sailboat, though weather kept us from sailing. There was a mesh trampoline on the sailboat that you could lie in. Very relaxing. We got close up photos of a nurse shark who was one of our diving companions. My friends were mildly freaked by the stingrays, but loved the excursion. Just bought rum cakes in Cayman cause everything was pretty expensive. Rum cake tasting was fun too.

In Cozumel we went to Chanakaab. My eldest and I did the Royal swim with the dolphins. We were in the water nearly two hours. For several minutes we had to turn away and ignore the dolphins cause the dominant male was acting up - hey, not unlike life at my house. Anyway we got some great memories and great photos. The dolphin who was acting up had actually splashed the video equipment so no video. Then wonderful snorkeling off shore. My family finally came to shore to force me out of the water. After five hours our red headed friends had had enough beach time. I was just getting started. We did go to the shops on the way out. Then we shopped in "down town" Cozumel. The guys pooped out fast and my best friend, Sharon and I spent a nice uninterrupted few hours barganing and shopping. Oh, by the way she won the diamond and gold tennis bracelet from the shoppers talk. I got the little bottle of vanilla - which really, I did want so I was excited. Oh, we bought lots of vanilla in Cozumel. Go to the stores in town that sell liquor. Much cheaper there, but heavy if you get a lot.

Food and dining. This is big topic for these reviews. We were given the 5:45 dining time. Earlier than we wanted, but worked out great cause we could see both comedy shows. We were seated at a table for 11 with a grandmother had her two 5th grade twin boy grandsons. I though uh, oh, but they were a hoot. No, they did not always dress up, and yes they did always eat pizza and PBandJ sandwiches, but they were very cute and very funny and just entered right in to the conversations. Food ranged IMO from good to very, very good. The soups surprised me the most. They were great! We all tried new things. All my guys had escargot and squid, and anything new so of course we liked some things more than others. Actually, while the desserts were fine they did not wow me as much as some of the soups and other appetizers. We had breakfast and dinner in the main dining room. Even the night Sharon and I stayed out late in Cozumel our waiter seated us and gave us great service at the late seating. Lunch and snacks on Lido were good too. My favorite was the deli supplimented with lots of salads and of course dessert. Our waiter and assistant waiter were great fun. They taught us naughty table tricks much to Sharon's chagrin. Our Matri D entered the fun as well.

Shows: the big shows were very good, espescially the second night. The comics were great. Much better than I expected. One had been on last comic standing. Of course the teens were determined to go see his "mature" show.

Ship life: We never, ever saw the captain - even at the Captains welcome aboard party. They had singers and food. No captain. He made maybe two ship's addresses that I heard. The first full day at sea was fun, but had less activities than the second. This forced me to try new things - like the shopping talk, which worked out well, and the art auction. I did miss having an organized exercise program with rewards like RCI, and the programing for older teens (ours were 14, 16, 18 and 19) was lacking. However, everyone did find things to do that first day. My son learned gambling is indeed making a donation, though our friends daughter won 25$ on the slots. They both had sense enough to use only 10$ each. Second day at sea had more activities and we were busy nonstop that day. We got up for sunrises and stayed up late. There was plenty to do at night - shows, dancing etc. Oh, we meet our cruise critic folks on board! That was neat.

Debarkation: We were late to be called, but that was okay we read and visited. Then off to Disney. Guess what color our Disney hotel was painted - purple, teal and navy! We even ran into Lisa, whom we had met on board and on the rollcall, at Epcot. However, as a forty-something year old, I must say doing Disney after a cruise, in July is a bit of a challenge. Not sure if Mission Space or the Sensation is what kept me rocking.

All in all it was a great vacation and I am sad it is over. Sleepy, but sad. Thanks to you all for some wonderful advice!

[cantwait2cruise]

Thanks for your review!!! We just booked Sensation for Aug. 30th to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday. It will be my sister's and aunt's first time cruising.

 

I don't think you said what deck/cabin you were in? Also, how did you book that stingray tour in GC? I'm thinking that might be something my sister and I could do together.

[Cotton]

.

We never, ever saw the captain - even at the Captains welcome aboard party. They had singers and food. No captain. He made maybe two ship's addresses that I heard.

 

Thx for the review, Donna. Looking forward to my Sensation cruise.

 

I'm SO surprised that you didn't see the Captain at all. I've never been on a Carnival cruise that the Captain wasn't around. On all my cruises, he's been at the door welcoming folks to the Welcome Aboard Party, and also on stage later, introducing his officers, and making a little welcoming speech. That amazes me. I have a picture of me with every Captain.

 

Hmmmm. Maybe he was seasick and confined to his quarters? :D :D :D

[DonnaD]

Cantwait2cruise, we were on the Upper deck, cabin U194. It was a good location - close to elevators and no sewage smell at all. Maybe that is only in the Rivera deck.

I went online and just typed search for Grand Cayman snorkeling tours, and of course checked with this board to see what folks recommended. It was a great time and the staff were very nice. Very resonabale too, compared to ship's prices.

Cotton, we were about five minutes late getting to the Capts. welcome aboard party, so maybe we just missed him. Still, I was surprised too. Food, drinks were good, but no Capt. Even my newbie friends were surprised at his absence throughout. Maybe HE was on vacation? The cruise director was very present though, and she was funny and energetic.

[SallyMay]

Thanks, for a great review. I look forward to sailing on her in April 05. We will be on the Empress Deck so hopefully no sewer smell there either. Glad you had a great time.:) :)

[DonnaD]

Oh, one more thing I meant to add. Going to Disney after a cruise was a bit of a shock. After eating about every two hours, suddenly having to pay for every morsel was a wake up call. Also, prices were much higher for drinks and ammenities than on the ship. For example a very small daquiri at Epcot was over seven dollars. The same size was on special on the ship for 3.95 one day. Also, there were occasional short lines on the lido deck, but I don't think we ever felt crowded. Plus folks on board were very nice. Most, but not all at Disney were as cheery.

Hope this dosen't mean I am getting OLD. I still enjoy Disney, just found the cruise to be more appealing.

[florida diver]

Glad to hear you had a great time!! We are heading out on 8/7 and also doing the Sting Ray/Snorkeling thing and Chankanaab. We wife wants to do the sea lion thing and my daughter and I will rent tanks on Scuba the reef for as long as we can! How was the timing for the Grand Cayman trip. I hear it is a bit close getting back to the ship!!. 22 days and counting.

[elvisillusions]

Thanks for sharing your review! :)

 

Kim

[halos]

I honestly apprecaite your taking the time to write such a thorough review and I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise!!!

[DonnaD]

Halos, I emailed Capt. Bryan cause I thought the timing would be close. They moved the whole excursion back to 8:30 GC time. We finished about 11:15 GC time. We even had time to shop afterwards. Tell the pursers desk that you have an early excursion and they will let you off with the Carnival excursion folks early without any problem. It was very stress free, relaxing.

I could snorkel forever given the chance.

Thank you for your kind words. Your advice pretrip was great.

[bellaa]

Thanks for posting the review. We leave this Monday on Sensation and I am so excited!

bella

[cantwait2cruise]

Cantwait2cruise, we were on the Upper deck, cabin U194. It was a good location - close to elevators and no sewage smell at all. Maybe that is only in the Rivera deck.

I went online and just typed search for Grand Cayman snorkeling tours, and of course checked with this board to see what folks recommended. It was a great time and the staff were very nice. Very resonabale too, compared to ship's prices.

 

We're on Main 219 and 223...we couldn't get anything closer to the middle of the deck. :mad: I hope it will be o.k. I was researching last night on the Cayman Island board about the stingray tours...sounds like there's two or three that people have used and we'll prob. try to use one of those...much cheaper than on the ship I'm sure!

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Do you know what time you were off the ship? We have a pretty early flight out of Tampa and are trying to decide whether or not to self disembark.

[peanutprincess1977]

Donna> did you book the dolphin swim on your own or through Carnival. My sis and I are going in OCT and we booked straight through dolphin Discovery. Our swim is at 10 and we get into port at 7. Is Chankanaab open then and could we spend time there before our swim? We want to go to Paradise Beach and do some shopping after and are determined to fit everything in before 6.

 

Could you take your own underwater camers in the water when you swam with the dolphins or were you forced to buy their pictures? Thanks

[DonnaD]

Cantwaittocruise, we were off the ship around 11, I think. I am pretty sure we were one of the later colors called. Also took a few minutes to get our luggage together. Our friends had orginally had an 11:30 flight, but were glad they had changed to a later one. They felt they could have made the 12:30 easily though. Our cabins were kinda aft, and that was fine.

PP, we booked the dolphin swim with shoretrips.com They cost about the same as doing it with Dolphin Discovery, but responded quicker. I am not sure what time the park opens, but they have a website and that might tell you. I want to say 9, but am not sure that is right. Our swim was scheduled for 12, but we checked in at 10 and two people had cancelled so we got to go right away. I wanted to do PB too, but we never did. Guess we'll save that for next time. Chank is a great beach.

[cruisinonmymind]

Donna, do you have a list of the shore excursions? we are going on the Sensation the 24th for the 5 day cruise. We are really interested in the jeep excursion to paradise. Any other info would be great. Carnival doesn't print prices.

 

Thanks in advance for any info!

Eleni

[xntric1]

DonnaD,

Thanks for the good review. We will be on the Sensation's Oct 11th cruise. Anyone else going between now and them, please let me know what you think as well.

Donna S

[DonnaD]

Oh, PP1977, I forgot to add, yes you can bring a camera to the dolphin excursion. You probably will want one or two of their photos though. They were really good closeups and the underwater camera we had was not near as clear. Also, they make you wear a lifevest and that makes it impossible to get underwater for the kind of shot I had hoped to take.

We got a list of shore excursions from a few sites online. Carnival has some listed on their site, but not all apply. They sure were more expensive then booking on line. Shoretrips has some, though some of their are pricey, then if you type in what type of excursion you are looking for on a search engine you'll get lots. Eagle divers in Cozumel has a great rep. As does Capt Bryan, Capt. Marvin and Nativeway in GC.

Wish we were going again. Eat a rueben for me! Of course now I am trying to lose those ruebens.

[mtd716]

DonnaD,

Thanks for the good review. We will be on the Sensation's Oct 11th cruise. Anyone else going between now and them, please let me know what you think as well.

Donna S

We leave Monday for a 5-night on the Sensation. Will definitely post a review when I return.