Sensation 12/13-18 review

We started our trip on Saturday the 11th with an early morning flight from Rochester, NY to New Orleans where our friends from the Enchantment cruise picked us up at the airport. They had driven from Alabama to spend the weekend with us in NOLA. (THANKS again, Barb and Dan!!)

We all stayed at the Ambassador Hotel in the warehouse district. After reading some very poor reviews of this hotel, I was worried; but we had a lovely room and excellent service. The hotel is under new management, and they are currently remodeling. Barb and Dan's room was on the opposite side from ours and they had a few problems, but nothing that spoiled their vacation.

We thoroughly enjoyed New Orleans - especially Bourbon Street. What a hoot!! I came home with more free beads than I can wear at one time! We had some wonderful meals - I can highly recommend the Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter, and of course Cafe du Mond. We also had a very nice dinner at Emeril's, which is only a few blocks from the Ambassador! Actually, we were able to walk virtually everywhere we wanted to go, though we took the trolley once just to ride it.

Perhaps it was just being with friends, but I have to say the trip was worth it just for the weekend in New Orleans.

Our friends left to return home early Monday morning, so Ed and I slept in and then walked about a block to get breakfast before packing up and checking out. We then walked to the pier - not a long walk, but too far to pull my luggage! I won't do that again!

We checked in and were on board around noon. We took our carryons to our cabin and went to have some lunch on the Lido deck.

After the obligatory lifeboat drill, we wandered the ship for a while and then found a good place to watch the countryside sail by. We asked for early seating, but were assigned late and chose not to try to change it. We werre assigned to a small booth with only one other couple - a young pair of doctors taking a break from their residencies. We really enjoyed our dinners with them and stopped to chat several other times during the trip when we ran into each other.

All our meals were good, whether in the dining room or at the buffet or on shore. We like to try new foods and always found something different to taste.

Our first full day was a sea day. Once the ship got out in open water, though, the rocking started. The weather wasn't terrific, but we only actually had rain one night. But, the sea was rough and I don't think there was a moment at sea that the ship wasn't rocking. I could barely walk down the hallway and probably looked drunk at all times! Had this been my first cruise, I probably would not have taken a second one.

We spent most of our two sea days relaxing. I found a few nice places to sit and read without being out on deck in the wind. I really liked the window seats along the Boulevard and the seats around the Atrium for relaxing and reading. Most of the activities were the same as on other cruises, so we didn't go to many. We did see one of the shows - what I saw was good, but I left early because it was on one of the rockiest evenings and I just wanted to lie down. Neither of us actually got seasick, but we really didn't feel like doing much, either.

Calica/Playa del Carmen: We finally decided to not book an excursion after discussing both the Tulum tour and X-Caret. Instead we took a taxi into Playa from the Calica pier. By the way, that pier is nothing but a rock quarry and the locals set up a tent with items for sale on the days a ship is in port. We walked through downtown Playa until we got to the beach. The day turned out to be absolutely lovely for a walk on the beach. For us, it was perfect weather. It was probably a bit too cold for sunbathing and swimming, but the water wasn't cold. We walked quite a distance on the beach - politely turning down drinks and food about every 500 feet.

We wandered in and out of shops along the main street, Fifth Avenue. We tasted a lot, maybe too much, free tequila so I finally insisted we sit down and eat some food. We decided to just get a snack at that point, so we had chips and salsa and drinks at a sidewalk cafe. It was a very nice, tree lined and shaded cafe and was a perfect place to rest and refuel.

We finally returned to Calica and the Sensation to relax and change for dinner.

Cozumel: At dinner after Calica, an announcement was made that the Sensation was going to dock in Cozumel at 1:30 a.m. - much earlier than the planned 7 a.m. time. Passengers were allowed to get off the ship in those early morning hours and it was promised that Fat Tuesdays would be open. Because we had an excursion planned for later that morning, we chose to go to bed instead. We were, however, allowed to get off at the pier until 8 a.m. at which time the Sensation left the Puerta Maya pier to anchor off the Lungusta pier for tendering after 10:30 a.m.. Naturally, we got off before they moved to avoid the tendering and to make our excursion time.

We had prearranged a cooking class in Cozumel with Martin Valdez. We called his home, as arranged, when we got off the ship. He said he'd pick us up around 9:30, so we window shopped around the pier stores and then crossed the street to wait for our ride. Martin arrived right on time and wisked us away to a local market. There we talked about the ingredients for our main dish - Sopa de Lima - and bought the necessary items. On leaving the market we were talking about the differences between authenic Mexican tacos and what we normally get in the States, so Martin drove us around to a literal "hole-in-the-wall" taco stand run by a friend of his. There he treated us to real tacos - simply chopped up pork that had been roasted over a charcoal fire served on a soft flour totilla shell with the choice of guacamole or hot sauce. After eating that, we asked about corn torillas, so he drove us around to another local stand to buy corn tortilla dough.

Back at Martin's beautiful home, he first made us each a corn tortilla and served it to us warm with cheese. Heavenly!! :D

Next we chopped up fresh tomatoes, onions, and cilantro to make a salsa. Martin then cut off the tiniest tip of a habenero and diced it up quite finely to add heat to the salsa. We ate some of this with chips, then when I said it wasn't very hot, he added more habenero! Woah! It was now HOT! But, very good - I think I polished off all the salsa while we were making the Sopa de Lima.

Everything was made with fresh ingredients and was not only delicious, but colorful. We enjoyed our soup - served over crushed taco chips and with a slice of lime to squeeze just before eating - at the family dining table. What wonderful hospitality to invite us into their home like that!

I would encourage anyone who could to take this class with Martin - unfortunately time is running out. He has his house on the market (BTW, what looks like a bargain to me at only $150,000) because he wants to return to the States so his twin boys can get a better education. They are 13 now and starting secondary education. If you are going to be in Cozumel in January or February, e-mail Martin and Susan, his lovely wife, at islacoz@hotmail.com to book a cooking class - you won't regret it! :D

Nice review Cathy. I am looking forward to reading some more . Sensation is by far my favorite cruise to date. I think its a shame that a lot of people with their first cruise will experience rocky waters and think that is what is like all the time and wont try it again. On our Legend Cruise it was the worse cruise I have ever taken. And many many first time people say they would not return to cruising ..ever.

Our cruise ended with another sea day much like the first one. Ed and I spent most of the time relaxing, reading, and eating. We chose self-assist debarkation, so we did not put our luggage out in the hallway on the last night. We had been told to be ready to leave the ship by 8 a.m., so we got up at 6 to shower and go to breakfast. We were back in our cabin before 8 waiting for the announcement.

It was a long wait! The self-assist announcement finally came at around 10 a.m. We weren't sure what was holding up debarkation, but we did see local police on board. As we were getting off, we were told by security at the pier that someone had been raped on board - that's why it took so long to let anyone off. Now, this may be just gossip, and I know nothing more about it than that, but if it's true I do feel sorry for that poor woman.

After we got off with our bags, we sent them on ahead to the airport with the Rush-It service because our return flight wasn't until 4:30 p.m. We enjoyed one more look at New Orleans, bought some trinkets to take home for nieces and nephews, and caught a taxi out to the airport.

Our return flight was uneventful - just the way I like my flights! After our 2 1/2 hour drive from the Rochester airport, we pulled in the driveway around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

All in all a fabulous vacation!!!

Hi Kathy,

First of all, sorry I didn't catch up with you on board. I was ill for most of the trip. I was hoping you would write a review so I could know if the rocking of the ship was normal or not. I was at the information desk one night, the night that it was so bad that the show was canceled, and I asked the purser if this was normal. She said "no". So I said, well is everything okay? And she said "I think so". I think so? Jeez, that made me feel much better. I am left feeling like I don't think cruising is for me.

I'm glad you had such a good time in Mexico and in New Orleans. So did I? We went to Xcaret and loved it. The next day we went to Paradise beach and it was fantastic. Shopping in Cozumel was the best too, especially at los cinco soles. We stayed a couple of days in New Orleans after and had the best time. Beignets at Cafe du monde, the Natchez. We went on a tour and had the best guide telling us all sorts of New Orleans history. We stayed at the Embassy on Julia street and it was very nice. We had a suite with a balcony (overlooking some trash bins!). It was 114 a night and included two tickets to the aquarium. The pool was heated and there was a hot tub as well. We all took advantage of that. Oh, and there was a free buffet breakfast. I think we got our money's worth.

I was wondering why it took so long for us to be cleared from the ship. We couldn't do self assist as my husband is not a US citizen. I think we finally could leave shortly after 11. I sure hope it wasn't because someone was raped. How sad.

I'm glad you had a nice time.

Paula

We are planning to sail the Sensation in June going to Costa Maya and Cozumel. You stated in your review that the ship after docking for a few hours goes into tender mode. Is this true for all the sailings? We have a wheelchair going on the tripand we want to make sure he can be accomodated (he can't tender). If you or anyone else can find an answer that would be great.

May I ask why he cant be tendered off? My mom is in a wheelchair and we tendered at Grand Cayman. The crew was fabulous getting her on and off the tenders.

:) Hi,

I just read your review on the Sensation; we are going to be on the Sensation around the first of Jan. 2005. What can you tell us about New Orleans terminal and parking for car drivers? Where we are from it is very cold right now. What should I pack clothes wise for New Orleans and Cozumel? Will Cozumel be nice enough for t- shirts and shorts? What about New Orleans? I take it that because it was windy, you stayed inside a lot on your cruise. Although it was windy, were you able to wear shorts or long pants? This is our first cruise; therefore, we don't know if we will get seasick or not. I hope this cruise is a good one for us; future cruises for us will probably depend on how this one goes. Any advise for those, like us whom this will be their first cruise. :confused:

SLL: check http://www.cozumelinsider.com I see todays weather to be high of 84 degrees.

By far the most ocean motion I found was on the cruise out of NOLA. We did the Clelbration in 1999, it was rocky. id the Enchantment in 2002 out of FT Lauderdale & there was some motion but nothing like out of NOLA. But I love the rocking. Alaska is a very smooth ride, so before you give up on cruising, try an Alaskian ride.

Kathy, glad you & Ed had a nice time and got home safe. I sent you some pictures, did ya get them?

Can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eves eve...

He is in a motorized chair (an amigo) and on Disney he could not be tendered off, so we want to play it safe.

Other than the rocking motion,, how was the weather on sea days? warm? Windy? What night was formal night? Thanks for your help.

On tendering - some ports are always tendered, but Cozumel has docks for, I think, 6 or 7 ships. There were 8 in port the day we were there so that's why we had to tender. The part about being docked was extra. The captain said it was to help make up for the rocky sailing. we really weren't supposed to be in port until 7 a.m. and we were supposed to be tendered, but they got permission to dock at 1:30 a.m. until they had to move the ship to its tendering spot. Maybe you can find out ahead of time how many shps will be in Cozumel the day you're scheduled to be there. That might help.

The weather - I think last week was a colder week than normal - someone above made the suggestion to chec the forecast before you pack. I wore capris and a tee on shore at both ports and was comfortable. I also wore capris during the day on board ship and slacks or a dress for dinner. I was never cold. I did wear a jacket in the evening in New Orleans.

Formal night was the first full day - a sea day - on our trip.

Parking in New Orleans - can't answer that one as we flew and did not have a car, but check the New Orleans port of call board - I saw much about the parking on there before we went.

New Orleans terminal was easy to navigate. We got there around noon and stood inonly a short line before boarding. However, after we got in line I think a bus pulled in because suddenly there were lots more people in line. It seemed to move quite quickly, though.

Hope all of you going on the Sensation next enjoy your trip as much as we did. Hopefully the weather will be smoother for you.

Were you told ahead of time that you will dock but the ship will be moving to a tendered spot?? I would hate to think people in the scooters who got off on a dock that couldnt get back on later...

This is the second cruise for my husband and me but the first for our children, ages 15, 8 and 7. The little ones have each other but the teen, a boy, struggles a bit on vacations. He's a social butterfly at home but seems to feel a bit awkward trying to be social on family vacations without a friend along. This is the big reason we chose a cruise for our annual New Year's trip. We've scheduled Xcaret in Playa and the beach party in Cozumel w/parasailing, etc.... Two days at sea, though. Any insiders' wisdom?

It was announced several times that we were definitely scheduled to be tendered. Then when they changed the time so we could dock early morning, announcements were made again. Unless people just didn't listen to the announcements, no one should have gotten off at the dock without knowing they'd have to tender back. Of course, if they didn't listen to the announcements, they wouldn't have known they could walk off at the dock - the Capers said you had to tender.

Kathy - we're sailing in March on the Sensation out of NOLA. I got very excited when I read that you sent your luggage on ahead with the Rush-It Service. We also will not be flying out until later that evening. Can you give me more details about this Rush-It Service? Thanks!

My family and I just sailed on the Sensation, we left New Orleans on the 24th of January. Since this was our first cruise,( and a vacation in 4 years) we decided to make an adventure out of the whole trip. We left our house a couple of days prior to the cruise date as there was a bad storm heading towards our house the day we were suppose to leave. We got to NOLA a 2 days ahead of the cruise date, we toured NOLA and had a great time, the kids had a ball. They were so excited about the cruise and the ship. They were looking forward to the kids camp. They liked it soooo much that they didn't want to leave at the end of the day or the cruise. It was really cold the day we left port (42 f) and a little windy. We had smooth sailing the entire trip except for the last night a sea. A storm had come in gave the ship a good rocking. We noticed during this time that they had posted several "BAGS" along the hallways and in the major public area's. Once we entered the Mississippi River the ship stopped rocking. We just kept in mind that we were on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean and that rocking was to be expected, especially during a storm. We had a fabulous time and are planning another trip for the fall. The Sensation was a great ship, we felt pampered and spoiled with the care that we had been given, from the time we came onboard to the time we left.

Our ports of call were Calica and Cozumel. In Calica we decided to take a cab to the Omni Puerto Aventurus. We just relaxed and soaked up the sun. It was fabulous. We went snokeling( you can rent the equipement for $5, and store your stuff in a locker). We also found out that just outside the hotel they have several dolphins that you can go swimming with ( I think that there is a cost for that) but it was really cool to see them up close.

In Cozumel we went on the Eco Jeep Tour and it was Awesome. You get to drive out the the end of the island in a long line ( with the other people on the tour). Once at the park you get to see the temple, the salt water croc, climb a lighthouse that gives a spectacular view of the area. After a short truck ride we were at the beach, here you could sit in the sun or go snorkeling. After the beach is the 4x4 jeep ride. This was fun, you off road driving for about 40 minutes and it was awesome. Got back to the ship, relaxed some more and realized that our adventure was almost over.

All in all it was the most enjoyable vacation that the family has been on. So much so that we have booked another cruise for the fall.

:D :D

MrLeo: Please post this on its own thread, Lots of people would love to read what you have to say.