Just off the Sensation

We wanted a cheap cruise to get away for spring break with my 14 year old son. We knew it would not be the best ship due to age and price so had reasonable expectations.

The shop overall is very easy to navigate and is in pretty good shape.

Embarkation

Took well over an hour after our check in time not enough agents

Entertainment

Matt the CD was an excellent lead and his asst Orlando had great energy. Cannot say enough good things about Matt, always in a good mood and great energy at all his events. The 2 shows in the main room were good, singers were very nice outside the show especially Rodney.

The Barrucuda snakes in the casino were nice to listen to in between shows.

We saw every comedy show, Merle was god but John Mulrooney was mostly unique in all 5 of his shows and put on a great show.

We spent a little time in Piano Bar, also fun and very accommodating to requests

Dining

We had my time dining, went around 7pm every night and never waited on any night. It started out with our 2 excellent hostesses in Nina and Princess, so nice, put us with our same awesome wait staff in iMade and Merza. My son has a ton of allergies and they were very accommodating. Also we were served with excellent speed as all our dinners were completed in an our timeframe.

breakfast in dining room was good but we had to go to buffet on 2 port days which were a disaster, line took over 20 mins as they seemed to serve every individual, and the food was dreadful as well.

Guys and the Cantina were solid as always.

Circle C

My 14 year old goes every cruise, tried it the 1st night but there were very minimal activities on the schedule after that night, mostly 12 year olds so never went back. Seems like it is just a hang out now.

Room Cabin V40

Inside room on 11, perfect spot to get to all we needed to get . Our steward Idiana was excellent, always kept a clean room, did not wake us when we slept in twice.

Ports

Nassau-We did Atlantis, crazy crowded with 6 ships in port but made the best of it

Half Moon Cay- Not a perfect weather day but still a great beach, stayed till last tender

Grand Turk-Spent day at Jacks Shack, beach was tremendous with no rocks, great service, and cold cheap beers with a fun dog to play with.

Pool Area.

I have t mention this as it was spring break and as utter chaos. No security, kids running and jumping in water as parents let them run free, 20 kids to a hot tub which looked very unhealthy. 1s cruise ever that my son and I did not go into the actual pool, sat on the edge to avoid the madness. Also have to add that Carnival lets people play their own music with big speakers and musics that probably should not be played around kids, people were forced to move away.

Debarkation

We had an early flight, was off the ship by 8:30, very easy

Overall

A solid cruise for the money, we knew not to expect much but Matt the CD and our dining service staff made is a solid 7

Thanks for the review! I'll be on a 5 day Western cruise on the 29th of April. I like the Fantasy class ships overall. A good bang for the buck. I've done em all except the Sensation and the Fantasy. All the others multiple times. Go figure! Hard to find any newer info on the Sensation. I believe she just came out of dry dock not long ago.

I booked a week ago so cabin choices were limited to inside cabins and a few suites. As a solo I didn't want to pay the suite cost!

Glad to hear the bands were good and I love Pete Thompson in the Piano Bar. I've sailed with him before. Hoping the worst of Spring break has passed. I don't mind kids overall but they need to behave somewhat! I wish Carnival could enforce their rules better. I'll head back to Serenity and avoid any issues. Of course I've seen young adults back there act worse than any kids could imagine on a few cruises.

Glad you you enjoyed your trip!

Hello RebelCruiser! I too am going solo on this cruise. This is my 2nd solo and 2nd time on Sensation. Should be a blast. Be sure to join the solo meet- up the first night on board. The time and place should be in your "Fun Times". Hope to meet you there!:cool:

My first solo cruise, and my first Carnival cruise (two firsts) were on Sensation, way back in Oct 2000.

Have a soft spot for that ship, and love to hear good things. thanks for your review.:)

Hello RebelCruiser! I too am going solo on this cruise. This is my 2nd solo and 2nd time on Sensation. Should be a blast. Be sure to join the solo meet- up the first night on board. The time and place should be in your "Fun Times". Hope to meet you there!:cool:

Hi Solocruzin!

I saw your post in the roll call! I booked the tubing, blue hole trip in Jamaica. 1130am departure. I love floating down the river there its fun and relaxing. I'll look for you at solo meetup the first night. When the piano bar opens I'll be there. I know Pete the entertainer in there from another trip. He's so much fun! Hope to meet you!

Thanks for posting your review! We are cruising on Sensation this fall, and have booked V40 too! It will be our first interior room, but we just did this cruise as a cheap one, and to see if booking interior is that much different. We have 2 days in Miami after our Sensation 5 day cruise, then we board Glory for a 7 day in a Grand Scenic Ocean View! So Sensation is just kind of a tester for us...trying an older/smaller ship and an interior room and shorter cruise, just to see how it compares. I was a little concerned about V40 because of it having the wall next to the elevator waiting area and I wondered if kids would bang on the walls or if you could hear people or if it was noisy at all...any issues with that? We've always stayed on decks with quick access to the Lido area which is why we booked this room. Thanks in advance!

Welcome back. Glad it met your expectations..

Thanks for posting your review! We are cruising on Sensation this fall, and have booked V40 too! It will be our first interior room, but we just did this cruise as a cheap one, and to see if booking interior is that much different. We have 2 days in Miami after our Sensation 5 day cruise, then we board Glory for a 7 day in a Grand Scenic Ocean View! So Sensation is just kind of a tester for us...trying an older/smaller ship and an interior room and shorter cruise, just to see how it compares. I was a little concerned about V40 because of it having the wall next to the elevator waiting area and I wondered if kids would bang on the walls or if you could hear people or if it was noisy at all...any issues with that? We've always stayed on decks with quick access to the Lido area which is why we booked this room. Thanks in advance!

There was a little noise after 12:30 when we went to bed every night and a tad in the morning but did not hear the elevators at all. The room is not huge but was fine as we only slept and got ready for dinner in there

Hi again RebelCruiser.....me too! I'll be the very nervous looking woman biting her nails....hope to see you too!

Thanks for the report.

Thanks for your review!

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Thanks for your report! Did your son try any of the slides?