Sensation questions

For some reason there is not a lot of information on here about this ship. I'll be on it an a few weeks and was wondering if there are some "not to miss" features, and in general I will appreciate any advises. I did not sail with Carnival for sometime now, but was on Fantasy and Miracle before and loved both - I am easy to please :D

Some questions I have for those who were on Sensation recently:

- American Table menus or old ones?

- Is there social media internet plan available?

As I said any input is greatly appreciated! Can't wait to be on this cruise already!

I agree, there is not nearly enough Sensation talk on the boards. We are sailing the Western Caribbean 4 night route on May 19th, when are you sailing?

There was a recent thread showing the dinner status for all Carnival ships and according to that the Sensation has NOT converted to the American Table.

I wold like to see recent Sensation 4 night menus if anyone has pics.

We are sailing the Western Caribbean 4 night route on May 19th, when are you sailing?

I am on May 9th, 5 Days. :)

I guess the lack of replies to this post confirms our observations, there really is not much Sensation talk on the boards.

April 30th! so 4 DAYS!!! yeah... We reluctantly booked this sailing cause it coincided perfectly with work schedules. It is one of the oldest (maybe THE oldest?) in carnival's fleet. We did sail on sister ship Elation couple years ago, and we had a fine experience. We are not hard core party animals, and pretty easy going, and we just don't let the little things bother us. I did read a few reviews, and they have mostly been good, so we are booked and I couldn't be more excited. I will post brief review upon return. Also read on this board a review and follow up discussion by Nurse... forgot her entire tag name, but she had great comments about this ship. I will check this thread so if you have any additional SPECIFIC questions, I will try to answer upon my return.

 

Some questions I have for those who were on Sensation recently:

 

- American Table menus or old ones?

- Is there social media internet plan available?

 

QUOTE]

 

Yes to the American Table menus.

Yes to the social media plan. The hub app is not available.

April 30th! so 4 DAYS!!! yeah... We reluctantly booked this sailing cause it coincided perfectly with work schedules. It is one of the oldest (maybe THE oldest?) in carnival's fleet. We did sail on sister ship Elation couple years ago, and we had a fine experience. We are not hard core party animals, and pretty easy going, and we just don't let the little things bother us. I did read a few reviews, and they have mostly been good, so we are booked and I couldn't be more excited. I will post brief review upon return. Also read on this board a review and follow up discussion by Nurse... forgot her entire tag name, but she had great comments about this ship. I will check this thread so if you have any additional SPECIFIC questions, I will try to answer upon my return.

Sensation is the third of Carnival's 8 Fantasy-class ships (preceded by Fantasy and Ecstasy), and she came into service in 1993.

Her interior spaces are effectively identical to the other Fantasy-class ships (like Elation, as you mentioned). She has the small Waterworks that was installed on most of the Fantasy Class, plus she had quite a few balcony staterooms added in a drydock several years ago.

We sailed on her circa 2008 before those upgrades.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of specific info here, I just think short cruisers tend to be more first-timers and don't tend to frequent places like Cruisecritic so you don't tend to see as much info on the 3/4 day ships.

We had a great time on a 3-day sailing back then.

Just sailed on her last month for spring break. I personally like the fantasy class and really enjoy the sensation (not sure if that is nostalgia talking). I love the pool deck with the palm trees and the serenity area at the aft.

They seemed to have a hybrid menu in the dining room (some of the new AT selections were on there, but also some older options ones as well, Desserts were classics not AT and no "port specialty" dishes). Many of the featured Fish (red snapper dish especially) and the lasagna's were standouts. But food was quite good (but I'm not too picky). They still have the tablecloths and classic tableware (ghost lady plates)... Pizza is of course great, Mongolian is served lido midship port side, grill is starboard. Deli and pizza aft (bring Tupperware and get salmon from deli for the morning if you like bagels and salmon as they don't serve anymore :-(

The aft section still shakes at night (the giant dyna washer machines for the main laundry are below the lido aft) and there are signs of wear (yes old school half working promenade starlight fiber optics I am talking to you!) and VERY purple (now can be thought of as an ode to Primce I guess) but she is fun for a quick getaway. The lido bars are the red, blue amphibians, but just dressed that way). Some rust and wear is visible and the purple furniture is DEFINETLY showing its age... Cabins are fine, bathrooms have been re-lined (instead of tile) which gives it the RV bathroom feel. No hairdryers and no storage shelves in bathroom (super frustrating)! Flat screen TV. No dive in movie screen...

I don't go to shows, but I know it is playlist and probably cheesy so I don't bother. Decent comedians last time, piano bar usually hopping and the casino bar band area is always packed. They had a great guitar player who did morning and afternoon on the lido and evening in the atrium and he was great, loved getting a drink, listing to him watching sunset on the lido. Waterworks can keep the little ones busy during the day but of course they will ALL be in the hot tubs all day and night as usual!

I had a GREAT time on the short cruise. The fantasy class ships are designed with more public spaces so felt less crowded (even on spring break cruise). They are small enough that I actually managed to see people I meet throughout the cruise but big enough that you had space. The far aft area of lido was my favorite place to hang out and eat... Great service all around and bartenders (but as seems to be the trend, not many pool servers, so go and get it yourself)...

For a short cruise, perfect for me, lots of fun! Hope that info helps... Go with the idea to have fun regardless and you will!

I was on Sensation in January. If you've been on other Fantasy class ships Sensation has the same set up. It has the waterworks with splash area & slides. It was chilly on my sailing, but my kids tried it out & approved. The comedy shows were good. I didnt see much of the playlist shows. I heard mixed reviews from fellow passengers. The kids enjoyed Camp Carnival & night owls, but they spent more time in a conference room than in the camo area which was disappointing.

I only went to MDR twicw, but it seemed like the old menu to me. There were tablecloths so it wasn't the new set up. Service was good one night & ridiculously slow the other. I found the food to be the same quality as other Carnival cruises. We never went hungry for sure.

I agree with another poster who said it's showing it's age. I noticed that more on Sensation than on any othet ship I've sailed. Nothing that impacted our cruise. While Sensation wasn't my favorite ship, we certainly had a fantastic cruise.

If anyone has any specific questions I'll be happy to try to answer!

 

Some questions I have for those who were on Sensation recently:

 

- American Table menus or old ones?

- Is there social media internet plan available?

 

QUOTE]

 

Yes to the American Table menus.

Yes to the social media plan. The hub app is not available.

 

That conflicts with other posts indicating the Sensation has not converted to the American Table.

 

That conflicts with other posts indicating the Sensation has not converted to the American Table.

 

We were on her 2 months ago and it was still the old menu's. Not the American Table.

I did notice some new apps and entrees that were not on the older menus (blue crab ravioli, scallops with risotto, red snapper) unless I am remembering wrong? (A possibility )...

I did notice some new apps and entrees that were not on the older menus (blue crab ravioli, scallops with risotto, red snapper) unless I am remembering wrong? (A possibility )...

Yes you did. The Blue crab ravioli and scallops are new items on the elegant night menu since lobster is no longer offered on shorter cruises. They just replaced a few items on the old menu but it is not American Table yet.

Yes you did. The Blue crab ravioli and scallops are new items on the elegant night menu since lobster is no longer offered on shorter cruises. They just replaced a few items on the old menu but it is not American Table yet.

Ahhhh OK, that makes sense. I knew there were some "new items" thrown in there...

I forgot to mention I can confirm the social media plan is available. I used it in January for $15 for a 4-nighter. Loved it. Perfect for staying in touch with my mom back home. Connection was just fine everywhere on the ship.

 

We were on her 2 months ago and it was still the old menu's. Not the American Table.

 

I guess I mistook the new items for having moved to the new menus....

My full review with pictures of our very cruise which happened to be on the Sensation last month:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2337767

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My husband and I will be on the April 30th sailing too! We hopped on this one when our RC Empress of the Sea cruise was cancelled twice. I have questions....what is American Table? Do they have a Steakhouse Restaurant onboard? I've been getting conflicting answers from Carnival. My travel agent called them and they said it was a separate restaurant while I read that you can get the Steakhouse menu for an upcharge of $20 in the MDR. We will be celebrating our anniversary and wanted to have a nice steak/seafood dinner. Whatever the outcome, we plan on having a great time! My motto is expect less and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

Just sailed on her last month for spring break.

I was on Sensation in January.

My full review with pictures of our very cruise which happened to be on the Sensation last month:

Thanks for your reviews of the Sensation. We booked a 4 day in June 2016, taking our 9 year old grandson on his 1st cruise (thus a shorter length cruise to see if he likes it)

My husband and I will be on the April 30th sailing too! We hopped on this one when our RC Empress of the Sea cruise was cancelled twice. I have questions....what is American Table? Do they have a Steakhouse Restaurant onboard? I've been getting conflicting answers from Carnival. My travel agent called them and they said it was a separate restaurant while I read that you can get the Steakhouse menu for an upcharge of $20 in the MDR. We will be celebrating our anniversary and wanted to have a nice steak/seafood dinner. Whatever the outcome, we plan on having a great time! My motto is expect less and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

There has been a lot of discussion on the Carnival boards about the new American Table. Here is one example, but you can find many more if you do a search. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2343084&highlight=american

From Carnival's website here is a list of available dining options on the Sensation. I don't think there is a separate steakhouse, but I hadn't really looked. http://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/?shipCode=SE

I did notice some new apps and entrees that were not on the older menus (blue crab ravioli, scallops with risotto, red snapper) unless I am remembering wrong? (A possibility )...

That's the new Elegant Night menu for the short cruises. They had it on our 4-day Victory cruise too. The rest of the nights are the same traditional menus.

There has been a lot of discussion on the Carnival boards about the new American Table. Here is one example, but you can find many more if you do a search. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2343084&highlight=american

 

From Carnival's website here is a list of available dining options on the Sensation. I don't think there is a separate steakhouse, but I hadn't really looked. http://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/?shipCode=SE

There is no steakhouse on any of the Fantasy-class ships.

There is a Chef's Table dinner, if you want a really special meal, but it's $75 + gratuity per person.

Sailed a 3 day on her back in February. It does not have all the bells and whistles...but I like the Fantasy class ships. We had the perfect cruise. The staff was very good and very helpful.

Just to confirm...we leave out on June 11th....

NO Hair dryers in room and NO fridges.

Also, we ordered water to be delivered...but can we bring a 12 pack of soda?

but can we bring a 12 pack of soda?

As long as it's cans - bottles are no longer allowed.