aceofbase

Bump so others will see it. Do not go inside either of those stores that offer you sample eye cream.My 76 yo mom was scammed by these people.  I know better and warned her to be careful while in Nassau. I stopped for a smoke ( I know it's disgusting..no lecture please,) mom and aunt said they were just going to look around. By the time I went inside they had cream on one side of my mom's face and she was begging them to please do the other side. The man was extremely rude telling her that she couldn't afford the products and that she was going to go back with one side of her face looking like she was 50 and the other one looking like she was 80. When I confronted him he was extremely rude. He wiped cream off one side of my mom's face and told us to get out of the store and go back to being old,   wrinkly people. While this was going on, another salesperson sold my aunt an eye cream  for $150. Her cc was charged $1500 and they didn't give her a receipt.  Please, Beware of the scams. And be sure others with you are aware also. 

I was the last stop. I do not remember what time we got to the port it was with every time we were supposed to arrive. I want to say 10:30 or 11 but I do not know that for sure

Used SAS in December  No issues. Friendly & one time.

I just used SAS a few weeks ago.  They picked me up from my hotel in FLl for transport to miami.  Picked me up after cruise for transport back to FLL. Although I would use them again, I don't recommend them for what the OP is looking for.  They would be at the airport hours and hours before the flight. 

I did this tour last December. We arrived at the airport just after 1 pm. I'm not sure what terminal you're using, but they they'd only stop at the first terminal. My mom and I had to walk a very long distance to get to the correct terminal. The reason they wouldn't take us to our terminal is because they say they're only allowed to stop once.

Thank you!

1. Ha! They are for me. My mom, not so much.

2. Thank you. booked the OV.

3. Good to know.

4. Dang. 

Going on the Sky in December for a girls trip. My mom, aunt, & myself. Ages range from 43 to 66. Yes, we know this is a "booze cruise" & we don't care. :) Since this is a last minute decision, we are trying to keep cost to minimum. Two of us have cruised Carnival several times. Here are my questions:

1. We can get an inside gty room for $1009 or an OV gty room for $1169. Seems like a no-brainer to choose the OV. It is my understanding these rooms will have queen bed and sofa bed. Is that correct? It seems these rooms are much smaller than what we are use to, but don't plan on being there much.

2. Do we get one card upon boarding that we use for everything? I can't seem to confirm this. It looks like there is a different card for the casino?

3. Are there private showers to use after a gym workout?

4. Any tips/tricks? I will continue to search here, but would like recent information. Thanks in advance for your help!

*were

I just cruised her in December. They where showing football games beside the cafe and on the lido by the Pizza.

I just cruised her in December. They where showing football games beside the cafe and on the lido by the Pizza.

My mom & I did the Miami tour in December. I do not recommend it. We would have been better off spending those funds elsewhere. Good luck!

We actually enjoyed Freeport. First time we went to paradise cove (Deadman's Reef) & snorkeled from shore. The 2nd time we hung out in the port area, visited the shops, and chatted with the locals. Both times were great days.

Was on this ship the beginning of December. There was also a tv in front of the coffee bar. It wasn't there all the time, but was out for football games.

Looking forward to hearing all about it! I am hopeful my negative experiences were just a fluke.

Just back from cruise on 12-8. I can highly recommend the Royal Palms. Taxi ride was $4 per person, $2 entry fee and $4 taxi ride back. Not really a taxi..more like a mini van. This was hands down the best day of my cruise. Rental 2 chairs @ $12 each. They have umbrellas for rent, but I wanted the sun. The have an adults only pool with bar service & floats to use. The beach was a little narrow, but beautiful! Food & bar service was great & quick! There are free access points along the beach, but for what Royal Palms offers, it was a great deal!

Just got off her on the 9th. My door was not metal.

I have always had EXCELLENT, large tip-worthy room stewards on my previous sailings. So I was shocked by no service two days as was guest services. My fault was having an idea of what I was getting & comparing one ship to another. I should not have done that. When I spoke to guest services yesterday, I did find the reason there were very limited comedy shows is that a large group (100 +) booked this cruise & Carnival blocked out areas (including the comedy club) for them to use for private events. A cruise is what you make it, so go enjoy! We did... even with the areas that needed improvement. Happy Sailing ya'll!

As op said, Bless her heart. Just got off her on Saturday & did a mini review. Good luck!

Jamaica: The vendors and drivers were pushy. We gave a polite "no thank you". We took a short walk to Margaritaville, but considered just getting back on the ship. There was a small beach area that we put our towels down & stayed a while on the beach. We had lunch & a drink which were very good. The walk back was more of the same pushy vendors. We tried to shop in the little shops, but the vendors wouldn't leave us alone. One shop owner said everything $1, but when asked to be shown something for $1, nothing was available. We tried one more shop. The lady told us to please have a look & touch. We tried, but every time we picked up something, she would start hassling us to purchase. I know these locals are just trying to make a living, but they way the go about is a real put-off. We would have spent $$ here if we weren't hassled and given time to actually look at the things we were interested in.

Grand Cayman: We took a $4 taxi ride to Royal Palms. We paid a $2 entry fee and $12 each for a chair. This was the best day! The beach was beautiful & the service, food & drinks were excellent. Good music played & the adult only pool was fantastic. We hated to leave. $4 taxi per person back to the port for a little shopping. We were not hassled here, but the prices were quite expensive.

Disembarkation: We did a carnival excursion of a tour of Miami with airport transfer back to Ft. Lauderdale. We were off the ship by 8:30. Unfortunately we were directed to the wrong place to wait for our tour. The operator had to come track us down. This was a double decker bus with most people sitting on top in the open air. The tour didn't really start for almost 45 minutes because we stopped to pick up other passengers at other terminals. After everyone was on, it started raining hard so we had to leave the upper deck. Everyone from the tour eventually joined us & the tour was over before it really got started. We couldn't see out the side windows & the operator didn't give us any additional information. Our 3-hour tour ended after and hour & 1/2 as we got off the bus early. There was no point in staying on a bus driving around Miami with no tour information. Of course, they can't control the weather, but could have at least given us some information about Miami. We had lunch at Bubba Gumps & waited for the transport bus to Ft Lauderdale airport. The transport bus was on time & comfortable.

Home: Once at the airport we learned our flight was delayed two hours. An hour later we learned it was delayed three hours. I was so glad to finally be home! A cruise is what you make it, right? Well, we tried to make the best of some crappy situations. I will cruise again, but it will be back on the Pride out of Baltimore. That is what I know & love. I am glad this cruise was free & I didn't pay thousands of dollars for my family of four. BTW...it was a steaming 22 degrees when we landed and a high of 34 today.

This will be a short review of my cruise on the Sensation from Miami, December 4-9th to Jamaica & Grand Cayman. I will try to answer any questions. This is just how my cruise went & others may have had different experiences.

Background: My mom received a casino offer for a free cruise & took me with her. Because this was "free" and we just went on a cruise in May, we kept our expenses to a minimum.

We flew from Pittsburgh to Ft Lauderdale because the flight was almost $150 per person cheaper than flying into Miami. We purchased Carnival's transportation service. We met a rep. at baggage claim as instructed and they took us to the transport bus. The bus was air conditioned & we had no issues.

Embarkation: We had FTTF, so we skipped the line waiting to get into the terminal. From the terminal to on board was about 20 minutes. That was quick but I did not like that they made you wait in line to get a photo. We declined the photo, but still had to wait inline. Our luggage did not arrive until after 4:00 p.m.

Food: I have to say, I was disappointed. I expected the food to be like it was on the Pride, but that was not the case. Guys Burgers were good, but the MDR & buffet food was not. Most of the time the food was luke-warm or just plain cold. Even my chocolate melting cake was cold. The taco place was good, pizza was so-so, & deli was ok. Best food I had all week was off the ship.

Room: we were in an inside upper/lower room due to the free cruise rate. The room was fine. I had heard the water was brown on this ship, but I did not notice that anywhere. I saw our steward once. We were given the choice to morning/afternoon/ or both for service. We asked for only morning with ice & for the upper bed to be raised during the day. At night we asked for no full service, just the bed to be lowered. We made this request because with the bed lowered, my mom couldn't sit on her bed. We had only one small chair. Note: there was no fridge or hair dryer in this room. The bed was never raised the entire trip. I had to go to guest services twice because our room was not serviced at all on the two port days. Our phone was also broken so I couldn't call our steward or make any other calls. Even after going to guest services, the bed was never raised. My room was serviced after requesting so from guest services, but the phone was never fixed.

Entertainment: We attended two PG comedy shows, but found them lacking. The adult show started at 11:45. That was too late for my mom to stay up. There was a ventriloquist show that was AWESOME! There was a holiday show that was very good. The Studio VIP show was very entertaining. We went to karaoke twice, but there was a large group there that kept staring at my mom & me. The vibe was just off. I can't really put my finger on it. We didn't stay long either time. The cruise director was Orlando Magic. He was great! They had Christmas carols with some fake snow at the atrium lobby one night. That was fun!

I will be back later today or tomorrow to review Jamaica, Grand Cayman, a tour we took, & disembarkation.

Thanks for the reply. From what I have heard, the new menu has buffalo chicken & wraps, & chocolate chip cookies. Oh..I have also heard the new items are pre-made & sitting out.

did the deli have the new menu?

Thanks for sharing as there is not a lot of info on this ship. How was the water? Who was your cruise director?

Thanks for the links. Also, I didn't realize I sail before you. Guess that's what I get for checking CC during working hours & only reading the title before I post. :')

Hi, Ace. This review on the boards from last spring has been helpful to me and includes great photos. Unlike my posts so far, this review is from after the cruise.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2473392

 

This next one is more recent, shorter, and also insightful.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2556318

 

You're ahead of me on sailing dates, but I'll do my best to share what I know so far. Enjoy your cruise!!

Hey Mudd7626...are you doing a review (pretty please?)