Kaye745

Domergirl-

I think my favorite part was New Year's Eve. We usually just stay home, but it was so fun dancing on the lido deck, dressed up, and bringing in the New Year with a bunch of people. Free champagne isn't bad.

I did forget to add that there was lots of free champagne on this trip. Both Embarkation and New Years Eve.

Even though we had a few blips, didn't stop us from booking another cruise for next December (on a different ship). We would sail Ecstasy again as it was nice to drive to the port. I believe the Sunshine is moving to Charleston in the future.

I don't post much, but thought I'd give a brief review of our recent cruise on the Ecstasy out of Charleston. This was a very last minute booking (less than 30 days) to celebrate my daughter's graduation from college and her commissioning as a 2nd Lt into the US Army. She is branching into Armor, and reports to Fort Benning, GA this month. It was also my son's 18th birthday on New Years Eve, so we had lots of celebrating to do. We had booked this cruise because it was within driving distance from Virginia, and had also sailed Ecstasy before and had a good experience. We were well aware it's a smaller, older ship, so didn't expect any bells and whistles. Each of the kids brought a friend, so we were 6 in all. My husband and I had an oceanview room while the kids shared an inside. Because of the last minute booking, we had OV guarantee, and we ended up on separate decks from the inside room which was what we expected.

We spent the night in Charleston at the Comfort Suites Isle of Palms. I'd highly recommend this hotel. We were able to leave our cars (we had 2), and the rooms were very large. We were able to get 2 suites for $119 each with no additional costs to leaving the cars. The area was very safe, and there were many restaurants and shops within walking distance. They don't offer a shuttle, but helped us to arrange a van the next day which was $50 for all 6 of us to the cruise port.

Charleston port is very confusing with parking and drop-off and I was very glad we had arranged transportation and didn't drive in ourselves. That being said, embarkation was smooth and fast. We did not purchase FTTF, but it had printed on all our documents which is why I think it went so fast. They kept putting us in that line even after my husband questioned it. We did not have FTTF printed on our cards when they were issued. Don't know why it was on our documents, but I'll take all the good karma I can get.

We have cruised on Celebrity, RCI and Carnival. We had a great time on this cruise, but there were some issues. We're on vacation and we tend to go with the flow... really don't care if it takes a bit longer to get a drink...where am I going? Don't get a towel animal...no big deal. My husband and I started out in cabin a cabin on R deck, typical OV cabin on the lowest deck. We never saw our room steward. I've never been on any cruise where the steward did not introduce themselves. We left a note for him after the first day to see if we could get an ice bucket for the bottle of wine we had brought. The ice showed up, but never saw the steward. We only got 1 time per day service for the room, never asked if we wanted AM or PM or 2 x/day. We're fine with only once per day.

The second night of the cruise, we heard loud banging all night from below us sounding like someone kept slamming a door. The next day we let guest services know because we didn't hear it the first night. They looked into it and said the door on the gray water line was not closing correctly and they were trying to fix it, but the noise would continue. We didn't ask for it (we really were just concerned about a new noise) but they offered to move us to a different room which was very nice. We ended up in M177. The room steward did introduce himself here, but only saw him the initial day, and received AM service only. At night, they just slid the next day's papers under the door.

When we were leaving Half Moon Cay, they called an Alpha code which turned out to be a small fire in the engine room. The staff and captain kept everyone informed and seemed to handle it appropriately. After the gray water door issue though, my husband did wonder if the ship was falling apart!

We enjoyed the food in the dining room, buffet not so much. We're just not buffet people, but it's nice it's there when you have 18 year old boys with you that are always wanting to eat. We had any time dining, which we don't really like. We prefer the late dining and having the same waiter each night. When we boarded, we did go to the Maitre D to see if we could change. I was suprised how snooty he was. He looked us up in the system to see where we'd be on a wait list for late dining. He said "You booked less than a month ago. You're lucky we have any place for you." I get it, we were last minute, but don't get an attitude. We weren't demanding anything and knew it was a long shot, but I thought it was okay to ask. We also were going to surprise our son with a birthday cake on New Year's Eve, and it's nice if you have the same waiter to coordinate with. My husband asked if there was anyway that we could have the same waiter even with anytime dining and we were willing to wait. We were told flat out "No".

That being said, we had great waiters, we were able to arrange the cake for my son, and there was nothing I ate that I didn't enjoy. I just didn't think we deserved the snotty attitude because we booked so late. We were waiting for my daughter's orders to know when she'd be available.

They had a number of events for Veterans and a recognition for the military which was nice. My husband (Retired Armor officer) and daughter attended a couple.

Overall, enjoyed all the ports (we'd visited them all before), very talented comedians and I really enjoyed the magic show. Production show was "meh". They had an awesome band near Metropolis Bar, but hated that it was in a smoking area. Went to the nightclub with my daughter and friend, which was fun and I didn't make too much of a fool of myself. Had great bartenders. If you're on this ship, look for Orlando on the pool deck. He will set you up!

We were late in disembarking because Charleston had snow! We didn't leave the ship until almost 10am. We had an early number(7) had wanted to be on the road by 9, but they handled it well. Breezed thru customs, got a van, picked up our cars and was on the road by 11:00.

Overall, we had fun. Just a couple of minor issues, but the ship itself just felt tired. New Year's Eve was a blast, and it was nice to have the family together. I'll be glad to answer any questions about our experience.

Thanks OP. I canceled our deluxe drink package and re-purchased at the lower price for our Adventure sailing in May. Went from $44/day to $38/day. With the difference, purchased the internet package and still saved money!

:D

My family just got off the Sensation yesterday and had a wonderful time. Yes, this is an older, smaller ship, but the staff was outstanding, everything was clean and in working order, and the small size made it easy to get everywhere. There seemed to be things going on all the time. We had twice a day cabin service and towel animals every night (silly, I know, but my kids loved them). I can't say enough about the dining room service. We enjoyed the food. I don't care about table cloths, but know there are some on here who feel it's a big deal. Sensation still has table cloths. My husband is a die hard RCCL fan and had never cruised Carnival before because a co-worker had convinced him the line was "cheap booze cruises" only. I had cruised Carnival before, and had to really convince him to give it a try. He had such a good experience, he wants to try one of the newer ships for a longer cruise. We had a wide variety of ages (16 - 60), and everyone agreed they would sail the Sensation again anytime!

We just returned from the May 31st sailing, and had an outstanding time. I was traveling with my husband, my 22 year old son, my 18 year old daughter and 14 year old son. They all had a great time. We had 2 ocean view rooms, and our room steward couldn't have been more attentive, bringing ice each evening after we told him on the first day we would like an ice bucket, always greeting us in the halls and asking how our day was going, and leaving lovely towel animals on 3 of the evenings. We didn't eat in the windjammer outside of the boarding lunch (it was adequate, but nothing to brag about...then again I'm just not a buffet type of person), but very much enjoyed the main dining room and Giavanni's table. We didn't have any issues with drinks, but we weren't on a package and only drink 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day.

As far as the kids, my oldest son and daughter had a great time at the Viking crown lounge each evening where they had late night dancing with a DJ. They both met many other young people that they hung out with each evening after dinner. This was our fourth family cruise, and overall one of our best. We typically take longer cruises (our last was 10 day on Enchantment when she was in Baltimore), but enjoyed this one almost as much....would only have been better if it had been longer!

Kaye

Curlymason-

I'm sending you good vibes through the computer.

I'm in a similar situation. We're flying out of DC on the 22nd to cruise Liberty on the 23rd. We'll fly back into DC the following Monday, but will be staying in DC for a couple of days while DH does some work related things (he works for the Army). I am trying to figure out what to bring for the cruise, as well as things for the following few days while in DC. To make matters worse, he just told me there will be a work related social event one evening in DC. How am I ever going to fit everything into one not overweight bag and a carry-on?????

Hi Ladies-

I've been following this thread, just haven't posted before, but I now have a question for all you experienced fashionistas out there. We're going on a Thanksgiving cruise out of Baltimore, MD this November. We've always cruised out of Florida, and I'm getting confused about what type of clothing I need to take. I know layers, but I think I'm over thinking this whole thing. For those of you that have sailed from Baltimore (we're doing an Easter Caribbean 9 day cruise on RCI), how long until we get to shorts and t-shirt weather. On average, is it warm enough to be out on deck at sail) away with sweaters or are we talking parkas? (HA) Can I break out the Caribbean clothing by day 2? HELP! I'm so over packing. At least we're driving to port so I don't have to worry about weight restrictions.

Thanks so much in advance-

Shelia

Thanks for posting this. I purchased 2 of the dresses, they shipped quickly and I wore one today in the 100+ degree heat here in VA. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the dress! Very cute, fit well, and cool. Can't wait to pack them for our cruise in November!

Shelia

Great Review-

I really enjoyed all the pictures.

Just curious, since you've sailed Royal Caribbean before, how do you compare the two lines? We're booked for an RCL cruise in Nov, but I'm thinking of changing it to one with Carnival because I like the ports better. We've only sailed RCL before. Would love to know your opinion.

Kaye

Okay, just wondering if it's just me, or do all ladies of a "certain age" start dealing with this...

I will turn 45 on my birthday in February, and it seems like overnight my body has changed shapes. I've always been more pear shaped, but with a small waist and wider bottom...but sometime in the last year my waist is dissappearing! I haven't really gained weight, it is just redistributing. Anyone else have this issue? Any suggestions?

All of your dresses look beautiful, and everyone seems so confident in their pictures. My family tease me that they can't find pictures of me ever because I HATE to have my image taken.

Shelia