Quick Carnival Sensation vs RC's Monarch of the Seas

[VentureForth]

Hi folks,

 

Since I know that a lot of new folks like to read reviews - especially comparing and contrasting very similar cruises - I thought I would post my experiences from this past week's sailing on the Sensation to last year's sailing on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas.

 

Both trips were similarly priced, they both departed from Port Canaveral, FL, both were 4-night cruises, and both had the distinct disadvantage of being the oldest ship in the fleet, yet recently refurbished.

 

Ports of Call

Royal Caribbean offers ports of call at their private island, Coco Cay, and Nassau. Carnival offers ports of call at Freeport and Nassau. For the itinerary, I give the edge to MotS. Enjoying a private island for the day is just way cool. Now, for our cruise, Freeport was cancelled due to high seas and strong winds. Even though the ship docks vs being tendered, Skip, our Cruise Director, told me that an RC ship was damaged trying to dock in similar conditions. This was a let down for us, because this was where we booked our one and only shore excursion. Note for Sensation passengers - there is NOTHING in Freeport worth your time and energy. A bus tour to the national park, caves and northern beaches will make this an enjoyable port of call so long as the weather is nice. :) A note about Nassau: Both MotS and Sensation have extended layovers in Nassau. MotS departs at midnight - well after most of Nassau shuts down. Sensation leaves at 6 AM. Either way, I found that many folks were getting back on board around 5 PM. I think that a good chunk of folks on Sensation thought at we were to be back on board at 5:30 PM not AM.

 

The Ship

I'm going to start by saying that as previously mentioned, both ships are the oldest in their respective fleets. Both have been refurbished, but the Sensation has been renovated much more recently (2009) and is quite nice. So, on the surface, Sensation wins hands down. But there are some things about the Monarch that are plusses, and some things about the Sensation that were minuses. Let's start with the odor. That rumored odor of sewage on the Sensation is no rumor. It was horrible. It smelled in our cabin as if no one has flushed the toilet in ages. It was also noticable in various other parts of the ship - most notably in the aft section. The plusses on the Monarch, however, were the over abundance of public restrooms. If I recall correctly, there were public restrooms on every floor. On the Sensation, however, they seemed much more scattered and typically on a deck where you were not. Also, I believe that each public restroom on the Monarch had higher capacity than the Sensation. Feel free to correct me, here, fellow Critics. Just what I remember. Though perhaps this should be a separate category in itself, the cabins were much larger, roomier, and better lit on the Sensation. The LCD flatscreen TVs were a welcome change to the color-challenged tube TVs on the Monarch.

 

Finally, while we were in port at Nassau, I got to see the Monarch again. It was there on Tuesday and Wednesday as their port of call at Coco Cay was cancelled. They really let that ship go from the way it looks on the outside. Very little pride is taken by Royal keeping it looking nice. There was a lot of rust around the anchor and many patches of peeled paint along the side of the ship. Just looked ugly - and cheap.

 

Onboard Entertainment

The onboard entertainment was about the same on both ships, though my wife swears that Monarch's was better. Our singers were Chris and Cassandra - Chris was OK, but Cassandra had some pitch issues. I don't remember who our featured singers on Monarch were, but I wasn't overly impressed by them either.

 

The biggest difference between the ships' entertainment were the way they offered Bingo. On Carnival, they offered 1 grid for $10, or 3 for $20. On Monarch, it was $10 for 3 on paper, or $20 for 9 on a computer if I remember right. Also, I remember each day of bingo offering many games for the same set of cards on Monarch, whereas the Sensation only did that on the first day. The last three days of bingo were one game only for your $10 or $20.

 

Most of the activities, ie: Quest games, scavenger hunt, etc., were similar, though Carnival's pre-9 PM games were a bit more PG than Royal's.

 

Dining

Though I really preferred the individual attention by our waitstaff on Monarch, I preferred the food and the entertainment durring dessert on Sensation. I can remember our waiter's name from Monarch, but I can't remember our Matre' D. Opposite on the Sensation. Food seemed to be about identical. But back to the Matre' D. Jean Paul - a German with a French name who can sing like Dean Martin and Louis Armstrong in the same song - provided NIGHTLY entertainment by the waitstaff. And it was ALL good. Monarch offered entertainment on the final night only.

 

Kid Activities

I can only really recall what we did on Carnival because we didn't have the kids on Royal. On Sensation, Waterworks looked really cool, but because it was really cool (and windy), it was closed the whole time.

 

Camp Carnival was pretty interesting and nice to have for the trip. However, the times they closed for meals, etc., meant that the actual time our kids got to enjoy Camp Carnival was pretty minimal. They shut down for meals unless you're on shore. So, it was like 8-10:45, 1-4:45, then 6-10. Unfortunately, these didn't coordinate with entertainment schedules very nicely, so I found myself missing shows to pick up the kids, then missing shows because I was putting them to bed. Could have done the after care for $6 +$4 for additional kids per hour 'til midnight. Didn't.

 

Don't know what all Royal offers, but they are not devoid of childcare.

 

Best Kept Secret

The best kept secret on Carnival, though, has to do with Camp Carnival. When you register your kids, you get a VOIP phone. It's a wireless phone that acts much like a cell phone, but uses the ships WiFi network.

 

There is no charge to use the phone to call your stateroom from it, and if someone is looking for you, they can call your number from any public phone on the ship. How cool is that? Unfortunately, Bow2Stern Wifi doesn't have the coverage they would like to advertise, but it's a great little tool.

 

Conclusion

I really liked both cruises. I would take them both again. Though, since my wife really preferred Royal's Monarch of the Seas, that may be our future calling, which is fine - if we don't take the kids. And the weather is nice. And the inlaws don't join us. But if the family joins us for our next adventure, we'll take Carnival again.

[pcrum]

Thanks for the review. We have never sailed RCL, but loved the Sensation. We did her a few years ago and never noticed a smell at all. I wonder if this is new?

[Bonneville02]

Nice review, but the Sensation is not the oldest ship in Carnival's fleet. Its the 3rd oldest, behind the Fantasy (1990) and Ecstasy (1991). Sensation went into service in 1993.

[cawagner]

Hi folks,

 

Since I know that a lot of new folks like to read reviews - especially comparing and contrasting very similar cruises - I thought I would post my experiences from this past week's sailing on the Sensation to last year's sailing on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas.

 

Both trips were similarly priced, they both departed from Port Canaveral, FL, both were 4-night cruises, and both had the distinct disadvantage of being the oldest ship in the fleet, yet recently refurbished.

 

Ports of Call

Royal Caribbean offers ports of call at their private island, Coco Cay, and Nassau. Carnival offers ports of call at Freeport and Nassau. For the itinerary, I give the edge to MotS. Enjoying a private island for the day is just way cool. Now, for our cruise, Freeport was cancelled due to high seas and strong winds. Even though the ship docks vs being tendered, Skip, our Cruise Director, told me that an RC ship was damaged trying to dock in similar conditions. This was a let down for us, because this was where we booked our one and only shore excursion. Note for Sensation passengers - there is NOTHING in Freeport worth your time and energy. A bus tour to the national park, caves and northern beaches will make this an enjoyable port of call so long as the weather is nice. :) A note about Nassau: Both MotS and Sensation have extended layovers in Nassau. MotS departs at midnight - well after most of Nassau shuts down. Sensation leaves at 6 AM. Either way, I found that many folks were getting back on board around 5 PM. I think that a good chunk of folks on Sensation thought at we were to be back on board at 5:30 PM not AM.

 

The Ship

I'm going to start by saying that as previously mentioned, both ships are the oldest in their respective fleets. Both have been refurbished, but the Sensation has been renovated much more recently (2009) and is quite nice. So, on the surface, Sensation wins hands down. But there are some things about the Monarch that are plusses, and some things about the Sensation that were minuses. Let's start with the odor. That rumored odor of sewage on the Sensation is no rumor. It was horrible. It smelled in our cabin as if no one has flushed the toilet in ages. It was also noticable in various other parts of the ship - most notably in the aft section. The plusses on the Monarch, however, were the over abundance of public restrooms. If I recall correctly, there were public restrooms on every floor. On the Sensation, however, they seemed much more scattered and typically on a deck where you were not. Also, I believe that each public restroom on the Monarch had higher capacity than the Sensation. Feel free to correct me, here, fellow Critics. Just what I remember. Though perhaps this should be a separate category in itself, the cabins were much larger, roomier, and better lit on the Sensation. The LCD flatscreen TVs were a welcome change to the color-challenged tube TVs on the Monarch.

 

Finally, while we were in port at Nassau, I got to see the Monarch again. It was there on Tuesday and Wednesday as their port of call at Coco Cay was cancelled. They really let that ship go from the way it looks on the outside. Very little pride is taken by Royal keeping it looking nice. There was a lot of rust around the anchor and many patches of peeled paint along the side of the ship. Just looked ugly - and cheap.

 

Onboard Entertainment

The onboard entertainment was about the same on both ships, though my wife swears that Monarch's was better. Our singers were Chris and Cassandra - Chris was OK, but Cassandra had some pitch issues. I don't remember who our featured singers on Monarch were, but I wasn't overly impressed by them either.

 

The biggest difference between the ships' entertainment were the way they offered Bingo. On Carnival, they offered 1 grid for $10, or 3 for $20. On Monarch, it was $10 for 3 on paper, or $20 for 9 on a computer if I remember right. Also, I remember each day of bingo offering many games for the same set of cards on Monarch, whereas the Sensation only did that on the first day. The last three days of bingo were one game only for your $10 or $20.

 

Most of the activities, ie: Quest games, scavenger hunt, etc., were similar, though Carnival's pre-9 PM games were a bit more PG than Royal's.

 

Dining

Though I really preferred the individual attention by our waitstaff on Monarch, I preferred the food and the entertainment durring dessert on Sensation. I can remember our waiter's name from Monarch, but I can't remember our Matre' D. Opposite on the Sensation. Food seemed to be about identical. But back to the Matre' D. Jean Paul - a German with a French name who can sing like Dean Martin and Louis Armstrong in the same song - provided NIGHTLY entertainment by the waitstaff. And it was ALL good. Monarch offered entertainment on the final night only.

 

Kid Activities

I can only really recall what we did on Carnival because we didn't have the kids on Royal. On Sensation, Waterworks looked really cool, but because it was really cool (and windy), it was closed the whole time.

 

Camp Carnival was pretty interesting and nice to have for the trip. However, the times they closed for meals, etc., meant that the actual time our kids got to enjoy Camp Carnival was pretty minimal. They shut down for meals unless you're on shore. So, it was like 8-10:45, 1-4:45, then 6-10. Unfortunately, these didn't coordinate with entertainment schedules very nicely, so I found myself missing shows to pick up the kids, then missing shows because I was putting them to bed. Could have done the after care for $6 +$4 for additional kids per hour 'til midnight. Didn't.

 

Don't know what all Royal offers, but they are not devoid of childcare.

 

Best Kept Secret

The best kept secret on Carnival, though, has to do with Camp Carnival. When you register your kids, you get a VOIP phone. It's a wireless phone that acts much like a cell phone, but uses the ships WiFi network.

 

There is no charge to use the phone to call your stateroom from it, and if someone is looking for you, they can call your number from any public phone on the ship. How cool is that? Unfortunately, Bow2Stern Wifi doesn't have the coverage they would like to advertise, but it's a great little tool.

 

Conclusion

I really liked both cruises. I would take them both again. Though, since my wife really preferred Royal's Monarch of the Seas, that may be our future calling, which is fine - if we don't take the kids. And the weather is nice. And the inlaws don't join us. But if the family joins us for our next adventure, we'll take Carnival again.

 

Wow, thanks for the comparison :) we were on the Monarch 2 yrs ago and are going on the Sensation in March

[RBCL]

We were on Sensation in March and noticed no smell. Great review! :D

[DarthGrady]

Thanks for the comparison review. I have also cruise both ships, and enjoyed them both very much.

[JO-TRAVEL ALOT]

I have been on the Monarch twice and the Sensation once. I enjoyed both cruises, but I thought the Sensation had a newer and more modern look to her.

[hookedoncruises12]

Hi folks,

 

Since I know that a lot of new folks like to read reviews - especially comparing and contrasting very similar cruises - I thought I would post my experiences from this past week's sailing on the Sensation to last year's sailing on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas.

 

Both trips were similarly priced, they both departed from Port Canaveral, FL, both were 4-night cruises, and both had the distinct disadvantage of being the oldest ship in the fleet, yet recently refurbished.

 

Ports of Call

Royal Caribbean offers ports of call at their private island, Coco Cay, and Nassau. Carnival offers ports of call at Freeport and Nassau. For the itinerary, I give the edge to MotS. Enjoying a private island for the day is just way cool. Now, for our cruise, Freeport was cancelled due to high seas and strong winds. Even though the ship docks vs being tendered, Skip, our Cruise Director, told me that an RC ship was damaged trying to dock in similar conditions. This was a let down for us, because this was where we booked our one and only shore excursion. Note for Sensation passengers - there is NOTHING in Freeport worth your time and energy. A bus tour to the national park, caves and northern beaches will make this an enjoyable port of call so long as the weather is nice. :) A note about Nassau: Both MotS and Sensation have extended layovers in Nassau. MotS departs at midnight - well after most of Nassau shuts down. Sensation leaves at 6 AM. Either way, I found that many folks were getting back on board around 5 PM. I think that a good chunk of folks on Sensation thought at we were to be back on board at 5:30 PM not AM.

 

The Ship

I'm going to start by saying that as previously mentioned, both ships are the oldest in their respective fleets. Both have been refurbished, but the Sensation has been renovated much more recently (2009) and is quite nice. So, on the surface, Sensation wins hands down. But there are some things about the Monarch that are plusses, and some things about the Sensation that were minuses. Let's start with the odor. That rumored odor of sewage on the Sensation is no rumor. It was horrible. It smelled in our cabin as if no one has flushed the toilet in ages. It was also noticable in various other parts of the ship - most notably in the aft section. The plusses on the Monarch, however, were the over abundance of public restrooms. If I recall correctly, there were public restrooms on every floor. On the Sensation, however, they seemed much more scattered and typically on a deck where you were not. Also, I believe that each public restroom on the Monarch had higher capacity than the Sensation. Feel free to correct me, here, fellow Critics. Just what I remember. Though perhaps this should be a separate category in itself, the cabins were much larger, roomier, and better lit on the Sensation. The LCD flatscreen TVs were a welcome change to the color-challenged tube TVs on the Monarch.

 

Finally, while we were in port at Nassau, I got to see the Monarch again. It was there on Tuesday and Wednesday as their port of call at Coco Cay was cancelled. They really let that ship go from the way it looks on the outside. Very little pride is taken by Royal keeping it looking nice. There was a lot of rust around the anchor and many patches of peeled paint along the side of the ship. Just looked ugly - and cheap.

 

Onboard Entertainment

The onboard entertainment was about the same on both ships, though my wife swears that Monarch's was better. Our singers were Chris and Cassandra - Chris was OK, but Cassandra had some pitch issues. I don't remember who our featured singers on Monarch were, but I wasn't overly impressed by them either.

 

The biggest difference between the ships' entertainment were the way they offered Bingo. On Carnival, they offered 1 grid for $10, or 3 for $20. On Monarch, it was $10 for 3 on paper, or $20 for 9 on a computer if I remember right. Also, I remember each day of bingo offering many games for the same set of cards on Monarch, whereas the Sensation only did that on the first day. The last three days of bingo were one game only for your $10 or $20.

 

Most of the activities, ie: Quest games, scavenger hunt, etc., were similar, though Carnival's pre-9 PM games were a bit more PG than Royal's.

 

Dining

Though I really preferred the individual attention by our waitstaff on Monarch, I preferred the food and the entertainment durring dessert on Sensation. I can remember our waiter's name from Monarch, but I can't remember our Matre' D. Opposite on the Sensation. Food seemed to be about identical. But back to the Matre' D. Jean Paul - a German with a French name who can sing like Dean Martin and Louis Armstrong in the same song - provided NIGHTLY entertainment by the waitstaff. And it was ALL good. Monarch offered entertainment on the final night only.

 

Kid Activities

I can only really recall what we did on Carnival because we didn't have the kids on Royal. On Sensation, Waterworks looked really cool, but because it was really cool (and windy), it was closed the whole time.

 

Camp Carnival was pretty interesting and nice to have for the trip. However, the times they closed for meals, etc., meant that the actual time our kids got to enjoy Camp Carnival was pretty minimal. They shut down for meals unless you're on shore. So, it was like 8-10:45, 1-4:45, then 6-10. Unfortunately, these didn't coordinate with entertainment schedules very nicely, so I found myself missing shows to pick up the kids, then missing shows because I was putting them to bed. Could have done the after care for $6 +$4 for additional kids per hour 'til midnight. Didn't.

 

Don't know what all Royal offers, but they are not devoid of childcare.

 

Best Kept Secret

The best kept secret on Carnival, though, has to do with Camp Carnival. When you register your kids, you get a VOIP phone. It's a wireless phone that acts much like a cell phone, but uses the ships WiFi network.

 

There is no charge to use the phone to call your stateroom from it, and if someone is looking for you, they can call your number from any public phone on the ship. How cool is that? Unfortunately, Bow2Stern Wifi doesn't have the coverage they would like to advertise, but it's a great little tool.

 

Conclusion

I really liked both cruises. I would take them both again. Though, since my wife really preferred Royal's Monarch of the Seas, that may be our future calling, which is fine - if we don't take the kids. And the weather is nice. And the inlaws don't join us. But if the family joins us for our next adventure, we'll take Carnival again.

 

 

So your trip to Freeport was cancelled due to weather, what did they do instead of Freeport? Or did you just skip the port and continue on to Nassau? Was there any compensation for them having to skip the port?

[DarthGrady]

I have been on the Monarch twice and the Sensation once. I enjoyed both cruises, but I thought the Sensation had a newer and more modern look to her.

 

I think thats the first time I have ever heard someone saying that a Carnival ship looked newer and more modern than and RCI vessel. ;)