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Just Off Sensation

MomofBoyz

By MomofBoyz,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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MomofBoyz

MomofBoyz

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Been on "Barney" (our pet name for the purple ship of the seas) many times. This time was a couples trip, the three night tour.

 

Hotel on route - Best Western Jacksonville - Hotwire $39, included breakfast and managers reception. Clean, basic and a terrific value.

 

Embarkation - smooth as ice. We arrived at 10:45, parked, checked in and never sat down. Boarded right away with VIP pass. New terminal very efficient and though not as pretty as the old one, it's larger and obviously better for processing.

 

Lunch on Lido - Standard fare, all pretty good. Salad bar fresh, drink service immediate and frequent. Crowds thin at that point so that was nice.

 

Deck chairs upon embarkation - six in a row, up top by the ping pong table. Easy to get, easy to keep. Towel service opened early.

 

Music on Lido - Sorry guys, dreadful. I really, really miss the bands. I don't mind recorded music too much and they mixed recorded hits with a singer backed up by tracks. the singer had 3 songs total that were looped and wow, one was hard to listen to. Ouch.

 

Cabins - Took the balcony guarantee and scored big. Upper 239, 241 and Empress 255, all aft extended. Fantastic, fabulous, amazing. Not sure about those reviews with people throwing trash down onto the balcony. There is such a large overhang with the Upper Deck and there are not common areas above Empress so couldn't say where any trash could come from? No smoke or noise or excessive rocking. I will not go back to any other kind of cabin. Always booking that type. Opened the balcony divider on the Upper cabins for one large balcony. Very wonderful for our group of 6 for gathering and watching the wake behind the ship. I'm telling you, it was wonderful. The view of the wake is amazing. Saw dolphins, watched the world being left behind. Got to see ropes tied and untied. So much extra room on the balconies. I will say that you can hear the ropes going in and out. They squeak.

 

Cabin Service - Great. Greeted by name, rooms cleaned quickly, towel animals, etc. Now that ice comes from room service, things have really improved for the cabin guys and gals.

 

Food in the MDR - Good to fantastic. I know enough to avoid the flat iron steak and the meatloaf so I'm always happy. Food was hot and some things like the lobster (from my fellow diner) was delicious. WCMC reliably great. No other "wow" dessert but entrees such as the basa, the turkey farfalle and all of the soups delicious. Service was good but you can tell the staff struggles mightily with YTD, which we had. We waited for long periods when first seated to get water and even longer periods to get orders taken and even longer periods to get our food. Some of that was tied to the show stopping the action but overall, it's clear they are working out how to prepare for the free format. When we left on formal night after our meal, I kid you not, the line to simply be seated was almost to the atrium elevators and it was not moving. People were smokin' mad. Not our little group though because we were there each night at 6:45-ish to catch the show and beat the crowd. We ordered everything and never sent anything back.

 

Fitness Center - loved it, used it, steamed and sauna'ed in it. Machines were clean and in good order.

 

Karaoke - We had to endure a few minutes of the family segment where kids who really don't seem to want to sing are up on stage but after that the adults got going. Gotta say, the hostess this time was the best I've seen on Barney. She was great! Friendly, organized and encouraging.

 

Casino - Blackjack and slots. The continuous shuffler is not a cardplayers friend but I spent a few hours at it and left ahead. Dealers were fast and friendly. Fellow players were decent ranging from old pros to clueless. Standard in any casino.

 

Punchliner - We went to three of the adult ones. All SO funny. We will do that again.

 

Fellow cruisers - What can I say? I am one of them. Sensation is an inexpensive, quick break from reality. You are not going to sail with the highbrow crowd. The level of partying was medium to high. A few rude people but not enough to ruin things. This was an October cruise so fewer kids. Some verrrrry drunk folks. Some verrrrry sober ones, too. Go with the right expectation and you will be fine.

 

Room Service - Fantastic. We had breakfast on the balcony each morning and ordered ice often. I also ordered vegie sticks for one of our wine parties on the balcony and all was delivered quickly and by friendly folk.

 

Nassau- Stayed on board until late night. The ship was empty. Stayed on the Serenity Deck the entire day, going up for lunch at Lido, which was really good. The hot buffet that day was great. We also did the water slides, which were empty, no wait. Fantastic. Friend got a pedicure which looked good but she said they were pushing the products like crazy, never liked that. Did take the taxi to Atlantis for a little gaming around 9:30, $5 pp per way with tip. The Dig open to walk through for free which we did...or we walked past the sign. There was no gaurd.

 

Day at Sea - Hairy Chest Contest, Bingo, the whole thing. We are early risers so we had no trouble getting 6 chairs up up up top where the walking track is - I call it the Crowe's Nest that looks over the pool. Plenty of sunshine and breeze. The view is so blue and so lovely.

 

Drinks - Kiss on the Lips, good. Mojito, great! Full of fresh mint and limes. Ooooo, so good!

 

Disembarkation - Choose self assist and took our bags to the MDR for breakfast at 8:15. we finished a nice breakfast, headed down one flight and blended into the line. I was turning my key at 9:27 AM. Customs, the cattle herd out were both easy and very fast.

 

Is the Sensation tacky? Certainly! Is it outdated? Yes! Is it an outstanding value? For sure! It gets me out there at least once a year and guess what? On my balcony, in my soft white robe watching the wake and sipping my morning tea that was brought to my room? I might as well be on ten times the ship.

 

We had a wonderful cruise...if they can just bring back that Lido Deck band it would be perfection.

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MrFunInTheSun

MrFunInTheSun

Posted
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Been on "Barney" (our pet name for the purple ship of the seas) many times. This time was a couples trip, the three night tour.

 

We had a wonderful cruise...if they can just bring back that Lido Deck band it would be perfection.

 

Welcome back, glad you had a great cruise! Thank you for sharing your cruise adventure with us. I'll be on the Sensation in about 14 days and will begin a "Live" cruise report on her. Looking forward to boarding her for the 2nd time.

 

Great review :) very detailed and well organized! Sounds like an amazing time!

 

People tend to knock on some of the smaller ships. But we sailed Celebration out of JAX and absolutely loved it! Would do this trip if I had the chance!

 

Agree with this Canadian J! Some of the smaller ships can provide some of the best cruising experience. Fantasy class ships are pretty well rounded.

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