Sensation Review 11/22/12 Just Off

[Cruisin'Trooper]

Background This was a last minute booking for a Thanksgiving cruise to avoid family drama! It was myslef, wife, 4 year old son, and sister in law. We had 2 ocean view cabins side by side on Riviera deck. This is our 11th CCL voyage and 2nd on the Sensation.

 

Arrival We always park at the Radison Hotel's Park and Cruise located about 1 mile from Port Canaveral. As in the past, we parked, paid the $7.00 a day rate, and they took us and our luggage right to the ship. The facility is secured and we keep the car key. From arrival at noon to terminal at pier was about 20 minutes.

 

Check In Wife and I are Platinum, so all of us went right through VIP line. Very quick and painless. Agent presented us with our 4 sail and sign cars and walked us to the ship. We always skip the picture, so from the time we walked into the terminal to the time we were in the ship's lobby was about 10 minutes. As the agent was saying good by, she added "Even though its noon, your cabin is ready since you are VIP". This was a nice little surprise that we have never known. Always thought all the rooms opened at 1:30pm

 

Cabin We proceeded to the room and found the hallway doors closed. We slipped in behind an employee who was coming out of the locked hall door and walked to our cabin. Sure enough they were both open and ready. The room is clean but dated (yes, its an old ship). While the room is clean and comfy, its very dusty in parts and the attention to detail (dusting, wiping downt he corners of the bathroom, under fixtures, etc) is lacking.

 

Perks We received a CCL Sensation pin (for each of us) and coupons for free drinks as a VIP. The free drink coupon is only good for use a breakfast or lunch in the main dining room. CCL needs to make this coupon good for anytime anywhere, not just in the MDR during restricted times. The VIP gift was a tervis tumbler which was a nice surprise - far better than a picture frame or binoculars like in the past.

 

MDR We took advantage of the Your Time Dining which we enjoy. The staff was fine but the food this trip was mediocre at best. Nothing wowed us this time and quite frankly, what was once our favorite ship and crew could not quite cut the mustard this trip. Food was dry at times, and the choices have been limited. We noticed that a couple of favorite appetizers and deserts are gone, and they are no longer providing complimentary espresso and capuchino in the MDR, now there is a charge. The nightly entertainment is lacking too, same old same old and its gets less and less exciting each time. One thing that I have to say that is CCL wide; why the heck do you provide the dress code for the MDR but NEVER enforce it? Each night we sit amoung cut off jean shorts, flip flops, and tank tops on men. Just an observatin - either enforce the rules, or quit wasting the ink to print them and provide them to us.

 

Ship The Sensation is old, but in pretty good shape nonetheless. It was decorated for Christmas which was a nice surprise and they even made it "snow" three times a night in the atrium with Christmas music playing, so that was cool. One of the atrium elevators was out of service (what else is new - seems like this is always the case on a Fantasy class ship), and the decor is tacky and dated. But the common areas are clean and smell fresh, and the show room is nicely decorated. The shops are typical CCL shops hawking the same crap and the same "one day only sales". If you are a frequent cruiser you know what I mean, and for the first timers, take it all in and enjoy the experience!

 

Crew We never met our steward, but assumed it was the 2 guys we saw in the hall all the time. the TV remote broke twice and I got tired of calling to get it fixed. Not a huge deal, but when you have a 4 year old that likes to watch TV right before bed for 15 minutes, its nice to be able to change channels and turn sound down. Everyone seemed happy and freindly, but there was nothing over the top that made them shine like the starts CCL claims they are. All I hear is that this crew is the line's best, but we were not wowed.

 

Camp Carnival Our 4 year old is an ole pro here and LOVED it. He raves about it, looks forward to going and gives us a blow by blow of all the activities. Thanks the Lord for this program, they really knock it out of the park with the Camp Carnival program.

 

 

Port of Call The ship stopped in Nassau which we have been to often. The water in the Bahamas is gorgeous, but the place is basically a pit. We decided that we'd rather use the ship's water slides all day then get accosted by the locals to buy their wares, get into their cab, or smoke their weed. As a state law enforcement official, nothing drives me battier than a grown man offering my wife and kid dope, only to get crappy with me when I tell him to back off. So to avoid all this, we stayed on the ship.

 

Disembarkation Smooth Smooth Smooth! VIP lounge was set up at 7:00am, they came and got right on time and we were all escorted off the ship first and as a group. From the time they came and got us at 7:15am to the time we were boarding the shuttle back to the Radison was about 12 minutes. It doesnt get any smoother than that!

 

All in All Thankful to cruise so often and had good time. Disappointed in the Sensation but its just our opinion. While nothing wowed us, or otehrs we spoke to who were seasoned crusiers, we still made great memories on vacation!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[Rainbowfalls]

Thank you for the review :) I love hearing the good and the bad since it helps newbies like me know what to expect and not be so over the top dazzled with high hopes from so many everything's perfect reviews. Glad you guys seemed to enjoy yourselves :)

[glentally]

Thank you for the review :) I love hearing the good and the bad since it helps newbies like me know what to expect and not be so over the top dazzled with high hopes from so many everything's perfect reviews. Glad you guys seemed to enjoy yourselves :)

 

Rainbow try the walking tour we enjoyed that

[bandjwayne]

I got a question for you. We are going on the Sensation and read that they had a room key and a S&S card. Is this true? Either way is fine, just was wondering. Thanks for the great review. I can't wait to get on board