Back From Sensation (9/7 - 9/10)

[letscruisegd]

I just returned from the Sensation and I had a wonderful time. I was a little concerned due to not so positive reviews but I went with a positive mind set and my cruise was great.

 

Embarkation – We drove down the morning of the cruise and arrived at the port much earlier than we anticipated. I usually go down the night before but the people I cruised with were not able to re-arrange their work schedules. We arrived at the port around 9:45. We didn’t try to get over to the porters because we could clearly see passengers still leaving from the previous cruise. We instead headed to the parking lot, paid the fee and just found a place to sit and relax until we could go in. Right around 10:30 we decided to check to see if they were allowing arriving passengers to check in and they were. We took our luggage to the porters and went to check in. Of course that early there was no line so check in took just a few minutes. We had a seat in the waiting area until boarding started (which was around 11:45). Once on the ship, we headed to the lido deck for lunch.

 

The Ship – I’ve been on a couple of the Fantasy class ships so I knew what to expect. My traveling companions (a friend and her dad) however were cruising for the first time and they thought the ship was nice as soon as we entered (lots of purple). We explored the ship after having lunch so they could become familiar with where everything is. I’ve read several posts about the ship being dirty. I did not experience this. The staff kept the ship extremely clean throughout our cruise. Also read a lot about sewer smells. I didn’t experience this in my room however occasionally as I was walking down the hall to get to my friend and her dads room, there was a slight smell. My room steward was excellent. He came and introduced himself within about 10 minutes of my arriving in the room. I never had to ask for anything. He kept the room spotless and also made sure I always had ice. He left towel animals each night as well. There were a couple of times we had to wait for a table to be cleaned in the casual dining area. Just a few minutes though…I feel the staff did a good job of keeping the tables clear.

 

Food – As with any vacation, there were things that were very good and things that were not so good. Everything I had in the dining room was great. On my last cruise the lobster was somewhat overcooked and not very good. On this cruise it was cooked perfectly. As well as the prime rib. I had tilapia one night and it also was quite delicious. The buffet food was hit or miss. Pizza was pretty good this time as well as the burgers. We didn’t have breakfast or lunch in the dining room so I can’t comment on that.

 

Nassau – I’ve been to Nassau several times so I didn’t plan any excursions. My friend and I just walked around. Although this was her first visit to Nassau, she was fine with just walking around. Her dad didn’t leave the ship with us. He chose to wander around on his own. We went back to the ship after a couple of hours. She was fine staying on the ship the rest of the day. We spent time on the lido deck enjoying the band later that afternoon.

 

Nightlife – Karaoke was quite entertaining as usual. My friends dad sang and she was going to but she got cold feet and changed her mind. We didn’t go to any of the shows so I can’t comment on those. We did however go to adult comedy show and neither of us was impressed. The Kaleidoscope club was a blast each night. The DJ kept the crowd on the dance floor and the place was packed. I don’t know how late they stayed open because I left a little after 1am.

 

Debarkation – Our deck was called around 9:00 and we were off the ship within 20 minutes. Fortunately the people onboard followed the procedures and did not crowd the stairwells and the lobby.

 

Only one negative – I applied shipboard credits to my account prior to sailing. I didn’t bother to check the balance when I boarded because I just assumed since I had my receipts the amounts were on my S&S account. When I returned to my room on the 2nd night, there was a note under my door stating that my account was inactive to do lack of funds. I took my receipts to the pursers’ desk to have them check to see what happened. I had to fill out a form to be sent to accounting for them to research. All turns out only $25 had been credited to my account (the first credit I purchased). The second purchase ($75) was not added to the account. I only planned to place $100 on there because for a 3 day cruise I knew I wouldn’t spend much. Outside of gratuities I only spent an additional $16. Anyway, when I went back to the pursers’ desk to follow up, the accounting department stated they only had record of the $25 credit. They stated there was no record of the second order that was placed (I placed each order online). Since I knew I would spend very little on the ship, I went and placed a deposit to my S&S to make sure gratuities were covered and I made a note of each person I spoke with and got contact information to follow up with if I was in fact charged for a credit that was not placed on my account. The ladies I spoke with about the problem were both cordial and professional when trying to handle this issue. I was okay with their efforts (not happy, just okay). This will not make me stop cruising with Carnival but I will certainly check my balance ahead of time if I choose to apply credits prior to cruising.

 

Overall a great cruise. I’m looking forward to my next one on which I will finally receive the Platinum perks.

 

Happy cruisin’

[LHP]

I just returned from the Sensation and I had a wonderful time. I was a little concerned due to not so positive reviews but I went with a positive mind set and my cruise was great.

 

Embarkation – We drove down the morning of the cruise and arrived at the port much earlier than we anticipated. I usually go down the night before but the people I cruised with were not able to re-arrange their work schedules. We arrived at the port around 9:45. We didn’t try to get over to the porters because we could clearly see passengers still leaving from the previous cruise. We instead headed to the parking lot, paid the fee and just found a place to sit and relax until we could go in. Right around 10:30 we decided to check to see if they were allowing arriving passengers to check in and they were. We took our luggage to the porters and went to check in. Of course that early there was no line so check in took just a few minutes. We had a seat in the waiting area until boarding started (which was around 11:45). Once on the ship, we headed to the lido deck for lunch.

 

The Ship – I’ve been on a couple of the Fantasy class ships so I knew what to expect. My traveling companions (a friend and her dad) however were cruising for the first time and they thought the ship was nice as soon as we entered (lots of purple). We explored the ship after having lunch so they could become familiar with where everything is. I’ve read several posts about the ship being dirty. I did not experience this. The staff kept the ship extremely clean throughout our cruise. Also read a lot about sewer smells. I didn’t experience this in my room however occasionally as I was walking down the hall to get to my friend and her dads room, there was a slight smell. My room steward was excellent. He came and introduced himself within about 10 minutes of my arriving in the room. I never had to ask for anything. He kept the room spotless and also made sure I always had ice. He left towel animals each night as well. There were a couple of times we had to wait for a table to be cleaned in the casual dining area. Just a few minutes though…I feel the staff did a good job of keeping the tables clear.

 

Food – As with any vacation, there were things that were very good and things that were not so good. Everything I had in the dining room was great. On my last cruise the lobster was somewhat overcooked and not very good. On this cruise it was cooked perfectly. As well as the prime rib. I had tilapia one night and it also was quite delicious. The buffet food was hit or miss. Pizza was pretty good this time as well as the burgers. We didn’t have breakfast or lunch in the dining room so I can’t comment on that.

 

Nassau – I’ve been to Nassau several times so I didn’t plan any excursions. My friend and I just walked around. Although this was her first visit to Nassau, she was fine with just walking around. Her dad didn’t leave the ship with us. He chose to wander around on his own. We went back to the ship after a couple of hours. She was fine staying on the ship the rest of the day. We spent time on the lido deck enjoying the band later that afternoon.

 

Nightlife – Karaoke was quite entertaining as usual. My friends dad sang and she was going to but she got cold feet and changed her mind. We didn’t go to any of the shows so I can’t comment on those. We did however go to adult comedy show and neither of us was impressed. The Kaleidoscope club was a blast each night. The DJ kept the crowd on the dance floor and the place was packed. I don’t know how late they stayed open because I left a little after 1am.

 

Debarkation – Our deck was called around 9:00 and we were off the ship within 20 minutes. Fortunately the people onboard followed the procedures and did not crowd the stairwells and the lobby.

 

Only one negative – I applied shipboard credits to my account prior to sailing. I didn’t bother to check the balance when I boarded because I just assumed since I had my receipts the amounts were on my S&S account. When I returned to my room on the 2nd night, there was a note under my door stating that my account was inactive to do lack of funds. I took my receipts to the pursers’ desk to have them check to see what happened. I had to fill out a form to be sent to accounting for them to research. All turns out only $25 had been credited to my account (the first credit I purchased). The second purchase ($75) was not added to the account. I only planned to place $100 on there because for a 3 day cruise I knew I wouldn’t spend much. Outside of gratuities I only spent an additional $16. Anyway, when I went back to the pursers’ desk to follow up, the accounting department stated they only had record of the $25 credit. They stated there was no record of the second order that was placed (I placed each order online). Since I knew I would spend very little on the ship, I went and placed a deposit to my S&S to make sure gratuities were covered and I made a note of each person I spoke with and got contact information to follow up with if I was in fact charged for a credit that was not placed on my account. The ladies I spoke with about the problem were both cordial and professional when trying to handle this issue. I was okay with their efforts (not happy, just okay). This will not make me stop cruising with Carnival but I will certainly check my balance ahead of time if I choose to apply credits prior to cruising.

 

Overall a great cruise. I’m looking forward to my next one on which I will finally receive the Platinum perks.

 

Happy cruisin’

 

Glad to see the Sensation is still giving a good ride for the money. Hope your financial situation is handled correctly. I will indeed remember to double check things like that first thing when I board!!

[boowaaccaa]

Do you have pic's? What kind of room did you have?

 

We are going on the 4 night on Oct.1--very exicted!

[dashadow]

Thanks for your review, good to read good things about the Sensation. We had such a good time on our first cruise on the Imagination this past June we had to do it again and Carnival has such a great military rate on their 3 day for November, we couldn't say no. Just the 2 of us this time. First time to Bahamas. Anyhow thanks for the good words, makes you feel involved in the vacation when you get to read a little on whats up and coming.

[letscruisegd]

Glad to see the Sensation is still giving a good ride for the money. Hope your financial situation is handled correctly. I will indeed remember to double check things like that first thing when I board!!

 

After doing further research, it looks like my order for onboard credit did not fully process. I checked my bank statement and all turns out the $75 credit purchase was never taken from my bank (debit card) account. Only the $25 purchase was taken. So the information the accounting department had onboard was correct. I'll probably try applying onboard credits prior to crusing again (since I like to pre-pay as much as possible) but this time I'll check to make sure the amount was taken from my bank account after I receive the confirmation email from Carnival.

[letscruisegd]

Do you have pic's? What kind of room did you have?

 

We are going on the 4 night on Oct.1--very exicted!

I don't have any pics. I had my camera but I didn't make a point to take pics. I was in a category 1A room on the upper deck (U167). Anytime I'm in a room alone I select this category because to my knowledge, this is the only category where the charge is not the full double occupancy rate. The cost of my room was actually less than the per person charge for my friend and her dad. With only one bed on the floor this room is perfect for solo cruisers. The price is also the same regardless of the deck you're on unlike the other categories. The room was near the stairs and elevators and I had no problem with noise. Enjoy your cruise :).

[letscruisegd]

Thanks for your review, good to read good things about the Sensation. We had such a good time on our first cruise on the Imagination this past June we had to do it again and Carnival has such a great military rate on their 3 day for November, we couldn't say no. Just the 2 of us this time. First time to Bahamas. Anyhow thanks for the good words, makes you feel involved in the vacation when you get to read a little on whats up and coming.

You're quite welcome. I know how I am with trying to find info on ships when I have an upcoming cruise so I try to return the favor after I cruise. I'm sure you're going to have a great cruise.

[Breucklin]

When was formal nite?? im going on the 4 day cruise with sensation...i hope its not on tues when were in nassau all day...

 

Thanks

[letscruisegd]

When was formal nite?? im going on the 4 day cruise with sensation...i hope its not on tues when were in nassau all day...

 

Thanks

Formal night was on the 2nd night of the cruise (Friday). This is the night we were docked in Nassau.

[divadiverfl]

Sounds great--we leave Thursday on her. We wll be in the disco. Plan on staying on the Island all day and some night life.:D :)

[BAHAMAS BOUND]

Wow, we leave in 4 days and sail in 5. the excitement is incredible. First cruise. 9/21!!!:)

[mullet]

Great Review! Thanks for taking the time.

[bguppies]

When was formal nite?? im going on the 4 day cruise with sensation...i hope its not on tues when were in nassau all day...

 

Thanks

 

Just got off the 4 day.

The formal night is the 2nd night after you leave Freeport.

Not while docked overnight in Nassau.

 

Bill

[bguppies]

Glad you enjoyed the Sensation as much as we did.

My Wife and I were boarding right after you got off.

 

We experienced NONE of the things we saw in the bad reviews of the Sensation on these boards.

No foul odors in our cabin or in any hallways we walked.

 

The ships was extremely clean and well kept.

The only wear I noticed was the rust outside the window in the formal dining room.

I'm sure if I wasted my time combing over every nook and cranny of the ship with a fine tooth comb, I could discover some carpet discolorations or scratches on walls or doors.

 

Basically, I can't imagine how anyone with any kind of decent attitude could have a bad time on this ship. (if you come on board looking for problems, I'm sure you'll find them and ruin your own time.)

 

The staff was great. (a few of the fellow cruisers who were ill tempered and rude to the staff deserved to get smacked)

 

I'll try to post a full review tommorrow sometime.

 

Bill