My husband and I sailed on the Carnival Sensation, 4 day Bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral. It was our 2nd Carnival cruise and definitely not our last. We had a fantastic time. Since we came from the west coast we arrived a day early into Orlando airport. The airport is large but very easy to navigate. It is about one hour to Port Canaveral and ground transportation is simple and about $25 per person each way (through Carnival or others). We stayed at the Radisson at the Port, mid priced and good value (includes hot breakfast) with lots of families and pre cruisers and free transportation to the boat, free parking if you drove.

We arrived early and had a quick embarkation with time to explore the ship before our room was ready and before the lifeboat drill. We booked last minute (within 4 weeks) and found an exceptional deal for an outside room. There are very few balcony rooms on this ship but the oceanview rooms are fine for two. Id recommend 2 rooms for families. Bathrooms are small but its an older ship and short cruise so its fine. Steward service was excellent as was all other customer service. If you are a non smoker you will notice the odor at times but there are lots of open decks to walk on and escape the smell. Dining rooms and shows are non smoking. The casino is nice but smoky. The food wasnt as good as we expected based on our previous Carnival cruise to Mexico but it was still pretty good.

Bar service was prompt and drinks were excellent. The spa and fitness facility is new and exceptional. They do a lot of upsale on products however. They always run specials which make it more affordable. Read more