Background Information - It had been 14 years since my wife and I took a cruise for our honeymoon. I had taken two cruises prior to that. Our 13 year old daughter had never been on one, so we jumped on the internet to book a cruise. We live 30 minutes from Port Canaveral, so our options were Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival. A little research on the internet said Carnival was typically a livelier, late night crowd which made them the obvious choice for us. I am a professional now, but I was a bartender for over a decade and my wife and I met at a bar/restaurant where we worked together. Now that our daughter is older, we like to go out and have a good time. We were all three really looking forward to this vacation. Embarkation - This went mostly smooth and fast. We packed pretty light and carried on our luggage. The way they get your luggage to your room isn't very secure, and their lost luggage responsibility policy is weak. Read it and make up your own mind. One person's luggage was lost on our cruise. They put out a flyer asking someone to give it back. Keep all of your documents out until you are on the ship. They will be checked often. The Ship - The dEcor of the ship is out-dated. It feels like you are in an 80's Prince music video. Although the ship is outdated, they do keep everything very clean. In fact, I doubt you will spend a minute in any common area without seeing someone cleaning something. This is good and bad. The good is that the ship does not look worn or aged, just kind of funky. The bad is the staff gets in the way to clean. You have to constantly walk around them on the pool deck, and balance your tray and move out of their way while they sweep and bus tables in the cafeteria (that's the Sea View Bar & Grill, and trust me, it's a cafeteria). The layout of the ship isn't great. Most elevators don't go to all floors. You have to get off, go down the halls, and get another elevator to get where you are going. This is not terrible, just an inconvenience. For the first several hours on board, they use half the elevators for luggage, so the other elevators are busy. And on our cruise, many of the other passengers would not wait for the next elevator or use the stairs, They piled in beyond belief. My family and I actually got off an elevator twice during this time because so many people pushed in that it did not seem safe. This was the general nature of many of the other passengers on the ship, but more on that later. We took the stairs until the other elevators opened back up. Stateroom - We got an ocean view room on the lower deck, cabin R144. We wanted our daughter to be able to see the ocean from our room, but did not care to spend extra money on the cabin. We didn't plan to spend much more time than sleeping and getting ready in there anyway. We were on vacation to have fun, not lay around in the cabin. The amount of space was sufficient, a little crowded with the bunk down, but they put it back up during the day until fold down service. Our cabin steward introduced himself, and said hi in the hall a time or two, but other than that we did not see him. He seemed to keep our cabin in tip top shape without us ever seeing him in there. Excellent cabin service. The bad part of being on the lower deck, and the worst part of our cruise, happened at night in our cabin. The first night we got back to our cabin around 12:30 and went to sleep. At around 4AM, my wife and I both woke up to mechanical metal clanking and banging noise directly below our bed. Startled, she asked what it was. I listened a while. The period was about 1-2 seconds, not long enough to be from the sway of the boat. I told her nothing, and she was able to get back to sleep. It was another hour before I could do the same. I was tired the next day, but had mostly forgotten about it when we went to bed the next night. Same thing, around 3:30AM. This time there was grinding and vibration associated with it, and it did not sound safe. I assumed there was ship machinery below me with problems. I called the admin desk. Around 20 minutes later, someone came to the cabin, listened, looked concerned, and then said they needed someone else to hear it. Over 15 minutes later, the other person came, listened, and then went away. The desk called back and said all they could do was offer earplugs. I knew this would not help because of the vibration, but I figured I would try anyway, Unfortunately, I was right. The next day I stood in the standard 20 minute line at the Purser's desk to find out what the status was. She looked it up and told me they had dismissed it as boat sway. I assured her it was not, described the noise period, and suggested there may be a mechanical issue that they should be concerned with. I assured her this was not about upgrading cabins. I did not want to pack and move for anything. I really wanted the problem taken care of. She said she would contact ship engineering and see what they could do. She was very professional and courteous. Believe it or not, we are not to the worst part yet. Later that day, half way through our cruise, there is a letter left in our cabin. It is from ship administration saying that if we wish to pack and move our stuff, they are "pleased" to offer us another cabin, lowest category interior on the lower deck, with two twin beds on opposite sides of the cabin, at NO ADDITION COST TO US. The next two nights my daughter let me sleep on the pull down bunk and she slept on the bed with my wife. I don't know if they fixed the problem or if the extra drinks helped, but I slept through the last nights.

Dining - Our service in the main dining room was superb. Our wait team, Ivanka and a guy whose name I can't remember, were timely and friendly. My wife is also a certified etiquette consultant, so trust me when I tell you they had been schooled in fine dining service. The highlight for the dinners we ate on board were the appetizers. Any gourmet focus was placed here. Seafood entrees were decidedly industrial food source, but beef entrees were pretty good. Note: Sirloin steak is a decent alternate selection all nights if nothing strikes your fancy. Not Morton's or Peter Luger quality, but good. One Greek chicken dish our daughter ordered looked appetizing and well appointed with herbs but tasted exactly and only like chicken. Dining elsewhere was a disappointment. Long lines (20 minutes not uncommon) and self service is the name of the game. Intent of most dishes sounded good, but lacked the advertised flavors when put to the test. Forget the sushi, the one chef on board is awesome but overwhelmed trying to wait on 20 minutes lines by himself with only four items to offer. Entertainment - Good quality, but lack of consistent options. I will admit, we passed on all of the stage shows, so if that is your thing you may want to look at other reviews. The Asian Connection in Michelangelo's were fun. Four guys of Asian descent who could play and sing Journey, Skynard, Megadeath, Pink Floyd, you name it very impressively. Also, Carl in the piano bar with the creepy fingers motif was very talented, but his contract was up early this month. The problem is each of these entertainment options were only available two of the four nights, with only Karaoke to fill the gap. Did I mention I was a bartender for a decade? I hate Karaoke, although we ended up having to give it a try before it was all over. Passengers - Here was another disappointment for us. You don't stay in the profession we were in for so long without being a people person. I love social interaction with interesting strangers, and I am a pretty good judge of people. We met and hung out with several wonderful people on our cruise, but the majority of passengers honestly looked, dressed and acted like the people you see in Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning. We shop at Wal-Mart often, but we really were not expecting the average level of passenger on an international cruise to be the average level of person dressed and acting like you see on a Saturday morning grocery run. The impression that we took away from this cruise is that it is a bargain cruise, with bargain status passengers. If this is your thing for a planned vacation, you will love it. As for us, we will not go on this ship again. Shore Excursions - One pre-booked snorkel trip was cancelled due to lack of people (it rained the whole first day in Freeport), so I cannot comment. Service - The service staff on the ship tried very hard. Our dining staff was commendable, and Trynka in the Michelangelo Bar is worth finding for service. The problem was Carnival did not supply enough staff and facility to prevent long lines. I am patient and willing to wait my turn, but 15-20 minute lines for everything, while I am on vacation, is not for me. Children's Clubs - Our daughter hung out with four other girls at night for the entire cruise, specifically because Carnival sets up activities for similar aged kids to meet. They get kudos for the 11-13 age group counselor and planned activities.

Disembarkation - Quick and efficient. Here is a tip. Use the porters walking around. They get you out of the long line, through customs and out the door in minutes. And tip them even though the signs state they are on salary. Most of them carpool from Ft. Pierce three times a week to work. That in my opinion is a person willing to go the extra mile to get a jog instead of living off the government, and worth every extra dollar you give them. Summary - We had an awesome vacation. We braved the rain in Freeport, and shopped and dined in Nassau. Check the destination board for tips from our adventures. Unfortunately, Carnival Sensation was not a highlight for us. If you are extremely cost conscience, it may be your only option, and as such will probably provide you with a great experience. For us, there have to be better options, and I intend to use reviews on this website to find them.