Carnival Sensation Review

FUN FUN FUN!

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Sensation
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jrm
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Apr 2008

This is my first review on anything, but other reviews I read were so helpful in planning my trip that I figured I would do the same. This was my second cruise and my wife's first. We went down to Port Canaveral the night before and stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton in Cocoa Beach. I think that staying near the port makes the whole experience a lot more relaxing and less stressful. We arrived at the cruise terminal at about 11:30 and there was already quite a crowd. The porters assisted us with our baggage and told us where to park which was $15 dollars a night. We then went inside the terminal and since we had booked a suite we got to check in at the VIP line and the whole process only took about 5 minutes. We were then seated and had to wait about 20 minutes until the boat started boarding. As I walked on the boat I did notice a slight odor, but I only noticed the smell in the atrium. After the first day I didn't notice it again. Since the cabins weren't' going to be ready until 1:30 we decided to explore the ship a little. I had cruised the Fantasy last time and the Sensation is very similar. WE started off buy buying our fun fountain cards which in my opinion is a must. Then we each decided to have a couple of the Fun Ship specials from the bar. After exploring the ship for about an hour we decided to go have a bite to eat in the seaview grill. My wife had a salad which looked very fresh. The salad bar had a nice variety. I had a slice of pizza and by the time we ate it was 1:30 and we decided to go tour room. As soon as we got to the room and opened the door I was already convinced that the suites are worth the extra money. The cabin was very spacious it had a couch that could be made into a bed and a walk in closet. The bathroom was a big improvement over one in a standard cabin. The Jacuzzi tub was very small, but I only took showers so it didn't matter. The balcony was spacious enough and was where I would end up spending a lot of my time. The muster was fairly painless and our luggage had arrived by 5pm. I had read several reviews where people had talked about all kinds of creative ways to sneak alcohol on the boat. I figured that if they were trying to process about 8,ooo pieces on board the last thing that they would be worried about was a few pints of liquor and I was right. It made it untouched. We had chosen to have an early dinner seating so that we could enjoy some of the early shows. Our dining room was the Fantasy dining room and from our cabin it was a little aggravating to get to. You either had to go up several decks and then go back down to the dining room or walk down a long hallway to get there then go up a flight of stairs. We found that the waiting area directly in front of the dining room was very cramped and we would always packed in there like sardines before the dining room would open. Our service the first night wasn't very good, but it seemed to get better after each night. Our waiter never described anything on the menu and it was almost like our table was not his highest priority. I am glad that I read previous reviews that said you could order more than 1 item of each course because several time I ordered 2 appetizers or deserts. The chocolate melting cake was really good and on formal night the lobster was very good. We went to bed early so that we could get up early the next morning. I woke up at 6am to watch the boat dock. I really enjoyed it so I got up the next 2 morning to watch the ship arrive and leave in Nassau. When we docked in Freeport it was pouring down rain and I had my fingers crossed that our jeep excursion wouldn't be rained out. The excursion was supposed to leave at 8am, but they informed us that we could wait till 9 and take our chances or get a refund. I really wanted to see the island so I took my chances and it was worth it. The weather cleared up an we had a good time. the tour was pretty much exactly as described. I thought it was worth the money. The next day we arrived in Nassau and we had booked a stingray adventure. we took a short boat ride to a little island where we were handed snorkel gear and told to have fun. After about an hour of just swimming we were each given some squid to feed the stingrays with. That was definitely a of of a kind experience. After feeding the stingrays we decided to find a chair and just lay out. Before we knew it they were calling us to board so we grabbed our free lunch to eat on the boat ride back. I wish that we could have stayed there all day. When we got back to Nassau we decided to do a little shopping. The vendors all pretty much had the same thing so you could talk all of them down on there prices. After browsing around a little we decided to go back to the ship and lay out by the pool. The pool was not too crowded as a lot of people were out and about. There were a lot of kids in the pool, but after watching them for awhile I talked my wife into going down the slide with me. I think we started a trend cause after we did it a lot of other adults started going down the slide too. The next day was just a fun day at sea and we really did have fun. We mostly just hung out by the pool and relaxed. We did go to 3 different shows while on this cruise. The first one was a dance show which featured songs and dances from the 80's. Not really my thing, but even I had to admit that it was good. The second show we went to was a comedian who was really good. We went to the adult only comedy/magic show on the last night and there wasn't many people there because the boat was moving alot and most people were in their rooms. This show is the only one I can say wasn't very good. If the guy hadn't been using the f word in every sentence it would have been kid friendly. I don't have sensitive ears at all {I work in a prison}, but I think cussing just for the sake of cussing isn't funny its just a sign of ignorance. Well the next day we debarkation day. We had to be out of the cabin by 8. We were off the boat by 8:20 and out of the parking lot by 8:30. I think that was one of the perks of staying in a suite. Overall I would say that the cruise was a very good value and I had a great time!

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