I looked forward to my 3rd Carnival cruise after an absolutely wonderful trip aboard the Carnival Elation from Mobile, AL, to Mexico. The trip aboard the Sensation had some pleasantries, but also several disappointments. First, our cabin steward, John, was great. We took advantage of Carnival's beverage policy's allowance of one 750 ml unopened bottle of wine per person, and returned to our cabin each evening to find our wine chilling in a bucket of ice (although we did have to round up our own glasses). Good thing we brought the wine, too - prices for any beverage, particularly alcoholic ones, are exorbitant aboard Carnival ships, and the head waiter and wait staff in the Ecstasy dinig room usually couldn't remember to fill my order for a glass during dinner anyway. Our head waiter (I won't specify his name) wasn't unfriendly, he just had no personality and mumbled on the few occasions when he spoke. The staff in charge of activities and entertainment, particularly the Cruise Director, Skip, lent a cheesy air to the games and so forth. I'd enjoyed these on my previous trips, but his presentation just seemed sort of swarmy to me, a little too "wink-wink, nudge-nudge," for my tastes,like an adolescent trying to entertain adults. I loved the comedian, Just June, though.The 80's themed show was kind of nice, a good fit for my age group, but the "Curves" show had some numbers that were just ... odd. For instance, I realize that the couple writhing on a rotating motorcycle was supposed to be provocative, but it almost seemed like a parody, to me. And the number with the prissy guys singing in the locker room definately seemed targeted to a specific segment of the audience. The lead female singer was phenomenal as both a singer and a dancer, but the lead male singer, although he had a fine voice, moved around as little as possible. I kept wanting to see him groove a little with the 80s music, like he might actually enjoy singing, but he didn't sell it at all. And he certainly didn't sell any inkling of interest in the female form he was assigned to celebrate in the "Curves" show. The number in which the dancers depicted all of Madonna's many self-reinventions was pretty entertaing, though. Overall, the shows weren't bad, to me; they just had some strange, somewhat ill-conceived moments.My only other complaint is about a lack of security. A group celebrating their 5-year high school reunion could've used some guidance about what's OK to do and say (loudly) around families (and us other folks who just don't want to see/hear it). Likewise, an inebriated "gentleman" who felt the need to show his privates to his fellow late-evening diners at his table in the pizza area could've used some security oversight, as well.Aside from some overly-fishy-tasting crab cakes in the fine dining one night, I thought the food was fantastic. I particularly liked the unique salad combinations on the lunchtime buffets, the Caribbean pepperpot and seafood sandwich I had at lunch in the Fantasy dining room, the many luscious desserts, and especially the lobster. Another high note - the bed in our cabin was oh-so-comfortable. And disembarkation was incredibly easy (although I recommend taking your own bags off, if you can, instead of leaving them outside the door to be picked up).