Overall, this was a great cruise.  With a diamond status on RCCL, I haven’t been on a Carnival cruise in nearly 14 years, but was looking for something “New”. I stumbled across their Carnival Live concert series entirely by accident. Being a huge Kansas fan, I decided to give them another try. My expectations were low, but was genuinely impressed.

For those who haven’t heard of the Carnival Live Concert series, heres a quick rundown. Carnival has booked a dozen or so major acts to perform a live concert in the ship’s main theater. They extend the stay in port long enough to allow the band time to do a night show after the second seating dining and get off the ship to do another show the next night on a different ship. The Sensation was scheduled to stay in Nassau until 1 A.M. They seem to have targeted the 3-5 day cruises, which makes it economical for those who are primarily interested in the band and not the ports of call. They offer a VIP price that included a photo with the band, autographed pictures, first 3 row seating. Normal tickets aren’t bad for the concert which ran $20, and VIP ran $100, but these prices vary with the band. After seeing this band many times in large arenas in the many years past, it was quite nice to be able to see them in a more intimate environment of the fantasy class ship theater. The show is a one set show, about 90 minutes long, and Kansas proved they can still rock a boat after 40 years! I’ve booked the Chicago cruise out of Tampa for the end of May.

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