I booked this cruise to surprise my husband for his 50th birthday.This was our 4th time sailing on the Sensation, our 10th cruise with 7 of these being with Carnival,and we were very disappointed this time. Living very close to Port Canaveral it is a nice option to have for a short vacation.

Prior to boarding I was called by Carnival to see if I would be interested in an upgrade and I took this offer when I spoke with the representative she had made arrangements for my husbands birthday at our dining. After booking with the upgrade I purchased online the birthday package cake and decorations to be brought to the room during the day while we were at port in Nassau. Putting my trust in Carnival was a mistake. I came on board with nothing because I had believed the cake,decorations, etc.. would be handled.

Boarding the ship was great I would recommend priority booking to anyone,this made boarding comfortable and effortless. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. We arrived about 12:30 -1:00 and was told that our room was not ready.We purchased the "Cheers" drink package, I don't feel that it is fair for the shorter cruises the price is higher because we definitely did not get our moneys worth on this.This should be a flat rate for all cruises without the drink restrictions. We have noticed in the past that the food on the longer cruises has been better and we still feel this way. Again with this being our 4th time on the Sensation we already anticipated the long lines and lack of choices compared to other boats, nothing has changed here. I have always boasted to friends and family that the service with Carnival is much better than other cruise lines. The Sensation seems to be lacking in this aspect. The service on this boat was much better in the past. The dining staff,room stewards, casino staff and bar service would always refer to you by name and know what you need. We were disappointed that we didn't have this on this trip.It almost felt that the boat was under staffed. Long waits at the bar or you would wait forever for bar service at any of the gaming tables in the casino, and don't even think that you could get a drink if you were playing slots, we would have to leave and go to the bar to get a drink ourselves and then wait in a huge line because only one or two bartenders would be working. The casino has also made some changes. Newer slot machines which was probably needed but it seems to be focusing more on the penny slots.But more importantly the payout was not there. On past cruises we could at least win a little to make you want to keep playing but not anymore. We spent 3x more than we won.And also speaking with other guest that had sailed this boat before they felt the same way. We were not alone,no one was enjoying the casino as they had in the past. Read more