The Introduction: I am a 24 year old male in the public service field. This was my fifth cruise with Carnival, and my second on the Sensation. I was accompanied by my girlfriend, mother, aunt and grandparents. The cruise was scheduled for three days out of Port Canaveral to Nassau. Both grandparents are elderly, and my grandfather is wheelchair bound due to a stroke. That makes this review possibly useful for disabled or elderly passengers, or those traveling with them.

The Embarkation: We arrived at the cruise terminal around 12:30 PM and quickly unloaded the luggage and parked. The process at Port Canaveral is very smooth. I have sailed out of Miami and Tampa; neither can match the ease of Canaveral. This is mainly due to the port not being in a metropolitan area. The Bee-Line expressway (SR. 528) takes you right to it, and there is no city traffic to deal with. There is no parking garage at the Sensation's pier, only a big lot, which is either bad or good depending on one's preference. Once inside the terminal, embarkation went quickly. There were elevators for the handicapped that were easily accessible. There were also attendants at the gangway to help us get my grandfather on board. They also sent two crewmen to their room before the life boat drill to assist my grandfather and escort him through the process. They lead him back to the room afterwards, and were very friendly. This was very nice, since he is in his 80's, and had trouble navigating the ship.

The Ship: I took a seven day cruise on Sensation in 1999 when it was based in Tampa. The ship has held up fairly well, and was immaculately clean. There were visible signs of wear in the staterooms, but nothing out of the ordinary for a 15 year old "fun ship" that has seen its fair share of kids, teens and blue collar folks. The ship got minor upgrades to certain areas, but not the staterooms. If Carnival fully remodels the Sensation like they did the Fascination, it will look great again. Anyone planning a cruise on the Sensation needs to keep in mind that it was built in 1993, and the dEcor has not been upgraded much since then. There is lots of neon purple everywhere. Being a fan of the 1980s, I always got a kick out of the "Touch of Class" piano bar. It has two huge plastic hands (one black, one white) complete with nail polish that frame the doorway to the bar. The same huge hands adorn the walls, and act as bar stools. Every time I entered, I thought I would hear Duran Duran playing in the background. My grandparents had a fully accessible handicap room. It was set up very well, and they had no problems. It had an even floor from the room to the bathroom, where the normal cabins have a step up. There were rails around the commode and shower. It also had wider doors to accommodate my grandfather's power chair. The Food: As with any cruise, there is never a shortage of food. I found the meals in the dining room during dinner to be top notch. We had the 5:45 dinner in the Ecstasy dining room. Our wait staff was superb. Our waiter was excellent and even cut my grandfather's food for him since he has no use of his right side. The food in the Seaview Bar and Grill was also good. The Sensation's 24 hour pizzeria was the best I've had so far. Read more