We went on the 3-day Sensation cruise on January 14 to Nassau departing from Port Canaveral.

Embarkation: Embarkation was swift and painless. We arrived at Port Canaveral from Carnival's precruise airport transfer by about 11:45. We were on the ship by noon and headed straight to the Lido deck for lunch.

Food: The menu featured an Italian theme at lunch, and all of the food was tasty and decent. It included chicken marsala, a few tasty fish dishes, pasta, etc. There was also the pizza bar, a deli bar, and various salads (and many desserts, of course). We noticed a lot of healthy options at lunch and at dinner (whole grain rolls, veggie burgers, broiled fish, etc.) Outside at the grill, there were hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, nachos, rotisserie chicken, and choose-your-own Mongolian stir fry. We ate inside and outside a few times, and all of the food was very decent. The lines outside at the height of the lunch hour got a bit long, but we simply waited until later since we had the late dinner seating. Evening meals in the dining room were also very good. Appetizer choices ranged from shrimp cocktail, French onion soup, crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms, to fried shrimp, among others. Entrees were also decent. I had the steak with wine sauce, and I was surprised that it was as tender as it was and that the sauce was as subtle and tasty as it was. Formal night included lobster and grilled shrimp, prime rib, and some fish offerings. Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the very decent quality of the food. The food was not 5-star gourmet, of course, but it was much, much better than we expected. The waiter offered us seconds at every meal and was more than happy to customize our order if we wanted. My wine order did get confused two nights in a row, but that was not a big deal. Read more