Carnival Sensation was "okay." I will not cruise on this cruise ship again. Actually, I've cruised on it twice. My first cruise was really nice. But we should have upgraded to a different ship. However, I did not want to overwhelm my family who never cruised before, which was about nine people in group of 13. I think we made the right choice, for this group, but the next one we plan to cruise on a different cruise line all together. Everyone is getting older (even the kids) which was only two (11 and 13). My sister loved Royal Caribbean and I want to try MSC cruises. We will see. I hope this review was helpful.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived fairly early. Not as early as I preferred, but it was early. No lines, no drama. However, keep in mind, you will not be allowed in your cabin until 1:00 pm and it still may not be ready. Luckily, I booked a suite and was allowed to go to my room with drama. My sister and her family who had regular cabins were not allowed to go to their room. Staff were still cleaning.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
I'm a picky eater. I eat healthy and I do not eat bacon, sausage, pancakes, etc. However, they had a lot of fresh fruit selection for breakfast and they had a wonderful selection of food for lunch. They have a deli, pizza, taco station and of course Guy's burgers. I splurged and had one just see what all the fuss was about. It was pretty good. I really enjoyed the taco station. Everything was fresh. I a couple of taco salads. Dining room dinner was my favorite. They had Surf & Turf... Filet Mignon & Lobster tail. You have to pay $20 extra, but it was worth it for a picky eater like me. You're going to have to pay the gratuity anyway, you mad-as-well get served.
Ecstasy Dining Room
5 out of 5
Amazing! The food was delicious. The staff was exceptional! They made our party of 13 feel right at home.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Carnival is a family cruise. Keep that in mind. While planning, my goal was to go to the club every night and dance. Unfortunately, the Universe had other plans. I sprained my ankle really bad and could not dance. I ended up going to bingo and karaoke and a BLAST! The hosts and facilitators are amazing. I won Game of Thrones trivia that was in the lobby of the casino. I really had a lot of fun during the day. Between soaking in the hot tube in the Serenity Adult Only area to playing bingo and trivia games.
Gymnasium / Aerobics
3 out of 5
Beautiful gym. However, the yoga instructor made my friend feel free uncomfortable. He paid for yoga and bullied by the instructor. He felt very uncomfortable. They gym was really nice though. We worked on the treadmill and relaxed in the sauna.
Entertainment
I did not make it to any shows. :-(
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I recently spent two weeks in Bali, Indonesia. Most of the staff are from Indonesia. It was great talking to them about the island. They were so nice; everyone, from the staff on the deck cleaning your plate, to the dining room staff; to our cleaning crew. We tipped them extra.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
As we got closer to going on our cruise, I got worried because our suite was by the elevator. I read a few reviews that mentioned their room was near an elevator and they were miserable because of all of the noise. Well, U114 suite is directly in the middle of the ship. There is nothing directly in the middle of ship, except on the bottom flood. Hardly anyone used the elevator near our room. The elevators did not lead you to anything, not to dinner, not to entertainments, not to casino or spa. It was great. We hardly heard any commotion from the elevator crowd because there wasn't any. However, it this could not be controlled by Carnival, we had a couple in the room next to us who argued all through the night. They drank too much and would come back to their cabin and fight. My friend had to bang on their door multiple times.
Ship tip
I think Carnival Sensation is perfect for a first time cruiser. This is one of their smaller ships, so it's not so overwhelming. If you are expecting spectacular scenes, beauty and shows; you should go on a different ship.
I live in Fort Lauderdale, so it did not make since for me to visit this port. I've been to Miami many times. However, my sister visited from New Jersey and she loves the night life and restaurants before embarkation.
It was disheartening seeing so much poverty and having everyone asking you to purchase their items. It was annoying. We took a taxi and explored Ocho Rios outside of the cruise line excursions. I will cruise on this cruiseline again, but I would recommend getting an excursion with the cruiseline for Ocho Rios.
Grand Cayman is a beautiful island. The beach was amazing. My nieces and nephew really enjoyed playing the sting rays and snorkeling. You can walk on this island as if you were home (well, I live in Florida). The food was really good. The air was clean. The men in group toured the island with drink and Cuban cigars. They had a ball. Me and my sisters went to the beach and enjoyed the island's beer and gorgeous beach. This is all my fault, but I should have reserved the jet skis as soon as we arrived at the beach. My Bad! Luckily, I live in Florida. But my nephew wanted to jet ski. Next time.
MSC is great if you have patience for all of their messages are spoken in 7 languages. It was the most beautiful ship I have ever seen and I have been on many. Also, when we booked and interior room it was upgraded no charge to a balcony room. It was wonderful. Food is international as well. It is a good cruise line for the money but no comedians and a tight casino means we won't do it again.
Nice review. Trying other cruise lines is great. I've tried 3 different ones. They all have their perks and drawbacks. Don't completely write off Carnival. Try the Dream, Breeze, Vista, or Horizon. I swore off Royal Caribbean after trying the Enchantment, but tried again on the Oasis and loved it.
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