Carisa Chambers

Age: 38
Occupation: Telecom Service Manager
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Sensation
Sailing Date: May 6th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

This was the first cruise I have been on, but not my last!! Thanks to this website and tons of research on the internet I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I found myself pleasantly surprised that most of the negative things I have read I did not experience and that most of the positive things, I did.

I was invited on this 4 day Cozumel cruise by my friend, to join a party of what turned out to be 14 women celebrating Mother's Day and we had a wonderful time.

Embarkation: Smooth and painless. We arrived at Tampa port early, 11:30am. We sat in the terminal while we waited, no picture taking allowed by the way! Time flew as we got to know eachother and anticipated our adventure. We were the 3rd group to be called to board and we were on the ship by 1:30pm.

The room:
We had an outside cabin, Riviera 48, fit 3 women comfortably. Plenty of closet space! We never used the extra electrical outlet that was recommended in another review. The extra hangers came in handy, but there were plenty already there. My bed was wonderful, very comfortable and I loved the pillows. My friend said the bunk bed wasn’t that great, probably better for kids. The colors were neutral, nothing fancy, comfortable. The bathrooms were decent size, enough room in the shower to move around. There were plenty of towels and hooks to hang things. There was a complimentary basket of sample toiletries and a large medicine cabinet. The outside rooms come with 2 nice terry cloth robes to use. I have never cruised before, so I can’t compare the value of this room with others on higher decks or those rooms in the middle of the ship. I found the location of our room extremely convenient and had no problem getting anywhere on the ship. I do not think I would pay more just for a room on a higher level. I did not hear any disturbing noises and enjoyed the slight rocking of the ship while I slept.

After checking out our rooms we changed into our suits and explored the ship and found lounge chairs around the pool on the lido deck and started with a drink of the day, listening to the band playing music with a Carribean beat. Prices for drinks are the same as any restaurant or bar. I found it very convenient having the tip added automatically and I loved the sign and sail card, much more convenient then using cash. There was no water in the pool yet, it gets filled with ocean water the next day, however the hot tub was full, so we cooled off in there. The water was nice, not hot, very refreshing, exactly what we needed as the boat was still docked and we were very hot. As the boat left port I stood in the front of the boat and dolphins were swimming around, what a sight!

After our drinks we headed to the Seaview grill, same deck, for a buffet lunch. They served hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, salads, deserts, and drinks on the outer portion. Inside they served hot entrees, two different sides had totally different entrees, so always check out both sides. There is also a salad bar, deli, pizza station and bar. I found the food good all around.

At 4, we had the mandatory life jacket drill, we were lucky, ours was in one of the lounges. It went by a lot quicker then I expected.

Dining: We had the early dinner, 2nd seating 6:15, in the Fantasy dining room, which worked just fine for our group. The service was very efficient and friendly, the waiters were not as boisterous as I had read in reviews from others. But still very pleasant. The food was wonderful. Everything I ordered, was really good. Not just the presentation of the food, which was fine cuisine, but the taste of it too. Absolutely terrific! Anytime I had a difficult time deciding I just ordered one of each which apparently they are used to. The maitre de was a lot of fun. I enjoyed eating breakfast in the dining room, you can get pretty much whatever is on the buffet, the buffet has a few more items, but the food is hotter in the dining room and you get served, cant beat that. I enjoyed lunches on the lido deck since I did not want to spend any time getting dressed, and again, the food was always good.

After dinner a few people went to the welcome show in the lounge, they enjoyed it, said the cruise director was funnier then the comedian, which I found to be true at a different show later in the week. I discovered the piano bar and had such great fun singing along with Daren and the patrons there. I spent some time in there every night.

I stayed up for the R rated comedian. The lounge was packed, he was OK, not great, only performed for 30 minutes.

There is so much to do if you want. There were several bars with different types of music, the casino, the shows, the shops, plenty to do. We spent the next day soaking in the sun and hanging out on the deck above the lido deck. I did not participate in anything because I just wanted to relax. But they had a lot of things going on, bingo, demonstrations, day at port talk, games, etc.

Cozumel: I researched this and what I really wanted to do was take the tour to the Mayan ruins, but I had no other takers there. My friend and a couple of others went on the submarine tour, which they booked prior to the cruise on their own because it was less expensive then what Carnival charged. They enjoyed that. My second option was to go to the much talked about Chakanaab Park. That is where we headed, after a couple of margaritas at Fat Tuesdays which is right at the end of the pier along with a slew of souvenier shops. I did not like haggling with the locals, but did so a couple of times, once for an item I wanted for myself. He started at 25 got him down to 17 for a pair of birds carved out of stone. Then again for a simple shell bracelet that one place wanted $5 for, but it was too small, I had to visit 3 other stands before I could get a vendor to agree to the $5 price for the item, which they sell here for the same price too! There were two shops where the prices were already on the items, I found the prices very reasonable and enjoyed shopping in those stores.

Chakanaab park was very nice, everything I read was very accurate. It is now $12 to get in, but worth it, it was quiet and lovely. There was a restaurant, lockers and for an extra charge you can swim with the dolphins or see a sea lion show. No additional charge to walk thru the Mayan ruins replica nature trail where I stumbled upon a giant Iguana..wow. This was my first time snorkeling, it was very nice. Definately suitable for 1st timers, might not be colorful enough for experienced snorkelers.

There was a great party happening on the Lido deck that night, but unfortunately I missed it, I was too tired from the activities and Margaritas in Mexico, but the rest of the group had a blast. I won’t miss it next time!

2nd day at sea: Spent pretty much same as first, sitting by the pool, watching the various games and shows at the lido deck. There is a Carnival Caper left in your room each night listing the schedule of all the events, this is very informative, keep it handy so you don’t miss what you are interested in. We went to the liquor tasting and what fun! They were running a special, with a $30 purchase you get a bottle of their house liquor free. Be careful how much liquor you buy, you will have to go thru customs and pay a tax on anything over their allotted amount. But don’t worry, the tax is not much, one lady had like 9 bottles and only had to pay about $10. Just try to get on line early the day of debarkation because everyone buys a lot.

Debarkation: Were almost the last group to get off the ship because we have the lowest level rooms and our flights out were later in the day, so they did not rush us off. This was kind of nice, because we didn’t have to rush around and had plenty of time for breakfast and last minute shopping. We were out of our room by 8:30 and off the ship by 11:00.

The only places I noticed wear on the ship, was the shower tiles and public restrooms floor tiles. Room for improvement: The deli, they only had one person making sandwiches, the line was long and slow. Breakfast selections remained the same. They did not offer Blueberry pancakes or something different like that. You had the basic pancakes, French toast, etc. In the dining room you could get eggs benedict though.

There were not a lot of kids on this cruise, so if you want peace and quiet, the best time to cruise is when the kids are in school. I did not witness any rude or obnoxious behavior, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Overall I was very pleased with Carnival and the Sensation, definitely not as gaudy as others have portrayed it. I found all of their staff friendly and the ship to be very clean and nicely decorated. The cruise was a great value and I would sail her again. Our next trip is already planned, a five day with the family on the Imagination. I can’t wait!!