Mary

Age: 51
Occupation: COTA
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Sensation
Sailing Date: August 2nd, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

We decided to take a family cruise (could be our last before kids marry, grandchildren, etc. ages 17,21,25). We all had a fantastic time. It was much more than I ever expected.

The food was FANTASTIC. We ate all of our meals in the dining room except for 2 lunches on the Lido deck. The meals were gourmet with so many choices. It was difficult to choose often so we would order more than one appetizer, entre' or dessert. Service was unbelievable. They were so accomodating and very nice/friendly.

We always had something fun to do. We enjoyed wonderful shows, commedians, majic act, casinos, in room movies, trivia games, tours, etc.

We were advised to go off the ship to make our own excursion plans. Great suggestion. We saw as much or more than others for 1/2 to 1/3 what they paid. Plus we were able to control our schedule/times by hiring our own taxi. We rode a boat to go snorkeling and swim with the stingrays on Grand Cayman. Stingray swimming was good, snorkeling, disappointing. Not that much coral or not good fish. However, on Cozumel, the snorkeling (3 sights) was fantastic! Coral and fish were beautiful. After that excursion we got back on the ship, showered, ate lunch and went out again. We hired a taxi for the Mayan ruins (we had him make a stop to buy jewelry)- ruins wasn't much, allow about 1/2 hour- then we went on a beautiful ride along the other side of the island. Nice waves and many surfers-beautiful! NOTE: we were told to not give asking prices--VERY TRUE- we negotiated for all of our tours and got discounts and we also negotiated for sunglasses and jewelry.

I had the best vacation of my life. We have traveled extensively-all over US, Canada, Europe, Australia. This was the first vacation that I wasn't ready to come home. I will definitely cruise again. Carnival was wonderful and I highly recommend it. I wonder if other cruise lines are as enjoyable??