Matt Simmons

Age: 27
Occupation: Hard Worker
Number of Cruises: 3
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Sensation
Sailing Date: May 12th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Carnival’s Sensation was the third cruise in the past three years for my wife (26) and I (27). We have also been on Carnival Conquest out of New Orleans and Carnival Celebration out of Galveston, Texas. Conquest was a much newer and larger ship that sailed for seven days. Sensation and Celebration were similar in size and had an identical 4-day itinerary to Cozumel. After having a fabulous time on Conquest, our cruising fun was somewhat lowered on the “older” Celebration. With that in mind, we were a little skeptical about the Sensation. That skepticism went away quickly, however, as we were pleasantly surprised with our latest ship.

The Port of New Orleans
I believe boarding began around 1 p.m. We showed up at 2 p.m. and there was not a single person in line. We advanced right to the counter showed our birth certificate, license and ticket and were given a Sail and Sign Card and were on our way. We were on the ship less than 15 minutes after getting out of the taxi in front of the pier.

First impressions
We were warned that some of the ship’s decorations were tacky, but either they changed it or it wasn’t tacky to us. Everything was in great condition. There were no flaws we could find. Everything was clean from the walls, floors and windows. There were neon blue and green lights with two glass elevators going to the six main floors of action. With a small orchestra playing in the background, we were warmly greeted onto the ship by crew members.

The room
Like most people, we made our way to the room first so we could check it out and put our stuff down. Before we could get the key in the door we were greeted by our room steward Galina, who introduced herself and let us know if we needed anything just to ask. We purchased the balcony suite (V6) only because there were no “regular” balconies available. We had a “regular” balcony on Conquest and assumed the balcony suite on Sensation would be bigger. Well, it wasn’t. No big deal – how much time are you going to spend in the room anyway? The balcony itself was nice, although smaller than Conquest. The room was adequate, although you could see some wear and tear on the furniture. No foul smells or odors like we had experienced on the Celebration.

The Ship
The rest of the ship was very nice. We could not find a dirty or worn spot anywhere. The layout is also very well done. For the most part, all of the entertainment rooms or lounges are within two floors all around the middle of the ship. We spent many evenings in the Michelangelo Lounge for Rock Music. There was also Karaoke regularly in the Plaza Lounge. There was a Polo Lounge with a big screen full of sports and several other lounges for other interests. The main lounge where all the shows took place was also in great shape and very accommodating. There was one main pool with a waterslide, as well as several hot tubs. There were plenty of decks to lay out and get sun or simply people-watch. You could be right in the middle of the action if you chose, or you could find yourself a cozy corner for privacy. We also spent time in the work out room and the spa, which were both very nice. We won $30 playing Black Jack, but did not spend more than 20 minutes in the Casino during the trip. Too smoky, but that is the case with all casinos. We also spent time in Joe’s Internet Café checking our email from time to time.

The Food
The food was pretty good. We ate each evening in the Ecstasy Dining Room. Our waiter did not do anything wrong, but didn’t have as much personality or energy as other waiters we observed. Over the four nights we had very good Filet Minot, Shrimp, Turkey, and Salmon among other things. As usual, the waiters will sing and dance for you after the meal is served. We split our lunches between the dining room and the buffet and both had their advantages. We enjoyed both, with the buffet obviously giving you more choices. There are also deli sandwiches, pizza and ice cream available almost all day. You will fill up on food and if you don’t like something, simply ask for or go get something else.

The Entertainment
We enjoyed all of the shows. There we two performances of dancers and singers which were very entertaining and comparable to a Vegas show. The first night there was a comedy show, and we also had a balancing act and second comedian the third night. All were worth the watch. The music in the lounges was also good. There were also plenty of activities to keep you busy either inside or outside, whatever you fancy.

The Excursions
Since this was our third time to Cozumel, we decided to take a 40-minue ferry ride to Playa Del Carmen on the main land of Mexico. We went to the XCaret Park which was great. The highlight was floating down a 45-minute underground river which was very fun but relaxing. The park also offered a large beach, dolphin encounters, jaguar island, an aquarium, a butterfly pavilion among many other things. There are also five or six restaurants on site. Well worth a visit.

Debarking
We were amazed by how easy this process was. We chose the “self-assist” method and when we heard the 8 a.m. call we walked from our room off the ship, past customs and into a cab in no more than 10 minutes. Very simple. Maybe we were lucky this day. This was not the case on Conquest (about an hour) or Celebration (three hours!).

Overall summary
We had a very good time and were pleasantly surprised after expecting worse after going on a bigger ship in Conquest and a so-so experience on an older and similar sized Celebration. But this worked out perfect. The ship was just the right size, the food was great, service good and the only thing that went wrong was when we were sitting in the main lounge for a show and I had my foot rested in the bottom slot on the movie-theatre style chair in front of me when a large (i.e. 300 pound) man sat down quickly in front of me. I could not move my foot in time and I was too embarrassed (or in too much pain) to ask him to get up, so I sat for the entire show with my foot stuck up this guys’ (rear end) for the better part of an hour. With this said, we still had a great time and would recommend Carnival Sensation to anyone.