Carnival
Sensation
7 Day Western Caribbean

Tim Severio

Age: 40
Occupation: Chemical Plant Operator
Number of Cruises: 2
Sailing Date: July 16th, 2005

Specific Itinerary: My wife and I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. We booked with a large group of friends and family that totaled 17 adults and 11 kids ranging in age from 6 to 17. Our projected destinations were Costa Maya, and Cozumel. Prior to sailing, it was obvious that we would not sail to the Yucatan. Hurricane Emily was heading straight for it. We called Carnival and local travel agents. Carnival said that Costa Maya would be canceled but Cozumel was going to be fine. Local travel agent thought we may be directed other ports after taking off.

Embarkation: Seemed to take a long time. Really about an hour and a half. I had two ocean view cabins, on the empress deck. My wife and I had a cabin that was perfect. My mother in law and 3 boy’s had a cabin that was great, except for the air conditioner. It never worked. Efforts were made by maintenance staff, but it only got a little better.

Our cabin was pretty close to the atrium, which was nice and convenient . We had a great cabin steward, Brenda. We met were on the third day. Every time we entered the cabin, it was perfect.

Food: I expected great, and it was even better than I expected. Great variety on buffets and at dinner. We loved the fresh vegetables and fruit, and there was the spa menu including special diet needs listed. Pizza, deli sandwiches, burgers and fries could have been selected by the younger travelers, but they always seemed to like some of the featured items. My three sons liked trying new things, including squid and escargot at dinner. We almost skipped dinner for the rear deck buffet one night, but our boys would not miss dinner. The midnight buffet, with the ice sculptures is something to see.

Some of our group got the soft drink cards, My wife and I drank the tea and other provided beverages. They were fine for us.

Entertainment: Not going to port at all made it tough to keep the younger travelers happy. The Camp Carnival schedule was not as age appropriate as it should have been. My 8 year old and his 2 friends from home were not impressed with the activities. Babysitting service was sub par because the kids were forced to lay on the floor and watch 10 year old movies, at a $6/hr charge. There could have been more options.

The early dinner seating will probably work better for groups with younger travelers. There were a few activities that our late dinner conflicted with.

All of the adults and teenagers in our group liked the shows. The Mambo show was great, the comedian, and the guest talent shows were also great. The Magic show was good for the youngsters. Some really old used up tricks. The orchestra on this ship is incredible. The family karaoke was fun. There was lots of things to do at all times. The music on the pool deck was good. If you want to hear a Jimmy Buffet or similar song, you may need to provide your own singer. The band could play really well.

Destinations: This was a special entertaining feature. With passengers having global positioning devices on board, and maps purchased from the ship’s gift store, there were no secrets about where we were at all times. When we were told that Cozumel was not going to happen, we were also told that we would get as close as possible to enhance our experience. We had just made a 270 mile circle and were headed north and continued north until we reached New Orleans. It was a great time to watch people after the announcement was made.

Debarkation: We took our time. We really took too long. We were one of the last three families off of the ship. We ate a good breakfast and took our time. Ship director Greg had laid the schedule perfectly.

Final Remarks: Our port charges were refunded, and our kids quickly spent the refunds. We will have a discount on our next cruise. We do plan on taking another cruise. As long as we can get off the ship for a change of scenery we will have a better time. We rested and did lots of fun things.