Mike Baima

Age: 30
Occupation: Teacher
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Sensation
Sailing Date: June 18th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Upon arrival at the terminal my wife and I were sent straight to the Skippers Club and were allowed to go ahead of the rest of the passengers. I loved that. We did have to wait to get the pre cruise picture taken of course. Once on board though we were quite surprised by the ship.

The outside of the ship is showing some age and this ship is in need of a good dry-docking. There are some stains on the outside and some rust visible near the windows in some areas. On the inside, it was nicely decorated and looked pretty good considering it was a 12-year-old ship. I could easily see how some could consider the purple interior tacky or bad, but I didn't think it to terrible. Our room was quite nice. We had a suite with a balcony (V1). The room was nice sized and clean. It did show a bit of wear but if you weren't looking for it, you didn't notice. The bathroom was large and very clean. Our room steward (Ann) was a delight and always had the room in tiptop shape with ice and drinks ready to go if we needed them. She always had a kind word for us when she would see us and often stopped what she was doing to say hi and wish us a good day.

The food was good and definitely plentiful. The dining rooms offered a wide variety of choices for dinner. If you want to try some foods you normally wouldn't eat, this is your chance. I tried several different dishes for the first time here. Sometimes the food was very good while at others it was just so so. Our waiter was good and made excellent suggestions. The bar waiter was also good. The breakfast and lunch buffets varied in quality. This usually depended on what was being offered. The deli was excellent. I recommend trying that out immediately. You will not be disappointed. Oh yes, the dinner performances are a nice touch and bring some humor to your meals.

The entertainment was very good. The shows were well put together. The main singers were excellent and the dancers were very good. Bring your camera to the shows. You cannot take pictures of the shows themselves but after the first performance on our cruise, you could take photos of the cast. The nonstop singing dancing and changes of clothes will surprise you. Outside of the singing and dancing, there were two comedians as well as a magician during our cruise. The comedians were great while the magician was a little hokey. The "R" rated comedy shows at midnight were a hoot. There are other activities taking place on board all day long. Read the info they provide for you every night. It will give you some ideas on things to do.

The pools are small yes but you can find a place to relax on board. I recommend the upper most pool on the back of the ship. That area is actually pretty peaceful compared to the main pool. Some of the areas can get crowded but there are plenty of deck chairs to go around.

Our first stop in Costa Maya was disappointing simply because of the rain. All the shore excursions were cancelled. We were allowed to go to shore after the rain let up. There really isn't a lot to do here but shop and grab some food and drink here. Costa Maya is not a largely populated area and is basically for shore excursions and some minimal shopping. Cozumel on the other hand was better. We headed off to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, which were breathtaking. We were a little disappointed in the way you were taken to a tourist specific area before making it to the ruins. The snack provided was also disappointing (soda and chips). The ruins were worth the trip though. We made it back to Cozumel with plenty of time to do some shopping. The shopping is good on the pier but better in downtown Cozumel itself. Head downtown for some shopping and good drinks (Senor Frogs). There are lots of excursions in both ports so do your research on what you want to do. Book early. Some sell out quickly. I would book through the Carnival web site or book immediately when you get on the ship

The vast majority of the staff were very friendly. There was the occasional staff member that seemed to be wishing they were somewhere else but I didn't let it bother me and you should not either. Cruise director Greg and Asst director Shannon are very friendly and good at what they do. They try to appease all the passengers with various forms of entertainment. The Social Hosts also try their best to keep the guests entertained with activities, games, etc.

Our experience overall was very good and I would recommend this ship and its cruise to anyone. The service was very good and the little things like the gift basket of toiletries was nice. Some of the shopping is very good. Look for the inch of pearls of $1.00 when in Cozumel (yes, real pearls). Good food and good drinks. Stay away from the plastic bottles though. They were never cold enough. The positives greatly outweighed the negatives and my wife and I are already planning our next trip on the Sensation.