Marshall Clowers

Age: 37
Occupation: Instrument Mechanic
Number of Cruises: 3
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Sensation
Sailing Date: June 18th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

This was a multi-family vacation for us, consisting of the wife, daughter, niece, in-laws and me. We had decided to spend the night in New Orleans, in order to see the French Quarter, do a little shopping, and enjoy the food.

First day: Hmm, New Orleans pier is going through some growing pains, but it wasn’t too bad. Our hotel checkout time was 11:00, so we got to the pier really early. We still were able to check in early (boarding doesn’t officially start until 1:30). We were probably one of the first 20 people on the ship. The in-laws were upgraded, and had to go by the purser’s desk to get their sail and sign cards, plus room key. Since the bar was nearby, I got the girls a drink card so they could have all the fountain drinks they could stand, plus took care of my own alcohol needs. It being so early, our rooms weren’t ready yet, so it was off to the Lido deck for lunch. A burger and three (maybe four?) boat-drinks later and all the pre-vacation stress started to slip away and I could finally relax. Somewhere around 2 o’clock I went to check on our cabin, it was not only ready for us, but some of our luggage had arrived already. I met our cabin stewardess; Swrajee (sounds just like it is spelled), and I asked her if we could shove the beds together to make a king. She said for me to give her until dinner and she’d make it happen.

The family hung out on the upper decks to enjoy the sight of New Orleans slip by as the ship made its way down the Mississippi. We had the early seating for dinner so we couldn’t stay too long. Dining was in the Ecstasy room where we met Peter, the maitre‘d, Gede (pronounced G’day, like an Aussie would say “good day”) our head waiter, and Eligio (Eh-lee-jous) our team waiter. For the duration of the cruise the meals were all excellent, and anything that I couldn’t decide between, I’d either ask Gede’s advice, or I’d get both. Also a note, if you are not sure what something is, ask. The staff sees this food all the time, and they will tend to figure out what you like and don’t like pretty quickly, provided that you let them.

First day at sea: Rain. Not continuous, but off and on throughout the day. My daughter said the slide was really fast after the rain quit. The pools and hot tubs were closed during the times there were threats of lightning. I had plenty of time to chill out and enjoy not being at work.

Costa Maya: This is a small shopping center that appears to have been recently carved out of the jungle. It was raining early on, and all the shore excursions were cancelled due to the weather. The rain did stop, but it was kind of dreary, and there were people offering private tours to the nearby ruins and parks. By all appearances, if Dune buggy, 4X4 ATV, horseback, kayak and snorkeling is your thing, this is probably a decent stop. The pier offers a little trolley from the ship to the port entrance, but the walk isn’t unreasonable. There are some dancers in Mayan garb that put on a pretty excellent show, periodically they’ll stop and pose for pictures, then get right back at it. The site has two salt water pools; one is right at the sea wall, and set up for water volleyball. The other is situated between the restaurants. There was plenty of shopping to be done, but I staked out a beach chair under a tiki hut, and sacked out, keeping an ear out for the girls playing in the pool. While the women shopped, I snoozed. Costa Maya has a web site that is pretty informative as to what is offered. I’m curious as to what the place will look like in a few years as the developers come in.

Cozumel: Ah, what can I say, over the past 18 years or so Cozumel has grown by leaps and bounds. Many shore tours to choose from (I’ve been to Tulum on a previous cruise on the Conquest, I can recommend it, the cliffs are fantastic). This is the place to shop if that is your passion. Most of the shops along the main drag don’t haggle much, but it can still be done. Get the cab (and you will need one unless the ship moors downtown) to take you to the “Forum Shops”, this is at the far end of the shopping district, which will allow you to walk back as far as you are willing, then take a cab back to the ship. In the middle of town is the restaurant “Las Palmeras”, good food. If you go around behind it, off the main drag, this is some of the best shopping. These folks expect to haggle, so be prepared. Both girls found dresses, jewelry, and had their hair braided. Most of the shops along the main drag have plenty of precious stones (tanzanite, alexandrite, etc.) and silver, silver and more silver. Like I said, this is probably one of the best and most diverse shopping areas there is.

Last sea day: Picture perfect, the pool deck on these smaller ships can be crowded, but there is still plenty of space to stretch out and chill. The golf pro (Zack) had his laptop in for rework, so the cool swing computer software was unavailable, so he was offering lessons at half price. He changed my grip and follow through a little, my stance and take-away quite a bit. I haven’t got to see how my game has changed yet, but anything would be an improvement.

Debarkation: If you are willing to haul your own luggage off the ship you can get out before anyone else, but you have to take it all, with no help. I elected to not do this, I’m on vacation…

We disembarked shortly after the self-service folks. Found our bags, retrieved the cars, and were on I-10 about 20 minutes after walking off the ship. Customs was a non-event (just hand the form to the official as you pass by them). The relaxed debarkation is pretty nice, as long as you are off the boat by 10 AM or so, they don’t care when you leave.

The ship: The Sensation was built in ’93, and even though it’s a little dated as far as designs go, she’s still quite a lady. I’ve spent as much for far worse hotel rooms. The shows in the Fantasia lounge were really good; the dancers don’t have as much room on stage as they do on the larger ships, so they take up the stage and come out into the aisles to get the audience involved. Arrive early for the best seats. The ventriloquist show, is not to be missed, truly first rate comedy, I wish I could have stayed up to see his midnight routine. For those with little ones, Camp Carnival is a Godsend. The girls enjoyed most everything they offered. The “Camp” is divided up into age groups, with activities tailored for each group. A five day cruise makes for a nice getaway, without evoking the same withdrawals I suffered after two 7 day cruises. There is plenty of “bang for the buck” here on the Sensation, and if you take this cruise and don’t have fun, well, I think you’d only have yourself to blame.