Scott McAllister

Age: 33
Occupation: law enforcement
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: carnival
Name of Ship: sensation
Sailing Date: May 31st, 2003
Itinerary: Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumel

This was may first cruise and I have mixed feelings about taking a future cruise after this experience. I will review this cruise in the order of events by day.

Day One: Embarkment: It took us right at one hour to get from the port gates onto the ship. I found this to be rather quick considering we had to pick up our boarding documents at the will call booth, as we had booked this cruise only one and one half weeks earlier. I found the embarkment staff to be courteous and helpful.

The rest of the day was spent finding our room, attending the mandatory evacuation drill, and exploring the ship. Our room was an interior room on the upper deck, which was a pleasant surprise considering we had booked an interior room on the Rivera deck two floors below. The rooms were more spacious than I had expected and the room service team kept the room spotless the entire cruise. The beds were comfortable though not very spacious. The bathroom was clean and we had hot water the entire cruise. They provide cokes, sprite, and bottled water in your room for a pricey $2.50 per bottle. You can also buy a coke card for unlimited sodas during the cruise. Adults $30 and kids $20. We had read reviews prior to our cruise and knew to bring our own soft drinks. Tea, water, juices, milk, and coffee are free of charge. The ice bucket in our room was always kept full by the staff, which was unexpected and appreciated. There was more than enough shelf space for my wife and I to hang and store our clothing. They also provide, free of charge, toothpaste, soap, razors, and tums. The rooms (cabins) are one area that Carnival has obviously strived to do well in.

The evacuation drill lasted about 30 minutes and was no big deal. Remember to take your life jackets with you, as they are in your cabin.

The rest on day one was spent walking about the ship and trying out the food. The food was good throughout the cruise. The best tasting food is at the sea view grill where you will find hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and the like. The 24 hour pizzeria is located in the buffet area behind the grill and was a major disappointment. It tasted like a frozen pizza to me, though a friend who was on the cruise seemed to enjoy it. The buffets were average at best and was no better than your typical Shoneys buffet. We ate in the main dining room on this night and found the food to be average. I ordered the New York strip as my main course and it was pretty good, though fatty on the edges. I quickly learned that if you are not ordering ( and paying ) for alcohol during dinner then you are not a top priority. My wife and I had to ask our servers twice for refills on water. This was in contrast to being told by other past cruisers that the dining room team would be tripping over themselves to keep your glass full. We ended the night by sitting on the upper deck and watching the ocean as we ate ice cream from the buffet room, which was delicious.

DAY 2: This was a "fun day at sea". We quickly noticed just how many kids and teenagers were on this cruise. Granted we should have expected it, being school had just let out for the summer, but I was still surprised. My wife spent the day laying in the sun while I hit the casino and lost $100.00 dollars. The casino staff was very nice and helpful. The casino had a nice variety of games, including three card poker which was a pleasant surprise. Other games included craps, roulette, blackjack, let it ride, and the slots. Dinner that night was in the main dining room and was the only formal night on the ship. This was the Captains dinner. I ordered the prime rib and it was very good. My wife ordered lobster but decided it was not for her. I ate it instead and found it to be rather tasty, as I had never ate lobster before. The remainder of the night found me back in the casino and losing another $100 dollars. That would be my last night of gambling.

DAY 3: This was the day we visited the Grand Caymans. The ships can not dock on the island so you have to board a boat from the ship and travel to the island. This was not a problem. We arrived on the island at around 8:30am and grabbed a taxi to take us to the beach. We went to seven mile beach and found it quite and beautiful. At about 10:45am we headed back to the port and walked through the various shops in the area. The merchants were rather unpleasant in my opinion and so were the high prices. We took a boat back to the ship at around 12:30pm and felt rather disappointed with the Grand Caymans. We opted not to take an excursion here and were told that Stingray city was great. We departed from the Grand Caymans at about 2:30pm and spent the rest of the day eating and relaxing. A few of the teenagers on the cruise were annoying at times but nothing horrible. If we had only knew that this was a sign of things to come.

DAY 4: We arrived at Cozumel around 10:00am. This was the highlight of our cruise. We immediately grabbed a taxi and headed into town. Upon our arrival we found a local who sold snorkeling tours of three hours. We decided to go and he advised it was $35 per person. We quickly got him down to $30 per person and were on our way. We had a great time with this tour. The snorkeling in Cozumel is the best in the world. Our tour guide, who spoke little English, was fantastic and took us to three spots along the east side of the island. The fish were beautiful and some were AS long as I. Afterwards we were given Corona in bottles to drink and the tour guide even let us off within two blocks of our ship, saving us a taxi ride. We then went back to the ship to shower and change clothes. We then went to Ponchos backyard for some authentic Mexican food. The food was great but stay away from the green salsa. It was the hottest I had ever eaten.

We then caught a taxi back down town. Taxi rides from the ship to downtown is six dollars one way for up to four people. Very cheap. We then shopped for hours and enjoyed the vendors and their tactics to sell you something. We quickly learned to never take the first price they offer you. We found that most of the vendors will come down at least 40 percent on their goods. The exception to this is the shops on the main strip which pretty well stick to their original prices. Get off the main road and there you will find the deals. We boarded the ship at around 7:30pm and took in a show. It wasn't Vegas style but was rather entertaining for an hour of you time. The comedians on this cruise were hilarious. We never went to the R rated comedy shows but the clean shows were hilarious. The midnight buffet on this night was a Mexican theme and was horrible. It was possibly the worst "Mexican" food I had ever eaten. The ship also moved allot during the night due to a storm at sea. It was hilarious to watch the intoxicated people staggering from side to side down the walkways. The teenagers and college kids got a little rowdy on this night. Some of this was obviously due to the alcohol they had consumed in Cozumel. It did not appear that the bars in Cozumel checked ID's very well. One girl was so drunk that her friends had to bring her onto the ship via a wheelchair! We also played bingo that night, which is a ghastly $20 bucks for three cards. Carnival will "nickel and dime" you to death. They also automatically add about $50 bucks per quest onto your sign and sail card. You can adjust it as you please but the process is rather long and frustrating, which I am sure they plan it to be.

DAY 5: The last day was a "fun day at sea". By this time I was ready to get back to Tampa and head for home. This was also the day that things went downhill. The teenagers and college kids were wild. I saw kids jumping down stairways, sliding down the hand rails, screaming, using profanity, and basically being rude and annoying. We ate in the main dining room that night and had an enjoyable dinner. I ordered a beef sirloin with mashed potatoes and gravy. It was delicious. After dinner we listened to a comedian and watched the guest talent show. It was a blast and the comedian was super. We decided to get to bed early that night but I was awaken at 12:30am and 2:30am by kids running and screaming down the hall. I opened my door once and saw a teenager ( he looked to be 17ish) screaming to a group of teenage girls " I smell a bunch of bitches around here!". He then ran towards me and up the hall. This type activity lasted well into the morning. I kept asking myself, where is the security staff I had seen onboard all week? It also appeared that the carnival bartenders had also decided to take kids word that they were 21, as I observed many kids drinking that appeared to be under 21. I can not prove this but it appeared that way to me. All and all a miserable last day to an otherwise decent cruise.

DAY 6: We arrived in Tampa during the night and were in the Fantasia lounge for department at 8:30am. Our color was called at 10:20am and we left from the ship. We found our luggage quickly and were outside waiting for shuttle before 11:15am.

Overall I would rate this cruise a 6 out of a possible 10. The positives on this cruise were the room service staff, cleanliness of the ship, onboard comedians and activates, and Cozumel.

The negatives were the rowdy high school and College kids and the "nickel and dime" techniques used by carnival to get you to spend more money.

I would cruise again but not with Carnival. If you have kids then this is the cruise line for you. They seem to cater to families and have plenty of activates for kids to enjoy. Otherwise I would recommend trying another cruise line.

Things I learned:

1.Bring your own soft drinks.
2.Take a alarm clock.
3.Take a travel iron but do not let the staff see it ( said you could not take one onboard).
4.Take enough clothes to last the entire cruise ( $12 bucks to get one small bag of laundry cleaned and folded by room service).
5.If you order room service, they expect to get tipped ( food is no extra charge).
6. 15% gratuity automatically added to all alcoholic drinks (non adjustable).
7. Plan on spending double what you expect to on the cruise ship, they will get it from you.