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Carnival Cruise Line

MS Sensation

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Marie Cairns
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: July 11, 1999
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

The cruise, the ship and the crew were all very, very good. The ship is so huge it's impossible to believe you are actually at sea! However, as I read in several reviews, I think it was a "K-Mart" type vacation. The kids were uncontrolled and roved the ship in packs, disturbing people and clogging the walkways. The ship was way over booked and the overcrowding, although I'm sure it was lucrative, did not enhance the experience for us.

I did like the Oak Room (library) and the piano bar, "Touch of Class" was different. The pools were very small for the size of the ship, and over-run almost all the time. We didn't use them at all because of the over crowding. Much of the areas are at first visually overwhelming but, after awhile, seem almost garish.

The food was NOT very good, in my opinion. The dining rooms offered a decent variety but often the food was cold, or not done as requested. Several times I had potatoes that were uncooked and meat that was over done. The soups were not hot and the sauces were sometimes coagulated. The cafeteria upstairs was better although again, the food was not of the quality we were led to expect. The breakfast was good although it never varied at the cafeteria -- every day was exactly the same. It was nice to have a 24 hour pizzaria because there were times it was the only food available. Unfortunately, the kids made use of it all too often. It would have been nice as well to have some kind of soda available at no cost -- there was water, ice tea, coffee and lemonade but no soda.

Although we were on the lowest deck, our cabin appeared to be the same size as others which were more expensive. I thought the cabin was a decent size -- we had the twin beds pushed together. The color scheme of orange didn't do much for me, but overall it was OK. We didn't spend much time there anyway! The shower was fine, and the floor was relatively quiet.

We were actually on the cruise as part of a convention so we didn't get to see many shows. We did see one with a comedian and a juggler, and the ship's amatuer night. Both were OK but not what I would consider "Vegas quality."

There was too much "bingo" on board -- maybe a separate room should be set aside for them since every activity seemed to be preceded by a lengthy bingo game. Nothing ever started on time. And the several "talks" we were supposed to go to regarding ports of call and debarkation were total wastes of time; they started late and, because I had to sneak out of the convention meetings I was attending, I found all the jokes and silliness to be a real trial. The ports we stopped at were Grand Cayman Island, Cozumel Mexico, and New Orleans. I guess they were alright. It was easy to get on and off the boat (except for Grand Cayman where they had tenders).

NO! Except for a few people (and those on our convention) I found them to be rude and inconsiderate. Many allowed their children free run of the ship. They pushed in lines, they walked into you, crammed into full elevators, etc. The fellow passengers were absolutely the worst part of the trip!!