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goincruisin
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| Joined: | Fri Jun 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | Raleigh, NC |
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Posted: Sat Jun 17th, 2006 08:13 am | 1st Post |
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It's an older review, but it was my first cruise 
We recently had the pleasure of enjoying our first Carnival cruise! It happened to take place on the Carnival Sensation (7/3 4 day sailing!) We were very fortunate to have visited the Cruise Critic website and gathered alot of information that we found very helpful. I took my boyfriend on this cruise for his 30th birthday.
There were only a couple of concerns we had during the cruise itself, but for the most part this was a dream!!! I simply don't see how anyone could possibly complain about this ship!!! My boyfriend ended up very sick on Sunday, we are assuming he ate something bad in Mexico as we didnt hear of anyone else on the ship being sick. It put a slight damper on the trip, but we still had such a great time and Carnival exceeded our expectations in every way! I don't typically send this type of "review" to companies, but i am hoping it helps, coming from first time cruisers... My number one concern you will see below would be the slippery decks by the pool, this really scared me and I just see this being a potential problem for Carnival. Not sure that there is anything that can be done, but there were no signs or anything noting "slippery when wet"... Also noted below was the room service "service", also a little disappointing. Other than that, this trip was perfect! Our bar waiter Haneman gave us some of the best service we had ever received. He knew us by name and treated us as if he had known us for years! The same went for our cabin steward Timpakorn (I think this was his name, we called him Korn... we were in U30)... he was great and really took care of us the last day when Chris was sick. The Calypso band, Togetherness, we don't get to see bands like that here at home! They were great! They really made the trip special with the sweet sounds of the Caribbean!!! The ship was in great shape! My parents cruised her 7 years ago for their 25th anniversary (and were treated great!!!!!!) and after looking at their pictures, I think the ship still looks practically brand new!!! The final treat was when we returned from the trip, I called customer service about the Travelog video... due to Chris being sick, we were unable to get down and buy the video, which we really wanted... I called and explained this to the video dept and she said that even though they do not sell these "off" the ship, they would make an exception for us.... I have not received it yet, but I have no doubt that I will, therefore allowing us to preserve our memories even more!!!!
I think our main complaint would be that the cruise was not longer!!! There was so much we did not get to do... especially losing the entire last day.
I am not sure who will be reading this email, but I know you guys tend to get nothing but "complaints"
and I just wanted to change things up a bit!! We are truly thankful to Carnival for introducing us to the cruising life! It changed our life forever!!!! We can tell that Carnival goes out of their way to find the best people to employ. We are truly thankful and grateful!!!!!!
Thurs Jul 3 (ARRIVAL AND EMBARKATION) We arrived at the port at about 11AM, dropped our bags and found out we were in Cabin U30, Ocean view. We went through the embarkation procedures, and it was seamless! I cannot understand how anyone would complain about the process in Tampa, they really seemed to handle everything well. The lady checking us in even noticed that Chris was celebrating a birthday on the trip and wished him a happy birthday! Everyone was so nice!!! We were in Group 2 for boarding and I swear I think we were on the ship by 12:15? Something like that... we did not wait long and before we knew it, we had a froo froo drink in hand! Our cabin was great and decorated with Happy Birthday decor I had ordered before the trip. Our Cabin Steward Korn (I think his name was Timpakorn) was great!!! He treated us very well the entire trip and our room stayed very clean!! We went and explored the ship, which takes alot of time!! Grabbed a light lunch and then went and basked in the sun!! It was a beautiful day! After the muster drill (which was uncomfortable but they really got us out quick), we went to meet the CC group in the Polo Lounge. We really had a great group on this trip!!!
We all headed up to the deck to watch the ship pull out.... we were on our way! We hung out on the Lido Deck for a little while, drinks in hand of course... and listened to the soothing sounds of the Calypso Band, Togetherness.... who by the way, was a fantastic band!!! We fell in love with them and it was not long before they knew us by name! We also found the man who would serve as our pool waiter for the trip... Han (I think his full name was Haneman?), anyway.... We tipped him $3 on the first round of drinks and from then on, he never let our drinks get even close to empty. I would say throughout the trip, we probably tipped him around $20, but he treated us like royalty! He always had a smile for us. We headed to our cabins to put our swimsuits on and laid by the pool soaking in the sun and music!!!!!
We then prepared for our first dinner. We had late seating which I think really worked for us, as we enjoyed our pool time. We had an EXCELLENT meal.
The Mushroom soup was incredible! We tried the Strawberry bisque and it was very tasty, but more like a dessert... we had a salmon appetizer as well as shrimp... both were great! We both had the NY Strip for dinner, which was probably the best meal I had on the trip. We had the Chocolate Decadence for dessert... YUMYUM!!! We then headed out exploring some more.... by this time, the million drinks we were plowing down were starting to kick into high gear! We hit the Casino, lost a quick $50 and determined no more! Then went to the Mirage Bar and then headed for the Disco! FUN! Closed down the disco and went for the first of many trips to the pizzeria! YUM YUM YUM!
Wonderful pizza! We walked the ship some more and headed for bed around 4AM...
Fri Jul 4 (DAY AT SEA): Woke up and hit the gym around 9:30.... this is a great gym! I could not believe all the equipment they had on the ship! And to work out while watching the ocean! WOW! We then had breakfast at the Seaview Grill. It was a really good breakfast.... your basic bacon, eggs, etc. I had an omelet made to order that was great. We put on our swimsuits and headed for the pool! Spent alot of time hanging out in the sun.... Chris got on the slide, just as my camera and video camera punked out! One note.... I could not believe how slippery it got around that slide with all the water... We sat right beside the slide and watched about 25 kids slip and fall. We watched two adults as well.... the only thing that surprised me was that there were 2 people from Camp Carnival right there and watched it happen, but did not seem to do anything. Thank goodness nobody was hurt. The pool was delightful, but yes.... there were kids everywhere and they liked to hang out ON the ladder.... so it was not a good place for adults, unless you like being kicked in the head and told to move a hundred times by kids.
The hot tubs were packed with kids.... very rare to see an adult in there at all.... but who wants to be in a hot tub when it is 100 degrees anyway? We had burgers at the Seaview and they were also wonderful... great fries and potato salad! YUMMY!!! It was getting very hot so we headed in for a little while. Got a quick nap and then went exploring some more! Hung out poolside for a bit and then started getting ready for the Captains Party and Dinner.... The Captains party was nice. Our Pool Waiter Han was there and took good care of us.... We left there and went to watch the sunset on the deck.... WOW! WOW! WOW! It was breathtaking! Moments like those are the moments that make me long for my next cruise. It was then off to our formal dinner. Which was lovely. The West Indian Pumpkin Soup was wonderful!!!! I had Lobster and Prime Rib, the Lobster was a tad overdone but good.... I was stuffed by the time the Prime Rib came out!!!! No dessert this time! But they did sing Happy Birthday to Chris and brought a great cake!!!!!! So I had a bite of that. The dining staff marched to Yankee Doodle Dandy with an American Flag and then the whole dining room sang God Bless America, it was very nice. We had met 4 of our tablemates the night before and two more were here on this night.... we really hit it off with them and decided to meet up with them later at the comedy show. The comedian was hilarious!!!!! His name was Tony Esposito and YES he was R Rated and we laughed SO hard! We headed for the Piano Bar (Touch of Class) and had a really great time there! We sang and sang and sang! This was one of my favorite times! The regular player was good, but another guest that worked at a dueling piano bar was there, and he really stole the show. We then went with our new buddies and hung out at the Mirage bar. We walked the ship, looking for a basketball, but there was not one to be found (which was a bummer). We had our late night pizza and headed for the disco, once again... closing it down!
Bedtime, around 4AM again :-)
Sat Jul 5 (COZUMEL): Woke up to BEAUTIFUL Cozumel! We managed to get our coffee and head to the deck to see us docking.... the water was beautiful and you could see straight to the bottom! We knew this was going to be a great day! It was also Chris' 30th birthday, which made it more special. We had breakfast in the dining room. I had the eggs benedict which was great, Chris had Smoked Whitefish and I think an omelet... he enjoyed his meal as well. We then got ready to head out to Mexico! Getting off the ship was easy.... seeing us docked beside the Jubilee was great! And the Empress was on it's way in as well..... Quite a picture of the 3 of them!!!!! We explored many of the small shops and then headed downtown! It was a $6 cab ride. This is where the craziness comes in! Get this, the one day you cannot drink in Mexico happens to be July 5th. They have elections the next day and you cannot serve alcohol before the elections! HOW NUTTY! We were getting distraught! We shopped and then headed to Playa Sol, hoping we would find a different situation! WE DID! I don't know that I would do Playa Sol again though. We paid $75 for the 2 of us, all inclusive.... all inclusive means you get the crappy alcohol and the buffet.... not the good drinks or the great food. We did get to snorkel for free and it was really nice. The beach was great and really pretty. The pool felt like a whirlpool!!!!! Although it was nice, it was not worth the money we spent. We headed back for the ship, and waited FOREVER before we could enter because the Jubilee was getting ready to leave (found out later that a couple had been kicked off, so that was probably the hold up).... got on the ship and started getting ready for dinner (after our nap that is :-) ) We took a taxi to La Choza restaurant...
there were many of the staff from the Sensation heading there so we hoped it would be good! Of course, no alcohol. Our dinner was OKAY, but not great by any means.... Chris had Mahi Mahi and I had steak fajitas. The salsas and guacamole were wonderful. We started walking around.... got pictures of the big sign in front of Carlos N Charlies that stated NO ALCOHOL TODAY. What a bummer. Went inside and there were about 8 people in there! Same for Senor Frogs. We found our fun tablemates down there and shared a cabride back to the ship. On our way back we head a lot of commotion coming from Fat Tuesdays.... they were serving drinks! WOOHOOO!!! And LOTS of them! By the time we got there, things were already out of control! I had to get it on video tape! That place was crazy!!!!!!!!! and can bring out the devil in ya!! LOL! I will end it right there! LOL! We headed back to the ship at 11:30 as we were leaving port at Midnight. We went to the Lido Deck where there was a deck party featuring Togetherness. It was a lot of fun. Lots of dancing and singing and contests! We really had a great time this night. I will tell you what, watch out for the 190 Octanes at Fat Tuesdays, especially in the AttiTUBE Adjustments....It all blurs slightly after this point! LOL! But I know we did end up BACK at the disco and once again, shut it down!!! Again, more pizza late night... and yes, bed around 4AM.
Sun Jul 6 (DAY AT SEA): Woke up and went to play Bingo at 10. Chris was not feeling well and did not make it through the game. I obviously did not win the free cruise... boohoo! Went back to the room and found a very sick Chris there. Thought at first he was just a little hungover but as the day progressed we realized he was suffering from something more, possibly bad food in Mexico... he stayed in bed all day and night. I have never seen anyone so sick.... poor fella. I hated to leave him to suffer alone, but I did get out for a couple of hours, went to the casino and did some shopping.
Won a bottle of Champagne at Bingo. The boat was pretty rocky on this day so I was not feeling the greatest. Got dressed and ready to go to dinner and I just couldn't... I was feeling pretty queasy and Chris was getting sicker as the evening went on. It was a little depressing to be stuck in the cabin for the whole last day of such a short cruise, but sometimes things cannot be helped. We ordered room service (which I was disappointed in, not so much the food, but the lady on the other end who was just mean, everytime I called! I also called her for Bonine to see if that would help Chris and she acted like I was speaking a foreign language... she was the only mean person we ran into) and watched a movie (okay, they play the same 3 movies over and over, which got very old! LOL)....We finally got out around 1AM after putting our bags out, and had a little pizza and ice cream.
Sun Jul 7 (DISEMBARKATION): What a sad day We did not want to leave, especially since Chris was feeling better now! We got all of our things together, went and purchased pictures, had breakfast and stood waiting on the Promenade Deck. All the sad faces!!!! Disembarkation was a little long... apparently someone was caught with some drugs and we were delayed being cleared by customs. We were off the ship and in a taxi by 10:15. Our friends had a rental car so they drove us to Clearwater Beach where we had Margaritas and lunch on the water.... it was wonderful! We were at the airport by 2PM and home by 10PM. We were exhausted!
All in all, what a great trip. I can see how it will be impossible for anyone that has not cruised before to understand how much fun we had. I certainly could not have expected everything to be so wonderful! I could never explain to someone how beautiful the sunset is off the back of a cruise ship. Or how awestruck I was at the first sight of the Sensation...
or what it felt like to walk into the atrium for the first time.... This trip was everything I expected and so much more. It was very hard coming home but we are ready to do it again. We met hundreds of great people, many of whom we will keep in touch with! We feel like we wanted to do so much more... (never made it to the gala buffet, which I really wanted to do...
but they have SO MUCH going on!!!!) I would definitely do a week next time, but the time really did not fly by on this trip. It was great!!!! I will cruise Carnival any chance I get! The service was top notch, the entertainment and food were excellent. The ship was in excellent condition.... not gawdy or tacky by any means. I did not notice anything that was out of place. The only time I smelled anything funky was when we docked in Cozumel, which I guess they do something with the sewage system there. I have taken many vacations and this was by far my favorite. I cannot imagine vacationing any other way! GREAT cruise and I would recommend this to ANYONE! Believe me, I have started saving up for my next cruise and I think you can call us official Cruise Addicts!!!!! Any questions, please ask!
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http://www.myspace.com/goincruisin
Next!
Destiny B2B 10/30 & 11/3/08
Splendor 4/26/09
Legend 10/18/09
Dream 4/24/10
"Because change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy" -Rudy Giuliani
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