Carnival Sensation

mwhitson14 · March 2010

I think we're booking a cruise to the Bahamas on the Carnival Sensation, leaving from Orlando. Anyone familiar with it? We've never cruised before, so any tips or advice would be helpful.

TheSaltyPeanut · March 2010

I just cruised with Carnival and loved it... check out my blog (listed in siggy) for a run down of the cruise. It was my first time too

scoetto · March 2010

My family sailed on the Carnival Ecstasy in 94. I was 15. Take some kind of motion sickness pill (or bands) with you, you might get sick the first day or two.

JessAndTrav · March 2010

Whitty! It's almost here!

laurenclaire1386 · March 2010

I've been on the Ecstasy too. I've cruised with Carnival twice, but I don't remember what the second ship was. Both were great. I didn't really have motion sickness except one night at dinner. Eating while the boat is swaying doesn't really work for me. But other than that, I had an awesome time both times. No budging S on leaving from NO, huh?

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Salty, did you have any problems with knowing what was included with your ticket price and what you had to pay extra for? Like alcohol? We don't want to accidentally get hit with a bill at the end because we didn't realize something was a cost.

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Lauren, we're seeing a better deal on an Orlando port. And the drive is about the same. ::shrug::

Jess, 9 days! Single digits! Holy.eff. And we're just now booking our HM. ::rolls eyes::

laurenclaire1386 · March 2010

Alcohol wasn't included in our ticket prices. What we did, though, was to put money on our cruise ID card, and use it like a debit card. For excursions, booze, any other incidentals. You can use it anywhere on the ship. That way, you can only spend as much money as you put in there. Then at the end, if there's any money you didn't use, they give it back to you in cash. I'm assuming Carnival still does this, though I might be wrong.

Stackeye210 · March 2010

I got sick on my first cruise - the second one I took I had my doctor give me the patch to put behind my ear. It worked great!

Where are your port of calls in the Bahamas?

Pirata13 · March 2010

Sounds awesome, Whit! Yay for 9 days!!!

scoetto · March 2010

I remember the card, too. My parents filled theirs up for alcohol, and other things. Sodas, water, juice, etc was included in the price. Alcohol and some "extra" excursions (like snorkling) were an additional cost too.

Stackeye210 · March 2010

They linked our alcohol and on board purchases to our cruise pass and then at the end charged it to the credit card on file.. .... if you want to pay cash at the end you can, but you still have to put a credit card on file. Warning, if you pay cash be prepared to wait in a long line at the end of the cruise with people trying to settle up their bills

janedoe1113a · March 2010

I always cruise with Carnival and love them. I can answer any questions you have Whit, just email me.

What's included in the price:
- Stateroom
- All food except speciality restaurants (coffee shop and steakhouse)
- Tea, water, and lemonade
- All entertainment

What's not included:
- Alcohol (you can bring on one bottle of wine per person)
- Soda (you can bring on a reasonable amount per person)
- Excursions
- Bingo
- Casino

TheSaltyPeanut · March 2010

You can't do the debit card thing anymore... you can put cash on it, but once it runs out, you will just get a bill at the end of the cruise.

The good thing is that you can check your bill balance on the TV in your room... it's like direct tv or digital cable. It tells you exactly what you owe.

H and I had a handful of drinks on the cruise, a bottle of wine at dinner (lasted 2-3 nights) and we drank at the ports. Our bill was about $200 but it wasn't a surprise since we monitored it pretty good throughout the trip.

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Well we really are planning to try to not spend much extra money, so I don't know that we'll worry with the cards. And we're not big drinkers, so I'm not really worried about a lot of alcohol, I just don't want to accidentally get charged

Stacks, 12 hours in Freeport and 26 hours in Nassau.

Pirata, ::happy dance:: I'm really ready to get this over with!!!

Navy, we can bring on soda? What's considered a reasonable amount? I'm mostly a water drinker, but I'll want my cokes!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · March 2010

I've only cruised with Royal Carribean, but they're on-board extras are the same as Carnival. Have fun!

louisvillebride21 · March 2010

When you go through embarkation, you have the option of using cash instead of a debit/credit card to set up your sign and sail account. For a 7 day cruise it's 200 per person. Once you get close to your limit, they will send you a note and you can choose to go put more on your account. If you choose not to, you just cant buy anything else, your card will be declined.

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Salty, that was an excellent post, thanks so much for writing it. We're so new to this!

louisvillebride21 · March 2010

And the way you said it, I'm not sure if you know this...the ship is a cashless system. You have a sign and sail card that is your everything. You use it like a credit card and pay off the bill at the end. Or set it up with cash instead and then it's a debit card. You must keep that card with you at all times. They won't let you back on the ship without it. It's your room key also.

Brie2010 · March 2010

Ooh, this is helpful. We're doing a Carnival cruise out of NO for ours and were wondering about the same things.

Stackeye210 · March 2010

Nassau - when you get through the welcome center if you go to your right and walk about 100 yards on your left hand side (your right hand side would be water) is a HUGE tent with awesome shopping. It's crazy hot and sweaty and people want you to buy everything, but you can talk them down and get some really good deals on things. It's really fun, and something you should experience.

ALSO - there's a Senior Frogs a few steps away from the shopping that was SO fun to go to at night, the music and atmosphere is really good. I did see a roach crawling across the floor though, so don't eat there.

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Sco, I really hope I don't get sick!! I've been sick doing the deep sea fishing thing, and FI never gets any kind of sick, so hopefully we will be ok. But we should pack something.

Julia: # invited: 170<img *src="http://tinyurl.com/2sdozd"*>
# attending: 60<img *src="http://tinyurl.com/32ch7p"*>
# declined: 14<img *src="http://tinyurl.com/2ts57r"*>

Can anyone give us an idea of what to pack? Obviously swim suit, shorts/tees/jeans/tops. Do I need anything dressy? Beach towels?

louisvillebride21 · March 2010

Go to cruisecritic.com. Just don't ask about tipping or smuggling alcohol. They are extremely helpful over there, most of the time.

janedoe1113a · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_carnival-sensation?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:6c0fd905-8759-4600-9d72-2ab119e97d0ePost:7b76e72e-f667-4528-9ac1-a495efe03c54">Re: Carnival Sensation</a>:
[QUOTE]Well we really are planning to try to not spend much extra money, so I don't know that we'll worry with the cards. And we're not big drinkers, so I'm not really worried about a lot of alcohol, I just don't want to accidentally get charged :) Stacks, 12 hours in Freeport and 26 hours in Nassau. Pirata, ::happy dance:: I'm really ready to get this over with!!! <strong>Navy, we can bring on soda? What's considered a reasonable amount? I'm mostly a water drinker, but I'll want my cokes!</strong>
Posted by mwhitson14[/QUOTE]

When we did the Nassau/Freeport cruise we brought on a case and no one blinked an eye.

In Freeport, I definitely recommend getting an excursion, or you'll probably just want to stay on the ship. Anything interesting in that area is a ride away. The port area is really small and doesn't really have much. We ended up just staying on the ship when we went there. Almost everyone was in port, so it made a good time to lounge around by the pool.

If you don't have anything in mind for Nassau, let me know. We did our own thing while were there and had a good time and spent no more than $30.

laurenclaire1386 · March 2010

I like to dress for dinner, so I packed some dressier stuff for dinner at night. Other than that, I think I spent 95% of my time in my bathing suit.

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Ooh ok thanks Julia. But I saw your earlier post, we do need ones for tips. And any off-shore exurcsions not with Carnival.

Stackeye210 · March 2010

Do a dressy outfit for formal night. It's really fun to get all dressed up (some people even get prom dressed up) but a nice dress for you and tie for your DH would be fine. It's really fun to go around and take all the pictures.

mwhitson14 · March 2010

Navy, we have absolutely no plans for anything at this point, I'm still trying to convince Shane it's ok to spend $950 at one time

louisvillebride21 · March 2010

Oh, another thing. When you book, you are charged 10 per day, per person for tips. For a 7 day, $140. You can choose to prepay or it will be put on your S&S account.

janedoe1113a · March 2010

I do highly recommend cruisecritic.com. Their Carnival boards are fantastic.

Oh and I forgot to include with my earlier post that tips are not included in your fare. Those are an extra $10 per day.

There will be one elegant night on your cruise, so you might want to take nice clothes for that. Also, you aren't supposed to wear jeans in the dining room, so I recommend taking some sun dresses. Take comfortable walking shoes for Nassau. Carnival provides beach towels for your use.

janedoe1113a · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_carnival-sensation?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:6c0fd905-8759-4600-9d72-2ab119e97d0ePost:78a91658-a6d2-4ce3-bb25-4fa1d303ad1b">Re: Carnival Sensation</a>:
[QUOTE]Navy, we have absolutely no plans for anything at this point, I'm still trying to convince Shane it's ok to spend $950 at one time :D
Posted by mwhitson14[/QUOTE]

Email me later and I'll send you the info on we like to do in Nassau.

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