Bahamas Anyone?

Another somewhat last minute cruise? Okay! My husband, Scott, had a business trip in Florida. While planning a one day visit to Disney World, I realized that for the cost of a few days in a hotel looking for free things to do and ONE DAY at Disney World, we could go on a 4 day fun-filled cruise to the Bahamas. Scott and I left the decision up to our kids. They hardly thought about it before excitedly saying they wanted to do the cruise. :)

Cruise details~
Embarkation Port: Port Canaveral
Ship: Carnival Sensation
Date: Sailed 6/16/2013
Length: 4 Days
Destination: Bahamas, Freeport/Nassau
(Click on a destination above to go to a detailed review for that stop!)

Parking and Embarkation~
Upon arriving on Cape Canaveral we easily located Park Port Canaveral, the place our truck would call "Home" for the next four days. Compared to the cost of parking at Port Canaveral, which is $60 for a four day cruise, we only paid about $30 at Park Port Canaveral. The free shuttle took us to the port, unloaded our bags and took them to the porter for us, and gave us instructions on how to get back to the shuttle when the cruise was over. The friendly Carnival workers were happy to make embarkation quick and easy for us. We were on the ship by 11!


Itinerary~
Tradition had us in line for lunch as soon as we were on the ship. As early as we were on, the lines were almost nonexistent. Exploring the ship was easy since it is the same class ship as the Carnival Ecstasy and we have sailed on the Ecstasy twice. (First time and Second time) It was nice to be on a different ship for the first time, but still have a familiarity about it. After exploring we got into our swim suits and spent the rest of the afternoon (minus the muster drill) at the Waterworks part of the ship. (Tip: If there's any chance you will want to be at the pool or waterslides, or just laying out, before your luggage is delivered to your cabin, pack your swimsuit in your carryon bag.) Scott and the kids spent a little time at the arcade after dinner, but we all turned in fairly early (as far as vacation time goes) so that we could be well rested for the rest of our vacation.

Our first stop was Freeport, Bahamas. After researching the area, we decided to look around the pier shopping area but then get back on the ship. Having a nearly empty ship is a pretty fun way to spend our day. There were no lines for anything we wanted to do. We spent the rest of our time in Freeport playing ping pong, mini golfing, and of course a lot of time at Carnival Waterworks. That night we turned in "vacation early" because we were docking in Nassau at 7 the next morning and we had a full day with lots of walking planned.

Nassau greeted us bright and early with a beautiful morning. We ate breakfast on an open deck to enjoy the view while the main rush of guests got off the ship. Shortly after, we began our adventure. I go into a little bit of detail about our brief time off the ship in Freeport, and a lot of detail about Nassau in this Destination Review.
When we first booked this cruise, the itinerary said we would leave Nassau at 7pm. I was really surprised at the length of time we had to spend there, but I guess it's really not that far from Florida. The night before we arrived in Nassau our Fun Times (The paper we get each night with the activities for the following day listed) said we actually wouldn't be leaving Nassau until 1am... I was pleasantly surprised. :) After our super fun family day, we asked James and Evie if they would like to go to Camp Carnival after dinner. When they decided they liked that idea, Scott and I decided we would have a date night in Nassau. It doesn't take much to make us happy, and we didn't want to go too far from the ship since there wasn't a way for the crew to contact us if the kids needed us, so we had a lovely date walking along the dock by the ship, watching the sunset, checking out a battleship, and just enjoying our time together. It was a lovely evening! We checked on the kids after we get back on and they were still having a good time so we walked around for a while and then went back for the kids when it was time for Camp Carnival to close. Soon after it was time for bed so we could get our beauty sleep before our final day- a day at sea.

Our one sea day of this cruise was all about celebrating Evie. Our daughter got to spend her birthday on a cruise! We did not plan it that way, but the dates worked for us. Now she brags to me that she has cruised on her birthday, and I have not. :) Anyway, Evie requested breakfast in the cabin, so we ordered room service and enjoyed breakfast in bed. We spent the morning playing at the arcade, taking Evie to Camp Carnival to make a build-a-bear for her birthday, and playing putt-putt. At lunch we got free drinks (that was a part of the past cruiser benefits program, but has since changed) in the dining room and then we spent the rest of the day at Waterworks. We all had a great day and had a hard time admitting that it was ending and that we would wake up in Port Canaveral.


Debarkation~
We have decided that Self-Assist debarkation is the best way to go for our family. Especially in this case when we knew after getting off the ship, we still had a 14 hour drive home. So we were up early with our bags ready to go. When our deck was called we made our way off the ship and to the location of our shuttle. We were back to our truck and on the road by 8am. It could not have been a smoother debarkation for us.


This and That :) ~
The Ship
The Carnival Sensation is pretty much exactly the same layout as the Carnival Ecstasy. It was easy to get around and like every other ship we have been on, it was immaculately clean. The location of the Serenity adults only area was a little disappointing, but only because there isn't much airflow on that deck in the back of the ship. There are other decks that sort of cover parts of Serenity and it's not as open. In the middle of summer, it's not quite as relaxing as I would hope because it's so hot and uncomfortable. I love the Serenity, but was unable to enjoy it as much this time. This was my only "issue" I had. And I'd hardly call it that.


The Food
James and Evie gave rave reviews about the food they had on formal night. Evie got the lobster tail and shrimp, and James had the flat iron steak. They really loved it. The only other new thing they tried this time was the chocolate cake cup. Scott and James surprised Evie with one for her birthday. (She was already in bed and ready to sleep! :) ) We all thought the cake cup was delicious! Of course, we love all the food we eat while cruising. :-D


Our Cabin
E198 is a an ocean view cabin on the Empress Deck, at the rear of the ship. It was a great location for my family because the important things, food and water slides, were all right above us, just decks away.


Camp Carnival
The crew in Camp Carnival were wonderful. Both my kids really enjoyed going. One our sea day the kids in Evie's age group made a volcano and then later made it erupt. It was fun and a learning experience! James' age group did all kinds of neat things. One time they got to play tag in the main theater lounge. James thought that was pretty awesome. We give high praise to Camp Carnival!


Entertainment
The only real entertainment we went to was the 80's tribute show. I'm not able to remember the name of it. As a lover of 80's music, this was one of my favorite Carnival shows I've ever seen. I thought it was fantastic!
I don't remember what the other options were for night time entertainment. This was a shorter cruise, so maybe there weren't any. Or maybe I just really don't remember. :)


Service
I've always thought it's in the little things that make a major impact. This time around it was in the form of two cards delivered to our room for my daughter's birthday. It was unexpected and so wonderful!


We had a blast on this short, but fun filled, cruise. I'd rather go on a short cruise than not go on one at all, but I do think I'll try to keep the 4 day cruises to a minimum and aim for 5-7 day cruises whenever possible. Who wouldn't though, right? :-D