A few weeks ago my sorority sisters and I went on our first ever, and very long awaited, cruise together. We have been trying to get all 8 of us together for the past 5 years and while we didn’t get the whole gang on this trip it was exciting that most of us could be reunited again. To be honest a cruise wouldn’t have been my first choice for our first trip together. One was just a general fear I had of traveling with a larger group for the first time because everyone vacations differently. Personally I don’t like to feel rushed and the idea of having basically a work day to explore an island gave me serious FOMO. I’m more of a well planned yet leisurely traveler. I like to pack lot into my day but I also like to take my time to do things and I don’t mind getting a little lost along the way. But I put my reservations aside and I’m so glad I did. I had a great first cruise with my sisters and honestly would have only changed a few things, which I will talk about in another post. Today I’m going to be sharing what the Carnival Sensation cruise was like. If you’re more of a visual person then check out my cruise recap video on YouTube!
Our 5 Day Eastern Caribbean Itinerary
Saturday: Embarkation Day
Sunday: Nassau, the Bahamas-check out my Blue Lagoon Excursion
Monday: Half Moon Cay, the Bahamas
Tuesday: Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
Wednesday: Day at Sea
Thursday: Disembarkation Day
The Boat: Carnival Sensation
The Carnival Sensation was a fairly large ship with over 12 different levels and tons to offer! And with 5 days on the boat, there was plenty of time to take advantage of it all. I won’t lie, if the sun was shining I was out tanning on the Lido deck. When it did happen to rain my sisters and I took advantage of the live bands they had playing on various floors. We also made it a point to hit the gym as well and I was really impressed by the equipment they had available. Another thing we really enjoyed was the comedy club, the host Andy was hysterical and the woman who performed the first 3 nights was by far my favorite. The DJ at their night club did a great job but we only went a few times because after a long day of excursions we really didn’t have as much energy to turn up like we anticipated. We didn’t really take advantage of the adult only section on the back of the boat because they only had hot tubs and it was a little smaller than expected. That being said I wish they had more than one party under the stars event and I personally could have done without the cruise director of the ship interrupting some of the events.
The Room: 6B Ocean View
The downside of trying to blog while on vacation is that unfortunately there are some things your forget to take, for example pictures or any good footage of the room. But if you check out my YouTube recap you’ll definitely be able to get a better idea of our estate room layout. Between the 6 of us that went we split up with 3 to a room. Our room had a queen bed with a murphy bunk bed, as seen in the video, and the other girls’ room was two twin beds with a murphy bunk bed. The rooms also had a narrow walkway with closets on one side and the bathroom on the other. Personally I think the other girls won the room lottery because it felt more spacious to have the two twin beds. The layout with the queen bed meant that you had to keep the murphy bed up in order to really move around the room. Other then that sharing small quarters with 3 girls and one bathroom wasn’t as much of a pain as most people would expect. I’m very low maintenance as were the other girls so it never felt like anyone was hogging the bathroom or mirror area when we were getting ready. Personally I would have loved to have at least had a window because you really didn’t get much air circulation in the room so whatever stenches you bring in, you’re going to have a hard time getting out of the room.
The Food
I won’t lie, when we ate our first meal for lunch on the Lido deck I was a little concerned about the food situation. Carnival Sensation is known for being a more family friendly cruise and it was very apparent from the offerings they had at their buffet. For breakfast we relied heavily on the room service menu and on occasion went to the buffet. To be honest the buffet food was average, the really good food is in their dining rooms. We managed to make it every evening and the food was incredible! There was a good variety of options on the menu each night, a different menu every night and it too was all you can eat! I was really disappointed when I found out on the last day that the dining rooms also offered breakfast. So I only got to enjoy that menu once but I definitely would have made an effort to wake up earlier to eat there rather than the buffet or room service. Even though the buffet food wasn’t anything to write home about I’d definitely recommend bringing Tupperware or snack bags in case you’d like to bring food with you onto the island or back to the room for later.
Overall my first cruise experience was a way better experience than I expected! Not only did I get some much needed time to catch up with my sorority sisters but I was able to go new places and have a lot of first time experiences. Be sure to check back during the week to see exactly how I spent my time at each port.
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