Since I mentioned my top vacation destinations in a previous post, it seemed reasonable to review different vacation destinations more in-depth. I live in Florida, which makes it easy to go to the beach, enjoy theme parks and CRUISE.

In May, I took a cruise to Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas on the Carnival Sensation. It was my first cruise and the price truly can’t be beat. I was a bit apprehensive after having read about all of the issues the ships had a few years back, but the cruise went off without a hitch.

We booked the cruise of Travelocity for about $800. That included an ocean-view room for the four day cruise. On top of that, we added the “Faster to the Fun” package which only cost $50 per stateroom. It was completely worth it! We were able to get on the boat at about 11:15 AM and our room was ready. We dropped off our luggage and were among the first people to the lido deck eating. We also had a designated guest services line, which comes in handy in the mornings before the excursions and at the end of the cruise when the lines are packed. The other perk we loved was the priority line to exit the boat. It only took 3-4 minutes to get out of that packed ship!

The only excursion we did was the ATV ride in Freeport for about $110/person. If you can, DO IT. The tour guides are incredible. They are lively young guys who joke with you and drive you around the island telling you all about the history and culture. Then they take you on a guided ATV tour for about an hour, followed by an entrance to a gorgeous garden and two private beaches. In Nassau we opted to just relax on the beach which was only about a 10 minute walk from the ship. Next time we will probably go to Atlantis or explore another private beach, since the one we went to was crowded.

The ship itself is a blast. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

• Lido Deck – Unlimited food all day long. To us, this was the best tasting food. Even when they main stations are closed, you can still get pizza, sandwiches, ice cream and coffee.
• Room Service – On Carnival cruises, room services is complimentary 24 hours a day. The food includes croissants, toast, wraps, salads and juice. I think they also have deserts. The best part was leaving a note on the door asking them to bring it at 6:30 AM. Nothing better than a coffee and croissant wake-up call!
• Comedy Club – This was one of our favorite parts. The comedian on that ship was hilarious and did a great job interacting with the crowd. Every night had different material and it made for a great “date night.”
• The Club – We stumbled upon the club the first night simply because they were giving the ladies a free glass of champagne J and ended up staying the whole night. The DJ’s were fun and interactive and everyone was enjoying themselves. The drinks prices were also comparable to a regular club, so it wasn’t a big deal.
• Tanning – I know people say the cruises are crowded, but this was not my experience at all. I was able to tan whenever I wanted to and never had an issue finding a chair. It is also nice to have the bartenders walking around offering you drinks. You’re on vacation, so why get up!?
• Charging everything to your room key – On the cruise you can either attach a credit card to your room key or put cash on it. This is safer in my opinion as you do not have to worry about misplacing a credit card or cash. It also helps you budget if you check it daily. They have kiosks around the ship where you can check and reload your balance. I went every night to pay what I had used just to keep myself on track.
• The Games – On the ship there are games on the lido deck and on the top deck that people can play. My favorite was the mini golf! They also have game tournaments throughout the day that anyone can partake in. Oh and the casino was a blast!
• The Gym and Spa – The gym is gorgeous on the ship. It is a full gym with a sauna and steam room. They offer fitness classes for a small cost, but we didn’t use those. The spa is gorgeous and the services are a lot more affordable on the ship!

Cons

• The Fine Dining – Our experience with the fine dining was lackluster. For starters, the boat is very shaky where the dining room is located. Also, we found the food to always be over or under-seasoned. The staff was friendly though and the deserts were amazing! Your table also makes a difference. We were seated with couples who were really shy and seemed nervous to socialize. I’m sure that had the crowd been better, we would have enjoyed it more. The last two nights we ended up skipping dinner and eating on the lido deck (especially since we had access to a TV there and could watch the NBA playoffs!)
• The cost of internet. We logged in to a computer for 5 minutes and paid about six dollars. If you need wifi, wait until you’re on land and you will find free wifi at many restaurants.
• The TV in the room – The room had an old tube TV which didn’t have the best color. This really isn’t a big deal since you shouldn’t spend much time in there, but still…

As you can see, the experience was mostly positive! I would definitely take another Carnival cruise and hope to in the near future. No experience is perfect, but for the price point, we felt we got three times our money’s worth!

Are there any cruises you guys recommend?