My husband and I went on this cruise to celebrate our 17 yr anniversary. We planned several months in advance, and he got a really good rate with a military discount.I researched the ports of call and also read pretty much every cruise website I could find. We flew to Tampa from DC on Aug 29, the day before we sailed. We stayed at the Tampa Waterside Marriot, very nice hotel, but not much to do around that area. We requested a channelside room,so we could watch the Sensation return to port from our room, but she was early and we missed her arrival. We took a trolley to the pier at 11 am the day of embarkation.

Arrived at the pier and immediately were greeted by porters to take our luggage. We had completed the funpass online so time spent checking in was minimal. We were in group 4 and waited maybe 45 minutes to board the ship. Photos taken, sail and sign card in hand and we were onboard. We had never cruised before and were somewhat disoriented at first, the ship seemed so huge. We were guided to our room, and found it wasn't quite ready so then we scoped out the Seaview and had a burger. We spent the next few hours marveling at the decor(whoa, it is bright), and just getting acquainted with the ship. Our luggage arrived around 4, then we unpacked and went on deck to watch us set sail. It was wonderful, being our first time. We both were impressed as we passed under the skyway bridge. It was really neat to see just how little clearance their is.

We really enjoyed dinner Monday night. We had late seating in the Fantasy dining room. the maitre D was fantastic. Our tablemates were all very nice and we got along well with everyone. I loved the atmosphere in the dining room and hubby and I enjoyed doing the conga or salsa or whatever they did each night. Tuesday was a sea day and we just enjoyed the ship. Went to the shoppers talk and took a line dancing class. Formal night was fun, although my shoes were killing me! We sat for several formal photos . The prime rib was really good. Read more