''Carnival Sensation'', initially named ''Sensation'', was a cruise ship operated by

Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This ...

. She was built in 1993 in Finland and cruised from Florida, USA to ports in the Bahamas and the Caribbean until the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

stopped operations in March 2020. The ship was subsequently sold for scrapping.

Construction

''Sensation'' was the third operated by Carnival. Built by

Kværner Masa-Yards Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. In 2004, it was amalgamated to the newly formed subsidiary of Aker ASA - Aker Kværner, which was renamed Aker Solutions on 3 April 2 ...

at its Helsinki New Shipyard in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland, she was floated out on November 1, 1993, and christened ''Sensation'' by four Carnival Vice Presidents: Vicki L. Freed, Roberta Jacoby, Cherie Weinstein and Geri Donnelly.

Service history

''Sensation'' was one of several cruise ships chartered by the US Government in 2005 to provide accommodation for residents and relief workers following

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. After being released from

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

service, the ''Carnival Sensation'' undertook cruises from

Port Canaveral Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo, and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 4.5 million cruise passengers passing through during 2016. Over 5.4 million tonnes of bulk car ...

During 2007, in common with all of her ''Fantasy''-class sisters, she had the prefix ''Carnival'' added to her name. In early 2016, ''Carnival Sensation'' moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, replacing the '' Carnival Victory'', doing 4 and 5 night cruises. ''Carnival Victory'' took over the 3- and 4-night cruises to

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

and Freeport, Bahamas, in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

. In February 2018, the company announced that ''Carnival Sensation'' would take 17 sailings to Cuba in 2019. In July 2020, the company announced that ''Carnival Sensation'' would move to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

to replace ''

Carnival Fantasy ''Carnival Fantasy'' (formerly ''Fantasy'') was a cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She was the first ship of her namesake class, which was the largest by number of ships, before the scrapping of the Fantasy, Inspiration, Imagination, ...

'' at the Alabama Cruise Terminal. ''Carnival Fantasy'' was retired and sold amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ''Carnival Sensation'' was to take over itineraries already scheduled aboard ''Carnival Fantasy'' and '' Carnival Fascination''. However, it was announced in February 2022, that Carnival would retire both ''Carnival Sensation'' as well as ''

Carnival Ecstasy ''Carnival Ecstasy'' (formerly ''Ecstasy'') was a operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on January 6, 1991, and christened by television hostess, ...

'' from the fleet. The latter would remain in service until October 2022, and ''Carnival Sensation'' would not return to service. In February 2022 it was reported that the ship had been sold for US$11 million, and on March 18, 2022 sailed from Miami for

Aliağa Aliağa is a town and a district of Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. The town is situated at about north of Izmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its economic activity is based on tourism, shipbreaking ...

, Turkey, for demolition
It was beached on April 5, 2022

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Former official website
{{Carnival Cruise Line Ships built in Helsinki

Sensation Sensation (psychology) refers to the processing of the senses by the sensory system. Sensation or sensations may also refer to: In arts and entertainment In literature * Sensation (fiction), a fiction writing mode * Sensation novel, a Briti ...

1993 ships