Carnival Sensation has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation that added 98 balconies to existing staterooms, a new Circle ‘C’ facility for 12- to 14-year-olds, a water park and an adults-only deck retreat. The makeover was part of the $250 million ‘Evolutions of Fun’ refurbishment program for Carnival Cruise Lines’ eight Fantasy-class vessels. Carnival Sensation is the fourth ship to receive the upgrades.

Big enhancements included the addition of Carnival WaterWorks, a park with water slides and water spray attractions, and the redesign of the main pool to give a resort-style ambiance with oversized umbrellas, thatched-roof shading and other tropical elements. A Serenity retreat for adults was added to the aft area of Promenade Deck.

New balcony staterooms measure 230 square feet and 24 of them are located midship, 12 near the stern, and 62 are aft. Additionally, a number of suites were modified making balconies larger. All of the 1,026 staterooms were remodeled with new wall coverings, tile work, carpeting and light fixtures. And nearly all public venues received cosmetic enhancements.

The Sensation sails year-round three- and four-day Bahamas cruises from Port Canaveral.

Carnival Cruise Lines’ immensely popular senior cruise director and ‘blogger extraordinaire’ John Heald will host two Bloggers Cruises aboard the new 130,000-ton Carnival Dream in 2009.

The first, an eight-day voyage operating round-trip from New York November 15-23, 2009, will call at Port Canaveral, Fla., and Nassau and Freeport, The Bahamas. A second nine-day voyage sailing round-trip from Port Canaveral, Fla. December 3-12, 2009, will feature stops at Antigua; Tortola; St. Thomas/St. John; San Juan; and Grand Turk.

These voyages will follow on the heels of two other Bloggers Cruises hosted by Heald in 2008 and early 2009. The popular theme cruises provide fans of Heald and readers of his blog the opportunity to interact with him and participate in a number of exclusive activities and events.

Heald’s blog (accessible via carnival.com and johnhealdsblog.com) has attracted more than 3 million visitors who enjoy his unique, behind-the-scenes look at shipboard life, with humorous anecdotes and observations focusing on the people and places he comes in contact with on a daily basis. He also features insightful interviews with colleagues in a wide variety of job positions both at Carnival and among the cruise line’s many sister cruise brands.

“It was never my dream to write a blog. My dream involved an Aston Martin, Angelina Jolie and lots of sugar free Jello,” said Heald. “Anyway, after writing a blog and reaching 3.3 million hits, here we are announcing our third and fourth cruises for fans of my blog – on board the newest and most exciting Carnival ship ever — the Carnival Dream. Now that truly does make this a dream come true and it’s going to be absolutely brilliant,” he said.