jam19872016

Other ships in port today, not very good shots but amateur photographer + moving vehicle = not very good shots lol.

Oasis Of The Seas

Disney Wonder

Carnival Sunshine (my new home!)

Carnival Liberty

Disney always gets the biggest "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from the other passengers on the shuttle. If I could afford it I would probably go just to experience it. But I am strictly quantity over quality and will gladly take 2-3 carnival cruises over 1 disney cruise. One day though, when I don't have to worry about a budget :)

As a consolation, Sunshine did get some admiration thanks to the big water slide. Followed by disappointment when they realized it was not their ship. Score one for my ship hehe.

I booked my parking again at the Country Inn & Suites located just down from the cruise terminal in Pt.Canaveral. M booked with someone else who was advertised as being cheaper. But check closely, they charged her for six days instead of five. I am not sure if maybe that is the norm, but when I book with Country Inn & Suites they only charge me for five days, so it becomes cheaper.

This is the first time M and I have traveled separately as we usually leave from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and she lives down that way. I was glad to not have to travel so far this time but she is not big on traveling alone. Or doing anything alone really lol. We were going to meet at the parking area but when I booked somewhere else we decided to meet at the port instead.

M is not good at being anywhere on time, and is the complete opposite of me when it comes to getting on the ship. I want to get on as soon as possible and finally had that chance on my last cruise (even made it first in the RFP) but M would rather get there last minute because according to her you can't do much until you sail away anyway. That may be true, but I would rather do nothing on a cruise ship, than do nothing at home.

We had planned to meet at the port at noon, but I waited too long to book my shuttle and the earliest they had available was 12:45 so we changed it to 1. Probably for the best because honestly I am not too sure that M would have made it to the port by noon, that would be earlier than she has been yet (current on board record for her is 12:51).

I left my house at about 10:30 but then things started going wrong. I tried to take a picture and realized I had left my SD card inside my computer. I turned back around and had the hardest time getting the card out of my computer. This put me behind by a few minutes so I was in a bit of a hurry now.

M called and she was running way behind (shocking) as she had run into problems getting her documents printed. At this point, it should have been my cue to slow down. If I was on time I would just be waiting for M even longer because she was going to be late. Instead I was now even more rushed because I would need to print her documents for her before getting on the shuttle.

So here I am, driving down I-95 and talking on the phone (which I NEVER do) not paying any attention when I hear a siren and see the blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror. CRAP!!!! DOUBLE TRIPLE CRAP ON A CRACKER!!! I make my way over and pray he is not pulling me over, no luck he follows me all the way over to the shoulder. It was FHP.

I was a nervous wreck and I did not have my registration and insurance card on me which got me in even more trouble. Apparently I was doing 92 in a construction zone. I cannot say that I wasn't because I was not paying attention like I should have been. I can say that I was going no faster than the vehicles in front of me. That doesn't matter I know and at the end of the day I was wrong and I have to suck it up and pay the consequences for being so irresponsible. I ended up with a ticket for $168 and according to the officer, he understated my speed because normally that speed in a construction zone would require a court date and automatic arrest. Maybe he was just saying that, but holy crap what a horrible vacation this would have been if I ended up in jail!

Ok, things are not going too great so far. It is easy to let little things go so that you still enjoy yourself, but this was not little. I was determined to get past it so I could enjoy myself, but it was going to take a while because this really brought my spirits down.

I arrived at the hotel with about five minutes to spare but needed time to print out M's health questionnaire. Her boarding pass had printed out with mine so that was taken care of at least, and she never prints her luggage tag anyway. They were able to reschedule me for 1 (ended up being 1:15 by the time I got everything taken care of - oops). Their printers still did not work so I emailed them the file I needed. They were not able to get into their email (claim it was a problem on the email side, not their computer but it was gmail for goodness sake, when has gmail ever be down?). No big deal the only thing missing was her health questionnaire and they had extra of those at the port. Little thing that could be looked past. But added in with the big thing, I was really off to a bad start.

I missed the next shuttle so had a little down time before the final shuttle at 1:15. Finally I made it onto the shuttle and one step closer to my first funship which I desperately needed at this point!

I spy not one, but two whale tails!

I love reading other people's cruise reviews while waiting for my next cruise to begin. It makes the time between cruises go by a little quicker. I have written two cruise reviews prior to this which you can read by clicking the links below:

Sensation

Sunshine

A couple disclaimers, I LOVE cruising and always have a good time. But I like to be honest in my review. Everything is not perfect on a cruise and I do intend to include the bad with the good. Just because I complain, does not mean I did not have a great time.

Also, I may not hit on everything that interests you as a cruiser. I would say from reading many reviews that my cruise style is different from the norm, and that is okay. Please feel free to ask questions though about something I do not cover and I will do my best to answer anything that you would like to know about.

About Me:

I am 29 years old and am lucky enough to live in Florida so taking cruises is more affordable and easier to do than for many people. This is my seventh cruise with Carnival (ninth overall) and my second time on the Sunshine having just sailed on her in December.

My last trip on her was with my mother. She gave cruising a try, and it wasn't for her. This time I am sailing with my good friend and frequent cruise buddy M. I had a blast on the Sunshine with my mom and I can't wait to experience it again this time with M.

We last cruised together on the Sensation over Halloween (and my birthday) and it was on that trip that we each received vouchers for free cruises for our large donations in the casino. This was when we first noticed some changes with the casino rewards program. Because we had earned it on a five day cruise, we could only use it on a five day cruise. That makes sense and may sound fair, but it is based on a point system so we earned the same number of points to qualify as someone who sailed on a seven day cruise, and should get rewarded the same.

No big deal and as it turns out we found some great options available. Our trip on Sensation was fun, but not really the experience we were looking for except for a quick getaway, so we were excited to see options available on the Sunshine. To me the Sunshine is a perfect ship to sail on for five days and still get the full week experience.

About two weeks after we used our vouchers, shi... crap hit the fan in the casino department. They stopped giving out the vouchers for free cruises and instead replaced them with vouchers for reduced fare cruises. Free cruises are still available for very high rollers, but that will probably exclude me going forward. I will continue to gamble with what I am comfortable gambling with, as gambling for comps is never a good idea, but honestly if I can get more bang for my gambling buck with another line (which I now can) I do not see myself staying with Carnival much longer. I understand why Carnival needed to make a business decision to revamp their program, but I am very interested to sail other lines and now have a good reason to consider it.

I will get off my soap box now and enjoy my (probably) last free cruise (that isn't really free) but I will get back on it in my summary section to see if I notice any changes first hand (hope I at least still qualify for a reduced fare cruise). I did want to at least touch on the subject because I am sure it is affecting other gamblers as well. I will touch on the subject much more on my Casino Premiere cruise I take in April.

In the weeks leading up to this cruise, trouble was a brewing. M was having a lot of problems at work and was unsure if she could still get the time off. I was bummed because I was really looking forward to seeing her and enjoying this ship with her. I had a great time with my mom, but it just felt different without M there. To make things worse, this was a free trip booked on my card (I paid the taxes) and if M was a no show, there was a chance that Carnival would charge my card full rate as a penalty of her not showing up. In fact it is stated in black and white on the terms and conditions that that is what would happen, but I have heard they only do that if you cancel not if you are a no show.

A no show was the last resort, but thankfully it did not come to that at the last minute things fell into place and she was able to make the trip. Things were up in the air for a while and it made it hard to get too excited about the trip so I am glad things worked out.

New Orleans is a great port in a great town! My experience though is that Port Canaveral is an easier port for embarking. New Orleans is much closer to me though!

 

 

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I would just like to visit New Orleans and since I love to cruise so much, taking a cruise from NOLA seems like a great idea. Celebrity offers a 10 day cruise from Florida that overnights in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. That would be so cool, but the price tag is I'm afraid out of my budget at $1500 pp.

Thank you for taking the time to post this great review. We will be on Sunshine January 2018 for the first time. It's great to hear that Chris will be on the Dream for our cruise in May! Our first cruise was on the Conquest in 2013 and he was just part of the cast then. They had a special show for him to try out his solo show for the first time. All the bigwigs of the ship were there to watch. It was a wonderful show, one of the best I've ever seen on Carnival. As that was his first show I can only assume it's even better now.

 

 

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You're welcome and thanks for reading along. Sunshine is a wonderful ship and I am sure you will love her. So lucky to have Chris, while I liked Emma I really would have loved to have Chris as my CD again he was just that great. If I ever have the chance I will be sure to catch his show again it was fantastic. Enjoy your trip, I would love to sail from New Orleans one day.

I enjoyed reading your review - sorry your Mom didn't have a good time. Looking forward to your future reviews.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. It is okay I don't think she was going to have a good time either way. If we do it again it will have to be someplace more destination oriented like Alaska or Europe. I will have a review of my cruise I just got off of up soon :D

It was a pleasure to meet you this week on the Sunshine! Hope you enjoyed the cruise as much as we did!

It was great meeting you! I never expected to actually run into someone who recognized me, I almost feel like a celebrity lol! I had a blast on this trip and hope to do a proper (weeklong) trip on her someday there is just no way to do everything in five days on a ship with so much variety.

Thanks for the great review, I enjoyed reading it. My husband and I will be on The Sunshine for the last cruise (or so I've been told) out of Norfolk, Va. This is cruise #5, but have never been on The Sunshine. So far we've done Holland America's Maasdam (A wonderful ship. I loved it.), then Carnival Triumph, Glory and Splendor. I always enjoy reading about the ship I'm going to be sailing on by someone who has actually sailed on her. Hopefully our trip won't feel too crowded, husband hates crowds but I expect them on a ship. Anyway, thanks again.

Glad you enjoyed the review! I think you will love sailing on Sunshine it is a great ship. I didn't feel like it was any more crowded than what I am used to on any other ship.

Thank you so much for your wonderful review of the Sunshine. We will be sailing her Thanksgiving week this year. We do have an aft extended balcony room and I am a little concerned about the rocking and rolling of the ship. I do love the aft cabin though. I will be looking forward to sailing now because of your review. I will ignore the negative reviews. You can't please everyone! Thanks again and enjoy your next cruise.

You will have a blast. Enjoy your cruise!

Great review! Why can't I see pics? Format issue?

I'm not sure, they still appear to be working fine for me. Try using a different browser or restarting?

Thank you for such a great review. I'll be getting on when you're getting off next week.

 

I'm on deck eight also midship balcony and I was wondering (I briefly scanned back through your review and didn't notice it) but did you have a fridge? It's not a deal breaker for me but it's always nice to know what to expect.

 

Look forward to reading your next review. Possibly while I am on the Sunshine soaking up the sun.

 

 

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I did not have a fridge in my room. If I remember correctly only suites and rooms built on during the Destiny-Sunshine conversion have them.

Glad you enjoyed the review! Have a great cruise :)

Could you let me know if there was a rock band and a Latin band onboard?? Do you have a fun times? If so could you post a photo

I had no luck getting the fun times scanned. I will be on another 5 day next week and I will get those posted plus they will be more up to date than these would be.

Great review! I have only been truly seasick once on a cruise and have been queasy one other time. Guess what? Both times we were sailing in December and the time I was actually sick we were all the way forward in a porthole cabin. Coincidence? I swore off December (and January in that case) cruises for that reason. I think it just chops up the water too much with the cold fronts- even if they don't look bad, they feel bad. Also, when you are far forward, you get a lot more motion.

 

We've had much better luck in March or June, the only other times of the year we have cruised.

 

We are considering the Sunshine for March 2018 so appreciate your honest review!

I could never give up cruises in January :) November and December are blocked off for me so by the time January rolls around, I am jonesing to be on a ship. I will definitely be more careful about booking that far forward in the future.

I am mid-ship on my trip next week then far forward again on the trip after that. I am cruising solo and could not afford to be picky about my room so I booked a 1a on deck 1. Scary room but I got a great deal, will be sure to pack motion sickness pills for the next few cruises just in case.

I highly recommend this ship, I think you will love it! Whatever ship you choose, have a great cruise!

Thank-you so much for your time and sharing your vacation, it's greatly appreciated :)!

You're very welcome. I enjoy reliving it! :D

Thoroughly enjoyed your Cruise review! I am sailing on the Dream September 3 and had thought that Chris would be our CD...is it your understanding that he will be leaving the Dream after June???

 

 

 

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According to the current CD schedule, Chris is listed as the CD until 6/4 and then nobody is showing after that. It is possible when the schedules get updated that someone else will fill in for a month or so while he is on vacation and then Chris could be back on the Dream. Time will tell. I wish you luck, he is a fantastic CD.

Thank you for a wonderful review of the Sunshine. I will be sailing on her in May and was reading on another site that the walls in rooms are not magnetic. Do you happen to know if this is true?:)

I am not sure. I will check it out when I go back next week and let you know.

Excellent review! I'm sorry your mom didn't enjoy it. :( My mom has never been on a cruise but expresses the desire to do so since I speak highly of it. I wonder though, especially after your review, if her idea and my idea of cruising is not the same. :p

 

We were on the Dream last fall and also had Chris as our CD. He was MOST excellent! My girls absolutely loved him, and his Flying Scotsman show was A+++

 

The Sunshine is on my bucket list if only for the Serenity area:)

I had a feeling going in that she would not like it. My mom does not really enjoy many things. It is sad. I think if your mom expresses an interest and enjoys doing things in general, she will have a blast. My mom is just a glass 3/4 empty kinda person, even when the glass is completely full. I just wanted to find something for her that she would like, and if it was something I enjoyed too, even better.

Cannot agree more about Chris. His show was really good and that kind of music is not even my style. He is just a really good entertainer.

Summary:

Dining:

The Sunshine has a very large variety of dining options, more than any ship other than Vista. The buffet was not good which is normal and I was not impressed with the snacks at the Havana Bar. Other than that the food was great at every venue I ate at. Dinner service was quick, the food was served hot and pretty much everything I ate I loved. Sunshine has American Table but I really am not sure what all the fuss is about, it tastes fine to me. I did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants except for lunch when JiJi's is Mongolian Wok and Cucina is The Pasta Bar. Both were good.

On a side note in the interest of sharing opinions that differ from mine. When I cruise with M, she hates the dining room. Does not care for most of the food and just finds the overall dining experience bad. She goes for me. I can understand M's point of view knowing the way she eats. She is a great cook and whips up fancy dishes all the time (and actually enjoys cooking!) and when she is not cooking she eats out at fancy restaurants all the time. For her, this is a step down from how she normally eats.

My mom on the other hand - well she has a pretty standard routine of what she eats with a handful of staple items that she prepares and she never eats out. I expected her to really fall in love with the dining room because it is so much better than her normal routine (just like it is mine) but she was not impressed either. Maybe I am just easily pleased because I found the food excellent and this does make me question it. Table cloth, no I couldn't care less about that though.

Public Spaces and Cabin:

The Sunshine is a beautiful ship. I hate to use the word "modern" because what does that even mean? It is the best way I can describe it though. The ship did indeed look very modern. If you are used to the bright spaces and tacky artwork, this ship may seem bland and I do prefer the Farcus look but this ship was very gorgeous none the less. I was specifically looking for wear and tear and falling apart walls because of the bad reviews. I saw none. Everything was well maintained and there were no leaking ceilings.

Except one issue. I am not even sure what it was. I had my dirty cloths in the little paper bag Carnival gives you sitting in the corner of the room. I picked it up and noticed the bag was damp and at first I thought maybe I left wet clothes in there but I did not have any wet clothes this trip. Then I noticed the wall in the corner was wet. I am not sure what was causing it and I don't think I would have noticed it if my bag had not been there, but this could be a problem.

My room location was not ideal but that was my own fault for picking it. I had 8109 which was very far forward on Deck 8 and just too far away from everything. There was nothing really wrong with it so don't worry if you end up being assigned that room, but I wouldn't recommend picking it.

Entertainment:

The entertainment on Sunshine was fantastic. There was never a shortage of things to do if you are willing to do them. The show lounges are not ideal and this is one thing I have to agree with the negative reviews. Plan to be there early or not have a good seat or perhaps no seat at all.

Chris the Flying Scotsman was a fantastic cruise director. I want to call him the best CD I have ever had but I am going to call it a tie with Wee Jimmy. I wish he was still active so I could compare the two. Chris will be on the Dream from February until June 4. No matter what else is going on, do not miss his Flying Scotsman show. What a great performer. He is going to be one of Carnvial's top CDs!

Service:

I felt the service was top notch throughout most of the ship. I had some issues with drink service, including a couple I did not write about it but I am going to reserve judgement for now because I do not have a very large sample as I did not do much drinking this trip (even less since twice I could not get service).

The steward was different. He was good and always smiling and greeting us by name. But he was very quiet. Like maybe he had a sore throat but he acted like he was just being shy. Maybe he was new and not used to so many people? Or maybe he did have a sore throat? He still did a great job and I left him an additional tip.

Other:

They now have life jackets for children near the pool on the Lido deck. I see now from JH's videos this is on other ships but at the time I had not heard of this yet. I think this is a wonderful addition toward keeping children safe in the pool while being more practical than adding lifeguards.

Overall:

I had a great time on the Carnival Sunshine. I would say after the Breeze this is the best ship I have been on. The negative reviews are truly unfounded. The show lounges are tiny that is a fair statement. It is also crowded - I guess. I say I guess because I don't use the upper decks much so I did not notice. The pool is a joke, but really I have never been on a ship with adequate pool space, this one is just a little less adequate lol.

I never had a problem being seated with YTD, never had a problem with crowding at the buffets, or crowding in general anywhere I went. Honestly this ship is going to have crowding issues due to the addition of rooms and subtraction of public space, but I felt like the staff went above and beyond to control crowding. Anywhere crowding appeared to about to be a problem, I saw staff helping direct traffic flow. Whatever they are doing to control crowds, they need to implement on their XL ships being built in 2020. I felt like this crew just worked really really well together and everything just sorta "clicked".

I also saw how two people could be on the same cruise and have two different experiences. My mom did not really enjoy herself and to hear her side of it, the dining room service was terrible and there was nothing to do. If you bring a bad attitude, plan on seeing nothing but negative. That is just her and is not a reflection of the ship imho.

I was hoping cruising could be something we could do together, but it is not. I am sorta bummed because she wants to travel together but I just do not enjoy her negativity. Plus it is a working vacation because I am the "chauefer" and have to take her everywhere. I will not write off the idea of cruising with her again, but I will not push the idea.

I would highly recommend the Sunshine to anyone and to ignore the negative reviews. I would recommend bringing some sort of motion sickness pill though, just in case.

Looking ahead:

My next cruise will see me back on the Sunshine for five days. I will be sailing with my good friend and cruise buddy M on 2/19 to the Bahamas. I can't wait to experience this ship again this time with a peer instead of family. I plan to write a review of this trip and I hope that you will join me then!

Disembarkation.

This is always a really bad day for me. Not just because the cruise is over, but I am also super cranky having to get up so early. Mother had purchased some souvenir mini-liquors in Amber Cove and had to retrieve them. Because this was a shorter cruise, you still had to line up and get them that morning instead of them being delivered to your room the night before. We had it worked out where she would go and get them while I went to breakfast and then we would meet in the liquid lounge with the rest of the FTTF people.

That is not at all how it went, and she seemed to have no idea that we agreed to any plans. It ended up with me missing breakfast (because i wanted to sleep a little longer since she woke me up way earlier than she needed to) then in a rush to get ready while she went to get her liquor, I somehow forgot my S&S. She was already waiting in the lounge, so pickup must have been a breeze but I did not ask. I was hoping she had my card but she didn't. I went back to the room and finally found it under the bed.

I am not sure how it ended up there, but while searching for it I found something I didn't even know was missing. My wallet! I cannot imagine how bad that would have sucked and I am not sure how I even did not notice it missing. I really need more sleep to be able to function in society lol.

Right as I was getting back they had released everybody from the lounge. Which meant I could not get in. When the crowd finally died down I made my way in and found her waiting for me and then we were on our way. Other than my own mishap, debarkation was smooth from start to finish.

There were six ships in port today, including the largest ship in the world (Oasis - which is technically the 2nd largest I believe) so the shuttles were in a hurry to get us back before the masses started pouring in. We had a very short wait and we were on our way with only a few people on the shuttle. So quick in fact, they did not check our parking voucher which was good because I believe we were on the wrong shuttle. We were on the hotel shuttle, but we merely parked at the hotel and was using a different company to park there and provide transportation. I don't think they cared because they were about to be slammed.

I tried to get a shot of the Magic which was also in port today but I just couldn't get a good angle. I managed a so-so shot of the Sunshine and waved goodbye to my home for the past 5 days.

This is not goodbye, this is see you later.

On the drive home I hit the 1000 mile mark on my new car. My old one was totaled when a tree fell on it thanks to Hurricane Matthew.

I love how close I live to Pt.Canaveral. I was back home, ate, and in my bed taking a nap before the next cruise had started taking passengers on. I love it!

I tried to make the best of the rest of my night but this does put a dark cloud over things. Again I tried to move on because I know that she brought a lot of this on herself with the way she handled the situation. But then I had some service issues as well.

I still had my gold VIFP drink coupon that I had not used so I made my way down to the 80's trivia party in the atrium to cash it in.

Chris the Flying Scotsman dancing and singing on the bar.

There was a lot going on, and there were a lot of people there. But I could not get any of the bartenders to serve me. I tried everything short of begging but there was just no way I was being served. I hate to think it was because they saw my coupon and figured they were not going to be tipped, but that is really how it felt. After literally about 10 minutes I gave up and settled back to enjoy the show. But it was really not my thing, I didn't know the music and it was crazy crowded so I ducked out.

I ended up on Lido where it was now pretty cold. Secret Life of Pets was on the big screen and honestly the movie was pretty bad, even for a kids movie. It was nice to just sit back and watch though.

I was going to use my coupon at the Alchemy for another yummy cucumber sunrise but then I remembered hearing about a Ting Mojito and wanted to try it out so I headed over to the Red Frog Rum Bar. I was instantly met with the same resistance. There was nobody else there but I still had to wait to be served. The bartender never acknowledged me or made eye contact. Someone else walked up and he walked over and talked to them while making my drink. Then he gave me my drink and the bill and again never said a word to me other than "yes" when he finally was ready to serve me. A very unusual and rare bad customer service experience. I have never been treated differently when using my coupon before and I hope that this was only a coincidence. I still tipped him, but I seriously question my judgement.

The drink itself - meh. I don't recommend it. He was more generous with the alchol than he was with the ting. The price was inflated and I assume because it is a unique drink solely because it uses ting. Except there was really not any ting in it but a tiny splash and the mint flavor was so powerful that really it just tasted like a regular mojito.

I spent the remainder of my evening with my drink listening to some live music at the ocean plaza. It sounds like a lot of negativity here, but the experience is all what you make of it, and to me this was a perfect end to a great cruise. There are few things more relaxing than sitting back with a drink listening to great live music on a cruise.

Oh and the net? It was now filled with balloons.

I thought maybe they were getting ready for the New Year balloon drop, but now I think this was for the 80's party in the atrium.

I wrapped up and went to bed a little after 11. I forgot to take a picture of my final points total in the casino, and to get a final copy of my S&S. I was really off my normal routine sailing with my mom instead of M. They did still deliver a copy to the room, although I keep hearing they do not do that anymore.

For desert I had the WCMC with two ice creams and the banana white chocolate bread pudding.

The WCMC was good but they never really got the consistancy right. I don't remember the bread pudding so it must not have been good or bad. Or maybe it got lost in desert overload...

So we had the same waiter tonight that we had the first night. The one who would not let my mom take her lasagna to go. She was already pouting about where we were sat and this just added insult to injury. Then she saw the table next to us being given a topper to take their desert with them. I tried to explain it was a little different to order desert to go and taking your leftover supper (although I really am not sure why he wouldn't do it) but she was convinced she did not like him and was out to "get" her.

So for dessert they had three ice cream flavors available. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. She asked for chocolate and strawberry. Or maybe chocolate and vanilla I don't even remember I just remember her saying she hated the other flavor. Guess what he brings her? Yep, the other flavor that she does not like probably vanilla but maybe strawberry. We have all been there, the waiter brings you something you did not order. A normal rational person says excuse me but this is not what I ordered. My mother storms out of her chair screams "that's it I've had enough of this treatment" and leaves.

Embarrassing.

The waiter had walked away by this point, but I know what happens next. He notices her gone and asks if everything is okay. How do I explain a grown woman having a temper tantrum? So I ate her ice cream to avoid that conversation.

Later she smiled and asked what did the waiter say about me not eating my ice cream. Seriously? I told her I ate it before he knew and she was mad that I "did not stick up for her". I am not sure what there was to stick up for, he made a mistake and she stormed out of the room like a pissed off teenager. She to this day insists that he did it on purpose and we had to have this conversation again when the survey came in and I refused to complain about the spiteful waiter who would not let her take her food with her and purposely served her something he knew she did not like.

After eating all that dessert I made my way back to the room in a near sugar coma. I saw this on the railings overlooking the atrium and wondered what it was all about.

In her huff she moved her towel animal before I got back to the room to take a picture. She was even more pissed now because this towel animal sucked (it was a poor perfomance tbh) and he had left the seat wet when he cleaned it. I guess that would make me mad too, and in her upset state it was all just too much and she was officially pissed at everything now.

Mediocre towel animal.

But wait, it does not end here. She was still hungry so she wanted me to order room service. Uh oh. Okay I can say that in the dozen or more times I have ordered from room service, it has literally never once been correct. I tried to lower her expectations as much as I could and got her down to the only special request was that it be on whole wheat bread. She is diabetic and white bread is not good for her. Guess what, they still screwed it up. I can't blame her for being mad because the room service is just a joke. I did mention this one on the survey because it is a fleet wide problem and seriously, never had my order correct, ever.

Dinner tonight is where things took a nasty turn for my mother. I was afraid of this, and it happened. She is one of those people who look for a problem, and then find it. We have all seen them and yes, my mother is one of those people.

My mother really enjoyed the dinner shows each night and tonight when asking for our table she asked to be seated in a spot where she would have a better view of the entertainment. The hostess said there would be a short wait for that would she rather be seated immediately. My mother said yes that was fine. Perhaps the hostess could have been more clear, but I understood it to mean exactly what it meant, if you want a table up front you will have to wait, if you want to be seated right away you will have to take whatever we have open. Only she worded it more professionally.

She was up in arms when she realized we were sat in a not so prime location. I tried to explain to her that this was what she agreed to but she was furious that she was not given the location she specifically requested. Umm okay, you can't win an argument with someone who has a different set of facts than what really happened so I just dropped it. I wish this was the end of it.

For my starter I had the steamed mussels.

They were pretty good.

For my main I had the ricotta ravioli and tiger shrimp creole.

The ravioli was good and the shrimp creole was fantastic with just the perfect amount of seasoning.

Tonight's show from our sub-prime location.

Today was the second slot tournament of the cruise. I bought in and did okay but failed to qualify. I bought in again but did even worse so I walked away. I did chat with the casino hosts for a little while and found out they will both be on board still for my next cruise in February. I did not get to know them much this week but Bunny seemed really nice and I look forward to seeing her again when I cruise with M. Euvelynn (pronounced Evelynn but spelled funny, I may still be spelling it wrong) was nice too, but Bunny was more visible.

Like this morning, the afternoon was a pretty lazy day. We went to the chocolate extravaganza they hold on the last day of the cruise. It was good (not great) but entirely way too chocolate. I lack self-control :D

I think my mom was bored at this point because she did not want to start another book and not finish before the end of the cruise. She just watched some TV. I made a trip for the only time this cruise to the secret deck.

Of course I entered anyway. I might be more inclined to follow directions if I didn't see these signs posted literally every time I have ever come up here. Anyway, if it was dangerous you are right in front of the bridge and they would send security to ask you to come back inside. I never stay long but it is just such a peaceful place to visit.

Day 5:

Farewell Day At Sea

I was allowed to sleep in a little this morning as my mom went to the library but of course I was still up pretty early. The ship was rocking harder today than it did while we were still in the Caribbean, but I was prepared with my motion sickness pills.

The most noticeable change was the weather. It was very windy and cold. Cold by Caribbean standards, not really cold but it did put a damper on outdoor activities, and it got even cooler once the sun went down.

It was a pretty lazy morning and we didn't really do much until it was time to go to brunch, my favorite meal on board carnival. We got a wonderful seat near the back of the ship overlooking the wake.

For my starter I got a jerk bacon ceaser salad.

I had been really building up how good this salad was and I dunno, it just sorta fell a little short compared to how good I was describing it.

For my main I got the grilled salmon fillet.

I tried this for the first time on my Sensation cruise and it was instantly one of my favorite dishes. But this was not good - like at all.

For dessert I had the caramelized cheesecake and the double chocolate brownie.

Both were good but not enough to save the lackluster meal. Brunch has been an on again off again love affair for me. It was redeemed on the Sensation but now I am disappointed again. I know the foods can be good, so I am not sure why some ships prepare the same dishes with such different results. Typically I can gauge how the food will be based on dinner, if they do a good job at dinner, brunch is good. This one threw me a curveball, because dinner had been wonderfully prepared all week. Also throwing me for a curveball was the service. No matter how good the food is, service has always been downright bad at brunch. This time we had a wonderful and pleasant server who was very friendly and attentive to our needs.

I would still be sad to see brunch be replaced like JH keeps hinting at, but I am warming up to the idea of something different.

I really enjoyed your photos of the 2 ships at Grand Turk.:)

Thank you :)

Thanks for your review. We have sailed the Sunshine and have had a great time.

 

Curiosity question. What is your camera?

It is a Vivitar ViviCam S126. Just an el cheapo camera from Wal-Mart. It does well for what I paid the price tag on a real camera is way out of my budget lol.

Great review! We sailed her last may and it looks like we will be sailing together on the 19th!

Only one week left! Can't wait to be back on board. Have a great cruise and perhaps I will run into you (especially if you find yourself in the casino :))

Thank you for the information. I definitely do not spend that kind of time or money in the casino, so I guess I will keep buying my drinks!

You will definitely be better off buying your drinks than playing for them! I understand why they cannot offer free drinks like at a land based casino, it would be too easy for people to take advantage. But I do feel like they could lower the threshold needed so that you don't have to be a hard core gambler to get free drinks.