caracbeara

2 hours ago, thesmiths said:

Thank You,

After just looking at the deck plans I can see that.

 

We are in an Aft wrap on 6 with ATD and looks like a decent location for us.

 

 

 

You should have no issues then. While I’d book a spa room again, staying aft definitely gives you an advantage when it comes to moving around the ship, especially with ATD. 

2 hours ago, livingthedream1 said:

We  are on this deck forward for our November cruise.  How was the spa area? This is our first time booked in a spa cabin and I haven't come across  much information. 

 I loved our spa room. We were in 1019, interior room. It was a decent size for us. The spa room came with plush robes and slippers to use at the spa. When we checked into the spa, we also got a free jar of body scrub and loofahs. I loved the thermal suite. While it desperately needs a whirlpool, it was very enjoyable as is. I spent a lot of time on the heated loungers reading. The saunas and steam rooms were wonderful. I also got a bamboo massage...worth every penny. My husband used the gym and he raved about it. Overall, I’d definitely stay in a spa room again. 

22 minutes ago, thesmiths said:

Please explain what/where this is.

 

I was staying on deck 10 forward. To eat in the MDR for YTD, we had to eat deck 3 aft. Deck 10 doesn’t have elevators in the aft due to the Italian restaurant in that location. You cannot access the Sunrise restaurant on deck 3 from anywhere but the aft elevators due to the galley. So to get to dinner, I had to travel from 10, to another deck, cross to the aft, then take elevators down. If I did 10 to deck 5, I had to walk through the casino. If I did deck 4 (which has access to the second floor of the sunrise restaurant), I had to cut through the Limelight Lounge. If there was a show going on, there would be signs saying to access the lounge from the other side. Once we ignored the signs, cut through the lounge, and felt awful because a show was going on and we obviously were a distraction. Several places throughout the ship, when trying to get from forward to aft, there would be signs to access from another point. Many people we passed were trying to get from point A to B and couldn’t find a good way. 

21 hours ago, MCazer said:

Ok, just off this ship today and this is what I posted in the Carnival Sunrise Facebook page if anyone sees that as well

 

Let me start with, we had a good time. This is because we were with family

However, this was my 19th Cruise and first with Carnival.

Have sailed Disney, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. And based on this trip, probably won’t sail Carnival again. It was our least favorite ship.

Embarkation was delayed and received an email the night before to come an hour later.  Parking at the port was closed with no notice.  We were told to drive down the block and park at an icon parking lot. Well, that one was full, drive further and finally found a lot ($182 for 4 nights) and drag our luggage for blocks.

We get to terminal and had to stand in the LATE line because of this.

Get in our cabin and bathroom smells. Finally figured out it was the shower curtain. Weird and funky smell. We were in 2087 and had no drawers to put clothing, which seemed  quite odd. 

Faint sewer smell by elevator and also by staircase/elevator when you leave the Restaurant for dinner

Had dinner at El Capitano and in order to get there, you had to walk though Lido buffet and climb the stairs because every other entrance was blocked

The walkways to go the the buffet are so narrow because they jammed a drink station and food venues on either side.  It backed up everyday with people trying to sidestep their way in.

There was always a line for the buffet, and the food was mediocre at best.

Sunshine brunch took so long to get served, had to wait 10 minutes just to get coffee.

Carnival is supposed to be a Fun Ship but it seemed all the nightlife was done by midnight.  

Pixels was a cluster of people trying to find photos. Why they didn’t upgrade to digital is beyond me and they wasted so much by printing everything and having them thrown away 

Candy store is so small. 

If you wanted to see the comedy show it took a treasure map to find it. Actually the layout of the ship did not flow at all.

The casino was smoky and oftentimes the smoke leaked into hallways as well. My eyes were red and watering most nights. 

We really like the Red Frog Bar. Every night they had great singers and events. Trivia etc. the bar tenders and servers were wonderful.

Alchemy bar was great and I highly suggest the Cucumber Sunrise drink.

The BBQ place was delicious and thankfully not long lines and we had hamburger and fries everyday (but this was also because Lido was always crowded)

Food stations closed early when most people were coming back onboard from being in port to find they couldn’t eat unless they got pizza or room service.

Being on deck 2 and taking our own luggage saved the day with disembarking. We carried our bags up one flight to get off.  We were supposed to get off earlier but for some reason it started later than posted. 

Again, we had a good time. We always do on a cruise. We have been through hurricanes and missed ports too. We just did not like this ship. It’s layout was bad and nightlife left us wanting.  I would suggest looking at a different ship.  I’m sure it isn’t a Carnival thing per se, most likely a ship thing.  

80’s deck party was fun! Bring glow necklace or get dressed up. 

Anyway, definitely take into consideration things that people report that you think would be important to you. Long food lines were really bummer and the congestion of passageways

 

Oh, one other thing to watch out for. 
We booked the Thermal Spa pass for couples and got the 20% coupon and paid for it in April.

We get onboard and have a spa charge on our account. Then we have a credit for what we paid, but wait, it’s not the same amount.

The spa added a 15% gratuity for us to go sit in a sauna. No one was giving me a massage. I had no personal service from any spa employee. 

I went there and had it taken off the last day. But I wonder how many people do not notice this.

I also got off the ship yesterday and was on the same cruise as you. I agree with everything you had to say. It was difficult to get to different parts of the ship due to areas being blocked off. I heard a lot of people complaining about the layout. The cigarette smoke smell from the casino was noticeable in the atrium. To avoid the casino though, you had to find an alternate route through the maze of the ship, avoiding blocked areas to get to the aft. Buffet lines were long, walkways were packed. 

The ship also smelled like wet carpet and I also noticed that sewage smell that you referred to by the elevators. 

I was happy with the staff and my interior spa cabin though. 

Nothing to do with the ship itself but the people sailing on my cruise also left a lot to be desired. Three times, that I saw, large fights broke out between men traveling in large groups. Security had to haul people to what I assumed to be cruise jail. One fight was at 2 am outside the spa rooms. People were throwing furniture against the wall screaming and a man punched another, resulting in security removing him. I also caught a man peeing in the spa experience shower. The smell of urine filled the thermal lounge area and I refused to use it after that. 

I’m currently on the Sunrise and arriving back in NYC tomorrow. I agree with everything the original poster had to say. The ship design is poor and we heard several people complaining about it. It’s nearly impossible to get to the aft dining room without going through the Casino. The cigarette smell spills into the atrium and the arcade next door. There’s also a musty, damp carpet smell throughout the ship. 

The ship is crowded. Buffet lines are long. Overall though, dining has been excellent. We’ve been happy with the dining room and loved our experience at the steakhouse. 

We spent quite a bit of time on Serenity, which is set up odd. The whirlpool is by the serenity bar but most of the serenity seating is the deck above that. The serenity area is also located near the slides and the kids clubs, which increases the noise. 

We had a spa room and visited the spa everyday. The gym is impressive but the thermal suite is small. 

We’ve enjoyed the cruise but I didn’t love it like I did the Horizon last year. My Horizon cruise made me excited to cruise Carnival again. After this one, I’m leaving unimpressed. 

The meridian restaurant 

Thanks for the info everyone! I’ll look into a refresher course. 

We’re sailing to Bermuda in June 2019 with Carnival and we were hoping to do the 2 tank dive through the ship’s excursion. I believe they go through FantaSea right at the Dockyard. 

We’re both certified but it’s been awhile since our last dive (at least 5 years). If we book directly through FantaSea, we wouldn’t qualify for the dive due to the time that’s passed. The ship excursion doesn’t say that you have had to been diving within so many years though. 

The refresher course through FantaSea stays at the dockyard and doesn’t work with the limited timing as we’ll only be there part of a day. 

Would you recommend booking the two tank dive or scrapping it all together? 

I have two little ones at home and our last cruise, I splurged for the internet plan on board. I was able to FaceTime them at grandmas house. Worth every penny!

I was on Horizon in June and I had a great time.

I just stayed in interior room 6295 in June. No IMAX noise! It was a great little room and I’d stay there again.