nowendy

Thanks. I didn’t think swimming would be ok there but a nice place to let him have a little play time. 

Been to area many times but really didn’t pay attention. This is the little sandy area w the lounge chairs to the right of Fat Tuesday when u are facing the ship. Has anyone taken small children there to play in sand ?  Is it deep enough for them to build stuff etc. wanted to get off ship for a little while but not go to real beach. 

Just off the elation 5 day and no lobster. It is replaced with 4 grilled shrimp that used to come with the lobster. You could upgrade for $20 surcharge and get one lobster tail. I wish they would of limited the lobster to one per person instead of just doing away with it

we just were on the Miracle and most nights we were 16. They would just break u into 2 groups and it was always no problem never a wait

simple, a trick i learned about on here..... go to the casino, charge the amount to your sign and sail, cash out, go to cashier and get your money........

try it on a smaller amount first make sure you know how to do it, then go for it.

My TA told me the $50 OBC is only for the 1st and 2nd passenger. We have 4 in the cabin. I don't think this is right. Hopefully they will get the port charges back.

Anyone use Flat rate for hire taxis in Seattle? We are 3 people and have luggage for an Alaskan cruise. How large is the trunk? Would this be doable?

I thought you had until final to make any changes without fees. If it is a 2015 cruise you should be able to cancel and rebook without any charges.

yes everyone in the room over 21 has to buy the cheers program. My son and husband both wanted to do the program so we booked the two of them together, and DIL and I in the other room. No questions asked. The only thing to expect is that one sign and sail will be charged for both of the charges. DH and DS met the 15 drink max a couple of days, but i know they drank more than usual. They said that they don't know if they would do it again.

Yes the steaks were not good, never cooked properly and no taste.

The only show I saw was Epic Rock and I thought it was very good. We got in the lounge 1/2 hr early and got seats in the back row of the main area. It was difficult to see the stage from here. You would be better off going upstairs where they have stadium seating. I was disappointed that the lounge only has 8 of the circular seats around tables. Very small lounge.

Yes, they are one of the best cover bands I have seen on Carnival.

 

Criss is the lead singer (Ozzy)

 

CJ was the key board player.

 

Paul was on guitar and his guitar session is not to be missed.

 

Drummer and bass player were great as well, I just did not catch their names.

 

The female singer was just ok....

What sailing were you on? We were on Dec 1st

I forgot to mention this on my other post. The band on the Sunshine this week was the Rock and Roll Time Machine. They were very good. One of the singers looks like Ozzy Osborne and found out that he used to play that roll with a cover band. Both he and the other singer have very good voices. One night they had a Woodstock theme another night it was the 80's and then the last night was viewer's choice. The only complaint was that the first two sets of the night they only play for 1/2 hr. Just when you are getting started they quit. Really enjoyed them.

First of all we enjoyed the Sunshine and would go back, but of course we enjoy cruising.

We got to the port of New Orleans around 11 AM. The crowd was not bad by this time, but we were very disappointed with the check in process. On this day they did not have a VIP line. We were told to get in line with everyone else. Passports and boarding passes were checked and then we got into the VIP line to go thru security. The VIP lounge has been redone and they had more customer service reps and the space looks larger, but it was more unorganized than before.

Now on to the ship. We had a room on the 6th floor. If you are booking an inside room be careful. I didn't know that they have a middle section inside the inside rooms. I thought MIL would be across the hall from us, but she was around the corner from us. We did have adjoining rooms with my son and that was nice. I was still getting lost on my last day. LOVED the room. It must be one of the new additions (6195 & 6197) it was the largest room that we ever had for an inside room. It was more squared than in the past. Carnival finally moved that darn corner piece that if you had a king size bed that you had to crawl over to get out of the bed. It now have a little cube that you can move to wherever you want to. It just seemed like we had more room in this room. Now in 6216 my MIL said that she could hear the noise from the casino and def. the smoke filtered up the stairway from the casino. They were not too happy about this because she has lung problems, but didn't complain to anyone about it. The air conditioning worked just fine and now they have a control on the wall to adjust the air to your liking. The hair dryer is plugged into the top drawer which was nice because it didn't use your outlet. By the way they now have 2 120 volt plugs in the room.

The ship is very tasteful. It is more on the modern side. We liked it. I didn't find the ship to be overcrowed but we mainly were by Guy's hamburgers and the Red Frog on the Lido. In the mornings when they didn't have brunch we would get our food and eat in the Havanna Bar, which wasn't as crowded as the Marketplace.

Food: Loved Guys and the Blue Iguna , Brunch left a lot to be desired. The steak was not too good. The first morning it was tough and the second morning it was tender, but both morning it had no taste. I feel bad that so much food was wasted but it had not taste to it. DH had the pork chop an said it was OK. DS had the mac and cheese and enjoyed that. DH and wife went to the steak house and LOVED it but another night they went to Ji Ji and hated it. They said another couple was there also and they left and went eat at the buffett. We got some pasta from the Italian restaurant during the day and it was very good. The pizza is now thin crust and was very good.

Serenity deck was very nice. Yes the noise from the lido deck rises up to you but it didn't bother us very much. The hammocks were always full. It was nice to watch the big screen from there.

Yes we did have a bucket on the 6th floor. Not much water in it, but it was there so I guess they still have a problem.

DH and son were on the Cheers program and yes they were cut off when they reached 15. Neither one was drunk at the time but that didn't matter, no more for you...... Not a problem because when they reached the 15 they had enough, but I know some people wanted to know.....Also one thing that surprised me both of them had to go on one sign and sail. I didn't think this was right because everyone budgets for what they think their charges will be. It may cause a problem for some especially if you are rooming with someone that may not be good at paying their share. Again, just letting you know how it works. We even went to purser's office and asked them to split it and they said they couldn't split it while on the ship because then the cheers program wouldn't work. I just checked my cc and they did split it now that we are off the ship.

As far as the ports. Key West we did the hop on hop off tour. It was very interesting and then we shopped our way back to the ship on Duval st. DS and wife walked to the Southernmost point with no problem.

Freeport we just stayed at the port area. They had a few shops there and had live music.

Nassau we went to the Straw Market and then walked to Junkaroo Beach.. The beach had a few little buildings that had drinks and food. All of these had a few tables and chairs in front of them that you could sit at. Also you could rent lounge chairs for $8 ea. A lot of people just brought their towels and sat on that. It is a small beach but wasn't crowded.

I do have to say that all the vendors in Freeport and Nassau were very nice. We weren't badgered at all. A simple no thank you was fine.

Overall we had a good trip and enjoyed the ship. I just find that overall the food in the dining room has gone done in taste and quality. None of the workers were rude, just not as friendly as they were on other ships. We only saw our room stewart one time, but our room was always clean and spotless. He kept our small ice chest filled each day.

The VIP gift was the tumbler for some and the new bag for some. I guess they are going thru their inventory.

Sorry if I rambled on, any other questions just ask

The Sunshine was also the same as the rest of the ships now that they are in the USA

We just got back and went to Junkaroo in Nassaua. We walked there and just walked down the beach a little bit because that's where the tables were in the shade. On the beach they have about 5 little buildings that sell drinks, beer and food. Each place was playing music. I guess they had boom boxes, no live bands. We bought a beer and the lady in the "shack" told us to have a seat. It didn't cost anything. We sat there for about 2 hours, drank a few beers, ordered 2 orders of jerk chicken (which my son loved, best he ever had). Only 2 vendors asked if we wanted any jewelry but only told them no thanks one time and they walked on. The beach was fine, no broken glass, trash etc.... Yes the bathhouse wasn't too great, but it is to be expected with all the sand and water. They had a good bit of people there, some had their towels spread on the beach, some rented chairs, some sat on the pier. We had a good time.

Just got home from a week on the Sunshine to Freeport etc.... Any questions?

worked for our inside rooms for Alaska. TA told us it was a reduction in the 3rd and 4th passenger rates..... saved $135 woo hoo!

Can someone tell me the dress code for the steak house. Do the men have to wear a sports coat?

How would you rate your steak from 1-10, 10 beings wonderful.

I'm thinking that the hiring of Bernie Dillon from Hard Rock as head of live music for Carnival (not sure of his actual title) will put more live music back on the ships:D. Especially on Lido deck. Those DJ's just don't do it for me. Sometimes they're good but most of the time UGH!:(

i hope so the music has been really lame lately. Last cruise a few months ago they didn't even have the show band performing in the lounge for elegant night before dinner. We like to get dressed early and go listen to the music and have a few drinks before dinner. Then one night the band didn't start until 10 PM. Good for the younger set, but 8 PM would be nice for us "older" folks

how was the entertainment on the Sunshine? Did you enjoy the new shows? Also did they have the solo entertainers by the casino like they usually have, live bands etc.... I find that Carnival has been cutting down on this and I really enjoy this part of cruising.

My sister in laws were on that trip too. They said they had a wonderful time and the ship was nice.

Friends were just on the Sunshine and were speaking to a fellow passenger about the specialty restaurants. They were told that the steak in the Cucina was just as good as the steak in Steak House. I know it is a different cut etc...but we have some in our party that don't particularly care for steak so this way it would be an option to satisfy everyone. Anyone out there tried both? Opinions?????

We've brought a small fan numerous times.... sometimes it makes sometimes it didn't So now i have a small battery operated/electrical powered fan. I unplug the electrical source and use the battery option and it has been allowed for the last two cruises. We like the room extra cool and this works for us

I had the gastric sleeve done and I can't eat very much. DH would like to go to steakhouse and it would not pay for me to pay the extra charge because I would never eat even half of the food. Has anyone gone to steakhouse and not eat, or do they charge per person regardless if you eat or not.

we bought the big bottle of Johnny Walker for my hubby's boss. It was such a conversation piece that big bottle on a stand. He drank it though. I hope he kept the bottle. It would make a great bank for loose change.

MDSue

You said that the reef is visible in the distance. Did you go snorkeling by the reef? If so was it an easy swim?