put me on a ship

We just got off Sunshine, Liquid Lounge does turn into the nightclub after the shows. I don't know how it was, we did not go for the nightclub, and I don't know if it was open every night (I don't think it was, but can't say for sure). The piano bar was pretty good, Sonia was our piano girl. She is very entertaining...not the best singer, she was okay in that department, but she was funny!

There were several little things we noticed around the ship...I'm thinking this was part of the renovation process. Some of the doors didn't hang correctly, and some trim areas weren't finished off properly. Several of the elevators had lights that didn't work, and this ship is creakier than most. The overall layout is kind of choppy, and as a result of adding some of the 2.0 "upgrades", some of the public space disappeared. Again, nothing was that bad or noticeable, (except The Smell!!), and didn't affect our enjoyment of the cruise!

We were on this cruise and I'm laughing at the water slide comments! My cousin and I went down the racers and we both had "front thongs" from the final blast! We kept our legs crossed and super glued them on all the other trips down! :o:p

 

We only attended the family comedy, but we heard the later ones were packed out! Sorry you had such a bad experience. We loved the family comedian and our biggest regret is we didn't make it back to see her again. They were, obviously, much less crowded.

The one show we went to was the family show...it was packed! What we could hear of the comedian, was good, but the latecomers were kind of rude, and stood in front of us talking. Oh well....it sure didn't ruin our cruise!!

We just got off Sunshine yesterday, on a 7 day western cruise. I'll do my best to give you our thoughts about it all! Instead of doing a day by day review, I'm going to highlight things about the ship.

Embarkation- went smoothly, like it always does in Port Canaveral. We were on the ship by 11 or so, our room was ready, and lunch was waiting!

Debarkation- again, easy and painless. We're platinum, so we met in the Limelight Lounge, and were off the ship and through customs by 7:45. The only problem we had was waiting for our niece to pick us up...she's twenty something, and doesn't know how to tell time, I think!

Food- we had breakfast at the buffet most days...we love the way the buffet is set up, with different stations. Lunch was a variety of places, like Guy's Burgers, Jiji Mongolian Wok, Cucina del Capitano, buffet, brunch, and room service (love the BLT's!!). Dinner was in the MDR a few nights, buffet a couple times, and JiJi's. JiJi's was excellent, and everything else was pretty good too. We had anytime dining, and thought the service was slower than normal. Also, the buffet did not have a carving station, and we kind of missed that.

I would like to note that we sailed on Glory a little over a month ago, and had the American Table/Feast menus, which we loved. It was a little disappointing that Sunshine is still using the old menus, but trust me, we NEVER went hungry!

Cabin- we had a balcony on deck 6, forward. Once I realized the Liquid Lounge turned into a night club after the shows, I was a little worried we would be hearing club music well into the night. It turned out our cabin was actually above dressing room area, and crew cabins, so all was well for us!

Cabin was adequate for two people, had no problem finding storage for everything, and the shower was about twice the size of most Carnival ships!

Entertainment- we went to one Playlist Production show...we normally don't go, because we've never been impressed, but we did go to Epic Rock, and it was one of the best shows we've seen! Take note, however, that Liquid Lounge is not very large. If you want a good seat, go early!

We watched a couple of movies on Lido deck, and went to the Piano Bar a few nights. Sonia (the piano girl), is quite the entertainer...not the best singer, but entertaining!

We usually attend several comedy shows while cruising, but because of the cluster **** that the Limelight Lounge is, we only went once. This place is TINY!! And about 2/3rd's of passengers can't see the stage, and have to watch on tv screens. Not only that, the comedy club manager did not close the doors after the show started, so people kept coming in, and blocking seated passenger's views. Needless to say, we were more annoyed than entertained, so we never went back.:(

Pools/waterslides- Serenity Deck is AWESOME! Loved the pool there! We didn't even go in the main pool. Waterworks was great, too....some of the best slides on Carnival ships! Warning....if you do the racer slides, you will get a face full of water at the end....water rushing up my nose was not the most pleasant feeling!!

And last, the "Smell"-It exists...it moves around.....it is not very pleasant. I noticed it on deck 5, as I walked into one of the shops. We also smelled it every day on deck 6, in the hallway, at different spots, at different times. Another passenger said where their cabin was (deck 2), it was extremely bad at times, and could be smelled inside their cabin, as well as in the hallway. There were a couple other places I smelled it faintly, but don't remember where.

Overall, we had a great cruise, and we would sail the Sunshine again. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, and the things we didn't like we can live with.

I'll be happy to answer any questions....if I can!:)

When we go to Belize, we will book a snorkeling excursion on one of the cays, or off a boat...that way, we don't even have to go to mainland! We've been there many times, and only went to mainland once, for an excursion to Mayan ruins.

As far as "mommy/daddy" time, I would probably book Sunshine again, do the southern itinerary (Aruba, Curacao, and Grand Turk) and save the Breeze for when the kids are with you.

Pretty sure the mini golf on Dream is also 9 hole, but don't remember exactly. As far as the rooms, if you're going in the summer, aft balconies tend to be hot!! Personally, I would go for the L-shape balcony room....nice room, big balcony! The water park is pretty good, but is better for small children on the Breeze, in my opinion. Hope that helps!

I don't "hate" anything, really, but we do avoid Lido Deck most of the time!

We're leaving Saturday on the Sunshine, doing the western itinerary, and have snorkeling booked for every port except Costa Maya. We're hoping we don't get cancelled, but understand if it is storming, or rough seas. With that said, we have had excursions cancelled for pretty much every reason, and if it's booked with Carnival, we do get a full refund, in the form of OBC. That's one of the reasons we like to book through the cruise line...you just never know what might happen, especially with the weather!

Here's hoping for the best next week!! Sunny days, and smooth sailing!!!:D

Like some of the other poster's, we live in central FL....I never recommend Disney as a shore excursion.....too expensive, too little time! And July is one of the busiest months, especially that close to the 4th, not to mention it will be brutally hot!!!! We have lots of nice beaches close to the port, Jetty Park is easy to get to by taxi. Brevard Zoo, in north Melbourne, has a ropes course/zipline that teens would like, and is about 30-40 min. from port. Cocoa Beach is close, great beaches, and there is always Ron Jon's!

Back to Disney, that time of year you will be lucky to get in two rides. Only you can decide if that is worth it!

Prayers sent for you and your family. So very sorry to hear of your loss.

We just booked Sunshine for June 7! Any tips/advice on the ship...it will be the first time on Sunshine. Thanks!

We cruised with Princess several years ago, when we did Alaska. Definitely a different vibe than Carnival, but the demographics of an Alaskan cruise are different than a Caribbean cruise. Overall, I would say Carnival (and NCL) suits us better than Princess, (not because we're hard partiers, just very laid back!), but we will cruise with Princess again! They have some GREAT itineraries! And when we do, I'm hoping it will be on Royal or Regal...awesome looking ships!!!

I also remember there were a LOT more sea day activities that interested us on Princess....I mean, how many hairy chest contests can one watch??? And the activities were more educational, and entertainment was WAY better than what Carnival offers! Of course, we still sail Carnival also....we just typically bring more books to read on a Carnival cruise!

We got the cordial glasses last week on the Glory.

Did this update bring the creme brûlée back?

 

 

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I had creme brulee last week on the Glory! I also tried the popcorn thing...it was delish!

We just got back from the Glory, and we LOVED the new menus! Most everything we tried was excellent, and hot! (The chateaubriand was not the best...it used to be MUCH better). We didn't feel the menus were confusing at all, we just needed to remember to order sides.

Personally, I would have a problem with a stranger looking around the cabin I bought for the cruise, whether my things are in there or not. To me, that is an invasion of my personal space. I also kinda have a problem with cabin crawls...we have never done one, and I'm not sure I like the idea of a bunch of people I just met coming into my personal space.

Does anyone know what the current platinum gift is? And I love the coffee cup!

I learned this years ago....first two weeks of Dec. are very good for NO kids....or under 300 or so......

We cruise out this Sunday.....was told this week is the first official week in Florida with no spring breakers.....(4th week in April).....

 

The kids do get unruly at times.....they posse up......I don't have any problems....I will tell them to shut up.....I don't like it when they destroy stuff....damage stuff......I got up early one day and played putt putt....smashed ice cream cone in every hole on the course.....crap like that...they need to be whoooooped.

We often cruise this coming week, and yes, spring breakers are gone! Very few children on the cruise...hoping that will still be the case when we board Sunday! And don't get me wrong...we love children, we have 9 grandchildren...love them to death! What we don't love is parenting (or lack of) in this generation.

England, France, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Germany....we haven't been travelling as much internationally the last several years. We don't feel as safe in foreign countries as we used to, and prefer cruising now. We really want to cruise the Greek Islands, and Norwegian fjords.

I think Ben should stick with his original plan...new ship...new line...new experience! (Even though I would share Ben's concerns, the lack of outdoor space is somewhat limited, isn't it?) Is a balcony room booked? If not, I think I would be upgrading, if I could.

Crepes when the crepe station is open...delish!!

We were in the last balcony on the side, above the theater. We had no issues at all, just from the aft thrusters, like already mentioned.

Yeah, the free fall boats look exciting, but are really more of a "C" ticket. Unless of course, you're doing it from a Norwegian oil rig, and the boat is dropping 135 feet into the water. That's pretty amazing, and the boat is a sub for a few seconds. Haven't done that, and don't want to.

 

Go here to see a boat dropped from 220 ft: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgcaptain.com%2Fnorsafe-reclaims-world-record-for-tallest-free-fall-lifeboat-drop-video%2F&ei=vutOU6_yEMHgsAT204LoAg&usg=AFQjCNEdaoVV-yIe6gLDvjpNTM6x1akXjA&bvm=bv.64764171,d.cWc

My husband's company helped build and design a boat similar to this years ago. Pretty cool!

Glad someone is getting a price drop! :)Our balcony rate hasn't dropped at all, we sail in 13 days, and there are still quite a few rooms available! Interior rates keep going down, but not balcony.:(

We were on NCL Sun in December, and one of our stops was St Maarten. There were a lot of ships there that day, and we had to tender. We used the lifeboats.