Jamman54

I’m already on my third beer. I’ll be heading out into the pool….. Here are some more pool views taken before the Magic’s passengers get here…. The Flowrider is in operation today….. To be continued……

It seems you guys had a nice relaxing day as well! JiJi's was also our best meal of our cruises!

Send a note to the mods. They'll fix it for you. 😎

Here are our food menus…… Here are some views from our Pool Cabana. It looks serene and uncrowded now, but wait until the passengers from the Carnival Magic arrive….. They have built another satellite bar over by Cabana # 10…… To be continued…….

Patti has arrived at our Cabana #9, which we affectionately call our Grand Turk Vacation Home….. Here is our server for the day, Marosa….. Marosa takes a picture of us….. Patti gives us a tour of our Pool Cabana….. Marosa has already brought me my first bucket of beer….. To be continued……

This is the Main Restroom….. These little cubicles can be rented for about $200. The two loungers out front are included….. This is new. A satellite bar by Cabana # 1…… Here are some views of the pool area….. To be continued…..

Patti looks back at the Carnival Vista…… In the distance she can see the Carnival Magic, who will be joining us here today….. Patti makes her way off of the pier and into the Plaza….. Patti has arrived at Margaritaville…… The Porch of Indecision….. To be continued…..

Day # 13 - (April 26th) – Grand Turk - (8am – 4pm). We were up at 6am to get ready for the day. Today, as we usually do at Grand Turk, we have rented a Pool Cabana. Here are today’s “Fun Times”….. The Carnival Vista arrived at Grand Turk about an hour early…… They began letting people off the ship before 8am. It was cloudy and raining lightly. I got off the ship to secure our favorite cabana. Patti got off the ship about a half hour later once the rain had stopped. Here are some views as she walked on the pier…… To be continued…..

This was our table setting…… The bread is always to die for! House Made Burrata….. Arancini….. Pollo Parmigiana Della Cucina….. Roasted Broccoloi & Cauliflower….. For dessert we had the Crostata and Biscotti….. The meal was very good. We were stuffed. Patti was going to head back to the cabin, but first she stopped in the Atrium to watch the Accidental String Trio….. I went to the Limelight Lounge to watch the 18+ comedy of Danny Bevins, who I thought was very good. Afterwards, I made my way to the cabin as well, but not before a nightcap with Kiran at the Havana Bar. Today’s Cheers count: Patti = 4, Jeff = 12. For the day (+4), for the cruise (+21). Coming up next: Our final port of call, and a visit to our Grand Turk vacation home!

Pour me another Thirsty Frog Wheat please….. Today is the Diamond Platinum Party but we decide to blow it off…… Today we are going to hit the Casino. I played blackjack for about three hours eventually losing about $200. Fortunately, $130 of that was in the free play that we had been given or won. Patti played Video Poker for a while and she wound up breaking even. Afterwards, we went up to the Lido Marketplace for a bite to eat, and then had a drink at the Tides Bar. We went back to the cabin to get changed for some Havana Area time. I Gede has left us another towel animal…… We hung out in the Havana Area until it was time for dinner. Tonight we are eating at Cucina del Capitano. I bump into Raymond who is my brother from another mother….. Here are the menus….. Here are Patti and I at Cucina del Capitano….. To be continued…….

Patti and I wish to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers as they helped us get through a very difficult day. We can’t believe that it’s been ten years already. We continue with our adventure. Day # 12- (April 25th) – Fun Day at Sea # 5. There weren’t many pictures taken today as I think Patti was resting the camera for our day in Grand Turk tomorrow. We were up at 6:30am to a warm, though partly cloudy day. The seas are fairly calm….. The Map Channel shows us heading north on our way to Grand Turk….. Here are today’s “Fun Times”……. Patti says that she’s going to get a head start on her packing. I head over to the Ocean Plaza Bar to get my morning coffee from Setyo. I come back to the cabin to work on pictures for a while. Around 9am I’m feeling a little hungry for the breakfast of champions. I made my way up to the Blue Iguana Cantina to get my Breakfast Burrito, and then took it over to the Red Frog Rum Bar to wash it down with a Thirsty Frog Wheat….. To be continued……

We did a B2B on her in 2019 just before the Covid shutdown. Here are a couple of observations that we made in our review of those cruises. Right along the same lines as mz-s posted. Our final thoughts and observations. I guess the first thing most people would want to know is if we would book another cruise on the Carnival Sunrise. The answer is absolutely yes, but…. Before I tell you what the but is, let’s talk. Patti and I had read all the reviews, mostly negative, on the newly refurbished Carnival Sunrise. Some of these reviews had come from some pretty reputable posters, and the vast majority complained about how crowded the ship was. Of course some of the claims were over the top, such as having to stand up to eat breakfast and lunch which to me was a bit of stretch, but I could see where they were coming from. But in reality they had to feel more crowded. Let’s talk a little about passenger space ratio. The Destiny, Triumph, and Victory in their original configurations had a PSR of 31. The refurbished Sunshine, Sunrise, and soon to be Radiance have a PSR of 27. That’s quite a drop. Also, there is a huge difference between sailing on the Sunrise when it is “full” (3,000 – 3,300 pax) vs sailing the Sunrise when it is “near or at capacity” (3,500 – 3700 pax). When do they sail at “near or at capacity”? Peak times such as spring break, summertime, Christmas, and New Years. That’s when the family groups travel the most, with plenty of kids, filling up all those third and fourth berths. The cruises that we were on were “full”, with very few family groups, and hardly any kids. Our Cruise Director Mikey told us that there were about 300 more passengers on our second cruise, and Patti and I could “feel” the difference. So, back to the beginning. We would absolutely sail on the Sunrise again, but, not during peak times. That also goes for the Sunshine and Radiance. Let me also throw the Vista Class in there as it’s PSR is only 28. For those that want to sail on these ships during peak times, and at one time we were locked into that scenario, be prepared to feel a little crowded, but I can assure you, that you won’t have to stand up to eat!

What the heck! It's their freaking island! 😁

Good plan sid! We enjoy doing our reviews after the fact. We love experiencing our cruises for the second time. We could never do "live" reviews and having to be "on" all the time. One suggestion is to take the time each day and jot down some notes. Doing that, plus the time stamps on your pictures will make the process easier. 😎

When we went last year the earliest time was 10 - 10:30.

Good morning Cruise Critic Family! Please excuse us as we will not be posting anything new today as we are observing a rather somber anniversary. IYKYK. We'll be back tomorrow to continue with our adventure. We hope to wrap up this review this weekend. Have a great day! 😎

In Aruba. Once outside the port hang a right. It's about three blocks down on the right. Just past The Paddock. 😀

We sail past the Plaza Beach Resort where we did an all-inclusive day pass the last time we were here…… We say goodbye to Bonaire….. We went back to the cabin to change for the evening. A little after 6pm I went to the Casino to pick up our $30 free play that we had won at Deal or no Deal. I then went to the Lobby Bar to hang out and listen to the String Trio. I was soon joined there by Beth & Mark. Meanwhile, Patti went to have dinner at the Deli, and then she joined us at the Lobby Bar. Patti got these pictures of us at the bar, and of course once again we were photo bombed! Mustafa and Melissa were taking care of us tonight….. We hung out until about 8:30pm when Patti went back to the cabin to read. I went up to the Lido Marketplace for a bite to eat, and then I went down to the Havana Bar for a nightcap with Kiran. I was back in the cabin by 10pm. Today’s Cheers count: Patti = 3, Jeff = 7. For the day (-2), for the cruise (+17). Coming up next: Another relaxing Sea Day!!

We watch the sail away from the Havana Area….. To be continued……

We continued to hang out in the Havana Area for the sail away at 4pm. Here are some Kralendijk views before we sailed away. This is my Husband Daycare, Karel’s Beach Bar…… This guy has been fishing out here all day….. Here are a couple more Kralendijk views….. It’s time to cast the lines….. Will this guy have to swim ashore? No, they come to pick him up….. To be continued……

Patti decides that it’s time to head back to the ship…… Once back on board Patti heads up to the Lido Marketplace for a bite to eat. I meet her there and afterwards we head back to the cabin to relax. At 2:30pm we headed out to the Havana Area for some drinks and pool and hot tub time…… To be continued……

Beth, Mark, and I hung out at Karel’s Beach Bar until around 12:30pm. They were going to check out the Market, and I was going to head back to the ship. Once back on the ship I made way to Guy’s Burger and got myself two Plain Jane’s and took them over to the Red Frog Rum Bar to enjoy them with a Thirsty Frog Wheat. Meanwhile, Patti continues with her walking tour…… This little guy is out for a stroll….. To be continued…….

After Patti finished her drink, she was off and running to continue her picture tour of the port area. I told her it wouldn’t be necessary for her to come back and get me since it was such a short walk back to the ship. So Patti continues her walking tour….. There’s a little concert going on….. To be continued…..

If I would've known that you guys were at Lucy's I would have crawled another 100 feet to meet you there!

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