Detailed Photo Review of Carnival Sunshine 12-Night Mediterranean Cruise 9/8/13

[Bluemoon319]

Ok, I'm back with a little more of my review!

 

Sorry, I couldn't narrow it down to just 6 photos, so here are a few more photos from walking along the Stradum... Let me know if this is overkill and I'm posting too many photos! haha

 

I had heard about a great candle store on the Stradum called Candle Kingdom, so I knew I wanted to check it out. The candles were beautiful, and they made them in every different color combination!

 

 

 

 

Definitely NOT too many pics, loving them all. This pics took me back to the 70's. Candles like these were often sold in places like head shops & kiosks in malls. I think they're really pretty, too. I used to have several of them. Don't know what happened to any of them, though. :(

 

One slightly off topic question...... How do you post your pics so large? Mine always seem to come out so small that they're not worth posting.

[Bluemoon319]

The flag was HUGE and was hanging from deck 10 so you could see it from several different floors. After the dancers finished in the lobby, we went upstairs to take a few more pictures.

 

 

 

Very Nice.

[Bluemoon319]

 

By the time we were ready to leave at 10:45am, there were thousands of people walking up the hill and narrow stairs to enter, so we were really glad we arrived early!

 

 

 

Luckily, Kali had a skill for weaving through the crowds (sometimes against traffic!) and we eventually escaped out to the entrance. The problem was that Nicos couldn't drive the van up to meet us because of all the big tour buses and heavy traffic, so we had to walk a short distance down the hill to meet him.

 

:eek: I'm so glad for you that you had the foresight to get there really early!

[stlrboo]

I'm so glad for you that you had the foresight to get there really early!

We were glad too..:) Was also great to tour with Dana and Lonnie on several occasions..!:D

Amazed that I missed the 'flag' in the Atrium... :o I woulda' had a picture of that for sure.. Thanks for sharing!:p

[deladane]

We were glad too..:) Was also great to tour with Dana and Lonnie on several occasions..!:D

Amazed that I missed the 'flag' in the Atrium... :o I woulda' had a picture of that for sure.. Thanks for sharing!:p

 

Dave! I'm glad you are following along! Do you remember which tour companies we used in Athens and Izmir? I know a few people wanted to know, as do I haha

 

 

Upcoming cruise:

Carnival Victory 12/9/12 (Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen)

 

Previous cruises:

Celebrity Summit- Nov. 2010 (Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago)

Carnival Holiday- July 1997 (Catalina Island and Ensenada Beach, Mexico)

[deladane]

Definitely NOT too many pics, loving them all. This pics took me back to the 70's. Candles like these were often sold in places like head shops & kiosks in malls. I think they're really pretty, too. I used to have several of them. Don't know what happened to any of them, though. :(

 

One slightly off topic question...... How do you post your pics so large? Mine always seem to come out so small that they're not worth posting.

 

I have just been posting my photos from my Facebook account. I uploaded all my pics to Facebook, then I right click on the pic I want to use and select 'copy URL' and then paste it in the mountain picture link thingy on my post. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I think the original photos were 8 megapixels.

 

 

Upcoming cruise:

Carnival Victory 12/9/12 (Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen)

 

Previous cruises:

Celebrity Summit- Nov. 2010 (Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago)

Carnival Holiday- July 1997 (Catalina Island and Ensenada Beach, Mexico)

[deladane]

What - No Cat Pics!!!??? :D

 

Haha nope! I think you already captured all of the cats in your review ;) I'm honestly not a cat/dog person, but even if I were, I don't think we saw very many of them. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough, but I don't remember seeing any strays at all!

 

 

Upcoming cruise:

Carnival Victory 12/9/12 (Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen)

 

Previous cruises:

Celebrity Summit- Nov. 2010 (Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago)

Carnival Holiday- July 1997 (Catalina Island and Ensenada Beach, Mexico)

[deladane]

I think these pics would make good puzzles. :)

 

Oooh what a good idea! I plan to put a few photo collages together to decorate my apartment, but I wouldn't have ever thought of making a puzzle! I'll have to look into that :)

 

 

Upcoming cruise:

Carnival Victory 12/9/12 (Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen)

 

Previous cruises:

Celebrity Summit- Nov. 2010 (Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago)

Carnival Holiday- July 1997 (Catalina Island and Ensenada Beach, Mexico)

[JIMJ55]

Dave! I'm glad you are following along! Do you remember which tour companies we used in Athens and Izmir? I know a few people wanted to know, as do I haha

 

 

Hi Dana!! sorry I am just getting a chance to check out your review, work has been a living hell. In Athens we were on privategreecetours.com and in Messina it was Sicily Life. Safe journey to your new job and will try and keep up with your review, great job. Dave used Ephesus Deluxe for our tour in Turkey.

Edited October 11, 2013 by JIMJ55

[deladane]

Dave! I'm glad you are following along! Do you remember which tour companies we used in Athens and Izmir? I know a few people wanted to know, as do I haha

 

 

Hi Dana!! sorry I am just getting a chance to check out your review, work has been a living hell. In Athens we were on privategreecetours.com and in Messina it was Sicily Life. Safe journey to your new job and will try and keep up with your review, great job. Dave used Ephesus Deluxe for our tour in Turkey.

 

Thanks Jim!! We were wondering where u disappeared to! Haha thanks for listing all those tour companies :) hopefully others can benefit from that, since I would recommend all of the companies we used

 

 

Upcoming cruise:

Carnival Victory 12/9/12 (Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen)

 

Previous cruises:

Celebrity Summit- Nov. 2010 (Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago)

Carnival Holiday- July 1997 (Catalina Island and Ensenada Beach, Mexico)

[tpayne174]

Thank you so much for this! This review brought back so many memories. My family and I were on the Sunshine July 5-19th out of Barcelona and it was an experience of a lifetime for sure. We went to Monaco, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Dubrovnik, Venice, and Messina. (may be forgetting one or two in there) Either way, it was awesome! I am extremely lucky because I am only in High school so I am extremely thankful to my parents for bringing me and my brothers with. It was so nice seeing pictures of the boat and recapping a lot never forget memories with my family. Thanks again! Definitely will be back! So keep posting pictures!

[Bluemoon319]

I have just been posting my photos from my Facebook account. I uploaded all my pics to Facebook, then I right click on the pic I want to use and select 'copy URL' and then paste it in the mountain picture link thingy on my post. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I think the original photos were 8 megapixels.

 

 

Upcoming cruise:

Carnival Victory 12/9/12 (Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Marteen)

 

Previous cruises:

Celebrity Summit- Nov. 2010 (Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Tobago)

Carnival Holiday- July 1997 (Catalina Island and Ensenada Beach, Mexico)

 

Thanks bunches. I'm wasn't familiar with how to upload pics to FB, but managed to get through it. Just checking....You can only get the URL from the pic that shows up on the Timeline, right? It doesn't do this for me from the pic in the album. Just making sure I'm not doing something wrong. Thanks again. :)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Great pictures! If they hadn't cancelled the "original" inaugural, we would have made it to Izmir and Istanbul!

[deladane]

Thanks bunches. I'm wasn't familiar with how to upload pics to FB, but managed to get through it. Just checking....You can only get the URL from the pic that shows up on the Timeline, right? It doesn't do this for me from the pic in the album. Just making sure I'm not doing something wrong. Thanks again. :)

 

Actually, it does work if you click on the picture in the album and then right click on the enlarged photo. That is how I do it because sometimes I have two photos that are similar, so I like to compare the larger version before deciding which one to use in my review.

 

 

Great pictures! If they hadn't cancelled the "original" inaugural, we would have made it to Izmir and Istanbul!

 

Thanks Sarge! Nothing can compare to the amazing review you wrote in the spring, but I try ;) You were a huge help in my planning, so thanks again!

[deladane]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay on writing my review. I just moved across the country for the new job, so I needed a few days to get settled and whatnot! I didn't want to leave you all hanging for too long though, so hmm, where was I....

 

Next, they showed us how they dye the yarn to the correct colors:

 

 

 

 

Finally, they showed us how they use a loom and a pattern grid sheet to tie a double knot and create the rug.

 

 

 

[deladane]

Next, they took us into a room and laid many different finished rugs on the floor for us to see the different patterns and levels of quality, ranging from 100 to 1200 knots per square inch! They encouraged us to touch the rugs and to walk on them. They said we could buy them if we wanted to, but I never felt pressure to buy anything, and we were free to exit whenever we wished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deladane]

Here are a few more photos from the grounds of the carpet school...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deladane]

Next, we made a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and with views of a fort built by the Crusaders.

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we made the hour-long drive back to Izmir to get back on the ship. We hit a little bit of traffic on the way back, but arrived at the pier at 3:30, with a 4pm all aboard time. I did a little shopping at the pier and bought a small hand-painted bowel and a magnet for 6 Euros (of note, it was cheaper here than at the shops outside of Ephesus!)

 

When we were standing in line to get back on the ship, there was a crew member on line behind us and we overheard on her walkie talkie that 361 guests had not yet returned from their Carnival shore excursions at 3:45pm, but the ship waited for them because we ended up leaving port late, a little after 5pm.

 

I knew I wanted to ride the water slide at least once on this cruise, so I decided to do it now since I still had 2 hours before dinner, and I was hot and sweaty from touring in 95 degree heat and I wanted to cool off. I climbed all the way up to the top of the water slides and was shocked that not 1 other passenger was there! I rode down the "Twister" yellow slide. It was fun, but I didn't think it went fast enough. After that, I got showered and ready for dinner.

 

 

Pear and Buffalo Mozzarella Salad

[deladane]

Steamed Muscles

 

Prime Rib

 

Dessert Menu

 

Variations of strawberries

 

which went very well alongside the Variations of Chocolate!

 

After dinner, we went to the show Epic Rock. It is similar to Rock of Ages, with an 80's rock theme, and I LOVED it! They incorporated very cool visual effects with the video screens behind the actors, and I love 80's music so it was a lot of fun to watch.

 

After that, we went to the adult comedy show. We arrived 15 minutes before it was scheduled to start and the lounge was packed!! We ended up sitting on the windowsill because all the other seats were taken. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was better than standing the whole time. The comedian was okay, but not great. He had a few funny jokes, but I missed a few of them because he mumbled with a British accent, so I just didn't understand what he was saying.

 

After that, we went to the piano bar. At first, there were no seats, but people left eventually and we took their seats. Seth was very funny as the piano bar singer, but I wished he would play more upbeat songs and fewer ballads.

 

When we got back to the cabin, we saw a flyer telling us to change our clocks back 1 hour to get back to the Italy time zone.

 

 

Up next: our second and final sea day

[christmas]

Love the review so far! Can you tell me if the Safety Drill is outside or inside as my cruise is in a few weeks? Trying to decide how to dress the first day. Thanks!

Edited October 14, 2013 by christmas

[deladane]

Love the review so far! Can you tell me if the Safety Drill is outside or inside as my cruise is in a few weeks? Trying to decide how to dress the first day. Thanks!

 

Muster is held wherever your assigned muster station is, so for us, that meant we were supposed to be outside. It actually turned out that we were allowed to sit in the comedy club lounge because my mom had a knee injury and wasn't able to stand during the drill, so we were inside. I'm not sure what your plans are for during sail away, but that happens right after the muster drill anyway. If you are leaving from Venice, I would recommend being outside for that, as it is incredibly beautiful and worth seeing from an upper outside deck :)

[Bluemoon319]

 

 

 

 

Love the bird nest.

[deladane]

Saturday, September 14 - Sea Day

 

It was lovely being able to sleep in and wake up naturally without an alarm... unfortunately, I was up at 8:30am anyway because my body was getting used to all those early wake up times. I ate a light breakfast on Lido deck, then went down to the lobby and sat on a couch by the window to write in my trip journal.

 

 

We met our friends at the comedy brunch at noon, and redeemed our coupons for a free drink from being a past guest.

 

 

Cheers!

 

The Cruiser

 

Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Hash Browns, Turkey Bacon

 

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

[deladane]

Brunch took about an hour and a half, then we walked around the ship for a while. It was very windy outside and the temps were only in the 70s, so it was too cold to sit out on Lido deck. Instead, we sat at the tables near Blue Iguana because they were shaded from the wind. They had the chocolate buffet this day, but I was too full from brunch to enjoy it.

 

The Game of Love (formerly known as the Marriage Show haha) was scheduled for 3pm, so I was glad to have an excuse to be inside on this chilly day. They asked the same questions as on my last cruise, but it was still funny and entertaining. After that, we played 60's trivia and "all about nothing" trivia, and we won a ship on a stick!

 

 

This ended a little after 5pm, so we quickly got changed and ready for the second formal night. It was fun that they had a different menu for this formal night (the menu with escragots and chateaubriand came later in the week), and there were so many great appetizer options that I ordered 3 of them!

 

 

langostino cocktail

 

Crepes filled with spinach and ricotta

 

beef carpaccio

 

lamb chops

[deladane]

Dessert Menu

 

Diet chocolate cake

 

After dinner, we went straight to the theater to wait in line for seats because we knew the line would be long. We were first in line downstairs and waited a half hour for them to open the doors. We were trampled by people when the doors finally opened, only to see that they opened the upstairs doors several minutes earlier and no good seats were left! We were rather annoyed to have wasted the half hour waiting in line for no reason, and we took seats on the sides of the theater with partially obstructed views from the columns. The theater was completely full by 8:10pm for the 8:30 show.

 

Tonight's show was Studio VIP. It was a fun 70's music disco-themed show with great dancing and costumes. They brought people up on stage from the audience to dance in several songs, so it was funny to watch and sing along. After that, I went straight to bed at 10pm because I had been coming down with a cold for the last two days and I wanted to rest up for Sicily.