The (Initially) I Would Prefer the Sorta-New Carnival Sunshine Over the Breeze Review

[butzig]

Can't wait for next installment! Sailing the Sunshine in Oct. :)

[HoneyBeeGood]

Thanks for your report.

 

Keith

 

Awesome, My wife and I are booked on the same cruise... As far as the review(which is awesome by the way) it's just one persons opinion. If she says she loves is-great. If she says she hates-well I'm still going to try it, because it's a cruise, I know I am going to have an awesome time no matter what ;)

 

Can't wait for next installment! Sailing the Sunshine in Oct. :)

 

Love your writing style! Can't wait for more!

 

 

Thanks all for the compliments and have fun on your upcoming cruises. Wish I was sailing with ya!:)

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 3 (2nd Sailing Day)

As I mentioned before, the next days are going to fly by quickly because, the next 4 of the 5 days are port stops.

 

The first stop was in Nassau, Bahamas. Some of my family and I decided to take a taxi to Atlantis, walked around a bit, and headed back to the ship. Since, we left port early that afternoon, we decided to take the kids to Waterworks. Of course, I scope the area and realize there are nice sitting areas that included patio umbrellas. I thought this was a nice addition compared to the Breeze’s Waterworks (I don’t remember seeing any). The positives about this area is that some are located near the toddler’s play area so, you are able to watch your children play while relaxing in the shade. The negative is that they only have 2 umbrellas in that area and the rest are lounging chairs for sunbathers; so, the chair-hoggers (excuse me, UMBRELLA-hoggers) were in full effect! You had to get there really early in the day or sweet talk another family to share the shade: in doing so, we met some extremely nice couples during the week. And Oh! Before I move on, the Sunshine has 2 racing slides that are extremely fast. Even us adults enjoyed this and I encourage those who still have an adventurous bone to try them out (if you dare :eek:).

 

After waterworks, we decided to go back to the cabin and get ready for Captain’s night. The family agreed to meet at 7pm in the Ocean Plaza and fortunately, the Captain and his crew (WAIT! Who was driving the ship!?:confused:) were available to take pics. If anyone remembers in the past, you had to meet the captain in the show lounge which was more of an open area and seemed disconnected. Here in the plaza, it was more intimate setting and a nice way to kill time while you’re waiting for your table. Again, enjoyed the service in the MDR, said our goodbyes to the extended family, and decided to take the kids to Camp Carnival to (once again) enjoy the nightlife.

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 3 (2nd Sea Day Continue...)

 

Tonight was the Night Owls (or Owl Jam) party for the kids and unfortunately, we had to bribe them this time around to go to camp (at the beginning of the review, I mentioned how my children have cruised several times before) so, the rebellious behavior caught us off guard . However, this night they would receive a bag full of Carnival gifts and treats that it didn't take much to convince them to go. So, we dropped them off and headed to our favorite spot, the comedy club.

 

It would be the beginning of the end of my no-line-to-the-comedy-club-happy-dance :( because it seems that someone decided to share our secret getaway to every non-gambler on the cruise. If you don't already know, it is a MUST to line up at least 45 minutes before the next show. We got there 30 minutes before the show and still, the line was ridiculously long! It was so bad, we barely made it into the lounge and we had to stand at the bar during the show.

 

This is an epic FAIL on the sorta-new Sunshine! If Carnival is going to add new cabin spaces (more passengers) to the ship, they must increase the space of the most popular entertainment lounge as well. On the Breeze, I remember the lines being as long but, we NEVER had to stand to watch a show and this happen to us not once but, twice and possibly a third time if we hadn't met a nice couple (from Waterworks) who saved us a spot in line (drinks were on us that night.)

 

I know most will say, oh, just get there an hour early. Yeah? But, when you have to go to a 2 hour evening dinner, afterwards, convince your children for 30 minutes (oh it gets worse) why it's important for them to meet new friends, (plus, mommy and daddy need to spend some grown up time together,) and then, jet to the comedy lounge 5 decks below to try to get there at least 30 minutes early?! To top that off, to find yourself uncomfortably standing at the bar listening to a sorta-funny show(a couple were funny but, most were not).

 

Sooo, there's my sob story of why it's not a good idea to add-pasengers-to-an-already-small-ship-but-just-make-the-comedy-lounge-slightly-bigger-and-I-promise-I-won't-complain-not-one-bit!:D I hate to say, but there is one more area that needs improvement and I will touch on this later. That's all for the second sailing day. Up next, a sea day, Disney cruise haters, and my last vent to why is the comedy lounge too small? Until then...

[Time2CruiseAgain]

Can't wait for more!!

 

 

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[sxyshell]

Your review has me on the edge of my seat since I cruise on the Sunshine 1 week from today;) Looking forward to more...

[arubacabo]

Enjoying your review. We will be sailing next June. Is there an adult only pool on the Sunshine? I really enjoy this area on the ships that have it, especially when traveling with no kids.

 

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[jlindemer]

Great review so far! Thanks for taking the time to write it!

 

 

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[daniella1279]

Looking forward to your review

 

 

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[Swampbaby]

Enjoying your review. We will be sailing next June. Is there an adult only pool on the Sunshine? I really enjoy this area on the ships that have it, especially when traveling with no kids.

 

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Forums mobile app

 

The deck plans show a pool in the Serenity area.

[daniella1279]

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607997752531486174&pid=15.1&P=0

 

 

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[daniella1279]

 

Let's see if this will post the picture instead of a link

 

 

 

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[arubacabo]

Thanks for the info.

 

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[loveysbydesign]

Following along! We have never cruise Carnival before and I was torn between the Sunshine and the Breeze! We are booked for the Breeze in Nov. in a cove balcony. Def. considering Sunshine for our next carnival cruise ;)

[HoneyBeeGood]

Can't wait for more!!

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Looking forward to your review

 

 

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Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy!:)

 

 

Your review has me on the edge of my seat since I cruise on the Sunshine 1 week from today;) Looking forward to more...

 

Thank you! Have a blast on your cruise, I'm trying to finish this review before you go.;)

 

Great review so far! Thanks for taking the time to write it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks and You're welcome! I appreciate the feedback all!

 

Enjoying your review. We will be sailing next June. Is there an adult only pool on the Sunshine? I really enjoy this area on the ships that have it, especially when traveling with no kids.

 

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Forums mobile app

 

The deck plans show a pool in the Serenity area.

 

 

Let's see if this will post the picture instead of a link

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you all! Yes, there is a Serenity deck that sits above the lido deck and extends towards the front of the ship. I will be speaking on this soon.

 

Following along! We have never cruise Carnival before and I was torn between the Sunshine and the Breeze! We are booked for the Breeze in Nov. in a cove balcony. Def. considering Sunshine for our next carnival cruise ;)

 

Thanks for following! I think that's a great idea, both ships have something to offer that the other does not.

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 4 (Third Sailing Day)

 

My apologies all, I was in the middle of work and travel for the past few days that I haven’t been able to post. I wanted to finish my review by today but, as we can see, that’s not going to happen. Hopefully, I can finish over the next couple of days before those leaving this Saturday. So, the story continues…

 

Previously, we left Nassau early that afternoon and headed to St. Thomas. Being that today is a sea day, we decided to hang out at the Waterworks once again. By the time we got there, most of the seating was unavailable, including the “shade” so, I popped a squat on a lounger and waited impatiently for the next umbrella to become available. Yes, I said IMpatiently because, it irritates me to find a section of chairs (under the “shade”) being held by 1 member of the family, where they have 3 others being occupied by towels. :mad: I wouldn't have been so upset if towel animals were in their place but no, they refuse to share the “shade” and I continued to watch them like a hawk in the meantime. :D I’m kidding, it wasn't that serious but, I did check every so often to see if a family was leaving.

 

After some time, I noticed a family leaving the “shade” and bum rushed them to stake claim on their spot. Thankfully, I secured 2 of the 4 chairs with towels while we watched the children play. LOL, before you call me a hypocrite, I actually removed the towels to allow a family that was gracious enough to share the “shade” the previous day. It was a couple who frequently take their grandchildren on cruises in the summer and they were telling us about their recent Disney cruise. Apparently, the cost of the cruise was like 2-3 times more than Carnival and they said, it was not worth the cost in their opinion. I was really surprised since, I’ve heard that Disney cruises are like the “Mack daddy” of all family cruises.

 

Anyhoo, we spoke more about cruises (including the sorta-new Sunshine) and then, bid our farewells to go grab some lunch. Moments like that is why I appreciate going on cruises since, you meet people you wouldn’t normally hang out with. So, I really enjoyed our time at Waterworks on this cruise because, we met several nice families. :)

Edited August 26, 2014 by HoneyBeeGood

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 4 (Third Sailing Day) Continue...

 

So, the next several hours involved eating, relaxing, more eating and then, our favorite: the comedy show! I will go ahead and do a 2 in 1 vent session (if you don’t mind) :p because the next few days will be repeats of the first few and I will spare the details in my next post(s).

 

The first tragedy- This might not pertain to most however, for those of you who travel with children, we all know at some point you want to dropped them off somewhere and be able to relax without worrying if they are going to be okay without you. This is the main reason why we cruise with our children, you get the best of both worlds. You can safely drop them off at camp and still be in arms reach if there is an issue. On every cruise, we’ve never had a problem with Camp Carnival meaning, our children have been as young as 1-2 years old and never cried when dropped off. Unfortunately, both my 4 year old and 7 year old did not want to go to camp at all this cruise. Matter of fact, every time and I mean EVERY time we went to camp, there was a precious child (boo hoo crying) waiting for their parents to return. What upsets me even more is that I was one of those parents. When my husband and I would head to the comedy show, as painful as it was, I had to leave my youngest (crying) :( but, knowing that she would be fine. The problem wasn’t that she was crying (because that’s what kids do when their parents leave,) I knew and she knew (even my youngest son knew) that they would be bored. Who goes on a cruise to be bored?? I promise you, we have been on this ship twice (when it was Destiny) and never had an issue.

 

Here lies the problem, last year we were on the Breeze and I would admit, Camp Carnival was very spacious, nicely designed lay-out, well organized, with perky counselors. Somewhere lurking in the wings (or a whale tail) of the sorta-new Sunshine is another Epic FAIL for us family cruisers. On this particular cruise there were over 3000 passengers. Do you know, ALMOST half of those passengers were children!? :eek: This was the statistics given to us at the welcome meeting by-the-way. Now, if you are going to rebuild a ship and your target market is families, why would you not make sure the only place where children are entertained be able to accommodate at least some of those children. :confused: Let me tell you, my children were in 3 different age groups, the size of the camp play area for all 3 age groups was the size of 1 age group play area on the Breeze. It was horrible (and maybe I’m exaggerating a bit) but, I can definitely tell you it was ridiculously undersized for that amount children. There was a wall divider to separate the age groups that limited the amount of open space for the dance party (which is the best part of camp). In my honest opinion, I believe if they re-design the rooms to make a larger space and add a few "perky" counselors, it would be just fine. Most of the counselors seemed to be tired (understandably so) from all the crying and cramp spaces.

 

Thus, begins the diminishing of our enjoyment of the sorta-new Sunshine. It was really difficult for my husband and I to enjoy the night-life (our date nights) and the kids to be able to have a good time meeting other children their age. Which brings me to my second tragedy of the evening: being that we had to calm down the younger two for about 45 minutes, it put us closer to the next (and last) comedy show of the evening at which, (remember) you need to be waiting in line at least 45 minutes before the show to get a seat (not a good seat) but, A seat. So, here we are again rushing to get to the comedy lounge and find ourselves at the end of the line (barely making it into the club) and of course, no more seats available. Fortunately, the comedian (the same from the first night and actually our favorite the whole cruise) was hilarious as usual and actually, made us feel much better after the debacle at Camp Carnival. Once the show was over (no call from the camp so, everything is okay), we headed to the Red Frog lido party, did a couple of line dances, then back to Camp Carnival to pick up the kiddies and off to bed we went.

 

Okay I promise the next few days will be short being these are port days. I will speak on the Serenity deck, how to catch a seat in the comedy lounge (even when you're in Camp Carnival for over 30 minutes convincing the kids to stay), and how a family MISSED the ship :eek: but, made it back on the ship for a PREMIUM cost. It gets interesting...stay tuned!

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 5 (Fourth Sailing Day) -St. Thomas

 

Being this is a port day and this review is mainly about the ship, I will spare the details of our trips in the ports. So that morning, while everyone was asleep, I washed some laundry and decided to check out the Serenity deck. I made my way up the flight of stairs, pass the 2-3 level waterfall (I can’t remember how many) and plopped into a clam shell perfectly facing the open waters. Yes, it was all you dreamed of: nothing but pure peace and quiet. :cool: Mind you, this was early in the morning (just after sunrise) so, I can’t speak on how peaceful it is during peak hours. Anyhoo, after enjoying the breeze for about 30 minutes, I left to check on the laundry and then, headed back to my cabin. That was my ONE and ONLY experience of the Serenity deck and as I said before, I am not sure what experience you will have during peak hours however, it was a pleasant experience for me.

 

To conclude Day 5, we arrived at St. Thomas, participated in a kayak, hiking, snorkel excursion in the mangroves and then, returned to the ship. After dinner we went to the magician show (which was entertaining) and later, called it a night since we had a long day in the mangroves plus, a comedy show was not scheduled because the new set of comedians arrived in port that day. So, that was pretty much Day 5...onto Day 6 in San Juan.

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 6 (Fifth Sailing Day) -San Juan

 

We arrived in San Juan, took the free trolley around the city, toured the forts, saw an entourage of dark tinted vehicles and police escorts (enough for the President) but later, find out it was the Governor?! :eek: From what a local taxi driver told us, the Governor has 2 bodyguards that he gets to keep even when he is no longer in office. That’s the tax payer’s bill of $120,000 a year for each governor present and past…and they wonder why the economy is not doing well. :confused:

 

Okay, back to the review, so we head back to the ship, relaxed a little, and got ready for dinner. After dinner, we decided to check out the new comics on board at which, my mom insisted on watching the kids this evening (Yayy!). So, the sixth day ended with finally enjoying a sorta-funny show at the comedy lounge (without standing) and resting up for the next day at the beach in Grand Turk.

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 7 (Sixth Sailing Day) -Grand Turk

 

Just checking my notes and I need to make a correction before I continue the review: each governor of Puerto Rico (past AND present) are assigned 4 bodyguards (not 2) for a total of $240,000 year :eek: (not $120,000), courtesy of the Puerto Rican tax payers. That’s coming from one of the locals and I would be pissed also. Just thought I would let you know.

Now, back to the review…

 

I mentioned in an earlier post about a family being left behind and somehow made it back to the ship again. Now, this is third person gossip so, I’ll re-hash from what I was told: A day or two before we arrived in Grand Turk, my brother told us a story about how he a met family of 4 that got left behind in Nassau. The family consisted of the dad, mom, a 20-something year old daughter, and a 17-18 year old son. Apparently, the dad, mom, and daughter wanted to shop in Nassau and the son decided to stay on the ship. Unfortunately, they didn’t know the time zone (which was the same) or some excuse and did not make it back to the ship until they actually saw it pulling away. From what I heard, the mother even ran down the dock waving her hands in order to stop the ship (as if that would work). Fortunately and Unfortunately, they had to spend a night in the Bahamas (I think), fly to Miami the next day, purchase expedited passports, stay in a hotel in Miami (since we’re out to see the next day), and then, fly into St. Thomas the following day. Meanwhile, their son is spending the family vacation alone (and I’m sure he had a good time) until he could meet up with his family. I say fortunately, because they got left in an island where they could fly out without passports (I guess) and they were able to fly into to the next port that happened to be a U.S. port. The 2 day ordeal cost them over $2400 and let’s just say, please find out what time the ship leaves and make sure it’s ship time, not island time.

 

Okay, so I got off course for a bit but, lo and behold, guess who we come across while walking on the beach in Grand Turk, the infamous (got-left-behind-but-made-it-back-and-the-ship-crew-insisted-that-they-stay-on-the-ship) Family. It was funny because, they were swimming almost in arms reach of the ship in order to make it back in time. So, my brother introduced us to the family and then we went on our way. The remainder of the day consisted of hanging out at Jack's Shack, snorkeling, returning to the ship, having dinner, and preparing for the next round of comedy for the evening…

Edited August 28, 2014 by HoneyBeeGood

[HoneyBeeGood]

Day 7 (Sixth Sailing Day) Continue…

 

Now, this is how we managed to score a nice spot in line for the comedy show, while convincing the kids to go to camp. After dinner (the second elegant night), my husband and I decided to split up this time around since, he would hold a place in line at the comedy lounge while I took the kids to camp. Thankfully, it didn't take long as before (maybe 30 minutes) to convince the younger ones to stay then, I was able to meet up with my husband for our date night and enjoyed another (slightly funnier) show than the previous one. After the comedy show, we headed to the lido party for some dancing and off to the camp to pick up the kids for bedtime. That's our day in Grand Turk and the beginning of our trip back to PC.

 

Coming up next on our final sailing day (out to sea): catching up with friends at waterworks, a last attempt at Camp Carnival (sighhhh!:(), how we managed to score seats for back-to-back shows in the comedy lounge (yayyy!:D), and my closing thoughts (thanks all for your patience!) Until then...

[HoneyBeeGood]

8 Day (Final Day) -Out to Sea

 

I hope you all are still following, I'm beginning to hear crickets... Anyhoo, back to the review...

 

It was the typical day at Waterworks. My husband and I grabbed some "shade" and enjoyed the last day on the ship watching the kids play. Right before we headed in, a couple (we met before) stopped by and spoke with us about meeting up that evening at the comedy lounge. So we agreed, and bid our farewells since it was time for dinner. Being that it was the last day, my whole family decided to have one last meal together. After dinner, they decided to see the production show and we of course, preferred to catch the comedy show. So we said our goodbyes and prepared the kids to what the plan for the evening would be.

 

Since our genius idea to split up the previous night was pretty successful, we decided to try it again: my husband stood in line for the next show and I took the children to camp. So, the kids and I headed to camp and I would have to say, I have never seen my daughter act so rebellious before :confused:. She had a" fit" for a good 45 minutes, crying uncontrollably and that's when I realize how "Camp Cramp" will have to improve on this ship. However, after calming her down and realizing the show was beginning in 5 minutes, I kissed her goodbye and did my final rush to the comedy show. After convincing the staff member to let me in the lounge, I hurried over to my husband who had originally saved me a seat at the bar (but, understandably so, someone insisted on taking the seat since I was not there.) When I walked up, she politely let me have the seat and I was able to enjoy the remaining of the sorta-funny comedy show.

 

Once it was over, we decided to try and catch the last comedy show of the evening by making our way to the front of the lounge. As we made our way to the end of the line, we bumped into the couple we had spoken with earlier that day. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you are able get your guaranteed seats in the comedy lounge (Discretion: this might not work for everyone):p: So first, always get there at least 45 minutes early OR make good friends on the ship who are willing to let-you-skip-them-in-line-for-a-chance-to-grab-a-highly-coveted-seat in the comedy lounge. By-the-way, because of this nice gesture, we paid for their drinks and enjoyed our final night on the sorta-new Sunshine.

 

Day 9 (Debarkation)

 

Sadly, we ate our last breakfast in the Havana Bar and made our way to the gangway. Debarkation was a pleasant experience in which, we grabbed our luggage, made our way through customs and took the shuttle back to the Residence Inn. We retrieved our vehicle and made it back home to plan our next cruise. :D

 

My thoughts:

 

Would I sail the Sunshine again? SURPRISE: Absolutely!;) But...with a BIG but...only if We're traveling without the children OR Carnival creates a bigger space to accommodate the kids in Camp Carnival. My husband and I love AND appreciate our date nights, and with the children's refusal to participate in camp, made it little difficult to enjoy our nightlife on this cruise. The ship is beautiful, the lido deck is perfectly designed in my eyes, the 6K cabins are the best, and the Alchemy...ohhhhh, is an experience of it's own. ;) Yes, if I had to choose between the Sunshine and the Breeze: hands down the Breeze was our favorite of the two, we didn't complain about 1 thing on that ship (plus, the kids really enjoyed the camp on the Breeze.) However, other than Camp Carnival and the comedy lounge fiascoes, we truly had a great time on the Sunshine and I would encourage anyone who sails on her to just have a blast! :)

 

And that, my friends, is my experience of the (initially) I would prefer the sorta-new Sunshine over the Breeze.

 

If you have any questions, please ask away...if not, enjoy your up-coming cruises and have a safe trip!

[loveysbydesign]

Still here ,enjoying your tr!

[Frank12]

Thanks for taking the time. Thinking about booking Sunshine since she is so close to home. You may have just sealed the deal.

[cruizinisthebest]

I think I would have been exhausted wrestling with the kids each night for 30-45 minutes to get them to stay in camp. If they were consistently unhappy, why make them go? I thought the kids camp was pretty big on the Sunshine?? Guess not. We had 1100 kids on the Freedom. Camp Ocean was a really good size but I wouldn't call it a huge space. Alot of kids used the camp but honestly I think most didn't or did so only sparingly. My kids had a ball. Especially the 11-year old.

 

 

Thanks for the review!

Edited August 30, 2014 by cruizinisthebest