My Picture Review of the Carnival Sunshine 12/6/14

[JennN]

There were 2 showers in the spa and both were broken - one didn't work at all and the other, you couldn't get cool water - only hot. And after the showers was the cool down room:

 

 

The chairs are mildly heated - we liked this room but it was packed all the time. We really wanted to use the spa every day but we only wound up going 5 of the 7 days. It got really crowded on sea days especially. And if we went late, it seemed more dirty. Plus, I started to get sick right about this time (don't worry, I tested the theory that alcohol kills everything) and didn't want to hack up a lung in a steam room!

 

I want to interrupt this review for one of our major complaints - which didn't "ruin" the cruise for us and was mostly just annoying. My wife and I are legally handicapped. We are luckier than most and can walk and don't rely on a scooter or chair. But, especially at the end of the day, our mobility shrinks. Anyway, there were two elevators that went to floors 11, 12 and 14 at the front of the ship. These two elevators were either turned off or skipped our floor (no matter which we were on) at least 75% of the time. Luckily we got smart and either walked down to 10 in order to get one of the 10 elevators there (6 regular and 4 glass) or took the elevator to 10 and walked up. It became an issue at the end of the trip for me and was just annoying.

 

We checked my MIL's room this time (still no luggage) and then trekked down the hallway

 

back up the stairs and sat on the Serenity Deck (12). I hit the bar and decided to try the Kiss on the Lips. YUCK! Too sweet. I went back and got a Long Island (he only charged me for the difference between the two) and also got a Cigar Beer for my MIL to try (she hated it -too bitter)

 

 

 

We grabbed some chairs, made some last minute calls and relaxed for about an hour before Muster:

 

 

[JennN]

We love love love it when our muster station is indoors and we can sit! However, it does leave it to the imagination how we'd all muster in the lounge then get all the way to the boats in time not to drown and if we did get there, how we'd all fit (staff assured us that we would).

 

 

Me thinks some people showed up late!

 

After mustarding, hehe, we went back up to the rooms to find our luggage! My MIL, having an interior room and only one person (with the bunk in the ceiling - we joked that her ex was up there since we ran into a guy throughout the cruise that looked like him) was done first. So she came to hang out on our balcony as we unpacked and my wife distracted her so I could decorate her cabin door.

 

 

Then I came back and did our door:

 

I was out of tape and so we lost half of these and the penguin before the cruise was over! But my MIL was surprised and loved it!

 

If I remember correctly, we left a half an hour late (4:30) but we did sail away from our room:

 

[JennN]

Wow, Day 1 is sooo long! Thanks for sticking it out with me!

 

As is our tradition (and mostly for the free wine), we ate at the steakhouse this night. Food p0rn to follow. It was delicious as always, even in spite of the family behind us (whom we saw all over the ship and on excursions thereafter) who complained about EVERYTHING. We poo-pood them and enjoyed our food!

 

 

 

Shrimp cocktail

 

Tuna tartare

 

Wedge salad

 

Petite filet and lobster tail

 

We never ever like the dessert here and this time was no exception. So, we decided to head to the MDR for dessert. Haha! We had YTD and could go anytime, right??? Why not for dessert? We were slightly annoyed about having to go to 5 to check in then head down to 3 to actually eat. But, we discovered the Alchemy Bar which would get me and my S&S card in major trouble later! The Taste Bar was there too but was closed 4 of the 7 nights!?

 

We got GREAT wait staff that night and requested to be sat in their section every night! Sudita, Untung and I Made (we only used the bartender once, Robert and he was swell too) were fantabulous! And while they found us coming in for only dessert amusing, it also gave us time to get to know them.

[JennN]

After 2nd dinner (as we referred to it), we explored the Fun Shops, looked at our embarkation photo (shhhhh) and explored the ship a bit more. The smoke smell from the casino was putrid - and because that is basically the only (and most convenient) way to get anywhere, I was usually found with my shirt over my nose, "running" through it (okay, more like speed walking).

 

 

 

 

We met our cabin steward, Colin, at this point and went back into our room to find

 

 

I explored the ship until about 11pm and my wife and MIL were long in bed by then.

 

One little silly pic that shows how gooft I really am but also that deck 10 doesn't have a "roof" over their balconies so we could see right down into them:

 

 

That is the end of Day 1! Finally!!! If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them. I might get around to doing more tonight or it may have to wait until tomorrow/Friday. Happy holidays to those that celebrate!

[wrigley80]

Very nice review. We too loved the Sunshine. I could literally spend every minute on the Serenity deck

[jessicara7474]

I'm looking forward to the rest of the review, I used to read you on diaryland!

[boaterette]

Nice start. Thank you.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Loving the review and pics and your Ocean City t-shirt! Have only visited there once but would love to visit again!

 

 

 

Kim

[F27TW]

Absolutely GREAT review! Just came across it ... and I;m about to search out any other ones you've done because I love how you write!

 

My husband and I have cruised mainly only on RC .. but i'm really trying to get him to loosen up a bit and try another line for a change! One line gets boring after a while!

 

Your review already is really making me wanna see what Carnival has to offer... keep the great review coming !! :p

Edited December 25, 2014 by F27TW

[Halftocruz]

I'm getting ready to sail on the Sunshine on January 3rd. I look forward to seeing/hearing more of your review. Thanks for sharing!

 

If you haven't joined our roll call, come on over and check it out. We will have a meet and mingle on the 1st sea day at 10 AM.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1945322&page=9

 

Sorry to hijack the thread!! Thanks for the review!!!

 

Kellie

[alrichards4003]

Great review, you and your wife are adorable. My favorite things about the Sunshine were Serenity and Alchemy. However, I had the Bourbon shake and it was yummy.

[TomsKim]

If you haven't joined our roll call, come on over and check it out. We will have a meet and mingle on the 1st sea day at 10 AM.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1945322&page=9

 

Sorry to hijack the thread!! Thanks for the review!!!

 

Kellie

Thanks Halftocruz, I have posted in the roll call.

 

Thanks JennN for such a nice review!... keep it coming :)

[mpcaruth]

Enjoying your review, and love that you "poo-pood" on the complaining family. lol. There always seems to be one infamous, annoying family every cruise.

 

We will be on the Sunshine in a few weeks and your review is getting me excited!!!!

Edited December 26, 2014 by mpcaruth

[patrice1]

Thanks for the picture review. We've wanted to sail her since her conversion, as we have sailed her as Destiny 4 times and loved her.:D Can't wait to see the rest.

[Mione]

Hi Jenn,

 

Great review. We will be sailing on the Sunshine on Jan 10 so just under two weeks too go!!! I wanted to confirm that the hotel you stayed at was the Doubletree Cocoa beach? We have booked a hotel in Orlando but was looking at the the Doubletree as an option. Can't wait to read more of your review.

 

Mione

[erewhon]

Enjoying your review, thank you.

[daniella1279]

Excited to read about the sunshine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JennN]

Hi Jenn,

 

Great review. We will be sailing on the Sunshine on Jan 10 so just under two weeks too go!!! I wanted to confirm that the hotel you stayed at was the Doubletree Cocoa beach? We have booked a hotel in Orlando but was looking at the the Doubletree as an option. Can't wait to read more of your review.

 

Mione

 

Nope, it was the Hilton Coco Beach Oceanfront....this one!

 

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/hilton-cocoa-beach-oceanfront-CCBCHHF/index.html

[JennN]

Thanks for waiting for me. We had guests I totally forgot about and timing wise, just couldn't post. But I am here now. Thank you all for the nice comments. I never know if the reviews come across how I want them to since I write like I talk.

 

So, day 2 - sea day!

 

I love waking up to this

 

After a quick shower, it is off to the Sea Day brunch to use our VIFP coupon for a free drink! Mimosa for me and my MIL and a Bloody Mary for the wife. Cheers!

 

 

Much to the chagrin of pretty much anyone over the age of eight, I always get the cereal encrusted French toast. I love it and think it's yummy...my breakfast companions get "normal" stuff.

 

 

 

And they LOVE it when I say, " no wait, wait, wait! I have to get a picture!!!"

 

It was sort of "late" (read: 10:30am) or so when we went back to change and we didn't think we'd find three seats together on our Serenity deck. So we headed down to the lido deck, which too was packed (don't bother asking me what the two ladies to the right of this picture were doing - I will let you use your own imagination) but we were able to find three seats.

 

 

We lasted about 10 minutes down by the main pool before my MIL was screaming from Serenity saying she found three spots by the Serenity pool so we ran upstairs.

 

I spent pretty much three hours in the pool. Yes, it was cold. Like, ice water cold. But hey, I am in the Caribbean so why not? Plus, once in, it hurt less than getting in and outn so why not stay in? The pool is indeed, small, but it was a-ok. With no one in it I was able to swim "laps" and hang out under the ever so strong waterfall. After my swim session, I lounged in the sun and got my second drink of the day, a Long Island!

 

[JennN]

After a beautiful day at sea, it was time for dinner. And, as the maitre d' says, it was elegant night because, by the end of the cruise you won't fit into your elegant clothing any more, haha.

 

(for the record, I lost 7 pounds on this one!)

 

This was, by the way, also when we finally got to go to Alchemy - great for us but unlucky for our S&S cards as each of their fabulous drinks are $10 a pop. We stopped by before AND after dinner. There are so many pictures to choose from, mostly of the bar staff, Maja and Miroslav who were fantastic. I had read so much about Alchemy here on CC and knew I wanted to try the martini flight but my wife and I couldn't narrow it down to 4 so Maja suggested we buy 2, try all 7 and the one we liked the best would be our 8th. WRONG move as as loved them all. She also made it a game and told us we had to guess which were which and poured them out and handed us a menu and wished us luck!

 

[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/M5hwYwqZJLs[/YOUTUBE] The link keeps breaking but here is Maja's pour - http://youtu.be/M5hwYwqZJLs

 

Isn't that amazing??? Anyway, having never had one of the martinis (I mean, we had been on the ship 24 hours already and STILL hadn't tried one), we taste tested them all and got them all right! She gave us a wine charm as a reward, lol.

 

 

 

My favorite was the Spicy Chipotle Pineapple, my wife's was 40 is the new 20 and my MIL loved The Remedy - they light the orange rind and place the essence all around the glass!

 

 

Here is the menu, which lights up when opened:

 

 

Now, I'd love to tell you what was for dinner and how much we enjoyed it but, truth be told, I don't remember much of that night! I had one (or 4) too many martinis! I do know we closed out the bar and had a blast. Oh, and I also know that we loved out wait staff - Sudita, Untung and I Made (we only used the bartender once, Robert, and he was swell too). Sudita was the head waiter and was quite the entertainer. They were all from Indonesia and Sudita and Untung were GREAT about giving us recommendations. It was really helpful in trying new things as well as narrowing down our selections!

Edited December 29, 2014 by JennN

[lanikeekee]

I am loving your review especially that you love drinking...Haven't been on carnival before but you are inspiring me...Have a great cruise :)

[crazycatlady82]

We loved the alchemy bar on the glory! My hubby's favorite was the spicy chipotle one also, but mine was the cucumber one...mmmmm.

 

However...a hangover from martinis...not good. We stayed in bed the day after. Whoops.'

[missymac]

Loving your review! We sail on the Sunshine (formerly Destiny) in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing :)

[jolyroger]

Loving your review!! Perfect blend with pics as well!! And yes gotta say, I do believe I know where I am headed for some liquid happiness!!! We"ll be sailing on the sunshine in April so I'm trying to read as many reviews as possible, And its nice to read a positive one! Keep it going, I love it!!

[Joaljoe]

Really enjoying your review!! :)

We will be on the Sunshine in February! Can't wait!!

 

Looking forward to the rest. :)