Carnival Sunshine tips and secrets

[ginka]

Hi all!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Sunshine Feb. 20th and I am one that looks to the very most out of every bit of my vacation. I love to know all aobut things ahead of time and keep a notebook with all the little tips and secrets.

 

I have read a few things scattered around in different post, and saw that another poster attempted to get some tips back in 2013, but not real tips or secrets were provided (other than its not a new ship) :)

 

All you past sailors who have been on the Sunshine (and not on the Destiny, since the ship layout changed), please include any tips or secrets you might have.

 

Please also include any overall Carnival wide tips or secrets.

 

(things like...secret doors to "private" viewing deck; get a chair on this deck, facing this way; take this elevator to get to such and such; go here for lunch; get drinks from 'bob' at this bar; arrive by 10 am for quickest embarkation---these are all EXAMPLES... please be as specific as possible)

 

thanks in advance!!!

[hhalliv]

I'm sailing on her in March and would love some info too. I have heard very polarized reviews so am a little weary.

[amyjoy202697]

Hi all!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Sunshine Feb. 20th and I am one that looks to the very most out of every bit of my vacation. I love to know all aobut things ahead of time and keep a notebook with all the little tips and secrets.

 

I have read a few things scattered around in different post, and saw that another poster attempted to get some tips back in 2013, but not real tips or secrets were provided (other than its not a new ship) :)

 

All you past sailors who have been on the Sunshine (and not on the Destiny, since the ship layout changed), please include any tips or secrets you might have.

 

Please also include any overall Carnival wide tips or secrets.

 

(things like...secret doors to "private" viewing deck; get a chair on this deck, facing this way; take this elevator to get to such and such; go here for lunch; get drinks from 'bob' at this bar; arrive by 10 am for quickest embarkation---these are all EXAMPLES... please be as specific as possible)

 

thanks in advance!!!

 

I would also love to see this...we leave 1/10, CANT WAIT!!!

[keywest1]

We sailed on the Sunshine in Sept and loved her :)

My tips: Don't miss the seating area behind the buffet area. At night, it is reserved seating for specialty restaurants, but during the day, it is open seating. The view is amazing, and it is generally uncrowded.

Be sure not to wait till the last minute to head to the shows or comedy club. We went 15-30 minutes early and never had a problem getting good seats.

One more: be sure to head up to the Lido on the last sea day for the towel animal invasion. It was a sight to see, and the crew had put in a lot of hard work.

Go with an open mind. I, too, was nervous after reading the reviews, but I would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

[lola61]

We sailed on the Sunshine in Sept and loved her :)

My tips: Don't miss the seating area behind the buffet area. At night, it is reserved seating for specialty restaurants, but during the day, it is open seating. The view is amazing, and it is generally uncrowded.

Be sure not to wait till the last minute to head to the shows or comedy club. We went 15-30 minutes early and never had a problem getting good seats.

One more: be sure to head up to the Lido on the last sea day for the towel animal invasion. It was a sight to see, and the crew had put in a lot of hard work.

Go with an open mind. I, too, was nervous after reading the reviews, but I would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

 

Love, Love 42 days whoo hoo:cool:

[DCDragonfly]

We sailed on the Sunshine last December. We thought the specialty restaurants had much better food than the MDR or buffet. My foodie GF said that the steak in Cucina del Capitano was the best she'd ever had, and our dinner in JiJi's Asian ranked in our top 10 all-time.

 

Don't miss Jaime the cruise director. In fact, you CAN'T miss her--she seems to be everywhere on board! No idea when (or if!) she sleeps.....

[shixie]

The Taste Bar on the Ocean Plaza (deck 5) has a Continental breakfast and lunch buffet every day. Hours are posted in the Fun Times. Not as much selection as the Lido, but just as tasty and much less crowded. They also did a towel animal take over in the Ocean Plaza.

[mosaic_mom]

If you have Your Time Dining, you have to first go to deck 5 near the Taste Bar to sign in for dinner before going down to deck 3 Sunrise dining room (aft). If you are disabled, they let you bypass this and go directly to the dining room.

 

Deck 3 does not go all the way through from aft to mid ship due to galley being there. Sometimes, deck 4 was blocked off from going all the way through when the Limelight Lounge was closed off.

 

For Punch Liner club, you have to enter through the forward entrance and exit through the rear doors. Not well manned and very confusing and crowded.

 

Check out Taste Bar around lunch time. Chicken with honey mustard is awesome !! Rest of food on ship was pretty good, not over exciting. Cucina del Capitano is a MUST !! Food is excellent.

 

If you want a quiet place to be out on deck, try deck 3 both sides.

 

We enjoyed the ship, but it's layout is confusing and at times doesn't make sense. Get there early to the shows because the seating is limited. The lounge is very small (and not very handicap friendly once people get in there and start moving the chairs around).

[CruiseHealing]

Go to the shows early to get a good seat. The chairs are not very comfortable, with little leg room in theater seating section.

 

If you want to be in the Serenity section and get chairs in front of the water fall, get there by 6:30 am. All seats were taken by 7:30 am

 

If you want to sit upstairs in the Serenity section, this area is full around 9:30 am.

 

Chair hogs get slaughtered in Serenity. They put a sticker on your chair if they see it vacant, and 45 minutes later your stuff is brought to the Towel Attendant. It is fun watching people who are gone more than an hour freak out not that their stuff was moved, but they lost their chair.

 

The Havana Bar is great to enjoy Breakfast. Someone said the area is used for premium restaurants in the evening. That is not completely true, only the left and right sections are. The middle section is always open to eat, drink or relax it. A lot of crew members eat here.

 

The Havana Bar is the most undiscovered space on the ship. But as the cruise goes more people will discover it. So keep the secret to yourself.

Edited December 27, 2014 by CruiseHealing

[ginka]

thanks for all the tips so far!! I cant wait. Question..I want to be in the serenity area the majority of the time, however, if there is a good movie showing on the big screen, I would like to watch that while I bask in the sun. Is it possible to hear the movie (I think you can probably see it..) from the serenity area?

[justkris73]

The movies only show at night and are generally kids movies... But the serenity deck is the best place to watch.

[TanyaH321]

I was on the Sunshine in Sept and loved it. I would definitely cruise on her again. I agree that the layout can be a bit confusing and very crowded in some areas but nothing too terrible.

 

I also agree that Jaime is the best cruise director I've ever had. She was everywhere always laughing and smiling. You can tell she really loves her job.

 

The shows are a must see. Make sure you get there in plenty of time cause they fill up quickly. If you love to participate, be sure to go to the pre show for the Studio VIP show and volunteer. They will seat you in a VIP section and you get to be a part of the show. I volunteered, not knowing what I was going to be doing, and it ended up being so much fun. I was part of the stripper section of the show. So fun! Then you also get invited to a VIP meet and greet party in the piano bar with the whole awesome cast.

[margoann99]

We always sat on 2nd or 3rd level of Lido deck and then it was a quick trip up to the Serenity pool. The tip about the Havana Bar is one of the best. Lots of games to check out in the Library Bar. We had some intense Jinga competetions. Also loved the Red Frog Pub on deck 6. They have Shuffleboard, dominos, and Fusball. Of course the Alchemy Bar is the bomb! I would go on the Sunshine again in a minute.

 

 

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[Smiley143143]

I sailed in July and I loved it! The food was amazing at cuciana!! Wish I had tried it sooner. The movie nights were packed deff go early. Watching the movie from serenity was tough because the railing it smack in the middle of the screen. Havanas had some appetizers out during lunch which was really good. I loved everything! No complaints really.

[bjd2]

We were on the Sunshine this past spring. We really enjoyed her. Our dinner on the first night at Cucina remains as one of the best we've ever had anywhere. If you like great sushi, go find Bonsai. It's off the beaten path on deck 4 on the way to the piano bar. It was fantastic and just a small fee.

 

We did get chairs by the pool on Serenity twice but as the earlier poster said, go by 6:30am. This wasn't an issue for me as I'm always up long before then. I enjoy getting pictures of the sun rising and getting those good seats. The waterfall is really loud so after some time we kind of didn't want to hear it anymore and gave up our seats to others who were roaming around looking for 2 together.

 

We would definitely sail on her again.

[firsttimecruiser9876]

how about any live bands on the ship? do they have this in the red frog bar?

[RogueMonk]

If you like chocolate, the last sea day at lunch is usually a small chocolate bar--but they don't advertise it. If you aren't there, you'd miss it.

[curlygrljax]

Appreciate everyone's comments, sailing on the Sunshine soon!

[7upp]

Deck 6&7 forward opens up to an observation deck. No one was ever there. These two decks are small and are directly in front of the 4J inside cabins (inside cabin with walkway view). Enjoy the quite, virtually private area.

 

 

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[LV0110]

Thank you to everyone who posted tips here.

I'm sure our cruise will be greatly improved thanks to all of you.

[sjcruiser]

A few of the vest tips that I can offer is the seating and omelet stations in Havana Bar in the morning. The first half of the cruise seating was plentiful, and the lines are not that long, but it gets more crowded as the cruise goes on. The Taste Bar for lunch has a variety of items such as chicken tenders, made to order salads, soup, and other light entrees or appetizer type fare (meatballs, etc.) for those that are still stuffed from breakfast, or just want a quick lite meal. Seating is always available in the area or outside Ocean Plaza, if a show or event is not going on. Blue Iguana Cantina for breakfast or lunch, especially the taco station/side!!!! I hear a lot about the chair hogs on the Serenity, but fortunately, I didnt have a problem finding a chair, chaise, couch, or hammock to enjoy no matter what time I went up there. I usually started off in a chair or chaise, and waiting for a hammock to become free. Bar service on the Serenity Deck is really good, although the bar can become crowded at times.

[djacobson]

Hi all!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Sunshine Feb. 20th and I am one that looks to the very most out of every bit of my vacation. I love to know all aobut things ahead of time and keep a notebook with all the little tips and secrets.

 

I have read a few things scattered around in different post, and saw that another poster attempted to get some tips back in 2013, but not real tips or secrets were provided (other than its not a new ship) :)

 

All you past sailors who have been on the Sunshine (and not on the Destiny, since the ship layout changed), please include any tips or secrets you might have.

 

Please also include any overall Carnival wide tips or secrets.

 

(things like...secret doors to "private" viewing deck; get a chair on this deck, facing this way; take this elevator to get to such and such; go here for lunch; get drinks from 'bob' at this bar; arrive by 10 am for quickest embarkation---these are all EXAMPLES... please be as specific as possible)

 

thanks in advance!!!

 

I would second the opinions about JiJi- get a reservation for one evening. The meal is well worth the extra cost. It was the best meal of the entire cruise (had I gone to the Steakhouse, I guess that would have been even better).

 

At the aft of the ship between the Italian and the Asia restaurants is the Havana Bar. Great snack food there (empanadas and pastries).

 

There is a self serve beer tap on Lido deck. There is a time limit for pouring and they charge by the ounce.

 

The Seaday Brunch has great dishes in the dining room for breakfast.

 

My most important tip is to make sure to meet the cruise director, Jaime. She is quickly becoming one of the most popular of all of the cruise directors.

[firsttimecruiser9876]

Great to hear...would love to hear more 👍

[dotheyes]

Sunshine is one of our favorites.

We love the Havana bar in the aft of the Lido Deck. They have a wonderful live band that plays I think they start at 10pm but they are well worth staying up for.

The specialty restaurants JiJi oriental and Captitanos Italian cost $12 each in June (may have changed since then) both are well worth the cost.

 

The Sea Day Brunch is great especially if you want to sleep late; you can get breakfast up till one pm.

 

The ocean plaza on deck 5 aft is where they have trivia and live bands and other entertainment. It is next to the Red Frog room which is entertaining.

We will be going on Jan 31 and will try to find more to add to this thread

 

I agree with others Jamie Dee is the best Cruise Director She has a Mardi Gras bead throwing event in the Atrium You will have to read the Funtimes to find out what night.

dot

[airlinerob]

Dot,

 

I'm on the same cruise!

 

 

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