Just off Sunshine

[pcc1342]

Off the Sunshine this morning. Some good things, some not so good. A little about me first: my husband and I are in our early 60's with about 10 cruises under our belt. Have cruised on Carnival several times, as well as Royal Caribbean, Norweigan, and Princess. We have our favorite line but enjoy every cruise we have taken.

I am not going to do a full review but will gladly answer any questions. I do have some high points and some low ones. We liked the newness of the ship. It didn't feel like it was an old ship that had been reconfigured and refurbished. The crew were friendly and helpful as always. Took the excursion through the ship in San Juan to the rain forest. Loved it, saw a lot of the island, had a wonderful guide and it was money well spent. As far as the food, we went several times to Ji Ji Aisan Kitchen restaurant and the food was outstanding. We have never gone to a paying restaurant on any ship, I am against it as I feel I am paying for my meals in the dining room but we were amazed at the food here. Also loved Bonsai Sushi and ate there several times as well. And why did we do this? Well, the food in the dining was..... very different from previous Carnival cruises. I don't know what is going on with them but not only was the food cold but very few of the choices looked appetizing. The cold issue was during dinner, breakfast and brunch.

There was some great music in the various bars and you could always find something to listen to. We really wanted to go to a comedy show but the few times we tried, the lines stretched down several hallways. And this was a half hour before the shows started. Couldn't Carnival have issued tickets like Royal does with their ice shows?

The cabins seemed a bit smaller than previous cabins we have been in. And there wasn't a refrigerator in the room! Lots of storage, really more than was necessary. We never used 2 cabinets at all that were located below the desk area. Maybe a refrigerator could have been in one of them?

Please don't think we didn't enjoy this cruise. We did but I don't know if we will cruise with Carnival again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[BND]

We have friends currently onboard and they were on this past week also (doing b2b2b with us joining them on the last leg) and they have posted how great the food was several times, so it's very subjective.

[cruizinisthebest]

Thanks for your trip recap. Consistent good remarks about JiJis. I'll definitely aim to give them a try at least once when we sail on the Sunshine. MDR opinions vary. Glad you enjoyed your trip overall. And for this ship I can see why you would suggest tickets for the shows given the small main lounge I don't look forward to.:) I will say, on the Freedom we stood in line for 30 minutes both nights for the late comedy show as well

 

Speaking of which, how many comedy shows are there on the Sunshine nightly?

[pcc1342]

Maybe I did not express myself correctly. The main problem was that it was cold. When butter doesn't melt on pancakes.....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[pcc1342]

There were usually about 3 comedy shows per night, one family and 2 adults only.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[beamqueen]

Thanks for the short review! We are sailing on her in October. I didn't plan on booking Sunshine but for our dates it was the sailing that worked out the best so we did! Did you have a sense of overcrowding on the ship? We just sailed conquest and felt like we were the only ones on the ship sometime...so I am a little apprehensive about how the sunshine will feel compared to conquest!

[Podna's]

Loved the Sunshine and would definitely sail her again. Although we really enjoyed the food from the dining room to the steak house, you nailed it on the comedy shows. We gave up on going after the 1st show. We've gotten in line a little early on all of our Carnival cruises but the Sunshine's is smaller with some seats that have no view of the stage. Other than that, beautiful ship!

[sjcruiser]

The long lines for the comedy show seems to be consistent for the newer ships, smaller venue, and long lines. On our Sunshine cruise last summer, I skipped the comedy show after seeing how long the liens were. On our Breeze cruise previous to that, I got there a little earlier, but still had a bad seat to the side of the stage, and only got that because family members were in line a little ahead of me. I agree with you that it would be a good idea to to at least try something like Royal does with the ice show tickets to see if it would work.

[Buck64]

Off the Sunshine this morning. Some good things, some not so good. A little about me first: my husband and I are in our early 60's with about 10 cruises under our belt. Have cruised on Carnival several times, as well as Royal Caribbean, Norweigan, and Princess. We have our favorite line but enjoy every cruise we have taken.

I am not going to do a full review but will gladly answer any questions. I do have some high points and some low ones. We liked the newness of the ship. It didn't feel like it was an old ship that had been reconfigured and refurbished. The crew were friendly and helpful as always. Took the excursion through the ship in San Juan to the rain forest. Loved it, saw a lot of the island, had a wonderful guide and it was money well spent. As far as the food, we went several times to Ji Ji Aisan Kitchen restaurant and the food was outstanding. We have never gone to a paying restaurant on any ship, I am against it as I feel I am paying for my meals in the dining room but we were amazed at the food here. Also loved Bonsai Sushi and ate there several times as well. And why did we do this? Well, the food in the dining was..... very different from previous Carnival cruises. I don't know what is going on with them but not only was the food cold but very few of the choices looked appetizing. The cold issue was during dinner, breakfast and brunch.

There was some great music in the various bars and you could always find something to listen to. We really wanted to go to a comedy show but the few times we tried, the lines stretched down several hallways. And this was a half hour before the shows started. Couldn't Carnival have issued tickets like Royal does with their ice shows?

The cabins seemed a bit smaller than previous cabins we have been in. And there wasn't a refrigerator in the room! Lots of storage, really more than was necessary. We never used 2 cabinets at all that were located below the desk area. Maybe a refrigerator could have been in one of them?

Please don't think we didn't enjoy this cruise. We did but I don't know if we will cruise with Carnival again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Ok.....no tickets like RC does!! I despise that! I don't know months ahead if I want to go to the ice show on a Monday night. On vacation, especially a cruise, I like to be spontaneous. Also, when I get on the ship, I might notice another event on Monday night that I had no idea about and is only being performed on Monday. Should I cancel the ice show? Maybe before the cruise I just reserve a show each night even though I might not attend?

You enjoyed the cruise but may not cruise Carnival again?? I don't understand this statement.

[cruizinisthebest]

The tickets would help solve this particular problem on the Sunshine. So you lose a little of your spontaneity but it would give most a fair chance at seeing the shows without having to stand in long lines. If you decide you don't want to attend afterall, then don't. Maybe give it to someone else.

[pcc1342]

I always enjoy myself even if some things aren't to my liking. It's just that other lines are more comfortable. Is it the line, ship, people? Probably a combination.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[pcc1342]

We thought the Sunshine seemed more crowded than other ships. Crowds of people in many places. Thought it might be because the ship was originally designed for less people than are on it now with the refurbishment.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Cruisegirl6]

I totally agree with you about the food on Carnivals ships. Buffets are the most lacking, the quality is never there anymore and the selection is always limited. Its my least liked buffet. MDR food ugh, well its fair in my opinion, you don't starve, the way I put it "its Carnival"...you pay for what you get.

Regarding "cold" food, I never encountered "cold" entrees, maybe lukewarm but never cold, but you have to understand the MDR is similar to dining in a banquet hall and the waiters in these days have more tables and people to take care of so things do take longer and food can get warm even if it came out hot.

 

I love the Steakhouse, hated the MDR on the Dream two years ago, as a result, we dined in the steakhouse 6 nights, it is so worth the extra cost, you get much better quality, selection, variety and the service is remarkable! We are going on the Valor in May, we are booked 5 nights in the steakhouse. :p

 

Think of things this way, the cruise had to cost less than RC lets say, and any cruise is better than no cruise!! My suggestion for you would be try RC or Princess you will find a huge difference for the positive for sure! (but Carnivals casino program is the best at sea)

[midiwiz]

I understand your statement about not again. We have long since changed our loyalty yet we are on the Sunshine in a couple weeks only due to our son who likes the ability to stay out later with the youth programs. He liked Royal's program but didn't like the curfew...which honestly I have to agree. Frankly RCCL is getting closer to what Carnival now is.... so with that said we are thinking of just buying an RV LOL.

 

We don't like the stuffy cruises, yet the rest are very lackluster

[Cruisegirl6]

My kids now are grown up but I recall I hating the curfew too!! It wasn't fair for me either because it meant that they had to be with me, and I wanted to have a drink or be in the casino.

[rooster1961]

great info,glad to know JiJi's is great,cant wait to try it.

[gone_cruisin]

On our Sunshine cruise, we are at the steakhouse twice, JiJi three times, Bonsai twice and the mdr once. I do not regret it all. Best food ever.....mdr lacked anything appetizing. I think the American Menu needs to go to the Sunshine next.

[detroitlions]

Ok.....no tickets like RC does!! I despise that! I don't know months ahead if I want to go to the ice show on a Monday night. On vacation, especially a cruise, I like to be spontaneous. Also, when I get on the ship, I might notice another event on Monday night that I had no idea about and is only being performed on Monday. Should I cancel the ice show? Maybe before the cruise I just reserve a show each night even though I might not attend?

You enjoyed the cruise but may not cruise Carnival again?? I don't understand this statement.

With every thing you stated. I had a hard time getting into any of the comedy shows my last 2 cruises. But the main theater was half empty. I used to look forward to the shows I dont like them much any more.

[midiwiz]

On our Sunshine cruise, we are at the steakhouse twice, JiJi three times, Bonsai twice and the mdr once. I do not regret it all. Best food ever.....mdr lacked anything appetizing. I think the American Menu needs to go to the Sunshine next.

 

The answer is pretty simple....they are moving to making us pay for food. Just make the MDR food absolute crap and lookie what happens. At this point is when flying somewhere for the week becomes more appealing.

 

It's not the love boat, it's a formula business. Our wallets are part of their formula not us.