Sunshine Cruise Review - January 24-31 -Luther Vandross and Etta James singing videos

[INCHARGE]

Monday, January 26....Sea Day

 

Sea day means sleeping late after a long night in the casino. We hit the buffet about 10a.

note: The buffet breakfast was the same each morning. The omelet station was good. DH lucked up and snagged one of the round chairs on the Serenity Deck that evening, so he was happy! Here is is holding up the whale tail.

 

 

 

This band called Run For Cover, played each day on deck 5, and they were good. The first night was Motown night. That is Sarah Tweedle, her fiancé drew Webber on the left, and the lead singer on the right. I can not remember his name.

 

All of our husbands had practiced a Temptations song called "Ain't Too Proud To. Beg" including the steps. They swore up and down that they were going to perform it on the ship. Well, my friend and I talked to Sarah Tweedle (female singer) We told them about their plan to sing and dance. The band knew the song well, and told us to have them there at 8pm that night! Do you know those big lugs chickened out after all those wolf tickets they were putting out?:eek: we could have choked them!

 

Here are a couple of videos below of the band and friends dancing. We went to see them every night. One night they were 70s, then 80s, etc.

 

 

 

After some dancing, we went to the casino to donate some more money.

Edited February 7, 2015 by INCHARGE

[INCHARGE]

It has occurred to me that I don't really have a lot to tell, because this was a very relaxing trip for us all. Please feel free to ask me questions. I will try to remember, I will be posting more videos or pictures, but we really did not do too much.

[INCHARGE]

Tuesday, January 27..... St. Thomas ..Karaoke doing Etta James and Luther Vandross

 

St. Thomas is a very familiar place where I have been about 14 times, so no desire to explore. We all got off of the ship and just walked to town for exercise. It was beautiful weather there. My SIL was looking for a bracelet, so we just walked to the different jewelry stores. She did not find what she was looking for, so we came back to the shopping are at the port.

 

That evening was karaoke, and my friends had fun singing. Here is a few songs they sang.

This last song below was done by this sweet young man on the ship. He had a beautiful voice. I don't know the song, but can anyone tell me what it is?

[INCHARGE]

Wednesday, January 28....San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

What a beautiful day we had in San Juan! The weather was perfect, not too hot, and with a nice breeze. We had a leisure stroll around the shops after we took a really nice tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgable, and it was so interesting the things he told us.

 

The Capitol Building and the beautiful ceiling

[frygirls]

Hi, the song is "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone.

 

Thank you for your review. Looking forward to the Sunshine in May.

[INCHARGE]

Hi, the song is "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone.

 

Thank you for your review. Looking forward to the Sunshine in May.

 

Thanks, frygirls!!!!

[INCHARGE]

About the Sunshine...

I cruised on this ship when it was the. Destiny in 2009, but I did not remember any of the layout.

1. Enter and exit on the 3rd floor lobby deck

2. Navigate the ship from deck 5 if confused. All 3 elevators are accessible.

3. Front elevator access liquid lounge on 4 and 5, lobby on 3, and Serenity Deck on 10.

4. To get to the. Serenity on 10, go to right off elevators, to where the cabins are. There is a door at the end of the hall. This confused me at first, because I didn't know we had to go past cabins to get outside.

5. The dining rooms are called Sunset and Sunrise. Sunset is on 3, right behind the lobby bar, and on 4 where the pictures are.

6. The middle elevators access the entrance on the Lido deck. When you exit, make a sharp right for Guys Burgers, and entrance into the buffet area are right or left once exiting that elevator. Also entrance to 5th and 4th floor activities.

7. The comedy club is on 4th deck, and have to go thru the center in the back hall. We had trouble finding it the first time.

8. 5th floor has no chairs or couches lining the walkway as many of the ships have. I do miss that, because lots of people watching was done from those couches.

9. Back elevator can get you to the comedy club on 4, the pasta restaurant , Sushi restaurant. I missed seeing the pizza in the back with a pool.

10. Casino on 5, very smoky. It does not bother me, because I came from a family of smokers as a child.

 

Liquid Lounge in the daytime:

 

 

 

 

 

Liquid Lounge at night:

 

I went in to record this, and got a major headache. Too old

For this. :D

 

[INCHARGE]

Another great review from you INCHARGE! I have to book one of those scenic ocean view cabins one day!

 

Hey Kim!!! If it wasn't for you, I would not have my pictures of the cabin before I got on the Valor. Thanks again. You will love this cabin. I am now spoiled to that view and motion. I noticed that from this cabin the movement is up and down, not side-to-side, so no motion sickness from there. Let me know if you book it.

[INCHARGE]

Thank You everyone for the kindness expressed. I truly appreciated it.

[INCHARGE]

Thursday, January 29. Grand Turk...

 

Beach Day at the pier. We did not want to do a tour here, so everyone just got off at their leisure and did their thing. DH stayed on the ship to workout and chill on the Serenity Deck. I walked around enjoying the weather and people. I don't do beaches myself, but our friends enjoyed the beach right there. I ended up at the entrance of Margaritaville. There are 5 huge chairs lining the entrance, and I parked myself in one for about 3 hours. There is a cover over it, and the breeze was coming thru. It was so relaxing. I had lots of fun talking to people who would sit there.

 

These were the chairs I mentioned above. They were wonderful. I had my towel under me, and even though they were wooded, they design was ergonomically designed to be comfortable.

 

I had never seen this whale in the sand on the beach.

[INCHARGE]

we will be on the sunshine feb 20th! couple of questions...

What email did you use to email the matre'D, and what do you mean by a 'floor table'? What is the difference?

 

thanks!

 

Hi. I think the email address was SUmaitred@carnival.com

I got it from this website. I was impressed that he kept the email, because I was not sure he would even get it. The floor level is the on the 3rd floor lobby level. If you are upstairs, you may have to walk over to the rail to see the waiters dance and sing.

 

This waiter could really sing, and he sang a song almost nightly.

[gapearl]

Liquid Lounge in the daytime:

 

 

 

 

 

Liquid Lounge at night:

 

I went in to record this, and got a major headache. Too old

For this. :D

 

 

LOL That's too funny! I hope we end up on a cruise together one day so I can keep you in there at least for 2 songs. :D What was that happening during the day? Looks like some kind of performance.

 

Hey Kim!!! If it wasn't for you, I would not have my pictures of the cabin before I got on the Valor. Thanks again. You will love this cabin. I am now spoiled to that view and motion. I noticed that from this cabin the movement is up and down, not side-to-side, so no motion sickness from there. Let me know if you book it.

 

I will! Maybe I can snag one of those whenever I decide to book the Vista. That's so messed up the husbands decided not to sing with the band. LOL But all your friends did a great job at karaoke. I would not have sounded as good as they did! :eek:

 

Your daughter is in Atlanta, right? I think I remember you mentioning visiting her or some other family member there. You have to email me next time you're in town so we can meet up for lunch. That would be great! :)

[INCHARGE]

LOL That's too funny! I hope we end up on a cruise together one day so I can keep you in there at least for 2 songs. :D What was that happening during the day? Looks like some kind of performance.

 

 

 

I will! Maybe I can snag one of those whenever I decide to book the Vista. That's so messed up the husbands decided not to sing with the band. LOL But all your friends did a great job at karaoke. I would not have sounded as good as they did! :eek:

 

Your daughter is in Atlanta, right? I think I remember you mentioning visiting her or some other family member there. You have to email me next time you're in town so we can meet up for lunch. That would be great! :)

 

The first video clip was a playlist production called Studio VIP. They added people from the audience in the dance production. That was my friend Simone being lead off after they had a dance.

 

Actually Kim, I think I was more embarrassed than anything to be in that club at night, because I was by myself trying to get a quick video for this review. I kept wondering how the disco part was done in there. I kept looking for videos on here, and never saw any, so I decided to do a quick one myself for the review. I thought I would look like an old fool in there, although I did see some women that looked as old as me!

 

Yes, my daughter is in Atlanta, and I thought about you when I came through there at Christmas. It's always so quick, but we will have to get together. Or if you are ever in DC area, you must let me know.

 

Those chickens did panic about singing with the band. I mean, they talked big smack for weeks leading up to the cruise. I just got an email from Sarah in the band. I sent her the video, but for some reason she can't see it. I told her she may have to come to our website to see it here. It was funny, because when we showed her who they were, she pointed at them, and they could have went under the table. Simone and I think the men did not believe us, and thought we were joking!

 

Girl, I already asked about my cabin on the Vista, and the. Vista does not have them!!!! I was sick, but I am going to cruise on the Vista next.

Edited February 8, 2015 by INCHARGE

[INCHARGE]

Friday, January 30 ...Sea Day

 

The last day was a relaxing one. I like to start my last day by packing everything except the last outfits for that day, night, and clothing to wear home. I am then able to enjoy my day and evening without having to worry about packing. I push the luggage back under the bed once packed and weighed. I carry my hand scale in my luggage. My bag was too heavy, and I had to transfer some to James bag.

 

We purchased Luggage Express for $20 per bag. Our first bag was free with the airline, so we only had to pay the $20. We kept our carry ons with us, and only sent those huge bags.

This is the scale I carry with us. As you can see, my bag was 55 lbs, so had to move some to his carry on! We put the bags out at night, and we don't see them again until we get to our home airport in DC. It worked out great. Carnival already has our boarding passes printed out, so we only have to go straight to security. Easy.

 

 

After taking care of the luggage, we went to breakfast and just relaxed. There were the usual checking of the photos one last time, checking out the t shirt sales, casino, etc. I usually go to the. Love and Marriage show, but missed it this cruise. We may have been at lunch at the time. We spent quite a bit of time in our cabin on this cruise. Our friends would come over, and we would have wine and just entertain in there.

 

 

We ended our night with more casino play. Our friends won enough to pay for their cruise, we did not.

 

I am going to try and post my cabin video, but I am having trouble with that one. If it does not work, I will tell you about that cabin.

[INCHARGE]

 

My best friend for the last 57 years, Simone

 

[INCHARGE]

 

I could not find this video earlier

[gapearl]

The first video clip was a playlist production called Studio VIP. They added people from the audience in the dance production. That was my friend Simone being lead off after they had a dance.

 

Actually Kim, I think I was more embarrassed than anything to be in that club at night, because I was by myself trying to get a quick video for this review. I kept wondering how the disco part was done in there. I kept looking for videos on here, and never saw any, so I decided to do a quick one myself for the review. I thought I would look like an old fool in there, although I did see some women that looked as old as me!

 

Yes, my daughter is in Atlanta, and I thought about you when I came through there at Christmas. It's always so quick, but we will have to get together. Or if you are ever in DC area, you must let me know.

 

Those chickens did panic about singing with the band. I mean, they talked big smack for weeks leading up to the cruise. I just got an email from Sarah in the band. I sent her the video, but for some reason she can't see it. I told her she may have to come to our website to see it here. It was funny, because when we showed her who they were, she pointed at them, and they could have went under the table. Simone and I think the men did not believe us, and thought we were joking!

 

Girl, I already asked about my cabin on the Vista, and the. Vista does not have them!!!! I was sick, but I am going to cruise on the Vista next.

 

On one cruise, there was a 90 year old woman who danced with us all night! That's a shame the Vista won't have the scenic ocean views. It'll likely be 2017 before I make it on the Vista, as I'm not really interested in the Mediterranean sailings next year (could change my mind though). They might repo Vista like they did my Splendor cruise last year- NY to San Juan and then San Juan to Miami. Maybe if they do that and the itineraries are good, I'll consider one of them for the end of 2016.

 

My email address is in my signature. Inbox me so I can have your email and let you know when I might be in your area or vice versa. I think you and Delta Dear could easily become my honorary mothers. lol :)

[INCHARGE]

On one cruise, there was a 90 year old woman who danced with us all night! That's a shame the Vista won't have the scenic ocean views. It'll likely be 2017 before I make it on the Vista, as I'm not really interested in the Mediterranean sailings next year (could change my mind though). They might repo Vista like they did my Splendor cruise last year- NY to San Juan and then San Juan to Miami. Maybe if they do that and the itineraries are good, I'll consider one of them for the end of 2016.

 

My email address is in my signature. Inbox me so I can have your email and let you know when I might be in your area or vice versa. I think you and Delta Dear could easily become my honorary mothers. lol :)

 

I am not interested in the Mediterranean cruises either. I just now got off of the Carnival website looking at the Vista cruises. I was not interested in Spain nor Italy Itinerary. Then I found Sunshine has 11 and 13 day that I'm thinking of booking as a retirement gift. I hope to retire this summer, and that would be too cool. I would pay it off while I am still working. James would not be able to go since he would not be able to get off for those many days.

 

I am emailing you now. Momma G. is what my Daughters-In-Law call me. :D

[INCHARGE]

This cabin is a 6K Scenic Grand Oceanview Cabin. It sleeps up to 4 people. We were able to get it with just the 2 of us when I booked by phone with Carnival. At the time, it was not showing up online, but I decided to call and check. The view is awesome, and the cost of this cabin was over $200 per person less than the balcony cabin. It is listed as 340 square feet, and it does have a refrigerator, whereas many of the balcony cabins on the Sunshine do not.

 

When you enter the cabin, there is a slot where you place an old grocery store card, or an old gift card to keep the light on. It is on a timer, and the light will go off after a certain amount of time.

Under that slot is the light switch itself, that will cut on all of the overhead lighting.

This cabin can get cold, but if it does, please have maintenance check on it. We had to call them on the first night because the temperature gage did not work for the heat. It was nice after they fixed it.

To the right there are 2 buttons on the wall to lower the blinds. These should be lowered at night, because this cabin is right over the bridge. It is necessary for navigation purposes.

The bathroom is on the right before the bed.

I am going to try and load 2 videos. I was not able to load the large one describing everything.

 

 

A quick scan of the cabin as we were leaving. The round thing on the wall beside the bathroom is the temperature gage. Excuse the bed, but we always check between the sheets for items that may get left behind.

 

I am going to post a few random videos and pictures next.

 

Have a wonderful cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. We had a great time, and you will too.

 

Edited February 8, 2015 by INCHARGE

[INCHARGE]

Random Videos and Pictures

 

Deck 12 Video

 

 

Last Sea Day... Cruising along....

 

Our waiter, who we affectionately nicknamed "Dirty Harry" doing the Low..Low..Low dance.

 

The band Run for Cover singing Signed, Sealed Delivered

 

Run for Cover Band...You're all I Need To Get By by Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell

[Freckles_51]

Wednesday, January 28....San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

What a beautiful day we had in San Juan! The weather was perfect, not too hot, and with a nice breeze. We had a leisure stroll around the shops after we took a really nice tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgable, and it was so interesting the things he told us.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the great review. We will be in San Juan in September and just wondered if your San Juan tour was booked privately or with Carnival? Was it a walking tour?

[INCHARGE]

Thanks for the great review. We will be in San Juan in September and just wondered if your San Juan tour was booked privately or with Carnival? Was it a walking tour?

 

There are nice white air conditioned tour vans outside of the gate. We did a tour of New San Juan, and Old San Juan. We went to the Capitol Building, stopped at a beach area for pictures and snacks, went to the fort, but not inside. We got off the van for about 20 minutes at the fort, and got off near the ship in Old San Juan to shop. Some caught him back to the ship. His name is Robert, and he is on the left on this picture. He told us so much info, and told us he had a test question at the end, and if we remembered the answer, we would not have to pay! I can't tell you the answer. :D he was so funny and gave us lots of info. If I went back, I would look for him again. Also, this tour was only $20!!!

 

[Freckles_51]

There are nice white air conditioned tour vans outside of the gate. We did a tour of New San Juan, and Old San Juan. We went to the Capitol Building, stopped at a beach area for pictures and snacks, went to the fort, but not inside. We got off the van for about 20 minutes at the fort, and got off near the ship in Old San Juan to shop. Some caught him back to the ship. His name is Robert, and he is on the left on this picture. He told us so much info, and told us he had a test question at the end, and if we remembered the answer, we would not have to pay! I can't tell you the answer. :D he was so funny and gave us lots of info. If I went back, I would look for him again. Also, this tour was only $20!!!

 

 

Thanks for the info. :)

[INCHARGE]

On one cruise, there was a 90 year old woman who danced with us all night! That's a shame the Vista won't have the scenic ocean views. It'll likely be 2017 before I make it on the Vista, as I'm not really interested in the Mediterranean sailings next year (could change my mind though). They might repo Vista like they did my Splendor cruise last year- NY to San Juan and then San Juan to Miami. Maybe if they do that and the itineraries are good, I'll consider one of them for the end of 2016.

 

My email address is in my signature. Inbox me so I can have your email and let you know when I might be in your area or vice versa. I think you and Delta Dear could easily become my honorary mothers. lol :)

 

You have a point about a Vista repo. I will be looking for that one. Maybe even the repo from the. Mediterrainian to the states. It would depend on where the ship will be housed. I would not do it if it goes to Texas, but if it comes to Florida or New York, I just might jump on it.

 

Ps..I can not be the "Old lady in the club!" :eek: I believe that i have to "stay in my lane." Now, the Lido dancing is fine, but the club is for you all, not us invading your space. Now, if I ever cruise with you, I might come in and show you a few dance moves! :D. But seriously, depending on the music played, my husband and our group did go in and dance on the last cruise.

Edited February 9, 2015 by INCHARGE

[gapearl]

You have a point about a Vista repo. I will be looking for that one. Maybe even the repo from the. Mediterrainian to the states. It would depend on where the ship will be housed. I would not do it if it goes to Texas, but if it comes to Florida or New York, I just might jump on it.

 

Ps..I can not be the "Old lady in the club!" :eek: I believe that i have to "stay in my lane." Now, the Lido dancing is fine, but the club is for you all, not us invading your space. Now, if I ever cruise with you, I might come in and show you a few dance moves! :D. But seriously, depending on the music played, my husband and our group did go in and dance on the last cruise.

 

The 13 day Vista transatlantic leaves Barcelona 10/21/16 and has port stops in Gibraltar, the Azores,, and a 2 day Bermuda stop. The price is like :eek: but that's to be expected for a new ship.

 

I hope you don't chicken out on showing me some dance moves like the guys chickened out of singing with the band. LOL ;):D