Searching For Sunshine...Feb. 28 thru March 7 Photo Review

[framboesa]

We had FTTF, so for debarkation we chose to do the self assist and met in the Sunset dining room at 7:30 on Saturday morning. We were off the ship and in our truck by 8:30. It was a pretty quick and painless process.

 

As far as a guarantee cabin...I feel like we lucked out pretty good this time. We could have ended up above the nightclub or some other crazy loud venue or down on a low, low deck, but our cabin location was great. However, I really do prefer to choose my own cabin for the fact that I like to get one that is in between decks of cabins so I can sleep better, so I doubt I will book one again. However, I am not opposed to interior cabins anymore and even booked one for our Vista cruise! To help save money, I will book them once in a while. I am still partial to my aft balconies though...

 

 

Seated Dining...It was a nice change, but I do prefer the flexibility of ATD. However, on the Sunshine, after seeing the lines, I will always book a set dining for sailing her.

 

 

Entertainment...this was by far the best entertainment we have ever experienced on a ship! From the CD to the musicians to the production shows, it was all incredible. We were blown away by it. I hope more Carnival ships get this level of entertainment!

 

 

We had no FTTF and spent only 15 minutes in our embarcation, and 10 minutes in debarkation last day...we were out around 8:45 :D We were really lucky!

 

We allways book interior cabins...we have to pay more than 700 dollars per person when we cruise in caribbean + hotel, so we must save somewhere else...we only use the cabin to sleep and shower :D

 

We had the freestyle dining aboard NCL Epic and had always to wait more than 30 minutes to be seated...we are just 2 of us!

 

 

We liked the entertainment but missed a big production show like we saw in other ships...loved Wee Jimmy!!!!!!!

 

 

Loved you report! :)Thank you so much for share!

[Harrier1961]

We had FTTF, so for debarkation we chose to do the self assist and met in the Sunset dining room at 7:30 on Saturday morning. We were off the ship and in our truck by 8:30. It was a pretty quick and painless process.

 

Final thoughts...I love FTTF, I found it worth it for this cruise for (a) being able to practically just walk onto the ship on embarkation day, (b) the few times I went to Guest Services I never waited in line, and © the early debarking allowed us to get home quicker and since we were driving 9 hours, that was nice.

As far as a guarantee cabin...I feel like we lucked out pretty good this time. We could have ended up above the nightclub or some other crazy loud venue or down on a low, low deck, but our cabin location was great. However, I really do prefer to choose my own cabin for the fact that I like to get one that is in between decks of cabins so I can sleep better, so I doubt I will book one again. However, I am not opposed to interior cabins anymore and even booked one for our Vista cruise! To help save money, I will book them once in a while. I am still partial to my aft balconies though...

 

Seated Dining...It was a nice change, but I do prefer the flexibility of ATD. However, on the Sunshine, after seeing the lines, I will always book a set dining for sailing her.

 

Entertainment...this was by far the best entertainment we have ever experienced on a ship! From the CD to the musicians to the production shows, it was all incredible. We were blown away by it. I hope more Carnival ships get this level of entertainment!

 

Ports...We had fun in all of them, but I think I prefer the Eastern ports to the Western. The water seems to be more clear on the Eastern itineraries, and I don't know...both DH and I commented on how we thought the Eastern ports just seemed prettier.

 

Overall, the Sunshine is a good ship. Yes, she has a few issues, but what ship doesn't? I have decided that I would sail her again, but I would make sure to book a balcony so that if the deck chairs were all taken, I could go relax on my own balcony. I encourage anyone who is on the fence about sailing her to go ahead and book it. I was hesitant, and I ended up having a great cruise! See for yourself, and go in with an open mind.

 

Thank you everyone for reading, and I hope you all have wonderful cruises ahead of you!

We were getting on the ship as you were getting off!

Overall, out of 11 cruises, this is my favorite ship. Yes, she does have some issues and wonky layout, but the good far outweighed the not so good.

 

I agree with the entertainment on the ship. While we did not get a chance to see any of the shows, I sat and listed to Run for Cover every night in the Ocean Plaza and they were awesome. I also listed to Tsurita who was good and overheard Brian on a couple of days. Very good too.

I agree with the Italian eatery. We ate there twice and loved it. And my staple for breakfast was a burrito from Blue Iguana.

 

Looking into the 9 day cruise in April of next year on the Sunshine.

One final thought. I was disappointed at first that Jamie Dee was taking time off (she's the normal CD for Sunshine). However, Weeeee Jimmy more than made up for that! He is simple the best (sorry Jamie!!) and he would be the only one I would book a cruise based on the CD.

Oh, and we had an ocean view on deck 1. Best cabin we have ever had. For us, bettter (value wise) than a balconey.

 

Andy

Edited March 19, 2015 by Harrier1961

[reerun25]

Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed your review!!

[pirate4me2]

We were in your roll call and went to piano bar all nights....may be we met each other several times:D

 

 

 

 

That seemed to be our hangout! I was always dressed up since we came from dinner.

 

 

We had FTTF, so for debarkation we chose to do the self assist and met in the Sunset dining room at 7:30 on Saturday morning. We were off the ship and in our truck by 8:30. It was a pretty quick and painless process.

 

As far as a guarantee cabin...I feel like we lucked out pretty good this time. We could have ended up above the nightclub or some other crazy loud venue or down on a low, low deck, but our cabin location was great. However, I really do prefer to choose my own cabin for the fact that I like to get one that is in between decks of cabins so I can sleep better, so I doubt I will book one again. However, I am not opposed to interior cabins anymore and even booked one for our Vista cruise! To help save money, I will book them once in a while. I am still partial to my aft balconies though...

 

 

Seated Dining...It was a nice change, but I do prefer the flexibility of ATD. However, on the Sunshine, after seeing the lines, I will always book a set dining for sailing her.

 

 

Entertainment...this was by far the best entertainment we have ever experienced on a ship! From the CD to the musicians to the production shows, it was all incredible. We were blown away by it. I hope more Carnival ships get this level of entertainment!

 

 

We had no FTTF and spent only 15 minutes in our embarcation, and 10 minutes in debarkation last day...we were out around 8:45 :D We were really lucky!

 

We allways book interior cabins...we have to pay more than 700 dollars per person when we cruise in caribbean + hotel, so we must save somewhere else...we only use the cabin to sleep and shower :D

 

We had the freestyle dining aboard NCL Epic and had always to wait more than 30 minutes to be seated...we are just 2 of us!

 

 

We liked the entertainment but missed a big production show like we saw in other ships...loved Wee Jimmy!!!!!!!

 

 

Loved you report! :)Thank you so much for share!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

We were getting on the ship as you were getting off!

Overall, out of 11 cruises, this is my favorite ship. Yes, she does have some issues and wonky layout, but the good far outweighed the not so good.

 

I agree with the entertainment on the ship. While we did not get a chance to see any of the shows, I sat and listed to Run for Cover every night in the Ocean Plaza and they were awesome. I also listed to Tsurita who was good and overheard Brian on a couple of days. Very good too.

I agree with the Italian eatery. We ate there twice and loved it. And my staple for breakfast was a burrito from Blue Iguana.

 

Looking into the 9 day cruise in April of next year on the Sunshine.

One final thought. I was disappointed at first that Jamie Dee was taking time off (she's the normal CD for Sunshine). However, Weeeee Jimmy more than made up for that! He is simple the best (sorry Jamie!!) and he would be the only one I would book a cruise based on the CD.

Oh, and we had an ocean view on deck 1. Best cabin we have ever had. For us, bettter (value wise) than a balconey.

 

Andy

 

 

I am actually looking at a few of her itineraries for next year. We may hop back onboard! I wasn't sure I would like her due to all the negative reports, but she's not a bad ship at all!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed your review!!

 

Thank you!

[keen580]

Forgive me if you told the answer to this question already but I didn't see it. What kind of camera did you use? I would like one that takes good pictures in water like in your underground river pictures. Your pictures are great!

[pirate4me2]

Forgive me if you told the answer to this question already but I didn't see it. What kind of camera did you use? I would like one that takes good pictures in water like in your underground river pictures. Your pictures are great!

 

Thank you! I used a fujifilm finepix xp 60. Its waterproof up to 20 feet and shockproof. This was my first time using it, so its pretty user friendly too!

[keen580]

Thanks for the information. It's hard to pick a good camera so when I see good pictures it pays to ask. Cruising the Sunshine June 6!

[pirate4me2]

Have a wonderful cruise!

[the nurse]

Great review! Loved the photos too.

See you in 203 days !

~Terry

[big ragu 1950]

enjoyed your review and photos, glad you had a great time. thank you

[pirate4me2]

Great review! Loved the photos too.

See you in 203 days !

~Terry

 

Thanks for reading! See you on the Splendor for our trip to BERMUDA! It's going to be a great trip.

 

enjoyed your review and photos, glad you had a great time. thank you

 

Thanks for reading along, glad you enjoyed it!

[Single_dreamer]

The Red Frog Pub area. We spent a lot of time here on the cruise!

Laundry room...in case you need to use them, here is what they look like!

There is also an iron...

Ok, let's finish up this first day, what do you say? When we boarded it was kind of stormy, so there was quite a lot of movement on the ship that night, and quite a few ill feeling people. DH was one of them. However, he sucked it up and we attended the Welcome Aboard show at 7:30 with our cruise director, Wee Jimmy. Can I just say that he is HILARIOUS? I think he is one of the best CDs we have had. No, I know he is the best CD we have had. He was funny, friendly, and always smiling. The show included a spoon race (a very interesting one) and dancing and bagpipes...it was great.

After the show we had reservations at the steakhouse. I guess I should mention here that there will be no food porn pics on this review. Sorry everyone. I just feel weird taking pictures of my food. Anyway....the steakhouse on the Sunshine is the best Carnival steakhouse we have ate at. The food was amazing (I had the crabcake, spinach and mushroom salad, lobster ravioli, creamed spinach, and chocolate sampler) and the chef came out to speak with us, which was a first for DH and I. We felt it was well worth the extra cost.

After dinner we decided to go check out the Piano Bar. The player's name was Bob, and he was funny and really good. He always had a crowd in there and would take requests and did everything from country to rock to oldies. It was a great hangout.

That concludes day one. We ended up in bed around 10:30 or so to rest up for our first day at sea!

 

Can you bring your own laundry detergent? Or do you have to purchase theirs? I ask only because I have a variety of allergies. Thank you.