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Must Do's on Sunshine!

cessnabmw

By cessnabmw,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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cessnabmw

cessnabmw

Posted
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We sail on the Sunshine in December for the first time. We have only sailed once before - on the Freedom.

 

Please can you share tips of what we should not miss?

 

Also any other tips / secrets about the Sunshine would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

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Liverpoollovely

Liverpoollovely

Posted
Posted
We sail on the Sunshine in December for the first time. We have only sailed once before - on the Freedom.

 

Please can you share tips of what we should not miss?

 

Also any other tips / secrets about the Sunshine would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

 

I am looking forward to the replies to this thread :) as I too am going on the sunshine this year and next year

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teacher32

teacher32

Posted
Posted (edited)

We loved Ocean Plaza. Went there before dinner every night to listen to music.

Don't miss Havana Bar area. In the mornings, there are made to order omelets and made to order eggs.

At night the 2 pay restaurants there are JiJis and the Italian.

Serenity is just the most beautiful of any ship I've been on.

It's crowded, but we usually always found a seat.

 

Just explore the ship. It's beautiful.

Relax and enjoy.

We'll be back on her in February.

Edited by teacher32
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Macklovin38

Macklovin38

Posted
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We sail on her in October. I'm trying to convince my husband that we should just eat in the pay restaurants for dinner each night. I'm just tired of the five day menu.

I'm also looking forward to Guys Burgers and the Alchemy Bar- I've never sailed on a ship that had either.

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bar1068

bar1068

Posted
Posted
We sail on her in October. I'm trying to convince my husband that we should just eat in the pay restaurants for dinner each night. I'm just tired of the five day menu.

I'm also looking forward to Guys Burgers and the Alchemy Bar- I've never sailed on a ship that had either.

 

I'll try and help if you'd like!!

 

We've sailed Sunshine twice, and though we're not "foodies", we don't get all caught up in the MDR hype, we very much enjoyed the alternate, though for a fee, dining options of JiJi's Asian Kitchen, Cucina del Capitano, Bonsai Sushi and the Steakhouse. Our last cruise on Sunshine was an 11 day cruise, I think we ate in the MDR twice that cruise, all other nights was the specialty restaurants, 1-2 Lido nights, and our personal favorite, pizza and beer nights. We even had an "early dinner" of Guys burgers!!

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Macklovin38

Macklovin38

Posted
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I'll try and help if you'd like!!

 

 

 

We've sailed Sunshine twice, and though we're not "foodies", we don't get all caught up in the MDR hype, we very much enjoyed the alternate, though for a fee, dining options of JiJi's Asian Kitchen, Cucina del Capitano, Bonsai Sushi and the Steakhouse. Our last cruise on Sunshine was an 11 day cruise, I think we ate in the MDR twice that cruise, all other nights was the specialty restaurants, 1-2 Lido nights, and our personal favorite, pizza and beer nights. We even had an "early dinner" of Guys burgers!!

 

 

This sounds exactly like what I'd like to do! I really even love the pizza and beer night! Thank you!

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kublaieod

kublaieod

Posted
Posted (edited)

Went in May this year and absolutely loved the sunshine.

 

Serenity - amazing, on 3 decks and on the opposite end of the waterslide, unlike some like the Dream where the water slide entrance is right next to serenity.

 

JiJi's and Cucina upcharges for night dining are only 15.00 and the food is amazing. During the day it is the Mongolian and the pasta bar (free).

 

Havana Bar is a nice area and seemingly never crowded once you get to sea, nice place to take your Guy's if it is full around that area.

 

Alchemy Bar - Martini bar with amazing drinks and in May the three bartenders there was absolutely amazing (Parviz, Miroslav, and Maria). Towards the end of my 8 day it was a VERY popular place (our secret was out).

 

Red Frog Pub - Nice atmosphere, can play shuffleboard, darts and pools but at least on our cruise never really that "hopping".

 

Bonsai Sushi - also upcharge but very reasonable and excellent sushi, usually not crowded and frequented by officers.

 

Waterslides are super fast and really fun. I am 50 and had a blast even though I jammed my thumb on my 2nd time down (went about 20 more times).

 

So many complain of overcrowding. I have yet to be on a cruise where there wasn't crowding in certain places at certain times. I was pleasantly surprised. I will say the one place that has a tendency to be crowded a lot is the LIDO pool area. They put the loungers too far out so that the walkway is probably just past the minimum required. So as lido decks go it is more crowded than what I have experienced on other ships.

 

Was my favorite cruise and ship thus far.

Edited by kublaieod
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pirate4me2 "Live from...." Rare

pirate4me2

Posted
Posted
We sail on her in October. I'm trying to convince my husband that we should just eat in the pay restaurants for dinner each night. I'm just tired of the five day menu.

I'm also looking forward to Guys Burgers and the Alchemy Bar- I've never sailed on a ship that had either.

 

We decided to try 2 alternate dining venues on our sailing earlier this year. We did the steakhouse, and it was worth every penny. It was the best Carnival steakhouse we have dined in. I wanted to try Cucina, so we did that another night. OMG it was amazing!! I got the chicken parmesan, and DH got a steak. Both were great! We enjoyed both experiences and I would dine at them again in a heartbeat!

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tandemcruzr

tandemcruzr

Posted
Posted (edited)

Alchemy Bar was our 'go to' place for before dinner drinks. Usually got there about 7:30 for our 8:15 late dining. Walked down to the Taste area and brought back snacks. Alchemy Bar puts out a small tray of nuts, etc. :D

Edited by tandemcruzr
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trixiegal

trixiegal

Posted
Posted

We really liked the Red Frog Pub on this ship. It was nice to sit in there in the evening and listen to the talented performers. The drinks were good, too, especially if you prefer rum like I do. I noticed a lot of the ship's performers in there. Seemed like a lowkey place to unwind without the crowds.

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winddawn

winddawn

Posted
Posted
We sail on the Sunshine in December for the first time. We have only sailed once before - on the Freedom.

 

Please can you share tips of what we should not miss?

 

Also any other tips / secrets about the Sunshine would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

I had a very nice win on the Blues Brothers slot machine on Sunshine. I'd say that is worth checking out. ;-)

 

Have a great cruise!

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eponym

eponym

Posted
Posted
I'll try and help if you'd like!!

 

We've sailed Sunshine twice, and though we're not "foodies", we don't get all caught up in the MDR hype, we very much enjoyed the alternate, though for a fee, dining options of JiJi's Asian Kitchen, Cucina del Capitano, Bonsai Sushi and the Steakhouse. Our last cruise on Sunshine was an 11 day cruise, I think we ate in the MDR twice that cruise, all other nights was the specialty restaurants, 1-2 Lido nights, and our personal favorite, pizza and beer nights. We even had an "early dinner" of Guys burgers!!

 

Completely agree with your recommendations. OP will be spoiled forever!

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leedm

leedm

Posted
Posted

We sailed the Sunshine Feb 2014 and have another cruise booked Nov 2015, 2 cabins family cruise and again Apr 2016 a spring fling. I agree with the comments above. As with any ship you can not please everyone. As for crowds, on sea days at prime times you will see crowds around the pool and lido, this is also on any ship. A little time planning each day and you should have no problems,,,,,, Love the Sunshine, food at Ji Ji is some of the best on any Carnival ship.

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Avril

Avril

Posted
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I'm going to be watching and following along with this thread for sure (and coming back closer to my sail date to write down some of the ideas). I'm taking my boyfriend on Sunshine for his 1st ever cruise in December 2016, can't wait!! :D Even though I love going to the MDR (plan to go as many nights as possible) and we do have the Steakhouse booked for 1 night, I love the beer and pizza idea and I'm pretty sure my boyfriend would as well. It's an 8 day cruise so we can try a couple/few different dining options. Keep the great ideas coming!! :D

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tbbtravels

tbbtravels

Posted
Posted

Rope course. Not all ships have it.

Hot dog stand in the sports area. Not all ships have it.

Self serve beer taps - not all ships have them.

Hand wash station by pool. Not all ships have these and these have a dryer - some ships don't.

Love love the serenity area. Especially the water fall. Not every ship has that either.

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AmberTeka

AmberTeka

Posted
Posted (edited)

I was one of those the food is not all that good on the Sunshine. I didn't like the way they did trivia.

 

then two weeks after I was off..........I booked another cruise.......Christmas Cruise.......our first ever on the Sunshine.

 

SOMETHING is working good on Sunshine for all of us to be coming back.....................

 

TASTE BAR is perfect but they HAVE no TOAST in the morning...Eat there. Send the fastest runner in your group up to the LIDO for TOAST. then enjoy a breakfast with about 10 other people. Staff there to help you. LOVED it.

 

eggs. grits. bacon. French Toast.pastries. coffee juice. water.. but NO TOAST. ALSO Cereal. milk. boiled eggs. potatoes. just NO toast.

Edited by AmberTeka
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Macklovin38

Macklovin38

Posted
Posted
I was one of those the food is not all that good on the Sunshine. I didn't like the way they did trivia.

 

 

 

then two weeks after I was off..........I booked another cruise.......Christmas Cruise.......our first ever on the Sunshine.

 

 

 

SOMETHING is working good on Sunshine for all of us to be coming back.....................

 

 

 

TASTE BAR is perfect but they HAVE no TOAST in the morning...Eat there. Send the fastest runner in your group up to the LIDO for TOAST. then enjoy a breakfast with about 10 other people. Staff there to help you. LOVED it.

 

 

 

eggs. grits. bacon. French Toast.pastries. coffee juice. water.. but NO TOAST. ALSO Cereal. milk. boiled eggs. potatoes. just NO toast.

 

 

But was there TOAST?!?

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