8 day Conquest or Sunshine

[KSUSHAQ]

Looking at Nov. schedule we have kind of whittled it down to a couple different cruises. We have cruised on Freedom last November and Magic this past May and enjoyed both. By the end of the Magic cruise we had kind of grown to liking this ship more. This trip will be an adults only cruise so less to worry about with entertaining the kids but was hoping there would be an Eastern/Southern cruise on the Breeze that fit our schedule however there isn't.

 

8 day Carnival Conquest--out of FLL, ports St. Kitts, St. Maarteen, San Juan, and Grand Turk.

 

8 day Carnival Sunshine--out of Port Canaveral--ports Aruba, Bonaire, and Grand Turk.

 

Like the ports on Conquest but have a feeling we would like the Sunshine better as a vessel especially with the Serenity area. Any opinions?

 

Seems like our decision will come down to boat vs ports?? Conquest port days are 4 in a row after two sea days and Sunshine has 2 sea days, 2 port days, one sea day, one port, one sea day.

[bjd2]

We've been on both ships and to all of the ports. I'd go with the Sunshine as it has a lot more of the 2.0 upgrades and the Serenity area is wonderful. The decor is also much like the Breeze so less glitzy than many other ships.

 

Have fun whichever you choose.

[29dawgs]

If you like the ports better on the Conquest, I would choose it. The Sunshine does have more of the 2.0 upgrades, but it is a smaller ship. We normally book based on ports of call. The last time we book for a particular ship was the Sunshine. It is a nice ship but there were a couple of things we did not like.

 

The comedy club is way too small on the Sunshine. Long lines each night and when we did get a seat, we could not see the stage. We had to watch the show on a TV monitor twice.

 

The Serenity deck is great and has a pool but it gets very crowded very early on sea days. All chairs near the pool were being saved before 8am each sea day. All of the Serenity chairs were taken by 9am.

 

I would sail the Sunshine again, but not an 8 Day with only 3 ports.

[dduckieg]

My wife and I are looking at the same two choices as well and are stumped. We have not see St Marteen, kitts, or Bonaie yet, and have been on a conquest ship before ( liberty). So my question is would I miss serenity too. Looking forward to more responses on this. I have read some poor reviews on Sunshine. Typically not persuaded by reviews but the negative trend has not died down yet either. Good luck with your decision!!

[Bellabananas]

We are doing the Conquest with the exact itinerary in 5 weeks. Everything I've read about the Conquest is relatively positive. While there is no Serenity area, there is an adults only section. (I believe) This is our first Carnival cruise and we switched from AI because we wanted to see more places!

[RoscoeJames]

We have sailed both ships and were on the Conquest with the same itinerary last month and loved it. The Conquest is showing her age but overall a great ship. We liked the specialty restaurant choices on the Sunshine and the Serenity is awesome but agree with the previous post that it can be very crowded. The Serenity on the Conquest does have a cover in case it rains you can still enjoy the pool and hot tubs.

 

You will be good whatever ship you choose.

[sb4ever]

I sailed Sunshine (7 days) last summer and just got off Conquest (8 days) two weeks ago. I would choose Conquest hands above Sunshine (even though Aruba is my favorite port).

 

While Sunshine is a nice ship, like so many other have said, it is a smaller ship and much more crowded. There were long lines to get into the comedy club and never enough seats. Lido buffet was much more crowded and we always found it difficult to find a table. I also thought the layout was confusing.

 

Conquest is older and is showing some age; however, I really enjoyed our cruise and never felt crowded. The only thing I missed was the library. While there is a library, it didn't have the selection of games and books like Sunshine had. Oh, and Conquest has Fish & Chips :)

 

No matter which you choose, have a great cruise!

[Love2Cruz2015]

I haven't been on Sunshine but was on Destiny twice. (though I know it had a complete overhaul). I really liked the Conquest...the decor isn't that great, but the crew was awesome. They also do have some 2.0 upgrades like Guy's and Iguana's. Great live entertainment and the crowds were spread out nicely.

 

I also liked that the whirlpools were separate but close to the pool. I liked sitting in them during movie nights. Mike Pack was CD and he was great though I hear he is moving to the Glory, which suits me fine as I will be on her next Spring Break and he will be CD then.

 

Saying, that I personally have not done a Southern itinerary, but have done land trips there..would be nice to go there by the sea though.

 

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either.