Carnival Sunshine Sept 19-27 Review

[moondog73]

Arrival & Embarkation:

After driving 13.5 hours from Kentucky, my wife and I arrived at the Radisson Port Canaveral around 7pm. Check-in was quick and we were in our room in no time. We met up with my brother and his family and went to Kelsey’s Pizza for dinner. It was surprisingly good. After dinner, my wife and I hit the pool tiki bar for a drink and to watch some college football. Finally, it was off to bed for an early morning wake-up to catch the shuttle to the boat. We had decided to drop the wives, kids and luggage off at the port and to drive cars back to the Radisson to catch the shuttle. BIG MISTAKE!!! Traffic was so backed up at the port the shuttles were running way behind schedule. We were bummed because we had purchased FTTF. We ended up sweet talking our way onto a shuttle that had standing room only. Thank goodness we had no luggage. We finally made it to the port and we all walked right in, flashed our FTTF boarding passes and within minutes we had our sail & sign cards and were headed to the ship. Our rooms(2330 and 9178) were ready so we dropped our carry-ons in the room and headed up to the Lido deck to grab lunch

 

The Ship:

Overall, our impression of the ship was it was very clean and not near as crowded as most of the reviews we had read prior to sailing. We rarely had a wait and when we did it was because some slow person was analyzing the food on the buffet or talking in the walkways. If people would have some self-awareness and consideration there would have been zero problems. I will say the comedy lounge was really small. We never made it to a show, but we did stop by to see it because we had read so many complaints about it. We enjoyed getting pictures taken each night and even purchased some. We also scheduled a private photo shoot with no obligation to buy anything. We went to the photo review with the intention of only purchasing one photo. Ivan did such a wonderful job both myself and brother’s family purchased several.

 

The Food:

We tried everything possible. For Breakfast we did Brunch one day. While it was very good, it was just too slow for my liking. Most days we ate the Lido buffet, omelette station, or breakfast burritos. All were very good, but the omelette station always had a line because it takes a while to make each one from scratch. The Blue Iguana Cantina tacos and burritos were excellent. They make them anyway you like. Guy’s Burgers were equally good. We never stood in line for either of those. We always walked right up. We also tried the Mongolian Wok (always had a line because it is just a slow process) and Italian for lunch. We liked both of those as well. We had late dining in the main dining room. Our servers Wilfredo, Nan, and Wiguana were very good, especially with the kids. They worked really hard but I do agree they were stretched thin. The food was very good with plenty of different selections. I had decided the first night to get something different each night (even dessert). I liked everything I had each night. The only bad food we had for the 8 days was the popcorn and the lasagna at the Italian Restaurant for lunch and MDR for dinner. Popcorn on the Lido deck during movies was just plain popcorn. No salt or butter. The lasagna was supposed to be meat lasagnga but it also had spinach and black olives in it. No one in our group liked it at all.

 

The Drinks:

We had plenty of different drinks but our favorites were made at the Alchemy Bar. This is the only bar to make everything from scratch using fresh ingredients. My wife and sister-in-law ordered Remedy’s each night before dinner. My favorite was the Spicy Chipotle Martini. We also visited the Red Frog Pub, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, and Havana Bar. While those drinks were good, they just did not quite compare to the Alchemy Bar drinks.

 

Boat Activities:

On sea days, we sat out in the sun by the Waterworks area. The kids really enjoyed the splash park and the adults enjoyed the water slides. We also played mini golf one night and did both sides of the ropes course. We played trivia several times and were so close to getting the coveted ship on a stick. My wife even signed up for a slot tournament. During the qualifying rounds she finished with the overall highest score, but her luck ran out in the finals. She got a nice shirt for making the finals though. There are plenty of activities for all ages and you can be as involved as you want.

 

Fellow Passengers:

Let me just say there was a large mix of all kinds of people on the ship. Generally I just try to ignore everyone and go about my own business but there were a few situations and people worth mentioning. If you are eating form the buffet, please do not stand in line and try to analyze what is in the food. Just take it or move on. If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it. Also, do not stand in the walk ways with your plate of food talking. It makes it hard for those of us trying to get to the tables. Also, in crowded areas, walk on the right side of the walkway. Don’t cut in the line of people waiting for ice, water, and juices. People can just be rude. Lastly, pay attention when you are waiting for the elevator. When the door opens don’t stand there and keep talking. Make a decision, are you boarding or not, if you hesitate and I am in the car, I am hitting the door close button. Elevator etiquette 101 – stand to the right of the elevator doors so that the left side can be used by the people getting off. Always let people exit before you board!

 

I saw several smokers using their e-cig machines in non-smoking areas. We also saw several babies and toddlers wearing diapers in the splash park even though Carnival has a no diaper policy. Nothing was said to them. My brother did not bring his 2 year old for this reason. Chair hogs seemed to be out in force as well. Carnival should consider having 1 person on each deck collect any unattended items. We always had a group of 4 chairs. If anyone left for any reason (bathroom, food, drink, etc) 1 or 2 people always stayed behind. There were lots of chairs on sea days in the morning with no one in them. Police this and make everyone happy. We did always find seats in the sun though with a little searching.

 

I would like to mention a couple specific fellow passengers. I do not know their names but thought it was worth mentioning. The first was some foreign couple in St Maarten. Upon boarding the ship that afternoon, I had purchased a bottle of Guavaberry Rum. Of course I was told to turn it in to the table collecting alcohol. As I approach the table I see an older couple standing at the table but I see no bottles of alcohol. I overhear them arguing with the person collecting alcohol that they want their cheese wheel refrigerated. He explained to them several times that he was only collecting alcohol. They just did not want to listen. The whole time I am thinking why is this idiot in my way. Finally they walked away mad. Honestly who buys a 32 pound wheel of cheese on a cruise anyway?

 

The second person worth mentioning was an older gentleman who was a diamond status cruiser. He made sure EVERYONE knew it. It is so funny they wear their sail and sign card around their neck so everyone can see their silver card. WHO CARES!!! Anyway, the first night at dinner, the servers come around with a basket of rolls and baguettes. What does he want---rye bread. He made the biggest deal out of rye bread. The poor assistant did not know what to do. Next we saw him complain to the head waiter and even the hostess. Finally they tell him they will have some for him the next night. Well the next night he asks for his rye bread but of course they forgot about. The rest of the evenings, I guess the poor assistant had to go to the deli each night to get his rye bread. What a cranky old fart.

 

The Port:

St Maarten— We had purchased a day pass for the Sonesta Maho Resort which is right next to the airport. We wanted to see the planes land and take-off. The lady working the desk was extremely rude and told us we could not use the day pass because the pool was being repaired. We told her we were not there for the pool but wanted the beach and all-inclusive food/drinks. She again said we should have called before coming so they could tell us not to waste our time. I handed her our day pass deposit vouchers and she disappeared to discuss it with someone. She came back and said they would honor it. We got our bracelets and off to the beach we headed. The beach was small but clean. There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas. A nice lady on the beach overheard us talking and told us the KLM 747 was due to arrive in a few minutes. We walked about 100 yards down to the airport and road was packed with people waiting to see it land. We made it just in time to see it fly maybe 50 feet overhead to land. We also got to “ride the fence” when it took off. I can cross that off my bucket list now. We spent the day in the water and had a nice lunch. The drinks were perfect too. All in all it was a great first sea day.

 

St Kitts— We originally had purchased a day pass for the Marriott. We cancelled it before we left since the Atlantic side of all the islands had been inundated with sea weed all summer. Not having a plan, we decided to get off the boat and look for a taxi. Towards the end of the pier we ran into a nice gentleman advertising rides to the beach. We asked about a beach with chairs to rent, calm waves for the kids to play in and without sea weed. He showed us pictures of Friars and Cockleshell beaches. We decided on Cockleshell and we were not disappointed. After a 30 minute ride, our driver dropped us off at the No Limit Bar. James, the owner, greeted us as we exited the van. $10 got you 2 chairs and an umbrella. He also served $2 beer, soft drinks and water. Our view of Nevis in the distance was spectacular. The water was calm and very warm. We spent the day there and had a great time. We arrived back at port and we walked around the shops for a bit before boarding the boat. This was a perfect beach day!!!

 

San Juan—We all left the boat to head to the Bacardi Distillery. We had to catch the ferry (50 cents pp each way) to cross the bay to Catano. We caught a taxi ($3 pp each way) to take us the rest of the way. The basic tour at Bacardi is $12 for adults and free for kids. It also includes a drink. We got rum punch and Cuba Libres. The tour was quite interesting. The kids even seemed to like it. At the gift shop we were able to buy rum that is not sold in the US (only sold in Puerto Rico). On the way back, we wasted about 30 minutes waiting on the ferry before we realized they had sent a bus to pick everyone up. That wasted about another 35 minutes so we had very little time to shop and walk around Old San Juan. We still enjoyed the trip to Bacardi though.

 

Grand Turk—Not much to do here but go to the beach or pool at Margaritaville. We wanted a nice front row spot so we were one of the first people off the ship. We went straight to the beach and claimed 6 front row end chairs. We each rented a clamshell for the day for $20. The beach was nice, clean, and calm but very rocky. Instead of eating at Margaritaville for $20 per person, my brother and I got back on the ship and got lunch for everyone. We enjoyed several drinks from the bar and spent the day at the beach. Late in the day, we walked around the shops before heading to the ship.

 

Complaints:

The wait time for the elevators was ridiculous. They are always crowded and they usually stop on every floor. Some of this can be attributed to lazy people. It’s was so frustrating when we were trying to go up or down 7 floors and we stopped on every floor for people going up or down 1 floor. The “Door Close” button worked really well though. On more than one occasion, people were not paying attention when the doors opened so I closed the doors quickly with the button. In addition, it seemed like at least one of the elevators was out of service all the time.

 

Our other complaint was how they do the alcohol pickup on debarkation morning. We had to pick it up ourselves starting at 6am. It is fine if Carnival wants to do this, but they really need to change the process. I arrived at 5:55am and was in line up the stairs. It took me 45 minutes to get my 4 bottles I purchased in port. There were 2 lines. One for land purchases and one for boat purchases. If you purchased both, you got to stand in line for both. Obviously the port based purchase line was much longer. Both lines were next to each other. So of course, people got the bottles from the short on-board purchase line and then would cut in line to get their port purchases. Carnival should consider a few things. Do not have both lines at the same place. Also, FFTF, Diamond, & Platinum should either have theirs delivered like before or have a separate place for them to pick it up. I had purchased FTTF so that would have been a nice amenity.

 

Debarkation

After retrieving my alcohol purchases, we headed up the Lido to meet my brother and his family for breakfast. Since we had FTTF we received a letter stating to meet in the comedy lounge at 8:15 for debarkation. We arrived a few minutes early. Finally a lady dressed in white from the ship arrived and escorted everyone (FFTF, Diamond, & Platinum) to the exit. They were still doing self-assist so the line was stopped to allow everyone from the comedy lounge to exit. Having a 14 hour drive ahead of me this really helped. We grabbed a porter, found our luggage, made our way through customs, and caught the shuttle to the Radisson in a flash. We were on the road heading home at 9am.

 

Final Thoughts

We chose the Sunshine because of the itinerary not the boat. After reading all the bad reviews we were pleasantly surprised. There are always good and bad things on any trip. For us, there were vastly more good than bad on the Sunshine. The ship did not seem near as crowded as other reviews had suggested. I would definitely not hesitate to recommend or even sail the Sunshine in the future.

[Glock19]

Thanks for the review. We have the Sunshine booked for Feb.5. I booked for the itinerary too. I've never been to Bonaire. I sailed the Splendor in July and was a victim of the liquor policy. Not a fan. The line to pickup on debark day was unreal. I have the Pride booked for New Years. I don't think i'll be buying and take home liquor.

[TinkyPatz]

Thank you for the review!

 

How much was the Sonesta resort day pass and what did it include? Did you purchase online?

[mbrownferrier]

Thanks for the great review! Leaving on the Sunshine in 20 days!!!!

[moondog73]

Cost was $80 per person from carribean day pass dot com. All inclusive drinks food pool and beach chairs and teansportation. They even told us we had a complimentary room if we wanted it. Room was not listed on website

[summersigh]

Thanx for taking the time to post this review.... we'll be sailing her as well.:D

[Pirate Dude]

Thanks for your review. You gave great overview.

 

We'll be sailing on her late January. I'm also courious about your driving route. We will drive from Loisville and are currently deciding between 65 vs going to Lexington and doing 75

[moondog73]

We took 65S TO 24E to 75S to 10E to 95S. I took this route to avoid Orlando traffic and tolls. Watch for lots of police south of Atlanta to the Florida line. They use laser guns so radar detectors are pretty useless for them. Plan your departure to avoid Nashville rush hour. Remember they are on Central time.

[Pirate Dude]

Thanks, Moondog. Hadn't thought of cutting across I-10

[crusinpsychRN]

Which dining room does your time dining?

[moondog73]

The lower level of the Sunrise Dining Room on level 3 was anytime dining. Check-in was at the Ocean Plaza on deck 5.

[naz022292]

Just an FYI to the OP... the platinum cruiser complaining about rye bread may have a wheat allergy. Although he wouldn't be able to eat white or wheat bread, he may be able to eat the rye bread. It is also possible that he reported this to special needs prior to the cruise and expected it to be accommodated. I don't know that cruiser and have no way to know if this is his situation - but just thought I would point out that there may be a reason to be insistent over rye bread.

[moondog73]

That's fine and dandy but he was very rude about the rye bread among other things as well. He was so loud and making a scene it would have made sense to say he had an allergy. Plus he ate other various breaded items through the the week. I am sure those would have affected his "allergy" as well

[naz022292]

That's fine and dandy but he was very rude about the rye bread among other things as well. He was so loud and making a scene it would have made sense to say he had an allergy. Plus he ate other various breaded items through the the week. I am sure those would have affected his "allergy" as well

 

Oh... I have no idea if he has an allergy, I was just suggesting there could be another reason to be upset over rye bread. He shouldn't have to disclose any personal medical information around strangers. Never an excuse to be rude though.

 

As for wearing their badges, I think that they wear them around their neck because they know/expect that the crew will treat them with extra special respect for being good customers. I've only been on 3 cruises (all with Carnival) so I have a long way to go to become Platinum - but if I'm lucky enough to earn that status someday, I'll be pretty proud to wear it too!

[KatieCharlotte]

Oh... I have no idea if he has an allergy, I was just suggesting there could be another reason to be upset over rye bread. He shouldn't have to disclose any personal medical information around strangers. Never an excuse to be rude though.

 

As for wearing their badges, I think that they wear them around their neck because they know/expect that the crew will treat them with extra special respect for being good customers. I've only been on 3 cruises (all with Carnival) so I have a long way to go to become Platinum - but if I'm lucky enough to earn that status someday, I'll be pretty proud to wear it too!

 

To be fair, many people (including those of us who are not platinum) wear their cards around their necks because they've discovered that it's convenient and/or because they view it as part of the cruise experience, not because they want people to know how often they've cruised. Lanyards are common at theme parks too. I personally only wear mine to hang out on deck and swim, not to the MDR, but that's because I'm vain and it doesn't look nice with a dress. :D

 

Thank you, OP, for the review. I love reading about the Sunshine.

[naz022292]

I also want to thank the OP for their review. We are going on the Sunshine next October (too far away:() and enjoyed reading your experience!

[Jesse1179]

Following!

[092306]

Thanks for the review! Glad to hear positive things about the sunshine.

[ufyellowfin]

Haha, think I may have had that crotchety old diamond cruiser on my May cruise. Actually I'm sure of it because we saw him making a scene about the bread. I had the unfortunate luck of running into him at customer service trying to pay my bill. There was a short line at fttf/diamond platinum but evidently that didn't apply to him. I was the one he cut in front of and made a comment to my buddy loud enough he could hear that we will start cruising another line before we reach a-hole status. Something about that silver color brings out the jerk attitude in a lot of the ones I ran into.

[shellden]

Moondog

We are staying at Radisson is the shuttle a hassle should I just grab a cab? What time did you end up getting to pier? Im not in a huge rush to get there was even thinking if its a nice morning enjoy the pool a bit.

 

Thank you for your review and input

Shelley

[moondog73]

It was bad the day we were there bur I would do it again. You need to call and sign up for a shuttle time. We did 10am but they were 45 mins behind because of port traffic.