Mother/Daughters Sunshine Cruise to St. Martin, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk

[blessedwith12]

Thanks everyone. And tkotis, I will try to answer your question about the crowding on sea days.

 

On our first sea day, we were up around 7 and headed to the Lido for breakfast. I ordered an omelet from the station set up at Ji-Jis and also had some pastires. The line wasn't bad and we ate at the back of the Havana Bar. I love the guava juice and had that every morning!

 

It was still a little cool and windy. There were many chairs available on Serenity but it was too windy to really enjoy being up there. We found some chairs back by the door to the Kid's Club and close to Waterworks. We were pretty much lazy bums all morning - just napping and reading! A couple of days before we sailed I dropped a log on my big toe. I think I probably broke it! At Cocoa Beach and our embarkation day, I had walked quite a bit and now because I was walking funny, my hip and leg hurt too. I was perfectly content to just lay around most of this sea day and rest my foot. After all, it was formal night and I was going to have to get my dress shoes on! If you saw me on the cruise and frequently saw me walking barefoot and carrying my shoes, you now know why!

 

For lunch, I once again headed to the Mongolian Wok and this time had the chicken with the black bean sauce. I sometimes hear people complain about the line for Mongolian but it is pretty much a non-issue for me. The Sunshine has more free options for lunch that most all of the other ships. It's really up to us to decide if the line is worth our wait or if we'd rather choose something else. I don't think I ever waited more than 15 minutes from start to finish and I think usually it was less than that. Mercy and Abby got hamburgers and fries from Guys and loved them! Not sure exactly what Grace and Hannah ate - but it could have been from the BlueIguana. They are the healthiest eaters and got burritos several times. And surprise!! Key Lime pie for dessert!!

 

As the day warmed up, the public areas became more crowded but nothing too terrible. I think this was because it was still cool - the next day was more crowded.

 

The Marketplace is set up with a lot of open area. I don't think it ever felt too crowded. I'm not sure I ever saw more than 5 people waiting in line to get their plate and get started on the buffet. There are some smaller corridors going back to the Havana Bar which sometimes created a tiny bottleneck, but nothing major. I only got Guy's burgers once and it was pretty much just walk up and get your burger and head over to the bar to top it.

 

The area around the pool seems very crowded to me. The chairs are lined up close and tight. The pool seems very small for the number of cruisers. Besides the Serenity hot tub, there are 2 hot tubs on the Lido which each seat about 10-12 max. Before sailing, like many of you I had read many negative reviews about the Sunshine and wondered if the complaints were legitimate. I also knew I would have a great cruise even if they were! To be honest, I sail for #1 - the itinerary and #2 - the food! But...if I'm honest, I have to admit the crowding got to me a little bit. Maybe I'm getting older but it just seemed like too many people were crammed into too small of an area. But...because there are so many other areas to hang out - this wasn't a deal breaker for me. We just chose other parts of the ship to lay out. TheWaterworks area and the sides going back there never seemed as crowded.

 

That afternoon there was a dance class and all 4 girls went. One of the Playlist dancers, Cortney maybe?, taught them a dance to Thriller. I found a spot on the Serenity deck and relaxed some more.

 

Before we got ready for late dinner, we headed to the Limelight Lounge to watch some karaoke. That was fun and then it was time to fight for bathroom and mirror time to get ready for a Cruise Elegant Evening!

 

The area we liked seemed a little bit more private with its wind guard and single row of loungers. And yes, it was a little chilly this morning!

 

 

Not very crowded this morning.

 

 

 

 

Chicken stir fry with black bean sauce.

 

See this white top? It was my next casualty of discovering spills, stains and spots!!

[blessedwith12]

Enjoying your review and it is obvious you made wonderful memories with your daughters! I will be taking 2 of my 3 grands (from my 1 and only son, so I can't even fathom 12 children, LOL!) on their first cruise in May, and am so excited! The baby will turn 1 while we are on the cruise, so will be a few more years before we take him.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this!

debbie

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time with your grandkids!! Yes, a 1 year old would be challenging on a cruise!

[blessedwith12]

So, it's time for the first Cruise Elegant Evening of this cruise! We got ready, doing our comedy routine at the mirror, and headed out to have some pictures taken. We always enjoy the humor of Carnival's photographers and knew between us we wanted to purchase several pictures from trip.

 

For dinner, I had the Strawberry Bisque and the Lobster/Shrimp. The Strawberry Bisque is one of my favorites that I have every cruise. The lobster and shrimp were delicious and were served with broccoli and mashed potatoes. For dessert - Cherries Jubilee. Several of the daughters had the Caramelized Apples on Puff Pastry. After asking if this was Abby's first cruise, Enrique did several magic tricks for her. He is a sweetheart and quickly won all of our hearts.

 

Thankfully, this elegant night was less eventful than our elegant night on our last cruise. On the Fantasy, Grace had lobster for the first time and went into anaphylactic shock! Her throat was swelling and she was shaking. We got help and an employee with a wheelchair took her to the nurse where they used an Epi-pen and Benadryl to get it under control. We did not know she was allergic to lobster and found out the hard way!! So, the first night of the cruise we informed our wait staff that Grace was allergic to shell fish. Each evening before we left, they let Grace look at the menu for the next night and make her selections. They were insuring that her food selections would be safe for her and we really appreciated the caution.

 

 

Grace safely chose Spaghetti Carbonara.

 

 

Hannah tried the Seared Filet of RedFish and loved it.

After dinner, I don't think we found very much we wanted to do. I'm not sure how we ended up spending the evening.

[blessedwith12]

More food pictures!

 

 

 

Caramelized Apples with Puff Pastry

 

 

Of course you can always get just plain ol' ice cream too!

 

[blessedwith12]

Forgive a proud mama for showing off her daughters!

 

From left to right: Mercy, Grace, Me, Hannah, Abby

 

 

[starfish the second]

subscribing cant wait to read your review

[bakersdozen12]

After dinner, I don't think we found very much we wanted to do. I'm not sure how we ended up spending the evening.

 

This made me chuckle because I had the same problem when I was writing my review! There were times when I literally couldn't remember what we did that night. Good thing that I kept all the FunTimes because that helped me remember a little bit.

 

Anyway, I'm loving your review! Can't wait to read more. :)

[blessedwith12]

Once again we were up at 7 and off to breakfast. We snagged a table by the window and went our separate ways to grab our breakfasts. Today I hit the buffet and got scrambled eggs, potatoes and bacon. But the hit of the morning was the pastry from the small Cuban spread at the Havana bar. The cheese pastries were amazing and I returned there several other mornings!

 

It was definitely warmer than the day before and many towels were enjoying the Serenity Deck. Yes, the chair hogs were out early and it seemed much of the time towels enjoyed the Serenity more than people. There were also people who would switch back and forth between a place in the shade and one in the sun. The area around the pool also stayed much more crowded today.

 

Anyways, we were headed back to the starboard side to the same area close to Waterworks. Time for some more napping and reading. Now Abby, Mercy, Hannah and I are about 1 shade darker than snow. At her palest, Grace is as dark as I get at my darkest. And she just spends about 10 minutes outside and her heat activated skin is brown all the way around. The rest of us have strips that burn bright red while the rest remains white. Yes, we use sunscreen and still burn. Mercy had applied sunscreen numerous times the day before but she was as red as a lobster. But anyways, we were enjoying baking in the heat having escaped from cold Ohio!

 

After we were sufficiently warmed up, we decided to do the slides. The racers are some fast ones!! On previous cruises, the daughters have laughed at me as I hit the pool at the end, usually in a completely flat position and looking like a drowned rat. So, I thought I would try to partially sit up this time. Wrong decision!! I hit my head at one point, then went flat and yes, shot out at the bottom completely out of control. But it was a blast. The yellow slide is very slow...and dark...and several of us actually stopped at some points and had to push ourselves along.

 

After we dried for awhile, it was time for lunch. Today I decided to try the Pasta Bar. As you approach that station, there is a table with order forms and an attendant. You can choose what type of pasta you'd like, the sauce, the meats and extras. You can also select a caesar salad and bread. When you hand your completed form to the attendant, you receive a pager to let you know when your meal is ready. I had the shrimp alfredo with mushrooms, a caesar salad and bread. I thought the shrimp alfredo was just okay - my daughters loved it. I loved the bread!!

 

That afternoon the girls decided to do the Skywalk. At home, I thought I might try it. After seeing them do it - I decided not to. It's not that I thought I would get hurt, I just had visions of me falling and hanging from my harness like an idiot while I had to wait for one of the guys to come rescue me. So, I just enjoyed watching them do it. There are 2 courses side by side with one being harder than the other. The attendant put them on the harder side. I think the wind was the biggest challenge their first time through. By the end of the week, they were able to do it pretty quickly.

 

We also watched an ice carving that afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[blessedwith12]

More Skywalk pictures:

 

 

 

[blessedwith12]

My other cruises have been in March, September or November. The one thing that was different about cruising in January was that the afternoons seemed to turn cool starting around 4:00. Now, I have to admit that I am very cold natured - and there were many people still enjoying the pools long after I was ready to curl up in my towel. But, for me, I was usually ready to go inside by 4 to 5.

 

The way Carnival has the main shows arranged now, you go to see your show before dinner if you have late dinner. So this night we went to see Latin Nights. I wish I could give you a full review but honestly, I don't remember much about the show. It wasn't one of my favorites although the performers were very talented and put a great deal of energy into the production.

 

On our way to dinner, we passed the Taste Bar. I insisted we stop and to be a good sport, Abby decided to get a sample with me. It was some type of chicken, tiny little pieces in a runny sauce that you ate with a toothpick. Yes, it was Abby's turn to have a food disaster. It dripped onto her multi-colored striped dress - right onto the white stripe. Oops!

 

We decided to take a photo on the stairs and one of the photographers saw us and came over - asking if we'd like for him to take the picture. So he grabbed our camera, proceeded to pose us and took several shots. We thought that was so sweet!!

 

 

 

[blessedwith12]

This made me chuckle because I had the same problem when I was writing my review! There were times when I literally couldn't remember what we did that night. Good thing that I kept all the FunTimes because that helped me remember a little bit.

 

Anyway, I'm loving your review! Can't wait to read more. :)

 

Thanks! I tried to take notes so I'd remember but as the cruise wore on, I was sleepier and sleepier every night and my notes became fewer and fewer. Some of the daughters did the same thing and their notes are getting shorter too!

[blessedwith12]

This night for dinner I started with the Penne Mariscos. Don't forget that you can get the pasta main dishes as an appetizer!! This was really good and unusual. It was pasta topped with shrimp, calamari, scallops and mussels in a tomato cream sauce topped with salmon. Sorry - I don't have a picture! The smoked quesadilla was a favorite choice for several of the girls.

I also had the jerked pork loin and strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Now, when picking a pal to sit next to at dinner, Mercy is always a good choice. She's not eating healthy fish, salad and pasta like Grace and Hannah. You can always talk Mercy into eating with you. So, I suggested we split a lemon cake too and she was very agreeable to that even though she'd already had 4 bread rolls with her dinner.

 

The waiters danced in the dining room tonight and our waiter came to get us up to dance with them. Satiade seemed to really get into the dancing and we had a fun time with him. Enrique came after dinner to do some tricks for us including one where he launched a spoon into one of our water glasses.

[anewmac]

Just catching up, this is adorable to have these special memories with your daughters. I would love to take my mom on a cruise, but she's not up for it.

 

Cant wait to read more.

 

BTW Have any pics of the room? Would love to see an interior, we always book a balcony too but wondering how the set up is for a gals trip I would love to book with friends. Wondering if the 4 of us could make this work LOL.

[blessedwith12]

Just catching up, this is adorable to have these special memories with your daughters. I would love to take my mom on a cruise, but she's not up for it.

 

Cant wait to read more.

 

BTW Have any pics of the room? Would love to see an interior, we always book a balcony too but wondering how the set up is for a gals trip I would love to book with friends. Wondering if the 4 of us could make this work LOL.

 

 

My mother is 96 and by the time I discovered cruising, she was also not able to go. I know she would have loved it!

 

I'll look for some pictures that show the room. So far, I found a couple of videos but my daughters would probably kill me if I posted them!! They were being pretty silly!

[richstowe]

Congratulations on enjoying a cruise with 4 of your girls . Wonderful report .

 

I have no idea how the 5 of you were able to handle a single cabin . I couldn't .

Forgive me, but how much more would it have been for a second cabin ?

Clearly you are a close family ;) in being able to do this .

[cincicruisers]

Really enjoying your review! Can't wait to read the rest. Your daughters are very pretty, you look young enough to pass as a daighter yourself. :p

[kmarie10531]

Can't wait to read this review !! Still bummed that you won't be with us on the Journey cruise, but you have a good excuse hehe

[13cheermom]

Loving this review! We will be on the Sunshine on this same itinerary in April celebrating our 30 year anniversary :D Your daughters are absolutely beautiful and love their hair color. I have to agree with above post that you could pass as the older sister not the mom. So glad you got to get away with them and make those precious memories. It's so hard to do once they leave home and have their own lives. Can't wait for the rest to follow!

[blessedwith12]

Thank you all for the kind comments! Of course I'm partial but I think the girls are beautiful too - inside and out! We do feel the clock ticking and know that our time to be able to travel together is probably limited. We barely got our last cruise in together before another daughter, Emily, got married. Hannah has been living the last few months in Georgia helping my sister and brother-in-law with rides to dr. appts. etc. because the both have extensive health issues. So, we really enjoyed this chance to be all together and our excessive laughter and silliness underlined how much we really do enjoy each other and the different personalities!

As for looking like an older sister - thank you! It's hard letting yourself be photographed with such cute, skinny girls!! :eek: I'm starting to feel my age but I do appreciate the kind encouragement!

[blessedwith12]

Cincicruisers - My husband and I are both originally from Cincinnati. We moved out to the boondocks about 23 years ago from Blue Ash. I grew up in Oakley and went to Walnut Hills High School and the University of Cincinnati. My mother stayed in Oakley until a few years ago so I was still down there a lot and our son goes to Childrens Hospital there. My husband still works in Cincinnati.

[blessedwith12]

Kmarie10531, yes we were disappointed to miss the Journeys cruise but like you said, we had a good reason!! I'm sure I will check out reviews from your cruise to see how it went. I got some good information from that roll call - like the info on our hotel in Cocoa Beach! Hope you have a marvelous cruise!

[blessedwith12]

Congratulations on enjoying a cruise with 4 of your girls . Wonderful report .

 

I have no idea how the 5 of you were able to handle a single cabin . I couldn't .

Forgive me, but how much more would it have been for a second cabin ?

Clearly you are a close family ;) in being able to do this .

 

I did look into 2 cabins but I can't remember what the price difference was. We really did just want to put our money into a longer cruise to the ports we wanted with the excursions we wanted than into the cabin. Plus, in some ways it wouldn't have been as much fun if we had been in 2 rooms! We have a pretty big sense of humor and I hope that is coming across in my posts. I am telling about our adventures coping not really for the purpose of complaining. I would do it again without a doubt. But....I do want people to have an accurate picture of what 5 in a room is really like. It definitely is not for everyone! You had better be athletic, have patience, and be able to laugh to last together for 8 days. And, I think in the years to come, some of the funny situations that arose from having 5 women in one room will be the memories the girls will remember the most!

 

One tip: On some nights, a couple of the girls would go to the gym and shower there. It did help to free up the bathroom!

[blessedwith12]

A couple more thoughts about the SkyWalk. It says you need to wear closed toe shoes so don't forget to pack something appropriate!

 

Also, my daughters said the 2 employees who worked the SkyWalk were a lot of fun. One of them, I'll try to remember to ask them for names later, also hosted Karaoke. While the girls were doing the course the first time, there was a young boy who made it through the first leg of the trip and then panicked. The employees were very good to come get him and calmly take him back to the start. If this does happen, all the people on the course behind the frightened individual also have to go back. The employees will disconnect themselves to attach to the line in the right place but they don't allow/expect cruisers to disconnect temporarily - even on the platforms.

[Boozebabe]

Cincicruisers - My husband and I are both originally from Cincinnati. We moved out to the boondocks about 23 years ago from Blue Ash. I grew up in Oakley and went to Walnut Hills High School and the University of Cincinnati. My mother stayed in Oakley until a few years ago so I was still down there a lot and our son goes to Childrens Hospital there. My husband still works in Cincinnati.

 

LOVING your trip report. I think girl cruises are the best although I do love the time with my hubby on the ship. I only have sons so I rely on my 2 sisters, 2 sisters-in-law, and numerous nieces and friends to fill in for the girly trips.

 

I'm also from the Cincy area. We live in Milford but grew up in Madisonville, right next door to Oakley. I went to Marian High School and hubby to Purcell. We have ties to Childrens as my sis-in-law works in the colo-rectal dept and travels with the Drs without borders to depressed countries.

 

Your hubby has a long drive doesn't he? Aren't you from Columbus area?

[blessedwith12]

So, we're still on our Second Sea Day and now it's time to go dancing once again!! The BlueIguana Mexican Fiesta Dance Party was a lot of fun!! Before it officially began, they had Latin music playing and people were beginning to dance. Then Jaime and the entertainment team came and kicked the party into high gear. Hannah and Mercy both teach dance/exercise classes and so they were really into the freestyle dancing before the party - so similar to doing Zumba!! Personally, I need help so line dancing is just my speed. For some reason, it seemed like every time I glanced up at the big screen - there I was- much bigger than life struggling like a middle aged woman who can't dance. They seemed to love to feature me on the JumboTron! How embarrassing. But, I had decided before the cruise that I was going to dance with my daughters - even if I can't dance!! They did outlast me most evenings, though.

 

That night, we started packing up our bags for our excursion the next day. I reviewed my paperwork and was horrified to see that I didn't think we would make our excursion. There is a time difference in St. Martin of one hour and they are one hour ahead of us. The paperwork said the excursion was booked on their time, not ship time. According to all this - there was no way we could make it. So I warned the girls there was a chance our excursion wasn't happening. At the same time, we know that these companies are used to dealing with the cruise ships and know what the schedules are. I was keeping my fingers crossed!