Currently on Sunshine....some disappointments

[musikfans]

We Absolutely LOVED this ship. We did YTD every night and had one 15 minute wait. We went to 4 or 5 comedy shows (10 mins early) and always had a seat with full view of the stage. We did have to circle Serenity a couple times but gained seats by visiting with people and asking to share. The layout is odd, but we were experts by our first morning. The ice cream machine breakdowns would DEFINITELY been a crisis but we were lucky there with no issues. We only went to one production (Epic Rock) and really enjoyed it. We did trivia a few times (won my SOS), hung out in the RedFrog Pub, did the slides and ropes and even watched the Final four on the Jumbotron over the pool. Yes, it was spring break 2015 and it was packed.

The people were great, the staff friendly and the food yum!

For me, I hope they "Sunshine" many other ships. Couldn't we all use some sunshine?

[Jimmy Geegitz]

We loved the Sunshine. Lido is crowded on seadays but as long as you are outside befor 9:30 u should find a spot. There are so many pluses to this ship that out weigh the minuses. Going again in April.

[psupa]

Sorry but chair hogs can be a problem on any ship. And if the people are returning even for a minute within that 40 minute time frame, they can keep the chair as long as they want. 8am for a spot on Sunshine's serenity is like showing up at lunchtime. We never had a problem finding a seat up there but we purposely waited until later in the day. Just too busy up there and no seats in the morning.

 

We had late seating but ATD seemed to run much better than you described. I saw the line but it went fast. People would get pagers then wait in Ocean plaza. 90 minutes waiting for a table would have turned me inside out. Sorry you're having a hard time. We did alot of resesrch to make sure we avoided some of this and absolutely loved the Sunshine. Going on her again next year.

 

Can you tell me some of the things you like about the Sunshine. I booked a cruise for Sep 2017 from NY to Canada/NE. In your opinion are the cabins on the small size. We have an accessible inside because my DH has mobility issues. We have done the Splendor and Pride and enjoyed both. Yes we are down for YTD and am curious what dining room they use.

Edited February 17, 2016 by psupa

[psupa]

I would if I was you. The table will be there waiting for you. As well as the same wait staff

 

Just my opinion but I believe people who want first seating and can't get it do YTD and clog up all the early times. Seen this on the Pride when we did the b2b, but only crowded on the first leg.

[heatherhudson15]

There are certainly enough warnings to stay off this ship, as well as so many other ships to choose from. I wonder why some go anyway.

 

 

 

Sorry you are having your issues.

 

 

I was on the Sunshine two years ago and LOVED IT!! We are booked to sail on her again March 5th. This is one of my favorite ships and I've sailed 17 times with Carnival. All cruises are what you make of them. Perspective is everything in my humble opinion. You very well could love this ship as well. [emoji3] Happy Cruising!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Jimmy Geegitz]

List of good things.

1.variety of restaurants JiJi. Bonsai. Capitanos. 555. Havana Bar.

2. Layout of buffet is nice.

3. Water park and ropes course.

4 Serenity area and pool

5. Red Frog Pub

6.Guys Burger

7.Great sports bar

8.Ocean plaza and the live entertainment there.

9.Alchemy Bar

[summersigh]

List of good things.

1.variety of restaurants JiJi. Bonsai. Capitanos. 555. Havana Bar.

2. Layout of buffet is nice.

3. Water park and ropes course.

4 Serenity area and pool

5. Red Frog Pub

6.Guys Burger

7.Great sports bar

8.Ocean plaza and the live entertainment there.

9.Alchemy Bar

 

We agree with everything on your list !!

We also liked the fact that the Havana Bar was the overflow seating for the Lido at breakfast and lunch. We were always able to get a seat with a great view there.

 

Our suggestion: Print out deck plans for the public decks and study them a bit to know where things are and what decks allow you to go where.

[crusinpsychRN]

Sounds like us ,.. especially about the fixed dining :)

 

We sailed the Sunshine Jan 8th and had a good cruise. We printed out deck plans for the public desks ahead of time so knew where things were and what decks went all the way through. We spent most evenings at the Red Frog Pub or the Ocean Plaza and never had any trouble getting a seat.

 

From where did you print them? Only ones I find are huge or tiny.

[summersigh]

From where did you print them? Only ones I find are huge or tiny.

 

I googled ********** sunshine deck plans CC won't let me name the site ... it starts with sc

 

I downloaded some from there - then I enlarged then on the computer before I printed them.:)

Edited February 17, 2016 by summersigh

[Bunkie103]

The Havana Bar is still a bit of a secret, but as the week wears on more people appear to be finding it. Last NIGHT we got a seat on the Serenity Deck for the movie and noticed the teenagers literally take over the pool at night up there. Note to self: don't cruise again during winter break.

 

Today in St. Kitts we were docked at the commercial pier but Carnival did provide a shuttle to the downtown shopping area. We had a private excursion so didn't use it.

 

The staff on this ship like almost every Carnival ship we have sailed is really nice. We walked from the aft to the bow to get to the gangway and there was not one steward who didn't say hello to us.

 

Tonight we'll give YTD another shot and see how it goes. ;)

[browneyesinva]

I print the deck plans for me and my husband on 11x17 paper and take a couple copies with us. We also make a cruise wall each trip and tape a deck plan on the wall, along with large sheets of paper with our excursions and packing lists on them so we can see it everyday.

[Twintowngirl]

Because many of the problems stated are exaggerated (not specifically by the OP but in general posts). I sailed the Sunshine last March and had a wonderful time. Fixed time dining so no wait. Some congestion at times mainly due to people deciding to stop at the few choke points to chat instead of moving to a less congested area. Yes, there was chair hogging in the Serenity but I have seen that on all ships and I was still able to get a hammock or a chair at 2 in the afternoon (though I did see people claiming the clamshells near the pool as early as 5 in the morning). Great service, good food, a wonderful ship to sail.

 

I was on the Sunshine the previous week and had a wonderful time. Sure, there are bottleneck areas that get congested, but that happens on other ships too. The chair hogging was present but there were several staff members ticketing chairs on Sea Days. Probably the worst day was Super Bowl Sunday! Our group are early risers and were out at 630am and had to search for an area that didn't have the best big screen viewing. So by the time the game was on we were able to scoot down a little bit on deck 10 to view the game. The big thing I noticed was the exceptional staff on the ship. Our wait staff were the best I have encountered in all of my cruises on Carnival. One night 2 people from our group were chosen as participants in a show so were invited to the VIP meeting with the entertainment staff. They told us the that the Sunshine has extremely high satisfaction for the crew..some ships don't have that and are more difficult to work on. Well, that is the one thing that stood out for me and added to the enjoyment of being on the cruise.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this review..I am enjoying your point of view.

 

Deb

[Twintowngirl]

I meant to include that we did the late dinner seating as we usually do.

 

Also, I didn't go to any of the comedy shows, and yes the lines seemed long. Part of our group went pretty much anytime they were offered and raved about them. My late night activity was the Piano Bar!

 

Deb

[Bunkie103]

Well tonight we went up to Deck 5 to sign in for YTD at 6:30pm again. The lounge there was noticeably empty and there was no line at all. We gave our room number, requested a table for 2, she handed us a ticket....not a pager and off we went to the Dining Room.....go figure! This is what we had experienced in the past! Again, the service in the Dining Room was flawless!:D:D