Currently on Sunshine....some disappointments

[cruizinisthebest]

Exactly. we always do early time dining. One reason people may be waiting so long is that they have requested a certain table or wait team and they have to wait until something opens up.

Not a fan of it either. I like the same servers and table every night. And I don't want to have to wait, which is trying to mix both options in my opinion.

 

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[Bunkie103]

We agree Sunshine was a one and done for us. The public areas were so crowded always gave me the feeling of exiting a movie theater after completion.

 

 

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You nailed it! Never noticed this on other Carnival ships either.

[Bunkie103]

Just heard we are diverting to San Juan for a passenger with a medical emergency. Changing arrival time in St. Maarten.....no consequence as long as the passenger is able to receive their medical care and get better.

[ladygal4.4]

Understand, I meant at peak times.

 

Exactly, peak times are a totally different story. :)

[Vitamin_Sea]

Hmmm. Maybe I'll go back to fixed dining on the upcoming cruise.

 

On Glory a few years back when YTD was relatively new we didn't wait when we showed up around 6. Maybe more people are now doing YTD?

 

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

[mississauga]

We are on as well, and by far, their are more more YTD then I have ever seen. Sunshine is unique in its approach to YTD. Last night I would wager that there were over 500 people that showed up to check in between 5:45 and 6:30. Someone saying they never had to wait for YTD sounds suspect to me.....

 

 

The problem could be that there are a lot wanting YTD and all showing up at the same time.

 

The uniqueness of checking in on deck five is not the problem. If you get a pager, you get to wait in the comfort of Ocean Plaza or the Alchemy Bar. On other ships, you still wait in line to check in and then have to go else to wait until your pager goes off.

 

We were on the b2b Jouney cruises in Nov/Dec and we never had to use a pager. The first couple of days, there were lines but they went very quickly. They had 2 hostesses and on most other ships, there is only one. In over 10 cruises with YTD, I believe the Sunshine lines moved quicker than on any other ship. We usually went between 5:45 and 6:30. By the time we left the dining room, we noticed empty tables around us so maybe YTD was not in as high demand on our cruises as yours. When we passed the check in on deck 5 after dinner, there were never any lines at all.

[HectorAchilleus]

We agree Sunshine was a one and done for us. The public areas were so crowded always gave me the feeling of exiting a movie theater after completion.

 

 

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I generally love carnival and have sailed on over 26 cruises. I have enjoyed them all, but I found the Sunshine to be the least favorite. Crowded, Crowded! Crowded!! The comedy club was ridiculous, public areas and chairs a disaster, and the "serenity" area adjacent to the noisy DJ, Hairy chest, etc. - anything but serene.

 

I also have to wonder how hard it would be to enforce the chair hog situation. I just hope that Carnival does not decide to "Sunshine" any of their other ships.

[boopsahoy]

The problem could be that there are a lot wanting YTD and all showing up at the same time.

 

The uniqueness of checking in on deck five is not the problem. If you get a pager, you get to wait in the comfort of Ocean Plaza or the Alchemy Bar. On other ships, you still wait in line to check in and then have to go else to wait until your pager goes off.

 

We were on the b2b Jouney cruises in Nov/Dec and we never had to use a pager. The first couple of days, there were lines but they went very quickly. They had 2 hostesses and on most other ships, there is only one. In over 10 cruises with YTD, I believe the Sunshine lines moved quicker than on any other ship. We usually went between 5:45 and 6:30. By the time we left the dining room, we noticed empty tables around us so maybe YTD was not in as high demand on our cruises as yours. When we passed the check in on deck 5 after dinner, there were never any lines at all.

 

Glad someone else had the same positive experience as me.:D

Your times are around the same times we went.

[Bunkie103]

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner at Cucina de Capitano. Well worth the $15. I spoke to the two hostesses checking YTD people in on Deck 5 and they said tonight was much calmer than last night. So, tomorrow we'll give it another shot.

[GAMOMOF2]

We did the sunshine last year and had same problem with ytd. Awful wait then empty tables when you get to dining room. Very frustrating and will never to again on sunshine. Just did it on fascination and while still not my favorite nit as bad as sunshine.

[Viesczy]

Chair hog fix is easy.

 

1) Find a passel of chairs that are towels only and no people.

2) Remove said towels/items, place them on the ground where the chair was.

3) Move chair somewhere else.

4) Enjoy your chair.

 

Problem solved.

 

:D

[Lace]

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.

[cruzeluver]

Sorry for the OP. Its disappointing when a trip does not live up to expectations.

 

We are booked on Sunshine the end of May and are not terribly concerned. The issues most commonly reported for this ship would have little to no impact to us.

 

I have no interest in anytime dining. We like late fixed. So lovely to just walk into the dining room to our regular table at our regular time with our regular wait staff. If I want to be handed a beeper I'll go to Olive Garden (Heaven forbid).

 

Don't need a lounger near the pool or in Serenity.

 

May go to the comedy club once and are aware we would need to arrive early.

[mississauga]

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.

 

 

 

.........and then there are those of us who enjoy the Sunshine. We have cruised on the Sunshine for 35 days. 16 days on the Sunshine TA and recently a b2b journeys cruise. The journey cruises were 2 of our favorite cruises in over 40 cruises. We cruise other cruise lines also besides Carnival

 

We are Sunshine fans!

[SeaGoingDAD]

We boarded the Sunshine on 2/13/16 and within 30 minutes of arriving at the front door or the terminal we were on board. Our room was ready because we are Platinum...wonderful. I signed up for the "middle" internet package and thought $60 for the cruise was a good deal. Service is a bit slow but not bad at all.

 

The soft serve machines have been out of order since we boarded....I know not a big deal but a disappointment.

 

On Sunday we went up to the Serenity Deck....what a joke. Towels everywhere but few people. There are little alcoves with two sofas and people are hogging both sofas for two people...not nice. We walked all the decks and there was not a single chair available. So we spent a good part of the day sitting in the lobby! It's windy so Deck 3 is not usable. Same thing today and we were out at 8am! The Chair Hogs are in full force and the ONE GUY policing the lounges is overwhelmed.

 

We are YTD and they seem to have a system that is unique to the Sunshine and it's a disaster! We usually go to the Dining Room around 6:30 which by history isn't a busy time. We went up to Deck 5 to "check-in" and were given a pager....the lounge was full of people with pagers.....hundreds of people and the line kept getting longer. There appears to be no rhyme or reason about seating people. I spoke with another couple who waited 90 minutes and said they had NEVER waited before on any other ship but another couple sat down near them and were called in 20 minutes. We waited about 40 minutes and when I asked how much longer, was told if I would take a booth it would not be as long. I had initially said a booth was okay. When we finally got to the Dining Room there were lots of empty tables and booths.....I don't get it!

 

We had a great waiter and the food was good but we dread this disaster each night and don't want to eat at the Lido each night. Tonight we have a reservation at the Cucina de Capitano....so hopefully no wait there.

 

I think I can accurately say the Sunshine won't be on our list again.

 

Yeah, space is one thing this ship does not have. It didn't have it as the Destiny, and has so much less as the Sunshine. Some do enjoy the sliced up sections the ship offers, but it's not for everyone.

 

We have learned to avoid the three less than spacious Carnival monoliths. There was a reason they stopped at three.

 

There are other choices out there.

[summersigh]

I have no interest in anytime dining. We like late fixed. So lovely to just walk into the dining room to our regular table at our regular time with our regular wait staff. If I want to be handed a beeper I'll go to Olive Garden (Heaven forbid).

 

Don't need a lounger near the pool or in Serenity.

 

May go to the comedy club once and are aware we would need to arrive early.

 

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.

[TaDaaa!]

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.

 

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.

Edited February 16, 2016 by TaDaaa!

[KatieCharlotte]

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.

 

 

Because we could sail to new ports for eight days over Christmas in our price range with a sports deck, ropes course, and waterworks for the kids and a wide range of free lunch venues. :confused:

 

Every ship I've sailed on has pros and cons. The Sunshine is a unique ship with some unique problems and some unique advantages. It's helpful to be aware of the pros and cons before you sail and determine if it meets your needs. I am sorry for those who have had a frustrating experience with YTD because that seems very unpredictable.

[summersigh]

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..

 

I've read a lot of reviews of Sunshine. We've sailed her in the past month.

 

Basically .... at least for us ... if you do fixed dining and don't care about the comedy club shows there really aren't any big gripes (including the chair hogs)that aren't also issues on almost ALL budget and mid-priced cruise ships including CCL, HAL and RCCL. The Lido deck buffets and seating on HAL and RCCL are way more crowded than on the Sunshine which has the Havana Bar available for seating.

 

There are a lot of family friendly things to do on the Sunshine including the water park and ropes courses which are not available on many other ships to the extent they are on Sunshine not to mention all of the games and equipment on the sports decks.

[ladygal4.4]

The comedy club does repeat their shows and the seating is much easier for the repeat show

 

 

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[Bunkie103]

Okay so today we were late getting into St. Maarten due to the medical emergency. No problem. They opened Guys Burgers earlier to accommodate excursion people which was a great idea. Still no lounges ANYWHERE but we found some chairs on the smoking section.....don't smoke but at least it was a place to sit outside. Tried not to take up places that belong to the smokers.

 

We received a letter from the Hotel Manager apologizing about the YTD mess on 2/13 and offering us a free dinner at the Italian restaurant which we gladly accepted. The funny thing is we ate on the Lido on 2/13 which was embarcation day......whatever. Still having a great time and looking forward to our excursion in St. Kitts tomorrow.;)

[jolyroger]

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.

Same here. Cruised on the Sunshine during Spring Break 2015 and loved it. No issues

[sjn911]

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner at Cucina de Capitano. Well worth the $15. I spoke to the two hostesses checking YTD people in on Deck 5 and they said tonight was much calmer than last night. So, tomorrow we'll give it another shot.

So glad..you sound like you are getting the hang of this ship's space ratio and idiosyncrasies and you will have a great time.

:)

[HectorAchilleus]

Yeah, space is one thing this ship does not have. It didn't have it as the Destiny, and has so much less as the Sunshine. Some do enjoy the sliced up sections the ship offers, but it's not for everyone.

 

We have learned to avoid the three less than spacious Carnival monoliths. There was a reason they stopped at three.

 

There are other choices out there.[/QUOT

 

What are the other two? Surely they did not "Sunshine" any others.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

We are YTD and they seem to have a system that is unique to the Sunshine and it's a disaster! We usually go to the Dining Room around 6:30 which by history isn't a busy time. We went up to Deck 5 to "check-in" and were given a pager....the lounge was full of people with pagers.....hundreds of people and the line kept getting longer. There appears to be no rhyme or reason about seating people. I spoke with another couple who waited 90 minutes and said they had NEVER waited before on any other ship but another couple sat down near them and were called in 20 minutes. We waited about 40 minutes and when I asked how much longer, was told if I would take a booth it would not be as long. I had initially said a booth was okay. When we finally got to the Dining Room there were lots of empty tables and booths.....I don't get it!

 

Totally agree! I was on the Sunshine a few weeks ago and found the new pager system to be a joke and in need of an overhaul. I don't get why they have you walk upstairs through the smoky Casino to get in line, then get a pager and not be given an estimated time, then have to wait 5, 10, 20, 30+ minutes, then walk down to the aft dinning room where you have no chance of having a choice of preferred seating. I've never had to wait longer than 5-10 minutes on other ships so this new system is not an improvement at all.