Sunshine vs. Conquest

[torwa]

Trying to decide between the 2. Same itinerary, Sunshine sails from Port Canaveral, Conquest out of Ft Lauderdale. I know the Sunshine has an adult pool in Serenity, does the Conquest have an adults only pool? Anyway, any input would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

[maynovmom]

I've been on both ships the last two years. The Sunshine is better as far as the serenity pool and it also has more specially dining options both which I enjoy. The Conquest was in better condition than the Sunshine however the Sunshine just went into dry dock for plumbing issues and freshening up. Hopefully it comes out in great condition. I have rebooked the Sunshine for 2018 because it offers more of the things I want. A lot of people on these boards find it more congested but that hasn't bothered me. I enjoyed the Conquest too and the port is much easier to get to from the Fort Lauderdale airport than Port Canaveral from Orlando. On the other hand boarding and leaving The ship I found to be smoother from Port Canaveral.

 

I am just giving you some pros and cons. I wouldn't vote against the Conquest again but if I had to choose between the two I'd go with the Sunshine because of the serenity pool area and the additional specialty restaurants.

[tdggal1980]

I too have been on both ships and for me Conquest hands down. We tend to like the smaller ships and prefer those class of ships. Not that the Sunshine is a huge ship by any means but it has a very awkward layout that we didn't care for at all. We were actually on it when it was the Destiny & much preferred it that way. The refurbish was not done well. The only good thing about the Sunshine are the options for the specialty dining (I hear JJ's is a must do but I missed it the last time we were on it so I can't speak from personal experience). The Italian restaurant is decent.

 

Whichever you choose I hope you enjoy!

Edited May 26, 2016 by tdggal1980

[nwo4life]

Sunshine > Conquest

[balcony bound]

We've been on both ships and if I had to choose between the two I'd choose the Sunshine. Maybe because we experienced huge delays in both embarkation and debarkation with our Conquest sailing, I've sort of soured on Port Everglades.

 

Biggest negative for us on the Sunshine is the size of the comedy club. Positives are the serenity area and the dining options, as well as the layout of the lido dining areas (so nice to have salad in it's own station).

 

Negative for us on the Conquest is the current embarkation port itself as I mentioned and lack of any serenity area at all. Positives are the traffic flow is a tad better, and we do like the aft pool area.

 

I could (and did) have a great time on either ship. Enjoy your cruise!

[crooooze]

cool thread! We have bookings on both ships this year. :-)

[golfb4cruzing]

The Destiny was our all time worst cruise. The Conquest, recently, was a very close #2.

[NCTribeFan]

Sailed both last year. Like them both for different reasons.

 

Yes, it's disappointing that there's no Serenity Deck on Conquest, but I found that the nice, big Serenity Deck on Sunshine wasn't at all serene. YMMV. I don't get in ship pools so that isn't a factor for me.

 

I like the various dining options on Sunshine but also love the Fish & Chips on Conquest.

 

If you're a gambler, the table minimums were $10 on Sunshine compared to $5 on Conquest (and they used $2 chips rather than $1).

 

Didn't find the layout on Sunshine to be difficult to master or any more confusing than any other ship. Space ratio is slightly better on Conquest.

 

But I don't sail for the ships. Since the itinerary is the same, I'd base my decision on price (including airfare, if you're flying).

[A&Jfamily]

I too have been on both ships and for me Conquest hands down. We tend to like the smaller ships and prefer those class of ships. Not that the Sunshine is a huge ship by any means but it has a very awkward layout that we didn't care for at all. We were actually on it when it was the Destiny & much preferred it that way. The refurbish was not done well. The only good thing about the Sunshine are the options for the specialty dining (I hear JJ's is a must do but I missed it the last time we were on it so I can't speak from personal experience). The Italian restaurant is decent.

 

Whichever you choose I hope you enjoy!

 

We are exactly the opposite. I believe Conquest is actually bigger than Sunshine and I find it very hard to navigate as you can't go bow to stern on decks 3 or 4 so you are always walking up and down flights. And if you chose to go down deck 5, you must walk the stinky and I mean stinky casino. On that ship I have smelled the smoke in the lobby on Deck 3, as well as in the mid stair well as far as Deck 8.

 

We LOVE the Sunshine with all the new restaurants and amenities. You can move more easily about the ship. It also has some nice intimate areas and you are not subjected to the giant fish bowl that is the Lido on Conquest. I have 2 kids and they would also chose Sunshine for Sportssquare and Waterpark - hands down. It has a lot more to do, plain and simple. Also, Orlando is a much better departure port than FLL.

 

If I was picking for the ship and departure port, we would pick Sunshine. But if I wanted the ports of call, and they were better on Conquest, then I would sail Conquest again.

[Texbam]

Sailed on both. Conquest hands down. Period.

[oxymoron11]

We have been on both, Sunshine twice. The first trip on Sunshine was my favorite cruise (done about 15) the second was one of the worst. The difference was time of year. We mistakenly booked a week when lots of school age kids were out of school. The ship was crowded and disorderly.

 

I enjoyed our trip on the Conquest. We spent a lot of time in the adult area. The downside was the piped in music. I missed the padded loungers in the Sunshine Serenity area.

 

Construction is going on in Port Canaveral, making getting into the port a bit of a mess. It used to be so easy.

 

Ft. Lauderdale was fairly easy to navigate but the lines were longer to embark than any I have seen except Long Beach.

 

My best recommendation is take the Sunshine during off season and Conquest other times.