Carnival sunshine share your pros/cons

[fungirl76]

Will be sailing on her in November, looking for tips, tricks and the pros and cons.

[ladygal4.4]

I loved her! Great ship and we had an amazing time. The biggest issue we had was the comedy club. Expect to go the 2nd or last night or get in line EARLY! It's a small room and not many people fit.

 

Also, YTD dining. Showing up at 6:30-7:30 will probably earn you a wait on most nights...especially elegant night.

 

 

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Edited January 9, 2017 by ladygal4.4

[Cruzlover7]

On Lido deck head back to the Havana Bar to eat your lunch always plenty of space back there. If you expect lines anywhere just get there early. Try Cucina Del Capitan and Ji Ji's both were worth the extra cost. IMO. If you want the serenity deck get out early to grab a nice spot by the pool.

 

 

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[mimxmom]

Spend some time at Serenity - it's wonderful. The comedy show - get in line early to get a good seat or else watch the comedian on a tv screen. Havana bar at rear of Lido offers a minimal amount of food for breakfast and lunch. Havana bars Cuban sandwiches at lunch are very good. Did not try JiJi but Cucina Del Capitano was very good (and free) for lunch. The taste bar area put out a nice spread of food for lunch. I only happened to come across it on a rainy sea day. Not all cabins come with a refrigerator. If you want one, do your homework before hand.

[Micahs Grandad]

No fridges, small main lounge and comedy club has me avoiding the Sunshine.

 

Lots of other ships that are a better match for us

[MaraBerk]

Love the Havana Bar and the 2.0 upgrades.

Loved, loved, loved JiJi.

It was always very clean to me.

 

Didn't love the spa bcuz it's missing the T-pool.

Did seem a little crowded, but it was the amount of kids that got me lol I've never been on a cruise with so many kids and I sail the same time of year every year.

The pizza wasn't as good to me and I usually love Carnivals pizza.

Comedy lounge is tiny, we didn't bother attempting to see a show.

No aft adult pool-pools & serenity were packed, lots of chogs.

 

Not complaining bcuz I enjoyed my cruise and will be sailing the sunshine again in August.

Edited January 10, 2017 by MaraBerk
Typos lol

[krismas_tina]

Pros: Nice Serenity area with a pool, JiJi, Alchemy Bar, Havana Bar

 

Cons: Main showroom doubles as the nightclub so it's smaller and the seating is not great, overall felt more crowded than other ships we've been on.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise on the Sunshine!

 

 

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[Raisinette]

I need to be careful with my sun exposure and sometimes struggle to find shady outside seating. However on Sunshine, there is lots of underused and very quiet outside seating down both sides of deck 4!

[Tricia612]

Will we be able to see the Pittsburgh Steeler versus Kansas City playoffs this coming Sunday on Carnival Sunshine Caribbean cruise?

 

 

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[MarcelLucSell]

If you have Cheers, try the Steakhouse Bar off to the left for drinks or wine, even when not dining there. Try the sushi place and order sake. Visit the forward decks for good views and you'll probably be the only ones out there. Get to the evening shows early. The chairs upfront to the stage right or left have handy drinks tables for them. We would finish most nights at the piano bar. We had a lively piano man.

[realjd]

Loved the Sunshine. It was a great ship. Our only real complaint was that the Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana taco place retrofits made the walkway between the pool and buffet really narrow. It works on the bigger ships like the Breeze but was a few feet too narrow on the Sunshine. It's a minor complaint.

 

The Sunshine is my second favorite Carnival ship that I've been on after the Breeze. If nothing else there's an Alchemy bar on the Sunshine and not the Breeze..

[braves_cruiser1]

If you have Cheers, try the Steakhouse Bar off to the left for drinks or wine, even when not dining there. Try the sushi place and order sake. Visit the forward decks for good views and you'll probably be the only ones out there. Get to the evening shows early. The chairs upfront to the stage right or left have handy drinks tables for them. We would finish most nights at the piano bar. We had a lively piano man.

 

On what deck can you access the forward deck on the Sushine? We spent a lot of time on the forward deck on the Valor, and it was quite peaceful.

[TracyESQ]

Will we be able to see the Pittsburgh Steeler versus Kansas City playoffs this coming Sunday on Carnival Sunshine Caribbean cruise?

 

 

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Most likely. There's a sports bar on the ship. Get there early to get a seat. My husband watched a game when we sailed the Sunshine in October.

[sc4125]

Most likely. There's a sports bar on the ship. Get there early to get a seat. My husband watched a game when we sailed the Sunshine in October.

 

There is a Sports Bar just off the Casino. It was always busy so you would definitely want to get there early for the Super Bowl.

[Tricia612]

Thanks

 

 

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[MarcelLucSell]

On what deck can you access the forward deck on the Sunshine? We spent a lot of time on the forward deck on the Valor, and it was quite peaceful.

 

We were on two of the decks, and were the only ones out there.

There was an outer staircase that connected the decks we visited.

 

I did a quick Google search and it came back Decks 5, 6, 7, & 9.

[Ashiepooh]

We were on the Sunshine over Christmas. Loved the cruise director but he is going to the Dream. Only thing I didn't like was the layout was challenging. Sometimes you would have to go up a floor, walk to the other end of the ship and then go down a floor to get where you were going. I was also disappointed in the thermal suite. Other than that we loved it. You can use Cheers to get milkshakes, coffee, hot chocolate, floats at Java Blue and with or without alcohol added. We thought the crew was extremely friendly. Our cabin steward was awesome. Alchemy Bar had some really good drinks. Enjoyed the Behind the Fun tour also.

[ladygal4.4]

Will we be able to see the Pittsburgh Steeler versus Kansas City playoffs this coming Sunday on Carnival Sunshine Caribbean cruise?

 

 

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It should be playing in the sports bar. You *might* get lucky for it to play on the lido

 

 

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[lovingCCL]

What places are open for lunch? Does JiJi's have a Mongolian grill type lunch? Thanks!

[cruzeluver]

Yes, at lunch Jiji's is the traditional Carnival Mongolian Wok. Also the Italian place is a pasta bar at lunch. You select your pasta, sauce, veggies and proteins and they cook to order. Very good. You also have the buffet for lunch as well as Guy's Burger Joint and Blue Iguana Cantina. Bonsai Sushi is also open. On sea days you can do brunch in the dining room till 1:00 so that would also be a lunch option. One of our favorite things about Sunshine is the variety of food options.

[mabones]

What didn't you like about the Thermal Suite? I purchased the Couples Spa Pass for our upcoming cruise and don't want to waste my $$$.

[deetrayn]

I loved the Sunshine! The only thing I will do different if I sail on her again is not stay on deck 11 or 12. We had a spa balcony on deck 12, and there are only two elevators that get to those decks, and they were very slow.

 

I've had knee surgery, and still have a problem going up & down stairs, so I had long waits getting to & from my room. Other than that, all was good!

 

Dee

[A&Jfamily]

If u are an early riser by 7 am you can find Cuban breakfast pastries on the side of the Havana bar. Delicious little bites of you are holding out for brunch in the MDR later in the morning.

 

Sunshine has best selection of food - sushi bar is delicious.

 

She is our fav ship. Love to sit at Alchemy and people watch

 

 

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[Lizard13]

Things I liked best: 1) guys burger; 2) Havana bar - try the Cuban coffee and espresso martini with vodka and baileys, both outstanding! Havana bar area not nearly as crowded as rest of lido, easy to get a table. Entertainment at night. 3) alchemy bar of course, and the area outside of it has a small breakfast and lunch buffet with plenty of tables. Lots of room to sit and read, people watch. 4) show room is smaller, we always go to top of venue and sit up there, plenty of good seats. Comedy room small but still a lot of seats, don't be discouraged. 5) great steam room and sauna with views of the ocean, often empty. Highly recommend booking spa services on line prior to cruise, less expensive. Loved the fire and ice manicure! 6) ropes course! Lots of fun, very scary but glad I did it. Enjoy your cruise!

[mmb3124]

Sunshine is one of our fave CCL ships, as well. We love the Serenity decks, the 2.0 upgrades, the Havana Bar. Terrific variety of food options. The flaws folks have mentioned are very real... but in a strange way, something I enjoy. She's a little quirky / less cookie cutter than the rest of the fleet. Well....except for the Comedy Club. That really is something they need to fix.