Help me decide Vista or Sunshine?

[cruisekitty22]

I cant decide between the Sunshine or Vista. I must have a great serenity deck with pools or hot tubs and the steakhouse and sushi bar a must too. Which ship is better for my requirements? Thanks for any help!

[debster11]

I cant decide between the Sunshine or Vista. I must have a great serenity deck with pools or hot tubs and the steakhouse and sushi bar a must too. Which ship is better for my requirements? Thanks for any help!

 

 

 

Sunshine has an amazing serenity area. I love that ship but have never been on Vista so I can't give an unbiased opinion on which is better. I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever you choose.

 

 

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[coldinerie]

Been on both, Sunshine 1 month ago and Vista May 2016. LOVE both ships. You can not go wrong with either. Clean, great crew, great serenity decks, Dive in movies, great specialty restaurant, Guys burgers, I could go on and on.

 

I would see where each is sailing and pick based upon destination. Both will do you well. I think they may just be the two best in the fleet. Happy choosing......

[Anung Un Rama]

I would absolutely choose any ship over the Sunshine. The only good thing about it is the Serenity area (which for some reason faces the Sea Side theater and is not that relaxing). I may have a small review linked in my sig (don't rememember :confused:)

 

Was not a huge fan of the Vista but I would sail on her again (have Horizon booked) under the right circumstances. Both ships felt over-crowded. Same amount of food options for about 25% more people, do the math. It's new and has some nice features but some of the lay out leaves a lot to be desired.

[DGNewton]

We just went through the same ordeal.

We are sailing Thanksgiving week 2017.

We chose the Sunshine over the Vista for the following reasons

Both ships sail the same day to the Southern Carribean.

We live in Tampa and prefer Port Canarvel as it is closer to home and less hectic in our opinion.

Price was not a major factor both about the same. We always book the Lido deck (inside room).

We liked the serenity deck but saw all the comments about public rooms being crowded. But both ships will be sellouts on the holiday week.

4 days at sea. We love the R&R of sea days.

We haven’t been to Bonaire. We’ve done the other Southern Carribean island already.

 

We liked both choices but had to make a choice.

 

We,re sure you’ll make the right choice. Either way it is a win win and cruising!!! After all, it is what you make it.

 

Enjoy and let us know why and the ship you chose. Just curious.

 

HAVE FUN!

[riclop]

Vista it's newer.

[HectorAchilleus]

I have never been on Vista, but would not choose Sunshine unless you like waiting in lines - lines in buffet, lines for the shows massive lines for the comedy club, and chair hogs galore. The serenity area is nice - except it is a VERY loud area.

[coldinerie]

Again, I was on the Sunshine over Labor Day 2017. Busy time as it was a holiday. NO issues at all with lines. Eating in the buffet was easy, Guys burgers, a small line that moved very fast, never waited for food, never. The Sunshine is a great ship, it gets a bad rap, and I have no idea why. Maybe people have different perspectives of long lines. I have been cruising for 30 years, well seasoned, lots of different lines, but long lines on my cruises really have never been an issue.

[cruizinisthebest]

I've been on both and both are my favorite two ships. We always sail in the Summer - right in the middle of busy season. Lines have never been much of a problem on any ship - including these two. You go to certain things at peak times and there will always be lines. They are both great ships.

 

The Vista is huge with alot going on. If you don't like big ships, don't book the Vista. There are a ton of things to do on the ship. So much that you won't be able to fit it all in. The serenity deck on the Sunshine is awesome. The one thing I didn't care about with Vista's serenity was the fact that there's alot of plexiglass up there. And it's hard to catch a breeze. Blazing hot up there but they have a salad bar and a huge bar to enjoy. Still, the Sunshine serenity is great with 3 levels and a pool.

 

Not sure you can go wrong with either choice. I would choose based on itinerary as both ships IMO are great.

[RHilla619]

Vista is newer and has a pretty big serenity area, but Sunshine's serenity area is even bigger and has it's own pool which Vista does not. Difference in price? Difference in ports? That can help us make a better suggestion.

[lazyart]

I haven't been on either ship, but I'm fascinated with the love/hate relationship with the Sunshine.

[ledelstein]

Again, I was on the Sunshine over Labor Day 2017. Busy time as it was a holiday. NO issues at all with lines. Eating in the buffet was easy, Guys burgers, a small line that moved very fast, never waited for food, never. The Sunshine is a great ship, it gets a bad rap, and I have no idea why. Maybe people have different perspectives of long lines. I have been cruising for 30 years, well seasoned, lots of different lines, but long lines on my cruises really have never been an issue.

 

 

 

Ditto.

We just sailed on the sunshine and absolutely loved her!!

 

I was trying to decide between vista and sunshine for our 2018 cruise and waited to make the decision until after this last cruise.

It was an easy decision for me.

We loved the sunshine. It’s been my favorite ship so far and I can’t wait to get back on her.

 

The price was better.

We can drive to Port Canaveral

I loved the serenity area and the Havana bar area was fabulous and never crowded

We always got seats by the pool

Staff was great

It was extra clean and Emma was an awesome CD.

 

 

 

 

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[Poppy42]

I cant decide between the Sunshine or Vista. I must have a great serenity deck with pools or hot tubs and the steakhouse and sushi bar a must too. Which ship is better for my requirements? Thanks for any help!

 

I would go with the Sunshine because of the ease of traveling thru Port Canaveral. Port of Miami is a pain in the butt; parking, traffic, etc. Cruised out of there last December. Never again. I'm half-way between the two but usually go out of Port Everglades due to the number of different cruises available.

[evandbob]

Let's see, Vista or Sunshine?

 

It's like choosing between buying a brand new car or a used one with a rebuilt motor.....hmmmmmm.

 

I sailed the Destiny (which is now rebranded as the Sunshine) and the Vista and would go with the Vista everytime, even if Sunshine had the "better" itinerariy..

[Cap'n Ron]

Vista leaves for Galveston next fall, so if that location isn't favorable, you might want to catch her while she is still in Miami. What about Sunshine this cruise and Horizon in 2019?

 

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[bar1068]

I cant decide between the Sunshine or Vista. I must have a great serenity deck with pools or hot tubs and the steakhouse and sushi bar a must too. Which ship is better for my requirements? Thanks for any help!

 

Well, based on your stated requirements, either would do. Both have the Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse, and Bonsai Sushi(not a bar per say, more of a walk in sit down place) and both have nice serenity areas. Vista serenity has a bar, and salad bar along with hot tubs. Sunshines serenity is 3 levels, has a spa and a pool along with a bar. Vista has a few more activities to do, like the rope course, Sky Ride, games, and the brewery in the Red Frog Pub. Both have a Red Frog Pub, but Vista has the brewery, if you are "in" to that sort of thing. Vista also has the IMAX theatre and Thrill Theater which are cool.

 

We've been on both ships, and recently made a similar decision, Vista or Sunshine. We had to cancel our booking for the Horizon TA next May but wanted to replace it with another cruise in May. We considered itineraries on both ships, but decided to book the Sunshine, for our fourth time on her based on itinerary.

 

I'm in the camp suggesting you can't go wrong with either ship, but you'll see many detractors of the Sunshine, some of which come from folks that never sailed it, but of course, read things. Choice obviously is yours.

[ebateman]

Honestly I've been on both and can see the benefits to both ships but my wife and I prefer the Sunshine. It's one of the only Carnival ships we've never had problems with and it tends to have a fantastic and friendly crew. The only real complaint we've had about the Sunshine is the room service. It can be hard to get through especially in the evenings. It's rare to have long lines (we've cruised in June and October this year) but that may change over a full ship on a holiday week.

 

The Sunshine has a nice Serenity deck, has the paid sushi restaurant and the paid steakhouse. The steakhouse was fantastic with an outstanding serving crew. They also had the half price bottles of wine if you go on a formal night. Not sure if that's common or not. The ship has also been upgraded to the Fun 2.0 package and has the nicer waterworks, bars, outside movie screen and Guy's grill.

 

The Vista is a nice and newer ship but it's also huge and we experienced much longer lines for just about everything. That's expected though with a passenger capacity of 1400 more people (4000 vs 2600). Sad to say we also got lost a few times on the bigger ship :)

[lcpagejr]

If you want a serenity area.... and can afford a few more dollars....try the Vistas Havana cabins. Both Balcony and a walk out porch plus they also have inside cabins at a lower price which is closer to the price of a regular balcony.Dedicated pool, bar and 2 hot tubs for cabins in this area....Area is exclusive to Havana cabin cruisers until 7pm each night. Its like your little paradise away from the hustle and bustle of the main pool area. Cabins are Aft area on deck 5. Personally, in my opinion, the way to go. Been on the Sunshine (when she was the Destiny) and its smaller and older.... 20 year old ship. Not saying old is bad because she has been refurburshed with all the Carnival 2.0 upgrades....

[EBFURR]

We have not been on Vista, but sunshine was our first Carnival cruise after many with RCI and converted us to Carnival fans. We just sailed on Liberty which I proclaimed to be my favorite ship ever. Something about it just struck a note with me. However, my wife still says sunshine is her favorite. When asked she said:

 

Havana bar- we went there a lot with our food from the buffet and they also have a mini buffet in Havana that is very good. It is just a very nice area to be in.

Serenity - Really nice and we did not notice a noise issue as reported by some. It does have an area that faces the main pool which is handy if you do want to check out the pool activities but also has some quieter areas as well.

Cabin - We booked a balcony guarantee and lucked out with a Spa balcony. A very good location and nice room.

Food selection - Sunshine has the the 2.0 features such as Guys and Blue Iguana but also has the El Capitano which is free at lunch and fee in the evening. Likewise with Ji Ji which is Mongolian wok at lunch and fee in the evening. By far the best "no charge" food options we have ever had.

Decor - We both liked it a lot, but it is a matter of taste.

 

We never noticed an unusual problem with lines with the exception of the Wok at lunch time which seems to be consistent among all ships that have it. Everything is crowded at peak times which we have found to always be the case and we work around that. some people criticize the layout but we had no issues with it once we got adjusted to the ship on the first day.

 

Cons

Main dining (YTD) was extremely slow to the point that we went to the buffet and Havana most nights

Comedy club has a very strange layout and is not as large as some other ships. Some of the seats are around the corner and have no view of the stage at all.

 

I agree that there is probably not a bad choice either way but we would not hesitate to sail on sunshine again.

[dmdiver]

I appreciate all the responses on this thread. I've looked at both these ships as well. I like the fact that Sunshine's serenity area has a pool.

[kat_mac]

We sail with our kids(teens)...have been on both ships...for us we are coming from Canada so the ease of ports isn't a factor for us lol. We gave the kids a choice for our next cruise Vista or Sunshine...Sunshine won hands down. Both kids as well as my husband and myself all enjoyed the Sunshine. The crew, the wait staff, our room stewards was hands down better on the Sunshine than Vista. Lines aren't overly long...seriously you have 3000 plus passengers you will have a line if you choose to eat right at lunch time/breakfast time, its to be expected. We always sail at spring break - 1st week of March. We do YTD for our supper meals, the wait wasn't long for either ship, it is a pain having to go to deck 5, then deck 3/4 for supper, but with that said I enjoyed not having to wait at the door for a table, or have to weed through people to get to the restaurant or to leave. Both ships do this

 

Both ships are clean, one is New, one is redone...I never got to do the sky track on Vista as it was closed most of our cruise. Kids enjoyed the sky courses. (I only did it on the Sunshine,refused on the Vista - not a heights fan) Entertainment is really the same on both. I did enjoy the piano bar on the Vista.

[DGNewton]

So when ya going and which ship?

We're on the Sunshine 11/18/17.

 

 

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