It was our Destiny to enjoy the Sunshine. Journeys Cruise Review

[JaniceB]

Beautiful sunset pictures, looks like a nice birthday dinner too.

[NWACruiser]

6 hours ago, JaniceB said:

Beautiful sunset pictures, looks like a nice birthday dinner too.

 

Thank you.  It was and it was.

[NWACruiser]

12 hours ago, CJDepew said:

Great review so far, NWA Cruiser. Glad you had a wonderful birthday!

Thank you, I did.

[campdaan]

Great review. 

 

By any chance, do you know if the Sunshine has the new sea day brunch menu ?

 

We will be sailing her again in less than a month !

[NWACruiser]

1 hour ago, campdaan said:

By any chance, do you know if the Sunshine has the new sea day brunch menu ?

I believe so.  Most of the items were there that I remember.  I am not 100% sure because the items i usually order were still there.  It was in a new format for sure.

[marci50]

On 2/3/2019 at 11:06 PM, NWACruiser said:

•  

The lowlights of the ship basically was disembarkation.  I do not hold Carnival, or the staff responsible for the late disembarkation.  There were several mitigating circumstances that delayed it.

 

Can you tell me what happened at disembarkation, I leave Sunday on the Sunshine and might not be able to keep up with your review.

 

 

 

 

[NWACruiser]

21 minutes ago, marci50 said:

The lowlights of the ship basically was disembarkation.  I do not hold Carnival, or the staff responsible for the late disembarkation.  There were several mitigating circumstances that delayed it.

 

Can you tell me what happened at disembarkation, I leave Sunday on the Sunshine and might not be able to keep up with your review.

It was due to getting back to the port late.  We had a delay during the cruise for a medical emergency.  It set us back about 5 hours on the itinerary.  Then we entered rough seas coming back and had to skirt out into the Atlantic to avoid the bad weather.  We arrived into Port Canaveral about 8:00 AM.  We did not start disembarkation until around 9:00 AM.  There were a larger than normal number of passengers on board that needed assistance debarking.  We finally got off the ship at 10:30.  After getting luggage and loading onto the bus, we arrived at MCO at 12:00 noon.   Fortunately, we had 2:20 flights (intentionally) and did not have to reschedule.

 

I think there were some issues with docking due to the waves, and, the Government shutdown probably did not help.

 

I would not worry on your trip.  We cruised out of Port Canaveral this summer.  By 8:00 AM we were on the Beeline Expressway heading home.

Edited February 7, 2019 by NWACruiser

[NWACruiser]

We had a good night's sleep to get ready for the first port of the cruise.  I got up in time to be able to head to the forward deck in time to see the entry into Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.  

 

As we rounded the corner, it was obvious that we were not the only ship in port today.

The Norwegian Bliss beat us here.

 

 

Nice place to live.

 

The last time we are in St. Thomas, we had an excursion to Trunk Bay.  We had a few hours to kill before the excursion, so we went to Havensight Mall and stopped in a liquor store to check the prices.  They offered free samples.  By the time we were done, we had six bottles and many more shots each.  

 

This time we walked passed the mall and straight to the skyride. 

 

We had a couple excursions planned for St. Thomas.  The first one was to go up the Skyride to Paradise Point.  Paradise Point gives a great overview of the city and the bay.

There were four ships in port that morning.  See if you can find it.

 

The ride up was not expensive at all.  

The Bliss had a race track on its sports deck.

 

It was a nice view up there.   

 

And for those trying to find the fourth ship...

 

We made it back down the skyride and walked around the mall for a few minutes before heading back to the ship.  We did not stop in any liquor stores either.  We had to get ready for the other excursion.  

[NWACruiser]

Magens Bay here we come...

 

We headed off to our next adventure.  For those that have never been to St. Thomas before, the island is made up of hilly, curvy roads.  We headed to the meeting area for our tour.  They showed us to a driver.  It was interesting to get into the "bus".  It is more like a one-ton pickup truck with the bed converted to an open air transport.

 

 

The scary thing was the way you get into the "bus".   

 

There were no doors to close or gates to close.  It was wide open.  The good thing Eunel was a great driver and we never really felt unsafe the entire time.

 

We headed up to Drake's Point to see the overlook of the bay.

 

We stayed there for about 15 minutes before heading down the mountain to the bay.   Eunel made it just fine.  We entered the park and he found a spot where they buses would stay.  

 

Once there,  we had a couple hours to enjoy the beach.

She spent most of the time under the beach!

 

After a few minutes we headed into the water.   I have been in Lake Michigan in the summer...  and it was as cold here as it was in Lake Michigan!   We slowly made it into the water.   Now the water was fine, other than being cold.

These two gals tried to brave the cold water.

They only made it that far before they went back to the beach!

 

 

 

 

We finally gave in to the cold water and went back to the beach to warm up.

 

Pretty soon, it was time to head back to the bus for the ride back to the ship.

 

The bay was a beautiful spot to visit.  I see why people rave about the beach.  But, next time I visit, it will have to be in the summer when the water is warmer.

[NWACruiser]

We loaded back into the bus and Eunel drove us back to the ship.  There was a lot of damage from the past hurricanes we were able to see on the way back. But I did not get a chance to photograph any.

 

Leaving Magens Bay

Bye Bye

 

Finally we were over the mountain heading back to Charlotte Amalie.  

 

The Sunshine was in sight

 

 

Back at the pier, Eunel dropped us off and we headed back to the ship.   

 

We had some good entertainment while waiting to get through security

 

Back on the ship, it was time to shower and prepare for the evening's entertainment.

[NWACruiser]

The staff in the main dining room continued to get better organized and things were smoother.   We finished earlier than usual.  This gave us time to head to the Jackson Rayne Magic Show.  

 

Since we made the early session, we had to sit on the side of the theater.  

Mikey was warming up the crowd using the audience as his help.

 

Jackson's magic show was good.  Most of his tricks were nothing out of the ordinary.  

He brought members of the audience up to participate.

 

 

He did one "magic" trick with a roll of toilet paper and a young kid.  The roll of paper was magical.  He made sheets "disappear" from the kid...  by tossing them behind the kid.  It was funny.   The best part was he gave the kid the magic roll and said it would turn into a $20 bill if he hid it under his pillow... right mom and dad!

 

After the show, I went to the piano bar and she went to the casino.   The piano bar was crowded.  I was not that impressed with the PBE though.  I wound up at the Ocean Plaza watching RB and the Sunshine Band for the rest of the night.

 

After they were finished, I met the wife at the casino and tried to lose some money.  The casino argued with me and refused to take it. It even doubled what I tried to lose.   Bad luck this night!

 

We closed the ship tonight, since tomorrow was a throwback sea day.

[philbob84]

your review has had some great photos :)

[Jamman54]

We are enjoying your review! We had great times on our Sunshine cruises. Looking forward to reading the rest!

[schazzy]

20 hours ago, NWACruiser said:

After they were finished, I met the wife at the casino and tried to lose some money.  The casino argued with me and refused to take it. It even doubled what I tried to lose.   Bad luck this night!

 

I wish I was was as unlucky as you were in the casino! 

[NWACruiser]

1 hour ago, schazzy said:

 

I wish I was was as unlucky as you were in the casino! 

Keep reading the review...  More to come later.

[schazzy]

14 minutes ago, NWACruiser said:

Keep reading the review...  More to come later.

 

Ooooo, you have me intrigued now  

[NWACruiser]

It was another beautiful day in the Caribbean.  The sky was blue and the seas were relatively calm.  Today was 80's retro day.  We even had the Carnival Capers delivered today.  We had brunch in the main dining room.  I had the Steak and Eggs.  She had the Eggs Benedict.  We needed some energy for the events that will take place today.

 

After breakfast, we headed to the Liquid Lounge to place our bets on the ponies!

 

Nicky, Abbey, and Erika from America were getting ready to take the bets.

 

The Fun Crew lead by Mikey were using audience suggestions for the horses names.

 

All wagers were places and race 1 was about to start.

And were off...

 

Erika's horses took an early lead...

 

After a slow start, Abbey's horses worked their way back into the  race.

 

While Abbey's had the lead, Erika's horses started to die on the track.

 

Trevor was the announcer.

 

Erika's horses finally woke back up.

 

 

Once again, Abbey's horses died on the track.

 

After a little CPR, they came back to life.

 

The race was (not) getting serious.

 

Almost to the finish, it was neck and neck.

 

Abbey was the winner after all.  Was it the super juice she gave them when she was applying CPR!  We will never know.

[NWACruiser]

No rest for the weary.  Frog racing was next.  Contestants purchased a frog to train for the race.  We had ours all ready to go.

 

It was a beautiful day for frog racing.

The lido deck was rocking!

 

Almost everyone could feel the excitement!

 

The frogs are swimming and their trainers were urging them on.

 

They were racing hard to the finish!

 

The next heat was on!

 

The green frogs were next to race!

 

Some people were praying for their frogs.

 

The frogs did not necessarily know where to swim to.

These frogs were fighting to the end.

 

Could it be an upset?

 

Yes, Underfrog won!

 

The championship heat was about to start.

 

They're off...

 

It's gonna be close!

 

We have a champion!

[NWACruiser]

After all the excitement of the races was over, we headed back to the cabin to unwind a bit before dinner.

 

As part of Retro 50's day, it was Surf and Turf for dinner, and Baked Alaska for dessert.

 

The shot of the day was:

 

The rest of the evening was relaxing as we watched Edward Scissorhands on the Lido deck.

 

It was a beautiful night for a movie under the stars.   But the evening was not over.  The Midnight Buffet was next.

 

In the early days of cruising, the midnight buffet was a big part of a cruise.  They held it in the Main Dining Room.  There were Ice carvings, food carvings, and they were very creative.  This seems to be a lost art anymore.

 

On this cruise, they brought it back.

They use backlighting to color the ice sculptures.

 

 

After the display was done, we had to partake some of the food...  Then we needed to call it a night, as we were nearing Aruba.

[BoDidly]

Love the pictures 👍. May I ask what you're using for a camera ? 

[NWACruiser]

2 minutes ago, BoDidly said:

Love the pictures 👍. May I ask what you're using for a camera ? 

Canon Rebel T5i, and Nikon Coolpix 130 for water photos.

Edited February 9, 2019 by NWACruiser

[BoDidly]

2 minutes ago, NWACruiser said:

Canon Rebel T5i, and Nikon Coolpix 130 for water photos.

My friend , You have mastered the technic .  Thanks again !

[NWACruiser]

We finally made it back to Aruba.  On the Destiny, we cruised out of San Juan to St. Thomas and Aruba.  We had not returned to either island since.  It was nice to get back to see what has changed.

 

 

We were not the only ship in town

 

 

 

We did not have any plans for the day other than going around the port to relax.  It was nice to walk around Oranjestad, again.

 

Shiva's 

 

 

I love this spot!

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed some relaxing time walking around town.  We stopped into the casino to add to the Aruban economy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was some good fishing that morning.

 

 

While walking along the port, I noticed someone walking with me:

Every time I stopped, he stopped.  I would start walking again and he stayed with me.  I think he was used to people.

 

There were a few other iguanas and their cousins around.

 

We stopped in the Paddock for a bite and a cool beverage.  We had a great waitress who gave us a lot of information about Aruba.  

 

After lunch, we headed back to the ship to relax for a while before the night activities begin.

Edited February 9, 2019 by NWACruiser

[NWACruiser]

17 minutes ago, BoDidly said:

My friend , You have mastered the technic .  Thanks again !

I have been trying for ages and still learn new tricks.

 

[NWACruiser]

When we were in Aruba the last time, we saw a bus full of partiers going by listening to reggae and shaking maracas.  It looked like they were having a great time.  So we booked that adventure.  It was as good as we hoped it was.

 

We met right outside the port.

 

Once the gang was assembled we boarded the bus.

 

Self-explanatory

 

We headed up to the California Lighthouse first.

 

 

Segway riders beat us there.

 

We stopped by a nearby beach for some champagne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After having champagne, we loaded back on to the bus and headed to dinner at a local diner.

 

 

 

 

 

We walked up the rocks to get a view of the sunset.

 

 

 

 

Aruba is actually arid.  Cacti are commonplace.

 

 

 

 

 

And it is now night.

 

The dinner was some local fare and tasty.  It was chicken and ribs with some local sides.

After dinner, it was time to move onto the next adventure.  So we loaded up the bus, the music started up, and the maracas were a shaking.

 

We spent about an hour at a local tavern dancing and drinking.

 

 

 

The night was not over and we headed to the last stop.

 

 

We spent about an hour there before we headed back to the ship!  Back on board, we were not quite ready to call it a night, so we headed down to the promenade deck to close the ship.  Tomorrow was another port of call.