Carnival sunshine

[metsgiants]

We just booked a Bermuda cruise. It docks for 3 days. Do you guys recommend any of the paid restaurants on the sunshine. If so which one / ones ?. I remember eating at nick and norras years ago on the miracle and loved it. Is the drink package still a good value even though the ship is docked for 3 days ? Lastly is their a good martini bar on the sunshine ? Or can i typically order a martini at any bar ? Sorry for the newb questions. I haven’t sailed in years. Oh one last question. Are the entertainment shows at night something that must be reserved or is it first come first serve. If it does need to be booked am I supposed to do it before the cruise or while on he cruise ? Thanks guys 

[Tampa Bay Irish]

The Steakhouse on the Sunshine is very good, like it is on every Carnival Ship that has a steakhouse onboard. However, the hidden gem is Ji Ji Asian Restaurant for dinner. There is also an Italian Restaurant onboard. You can do an online search and look at the menus for all three restaurants. Once you are onboard you can access the Carnival App. You can use the app to check the main dining room dinner menus for your whole cruise. That will allow you to go to one of the pay restaurants when the main dining room menu looks less interesting.

[metsgiants]

I wasn’t aware of an app . Thanks !!!! Can it also book the nightly shows ? 

[mrpayroll]

5 hours ago, metsgiants said:

I wasn’t aware of an app . Thanks !!!! Can it also book the nightly shows ? 

Shows do not accept reservations.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Steak house for sure. Better be hungry. Do only a light lunch. We had a good lunch and could not finish the steak. Bummer. Eat on the ship before going ashore. Food is very expensive as is everything on Bermuda. Do a tour. Beautiful UK island.

[CruizCuz]

We sailed the Sunshine last August, 2018 for our anniversary.  Obviously based on comments, we booked our anniversary dinner at the steakhouse.  And because it was a special cruise, we also booked the specialty restaurants and only ate in the MDR once.  The definite hidden gem is JiJi's Asian Kitchen.  It was amazing and we ended up making another reservation while on our cruise.  The steakhouse was as expected and certainly delicious, but we enjoyed JiJi's more.  

 

I never ordered a martini at any bar other than the Alchemy Bar so I can't answer that question.  The Alchemy Bar on all carnival ships is the place to be!  But they open at 5 and if you want to really have the VIP experience, then get there early.  I feel the drink package is worth it regardless off port days.  But we prefer to spend a lot of time on the ship, even with stops at ports.  

[Aplmac]

17 hours ago, mrpayroll said:

Shows do not accept reservations.

.

And the last I heard

there is no keeping of seats for friends to come later.

 

Seats can only be held by your warm bum, firmly in place on said seat.

I hope that still obtains?

[summersigh]

o

17 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

Steak house for sure. 
Eat on the ship before going ashore. Food is very expensive as is everything on Bermuda.

Do a tour. Beautiful UK island.

Definitely do a tour - the first day if possible. 

We chose one in a van so there wasn't a big crowd.  Being there as long as you will be it's nice to have some background on the history and where "stuff" is. 

 

Something we've been doing lately on cruises (and Bermuda would be perfect for it) is pre-booking private tours on the various islands.  Most charge by the hour - not by the person so it can actually come out to around the same price as a group tour. 
We choose by checking Trip Advisor and the islands tourism office to find reputable companies and then email them with what we'd desire to see if they can fufill it.  (for example my DH has health issues and can't leave on a tour before noon - so we request a tour for 3 or 4 hours starting around noon. ) even many of the companies that do group tours in cars or suv's will arrange a private tour. 

[Kls721911]

On 6/4/2019 at 11:02 AM, summersigh said:

We choose by checking Trip Advisor and the islands tourism office to find reputable companies and then email them with what we'd desire to see if they can fufill it.

 

Im planning my excursions for a Bermuda cruise and joined a group on Facebook called “Bermuda bound.” Full of locals and frequent visitors with tons of advice about hidden gem tours and activities! I’m sure this exists for other popular port locations! 

[Butterbean1000]

Though I haven't sailed the Sunshine. I have sailed on many Carnival ships.  The best martinis are found at the Alchemy bar.  I've ordered martinis at other bars on the ships and they don't compare. So my recommendation is to stick to the martinis at the Alchemy.

 

[Bostwick girl]

The app is called the Carnival Hub and you can easily find it in the App Store, no charge. It has a countdown clock which is neat. They are continually adding things you can do before your cruise such as shore excursions. I think you can do your online checkin too. Once you're onboard, follow the instructions to log in. You can look at the fun times, the daily menus, your room charges, and much more.  The steakhouse is very good, it's $38 per person. I believe the other two are $15 per person. The Italian restaurant is free for lunch. The seafood shack charges by the menu items. Enjoyed the Sunshine last November on our family cruise. It also has the newer buffet layout which I really liked. 

 

We did Bermuda out of Port Canaveral on Victory in May 2016 and also had 3 days. Timing for that cruise was a little off for us. Day 1 did the island tour and really enjoyed it., that was a Saturday. Most everything is closed on Sunday and Monday was Bermuda Day, a national holiday, so nothing was open except a gift shop or two in the dockyard.  We are going back in September so hoping we enjoy it just as well.  Hope you have a great cruise!

 

[bingo3]

Which cruise are you on that is staying 2 nights in Bermuda on Sunshine? I could only find 1 night stays (Sunshine) so must have missed something. Thanks!

[scpirate]

1 hour ago, bingo3 said:

Which cruise are you on that is staying 2 nights in Bermuda on Sunshine? I could only find 1 night stays (Sunshine) so must have missed something. Thanks!

Me too.since we cancelled Cuba and I paid part of it with a carnival gift card so I need to book a cruise.its not worth doing one day only then 31/2 sea days.not to me anyway wanted to stay a couple days.

[Bookbug53]

On 6/3/2019 at 10:21 AM, metsgiants said:

We just booked a Bermuda cruise. It docks for 3 days. Do you guys recommend any of the paid restaurants on the sunshine. If so which one / ones ?. I remember eating at nick and norras years ago on the miracle and loved it. Is the drink package still a good value even though the ship is docked for 3 days ? Lastly is their a good martini bar on the sunshine ? Or can i typically order a martini at any bar ? Sorry for the newb questions. I haven’t sailed in years. Oh one last question. Are the entertainment shows at night something that must be reserved or is it first come first serve. If it does need to be booked am I supposed to do it before the cruise or while on he cruise ? Thanks guys 

What is the date? Would love to look at this one as we are currently searching for overnights.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Bookbug53

[ProgRockCruiser]

I can find no cruises to Bermuda on Sunshine that are there for more than one overnight - they are all out of Charleston.  There are cruises to Bermuda on other ships that are there for two overnights - maybe the OP has the ship name wrong, and it is the Sunrise out of NYC, perhaps?

 

Also, doesn't the Alchemy Bar open at 4pm?  It did on Liberty and Sunshine when we cruised them last year and the year before.  Either way, it is indeed the best place for awesome martinis (and other "serious yet fun" drinks)!

[Bookbug53]

On 6/11/2019 at 10:13 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

I can find no cruises to Bermuda on Sunshine that are there for more than one overnight - they are all out of Charleston.  There are cruises to Bermuda on other ships that are there for two overnights - maybe the OP has the ship name wrong, and it is the Sunrise out of NYC, perhaps?

 

Also, doesn't the Alchemy Bar open at 4pm?  It did on Liberty and Sunshine when we cruised them last year and the year before.  Either way, it is indeed the best place for awesome martinis (and other "serious yet fun" drinks)!

Sunrise does go there but I still can't find a 3 day stay. The 8 day is only one night as there are other ports of call.

 

OP, date please?