Carnival Sunrise POSITIVITY POST!!!!

[Kitsunegari]

I'm just disappointed they KILLED the Triumph.  That was the NICEST of that class, although it was a crowded class.   With these changes, there is NO WAY  I would ever step foot on that ship again.  And I'm not alone.

[antmaril]

1 hour ago, beachnsnowbunny said:

We sailed the Sunrise May 23rd and had a great time. The ship is beautiful and the crew was some of the best we have ever had. We don't usually eat at the buffet so can't help on that one but there are plenty of options to avoid it. On embarkation day we went to the BBQ and had no line while everyone went to lido. Sea day brunch in the dining room was always fast with no wait. Don't let others negatively affect your vacation before it starts.  We are sailing her again this Tuesday for 8 days and couldn't be more excited. 

Thank you!  Your post makes me feel a lot better!  

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise on the Sunrise!  

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Kitsunegari said:

I'm just disappointed they KILLED the Triumph.  That was the NICEST of that class, although it was a crowded class.   With these changes, there is NO WAY  I would ever step foot on that ship again.  And I'm not alone.

Yeah, I always hate when they make a ton of improvements to a ship.....

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, Kitsunegari said:

I'm just disappointed they KILLED the Triumph.  That was the NICEST of that class, although it was a crowded class.   With these changes, there is NO WAY  I would ever step foot on that ship again.  And I'm not alone.

 

So much for positivity...😎

[Jamman54]

We are on the Sunrise for a B2B in September. We'll form our own opinions then, but expect we will have a good time as usual. If we had listened to all the complaints about the Sunshine when she came out we would have never sailed on her. We didn't and we had two great cruises on her. 😎

[summersigh]

22 hours ago, purplephenom said:

If you go into it hoping to have fun, you probably will.  People post similar things about the Sunshine all the time- it's been my favorite ship so far.  So you never know, til you try it for yourself. What matters to other people may not matter to you.  And you may not notice what others do. 

Ditto what purplephenom said 🙂  Sunshine has become our favorite ship too.  We went looking to have a good time and we did.  Crowds didn't seem to be the huge/bad issue folks make it out to be except for perhaps the comedy club where the lines were bad.  We don't do the comedy shows so we didn't really care about that 😉  Kids were having a great time on the ropes course and with the water park slides.  Print out deck plans (3 - 4 - 5 - 9 - 10 } for the public decks and use it to help you determine the routes around the ship with the least congestion.

20 hours ago, Garth2 said:

1. There's no possible way it could take 2 hours for lunch if you're flexible.  There are many food options and lunch is served over several hour

An example of how these "long wait for food stories" start is with Guys Burgers.  It opens at noon .... and there's are 2 long lines to get the burgers and the toppings .... BUT 45 minutes later the wait is maybe 5 minutes. 

 

 

[April42749]

I was on the 6/10 sailing.

Yes...the buffet was a zoo...but there were ways to avoid this chaos.  Go upstairs to the Italian restaurant for breakfast (grab some stuff from the buffet and bring it up with you).  Try the Asian soup station for lunch.  The lines at Guys went fast...or wait till after prime time and there won't be a line.

Lunchtime cakes at the buffet.....highly recommend.

Our cabin (balcony lido) was great and had a lot of storage. Steward was friendly and accommodating.

The entertainment was very good.  Deck 5 has stadium seating and there were always seats available.

Don't panic if the decks "don't go thru".  Look at the map and walk accordingly.  Unless someone is mobility challenged it's not a big deal.

The gym was brand new and almost always empty.

And....I really didn't smell anything bad.  Once, on a rear elevator there was an odor, but it wasn't awful or putrid.

Most important.....ignore the negativity.

[v3cruiser]

We are looking forward to sailing the Sunrise. After our Cuba cruise was cancelled, we changed itineraries but stayed on the Sunrise. We have steakhouse booked as well as chefs table. We've been on quite a few cruises so working our way around crowds isn't a big deal. I do think carnival dropped the ball by not updating the lido buffet like they did on the Sunshine but with all the food options we will certainly make due and still have a great time! 

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

 

So much for positivity...😎

Gotta love cruisecritic posters Jeff......

[Maraprince]

On 6/29/2019 at 7:45 AM, beachnsnowbunny said:

We sailed the Sunrise May 23rd and had a great time. The ship is beautiful and the crew was some of the best we have ever had. We don't usually eat at the buffet so can't help on that one but there are plenty of options to avoid it. On embarkation day we went to the BBQ and had no line while everyone went to lido. Sea day brunch in the dining room was always fast with no wait. Don't let others negatively affect your vacation before it starts.  We are sailing her again this Tuesday for 8 days and couldn't be more excited. 

Is the BBQ, Guys Burgers?

 

MARAPRINCE

[shof515]

1 hour ago, Maraprince said:

Is the BBQ, Guys Burgers?

 

MARAPRINCE

 

the bbq is on deck 10 port side, called pig and anchor

 

guys burger is on deck 9 starboard side

[Maraprince]

Is the safety drill still held on an outside deck prior to sailaway on day 1?  If so, what deck?

 

MARAPRINCE

[shof515]

58 minutes ago, Maraprince said:

Is the safety drill still held on an outside deck prior to sailaway on day 1?  If so, what deck?

 

MARAPRINCE

depends on your cabin.most of the muster stations is outside on deck 4. The theater and dinning room is also a muster station too and is the only two inside places i saw

[bjfitz0703]

On 6/28/2019 at 10:44 AM, Rach257 said:

People, I am SO bummed with all the horrible reviews about Sunrise. Between the overcrowding, casino smoke and sewage smell that is apparently permeating the entire ship, I'd love to cancel, but I didn't buy the insurance so I'm stuck. That said, does anyone have anything positive to say?? I get it that it's "the worst ship ever" and "smells like a toilet" and it takes 2 hours to get lunch - that blows. But some of us still have to sail on this ship and it would be nice to have something to look forward to.....so who has something positive to say?? Let's keep this thread to only shiny happy Sunrise thoughts and pictures! Help a sister out!

I was on the 6/24 sailing.  If you search you can find my post yet for sure there were some challenges yet we adapted and managed it.  Overall I gave it a B.  Trended upwards because we had fun yet simply too many people on the ship for its common areas.  The additional cabins have an impact.

 

Seemed like as the 8 days went by others figured it all out too.  There were some smells but they went away.  I am an early riser so I would get some fruit on Lido like 630 and then hit MDR breakfast like 9.  Then did lunch like 2 to 3 pm and lines were non-existent by then.  We had 8:15 dinner so all of that worked really well actually.

 

The Cruise Director was a blast.  Think he is on there until January.  All the staff were super.  We have sailed a lot and felt that the cabin guy was just ok yet all other folks were really great and nice.

 

Pizza - one night we went to get pizza and the line was silly long.  We went to the room and ordered one and for $5 and after 30 minutes we got one delivered.  Perfect.

 

Lido does have lots of omelet stations:  Italian place; seafood shack; Lucky Bowl; taco/burrito place - never a line at these that I saw.

 

Deck loungers - disaster on sea days.  People just save them and are never actually in them.  I have sailed other cruise lines which actively manage this problem.  Carnival gap for sure. My advice is go to Lido early and throw stuff on them. Find ones that are more "hidden".  Everyone else does so when in Rome.....wish this wasn't necessary yet there is no management of this issue.  Also Deck 3 has some for a great nap like area.

 

Guys burgers can get long sometimes yet as the afternoon goes on, it goes down.  BBQ place is good too and on deck 10.  Opposite side of the ship from the smokers.

 

On Grand Turk day, the Lido breakfast was the worst I saw all week.  We just hit MDR and no line.  On Sea days MDR brunch line seems to get longer later in the morning.

 

Comedians were super.  Get there like 15 minutes early and i should work.  Never had a problem finding a seat in the Liquid Lounge

 

One thing I learned was Deck 1 OV cabins are larger.  We booked late so this was what was available and now would consider it again given the cabin size.  Also Deck 1 works well for port days and for the restaurants and night life activities.  Plus Deck 1 is one of the first decks off the ship at the end of the cruise.  Usually we stay higher on the ship yet might do deck 1 again at a good price point.

 

You will have fun.  Just adapt.  All items are manageable and it is the fun ships!  This lived up to that!

[nycruise4]

I just got off the ship on Tuesday.

 

To address the concerns:

Having been on many Carnival cruises, I can tell you the casino smoke was the least bad I've seen... much stronger smell on the Pride and Sunshine for sure. And this is coming from someone who has held her nose running through the casino on some other ships. The other smoking areas were in more out of the way locations so I didn't encounter them as much, whereas the lido smoking area has been harder to avoid on other ships. I personally did not notice a pervasive "sewage" smell throughout the ship, although I did smell something of that nature once outside of a stateroom on deck 2 I believe.

 

Some positives:

-Amazing crew and CD (Chris the Flying Scotsman was very funny and his show was amazing. He is quite the singer.)

-Fastest service I've received at the dining room (had early seating in the Radiance dining room, seemed less large and busy than on other ships)

-Comedy and Playlist Productions shows were both enjoyable. For those who like to complain, the lack of seating and small spaces can be annoying, but I didn't find those to detract from my experience.

-Huge Red Frog and great band - often alternated between the Red Frog and the Piano Bar right next to it. The Hip Stars and Scott were both fantastic.

 

In summary, for those who love to complain and nitpick, this is not the ship for you. The layout was annoying, yes. Some of the guests were inconsiderate, yes. The refurb did not solve every issue, yes. But personally none of this bothered me because I was too focused on enjoying the food, family, new friends, fast waterslides, great ports, etc. Enjoy your vacation and look on the bright side!

 

[Aplmac]

Stop reading reviews?

 

I used to read reviews and form pre-opinions.

And then board ship to have a great time..

...wondering WTH those reviews were all about!

 

That was several cruises ago!

I haven't read reviews now in ages,

have done several cruise since I stopped reading them

and somehow cruising has continued, happily and unabated!

 

Stop reading reviews!

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, nycruise4 said:

I just got off the ship on Tuesday.

 

To address the concerns:

Having been on many Carnival cruises, I can tell you the casino smoke was the least bad I've seen... much stronger smell on the Pride and Sunshine for sure. And this is coming from someone who has held her nose running through the casino on some other ships. The other smoking areas were in more out of the way locations so I didn't encounter them as much, whereas the lido smoking area has been harder to avoid on other ships. I personally did not notice a pervasive "sewage" smell throughout the ship, although I did smell something of that nature once outside of a stateroom on deck 2 I believe.

 

Some positives:

-Amazing crew and CD (Chris the Flying Scotsman was very funny and his show was amazing. He is quite the singer.)

-Fastest service I've received at the dining room (had early seating in the Radiance dining room, seemed less large and busy than on other ships)

-Comedy and Playlist Productions shows were both enjoyable. For those who like to complain, the lack of seating and small spaces can be annoying, but I didn't find those to detract from my experience.

-Huge Red Frog and great band - often alternated between the Red Frog and the Piano Bar right next to it. The Hip Stars and Scott were both fantastic.

 

In summary, for those who love to complain and nitpick, this is not the ship for you. The layout was annoying, yes. Some of the guests were inconsiderate, yes. The refurb did not solve every issue, yes. But personally none of this bothered me because I was too focused on enjoying the food, family, new friends, fast waterslides, great ports, etc. Enjoy your vacation and look on the bright side!

 

Thanks for the review and your thoughts.

[HectorAchilleus]

On 6/29/2019 at 9:33 AM, Jamman54 said:

 

So much for positivity...😎

Maybe she is positive that she hates the new ship.

[Jamman54]

10 minutes ago, HectorAchilleus said:

Maybe she is positive that she hates the new ship.

 

Never thought about it that way. Silly me!

[jimbo5544]

41 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

Never thought about it that way. Silly me!

See, everything is perspective....

[jimbri]

We got off the ship on Tuesday and had a great time.  Crew and cruisers were all great.  Ate in MDR for dinner every evening.  Food was mostly good ( I didn't like the beef lasagna because it had too much meat ( sounds weird) but overpowered the noodles.  Desserts just OK, desserts in Lido were great.  Lido was crowded when we went there for lunch twice but we only waited on line about 5 minutes and got a seat pretty quick.  Omelets in La Cucina in the morning - not crowded - thanks to cc member who mentioned this. Guy's burgers - fantastic.  Ate there 3 times for lunch.  Line went very quick and we got seats right away.  One time we were there at about 12:10 and still short line.                                                                                                                     We were on Deck 1 - ocean view room was fine.  No odor on Deck 1 but we did notice an odor on Deck 5 by the elevators that took us back down to deck 4 for MDR - only once.  You can also walk across Deck 1 to get elevators to restaurant.  Casino smoke was no worse than other ships. If you have any questions feel free to ask. We had a good time and think you will too!!

[mredandchis]

hey there,!  Look, I wont do the Sunrise again BUT,  she was clean and the crew worked hard and did a good job.  We hit the lido early at 7am most days and it wasnt bad. Lido lunches in port were pretty good, try the turkey, it was moist and tasty like mama use to make.  The movies were pretty good and it wasnt hard finding a seat.  I ate in the MDR anytime dining 7 of the 10 nights and went right after they opened and there was no wait at all.  I had Rio as my head waiter and she was very quick.    If you like the specialty restaurants I heard no complaints at all.  And a day at sea beats a day on land.  BTW i didnt smell any sewage anywhere.  If you like the specialty restaurants I heard no complaints at all.  Ok that was me looking at the positive side.  Look you need to go to form your own opinion, we all look at these cruises from different angles.  Just have fun.

 

[Mklbee]

 

I was on the Panama 14 day cruise on the Sunrise. I am a non smoker and an everyday casino player. The smoke did NOT bother me. There is a non smoking area at the bar on the left side that Id never seen before, and the smoke was not over bearing to me, and I hate cigarette smoke. There are a few non smoking areas to play slot machines and video poker, but folks just ignore them like the signs are not there.

 

The 14 days I was onboard, there was not 1 day of sewage smell. I did hear about it though before I boarded. I just didn't experience it.

 

Relatively speaking, it WAS the worse ship Id been on. Just being honest. I totally enjoyed my cruise for 14 days. My main complaint was that the ship added people but not space. Plus we had a lot of walkers, scooters and other handicapped folks on our cruise. it made getting through the narrow walk ways tough. Just a fact, not really anything you can do with a set amount of seats and a full to capacity ship. The Comedy Club was not the best, the Main theater was not the best. The seating on Lido is not the best. But the ship is a good ship.

 

Two hours for lunch is a stretching it. At least for us it was. It did take longer if you were a late arriver though. We had breakfast at 7, and lunch at 1130. We were in and out in no time.

 

The lines were not the problem to me. It was that the ship at capacity for 14 days and having many many walkers, scooters and canes made walking in the narrow walk ways bad all 14 days. Its a cruise, and I loved the vacation time. But it was the most crowded and worst experience of a comedy setup I ever experienced. Not trying to dump on the Sunrise, but I've never been motivated to tell a story about a ship until now.

 

 

[beshears]

I'm in the "thinking" mode of doing the Sunrise next year.  Some people are very "nit picky,", but for myself, I go with the flow, and just take it one day at a time! 🙂

[bjfitz0703]

I just got off an 8 day sunrise cruise.  Had fun for sure yet would not sail on Sunrise again.  The new, extra cabins just stress the ship.  Did like the itinerary for sure though (Bermuda and Grand Turk).  Everything about the cruise was super save the crowds.  Almost always sail this time of year and by far the most crowded ship and many agree with that.  Our MDR waiter who has been on Carnival ships for 21 years says the Sunrise is the worst he has seen.  I will say that we figured it out as the week went by.  Eat early/late.  Avoid Lido buffet etc.  There are many omelet options  across many places:  Italian, seafood, taco place.  MDR was great too and less crowded.  There were almost 3700 passengers and the Triumph had a design capacity of 2700. The pools were just packed.  Pride out of Baltimore is close and a much better ship IMO. Also has 3 pools and a great Serenity area with its own pool.  Regardless we had a blast. Fun ship line for sure.