Our Carnival Sunrise B2B to Bermuda?? & New England / Canada (with pics) – 9/16/2019.

Jamman54 · October 12, 2019

14 minutes ago, mlshum said:

I’m so happy to catch your review from the beginning! I’ve lurked on previous reviews but never posted. Patti looks fantastic! Does she share the secret to her success?

Glad to have you along for the ride, and thank you for posting. Patti's secret is a lot of walking and trying to eat better. 😎

Hooked! · October 13, 2019

Looking forward to another Jamman report! Sorry to hear you got sick after the cruise and I hope those meds have kicked in by now 😎

teacher34 · October 13, 2019

I am so glad your review is here ! I have been waiting for it, as I love looking at Patti’s pictures and reading your interesting account ! So sorry you were sick. Thank you and Patti in advance for taking the time to do another fantastic review !

pacruise804 · October 13, 2019

On 10/11/2019 at 2:58 PM, Jamman54 said:

Here are some views of the Sports Square, which is located on Deck 11 aft…..

I did the ropes course on this cruise 🙂 It doesn't look as high in Patty's picture as it felt when I did it 😮

On 10/11/2019 at 3:25 PM, Jamman54 said:

Patti’s next stop is the Java Blue Café, located on Deck 4 off the Atrium…..

The Java Blue Café occupies the space that used to be the library on the Triumph. There isn’t a library on the Sunrise, so in the corner they put in some shelves with a very limited supply of books and games…..

To be continued…..

This was always our first stop on the way to breakfast. In the back corner are daily puzzles (sometimes there are also Fun Times) that had a Sudoku, Crossword, and at least one other word puzzle.

There were a couple games at Red Frog Pub too. One was a surprise because instead of the game in the box it was a puzzle. DH and I enjoyed putting it together even if it was missing a few pieces and had no reference picture.

On 10/11/2019 at 3:40 PM, bnbeyer said:

Looking forward to reading the full review. Great pictures and descriptions!

I have the crud right now too - walking pneumonia. I'm taking antibiotics and hoping I'm over it before a business trip on Monday. 😞

Thanks for sharing the Cucina lunch menu. I've already planned my embarkation lunch for Nov. 2 on Vista!

I pray the meds kicked in and you are feeling bette.

19 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

The Check In for YTD is also located on Deck 5 mid ship right by Bonsai Sushi. Why wait in line? Use the Carnival Hub App…..

We never had much wait at check-in, and once we found a team we wanted each night we had to request at check-in since we didn't see a way to do special requests on the app.

19 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

This is Piano Bar 88, located on Deck 5 aft…..

Across the way is the Alchemy Bar…..

I was very impressed with the sound control at Piano Bar. When the doors were closed, you really didn't hear much from RFP (even with the great horns section) and Piano sounds didn't seem to bleed into the lobby area either.

I was very impressed with the service at Alchemy Bar. When we sailed the Pride it was very disappointing, so it was nice to see an example of why it has such a great reputation.

19 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

The Red Frog Pub is also located on Deck 5 aft. It is bigger than any other Red Frog Pub that we have been in…..

Patti then went back up to the Lido Market Place on Deck 9. This is the Lucky Bowl, something new on Carnival. It replaced Chopsticks that was here on the Triumph…..

I'm pretty sure you got a shot of my husband's back (green shirt) while he was waiting for me when I tried to get served at the bar. We didn't know about the 1/2 off fish bowl special until fairly late and it was packed. I had my card out and was right in front in view, but there was one lady who kept demanding fish bowls/pitchers for her and her friends and it was hard for the servers on that side to get very many other people while serving her (since they kept having to go back for more ingredients). After waiting over 20 minutes I gave up. I don't think we ever did get drinks from the Pub and instead got from Alchemy.

I never got around to trying Lucky Bowl - the other spots kept me busy. I think the way the lines worked there and at the deli added to the congested feel on Lido. The aisle between the seating and the Lucky Bowl was fine for one way traffic, but when you started having people walking both directions - especially if you add plates of food, wheelchairs, or strollers - it felt tight. Between Blue Iguana and the Lido Entrance was weird too since it was a narrow alleyway and they also had a drink station in the middle and one of the soft serve stations near it.

19 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Patti went to check out the desserts at the Sweet Spot…..

The muster drill was fairly painless even though our muster station was outside. We would miss being on deck for the sail away because we had Early Seating dinner at 6 pm. We didn’t mind since we’ll be on the next cruise and we can document it then.

I had emailed our maître d’, Emil, before our cruises and requested a table for two. We got a very nice reply from him, and our request was granted. However, not once during our cruises did he come over to our table to say hello. His assistant Laura came over just about every night to see how we were doing. She was such a sweetie!

The desserts did seem an improvement from when we sailed the Pride. What I didn't like was they were often wet due to the knives being kept in water to ease slicing, and the slices needed to be pretty big to hold their shape when serving. If you wanted to try more than one dessert (except the cookies) the pieces were so big you would either eat too much, do without, or waste a lot. I saw quite a bit of waste just from how hard they were to serve. A suggestion I thought of (but didn't see a way to suggest on the survey) is to have the pretty cakes for display, but then have sheet cakes cut into individual sizes (like a wedding cake) to be more reasonable servings and minimize wait.

Our muster was inside the theater and wasn't too bad. We did wait to dismiss until after those of you outside had a chance to disperse 🙂

I've never had the maitre d' visit on any of our recent cruises. Is this more common with traditional seating?

19 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

It’s time for some food porn! Just a note here. When ordering our starters and mains, they also wanted us to order our desserts at the same time. We were both put off by this. Who knows if you’ll even want dessert until after you have finished the main course?

Tonight at the Comedy Club in the Limelight Lounge there were two shows, both by comedian Vargus Mason, one PG and one 18+. There was also the Welcome Aboard show featuring our Cruise Director Mikey Gibson in the Liquid Lounge. We decided to skip these.

I also dislike having to decide dessert at the start of the meal. The fruit plate looks great - I should follow Patti's example 🙂

We almost skipped the Welcome Aboard show, but glad we went since Mikey was so energizing.

Jamman54 · October 13, 2019

13 hours ago, teacher34 said:

I am so glad your review is here ! I have been waiting for it, as I love looking at Patti’s pictures and reading your interesting account ! So sorry you were sick. Thank you and Patti in advance for taking the time to do another fantastic review !

Always glad to have you following along again. Welcome aboard!

1 hour ago, pacruise804 said:

I've never had the maitre d' visit on any of our recent cruises. Is this more common with traditional seating?

I also dislike having to decide dessert at the start of the meal. The fruit plate looks great - I should follow Patti's example 🙂

We almost skipped the Welcome Aboard show, but glad we went since Mikey was so energizing.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and observations. Please continue to do so! Also, you did a terrific job editing down all those quotes. It is greatly appreciated!

We almost always do traditional dining, and I will email the maitre'd prior to the cruise to request a table or booth for two. He will usually stop by to say hello and ask us if we like the table he selected. Other than a short greeting once or twice at the door, we had no interaction with him at all. His assistant Laura on the other hand, stopped by almost every night.

We liked Mikey Gibson a lot. We did go to the Welcome Aboard Show on the second cruise.

15 hours ago, Hooked! said:

Looking forward to another Jamman report! Sorry to hear you got sick after the cruise and I hope those meds have kicked in by now 😎

Thanks so much for following along again, and for your kind words. I'm taking today off to watch football, baseball, and have a few cocktails, but I'll be back at it tomorrow.

aztekpm · October 13, 2019

Looking forward to this review, thanks for taking us along again!

Crusin Karen · October 13, 2019

Hey Jamman, glad you are feeling better and enjoying the games. YANKEES tonight! Got off Sunrise "almost cruise to nowhere" this morning. Weather was terrible; went to Halifax, St. John, then BACK to St. John then home. Missed Portland and Boston. We were in aft OV on deck 2 and it was a crazy ride!!!! One night we actually didn't sleep at all with the waves pounding. Spent most of our time in RF Pub and casino. Agree about the push buttons for the doors. We had ATD so were in Sunrise restaurant on the top (deck 4) and always requested a table by the railing and enjoyed all our meals. I was always up early, by 6:30, and went to Lido and can now see what everyone talks about with the crowding, and our ship was under capacity. It was a complete zoo, but fortunately I had a table every morning from being up early. We had the Flying Scotsman as CD. Other than that all I can add is the crew were EXCELLENT. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful each and every one we encountered were. Enjoy reading this as the ship is still fresh in my mind, but it's also making me "homesick" lol.

samrothstein · October 13, 2019

We’ll be cruising on the Sunrise Nov 02, and your review has me feeling all warm and fuzzy so far! Can’t wait for more.

missholly24 · October 13, 2019

On 10/11/2019 at 3:25 PM, Jamman54 said:

The Java Blue Café occupies the space that used to be the library on the Triumph. There isn’t a library on the Sunrise, so in the corner they put in some shelves with a very limited supply of books and games…..

To be continue

I’ll be honest this kind of makes me sad. 😢 The old school cruising traditions are slowly disappearing. I understand if it was used more it would obviously be kept in its entirety. However, still a bummer. And besides that’s how I sell cruises to newbies! If you want to go to the club, you can! If you want to go to the library, you can do that too!!

Jamman54 · October 13, 2019

5 hours ago, fyree39 said:

Finally caught up with another great Jeff review!! Thanks so much for taking us along!

Thanks for coming along for the ride once again! 😎

4 hours ago, aztekpm said:

Looking forward to this review, thanks for taking us along again!

Glad to have you aboard again!😎

3 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

Hey Jamman, glad you are feeling better and enjoying the games. YANKEES tonight! Got off Sunrise "almost cruise to nowhere" this morning. Weather was terrible; went to Halifax, St. John, then BACK to St. John then home. Missed Portland and Boston. We were in aft OV on deck 2 and it was a crazy ride!!!! One night we actually didn't sleep at all with the waves pounding. Spent most of our time in RF Pub and casino. Agree about the push buttons for the doors. We had ATD so were in Sunrise restaurant on the top (deck 4) and always requested a table by the railing and enjoyed all our meals. I was always up early, by 6:30, and went to Lido and can now see what everyone talks about with the crowding, and our ship was under capacity. It was a complete zoo, but fortunately I had a table every morning from being up early. We had the Flying Scotsman as CD. Other than that all I can add is the crew were EXCELLENT. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful each and every one we encountered were. Enjoy reading this as the ship is still fresh in my mind, but it's also making me "homesick" lol.

Hey Karry! Welcome home. Hope you had a great time despite the weather. Sorry you missed out on Portland and Boston. See, you should have sailed our week. 😀 The nor'Easter did a lot of damage down the Jersey shore. You are right about the crew. They were simply awesome! Let's go Yankees! 😁😁😁

Jamman54 · October 13, 2019

2 hours ago, samrothstein said:

We’ll be cruising on the Sunrise Nov 02, and your review has me feeling all warm and fuzzy so far! Can’t wait for more.

Thanks for reading! Much more to come.😎

2 hours ago, missholly24 said:

I’ll be honest this kind of makes me sad. 😢 The old school cruising traditions are slowly disappearing. I understand if it was used more it would obviously be kept in its entirety. However, still a bummer. And besides that’s how I sell cruises to newbies! If you want to go to the club, you can! If you want to go to the library, you can do that too!!

I guess the libraries are becoming a thing of the past. Patti missed it also 😎

Butterbean1000 · October 13, 2019

On 10/12/2019 at 1:55 PM, Jamman54 said:

Here are some shots of Bonsai Sushi, located on Deck 5 aft…..

This is Piano Bar 88, located on Deck 5 aft…..

Across the way is the Alchemy Bar…..

To be continued…..

Can't wait to try Bonsai on our Breeze cruise in a couple of weeks

bakersdozen12 · October 13, 2019

5 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Can't wait to try Bonsai on our Breeze cruise in a couple of weeks

The Wagyu Kakuni is to die for! And I’m not usually a red meat fan.

Crusin Karen · October 13, 2019

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

Hey Karry! Welcome home. Hope you had a great time despite the weather. Sorry you missed out on Portland and Boston. See, you should have sailed our week. 😀 The nor'Easter did a lot of damage down the Jersey shore. You are right about the crew. They were simply awesome! Let's go Yankees!

I said the same thing. Should have sailed the week you did. My dad and brother live in Bay Head and dad said he never saw the ocean so churned up. I said we were sailing thru that lol. First time I have ever danced with crew members on the Lido at 6:30 in the morning and I also did some pole dancing lol. How those waiters and bus men and women carry those heavy trays with food and dirty dishes during rolling seas defies logic. They are simply so professional and uncomplaining! Had my Caribbean Colada at RFP at 1/2 price day and thought of Patti!!!

hillbilly cruiser · October 14, 2019

Can't wait for new England/Canada review. Thinking on doing in 2020. Some reviews don't sound so good.

Cold not so bad, been to Alaska 3 times. Need another view point.

Thanks

pacruise804 · October 14, 2019

21 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and observations. Please continue to do so! Also, you did a terrific job editing down all those quotes. It is greatly appreciated!

We liked Mikey Gibson a lot. We did go to the Welcome Aboard Show on the second cruise.

I'm taking today off to watch football, baseball, and have a few cocktails, but I'll be back at it tomorrow.

Thanks for letting me offer my POV 🙂 I know your reviews get a lot of views and figure if I have something to contribute it will get a larger audience here 😉 I try to keep posts brief but in context, so I'm glad my editing attempts worked 😄

Mikey was amazing. He stated he was going to greet each passenger and while DH and I tend to hang back on the edges (he "dances on the inside" 😉 ), Mikey still took the time to greet us while respecting that we aren't big joiners. I don't know if that makes sense, but to me it is a rare gift to make others feel welcome and included without being overbearing and pushy. He seemed genuinely kind, which I think helped soothe some disappointment from the itinerary change.

Hope you enjoyed your day off🍸Even after a long vacation a day off is good 😎

20 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

14 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

I said the same thing. Should have sailed the week you did. My dad and brother live in Bay Head and dad said he never saw the ocean so churned up. I said we were sailing thru that lol. First time I have ever danced with crew members on the Lido at 6:30 in the morning and I also did some pole dancing lol. How those waiters and bus men and women carry those heavy trays with food and dirty dishes during rolling seas defies logic. They are simply so professional and uncomplaining! Had my Caribbean Colada at RFP at 1/2 price day and thought of Patti!!!

Sorry your itinerary didn't go as planned either 😞 I didn't do any "pole dancing" on this cruise, but I did during a nor'Easter on the Pride last year - I guess it was more "tree hugging" though since it was in RFP 😂 The wait staff really were amazing on this cruise, some of the best we've ever had 🙂

13 hours ago, hillbilly cruiser said:

Can't wait for new England/Canada review. Thinking on doing in 2020. Some reviews don't sound so good.

Cold not so bad, been to Alaska 3 times. Need another view point.

Thanks

I'm trusting Jeff will have good things to report and Patti will have beautiful pictures as always to make someone feel like they are along for the ride. We've done two CA itineraries and loved them both. A lot depends on what you are looking for in a cruise. You might not have sandy beaches, but there is lots of other stunning nature and even some water sports (we did a great Kayak trip in Saint John) - just different than Caribbean, Bermuda, or Bahamas. It's not even always cold - we had 80's in August then 60's and 70's in October (70's was an unseasonably nice day). Lots of bars around too - and Canadian beer is usually a higher alcohol content vs. American🍻

NCTribeFan · October 14, 2019

Did they enclose the Piano Bar? When I saw the deck plans and realized they'd replaced Ocean Plaza (on Sunshine) with the Piano Bar, I thought it a strange location. I really like the Ocean Plaza area.

Me, I'm not a Piano Bar person. Too much of a music snob. Just so many "popular" songs never should've gotten a minute's air time imho! I do recall going to the Piano Bar on Pride and apparently was still there when it closed. I don't really remember, but I suppose I had a good time! 😲 🤔

pacruise804 · October 14, 2019

16 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

Did they enclose the Piano Bar? When I saw the deck plans and realized they'd replaced Ocean Plaza (on Sunshine) with the Piano Bar, I thought it a strange location. I really like the Ocean Plaza area.

Me, I'm not a Piano Bar person. Too much of a music snob. Just so many "popular" songs never should've gotten a minute's air time imho! I do recall going to the Piano Bar on Pride and apparently was still there when it closed. I don't really remember, but I suppose I had a good time! 😲 🤔

Piano Bar on Sunrise is enclosed. I'm pretty sure it was on the Pride too, but it was a deck above the Red Frog Pub.

We found the musician (Dizzy?) to be very talented, but often don't like the vibe. DH and I are more about enjoying music than interacting and it was harder to hide in the back on this one 😉

Jamman54 · October 15, 2019

On 10/13/2019 at 7:28 PM, Butterbean1000 said:

Can't wait to try Bonsai on our Breeze cruise in a couple of weeks

On 10/13/2019 at 7:34 PM, bakersdozen12 said:

The Wagyu Kakuni is to die for! And I’m not usually a red meat fan.

We are not really sushi people. Patti said that she wanted to try it, but never did.

On 10/13/2019 at 7:54 PM, Crusin Karen said:

I said the same thing. Should have sailed the week you did. My dad and brother live in Bay Head and dad said he never saw the ocean so churned up. I said we were sailing thru that lol. First time I have ever danced with crew members on the Lido at 6:30 in the morning and I also did some pole dancing lol. How those waiters and bus men and women carry those heavy trays with food and dirty dishes during rolling seas defies logic. They are simply so professional and uncomplaining! Had my Caribbean Colada at RFP at 1/2 price day and thought of Patti!!!

Glad you got to have a Caribbean Colada. Patti is addicted to the mocha chocolate getaways now.

23 hours ago, hillbilly cruiser said:

Can't wait for new England/Canada review. Thinking on doing in 2020. Some reviews don't sound so good.

Cold not so bad, been to Alaska 3 times. Need another view point.

Thanks

We've loved all of our cruises to Canada. There is a review of our seven day NE / Canada cruise on the Sunshine in my signature.

Jamman54 · October 15, 2019

9 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

Thanks for letting me offer my POV 🙂 I know your reviews get a lot of views and figure if I have something to contribute it will get a larger audience here 😉 I try to keep posts brief but in context, so I'm glad my editing attempts worked 😄

Hope you enjoyed your day off🍸Even after a long vacation a day off is good 😎

I did enjoy my day off! Thanks again for providing some great information!

Jamman54 · October 15, 2019

Day # 2 - 9/17/19 - Our first sea day

We were up at 7 am to a beautiful day as the Carnival Sunrise headed south towards Charleston. The seas were calm and the temperature was in the 70’s. Here are today’s Fun Times…..

I went up to Lio to grab a cup of coffee, then made my way down to Guest Services to make sure that we were on the B2B list. We were. I then made my over to the Liquid Lounge to wait for the Morning Show to begin.

Patti was going to check out the Michael’s crafts in the Sunrise Lobby, then she would join me in the Liquid Lounge for the Morning Show. On the way she bumped into our friend Tyler from the Fun Squad, who is known as “Bubba” on the Sunrise. He will be a part of the Morning Show…..

Patti wasn’t to impressed with the Michael’s stuff…..

Patti met me in time for the start of the show. We like going to the Morning shows as it is a way to meet and get to know the Cruise Director and entertainment staff…..

Pablo, Mikey, and “Bubba” will be doing the show this morning…..

Mikey Gibson is the Cruise Director…..

Pablo and Bubba are part of the Fun Squad…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · October 15, 2019

Rayna the shopping expert joins the crew on stage…..

She dresses Mikey up with the latest in women’s cruise wear…..

After the Morning Show I head up to the Red Frog Rum Bar to hang out with Yoki and Ryan. Patti stays for the Fun Aboard, Fun Ashore show in the Liquid Lounge…..

After the show, Patti collected me from the Red Frog Rum Bar and we made our way down to the Sea Day Brunch, which is held in the Sunshine Restaurant on Deck 3 aft. There was no line at all, and we got a booth for two. Here is the new Sea Day Brunch menu…..

We used our drink coupons for our free drinks. Patti had a Malibu bay breeze, and I had an Absolut and orange juice with a splash of cranberry…..

To be continued…..

Jamman54 · October 15, 2019

Patti started off with the parfait, then had a cheddar cheese and tomato omelet with brunch potatoes…..

I started off with a chicken Caesar salad, then had a ham, mushroom, and cheddar cheese omelet with sausage and bacon on the side…..

Afterwards, we went back to the cabin where we found today’s towel animal and our platinum / diamond strawberries…..

Our toilet was not flushing at all, so I called Guest Services who called maintenance. Patti went out exploring while I stayed in the cabin to work on the pictures, and then took a nap. When I woke up, the toilet was working again.

Tonight is Cruise Elegant Night, so we got dressed early as we wanted to get some formal pictures taken. We had forgotten to do this on our 25^th anniversary cruise on the Splendor, so we wanted to do this now.

Once again the toilet stopped flushing so I called Guest Services to report it. They told me that they were already working on it. We saw a few maintenance men out in the hallway, and they told us that our whole section was having a problem because apparently someone had flushed something down the toilet they shouldn’t have. Hopefully they can fix it.

So we went and had some portraits done and these were the three winners…..