Carnival Sunshine should be put out to sea

[tm_aw_love]

22 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

do people ever use travel agents anymore

A good TA will 'qualify' their clients... really try and get to know them and find out what they are looking for in a vacation before making a suggestion about a specific line, or even ship for that matter.

If a TA is looking for a quick buck and just throws them into something that they aren't happy with, they will likely lose that client. Now, one that finds a way to get that same client exactly what they are looking for, and with great customer service (maybe even a gift or OBC) will probably keep that client for a long time. 

[CruisingWalter]

On 3/1/2022 at 8:51 AM, basktchic said:

Quite honestly we arent looking to go on Carnival again after this experience which is a shame because I hate to discount an entire line. It is just a bad look for a line that is struggling to survive and yet they produce this kind of product. 

 

I agree with the person who said don't discount the entire line because of the state of those older ships. It does absolutely amaze just HOW MUCH rust is on Carnival ships compared to every other mainstream line. It's so blatantly obvious from the outside.  We have never considered Carnival until the newer ships started appearing like Vista and Horizon just because we couldn't get past the outer appearance of the ships. Now we are sailing Mardi Gras in March because the newer ships do look quite lovely, the food looks great and I'm really excited to try the Alchemy Bar.

 

But you would honestly never get us onto one of those older, smaller Carnival ships just because they do look so bad. For that small ship experience we look at the smaller RC ships and the Celebrity small ships. We're actually sailing Jewel of the Seas in the Norwegian Fjords in August and that will be the smallest RC ship we've sailed. 

 

I hope you do give the other Carnival ships a chance because they really do look lovely. 🙂

[Pellaz]

13 hours ago, mondello said:

OP didn't enjoy the food but I wonder if she tried the Steakhouse, Bonsai Sushi, JiJis/Asian, Cucina/Italian, Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, or the Seaday Brunch?

 

I was wondering that myself.  And not to forget the Deli (11am - 11pm).  

 

13 hours ago, mondello said:

 

Finally, there is no reason to suffer with a bathroom that smells like a cat litter box. Somebody should have told OP that one needs to lower the commode lid to access the flush button. Seriously though, was any attempt made to identify the source of the odor and rectify the problem?

 

Or just pour water down every drain including the shower overflow and the sink overflow drains, since 9 times out of 10 that solves the problem.  (The "U-bend" in the pipe dried out, allowing the smell to waft up from the storage tanks.)  

[Joe817]

2 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

I was wondering that myself.  And not to forget the Deli (11am - 11pm).  

 

 

Or just pour water down every drain including the shower overflow and the sink overflow drains, since 9 times out of 10 that solves the problem.  (The "U-bend" in the pipe dried out, allowing the smell to waft up from the storage tanks.)  

^^^^^This. Chengkp75 described that procedure exactly, and it makes perfect sense. The drain traps all dry out, which allows the sewer gases to escape, thus causing the odor. Easily solved by pouring waten into all of the drains in the bathroom, thus filling the traps back up, preventing the sewer gases to escape, thus eliminating the problem. same as it is in your home. 

[cruisingguy007]

9 hours ago, Joe817 said:

^^^^^This. Chengkp75 described that procedure exactly, and it makes perfect sense. The drain traps all dry out, which allows the sewer gases to escape, thus causing the odor. Easily solved by pouring waten into all of the drains in the bathroom, thus filling the traps back up, preventing the sewer gases to escape, thus eliminating the problem. same as it is in your home. 

 

Yeah, I mean, who doesn't know that? OP should be flushing drains and worrying about plumbing on vacation. She probably should have brought a tool kit too, so she could have fixed her own drain. Maybe some bleach and Windex to scrub her filthy balcony glass? Oh, and some Murphy's oil soap to get that decking spiffed up. And what kind of passenger doesn't carry caulking in their carry on for quick repairs on a cruise? She's simply being unreasonable. 🙄  

[mondello]

Duly noted. However, guest should never suffer in silence. The steward or maintenance crew should have been able to figure out the problem.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, cruisingguy007 said:

OP should be flushing drains and worrying about plumbing on vacation.

No one said anything about fixing things, but dried out drain traps is a common thing, even on land, and pouring a glass of water down a drain when you first get on the ship is not exactly a burdensome practice.  If they know about it, and are unwilling to even do this, they could ask their room steward to pour the water for them.  As I've said, this has happened, and will continue to happen, on any cruise ship, at any time, regardless of ship's age or cruise line.

[cruisingguy007]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

No one said anything about fixing things, but dried out drain traps is a common thing, even on land, and pouring a glass of water down a drain when you first get on the ship is not exactly a burdensome practice.  If they know about it, and are unwilling to even do this, they could ask their room steward to pour the water for them.  As I've said, this has happened, and will continue to happen, on any cruise ship, at any time, regardless of ship's age or cruise line.

 

It's a good tip and all, I just doubt most people know about it or are even thinking about drain traps/plumbing while on vacation. That's kind of the point of vacation, it should be taken care of during turn over if it's so easy and solves the sewer smells on older ships. Seems like a shortcoming and not on the OP. 

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

solves the sewer smells on older ships

And, again, as I've noted, the problem is not limited to older ships, in fact brand new ships have probably the most likelihood of dry drains.  Anyone who has left their home for an extended vacation, or opened a summer home will be familiar with dry traps.  As you say, I have found it amazing how little the cabin stewards know about how a ship works, and nearly all of them are not aware of dry traps.

[cruisingguy007]

16 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

And, again, as I've noted, the problem is not limited to older ships, in fact brand new ships have probably the most likelihood of dry drains.  Anyone who has left their home for an extended vacation, or opened a summer home will be familiar with dry traps.  As you say, I have found it amazing how little the cabin stewards know about how a ship works, and nearly all of them are not aware of dry traps.

 

And again, I'll say, it doesn't really matter, it's not a passengers job, we are not ship employees. I know you have a background with that, as a ship employee and it may skew your view/mindset (probably why you suggested it as a easy fix for passengers) but passengers on vacation are not crew. Ship maintenance falls to employees. Period. It's not the OP's fault and if it's so easy the lines should make it part of turn around and solve the problem proactively, if it's so easy.

 

I went to one of my favorite beachfront properties recently and they had wine glasses that were not cleaned properly. Sure, I could have washed them in the sink and dried them pretty easily but I got them replaced instead. Why? I was on vacation and shouldn't have to wash/dry dishes for a premium price. Solutions don't really matter when you shouldn't have to deal with something in the first place. I understand you are simply sharing your experience/knowledge as an employee, but expecting passengers to flush/fill drains and such is ridiculous, anyway you slice it. It's a shortcoming by the line that the OP has every right to be disappointed in. Maybe better training for stewards is in order (like you mentioned), but again, not the OP's fault/responsibility as a paying passenger.       

Edited March 5, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[Shamrock73]

I feel bad for the OP and her experience. I am not a seasoned cruiser, only being on a 1/2 dozen cruises. I guess I still have the sun in my face and drink in my hand attitude where I probably would not have noticed most of her concerns. The smell however yes - that would have been concerning regardless if I had hit my daily drink limit or not. I did not know about the dried trap but it makes sense and it is a simple solution. With ships now opening up from the limited capacity, is it possible this cabin was not occupied on the prior sailing, or even the one before thus the lack of use led to to the dried up trap? With the rush to turn over a ship from one sailing to the next, did the cabin steward not put much attention to this unused cabin? Possible but I can't criticize them on their effort.

[Indytraveler83]

6 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

And again, I'll say, it doesn't really matter, it's not a passengers job, we are not ship employees. I know you have a background with that, as a ship employee and it may skew your view/mindset (probably why you suggested it as a easy fix for passengers) but passengers on vacation are not crew. Ship maintenance falls to employees. Period. It's not the OP's fault and if it's so easy the lines should make it part of turn around and solve the problem proactively, if it's so easy.

 

I went to one of my favorite beachfront properties recently and they had wine glasses that were not cleaned properly. Sure, I could have washed them in the sink and dried them pretty easily but I got them replaced instead. Why? I was on vacation and shouldn't have to wash/dry dishes for a premium price. Solutions don't really matter when you shouldn't have to deal with something in the first place. I understand you are simply sharing your experience/knowledge as an employee, but expecting passengers to flush/fill drains and such is ridiculous, anyway you slice it. It's a shortcoming by the line that the OP has every right to be disappointed in. Maybe better training for stewards is in order (like you mentioned), but again, not the OP's fault/responsibility as a paying passenger.       

A quick Google search shows this issue isn't unique to Carnival or this ship.  In about 10 seconds of searching I found complaints of this on Disney, P&O and Celebrity.

 

I wish it was something that room stewards took care of.  But the fact is they don't, and it's not unique to this ship, this line or this industry.

 

The question is this: Does a traveler arm themselves with enough knowledge and information to not let tiny, common things ruin their experience?  Or do they instead decide to travel blindly with absolutely no knowledge and be devastated when small things go wrong?

[icft]

3 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

...The question is this: Does a traveler arm themselves with enough knowledge and information to not let tiny, common things ruin their experience?  Or do they instead decide to travel blindly with absolutely no knowledge and be devastated when small things go wrong?

I think the OP now is "armed" but inferring that it is the fault of the OP for not anticipating odors in the bathroom and studying up on plumbing is a bit much.

[KmomChicago]

45 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

A quick Google search shows this issue isn't unique to Carnival or this ship.  In about 10 seconds of searching I found complaints of this on Disney, P&O and Celebrity.

 

I wish it was something that room stewards took care of.  But the fact is they don't, and it's not unique to this ship, this line or this industry.

 

The question is this: Does a traveler arm themselves with enough knowledge and information to not let tiny, common things ruin their experience?  Or do they instead decide to travel blindly with absolutely no knowledge and be devastated when small things go wrong?

 

Let's face it. No one wants their ship to stink and no one wants their room to stink. And it's not a good impression to have it stink when you walk in. I DO GET IT.  I'm not sure I'd assume a drain trap was to blame either, and I'm not sure I'd ask my steward, but it would sure be nice if next day when said crew member came into the room, they took care of it. 

 

To me though a litter box smells like ammonia, not like a sewer which is what drain trap smells are usually related to.

[Indytraveler83]

3 hours ago, icft said:

I think the OP now is "armed" but inferring that it is the fault of the OP for not anticipating odors in the bathroom and studying up on plumbing is a bit much.

 

Again, eggageraring here. "Study up on plumbing" isn't what we are asking.  Pouring water in a drain isn't plumbing.  Literally a 5 year old could do it. 

 

Before I ever stepped foot on a cruise ship, I knew the drain trick, I knew to being earplugs, I knew that power outlets would be limited.

 

And the critism over chengkp75 sharing a very simple tip is crazy. Don't criticize the guy whose been on ships and trying to share info, that's literally the point.  

 

Are we really at that point that we are going to defend our anger by shouting down knowledge?

 

[icft]

1 hour ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

 

 

...And the critism over chengkp75 sharing a very simple tip is crazy. Don't criticize the guy whose been on ships and trying to share info, that's literally the point.  

 

 

 

I made absolutely no mention of chengkp75 or any criticism of his input. You are being extremely disingenuous.

[johnjovi]

I was on this same sailing as the OP.  The service on the ship was pretty good (we had a great MDR team and our stateroom attendant was also great).  The ship was really busy - something like 2700-2800 passengers from several crew we asked - with a good number of kids - one of the higher passengers counts they have had.  The sailing after ours was only 1200 passengers.  Food in MDR wasn't always hot (we commented to each other on that during the cruise) and some things overall with the cruise just seemed off.  Entertainment in the Liquid Lounge was standard, but enjoyable for us.

 

For me, I really wasn't a fan of the Sunshine - especially the flow of the ship - it just feels choppy getting around.  I understand the age of the ship so that didn't bother me.  It's pretty interesting though seeing areas they clearly updated with the refurbish (dining rooms, buffet areas) and areas they didn't, in my opinion (staterooms).  One thing I do love about Carnival ships - even the older ones - is the size of the stateroom - we had an oceanview deck 1 - really great size and bigger than other cruise line balcony cabins on their newer ships (ahem, NCL, cough)!  Oh and the internet is HORRIBLE.  I even upgraded to the premium plan and had so many issues getting to websites, having email work, VOIP wouldn't work, etc.  Pretty frustrating when you're needing to get work done.  I would gladly pay more for internet and have it actually work consistently!

 

And while I have always wanted to sail from Charleston (first time visiting there) - until they get a new terminal (which may never happen) - I just have no desire to deal with the process getting on and off the ship.  From the parking, the shuttle to the terminal building, then the bus to the other building to finally be able to get on the ship - it's just a PITA.   Since I have to fly or drive to any cruise port, I won't choose to sail from here again.

 

With that said, we still had a good time - with more enjoyable highlights that distracting low experiences.

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

Again, eggageraring here. "Study up on plumbing" isn't what we are asking.  Pouring water in a drain isn't plumbing.  Literally a 5 year old could do it. 

 

Before I ever stepped foot on a cruise ship, I knew the drain trick, I knew to being earplugs, I knew that power outlets would be limited.

 

And the critism over chengkp75 sharing a very simple tip is crazy. Don't criticize the guy whose been on ships and trying to share info, that's literally the point.  

 

Are we really at that point that we are going to defend our anger by shouting down knowledge?

 

 

You simply don't understand the hospitality business. Blaming the client for shortcomings that are the responsibility of the host provider demonstrate that clearly. It goes against the whole premise of the hospitality business. Where does it end? Should we clean and cook our own food too? If the cleaning is subpar and food cooked poorly? It's not a hostel. If it's so basic, as you imply, it should be done by the industry, not cast on to paying passengers to figure out. Your assertion is simply ridiculous on its face. Period. Point blank. There is no nicer way to say it, it's pure BS IMO.   

[cruisingguy007]

31 minutes ago, icft said:

I made absolutely no mention of chengkp75 or any criticism of his input. You are being extremely disingenuous.

 

No one did, I guess if we don't trip over ourselves in fanboi fashion, it's unacceptable lol. His perspective is from an employee and is valuable but does not in any way, discount the customer service and hospitality aspect that folks pay for. The front end is valuable too. Blaming the customer for your failures/shortcomings is pure scapegoating. Nothing but poor excuses for not executing properly. 

[audcc77]

I also smelled the litter box smell in my cabin a few years ago on my girlfriends cruise on the sunshine.  I thought maybe I was going crazy because why would it smell like that, of all things?  I asked at GS several times before they came and did something. No one ever said to run water to try to fix it.  

Also, how can drain traps be dry when supposedly someone just vacated the cabin and it was also cleaned an hour or two before we got there?   

[BETSY DOLL]

Sunshine was never ready to cruise back when the converted the ship go sail from Mediterranean. I booked this one, then got canceling due to not ready. When we finally got on 6 months later in October is still was under construction.

not happy. It smelled, nothing was ready. And we were supposed to ignore all of that.

I feel that by now they should trash it,

 

 

[Pellaz]

6 hours ago, audcc77 said:

Also, how can drain traps be dry when supposedly someone just vacated the cabin and it was also cleaned an hour or two before we got there?   

 

Someone might NOT have just vacated the cabin:  ships are often cruising below capacity, and cabins could conceivably go without passengers for a few sailings in a row.  

 

Also, even if a cabin is occupied, the shower and sink overflow drains might not see any use at all during a sailing, and they can be a source of odor just as the frequently used drains can be.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Pellaz

[chengkp75]

7 hours ago, audcc77 said:

Also, how can drain traps be dry when supposedly someone just vacated the cabin and it was also cleaned an hour or two before we got there?

 

1 hour ago, Pellaz said:

Also, even if a cabin is occupied, the shower and sink overflow drains might not see any use at all during a sailing, and they can be a source of odor just as the frequently used drains can be.

Yes, this is not the drain in the shower.  There is a drain in the bathroom floor outside the shower, typically either a round drain hidden under the toilet (making it difficult to get to or see), or a "gutter" type that runs across the door.  Unless one of the occupants has overflowed the sink, shower, or toilet, that floor drain does not get any water down it for months.  The AC dries out the water in all traps, but the sink and shower drains get refilled every time you use them.  Even mopping the bathroom floor will not provide enough water (only a couple of ounces at best) to keep the trap filled.  Motion of the ship will also cause the water in a drain trap to siphon itself down the drain, and a drain that does not get refilled frequently will dry out that much faster.

 

I don't think I "blamed the customer", I was merely offering a suggestion so that the customer did not have to suffer something for a week that could be fixed in a few seconds.  Pardon me if I've offended anyone.

[shof515]

on most of the ship ive been on, there is a drain in a corner usually next to the toilet or shower

[icft]

5 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

 

I don't think I "blamed the customer", I was merely offering a suggestion so that the customer did not have to suffer something for a week that could be fixed in a few seconds.  Pardon me if I've offended anyone.

You didn't say anything that could be construed as blaming the customer and your information has been quite helpful. Thank you.