3 Generations on the Sunshine! Feb 2017 Review

Researching and reading reviews is one of my favorite parts of planning a cruise, so I thought I would share my first-ever review to hopefully help others. My family and I just returned from a wonderful 8 days on the Carnival Sunshine to Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten! I'm not going to include pics, but I'll try to include as many details as possible. Just a disclaimer--my review will give both positive and negative aspects, but I feel like I need to emphasize that we all had a WONDERFUL time and the Sunshine exceeded our expectations! I'm only including the not-so-great stuff so that others can be informed.

A little background, our group included 3 generations ranging from grandparents to my 3-year old. I arrived with my DH and 3 kids, ages 3, 6, and 8, and my parents and my adult sister met us at the port. We live in Florida, so it was a quick 2-hour drive to Port Canaveral.

My kids were REALLY excited because this was their very first cruise! My family has cruised a lot, including Carnival, Holland America, Disney and Royal Caribbean. We chose Carnival for this trip mainly because of their competitive pricing, and we selected the Sunshine because of the large variety of activity and dining options, especially kids' activities.

Well, here we go....let me know if you have questions and I'll do my best to answer!

ARRIVAL AND EMBARKATION:

We made a reservation online for parking through Lots of Honor in Cocoa Beach for our Port Canaveral Departure. Our Carnival check-in slot was 11-11:30. We arrived at Lots of Honor around 10, and they loaded up our luggage and got us on a shuttle within 5 minutes--very impressed! The lady emphasized that she wanted to get us there as early as possible because the port was crazy, and she was not exaggerating! It took us probably 40 minutes to arrive at the drop-off point because of the insane traffic back-up at the port from passengers who were arriving and debarking from multiple ships.

I think we got in the terminal around 11:10, and we were able to get through the lines with no wait. After that, we found a seat and waited for them to start boarding--we were in Zone 6. Boarding began at 12:00, and we were thrilled to be on the ship and enjoying lunch on the Lido deck by 12:40. Multiple announcements were made that staterooms would be ready at 1:30, and our room was available right on time.

Props to Carnival for a very smooth check-in and boarding process. There were so many people already sitting in the terminal when we arrived that I thought it was going to take forever, but Carnival really has it down to a science. The other members of our group arrived for a 12 check-in time, and they were also really impressed with how quickly everything moved. They said it took them less than a hour from arrival until boarding.

OK, sadly, no one is here to clean up my room and cook dinner tonight, so more later!

Looking forward to your review. We will be on the Sunshine next month.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Researching and reading reviews is one of my favorite parts of planning a cruise, so I thought I would share my first-ever review to hopefully help others. My family and I just returned from a wonderful 8 days on the Carnival Sunshine to Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten! I'm not going to include pics, but I'll try to include as many details as possible. Just a disclaimer--my review will give both positive and negative aspects, but I feel like I need to emphasize that we all had a WONDERFUL time and the Sunshine exceeded our expectations! I'm only including the not-so-great stuff so that others can be informed.

A little background, our group included 3 generations ranging from grandparents to my 3-year old. I arrived with my DH and 3 kids, ages 3, 6, and 8, and my parents and my adult sister met us at the port. We live in Florida, so it was a quick 2-hour drive to Port Canaveral.

My kids were REALLY excited because this was their very first cruise! My family has cruised a lot, including Carnival, Holland America, Disney and Royal Caribbean. We chose Carnival for this trip mainly because of their competitive pricing, and we selected the Sunshine because of the large variety of activity and dining options, especially kids' activities.

Well, here we go....let me know if you have questions and I'll do my best to answer!

ARRIVAL AND EMBARKATION:

We made a reservation online for parking through Lots of Honor in Cocoa Beach for our Port Canaveral Departure. Our Carnival check-in slot was 11-11:30. We arrived at Lots of Honor around 10, and they loaded up our luggage and got us on a shuttle within 5 minutes--very impressed! The lady emphasized that she wanted to get us there as early as possible because the port was crazy, and she was not exaggerating! It took us probably 40 minutes to arrive at the drop-off point because of the insane traffic back-up at the port from passengers who were arriving and debarking from multiple ships.

I think we got in the terminal around 11:10, and we were able to get through the lines with no wait. After that, we found a seat and waited for them to start boarding--we were in Zone 6. Boarding began at 12:00, and we were thrilled to be on the ship and enjoying lunch on the Lido deck by 12:40. Multiple announcements were made that staterooms would be ready at 1:30, and our room was available right on time.

Props to Carnival for a very smooth check-in and boarding process. There were so many people already sitting in the terminal when we arrived that I thought it was going to take forever, but Carnival really has it down to a science. The other members of our group arrived for a 12 check-in time, and they were also really impressed with how quickly everything moved. They said it took them less than a hour from arrival until boarding.

 

 

OK, sadly, no one is here to clean up my room and cook dinner tonight, so more later!

Looking forward to your review.

Thanks for the review.

Sailing this itinerary in April so looking very forward to this review! I know you said no pictures but I am hoping you or someone who has sailed this itinerary this winter can post some fun times and menus!

Sailing this itinerary in April so looking very forward to this review! I know you said no pictures but I am hoping you or someone who has sailed this itinerary this winter can post some fun times and menus!

I think you'll love it! I didn't take menu pictures and we didn't keep all of the FunTimes, but I'll try to include as many details as I can. :)

Glad to have some fellow cruisers following along!

STATEROOM:

One of my biggest concerns was having the 5 of us in one stateroom, but the price difference for 2 rooms just wasn't worth it for me. We had stateroom 2152, Deck 2, and I am thrilled to report that it worked really well for us.

When we first booked, we selected an interior to save money, but we called to upgrade to an oceanview a few weeks later when we realized the 2 twins wouldn't convert to a king when the interior room held 5 people. That turned out to be a great decision! The extra square footage in an oceanview room was great, and my kids loved being able to look out the window.

We had a king bed for DH and I, top berth, convertible sofa underneath that, and a trundle bed placed beside the convertible bed in the evenings for my youngest. Since all of my kids are age 8 and under, it really wasn't that cramped. We could still walk to the bathroom in the evenings after the bed was placed.

The room was very clean and comfortable, and our room steward and his team did such a great job that we were happy to leave them an additional tip at the end of our trip. He stopped by the first afternoon to introduce himself, and called us all by name when he saw us each time after that.

Our steward showed us the new form and asked if we wanted morning service, evening service or both. I said we needed both especially because of the trundle bed, and it was no problem. I will say that this trip made me realize that my vacation experience would be very negatively impacted if Carnival made the switch to only once-daily service. With 5 of us in that small room, the twice-daily service was really a necessity. Hope this isn't something I have to worry about in the future.

I highly recommend stateroom 2152. I was concerned because it was a connecting room, but we had no noise issues at all. The location was great since it was near the elevators and stairwells. Best of all, we had access to both the regular elevators and atrium elevators right outside our room, so we very rarely had to wait.

I adore the Carnival beds and bedding, and we each got a great night's sleep every night. We were prepared for the small size, so I have absolutely no complaints about our stateroom or stateroom service.

Following

Great start to a review! Can't wait to hear more

SHIP--OUTDOOR AREAS:

LIDO

I read plenty of our reviews when planning our trip, and let me tell you, those Sunshine reviews can scare you sometimes! We aren't picky, but I was picturing myself dragging three kids through unbearable crowds of people and tight spaces without an open lounge chair in sight for miles. However, I am happy to report that we LOVED the Sunshine! The ship had so many great features, and our issues with the ship were so minimal in comparison to all of the benefits it offered.

Let's start with one of the most common complaints about the Sunshine: a smaller Lido deck area along with abundant chair hogs. I realize that we traveled on an off week, so I'm not discounting the experiences of others that traveled during different times, but this wasn't an issue for us.

On sea days, I arrived out on deck around 9-9:30, and I was able to find at least 2-3 chairs together each time. One day, we were further up because I wanted shade, and 2 other days, we were right by the pool. The deck definitely filled up, but there were always people coming and going during the day, so finding a chair wasn't a problem. In addition, there are a ton of chairs by the Waterworks area, so we hung out there a lot, too. Since I was traveling with little ones, I didn't spend much time in Serenity except to visit and see how nice it was, so I can't comment on that.

One of the things that impressed me the most was that Carnival DEFINITELY enforced their chair hog policy on this voyage! At both Lido deck entrances, there were big signs that said items would be moved after 40 minutes, and boy, did they enforce it. One morning, I walked out by the pool, put my stuff on a couple of chairs, and my little one wanted juice. After a quick trip inside and to the bathroom--maybe 10 minutes, I came back and my chairs were tagged with stickers saying the items would be taken in 40 minutes. I was actually happy because I knew chair hogs wouldn't be an issue on this cruise! Throughout the week, I saw chairs being tagged and items being cleared. Major props to the Sunshine pool deck staff!

The one pool on the Lido deck is small and nothing impressive, but I told my kids about this ahead of time so they wouldn't be expecting a big, fancy resort pool area. In reality, we didn't even use the pool at all because they loved the Waterworks area so much more. There was usually kids in the pool during sea days, but it never seemed overly crowded. The 2 hot tubs on the Lido deck were almost always full of kids and adults, so I definitely agree that 3 hot tubs for the whole ship is not sufficient. In addition, the hot tubs were lukewarm, so they were not appealing to me at all.

SPORTS SQUARE

If you asked my 2 older kids what they liked most about the cruise, they will both say the Sports Square without hesitation. This area was one of the reasons we booked the Sunshine, but I couldn't have imagined how much they absolutely loved it. They spent hours and hours there on sea days and were always ready to go back for more.

The Sports deck is impressive, and includes a ropes course, mini golf, Twister, foosball, cornhole, basketball court, and pool tables. It's brightly-colored and fun, and there are some shaded areas and benches to provide breaks from the sun.

The Sports crew members were fun and friendly, and they knew my kids' names after the first day. On the last sea day, they even found my youngest to give her a trophy since her older siblings had both won one.

We all really enjoyed the ropes course. It was easy enough for my 6 year old to complete, but still challenging enough for the adults. When we boarded and went to this area, the crew member encouraged us to try it the first day, because he said it gets closed a lot on sea days because of wind. It was great to try it without waiting, and we did noticed that it got closed some when the ship was in motion. However, there were plenty of other times that we were able to enjoy the ropes course again. Even the grandparents tried it!

One of the things that made this cruise so great for my kids was the kindness of the other passengers. My older kids are just 6 and 8, so they were some of the youngest using the sports square. The basketball court especially was normally filled with older elementary and middle school kids. I have to say, there were some parents on that ship that should be very proud, because they are doing an amazing job with their kids! The parents of these older kids were not around, but I can't even explain how kind and inclusive the "big kids" were to my children.

Even though my little guy was a few years younger and plenty of inches shorter, they went out of their way to include him in their games and encourage him. During one basketball shooting competition, my little guy came in 2nd, and the teen that won even gave him his trophy! Being able to play with the "big kids" absolutely made the trip for my kids, and it also gave me a chance to talk with them about how they can pass this along by being kind and including younger kids who want to play with them. I could not have been more impressed with these other passengers.

WATERWORKS:

The Waterworks area is fabulous! My youngest spent hours going down the small slide in the splash park area. I appreciated that the surface was soft without being slippery, so it was very safe for the little ones. My bigger kids and even the adults loved the slides. Beware--those blue and green slides are NO JOKE! The blue one especially is super fast! This area provides the perfect place to have fun and cool off on hot days. There's plenty of fun, brightly-colored seating around this area, so it was very easy to keep an eye on the kids.

We've traveled on the Carnival Glory, Pride, and Paradise, and loved the outdoor areas on the Sunshine the most by far. Sure, another pool and more hot tubs would have been nice, but we used the extra areas so much more than we would have used those.

Thanks for this review! I, too, am a fan of the Sunshine. Also, as a grandma and former teacher, it's refreshing to hear the positives about the young folks on your cruise. Too often we hear only about the rowdy ones!!

Following along.

Thanks for this awesome review. My kids will be thrilled with the waterworks and sports square. I also booked this ship mainly for that reason. It is great to see a positive review.

We are booked on this ship, and this itinerary, for Dec 2017, so I'm excited to hear all about it!

So glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. I also just returned from my cruise aboard the Sunshine and had a fantastic time. The ship is in great shape with very happy & friendly crew members.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for the review.

We are booked on this ship, and this itinerary, for Dec 2017, so I'm excited to hear all about it!

You're going to have a great time! I haven't gotten to the ports info yet, but this itinerary had 2 of my favorite stops on all of my cruises combined.

So glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. I also just returned from my cruise aboard the Sunshine and had a fantastic time. The ship is in great shape with very happy & friendly crew members.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Glad you had a wonderful time, too! And you're right, the Sunshine crew members were really exceptional.

Thanks for this awesome review. My kids will be thrilled with the waterworks and sports square. I also booked this ship mainly for that reason. It is great to see a positive review.

How old are your kids? If they are anything like mine, you won't be able to drag them away from these two areas, but you probably won't want to. :)

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD

Casual Options:

In my opinion, the Sunshine blows away the other ships I've sailed regarding food options. You could eat at a different place for lunch every day if you wanted to!

Blue Iguana was yummy as usual--members of my group especially liked the homemade tortillas. We really wished there were chips to go with all of the salsas though. Tip: If you like watermelon, there are fresh slices on the salsa bar when this restaurant is open. It makes a great snack when you're sitting by the pool!

Seems like people either love or hate Guy's, and my party is firmly in the love category. We all loved the delicious burgers and hand-cut fries, as well as the huge selection of topping options. My youngest had a plain burger almost every day for lunch.

The Cuban Bites in the Havana area are delicious for breakfast and lunch, so it's worth heading back there to give them a try at least once. I especially liked the Guava-filled pastries for breakfast.

We also enjoyed the Pasta Bar at Cucina for lunch. On sea days, there can be a wait for these custom-made dishes, but it's not so bad since they give you a pager after you fill out your order form. I think the longest we waited for our food was around 15 minutes.This was also a favorite of my kids since they could get penne or bowties with fresh marinara sauce.

I didn't try the Mongolian Wok, but a couple of other family members did and really enjoyed it. My DH got a bowl with the Black Bean sauce the first day though, and honestly, it looked, smelled, and tasted terrible. He tried again with the other sauces and liked it so much better. However, the spicy sauces really are spicy, so beware! I think this area got the busiest on sea days, so embarkation day is a great time to try this one if you don't want to wait.

I know it's a small thing, but I can't even tell you how much I loved the pizza on the Sunshine! The slightly sweet sauce, the thin crust, the fresh mozzarella---YUMMMMMMM!!! My family ate a ridiculous amount of pizza on this trip, and I am not one bit sorry. The wait for pizza was never bad except late at night when there weren't a lot of other options. TIP: Try the breakfast pizza! They make these every morning (along with the other pies), and the one with an egg on top is delicious!

The deli was one area that I thought had gone way downhill from my previous Carnival experiences. None of the meat was sliced fresh except the pastrami, and the ham and turkey that I tried were just not that good--tasted liked cheap packaged deli meat from the grocery store. :( I'm a turkey on country roll girl, and the quality of the turkey was really disappointing.

The general Lido lunch buffet food was pretty much as expected. Every day, the carved option was the best choice in my opinion. The first day, the carved beef was amazing, and my DH loved the carved veal that was offered another day. Besides that, it was nothing amazing--some pasta and rice dishes, chicken tenders, other chicken dishes, cooked veggies, etc. Again, not a big deal at all since there are countless other options.

The dessert bar was yummy, some hits and some misses. One of my kids loved the chocolate cake, and our other favorites included the key lime pie, cake pops, banana cream pie, and the mini cupcakes. I couldn't even count how many ice cream and frozen yogurt cones we had from the machines on either side of the Lido deck. Chocolate, vanilla, and swirl were always available, and strawberry also made an appearance a couple of times. That flavor was my little one's favorite. Love that you can get ice cream and frozen yogurt 24/7!

We ordered room service in the afternoon one port day, and stuck to the free menu. It took about 40 minutes to arrive, and the food was fine--what you would expect from room service sandwiches and desserts. My kids thought it was the coolest thing in the world though, so you have to order at least once if you have little ones! :)

Free cold drinks include juices for breakfast (team Guava all the way!!) and iced tea and lemonade for lunch. I'm a water girl, but the general consensus in my family was that the tea was awful. I do miss the fruit punch that they used to offer back in the day. The lemonade is really tart, so it would be nice to have another option instead of water or bad tea.

I really enjoyed breakfast in the Lido area. The main buffet had pretty much anything you could want: pancakes, waffles, French toast, eggs, etc. Stay away from those scrambled eggs, and head back to the Cucina/Jijis area for made to order eggs and omelettes. The other buffet lines had fruits, cold meats, breads, and other goodies. Tip: the little boxes of cereal make great snacks for little ones later in the day, so I usually grabbed an extra in the morning. My kids think "junk cereal" is such a treat, so they loved being able to snack on Fruit Loops in the afternoons. :)

Oh, and there were no more bacon police! This was a change from my last cruise a couple of years ago. Just a big pan of bacon ready to make your morning.

Also, the Taste Bar area on Deck 5 also serves a good variety of breakfast items. This is really handy if you need to grab something quick before heading out to port and you don't want to deal with the busy Lido area.

OK, this is getting long, so I'll be back later with my opinion on the MDR and our first experience with the American Table.

This is such a refreshing review compared to some others I have read. We will be leaving at the end of March so any new information is greatly appreciated.

How old are your kids? If they are anything like mine, you won't be able to drag them away from these two areas, but you probably won't want to. :)

They are around the age of your oldest. We did the Dream a couple years ago and they loved the waterworks. They were sad that the Valor didn't have a waterworks last year. So...I have been showing them videos of all the slides and skycourse on the Sunshine. They can't wait.

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD

 

The deli was one area that I thought had gone way downhill from my previous Carnival experiences. None of the meat was sliced fresh except the pastrami, and the ham and turkey that I tried were just not that good--tasted liked cheap packaged deli meat from the grocery store. :( I'm a turkey on country roll girl, and the quality of the turkey was really disappointing.

 

 

This is sad to hear. I always get the turkey on country roll as well. I hope the quality is better on our trip.

Glad I read this review. We have a Canadian cruise booked for September and have never cruised Carnival.

Thank you so much for taking the time to give a very nicely detailed review. You are giving me some great tips since we have an 8 yr old and our friends have an 8 and 4 yr old...whom are going in 4 weeks. I feel like I am right there with you!!

I do have a question. You said that there is plenty of seating around the waterworks to keep an eye on the kids. I personally dont want a lounge chair...just somewhere to sit, watch, and take pics. So, seating doesn't require waiting an hour for someone to get up and leave...especially when we have 4 adults wanting to sit together?