Sunshine Report: Sep 27th, 5 night Bahamas with pics (HMC, Nassau, Freeport)

I've recently returned from a family reunion cruise and thought I’d post another report. This is the fourth year in a row we’ve been able to get various family members together.

The group this year includes:

Myself and DW

My two brothers and their wives

One niece

My Dad and his better half

We’ve sailed recently on the Liberty in 2012 and 2014 and on the Dream in 2013.

Port Canaveral is a great meeting place for us and the Sunshine piqued our interest this year.

There’s so much information out there on the Sunshine. Some love it, some hate it.

I’ll try to give as much info as I can about the ship. I’ll share “what I heard or perceived” before I sailed and also “what I experienced”.

Please read this as one person’s viewpoint. These are MY experience’s which will be different than other people on board with me.

So, as many say, take everything you read with a grain of salt. After all, it's coming from MY salt shaker. ;)

Let’s start off with a picture of the ship. DW bought a photo and was given this one as a gift:

See ya soon.

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Looking forward to reading your review.

I'm looking forward to reading your review, also. :):):):)

I’ve done a few trip reports in the past. It’s my way of giving back to the site for all of the valuable info I get here.

I like to take pics, so eventually we’ll tour most of the ship. In addition, there will be lots of FOOD PORN and towel animals as well.

All of my recent cruises have been on Carnival; they have a great product at a price I like to pay. But I'm also a realist. I'm very honest in my reporting. We had a great trip; but I'm not the type to say everything was 100% perfect.

I mentioned this in my last report: I’m a low-tech guy living in a high-tech world. I just got my first smart phone earlier this year. My photography skills are not great – most pics are from my phone with a few added from DW's camera.

Photobucket and I don’t get along. I’ve done 4 trip reports in the past. Only the 2012 7 day Eastern Liberty is still intact. I’m trying something different this year. I’ve learned to use album’s and have each day in a separate one. I also downloaded all of the pics I intend on using so they won’t get “moved around” or I won’t run out of space, both of which have messed me up in the past.

Please feel free to post questions and let me know if you were on this sailing and are following along. I love hearing other’s perspectives.

We'll get started soon with some pre-cruise festivities.

Looking forward to the review!

Just a tip / request - could you use a different font color? The light-blue text on the white background is really hard to read (unless you highlight it or something).

Can't wait to read all of your review. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!

Looking forward to reading your review.

I'm looking forward to reading your review, also. :):):):)

Thanks for following along; I hope you enjoy the ride. :)

Looking forward to the review!

 

Just a tip / request - could you use a different font color? The light-blue text on the white background is really hard to read (unless you highlight it or something).

Thanks for following and for the tip. Is this color green better?

Can't wait to read all of your review. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!

Thanks. It does take some time; but I enjoy sharing.

Great start and looking forward to your trip report. Also, thanks for taking the time to do this, it's greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the impending review...following along for the ride....and YES the green color is much better :D

I'll be on the Sunshine 10/18. Looking forward to your review!

Thanks for following and for the tip. Is this color green better?

Sure is!

Great start and looking forward to your trip report. Also, thanks for taking the time to do this, it's greatly appreciated!

You're welcome and we're just getting started!

I'll be on the Sunshine 10/18. Looking forward to your review!

I'm not sure I'll be finished before you leave; I hope this helps pass the time - are you packed yet? ;)

Thanks for the impending review...following along for the ride....and YES the green color is much better :D

Sure is!

Thanks for following, we'll have quite a good time along the way.

I want to be a good host; glad the color is better. :D

I hope to post more this evening; but we won't be on the ship yet.

Looking forward to your review.. Just got off the Sunshine a few weeks ago for an 8day southern. And just booked a 5day Bahamas for Nov. :)

Our other family cruises have been 7 or 8 days. C-Luv was our Cruise Director, he was filling in for Jamie Dee's last few vacation days. C-Luv said the last Sunshine cruise was 8 days and on our trip, “we needed to squeeze 8 days of cruising into 5”. That was very true. How do you try to do it all and yet relax?

Well, you can’t. So, we tried our best to experience what is different about the Sunshine, enjoy our Carnival FAVES and keep in mind the focus is still on relaxing and visiting with family. I think we did a pretty good job.

Sooooooo, let's start our journey.

DW and I traveled from South Carolina to Cocoa Beach on Friday, Sept. 25th. We stayed at our usual hotel, The Best Western. Here is a pic of the new building as seen from the ocean:

Here are the grounds between the older rooms, which is where we usually stay.

We had a king bed instead of our usual two queens so the room was set up a little differently.

The wet bar area was nice in that it gave us a 2nd sink which was very handy.

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Looking forward to your review.. Just got off the Sunshine a few weeks ago for an 8day southern. And just booked a 5day Bahamas for Nov. :)

Thanks. How lucky you live in Florida with so many ports within a few hours drive.

Can't wait to read more!

Looking forward to reading all of it but the darker green was easier to read. Thank you!!

Can't wait to read! We are sailing in December and I wanna learn everything possible. :)

Leaving in 10 days with the same itinerary!! Looking forward to the rest!

Looking forward to it--thanks for taking the time to do it!

Can't wait to read more!

One more section tonight coming up in a few minutes.

Looking forward to reading all of it but the darker green was easier to read. Thank you!!

Thanks for following, I wanted to try a different color. Glad I found something that works.

Can't wait to read! We are sailing in December and I wanna learn everything possible. :)

Thanks. Feel free to ask questions along the way. I got pics of most areas except the Spa, Camp Carnival and not enough pics of the upper Serenity Deck.

Leaving in 10 days with the same itinerary!! Looking forward to the rest!

Have a great trip! I hope this helps get you thru the last few days.