Sunshine? Opinions

I have read some not so great things about the Sunshine. We are thinking of booking it for next April. Is it really that bad or would this non picky family of 4 have a great time on it? We have sailed bigger and smaller Carnival ships before.

You would have a fantastic time!

Lots of threads / comments on Sunshine - and everyone is going to have their own opinion. What is perfectly fine for me might be the total opposite for you.

I am on her in less than a month and I can't wait (Scenic Grand Ocean View Room :) ).

Sunshine has the best food and maybe the best staff ever... you will love it..really like the layout.

Love the ship...been on her twice! Best Serenity area in the Carnival fleet...love the Red Frog Pub...the Havana area is a great space for eating breakfast and lunch. I could go on and on.

I cruised on the Sunshine last month. We had an awesome time on this ship. My kids didn't want to go to camp because it was so much stuff to do. The food was good, and lots of variety of places to eat. Our steward, Alan, was awesome. He gave my husband a $50 spa gift card just paying it forward.

I read a lot of negative feedback about the Sunshine but I went into a cruise with positive mindset. Go on her and see for yourself!

We sail on her Saturday! It better be awesome! Lol!

We did eight nights on the Sunshine in February. Absolutely the most crowded ship I have ever sailed. Chair hogging was totally out of control. Lines for everything. I was able to snag chairs on deck 14 of Serenity at 7 AM. Poolside would probably require 545 AM. NEVER could get in the piano bar. Made the comedy club twice but one time was seated on the side watching the act on TV. Went up at 4 PM to get ONE seat for the Super Bowll with a 645 kickoff---- none to be had. Need to be in line 45 minutes early for shows in a Liquid a Lounge. We have never experienced crowding like this on any other cruise.

I know some folks love the Sunshine and it does offer a lot of activities but this was probably our last Carnival cruise.

I never put to much energy into reviews. There are always negative people.

Were looking forward to sailing Sunshine in 4 days!

I've sailed her twice and loved her both times! Reviews are in my signature. Best entertainment and food of any ships we have been on!

We've done 3 B2Bs on the Sunshine. Serenity does get crowded, but we have always found a spot to sit.

Really enjoyed the food options. Havana Bar area is a good place for breakfast and lunch. Had great Cabin Stewards. Wait Staff was always friendly and prompt.

We'll go again when she returns to Florida.

Our family of 4 loved it!

We had a great 10 days on the Sunshine. The comedy club is noticeably small but the comedians repeated the regular and adult shows which allowed many to attend. Ate lunch and breakfast in the Havana Bar several times. I am not really into rock music but thoroughly enjoyed Epic Rock.

Would definitely sail on her again.

We have sailed many Carnival ships and the Sunshine twice in the last year. Go for it. We found the Sunshine no mor crowded than any other ship we have been on and had two great cruises. I have reviews of both Sunshine cruises if you need details.

We were on the 10 night Sunshine cruise that ended two weeks ago.

I cannot wrap my head around the negative comments. No more crowded than any other ship we have sailed on. "Lines for everything"? Really? Only lines we had were for security getting on the ship and getting off in ports, neither of which were bad. Always able to find seating on the lido and Serenity. Always. Walked into Liquid Lounge each night 10-15 minutes prior to show time and always found a seat, in fact the place never filled. More food options than most ships sailing today and all of it very good.

We are not cruise line loyalists (see my signature) and will call out any ship that is not up to par, but Sunshine is terrific! In fast we have booked her again for November!

I will be sailing her next week so feel free to reach out about my opinions after that. I was nervous about the negative reviews too, but I decided every cruise is what you make of it, and there will always be naysayers out there.

Before we went on the NCL Breakaway two years ago, the reviews were also horrible, but we had a beyond excellent time.

"Sunshine" is O.K., but not as good, or relaxing, or enjoyable as the rest of the fleet. Just my opinion, and experience.

"SKY"

We were on the 10 night Sunshine cruise that ended two weeks ago.

 

I cannot wrap my head around the negative comments. No more crowded than any other ship we have sailed on. "Lines for everything"? Really? Only lines we had were for security getting on the ship and getting off in ports, neither of which were bad. Always able to find seating on the lido and Serenity. Always. Walked into Liquid Lounge each night 10-15 minutes prior to show time and always found a seat, in fact the place never filled. More food options than most ships sailing today and all of it very good.

 

We are not cruise line loyalists (see my signature) and will call out any ship that is not up to par, but Sunshine is terrific! In fast we have booked her again for November!

It sounds like your experience was far different than ours. We are easy going and rarely complain but our Sunshine cruise was CROWDED ! I think Carnival must have hired Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder to redesign this ship. There was not enough seating in the public areas to handle the amount of passengers . Perhaps your cruise was totally different. I am glad you enjoyed the Sunshine. I guess she just is not for us.

There are some areas that are more concentrated with guests but knowing this prior to our trip we knew to arrive early for shows. We never had a problem getting a seat and actually got excellent seats because we were early. Chair hogging has been equal across the board in my experience it has been an issue on all of our cruises.

Our favorite things about Sunshine are:

#1 the restaurants!!! We look forward to trying America Table this next cruise because we have grown tired of the same menu in the MDR. Keep in mind we cruised 3 times on CCL in just over a year so you could see how that might happen. But for a nominal fee you can eat at a variety of excellent restaurants with different flavors and ambiance which really adds to our vacation! We love to cook and love lots of flavor. Trying new things and eating out has always been a big part of our past vacations prior to cruising! We were actually shocked that the restaurants weren't packed! We got such fantastic VIP treatment because they were not busy. Sunshine has been my favorite of the 3 CCL ships I've sailed and we are sailing her again in Oct :)

#2 Water slides for the kids!!! Our daughter last year spent a good deal of time riding the slides where the pool or the little twister slide would not entertained her for very long. This year my 15 year old nephew will be with us and I'm sure he will enjoy these slides much more than what he has experienced on other CC ships.

#3 Service!!! We had the best service and crew on Sunshine. We are so excited to cruise her again counting do to Oct. 1 2016!!!!

There are some areas that are more concentrated with guests but knowing this prior to our trip we knew to arrive early for shows. We never had a problem getting a seat and actually got excellent seats because we were early. Chair hogging has been equal across the board in my experience it has been an issue on all of our cruises.

 

Our favorite things about Sunshine are:

 

#1 the restaurants!!! We look forward to trying America Table this next cruise because we have grown tired of the same menu in the MDR. Keep in mind we cruised 3 times on CCL in just over a year so you could see how that might happen. But for a nominal fee you can eat at a variety of excellent restaurants with different flavors and ambiance which really adds to our vacation! We love to cook and love lots of flavor. Trying new things and eating out has always been a big part of our past vacations prior to cruising! We were actually shocked that the restaurants weren't packed! We got such fantastic VIP treatment because they were not busy. Sunshine has been my favorite of the 3 CCL ships I've sailed and we are sailing her again in Oct :)

 

#2 Water slides for the kids!!! Our daughter last year spent a good deal of time riding the slides where the pool or the little twister slide would not entertained her for very long. This year my 15 year old nephew will be with us and I'm sure he will enjoy these slides much more than what he has experienced on other CC ships.

 

#3 Service!!! We had the best service and crew on Sunshine. We are so excited to cruise her again counting do to Oct. 1 2016!!!!

The water slides aren't just for the kids. ;) Ok, maybe I am just a big kid at heart. LOL. On our cruise last month I loved playing on the racer slides, which were FAST!!!! I had a blast.

I was on her with a roll call of over 200 people 4/8/16. Serenity almost full at 7am on 2 decks, 3rd had some space. The place where space was worst was Lido going to Guy's or the burrito place, basically single file space.

A whole bunch of us got sick. Some went to the hospital with flu or pneumonia. I got sick on the 7th day of 8 days. Had no appetite at all. When I got home I had NO energy for 3 weeks and no appetite, lost 15 lbs. Started feeling a bit better and got a cold! Still recovering. Someone took on a bad bug.

Of all those people only 15 showed at the CC meet and greet. We had 47 show up for slot machine game. Each of us won $15 over the money we put in and it took 1 hour and 50 mins.

Havana Bar is where they cook omelets. Unfortunately no sides there. So you egg would be cold if you went to get them and ended up in a line.

Layout was odd with difficulty figuring out how to get to comedy club. YTD had to sign in on 5 and then go to 3 to eat. Food in MDR most very good. That 7th night I got a beautiful prime rib, perfectly cooked and couldn't eat it due to no appetite.

Cabin was fine except no mini fridge. Steward was great.

There were so many things I didn't end up doing I feel I have to do it again.

Didn't care for Curacao or Aruba.

Op I have to go with the majority here. I've sailed on the Sunshine twice, both times at capacity including the inaugural New Orleans cruise and never felt she was any more crowded than any other cruise I've been on. Pretty much loved everything about her. The serenity is 2nd to none in my opinion. I hoping to get to book her for a third time. Enjoy your cruise, you'll be happy you booked her.

 

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Had no appetite at all. When I got home I had NO energy for 3 weeks and no appetite, lost 15 lbs. Started feeling a bit better and got a cold! Still recovering. Someone took on a bad bug.

 

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Most folks spend thousands on surgery to drop that amount of weight and it takes them months, you had a vacation plus the weight loss? DOUBLE BONUS! :D

Seriously, sorry to hear you got so sick!

Op I have to go with the majority here. I've sailed on the Sunshine twice' date=' both times at capacity including the inaugural New Orleans cruise and never felt she was any more crowded than any other cruise I've been on. Pretty much loved everything about her. The serenity is 2nd to none in my opinion. I hoping to get to book her for a third time. Enjoy your cruise, you'll be happy you booked her.[/quote']

 

So cruising with my Mom. She's in her 80's. She's on Deck1 and I'm on Deck 8 and trying to figure out if all elevators from 1, get to deck 8, so I can guide her properly. I'm a little worried about her doing the Muster drill alone. I never even thought of this stuff until now and we're leaving tomorrow on a full ship. :( Any help would be great.

The layout takes a bit to get used to but once you get that down the ship is great. Been on it 3x and always enjoyed it...great food options but if you like the comedy shows get there 20-30 min ahead of time do to the small room size and weird layout (some seats do not have view of the stage you watch it on small monitor).

Cheers and enjoy the cruise!