sharse

I can't comment on the why's, but my experience last month was that we were charged tax when docked at Canaveral and while docked in San Juan. It was less than a dollar on each drink... not a big deal. cruise also went to St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Grand Turk, and we were not charged tax on drinks in those ports.

Technically we are in US waters until we are 12 miles off shore, and then we are in international waters. But I'm quite sure we didn't pay taxes on drinks once we were sailing. Only while docked.

My experience last month on Sunshine with FTTF.

When checking in online, our boarding documents said boarding at 12:30. I ignored that and we got to port about 11:00am. Walked right up the "preferred" line and checked in without a wait. The ship was already boarding, but only the suite guests and priority guests (which included us since we had FTTF) were boarding. We walked right on the ship, right past a ton of people who had already checked in but did not have priority boarding. It was wonderful!

Our room, however, was not quite ready. We dropped off our carry on luggage but they were still vacuuming, so we left and got lunch. Not a big deal.

When it came to baggage, we did receive ours before dinner, but I noticed a lot of other folks in rooms near us got their bags before we did. That said, friends on board didn't get theirs until HOURS after we got ours.

There were no tender ports on our cruise so I can't comment on how that would work, but I would 100% do FTTF again. Walking right on the ship was fantastic.

That said, on our return to Canaveral, the ship was late debarking due to problems inside the port. Anyone on the cruise after us who had expectations that day that they'd be on the ship by 11:00 were disappointed, I'm sure. Even with FTTF you can't get on the ship until everyone else is off first! You just never know what's going to happen.

We were on the Sunshine last month. They have the Hasbro game show, but I must say we were disappointed. It was only one night of our 8 night sailing, and it lasted all of a half hour. So while it is fun, it is only 30 minutes of fun, so if you end up on a ship that doesn't have it, sadly you're not missing all that much.

We were in St Maarten last month coming in on Carnival. We took the water taxi over to the boardwalk area, and a few doors down from where you get off the water taxi is the office of Fun & Roll. We walked in about 10:30am and at that point she told us they didn't have room for us until 1:30 or 2:00. (I can't recall exactly.) So we booked it... $30 per person! WAY WAY cheaper than if you book through the ship. So we went back to the ship to eat lunch and change into swim clothes, came back via the water taxi, swam at the beach for a while and then went and did the Segways. Turns out it was just our family of 4 (2 kids, 11 and 12 years old) and we had a great time for $30!

I just thought of a question. Where is karaoke held? I was just looking at the deck plans and it occurred to me there are no nightclub venues like there are on Fantasy class ships. I know liquid Lounge turns into a night club late but that can't be the karaoke venue, can it?

 

Also, what time is the family comedy? Since you have to wait in line to get a seat I wondered if we can get through 6pm dining and make it to comedy.

I saw karaoke in the Limelight lounge (which is where the comedy is, as well) a few times.

Regarding family comedy, I think it started at 7:30. I do remember rushing through dinner (ours was at 6:00) and making it to the family comedy.

There are no formal nights on Carnival anymore. They are labelled as "cruise elegant." That means a more relaxed dress code and every cruise has at least one. Cruises of 7 days or more have 2.

That said, I saw some gentlemen wearing tuxes. Some ladies wearing gowns. But most were indeed more relaxed than that.

The muster drill - they use the process where everyone stands in rows on the outside deck?

 

Red Frog Pub - Do they have tabletop shuffleboard and/or Foosball?

Muster drill: Depends on your station. In my station, yes that was the case. But some people had their muster station inside in various places, so they got to sit in regular seats.

Red Frog Pub: I recall for sure seeing tabletop shuffleboard and darts. I know I saw foosball somewhere on the ship... can't recall where. Might have been red frog, might have been up on the sports deck.

One question, heard many people talk about that ship and having that crowded feeling on her, do you find that also?

 

Bon Voyage!!

My experience last month on Sunshine was that sometimes yes, other times not as bad as I expected. I expected to wait in a LONG line for Guy's burgers. It never was bad, even on sea days. I expected deck chairs around the pool and up in Serenity to be few and far between, and on sea days if you get out there after 9:00, you will have trouble. That said, I did see the crew placing the little stickers on empty chairs, so they were trying to enforce it.

The only time I ever had a difficult time finding a seat in the Lido buffet was breakfast on the day of debarkation. Wander back to the Havana bar, and there was typically lots of seating.

I'd heard the comedy club seating was tight, and that is the truth. My husband would often show up 20-30 minutes before a performance to get us seats, and that early had no problem getting seats. But for the later shows there was often a big line.

My favorite spot ended up being Serenity Deck 12. Right below the bar. It was the least crowded spot, least amount of "through traffic" and plenty of shade for those of us who need it.

We just used the chat feature last week on Sunshine. It was probably 75% reliable. Often, when my husband would send me a text, I would get it at least a dozen times. Once it came over 34 times. :p Better than not getting it at all, I suppose. But it was nice to be able to review our folio, see ships time, what activities are happening and when and where.

We were in 9126 on Sunshine last week and the cabins all the way to the front like ours are not under the gym. There is nothing above those panoramic cabins and they are quiet. However, a friend had 9134 and mentioned they could hear the treadmills. On the starboard side, that's where the free weights are, so I would imagine that would be worse. At least the treadmills are rhythmic. :)

Just got off an 8-nighter on the Sunshine and didn't once smell any sewer smells.

Just got off Sunshine, and Alchemy opened at different times on different days. One day it was open at 3:00pm when I happened to be walking by, so I stopped in. One day it was still closed around 4:00pm when I happened to be walking by. I think it depends on which port you're in, what time you're leaving that port, etc.

My kids are younger (11 and 12) but we had booked Navigator, and I ended up switching to the Sunshine, and I'm glad I did. (Had this been only hubby and I without kids I've have certainly stuck with Navigator. But with kids...)

1. More complimentary dining options. The windjammer gets really old at lunch, and on the Sunshine (8 nights) I never had lunch in the buffet. The blue iguana cantina is excellent (they serve breakfast, too) and we really enjoyed JiJi's and the pasta place. Of course guys burgers are pretty good too.

2. More activity options for the kids. The ropes course was super fun for them, and much more difficult than expected. My kids loved the water slides as well. Whether or not your adult kids would enjoy that... maybe?

Thanks all. I am particularly interested in if anyone has done a 5 night, what the new elegant night menu is. Is it the same the John H. posted when they changed to no lobster (the menu he posted has scallops, crab ravioli and duck), or is that the "old menu" version and American tables get something different?

Just got off an 8 night with two formal nights. The first formal night did serve lobster. The second formal night did not.

Thanks for the photo.

 

Any noise from the gym above?

 

Thanks again.

We just had that cabin from March 18 - 26. There is no noise from the gym because there is actually nothing above that cabin. The gym starts further back.

And we found the sofa bed to be more comfortable than the actual bed, believe it or not. It felt more like a memory foam type mattress, but the regular bed is pretty hard.

One more question... do they provide towels or do we need to bring them from the ship? Thanks!

Question for those who've done this at St kitts specifically... my two kids and I would like to do this, but the husband doesn't really care. He'd just as soon NOT spend the money for him to do it and sit there and watch us do it. Will they allow someone to come in (is there a charge?) and just watch those of us who do pay to do it? Thanks!

As most of you know, when you purchase the beverage package on Royal you get a cup to refill at your leisure. I usually kept this full of ice water or seltzer. Does Carnival do this as well? Or if I want to get a soda (assuming I've purchased Cheers) how does it work? Thanks!

Anyone done this while in St. Kitts? Would love some feedback as to which tour you did and your experience. Thanks.

this sounds wonderful for several single ladies. But ... we are arriving 1:30 Jan 30th. Carnival Victory. Are those bars open later on Sat? Does the excursion run that late in Jan?

kimrye

Did the Hop last week, and our guide (Colleen) told us that the bars on the east side of the island are on government land and nobody is allowed to be there after dark. So it really depends on when sunset is that day.

Another vote for Cozumel Bar Hop. We did it last week and it was the highlight of the trip!

Ship - Brilliance

Deck - 9

Stateroom # - 9092

Stateroom Category – D1

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Very quiet. Never heard centrum noise or anyone walking down the hallway.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No.

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Unobstructed

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Hump balcony. Oversized.

Was wind a problem? - Never.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - n/a

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None at all.

Any other comments? - Terrific location right off the centrum elevators. Super quiet. Fantastic location. Loved it. The only complaint is that when I viewed pictures of the balcony others had posted, there were 2 regular chairs and two loungers in the photo. When we boarded there were no loungers. We asked the cabin steward for 2 more chairs and never did receive them. The balcony is huge with plenty of room for them.

I just got off Brilliance on Saturday and we had a hump cabin - 9092. LOVED it. Had no noise issues from the Centrum whatsoever. In fact one morning as I was leaving the cabin I opened the door and -- WOW -- the music was pretty loud. But I hadn't heard it 2 seconds earlier inside the cabin before I opened the door!

Just got off on Saturday...I didn't eat it, but I do recall seeing it on the menu one night. Might have been more than one night, but I know for sure it was there at least one night.

The soft serve machine is located inside the Windjammer just before the aft seating area doors.

Yes. The doors to the left. NOT the doors leading to Rita's.