As a fellow luxury cruise passenger, I want you to go into Sunshine with an open mind! I have done Seaborne, Celebrity, RCL and Carnival. I enjoyed them all. I would never take my kids on Seaborne or Celebrity though. They have loved Carnival. As far as Sunshine is concerned, I am booked to sail her again in August after sailing her last summer. It is now an annual Mom/son cruise for myself and my college son. We enjoy her. Definitely try Mardis Gras if you get a chance. We all really enjoyed her. Best casual free food venues at sea. We actually drove to Port Canaveral from Raleigh for this cruise. Broke it up with a college visit for my daughter at College of Charleston. It is just shy of 8 hours from Raleigh. If I was sailing in January, I would want to get further south than Charleston.