woodman

:cool: On the Sunshine it is in the Ocean Plaza well aw from the casino. Love the Sunshine we sail on her on Nov.18,17 can't wait.

;p Sailed the Sunshine 4 times already and have 4 booked on the Sunshine. It's out of Port Canaveral and we live close by so it's a natural plus we love the ship. The serenity is about the best you will fine,the crew is some of the best and the food is the best Carnival has to offer. Kids or not it's got to be a good time.:cool:

:D:D Klfrodo love you advice (LOL ) right on the money.:cool:

:D Was on the Vista for NYE 2017. The best NYE party I have ever been to and I have spent many a NYE in Time Sq.NYC. You will never forget it. I have the Breeze booked for next NYE and looking forward to that one. (HAPPY NEW YEAR):)

:D Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good reason to be happy, good for you. Now you can start booking your next cruise.Wait for the reduced down payment and book away. I'm happy for you.;p

:cool:We try to do the steak house the first night if we can. When we do I will buy 3 bottles of good wine at 50% off. Good for the entire cruise.

;) Originally I was reluctant to post this type of review on the Carnival board but then thought it the best place for it. Hope you all agree.We booked a cruise on the Oasis departing on Sept.10,2017 (LOL)Like that would happen right? We had heard so much about this ship we had to see it for ourselves. The cruise was cut short to a 4 day cruise departing on Sept.13. We got back 50% of the fare and shore charges which was more then fair plus 50% off a future cruise. Now we have 45 cruises on Carnival and this was our third on RCI. Now we all know it is impossible to cruise from one line to another and not compare right?So I had to give in to the comparison.

First some of the good.

The ship itself was fantastic, the grandest ship we have ever been on. It is big and beautiful in almost every area. The entertainment was spectacular almost enough to make me think about cruising more on RCI. More on the entertainment later. The staff was just as friendly and willing to help as we have found on Carnival.Our cabin was on deck 7 facing forward (obstructed ocean view). It had a large window overlooking the bow of the ship that had to be 5 or 6 feet wide by 8 foot.A fun ocean view for sure.

The not so good and ho hum.

Most of the food was not what we expected. The Market place was confusing and the food was really cafeteria quality.

We purchased a 3 restaurant package which included Chops. $85 per person, not so bad. The first one we went to was the Italian restaurant that was just so-so.The second one was 150 Central Park. Sort of a French style. Again the food was just so -so. The last was Chops the steak house. Hard to describe but for the most part the food was good.

Nowhere near as good as the Carnival steak house,not even close. We walked away wondering what all the loyal RCI fans found so great.The last dinner we had was in the MDR and it turned out to be the best one of the cruise. Go figure right? Sorry we did not have all the dinners in the MDR.

The ship is big and confusing to the first time cruiser,the promenade is nothing but a shopping mall with in your face sales people selling stuff. There were a few bars along the promenade all very expensive we thought. We were in one club and ordered 2 glasses of red wine. The tab was $28. We drank it very slowly. My last comment on the ship has to do with the cleanliness of the ship. It is dirty from the couch in our cabin the carpet in the cabin along with the carpet in the halls.They were all dirty. Wherever we sat in a bar or restaurant with wood tables and chairs the arms of the chairs and table top was sticky. In the 4 days we were on the ship we never noticed any one cleaning the public areas.Again we came away wondering what other people saw that we missed.

We were on an empty ship and enjoyed all it had to offer. I kept wondering what it would be like with 6700 passengers. On this cruise we were 2 of only 2500 passengers who were able to take this 4 day cruise instead of canceling it.There were no reservations needed for any of the show and plenty of good seating for all.The highlighter for the cruise was a 3 hour production of the Broadway show "Cats" The dancers and actors were all top notch.What a show.The ice show was another one featuring world famous skaters.Great show also.The water show had champion divers from around the world that amazed us all. On the last day there was a party on what is called the Boardwalk.Cakes candy cupcakes drinks(ice tea, lemon aid etc) the band playing. Dixieland.There was a large cake maybe 4ftX30 " decorated as a American flag. Iced with real whipped cream and other icings. I had to have 2 pieces. It ended with a comedy show put on be the divers around the diving pool. Great party.

All in all we really enjoyed most of the food and service on the ship but would not go back on it with 6700 passengers. :cool:

:D Can't imagine why any one would sell their shares because of the hurricane. The price per share may drop some in the short term but will come back in time. I don't think about the dividends I just get the $100. OBC with each cruise. $400. so far this year. Got to love it best return for a 5K investment.

:cool: If you have children with you the Vista for sure. The sports area and water works are the best the fleet has to offer. It's a new ship and you must try it once.I'm sure you won't be sorry. The food was great and Mat the CD is one of the best. The main show lounge is the worst part of the ship. Really ridicules. But we had a great cruise on the Vista.

;p We are on the Sunshine on Nov.18. Booked it for Thanksgiving on a cruise ship. We really don't care if it does not stop at any ports just love being on a ship. I'm sure a lot of ports will have damage but places like Old San Juan and Gr. Turk will be open. Carnival will repair GT port as fast as they can. Good luck to all and stay safe in the storm.

:cool: Leaving on Sunday as well or we were hopping to leave (LOL). We live a little south of Orlando very close to PC. I can't see the Oasis making it back to PC on Sunday. They sail between Cuba and the Keys and go up the East coast to PC. Not happening with a storm sitting there. I hope all is well with every body and I am hopping the cruise will be cancelled. We can always book another cruise.:loudcry:

:rolleyes: Been on the Freedom more then once and loved it. Enjoy Princess! Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

:cool: A&J your right on the money, If it were me I would bring along my cabin mate and just walk in. If you get stopped you get stopped no big deal.

:D Why not just call Carnival and ask them? That's what I would do.

:halo: All of the above plus I drive my wide crazy. :rolleyes:

;p With 45 cruises on Carnival the last one in May of this year we never had them scan a bottle of wine in my back pack.

WE always bring 2 bottles on board. They did how ever take one out one time to look at it and put it back.:cool:

:cool: A good collapsible cooler and a reusable plastic ice pack should work fine foe a day or so. I to have used a soft sided cooler and ice to keep beer cold in the rooms on the older ships as well as the Sunshine.

;p We have sailed on the Sunshine 4 times and have 4 more booked. We love the ship and the layout except for the show lounge which is much to small. The Sunshine has INHO some of the best food of all the Carnival fleet. There are as many options as there ore one the Vista and just as good. No live music in their show really makes them 2nd rate and we try to avoid them. If you have children they will definitely love the water works. The ship also has in our opinion one of the best staffs in the Carnival fleet. Do ya'al think we are fans of the Sunshine????:D

:cool: I disagree that Cucina food is heavy they have a great shrimp dish with an ant-pasta before it makes a great meal. JI Ji is great as well.The Steak house tops them all. They all offer a nice wine selection and I think they are all the same wine list.If you do any of them on the first night you can buy premium wines at half price. I'm pretty sure that offer is good for the second night as well. We always buy 3 or 4 bottles the first night and have them for the entire cruise. At $15 each you can't go wrong with JiJi or Cucina Del-Capitano.;p

;p Being wine drinkers can some one post the cost of a glass of wine and a bottle. I don't want to hijack the post but would like to know. Thanks.

;p By all means do,we did this last NYE on the Vista and it was one heck of a party. I have been in Time Sq. many times on NYE and the Vista out did and then some. We have one booked on the Breeze for NYE 2081into 2019. So excited even though we have to wait a year and a half (LOL)

:evilsmile: That's a funny statement to make or maybe not. We have not left the ship in Nassau for the last 5 years and Freeport forget out right. No loss if we never stopped there.

;) We always start at the Steak House and buy 3 to 4 bottles of wine for the cruise. Never had them all opened and took them back to our cabin. The MDR staff gladly opens them for you and saves them the partial bottles for your next dinner at the MDR. You can also take the bottles to any bar and have them opened and ask for wine glasses and an ice bucket if you want it chilled. I would give the bar tender a tip for his efforts. Even if they are opened you can just put the cork back in and carry on. Enjoy your cruise.

:eek: Right on the money Domino. If the OP was refunded the transfer cost for 5 people how much more of a refund was He/She looking for? Did you all notice this was the first post for this OP. I always take these with a grain of salt.

:cool: I always use a CC for my on board S&S account. I always get a print out from the service desk the last day of the cruise so if there is any dispute I don't have a mile long line to get it resolved before debarkation. It always takes a couple of days for the final bill to hit my CC but it always gets there.