nchikk

The Indian veg dinner in the MDR is superb.  There will usually be some heat and the flavours are very authentic.  During breakfast/brunch (don't remember which) there is a masala dosa, which is a very popular food in India.  Their version is ok but the potato component has zero heat...it doesn't have to burn, but it's almost bland.  You can take my words with a grain of salt if you wish.  I'm Indian and fat, so what do I know?

NO WAY would I attempt this. 

Let's assume there's no fog (or other issue along the river) and you make it back dockside on time.  What if USCBP delays clearing the ship?  What if immigration/customs is questioning and checking everything?  Ok, you make it past those hurdles...now you have to get to MSY.  How's traffic?  Saints playing at home that day?  Cuz that would delay in getting out of there.  Is there a wreck along the way?  At the airport, how's security?  There are a number of things that are out of your control. 

I won't tell you what to do, but I wouldn't do it for these reasons.  But what do I know?

Refreshing to read this...we were recently on the Sunshine and I noticed the food we had on her was great too.  Standouts for us were the Lido buffet for breakfast and the Blue Iguana burrito area, where I had some of the best tacos I've ever had.  Oh, I mentioned the breakfast buffet, not because of how good it was, though it was good, but because it was better than the buffet has ever been on our previous cruises.  There was an improvement there, at least from what I noticed on that particular sailing. 

We used Cortrans a few weeks ago to go to the port and back to MCO.  We would use them again.

Were any of those comments rude? (Rude - "Lacking refinement, uncouth, offensive, vulgar") No, none were. Did they give their opinion? (Opinion - "A view, judgement or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter"). Yes, that's what they did.

 

Obviously they were rude. The OP didn't get the answer they wanted, so every person who thought differently from them was being rude.

Very true and a terrible precedent. What if 50 groups wanted this and the rest of us had to sit thru it.

Or those other groups all gathered at the GS desk right afterward, complaining they weren't mentioned. If I were the CD, I would flat out refuse...but that's just me.

Is flying back on the 31st an option? Eat some beignets and etoufee', drink a few hurricanes & simply laissez les bon temps roullez without worrying about whether you have time to make your flight.

I would take into consideration:

* the ship's arrival back to port, on time or late?

* how long will customs take once off the ship?

* security at FLL, how is it on a Sunday morning?

These are things out of your control. You may make it just fine, but myself, I wouldn't book a flight quite that early. I don't think I'd necessarily wait for one after 1:00 either, maybe just not as early as you mentioned. But that's just me...and what do I know?

Just off the Sunshine a couple of weeks ago, and for the two elegant nights in the MDR, it was about 90% who were dressed nicely...by which I mean men in a collared shirt w/ khakis and ladies in a skirt (or slacks) and blouse.

Just off the Sunshine, with two common ports (GT instead of AC), and Aruba & Curacao are less common ports of call than your other choice, so I'd vote for her. Plus, she's getting a dry dock at anytime, no?

Its aboout 45-min to an hour drive. We used Cortrans Shuttle Service. I believe there are 20.00 a person one way. Shuttles buses were really clean and they were actually early to pick us up and then they were waiting when we got off the ship. I highly recommend them.

THIS.

We used them a few weeks back. HIGHLY recommended.

Everyone will have their own opinion on the matter, and some may differ than mine, and that's fine, but to me, KW/Coz is by far the superior of the two options.

That's it for the MDR dinner menues. I have some random (and maybe not-so-random) thoughts. Our last cruise was the first that wasn't great. It was still good, just not great. This one was great again. I did make it a point to single out a few people to JH & Carnival who did more than others to make it so.

The crew and staff was great. Every single person we came across, without exception, said hi or in some other way greeted us as we walked by. Morale didn't seem to be an issue.

There seemed to be crew members cleaning something, somewhere, pretty much all the time. Sure, the Sunshine may have been showing her age in places, but cleanliness was never an issue...anywhere.

We were in a porthole cabin. I don't know about others, but our cabin did not have a fridge. I would have preferred one, but it wasn't going to ruin the cruise. We asked our room steward, Nino, for ice to keep water bottles cold and he insured we had some daily.

I think I mentioned food before, but I'll say it again. The food was good. Had pizza (for breakfast) once, an it was as good as it's ever been. Ate at the deli a couple of times. I like their Reubens, and it was still good. I also like to have a bit of potato salad with the sandwich. I noticed this time it seemed different. I don't know if it was a different recipe or maybe my tastesbuds had changed, but I just didn't like it as much. Tacos from the taco bar were the best things I ate on the ship. Meals in the MDR were good as well, and service was about 90 minutes the first night only. Other nights it was less. Had breakfasts and lunches from the Lido buffet, and both were better than I remember from last time.

Entertainment was fine. I wish the main shows featured live musicians. The shows themselves were good. The band that played in the Ocean Plaza was called Caught In the Act (CIA). Good female lead singer, great male lead singer, excellent musicians.

Mikey, the CD, was good. I'd be happy to have him on our next cruise...Jaxx from the Fun Squad as well.

On this cruise, we did the comedy club for the first time. We went to three shows...two all-ages and one adult. We enjoyed this. Interesting though, that the adult shows always had a line, while you could pretty much walk right in to the all-ages shows.

There was seat saving happening pretty much everywhere...Main showroom, comedy club, Lido (c-hogs).

Not cruise related, we spent the day before in Orlando. Hawkers is a restaurant featuring Asian street foods. I had eaten at the location in Jax in the spring and knew we had to go to the Orlando location. So good. So, so good. We went back the day we flew back for a late lunch. If you go, I strongly recommend the Roti Canai and Dan Dan Mian.

MDR menu for the 4th sea day, last night's dinner...debarking the next day.

We chose to not stay for dessert or even "showtime" when the servers sing "Leaving Our Fun Ship". This was NOT because we're opposed to the singing and dancing (as some claim to be), but we just didn't want dessert on this evening and DID want to go and get decent seats for the Lip Sync Challenge finals.

For me it's usually a couple of days, maybe three. Just off an 8-day myself, and it was about that.

Just off the Sunshine, and we went to Aruba. You could definitely feel the movement, but I'd hardly call it rough.

We had no excursions booked in advance at any of the three ports we visited.

Aruba

First of all, Aruba is a desert...or seems like it. There are lots of cacti. We found several tour operators just off the ship and had no trouble finding a tour. Especially for our first time somewhere, we like to see the island instead of just going to some random beach. The island tour we took was about 3 hours long and $25 (I think) for each of us. We got a nice overview of the island and once back at the ship, walked into town to see what all was there. Aloe is big here, and one of the tour stops was like an aloe factory. The products, though good I'm sure, were still a bit pricey. There is a large rock formation that can be climbed that offers a nice 360* view of he island. My physical limitations prevented my climbing, but Hunny did and enjoyed the view. It would be a late departure, so we stayed on the island for dinner and ate at a lovely little place called QUE PASA, which was not Mexican as the name might suggest. This place was on a side street a block off the main road and walkable from the ship.

Curacao

Curacao seemed a bit more industrial, but still mostly picturesque. Again, just like in Aruba, we were able to find tour operators just off the ship. The tour showed us an overview of the island. If I remember correctly, it was like $30 for each of us and lasted about 2 1/2 hours or so. One highlight of the tour was a stop at the Curacao liqueur (distillery?, factory?). They make more than just blue. There were free tastings and the chance to buy a bottle or eight. Another stop was at a cave. We were warned there would be a few steps to climb. That would be fine with me, a few steps. When we got there, I found out "few" must have been Papiamento (the local language) for 49. The climb would not happen for me, nor would seeing the inside of the cave. Hunny went and found it interesting, yet meh at the same time. After this tour, we could go to a beach or be dropped off back close to the ship at the shopping area...we chose the latter.

First off, let me say that I'm very happy you've recovered from your medical issues and are back to cruising.

 

Thank you sooo much for posting these menus. Husband and I are sailing this same itinerary in February and

would like to do the steakhouse and this helps us to pick the night we want to go.

 

This will be our 3rd time on the Sunshine so we know pretty much all there is to know about the ship but we

know virtually nothing about Aruba or Curacao. I certainly hope you are going to give us an idea of what you

two did in those ports.

 

Once again, thanks for taking the time to do your review - I know they are very time consuming!

Thank you for your kind words. And hank you to everyone else who've taken the time to follow along and comment as well.

Just off the Sunshine a little over a week ago, and the worst behaviour I saw was two women (at different times) and their sense of entitlement. Bad behaviour can happen on any ship or cruise line, especially when alcohol is involved.

Quest

What happens at Quest stays at Quest. We'd never attended this event before, and I'd heard it was quite fun, so we went. Hunny had no idea what this was all about. I had only a hint of what was to happen.

For those who don't know, it's basically an adult scavenger hunt. If you're offended by ANYTHING, you should not go. Those who went, including ourselves, had a good time.

Because what happens at Quest stays at Quest, I'll say only that it's amazing what some people will do for a bottle of cheap wine, a medallion and a ship on a stick.

Grand Turk day MDR menu

Second elegant night

A few more observations...

I bought a 5"x7" photo taken in the MDR on the first elegant night. It was $15.99. I really didn't like the cost, but the picture came out pretty good, so I bought it anyway.

Dress code (suggestion) was not being enforced, from what I could tell in the Sunset Dining Room. I saw a person walking into the MDR wearing a t-shirt and jogging shorts. This was on a Cruise Casual night. I didn't care as it didn't affect my dinner. This was just an observation.

There were at least three Chef's Tables during this sailing. There may have been a fourth. The attendees were paraded thru where we sat in the MDR on the way from the galley to the special room (near the steakhouse) where they had the table set up.

Hunny was in the Navy, so we attended the Military Appreciation event. This was very moving and emotional event. Many stories were told. Many tears were shed.

The menus on the app are usually correct or at least close, but might not be an exact match. For example, the actual dining room menu might have a different soup being served than what is listed on the app.

Actually, the menues on the Hub App on this sailing were 100% spot-on with what was offered in the MDR each night.

This is Jaxx...

and MDR menues, sea day #3

About dinner...

We always choose early dining. This is about the time we normally eat dinner, and we like having the same team taking care of us. And, the other option is like waiting for a table at a restaurant, which just doesn't appeal to us.

We ate in the Sunset dining room, table 128, which is a 2-top in a row of 2-tops near the entrance to the dining room. Our waitstaff consisted of Rodel, Agus & Bagus. At dinner the first night, my entree came out lukewarm and the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake wasn't warm. Things got much better after that. The team took good care of us, as a whole...no other issues. Also, our immediate neighbours were all nice, and we enjoyed chatting with them.

About our cabin steward...

Our cabin steward was very nice. He called us by name all week, as did most others we came in contact with. Nino had assured me that twice daily service would be no problem, but our cabin was untouched the first evening. This also got much better after that.

About Jaxx...

If there was one thing that made this cruise wonderful and memorable, it was Jaxx from the Fun Squad. She was the karaoke host two years ago on the Valor. I found out on fb that she'd be on this sailing and messaged her kinda jokingly to put in a song for me. She isn't the karaoke host now, but she found us coming out of the Welcome Aboard show and hollered at us. We chatted and I explained why we had to cancel last year. Later in the cruise, she sent me a real nice note and some goodies to the cabin. I hope to see her on our next cruise. To me, she's a gem, for sure.