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You might be right about it being a little rough going against the gulfstream. At least that makes sense to me. I was not complaining about it because it was not a problem but just wanted others to be aware and not to worry that the whole trip would be like that. Also, I got a call from someone at Carnival who confirmed that they cannot just reload a gift card. Sebastian was full of bull although the customer service rep made it sound at first like it was my fault for not knowing that and correcting Sebastian. She was nice though. Their system showed that a new gift card was issued to me and e-mailed to me but I did not receive it. So yet another fun thing with Carnival's guest services and she said she would try to run it down and have them re-issue. She has been helpful.

This had nothing to do with size restrictions. I stand by my caution about making sure the porters do not grab your carry on.

As promised, more details. Rough - we have been on cruises most of the year and normally the roughest is around Thanksgiving. However, the first day or so of this cruise was rougher than normal. None of our group got seasick but you felt the boat swaying a lot. It smoothed out later in the week and some might have been due to weather Mon/Tues but people usually ask how calm or rough it was. I STRONGLY recommend that everyone go to Walgreens, CVS or Walmart and get a pair of SeaBands. SeaBands are like wristbands with half a marble on them that press on a pressure point on your wrist. I did not believe they would work but they really did for me and my family. Guest Services - and I use that term loosely because customer service is NOT good. There was usually a long line for this so I try to avoid it but most of the time that is impossible. From our April cruise, we had problems I will not go into here and as a result Carnival gave me, wife and daughter each a $50 OBC for our next cruise. I told them thank you but I wanted something in writing. "Oh, it is on your VIFP account so it will automatically be applied.". I said "no offense but I have seldom had anything you tell me be the truth so please put it in writing." They did. Of course, on this cruise, it was not on any of our accounts. So I had to go to "Guest Services" and wait in the line. Of course their response was that there was no such credit and they have no record of it anyway. BAM - here is the e-mail with the person's name and info and proof it should be there. He seemed so disappointed that he might have to do something so resorted to "I will check on it and we will let you know." I also e-mailed the customer service rep who sent me the e-mail about being sure it was on my account. The next morning, bright and early, Guest Services called the cabin to wake us up to say that it was applied. Then they waited a few minutes for us to go back to sleep to call again and ask if we wanted it applied. We said yes, and went back to bed. A few minutes later, they called a third time to let us know that it was applied. Then later in the day left messages on the phone that it was applied. Somehow, even correcting their errors managed to become even more annoying! "FREE" Drink on last night - As gold members, we were supposed to get a free drink the last night of the cruise. We ordered from a lady at the Lobby Bar but we could not understand her due to her very heavy Russian accent, the loud music and her mask. She kept putting in the information wrong and trying to tell us something but we could not understand her. She realized it was supposed to be free so kept re-entering it. Finally she just said she would take care of it later and made the drinks and we thanked her. Next morning, as we were preparing to disembark, I looked at our bill and sure enough, we were charged for those 2 drinks. So I had to go back to guest services and wait. Again. This time a guy named Sebastian tried to help. It only took him 3 tries to understand were supposed to get those free and several minutes of looking at the bill to try to come up with why that was incorrect until he finally agreed and removed the charges. He printed a new bill showing that I was to receive $37.08. Then he tried to give me that in cash. So it was another good wait while he kept trying to enter something over and over again. Then he finally said "Oh, it was part of your gift card.". I had used a $500 gift card to pay the other charges which totaled $462.92. Reasonable thought and he said that the $37.08 was going to remain on my gift card. I asked him to check to verify it and he said that they cannot but he assured me it was there. Yeah, right. Got home and checked the gift card balance and it was $0.00. So I have contacted Carnival about that and we will see. Bottom line, if someone from Carnival tells you anything, get proof and it is safe to assume it is not true. Yeah, sour attitude and sorry if that offends everyone but they seem to do something like this every cruise. Nassau, Bahamas and Half-Moon Cay - Those were our two stops. I think every cruise I have been on for the last 6 has stopped at Nassau so I did not get off the boat nor did my wife. My daughter and her friend walked to the straw market and around town a little since the friend had not been there before. We did no excursions. At Half-Moon Cay, my wife, daughter and friend all got off the boat and said the water was fabulous. It was good as usual. Nothing really to report other than the water was always a great temperature and of course beautiful. Noise - This time we had 2 4J cabins. Those are outside cabins with obstructed views on Deck 3 that are billed at about the inside rate. We could see out of our windows and see the bottom of the lifeboats (or "survival craft" as they are now called). There was a walkway outside the window too but I was pretty happy because you had a good enough view. Then I learned why they were cheaper. Boy was it loud! Crew working on things sounded like they were in the cabin with us. People walking on the walkway or the walkway above sounded like stampeding elephants. In Nassau, they were conducting a life boat drill for the crew so we were awakened nice and early by what sounded like a group of people kicking buckets against our window (no idea what it really was but I think it was crew getting the lifeboats ready on Deck 4). I am NOT complaining, because no one said it would be quiet, I am just saying that I will think long and hard before getting another cabin like this. That combined with the fact that the cruise director made announcements every 2 second (okay, not really but it felt like that) which came right into the cabin through the speakers outside the cabin meant lots of noise. I do not know it was speakers in the hallway or on the walkway that made all announcements so loud but one or the other did. Havana Bar - In April we were on the Liberty. I figured out the difference with the Sunshine and the Liberty and similar ships. On Liberty, at the back of the boat, through the buffet, is another pool and the seafood shack and Pizza Pirate are located there. Other boats are similar. On Sunshine, they removed that pool and enclosed that area. Now that area on the Sunshine houses the Havana Bar and JiJi Asian restaurant and Cucino de Capitano. The Havana Bar was a nice uncrowded area to eat or drink or watch the waves. The 2 restaurants were great and I ate at the Mongolian Wok (which is the JiJi Asian place for lunch) everyday. The Cucino de Capitano is closed for dinner but has a pasta bar for lunch (you fill out a piece of paper and they cook your pasta for you). Overall - I really liked the Sunshine and would definitely sail on her again. I did not like the port of Charleston but I liked how much closer it was. I did not like the noise in our cabin but otherwise it was a good cabin. The food was above average and our cabin steward (Henry) and our MDR servers were terrific. Guest services were a nightmare as usual. Casino was okay but people determined to see if they could smoke an entire pack of cigarettes in 15 min or less remained annoying. Bartenders remain a bad part since there are too few of them and thus they get very surly. Your cruise might be different but these are my opinions. Happy Cruising! Tommy

My gut feeling is it was probably just that particular driver. The later driver was not rude, but not nice, and also had a tip basket but did not harp on it.

More details to come but I wanted to clarify about the port (esp a 9:30 check in). First, you have to keep in mind Charleston does NOT like having the port (yes some do but those with power do not). As you get to the port it is easy to see why. There is tons of construction happening all around it. Then there is huge parking lot and lots of prime real estate begging for offices, restaurants and condos. Cruising brings in $$ but not compared to the offices, restaurants and condos. Tourism is not lacking in Charleston anyway so losing cruise tourism is not likely to matter to anyone except those of us who want to cruise out of there. Port personnel want to keep it open. Anyway, you have to keep in mind that “they” do not want to encourage cruising so making the port difficult is preferable to “them”. Embarkation you have to enter the parking lot through a curving path. Although the information says they check to be sure all passengers in the vehicle have valid boarding passes, no one checked. Then you reach tellers who take payment for your parking (check port of Charleston website for current rates and note handicap parking is free). You then get to a porter area where they take your luggage. Fast and efficient enough but be careful that they do not take your carry-on by mistake. In 2019 a porter told me he had to take my bag with sodas in it and then the sodas were confiscated because I did not “carry them on”. You are welcome to tip these porters but be aware none of these will be putting your luggage on the ship or delivering it to your stateroom so tip or no tip has no impact on your luggage. After the porters you are directed where to park. Then you can walk to the first staging area or catch a shuttle. The first staging area is part warehouse, part tent. Here the usual cattle queue with multiple check-in points. Moved reasonably well. We used VeriFly and everything was smooth. From there we proceeded to another building, like a temporary classroom. Here we were chevked in again and had our pictures taken. Went smooth enough and then we exited that building to board a shuttle to the ship. The driver watched with disinterest as I struggled to board with my carry-on and his comment was only that I needed to keep it on my lap. The entire ride to the ship (no walking allowed because you have to exit the secure area and then re-enter for the ship) the driver gave a spiel about he needed tips (and I refrained that the best tip was be nicer to passengers). Then you proceed to another building where you have to go through security. I had sodas in my bag in the carton but the X-ray tech insisted I had to go have a very rude woman “inspect” my sodas. While doing that, she noticed my power bar (that I have taken on 6 cruises in the last 9 months) and decided it was not allowed. She was quite rude about. Then we walk a little further, up a flight of stairs, and your boarding pass is scanned to let you proceed to the ship (which means walking up several ramps). Disenbarking was bad. First, the cruise director had announced it would be a “silent disembark”. Meaning there would not be announcement so we were all to watch channel 14 for when we could leave. Normally we carry everything off but decided to check most of our luggage so we would not have to wrestle it onto shuttles. Turns out luggage pickup was right as you get off the ship so we still had to roll the luggage but at least they had porters this time to load/unload the shuttles. Many people opted to skip the shuttles and walk but I don’t recommend it. Why was it a “silent disembak” you may ask. Because all the folks in the condos can tolerate the construction noise but not the sound of a ships speakers apparently. We left our room at 8:30 and got to our car at 9:45 (admittedly I had to stop at guest services due to yet another guest service blunder I’ll explain later. As we exited the parking lot, no new cars were being allowed in and there was a huge crowd waiting. If someone got something to check-in at 9:30, that is NOT going to happen. New cars are not allowed to enter until the cars there have left. I believe they do not let anyone into the parking lot until close to 11:00 and right at 11:00 I imagine the mob descending on the facilities will cause quite a backup. For those considering parking off site, check Lyft and Uber to see what the ride will be back and forth. When I checked, rideshares were quite high.

Room service readily available through HUB app is the one where items are $5 or more. The only way to access the free menu is through a QR code usually on or near the main mirror in the room. An inexperienced cruiser would not realize there are 2 menus, one free and one not. Easy way for me to tell is the free one has PB&J but the pay one does not. Free one is not available through HUB. Yes, you call the same number to order but to see the menu to know what to order is different. parking is $105 for 5 days I think. It changes so just Google port of Charleston parking for accurate up to date info. We had a handicapped tag so it was free (which is rare). Epic Rock was the show tonight and early show was packed! I have to say that even though I have seen it several times on other ships, this was the best. The giant video backdrop really added to it and the performers really gave 110%. Not the best singers but the tried harder. Many more details after I get back home tomorrow. Tommy

I don’t drink coffee so can’t really answer. there were no hanging tags in our room but I never use them so did not enquirer. Seems they were there in earlier cruises but I can believe Carnival discontinued it. They made room service harder by making the pay version easy to find but the free version harder.

Bambam, there are several good options. There is the Javablue on deck 5 near Ocean Plaza with lots of pastries for a fee. Beyond that, you have the Lido buffet or room service or, on SeaDays, the Brunch. There were other places pre-Covid but I haven’t seen any others. If it were me, I would probably use the room service card that you hang on the door. DW, DD and her friend went ashore to Half-moon Cay. They said it was great and the water temp already wonderful. I decided to stay onboard since beaches aren’t my thrill. Ate a snack today at about 5:00 and noticed many messy tables and few servers. However, I believe it was shift change or they were all busy elsewhere getting dinner ready. All that was open was Guys, deli, and pizza so I do not think there were many servers on duty. During “normal” times, I have seen lots of servers almost hovering waiting to clear plates. Had a better time in the casino but the smoke finally ran me out. It was socially acceptable to smoke around others but I wonder how it would be if flatulence was socially acceptable for a while? I was tempted to create my own “all natural cloud of fog” but even I could not stoop that low. 😊. Still, I wish casinos would realize things change and public smoking is no longer as acceptable. Of course those who want to smoke will make far more noise about a policy change than non-smokers are about requesting a policy change. Still, I can dream. Tonight was the Latin Nights show and it was very good. Sunshine has the new active video backdrop for the stage (like Horizon has) and it adds a lot. The performers worked really hard! BTW here is a link to a great page from Saint Greg that lists all Carnival shows, what ship they are on and the songs performed. I found it really a great resource! https://www.saintgregtravel.com/playlist-productions/

Red Frog Pub has been quiet but I have not been there too often. Have not tried the steakhouse selections on this cruise but they have been underwhelming on other ships/cruises. Have not been to the steakhouse yet and MDR has been great so we may not go. We’ll see. Jinxed myself! After bragging on the internet yesterday, it went out last night all night. Bad weather may have been part but working now so I’ll stay quiet. 😃 Last night in MDR I had the beef tenderloin and it was outstanding! Some of the best meat I have had on cruises or not. Tender and flavorful. Also had linguini and Italian sausage and it was also fantastic. Had both on other cruises but never this good. I was STUFFED but managed to also eat the roasted pineapple dessert and, you guessed it, it was fantastic too. No idea why all was so much better last night but just thankful. I have not slept as good on this cruise and realized why. The mattresses lack the pillowtop the mattresses on other ships had. Not uncomfortable but just not as comfortable. No idea why these mattresses are not the same as other ships. The casino machines and slot gods have not smiled on me but I have tried. Usual complaints about the casino (tons of cigarette smoke that makes your clothes stink and eyes burn so I wish the would have a no smoking section or just outlaw smoking. Also very few waiters who are never around when you want a drink but always there once you have one <sigh>)

Almost Live from Carnival Sunshine – June 6-11, 2022 We live about an hour and a half above Charleston so it is really convenient to go out of Charleston. We have not done so because of great deals out of Port Canaveral but got a super deal to go on this one. DW just finished up school year (she is a teacher) and wanted to go to the beach but there is no way to even rent a beach house or motel for less than $500 for 5 nights much less the extra costs for food, so here we are. First, some quick notes and addressing recent questions I saw on the board about Sunshine. Smell – I have not noticed any smells nor heard anyone else complaining. Maintenance – Our sink was stopped up and the shower drain was slow but we reported them and both were fixed within an hour or so. Port – The Charleston port is not good and it is evident that locals do not like it. The workers were snippy and rude. They insisted on inspecting my cans of soda (I guess someone was smuggling in beer?) and confiscated a power strip that has not had a problem on my last 6 cruises in the last 8 months. Parking and shuttling back and forth (lot to check-in then check-in to ship) is a bother but is better than the 6 hour ride to Canaveral. Cabin – We have a 4J cabin (outside with obstructed view that is classed as interior). Cabin was fine in terms of size but we had a broken sink, slow drain in shower and telephone did not work nor did sound on 2 TV channels. Cabin Steward worked hard to get the people there to fix stuff but they were a bit frustrating and slow and he kept apologizing (Thank you Henry!). Everything was finally fixed by the time we left port. Guest Services – continues to be a weak point! Most details in full report later. Bar Service – Awful, absolutely awful. At every bar, there are far too few bartenders and they are very slow making drinks. They have very surly attitudes and I cannot blame them because almost everyone is mad by the time they finally get their drinks. Ship – Overall, the ship is older but the remodel has made it similar in most ways to my favorite Carnival ship (the Horizon). They have an Ocean Plaza, Havana Bar, JiJi Asian, Cucino de Captino, Steakhouse, Bonzai Sushi, etc. No dedicated theater for movies and no Guy’s Pig and Anchor but otherwise good. Internet – Shockingly, the internet is far better than I was expecting. I got the middle plan and I have about 5MB/5MB speeds most of the time. I was expecting far worse and have had far worse on other ships so I was expecting this one to be bad given the ship’s age. However, I am very pleased and impressed. I know it varies from ship to ship but I have found the internet on THIS ship for THIS cruise to be excellent. Food – The food has been good. With Cucino closed for dinner, Carnival announced some of the entrees would be on the MDR menu for no extra price. The only ones are the Chicken Parm and a Seafood pasta though and it does not change. Chicken Parm was okay but far from the real Cucino. At least Mongolian Wok and Cucino pasta lunch are fine (but not as easy as on Horizon, you still have to wait in line at the Wok). Table Cleaning - never saw a problem and they were cleaning our tables (MDR and buffet) almost as soon as we would finish everyone on a plate). SeaDay Brunch - Horrible experience. Our waiter clearly did not want to be there and was almost rude. Watched other tables getting served, getting bread, juice, etc. and never saw our waiter after he took our orders. Beware if you get a waiter named Eka. I had the roast beef sandwich and if there was 2 ounces of beef on it, I would be shocked. Picture a slim jim on a hanburger bun and you would not be far wrong. Other waiters were similarly surly to other diners and I will not waste time with "Seaday Brunch" again if even the wait staff do not want to be there. In contrast, our MDR wait staff has been excellent. More details later. If you have a question, let me know and glad to check on something if I can. Tommy