sailingwithfriends

I have sailed on RCCL once (with another one booked in about 3 weeks) and Carnival 3 times. I think you have hit the nail on the head in your reviews. I do think people that are going to try Carnival for the first time need to realize that if you go on a short (5 days or less) cruise, the atmosphere will be different than if you take a longer cruise. Because Carnival has more reasonable prices, many people think of the shorter cruises as a big party. The longer cruises still have the fun, but the people enjoying themselves don't seem to take over ship. I do agree that the professional entertainment on RCCL is superior to Carnival. I guess that is one way Carnival has chosen to save money so they can pass the savings on to their guest. Carnival does have some fun "game show" entertainment for both families and adults. Many people don't know to try these. I believe the food on Carnival is much better with more selections. If you go on one of the newer ships, or the ships that have the 2.0 upgrades, there are a lot of options for free and for a fee. My option is don't limit yourself to just one brand. Give several a chance. I'm sure you will like something a lot on all cruise lines.

We stayed on Deck 6 aft wrap. Great balcony and room. Not as hot as the wrap we had on Deck 7 of Dream. If you look at my signature, there is a review of the Sunshine. In the first few pages you will see photos of the room and balcony.

Interesting. What else wasn't on the ship or didn't happen?

I just read a member's review of Carnival Valor. It doesn't sound like they enjoyed their cruise too much and she felt the cruise line was going downhill. I hate to hear that. We all build up so much anticipation of how wonderful our cruise will be. My question is the member said she enjoyed the Guy's burgers. I was under the impression that Valor didn't have a Guy's. If you have been on the Valor recently, was there a Guys or was the reviewer mistaken?

Before our cruise last May, I would have told you I didn't think there would be a problem. However, our ship was selected by customs that day to check out several passengers before we could be let off ship. We even had one person in our group selected to be checked out more thoroughly by customs. We were told Carnival was given a random list of names. That process delayed debarkation. We didn't exit the ship until 10:15. We normally are off the ship by 9:00 AM and sometimes earlier. By the time we gathered our luggage and went through normal customs, it was 10:45. Carnival said they have no control over the debarkation process in these situations. The odds of this happening to you are probably very slim.

Is it only one deck 5 does anyone know? I've got a few cabins booked on deck 7....

We were on deck 6 and had regular light switches. I believe only the cabins that were added during the dry dock have the new light switches that require the cards.

It sounds like you have your answer to the light question.

I wanted to let you know that the door is not metal. Command Strips would work best, I would think. They would not leave any marks.

sailingwithfriends...it was your great review and pictures that helped us decide on our cabin 6373 : ) Much appreciated!!!! Huge Thank You!!

So glad my review with photos helped you. I have learned so much from members of Cruise Critic.

We stayed in the aftwrap on Deck 6 last May. The new cabins are below it on deck 5. We never experienced any noises.

If you look at my signature, there is a review. There are photos of the cabin and balcony in the beginning part of the review.

Thanks. It is for 2016. I will just keep an eye out for it.

Does anyone know how far out from a sailing date that Faster to the Fun will go on sail?

We had the Aft-Wrap on Deck 6 last May. Great, great cabin and balcony. I have a review of the ship on my signature. There are a lot of pictures of the deck and a few of the cabin. It is a great cabin.

We sailed on the Sunshine at the end of May last year. We had a great time. Since I am not a sunbather, I had no problem with deck chairs. We did attend the comedy club a couple of nights. It was crowded, but we had a seat on the side where there are tv screens to watch. Our room was wonderful. The food options were fantastic. We never had a hard time finding a seat when eating. I felt the buffet was laid out so it seemed less crowded. The only thing I think is wrong with the Sunshine is the smell of smoke in the casino. It was very bad. Overall, I did not feel the ship was any more crowded than other ship that I have sailed on.

I'm glad you enjoyed the review. I hope you have a great time.

Small bottle of dish detergent to wash out my coffee mug and swimsuit. A small container with bandages, first aid supplies, pain reliever, eye drops and pepto bismol has come in handy on many of my cruises.

We are sailing to Alaska this summer. We decided on RCCL because it is a one-way trip. Several people in our group want to exit the ship and have a land tour of Denali National Park. They plan to stay three extra days. Carnival only has closed loop cruises, so that wouldn't work out.

I have sailed on both cruise lines. There are things I like about each line. I think the issue with your dinner tables mates was just poor luck. Some people are just snobs. Some people just complain a lot. I think you will find that on all the cruise lines. If that happens again, you can request a table change.

I would look at the dates, ports and cost to make my decision. I believe that a trip to Alaska will be great no matter what cruise line you select.

I am anxiously awaiting Carnival's 2016 schedule from Port Canaveral so I can plan my summer cruise for next year. I enjoy trying different ships.

I had the Aft wrap on Deck 6 on the Sunshine last May. Several of my friends had the aft extended balcony rooms. These decks are cleaned twice a week. On one occasion, they open up all the dividers. I was able to see the large balcony you are talking about next to the wrap. It looks like a wonderful deck. I mention to my husband that I would not mind that cabin one day. The advantage to that cabin is it is totally covered. You can also see the port area when you are docked. The aft extended decks on Deck 6 are also partially covered on the Sunshine. They were not as hot as the aft extended on the Dream. We were able to sit out on the deck all day and not get too hot. I think you are going to have to decide if you want to look at the wake or see the port. If you look at my signature, you will see a review of the Sunshine. There are photos of our friends hanging out on our deck and on the decks next door. I believe you can see the overhang.

We sailed to Aruba on the Sunshine the last week of May last year. We really enjoyed it. We didn't do My Time Dining, but I observed how it worked. You go to Deck 5 to check in. (They have the food samples nearby.) There are a lot of seats and music playing. When it is your time, you simply go down a flight of stairs. I believe they do it this way because it would be too crowded to check in at the restaurant. If there is a wait, you can be comfortable.

I have only heard of the ship not being able to dock in Aruba once. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened before, but I don't think it is a common occurrence.

Here is a piece of advise. We had no problem with the tender into port. One the way back, we decided to sit in the seats on the top part of the tender. The worry happened when the tender stopped working. The tender operators quickly called for a back-up and another tender arrived within 3-4 minutes. What the tender operators did wrong was to unload the bottom half of the boat before the upper half. The waves were a little rough. The tender we were on was swaying side to side. It was scary. Luckily, we made it down the stairs and onto the replacement tender. My advise is to sit on the bottom of the tender. The operators obviously didn't understand the proper way to disembark the passengers.

Loved Aft-Wrap on Deck 6. Fantastic room and deck. At one time, we had over 20 people on our deck. Another time, we had 18 people in the cabin (many were sitting on the floor). If you click the link on my signature, you will see a lot of photos of the cabin and deck. The photos are in the beginning of the review. I don't think you would regret choosing deck 6. (We were port side).

I clicked on your review and recognized the older couple from the newlywed show! :D we were on same cruise, I don't recognize the faces of your collective large group though...

 

My parents were the longest married couple in the game. The couple in the middle was also in our group. We had a great time on that cruise. I hate it that my parents didn't enjoy their second time on the Sunshine as much.

 

ps in ur review u mention CCL gifting fruit baskets for vets. we've booked military rate a few times but DH never received any goodies in cabin.

I don't have an answer for that. The gentleman that received the basket is a WWII veteran. He has sailed Carnival twice. The first time he received the fruit basket, he thought it was because it was their first cruise. The second cruise (the one on Sunshine), he was told he received the basket for being a veteran. No one else in our group received a fruit basket.

We stayed in the Aft Wrap, port side on deck 6. If you look at my signature, there is a link to a review of the Sunshine. There are lots of photos of the cabin and the balcony. This is the best cabin we have stayed in.

I was with a group of 34 people on the Sunshine last June. We had a great time. There are a lot of food options for lunch. We had a great balcony. The cruise director was wonderful. I didn't like having to walk through the smokey casino. That was probably the only negative I had.

My parents were on that group cruise with us and they enjoyed the ship. However, they went on her three months later and didn't like it as much. The reason was just a different group of passengers. The passengers on the 2nd trip were pushy and rude.

My take on this ship (and any ship) is we can all have different experiences depending upon the weather, fellow passengers, your room steward and servers.

I hope you will have as good of a time as I did.

I do have a review attached to my signature if you would like to see some photos and read about our experiences.

I checked prices daily on our Dream cruise in 2013. For months, all the aft wraps were booked. Then one day, one was available for a lower price. We actually saved $400.00. I do not believe I would have spotted the cabin during the sale price if I didn't check regularly.

I have no problem with someone wearing jeans and a nice shirt in the main dining room. What someone wears will not affect my meal. We are traveling on the Radiance in June. Because we will have to fly to the port, we (like almost everyone else) will be limited on the amount of luggage we bring. Like another person posted, when given the choice between what items of clothing to bring, I will bring something warm over something fancy. This cruise will be the only one in which I will not dress up fancy for dinner each evening. However, I expect it to be one of the greatest vacations ever.