Quick b2b review on NCL Jewel & Carnival Sunshine

My hubby & I went on our first NCL cruise for a week (2/2/14) & followed it up with our 6th Carnival cruise on the Sunshine (2/9/14) We are Platinum on Princess & sailed with RCCL twice.

This will be more of a comparison review ( & probably scattered as I am writing as I think of things..LOL) than a full everyday review with pictures but I will try to answer any questions that I can.

We had standard OV rooms on both ships...the Jewel had a fairly big shower with a DOOR!! Yay...loved it.

I am the planner & as I was looking for the perfect stateroom on the Sunshine I found 2346 & loved the odd shape & found out it was indeed a bigger cabin but it was at the VERY back of the ship but decided to go for it...the room was very big...loved it but you better love the movement of the ocean & some vibration & you will not need a wake up call I knew all this was a possibility & I did fine with it. The only thing that did bother our sleep was the squeaking/creaking of the ceiling. I would get out of bed & push on the ceiling & hope to get back to sleep before it started making noise again...lol. The bathroom was a little small but the shower was a good size.

Had a fridge on the Jewel but not on Sunshine. Had tons of storage on both ships.

We only saw our room steward one time on the Jewel but he did a great job...saw Roberto on Sunshine almost everytime we opened our door. He did a great job also.

Both ships were very clean & loved the décor on them but were very hard to navigate. Jewel seemed to be more confusing.

I don't remember the name of the cruise director on the Jewel. Butch was not my favorite from the Sunshine.

As far as entertainment....the Jewel blew the Sunshine away. We are not a fan of the Playlist productions...possibly because a few of them just could NOT sing...as a group it wasn't too bad but individually it was more apparent. Our favorite was Epic Rock & the magician. Was not very impressed with the comedians on the Punchliner either. The Jewel had a band & the funniest (JP) comedian/magician we have heard in a long time. They had aerialist etc.

The Sunshine LOVED their trivia games & Bingo!!

We loved the Serenity decks...we always laid by the pool & waterfall. That is some COLD water in that pool...brrr. If you wanted more quieter areas you can go further back & up (kinda windy though). We did see chair hogs but didn't affect us because we would get up at 7:00 so we could get a seat...& we actually stayed in it

Next...the all subjective food topic

Food: The MDR food on the Sunshine was better than the Jewel but the buffet food was much better on the Jewel & the stations layout was great...never crowded.

We loved Guy's Burger's! Pizza was better on the Sunshine. We ate at Ji Ji's & it was wonderful. Most of the food we had was really good on the Sunshine.

We ate at the Teppanyaki Japanese specialty & Italian specialty restaurants on the Jewel & they were also wonderful. Did not like the Blue Lagoon food at all...except for the brownie sundae.

Few more observations:

The pools on the Sunshine are freshwater...wonderful.

The Sunshine is VERY crowded...way too many people for this ship. Never felt crowded on the Jewel.

The Liquid Lounge is like everyone has said...awful layout...but looks nice. Limelight Lounge is pretty big but only so many seats can actually see the stage.

The atrium on the Sunshine is beautiful...Jewel doesn't have that wow factor.

The slide/waterworks area looked awesome but could never find a time when the slide was open...evidently the conditions had to be perfect???? Maybe we just had bad timing.

There were a fair amount of kids on the Sunshine.

The difference in passengers on each ship was....well... different

Did not see any buckets or leaks or smell any funny smells...LOL

All of this being said we would sail on either ship or either line again...we make the most fun out of every cruise we go on.

Hope this scattered mess helps someone

Thanks for the comparison review!

Very jealous that you can take 2 cruises like that

Glad you had two great trips and thank you for the review, scattered or not!

Sounds like a good time :)

Happy Cruising!

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Thanks for the comparison review!

Very jealous that you can take 2 cruises like that

Your welcome!

This was our 3rd back to back but will probably be the last since I quit my job to stay home with my grandbaby :) But I can live with 7 & 10 day cruises :)

Glad you had two great trips and thank you for the review, scattered or not!

Sounds like a good time :)

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Your welcome!! Yes both trips overall was great!!

Loved the comparisons..thanks for the review. We are trying ncl for the first time in march and having been on carnival before it was nice to hear some of the differences you mentioned. :)

Loved the comparisons..thanks for the review. We are trying ncl for the first time in march and having been on carnival before it was nice to hear some of the differences you mentioned. :)

Your welcome!!

Thank you for taking the time to review both cruises. Sounds like you had 2 wonderful weeks. Enjoy those grand babies

Hi Bobug! We talked a little at the Meet and Greet about NCL and Carnival and how this would be your first time trying NCL. I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise. We did as well.

I agree that Guy's Burgers on Carnival are awesome. They were one of my DH's favorite things to have each day. I was a bit disappointed in the food in the Jewel's buffet but I think I was comparing it to the buffet on the Pearl which is really good. We liked what we had in the main dining room overall.

We ate at Moderno and really liked it a lot. I kept forgetting to turn my card over to the red side (meaning don't bring me more meat) and every other minute there was a waiter offering me more to eat. lol I'd recommend it if you enjoy different types of meat. They also have awesome salad selections on their salad bar.

We were all set to enjoy our lunch from the grill out on the last sea day on the pool deck when that rain storm blew in all of a sudden. We were sitting at a table by the railing and saw it coming just as we were eating a really good lunch of grilled chicken and salads. Boy, that was crazy with all the wind and rain and everybody trying to get inside.

But the meal highlight for us was eating at Cagney's. We got the gift of a meal there and all three of us agreed it was the best food on the ship. It's well worth the $30 charge even if you aren't a steak lover.

I'd love to do a back to back some day and going on two different ships could be fun. I think every ship has something special to offer. But like you, if I can do just one, I'll be happy.