First Solo - Sunshine 8 Day Cruise Review Sept 8th thru 16th

The guava margarita that pushed me over the edge and made me get in the pool. LOL! No, but the DJ on this cruise on the LIDO was awesome. He kept it rockin'.

The Del Sol ring I damn near killed myself winning during the shopping talk in the lounge. I later learned that you can get them for free at the store. #DOH! LOL!

I had a nice seat under one of those Palpas...I think they may be called. Next to the pool. I could see all the action, had a spot for my drink, and was close to the music.

I think I had sushi on the first night. Again...I dined alone at all meals, just simply because I wanted too. I struck up conversations with LOTS of people who invited me to dinner, and I said no. Simply because I wanted to be mostly alone on this cruise...when I wanted to be alone anyway.

I've been doing a lot of things solo these past 4 years, but I've always been terrified to dine alone (in a restaurant). I conquered that on this cruise. ;p

Here are some food pics from the day of embarkation, JiJi's, Cuchina, and Bonsai. I also went to the chef's table ALONE, and had a great time. I'll post those pics later in the review.

At a table in the Sushi restaurant. I ate here twice.

That short rib appetizer I was telling you guys about. OMG I love short ribs though, and these taste better than mine! lol

You get two for $5 a think? I didn't take a pic of the menu.

A salmon appetizer that I ordered the second time I was there. I also ordered a Shrimp Tempura Roll that was excellent. I didn't get a pic of that.

Also, this restaurant always seemed to be empty when I was there or walked past. They're open from 5-Midnight. Some days they were opened for lunch 12-2:30pm.

OK, I am seriously going to bed now. I'll pick up tomorrow afternoon. :)

Great start to review. You look great! Do you age at all?

 

 

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LOL! And now you're my best friend! lol ;p

You look amazing!

 

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Thank you!!! The struggle....lol

Hi, Lyn. Looking forward to your review & pics of Sunshine, one of my favorite ships. Sailing her over Christmas week. Hope you got to enjoy the best Serenity Deck in the fleet!

I did at night while watching the Dive in movies. Otherwise, it was pretty crowded, especially on sea days.

Still my favorite Serenity by far though!!

Here is my review. This will probably take a while because I have a ton of pics to download (still) and I'm busy so I may not get to post everyday.

 

 

But I'll start with a selfie. This is me! I'm 43. I've recently lost about 110lbs (again). Divorced for about 5 years. Kids are ALL adults and out of the house. I have 3 grandkids. Right now, I'm just enjoying life and wanted to do a solo cruise.

Congrats on the weight loss! You look AWESOME! Thank you so much for writing this review. I hope to travel solo one day as well, and this is so inspiring!

Very good review and enjoying the photos. Sailing on Sunshine in less than 2 . Thx!

Thanks for taking the time to write a review and post those great photos. So many people will enjoy reading it! We are on the Sunshine in December.

This is great !! I will be on my first solo in December on the Sunshine ! Love this review, thanks for sharing !

You go, girl! On the solo and the weight loss! Following

First of all, you look AMAZING, crazy that you have grown kids!

I am going on the same cruise 9/29 for my birthday, and I have *only* cruised solo (although sometimes with a group, I never share my cabin). Love all your photos!

I love the Wagyu short ribs at Bonsai Sushi as well, that and the miso soup and I am good (I don't do raw fish, meh). I found Jiji's food to be chef's table quality, went there twice when I was on the Vista.

Thanks for doing a solo review.

There are a few exceptions, but the bulk of the reviews posted here are non solo. We travel alot,but don't post our reviews.

I have an upcoming cruise in December solo and can't wait. Since I'm dining at the Steakhouse and Chef table halft the nights, doing ytd and will eat alone just enjoying my company.

Keeping an eye out for new postings

Great review!

We have a cruise out of Canaval in November 2019 (so faaarrrr) and will probably stay at the Four Points too (we stayed one night post cruise last time) and had no idea about the shuttle so thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try one of those margaritas :)

You are giving me inspiration as I make it through my divorce.

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Following along. Congrats on the weight loss, you look fantastic!

Love the Sunshine and I look forward to the rest of your review.

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You are giving me inspiration as I make it through my divorce.

 

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I can actually talk about it now, which is a good thing!!! Look through my old reviews...I was married for 17 years, together for 24. 3 beautiful children. I got through it and came out even better on the other side and so will you! <3

I can actually talk about it now, which is a good thing!!! Look through my old reviews...I was married for 17 years, together for 24. 3 beautiful children. I got through it and came out even better on the other side and so will you! <3

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Ok, I'm back!

Here are some food pics from both JiJi's and the Italian restaurant from the first two sea days. I didn't go to the MDR at all for dinner on this cruise.

JiJi's...table for one. ;p

Sake Sangia...OMG so good! The next night when I went to Cucina, I asked the waitress if I could have this drink again even though it wasn't on their menu. She obliged.

Spicy and Sweet Dipping Sauces with some sort of Crisps.

Crispy Duck w/ mung beans...Slap ya mama good!

Short rib main entrée. The waiter told me that the stock/sauce for this takes 4 hours to make. It was delicious. I love braised short ribs, and these were actually better than mine. LOL

Those green beans & pork, as a side dish, are DELISH as well.

Crème brulee and ginger ice cream for desert. Again...OMG

I liked this little rose

Homemade fruit roll-ups (I don't understand the Asian association) but they were still good. Check out my fortune. :rolleyes:

Here are pics from the Italian spot

The bread is DELISH...I could only eat a small amount. I don't like to fill up on bread.

I could order two appetizers, whereas at Jiji's I was told that I could only order one. I was able to order two sides as well and a main course. This is per person, for $15.

Another Sake Sangria

The Décor was nice

Antipasti. Does anyone know what those dried fruits are? They were so good, and I forgot to ask.

Chicken Parm bigger than my head, and I have a big head.

Roasted Fingerling potatoes and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower

Everything was top notch, but I couldn't eat dessert. I was wayyyy too full. They did have apple pie and a cannoli on the menu though. I didn't have a fridge in my room, so it was pointless to take it to go, although I could have if I wanted to.

I went to the Motown Show on one of those nights. The screen was broken so the dancers and singers basically sat on stools, dressed in black and sang the songs that they were going to sing if the show had gone on as planned. It was interesting.

I also went to the Comedy Shows on the sea days. Great comics on this cruise.

I went to the club, The Liquid Lounge. The DJ was great on this cruise, and the club was fun whenever I was in there. It's a little weird because they turn the show-lounge into a dance club after hours. Weird, but it works.

Due to Hurricane Florence, I believe...The captain switched the order of our first two ports. So we visited St Kitts first and St Maarten second.

I actually purchased a Carnival Excursion for St Kitts. I normally purchase excursions from outside vendors, but I was so glad that I chose this one. I went Horseback riding in the Countryside in St Kitts. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, the views were BEAUTIFUL and breathtaking. The horses were healthy and strong. The people on the excursion with me were friendly and hilarious. And the men who took care of the horses and led the excursion were knowledgeable, helpful and put me at ease. This was easily one of my favorite excursions. Here are some pics from the day. I have sooo many, but I won't bore you with them all. The name of the stable was Trinity Stables in St Kitts.

More pics from St Kitts

And then I probably had a drink or two and took a nap. LOL I honestly don't remember.

This is an awesome thread! You are obviously having a blast the whole time!

Your food porn is making me hungry, and I just had dinner...hmmm, but good thing is, we're on Sunshine in Dec for a similar/same itnierary, so now I can start checking out those alternate dining options! And yes, I think you are spelling them correctly.

We have horseback riding booked in St Maarten, zip-lining in St Kitts. Maybe next we are at St Kitts, we'll book that horseback riding!