Checking out 8 Day Carnival Sunshine

DW and I really enjoy RCI but thinking of changing things up by going on an 8 day, Carnival Sunshine cruise out of Orlando, Grand Turk, San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten in Nov 18. Any RCI cruisers ever do this trip and if so, your thoughts? Thx!

I have not been on the Sunshine, but Carnival has many good features. The itinerary looks good to me. I would book it if the price is good.

If we were looking to sail on Carnival I would be looking at their newer ships.

We were on the Magic in March 2017. It went to Grand Turk, San Juan, St Thomas and Amber Cove. We had not been on Carnival in years. We are diamond on Royal and Royal did not have a cruise to Grand Turk. We also looked at the Sunshine, but read the reviews. Felt that the Magic was more up to date. We enjoyed the ports as we had never been to Grand Turk or Amber Cove. The ship was in good condition. The food was good.

It is the old Carnival Destiny that they remodeled and renamed.

Personally I would not go on it just because it is called "Sunshine"...

That name alone is enough to keep me off.

I would stick with a newer Carnival ship.

I have been on 2 Carnival cruises. The first was on the Magic and I loved the ship and had a really nice time. The 2nd one was on the Triumph - a newer ship than Sunshine. Had that been my first Carnival cruise it would have likely been my last.

I have been on 2 Carnival cruises. The first was on the Magic and I loved the ship and had a really nice time. The 2nd one was on the Triumph - a newer ship than Sunshine. Had that been my first Carnival cruise it would have likely been my last.

We had our second and last cruise with Carnival a few years ago. Will never put another penny in their pocket again. That means also not sailing on Princess or anything else they own, but so be it. They proved to us that from top to bottom, no one there cares about their customers.

Nothing in our cabin worked-not the tv, the phone-nothing. Daily requests to the cabin steward and guest relations got no results. Literally every day they said "we'll be there later" and never came.

Pictures taken were blurry. When we asked for a reshoot, the manager came out and screamed at us that we knew nothing about photography.

Upon our return, I called customer service and was treated as if I was a liar. So I wrote a letter and got a reply that amounted to nothing more than "too bad, so sad". Didn't even get an insincere apology.

3 sailings with Royal and no major issues. When questions are asked, whether during a cruise, while booking or after booking, they have always treated us as if we are the most important customers ever. What a difference.

I did the 8 day Sunshine. The food was good, ship good, ports excellent, shows very poor.

That is my favorite run ever. Love St. Kitts, St. Maarten and Grand Turk for relaxing beach days. If you go on the Sunshine with the right expectations you should have a great cruise. Food for us was always good. Decor, while not on the same level as RCCL is subtle, relaxing and certainly not the Carnival of old. The Serenity adults only sundeck area is by far the best of any ship we've ever been on, at least for no additional charge. If you are expecting any real evening entertainment, forget it. Big reason we are cruising NCL and RCCL lately, tired of passengers being the entertainment. Between talent shows, game shows , karaoke, etc, there was next to no non-passenger entertainment on the last few cruises we took on Carnival. That being said, if you are looking purely for a laid back, relaxing week with some really great beach stops I would definitely go for it.

DW and I really enjoy RCI but thinking of changing things up by going on an 8 day, Carnival Sunshine cruise out of Orlando, Grand Turk, San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten in Nov 18. Any RCI cruisers ever do this trip and if so, your thoughts? Thx!

We did the Snshine out of NY last August and we enjoyed many great features that Carnival had to offer. Service was excellent, food was great, spa, serenity areas were lovely, to mention some. We love to cruise, whatever the cruise line is does not matter that much to us.

DW and I really enjoy RCI but thinking of changing things up by going on an 8 day, Carnival Sunshine cruise out of Orlando, Grand Turk, San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten in Nov 18. Any RCI cruisers ever do this trip and if so, your thoughts? Thx!

We did this same cruise in January, 2017. We are long time (Diamond) cruisers on RCCL so I am not a cheerleader for Carnival. Great cruise, good price, and loved Grand Turk. Food comparable in MDR, better lunches on pool deck, enjoyed the comedy club. A few of the venues (comedy club) seemed a little crowded but not too bad. I wouldn't hesitate to sail Carnival again, a very good value, and fun.

I have been on 2 Carnival cruises. The first was on the Magic and I loved the ship and had a really nice time. The 2nd one was on the Triumph - a newer ship than Sunshine. Had that been my first Carnival cruise it would have likely been my last.

Our first cruise was on Triumph a few years ago. Never being on a ship before we had no idea what to expect. I remember walking on the ship feeling like a tourist in New York city, walking around the ship, looking up and around at everything, saying "wow, look at this". This experience encouraged us to cruise more. Perhaps if we went on a Carnival ship now we would not be as impressed but first impressions of the Triumph got us hooked on cruising

I'm pretty sure you commented on my post that compared the 2 lines already. I hope that did help. As I said before, we're not brand loyal, I just would go on a ship that's in good shape and is going where I want to do, without spending an arm & a leg. I mean, our RCI cruise was way more expensive than our Carnival ones, but it was also going to Europe, so I can't really compare them in that respect. I haven't been on the Sunshine, but we've enjoyed our Carnival cruises too. We love Grand Turk mostly for how simple it is to us. And in San Juan we did the old city tour excursion and really enjoyed it. We were in St. Maarten, but that was about 10 years ago. I say if it works for you and it's where you want to go, give it a try.

Appreciate the feedback both good and bad. DW and I booked this cruise with another couple so looking forward to making the most out of it. Will provide a review after the cruise. Thx!

Enjoy. We went on Sunshine when it was sailing from NYC last year. It is redone inside and the cabin decor is not that dusty pink like other Carnival ships. It was nice neutrals and blues. I thought the ship was very nice actually. Loved the water slides. Public spaces were very nice.

Hope you have fun! :-)

Appreciate the feedback both good and bad. DW and I booked this cruise with another couple so looking forward to making the most out of it. Will provide a review after the cruise. Thx!

That's the most important thing. I find that some of the negative reviewers are just never happy with the way things go. We have always had good cruises because it's a cruise - it's vacation! Unless it's an absolute disaster, and seriously horrible, then you need to just ignore the little things and have as much fun as you can! :D

I cruised The Sunshine in June. She is by far my favorite ship! Start to finish my daughters and I had an absolute blast!!!! Enjoy :D

Cruised on Sunshine twice last year. Favorite Carnival ship, even over Magic which is newer and larger. Decor not typical of Carnival, more subdued and warm. More included food options than just about any ship we have sailed. Serenity is unique as well as it is 3 decks high and has its own pool with waterfall. We have no loyalty to any line.

Cruised on the Pride two times to Grand Turk loved it there if it stops at Half Moon Cay you will love that place nicest beach I hve seen. If you go stop by Jacks Shack on Grand Turk when you get off the ship turn left and walk 15 min down the beach.