Refurbished OLD Ship

[LUPY48]

I am reluctant to book on Sunshine not because it is refurbished but because they are adding cabins to what seemed to be reviewed as an already crowded ship.

 

Too many people!

 

However, if everyone comes back and says it has great traffic flow and plenty of space, I might change my mind.

 

Couldn't agree more!!

[Sixtytwo]

To answer the OP's question of whether or not I would book on Sunshine because of her age, no, I would book with no concerns about her age. Carnival is spending ~$150M to refurb her so a lot of her will be new or updated. Destiny is not the oldest ship in the fleet so why be concerned about her age??

 

BTW, we sailed on Commodore Cruise Lines a few years ago. The ship was a converted Russian ship and was probably way older than anything in any of the current cruise line fleets and it was a really fun ship! We totally enjoyed our cruise and were sorry when Commodore went out of business. (Hmmm...wonder if we were the only ones who thought it was good??? :confused:)

[pbsteve]

Age shouldn't have anything to do with it, if it did, I'd recommend you never ride in a classic car. I ride a harley that's 10 years older than I am daily in the summer. It too has been "refurbished", but rides like brand new. I would be worried about the flow on the ship, and how they will avoid bottle necks. However from what I hear, the buffet and other popular places will have multiple buffets to allow people to get food at more than one line.

[finsupcruiser]

I'm not saying I won't, but I will definitely wait until we start getting the first reviews.

 

The Sunshine is an experiment (Carnival has come up with ways to make better use of public spaces, but at the same time they are increasing ship capacity). Looking at the artistic renderings, it does look like it will be a very nice ship, but the increased capacity and the whole "multi-purpose venue" concept has me a bit concerned. We'll find out soon. Let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

About sailing on Royal, their product these days is truly wonderful (no matter what the haters say). It doest cost more than sailing on Carnival, but it's worth every extra penny. The experience, specially on the newest ships, is absolutely amazing.

 

I agree 100% about Sunshine/Destiny. We were on Jan 21 Destiny cruise that took 2 1/2 days to sail to Key West:rolleyes:

 

I can not imagine the Lido deck filled with bars etc. to allow many lounge chairs. Not for me

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Is anyone reluctant to book a cruise on Carnival Sunshine because of its age regardless of the refurbishment? Everyone I speak with refers me to a RCI cruise. Any opinions in this matter?

 

My first cruises were on the Chandris Brittanis, 30+yr old ship at that time. I also sailed on the Commodore Ms Caribe I which at the time was also 30+yrs old. I will never forget those cruises as they were probably among my all time favorite.

 

As far as the Sunshine? I dont care for the new layout and will wait to see how reviews go for a year before I even try it but it might end up being a great ship. An 18 yr old ship with a very expensive and radical makeover should be just fine.

[MrPete]

Age shouldn't have anything to do with it, if it did, I'd recommend you never ride in a classic car. I ride a harley that's 10 years older than I am daily in the summer. It too has been "refurbished", but rides like brand new. I would be worried about the flow on the ship, and how they will avoid bottle necks. However from what I hear, the buffet and other popular places will have multiple buffets to allow people to get food at more than one line.

 

What kind of plumbing does that have and how often do you vacation in it?

[MrPete]

I agree 100% about Sunshine/Destiny. We were on Jan 21 Destiny cruise that took 2 1/2 days to sail to Key West:rolleyes:

 

I can not imagine the Lido deck filled with bars etc. to allow many lounge chairs. Not for me

 

That's just it. I've yet to see one artist rendering with a single soul on board.

[Mizzouaholic]

Local travel agent is advising against any Carnival Cruise.

 

Your local travel agent apparently isn't very smart. 9 carnival cruises under my belt, and have had a blast on all 9!

[MrFunInTheSun]

A little overwelmed by those MEGA ships.

 

Not all there ships are mega ships. Many are the same sizes as Carnival ships.

 

RC offers a great product too and as others noted worth the additional cost. Not all RC cruises though cost more than Carnival cruises.

 

I personally wouldn't cruise the Sunshine right out of the gate.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[MrPete]

Your local travel agent apparently isn't very smart. 9 carnival cruises under my belt, and have had a blast on all 9!

 

Any idea what they made on each of those transactions and what they would make now?

[srlafleur]

We're doing the Med and transatlantic in late October. 28 days on the Sunshine. Can't be any more crowded than the Paradise was last week. Can't wait to hear what people will say about the ship.

 

We'll be on the Med portion of that cruise as well. I didn't choose it for the ship or the line, but for the itinerary and the price.

If there isn't a single good review once she's afloat again, I may revisit my decision, but that's not likely.

[eroller]

I'm sailing on SUNSHINE's second cruise. Lets just say I'm cautiously optimistic but I have some serious concerns about how crowded the ship will be. Remember not only did Carnival add some partial decks of cabins, but they also removed existing public space and added yet even more cabins. Less public space for more passengers is usually not a good thing or an "upgrade".

 

Also keep in mind the first reviews while the ship is in Europe might not be a true indication of how well the ship is working. The weather will be colder so for the most part the outer decks will not be used. Not a good indication of how crowded they will really be in the Caribbean. Also the Europe itineraries are very port intensive and many people skip the shows and bars and head right to bed after dinner. Day after day of sightseeing wears people out. Again probably not the best indication of how well the public spaces will absorb the passengers.

 

I plan to write a complete review of my sailing, and unlike some others I will tell it like it is and will not suger coat. I promise it will not be some cheerleading commercial for Carnival which honestly doesn't benefit anyone except Carnival. I have no doubt there will be some really positive aspects of the ship, but I also have little doubt there will be some issues as well.

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

It's considered bad luck to change the name of a ship.

 

Also I don't like this trend which Carnival is starting where people who aren't cruise ship addicts (like most of us here) won't know this is just an old ship with a new name. Carnival will be touting this as "The Brand New Carnival Sunshine" when it's not new at all, it just had some refurbishing.

[ibcnusoon]

Carnival has changed their commission tiers and structure in what incentives TAs can offer. This has caused some to stop carrying Carnival all together. I wouldn't be surprised if your TA is doing this because the commissions are better with the other lines.

 

TAs are probably starting to steer clear of Carnival because of their crazy price structure, no one knows what's refundable, what's not. People probably insist on the lowest price but then when they need to cancel or change the date, they learn that there $250+ is non-refundable and put blame on the TAs.

[PresDuLac]

The former Destiny soon to be Sunshine is an old ship? :confused:

 

You want old?

 

The first cruise I took in 1992 was on the Emerald Seas, a ship that was built in 1944 as a troop transport.

She was a lovely cruise ship.

 

I loved it so much and had so much fun that I was bawling on our last night on the ship.

 

We cruised 2 more times in the 1990s on another old girl, the Enchanted Seas - that ship was built in 1958 and it was also a fantastic cruise ship.

 

I crack up when people think new is always better.

One of my friends was horrified that I was going to cruise Carnival after the Triumph debacle - she told me 'make sure you go on a new ship' - lol.

 

That said, I'm looking forward to my Jan. cruise on the beautified Miss Sunshine - can't wait.

 

I also love that *old* ship, the Elation, and have booked another cruise on her.

[Jdfireman]

Not me. I am reluctant to book a cruise with shopping mall of the seas.

 

Who is everyone?

 

Looking forward to our cruise on the new Carnival Sunshine!

 

 

 

Sargent when we going.. Wuld love to talk shop with you...

[Sargent_Schultz]

You snooze you lose, meanwhile I shall cruise!

[virgoprincess80]

We are sailing March 2014 on the Sunshine. The whole family is very excited.

More than just the ship it is your outlook and attitude that a major bearing on your cruise. :)

[pcvtmom]

As I've said on many other threads, I loved the Destiny (x3) and I'm booked on the Sunshine for June Med. cruise! I'm expecting the best.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Sargent when we going.. Wuld love to talk shop with you...

 

April 12th

[kingoftheicedragons]

Local travel agent is advising against any Carnival Cruise.

 

I would absolutely refuse to work with a travel agent who has that attitude. The travel agent works for you, so if they don't want to sell you a cruise on Carnival then it's probably best to tell them that you'll take your business elsewhere.

[kingoftheicedragons]

The age of Sunshine isn't really an issue. I've sailed older ships.

 

While I will probably read some of the thoughts posted by CC users on these forums, I won't read any actual reviews of Sunshine.

 

There are some people on these boards who have already decided that they won't like the ship, and if/when they sail on her, they will come back and say that the ship is terrible (and probably try to justify it anyway they can), and all those people who are waiting for reviews will seize on those comments to justify not wanting to sail on her. There are people who don't like the big ships, and even some who say that the Conquest class is too big for them because they like the smaller ships (Fantasy, Triumph, Spirit class). Some people complain that the Freedom is too busy and too crowded, and I didn't find that at all when I sailed on her.

 

There are some people who think Sunshine is going to be the greatest thing since Carnival started sailing. They will come back and say only good things and justify their positive attitudes.

 

Therefore, the best way for any one to make a comment one way or the other about Sunshine is to sail on her themselves. Myself, I'm sailing on Sunshine more by default by anything else. We were originally booked to do our Med cruise on Legend, but when that was canceled, if we wanted to do the same Med cruise that we wanted to go on, it had to be on Sunshine. I'm looking forward to the cruise, and I'm optimistic about Sunshine. But I will sail on Sunshine to see how it is for myself and not come to some foregone conclusion based on what other people say.

 

If someone wants to say my optimism and desire to try it myself instead of waiting to take other people's opinions as gospel makes me a cheerleader, then so be it, I guess.

[Havingfun2010]

Our local travel agent will NOT sell Carnival, period. When I asked her why, she said that "it's not the product that her clientele is interested in". In reality, it's NOT because Carnival is bad, but because of what's happening "behind the scenes". Carnival has tightened rules on travel agents, making it harder to sell their product while making less commission. It's more profitable for travel agents to sell other products.

 

 

 

We were feeling a bit overwhelmed before we sailed on the 73,000 ton Monarch of the Seas back in 1993. She was SO big (we ended loving it!). We were then feeling a bit overwhelmed before sailing on the 100,000 ton Carnival Destiny back in 2000. She was SO big (we ended loving it!). We were then feeling a bit overwhelmed before sailing on the 225,000 ton Allure of the Seas back in 2011. Se was SO big (we ended loving it, and to this day it's been one of the most amazing cruise experiences of my life!)

 

I sailed on the "Song of America" when it was the 2nd largest ship and it was great! The Oasis of the Seas was awesome.

[pbsteve]

What kind of plumbing does that have and how often do you vacation in it?

 

I see what you're trying to get across there, but I'll turn it around on you. Would you fly on a brand new 787? Brand new plane... terrible problems... you know that whole catching fire thing. Its not the age of the machine that should worry people, but the condition.

[Crusing from Colorado]

We enjoyed the Destiny when we sailed her. Expect to enjoy the Sunshine as much or more.

 

We'll find out in May if we're right or not. I do know that whatever happens we're going to have a good time. I'm traveling with 3 of my favorite people in the world and it would be difficult not to have fun with them :)

 

Besides 12 days, 10 ports, 5 countries, kinda think we're gonna be busy:D