Sunshine Cruise Review 2/9/14-2/16/14 with pictures! (Western Caribbean)

[gregg204]

I keep seeing this. What does it mean?

 

 

Not allowed to name or promote roll calls on Facebook here. They'll delete it.

[MarathonMama629]

Not allowed to name or promote roll calls on Facebook here. They'll delete it.

 

 

Ohhhhhh! Thanks!

[Ciardasully]

Loving your review!!! We are going on the Sunshine next Feb. Such a long time :(!! So Im getting my fix here...LOL!! We will have a different itinerary by then, but really enjoying your pictures of the ship!!

 

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy your trip!

[Ciardasully]

We had issues, too, in Jamaica. After doing the horse back riding excursion, we wanted to go into town to shop. At the port, the signage said $5 for the first 1-4 passengers. We confirmed with a lady in the terminal and then went over to a cab. The cab driver said it would be $20 per person. Needless to say...we did not go. I felt like the people in Jamaica were not as helpful nor availing as in other ports. Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

 

It's unfortunate. I understand that they are a poor country and I understand that they all have to make a living. But making people feel unsafe and trying to scam people is only going to deter people from going there and spending their money there. Kind of defeats the purpose.

 

Sorry your Jamaica adventure didn't work out. :(

[Ciardasully]

Enjoyed the review. We'll be on Sunshine on Sunday, Feb 23.

 

Thank you! I hope you have a great time.

[Ciardasully]

Bryon and I are heading out for a basketball game tonight. I was hoping to do a few more posts but my photos are taking a long time loading up to photobucket. I may have gone a little crazy when taking pictures of turtles at the turtle farm in Grand Cayman. :o

[Ciardasully]

On Thursday morning, we got into Grand Cayman. I was a sleepyhead but Bryon was up when they dropped the anchor. I eventually got up and we grabbed breakfast on Lido.

 

Look! No bacon police.

 

 

Since we had FTTF, we went down to guest services and we could tender right away.

 

 

 

 

 

We got into the port and had our passports stamped. We went on searching for the public bus to go to the turtle farm. Bryon asked someone where we go to catch the public buses and they pointed to the tour buses. Bryon said "No, the public buses?" and was told that there are no public buses. Bryon knew that was not correct. For the record, this was the only non-helpful person we encountered.

 

We walked about a block away from the entrance of the port and found the bus depot. Bryon saw a bank and went to use the ATM. He was pleased to find out that you can withdraw US money in Cayman Islands.

 

We asked the bus depot attendant which bus went to the turtle farm and he pointed to bus line number 1 (I think. Bryon would know for sure) and we told the driver we wanted to go to the turtle farm. The trip is $2.50 per person each way and they take US money. The busses were actually vans and they do get crowded but they were safe. Someone saw a wallet and thought it belonged to a man who just got out and the driver stopped and asked him. It wasn't his though. They think it belonged to a woman who got off at a stop before him.

[Ciardasully]

Bryon had booked and paid for our tickets to the turtle farm online before we left and he realized that he forgot to bring the printout. It turned out okay. When you pre-pay, they had a binder full of printouts and the admission bracelets attached. I would still recommend bringing the printout though, just in case.

 

Turtles!

 

It had started to rain so I was glad we had also brought along a waterproof camera that Bryon had bought me for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ciardasully]

More turtles.

 

 

 

 

The rain started to become heavier so we sought some shelter.

 

 

One thing I learned was that the turtles love the rain and they stick there heads up out of the water more often when it rains.

 

[Ciardasully]

Even more turtles.

 

 

 

 

There were also iguanas on the beach.

 

 

 

They do sell bags of turtle food for $5 and I would recommend buying it. Feeding the turtles was fun. Plus, they are food motivated so they come over when you are feeding them so you get a better look at them and can take better pictures.

[Ciardasully]

Babies!

 

Now, that about that aforementioned food...don't feed it to the babies. They get their own special food.

 

You can hold the babies, but you need to hold them over the water.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ciardasully]

Lots of babies!

 

 

 

 

Kisses!

 

 

[Ciardasully]

Bryon and I stopped at the restaurant/bar at the turtle farm for a drink. They had free wi-fi so we were able to check our email. Bryon was bummed out that they took turtle burger off of the menu.

 

We went out to wait for the public bus and took it back to the depot and caught another bus to the Caybrew Brewery.

 

We did the tour. It was five dollars a person and you get 5 1/2 pints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caybrew does some contract brewing for Laganitas and Woodchuck Cider.

 

 

After that we took the bus back to the depot. We stopped at a drug store and then Bryon bought me a Pandora Charm (the turtle!) and then we caught the tender back to the Sunshine.

 

We loved Grand Cayman. Never felt unsafe there. We look forward to returning.

[Ciardasully]

Carnival Liberty and Grandeur of the Seas.

 

 

Bye-Bye Grand Cayman!

 

 

 

 

 

[Ciardasully]

It was elegant night.

 

Bryon got the escargot and the chilled strawberry bisque.

 

 

 

I did not get an appetizer. For dinner I got the chicken. I didn't remember to take the photo until after I started to eat. The mashed potatoes were disgusting. It was like they ran out of mashed potato and warmed up some potato salad from the buffet. I forget what Bryon got and didn't get a photo.

 

 

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake!

 

Edited February 24, 2014 by Ciardasully

[Ciardasully]

After dinner we went to see VIP in the Liquid Lounge. I liked it.

 

 

 

[Ciardasully]

After the show we went to the Piano Bar for some fun.

 

 

Chicken Hat.

 

 

Top Gun Aviators.

 

 

 

Ole! Ole! Ole!

 

 

Top Gun Aviators and Davy Crockett hat.

 

[Ciardasully]

We stopped for some pizza on the way back to the room.

 

 

Now Bryon had written to John Heald asking if there was going to Cigars Under the Stars and John Heald said yes. But it turned out that Cigars Under the Stars was going to be the following weeks during the bloggers cruise. John sent us this gift to make up for it.

 

 

 

 

Night Night

 

[wrigley80]

We went back to the room. We found this guy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we found this treat from the Steakhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are those things that you got from the Steakhouse??

[wrigley80]

Where do you get your passport stamped in Grand Cayman??

[Ciardasully]

What are those things that you got from the Steakhouse??

 

They were macaroons. Sadly, we never got around to eating them so I can't tell you how they taste. :o

 

But I do think it was a sweet gesture.

[Ciardasully]

Where do you get your passport stamped in Grand Cayman??

 

I was a little out of it. I was a little sea sick from the tender (and I never get sea sick) so my husband (bmckim) may correct me if I am wrong (or if he has more detail) but I believe the immigration office is right when you get into port and on the left.

 

It was definitely a tourist passport stamp- it doesn't even have a date on it but we don't care. We are nerds that like getting our passports stamped. :D

[mephistoles]

Loving your review. We are considering the Sunshine for one our future cruises. I was surprised to see that Butch was the CD. He was our CD on last year's Breeze cruise. I thought that he was pretty decent (not as awesome as Karl with a K :D but he seemed friendly enough).

[Ciardasully]

Loving your review. We are considering the Sunshine for one our future cruises. I was surprised to see that Butch was the CD. He was our CD on last year's Breeze cruise. I thought that he was pretty decent (not as awesome as Karl with a K :D but he seemed friendly enough).

 

If you do end up going on the Sunshine, I hope you have a great cruise! I want to go on the Breeze someday.

 

I believe we were originally supposed to have Big Tex but he retired. Jaime was on for awhile but she got off a few weeks before our cruise. I don't know if Butch has a long term contract or if he was just covering. In my opinion Butch was nice enough but not as good as John Waitzman when we sailed with him on the Glory. I have never sailed with Karl with a K so I am not familiar with his awesomeness. :)

 

I think it is a personal preference. Butch was nice enough and friendly but we just felt that he was kind of mediocre. Other people love him so it could have just been us. Trust me, it in no way ruined our vacation. :)

[ksouthern]

Loving the review! We will be on the Sunshine March 23rd. Can't wait!