RCCL Fan Solo on Carnival Sunshine

[maureencruiser]

 

The desk area, complete with bottles of water for sale. HA! What did they think I was, a newbie? I had brought 1L of water, 2L of Coke and my wine. Feeling very smug, I pulled out my bottle of drugstore water and opened it while muttering to myself about how gullible they must think I am, paying their price for water.

 

WHOOSH! The bottle exploded in my hands! :mad: Apparently, it was sparkling water and had endured quite a trip of its own, being jostled about. I'm telling you, water went everywhere, all over the desk and the paperwork that was there. So, I was bustling around, trying to clean up the mess before my cabin steward came to introduce himself and saw what the newbie had done. I had a coupon for a free drink, so I tried to dry that out.

 

 

 

If you've read my other reviews, you're familiar with my dinosaur in his red t-shirt. His name might be Chops, I'm still not sure.

 

 

That's right, I'm 50 years old and I take a stuffed animal on vacation with me! You wanna make something of it? Come at me, bro!

 

Well, after I tamed the flood, I tasted the sparkling water. Bleccchhhh! It tasted like ass. I tried to drink it the first two days, then eventually I gave up and bought Carnival's. :o

 

By this time, I could hear the cabin steward coming down the hall and introducing himself to people. Now, one thing about me on vacation, sometimes I have a little trouble going to the bathroom. I like to hold onto things, if you know what I mean. So, I could tell things were starting to brew down there and I didn't want to wait for him to get to me, so, I opened the door and said Hello. His name was Gia and he was from China. He was a very good steward, fast and thorough and always friendly. So, I told him all I needed was ice and a lighter weight blanket. I can't stand a heavy blanket smothering me.

 

OK, now he was gone and I was able to get down to business. In the middle of "things", a knock on the door. It was Gia with my ice and my blanket. Son of a nutcracker, I didn't think he'd be back in 2 minutes. I had to finish quickly and collect my things. :o

[Vitality08]

Enjoying the review so far! We'll be on the sunshine in November and I also found the airfare out of Richmond to be much cheaper, even though we are closer to national or Dulles. I'm not sure why I never thought to check there before!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

Not sure where the Sunshine will be sailing from in Nov but check Frontier Airlines from Dulles. They will start flying from Dulles in Sept and they have some great prices on direct flights.

[Meabrat]

Love your review

[waynbo]

I love your writing style, I wish I was that witty!:D Can't wait to read more.

 

Thanks!!

[mj]

Great review. Keep it coming.

[KroozFoolz]

Loving it!

Looking forward to more.

 

So sorry you had to cancel your trip to Alaska.

[maureencruiser]

By this time, I was hungry again, so, I went in search of lunch. I was headed to the buffet, when I saw there wasn't a line at Guy's Burgers. I was so hungry and it was so good, I didn't even have time to take a picture of it. As I got up to leave, a man walked by with an ice cream cone. Oh, my! Things were getting better every minute. He pointed me in the direction of the ice cream machine and soon I was settled into a deck chair watching the goings on around me.

 

You know how ice cream makes you thirsty? Well, the best thing I could think of to quench my thirst was a Blue Martini from the Blue Iguana.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Shyhova for recommending it, it was delicious.

 

I went down to my cabin to see if my luggage had arrived, it hadn't, but, there was Gia again, opening the door for me. Dang, doesn't he ever leave the hallway? I wandered around the ship a little, trying to get the lay of the land. I have to say, I didn't feel like the signage and whatnot was as easy to understand as RCCL. The layout didn't seem as smooth. A few times, I followed the signs and arrows and found myself in passenger hallways. Maybe it was just me. {shrug}

 

Soon enough, it was time for muster. My muster captain was very tall and cute, so, that made it a little more tolerable. The family next to me had 2 small children, including an infant, who kept slipping out of their wristbands. The family called them escape artists, they were both very cute. They put the band on the baby's leg and with just a few kicks, it was on the floor. :D

 

After that, I went topside to see what was going on. We were in port with my nemesis, the Freedom of the Seas.

 

 

You tore my ACL, Freedom, but, you didn't tear my spirit. One day, vengeance shall be mine! {insert evil laugh}.

 

A Disney ship was also in port with us, the Dream? Sorry, my eyes just aren't what they used to be.

 

 

 

 

Those chutes look like great fun, they were going continuously.

 

 

Here come some more victims! {cue evil laugh, again}

 

 

[maureencruiser]

Here are just a few random pictures topside.

 

 

 

 

 

This pool was closed when we boarded, not sure why.

 

 

 

 

My first funnel! {tear}

 

 

 

 

 

It is the Dream! I can see clearly, now! :D

[maureencruiser]

 

 

Awwww! I wish I was 10 years younger.....20?......30?......40! :(

 

 

 

I found the slide......wait for it...........riveting! :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Wait, was there another Carnival ship in port with us or am I having an out of body experience?

[maureencruiser]

What's this? Were they deploying life rafts while I wasn't looking?

 

 

 

 

 

I was starting to get thirsty again, so, I wandered back inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually, I wound up in the casino. It was the most wide open, well lit casino I've ever been in. There was a faint smell of smoke, but, nothing too horrendous.

 

 

Why couldn't Gia leave this on my bed one night?

 

 

There was a good size arcade, including air hockey and skeeball.

 

 

 

 

[maureencruiser]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right outside the casino was the Shake Spot. You can get regular milkshakes or spiked milkshakes. I never did try one, I'm not sure why.

 

 

 

 

There was also a small internet cafe here. I used it to check in with Facebook a few times and print my Southwest boarding pass on the last day. It was while checking in on Facebook the last day that I learned a train carrying crude oil had derailed into the James River back home in Lynchburg.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtowYHVQ8B4

 

 

Damn! Well, if I have to, I can stay on the ship a little longer, LOL!

 

Continuing on, they were setting up the Taste Bar.

 

[snoopyb]

Love the tube sock idea! (steals...lol)

thanks for the review

[maureencruiser]

Finally, I arrived ay my destination, The Alchemy Bar.

 

 

Working in pharmacy for 25 years, I was interested to see what this themed bar was all about.

 

 

It looked like every pharmacy I've ever worked at.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, maybe not EXACTLY..........

 

Various syrups and tinctures, sorry for the blur.

 

 

 

I felt at home here.

 

 

[Elaine515]

...Lovin' the review! Great writing style. Looking forward to more!

[maureencruiser]

Yay Maureen! I love your reviews over @ RCCL! Can't wait for this review!

 

Hello, Friend! :) Thanks to all of you for your kind words, They mean a lot to me!

 

They had a martini tasting, your choice of 4 small martinis.

 

 

 

 

My frosty glasses, awaiting my medication.

 

 

 

 

Miro doesn't like to waste time, so, he poured all my martinis at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

[maureencruiser]

Look at the concentration on his face!

 

 

 

 

Hey, wait! Did I get less of the Spicy Chipotle Pineapple or had I already started drinking it? It was my favorite of the four.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the martinis, I visited the Taste Bar. It would have been rude not to have taken a taste.

 

 

 

 

I meandered through the sports Bar. Oh, good, the Clippers were on.

 

 

The Donald Sterling story had just broken and every time I turned on the TV, that's all I heard about. It was nice to see Doc Rivers again, hearing what he told the players and how he handled the whole mess. He always was a class act.

[maureencruiser]

Should I take home Funship Freddy?

 

 

 

 

Well, now that I've had my appetizer, I guess it's time to head to the buffet for dinner. On my way there, i spotted the Blue Iguana Cantina.

 

 

 

I did not stop to eat here, however as i was determined to eat at the buffet.

 

 

 

Finally, I arrived. I had read such horror stories about Carnival, I could only imagine how terrible the buffet would be, people pushing, shoving, stepping on Grandmas to get that last piece of cake. I girded my loins and stepped inside.

 

 

Oh! Well, this wasn't what I expected at all. It was uncrowded and quite civilized. Where were the people shoving food into their faces with their bare hands? Screaming toddlers? Neglectful parents? Hmmm, maybe i would find them later.

 

 

Surprisingly :rolleyes:, I wasn't very hungry. I had some Olive Chicken and pasta with sausages. On my way out, I snapped a pic of some desserts, but, i resisted the temptation.

[maureencruiser]

 

 

I had something else in mind.

 

 

 

 

Wow! Look at that swirly perfection! I could do this for a living!

 

I headed back to my cabin to see if my luggage had arrived and it had. I unpacked and got ready to go to the Welcome Aboard show. There was only one show that night and it was at 7:30. Honestly, I don't remember much about it. I know one of the comedians was there and I'm sure there must have been some singing and dancing. I was just so tired! From a whole day of doing absolutely nothing! I'm ashamed to say that after the show, I headed back to my cabin for a few glasses of wine and was in bed by 9:30. :o

[funinthesun1964]

Hi Maureen :D

 

Loving your review! Never been on Sunshine, I hope you had a wonderful cruise. So happy to read along to know all the details of your trip. Great job. See ya 'round! :p

[Bimmer09]

Maureen- just a great review! I love the photos with the brief witty narrative.

 

Thanks for posting and keep it coming!

 

Norris

 

norrisadair.blogspot.com

[Tutontow]

Great review. I really like your writing style. I have a friend who manages one of the pharmacy's I think you work for. Based upon my observation they aren't real employee friendly. Anyway thank you for taking the time to write, we will be on the Sunshine in two weeks and your review just makes me that much more excited.

 

On a different note Longhorn is one of those restaurants you never hear much about, I mean I never hear someone saying we went to Longhorn last night. I find that strange because every time I have eaten there the food is outstanding.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[DreamingBig1]

Can't wait to read more of your spectacular adventure. The unnamed pharmacy is lucky to have such a funny and good hearted employee.

 

Thanks for taking us along!

[cruisetexas]

Not sure why I chose to read this thread....but I'm laughing and having a great time with your observations.

 

I must say, though, that when I saw the picture at the Alchemy Bar with the apothocary jars of lemons and strawberries, I thought the one with strawberries in it looked likeit had noses in it.....YUCK!

 

Had to look twice and giggle to myself.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write!

[Cricket551]

Enjoying your review! Thank you

[BettyPC]

Fabulous review - subscribing!!