Review of Sunshine Cruise May 25/May 29

[izzypooch]

Just got back this morning from five days on the Sunshine and decided to pass along some of my observations, rants and raves.

 

Hubby and I are in our sixties, live in Florida and cruise a couple of times a year – mostly Royal Caribbean and Carnival. We like Royal a lot but can’t turn down a short get-away on Carnival once in a while, especially when prices are so affordable.

 

We had booked a guarantee balcony (great price!) for this cruise about a month out and got assigned a room on deck 8 under the lido. Wasn’t real thrilled with that but understood that was the chance one took with a guarantee rate. Well lo and behold the upsell fairy called about a week before cruise date and offered an ocean suite for $200 more per person and we took it. More about our room (Cabin #7149) later.

 

We are only about an hour and a half from Port Canaveral so the first day is never too stressful. We arrived about 10:30 and walked on the ship after only about a 15 minute wait. We are Platinum so a really nice perk is being able to go directly to your room and drop off your carry-on bags.

[izzypooch]

Now about that room. Really nice! The standard bed, of course, plus a couch and chair, flat-screen TV and tons of drawer and counter space. There are two separate closets plus a vanity-type area off of the bathroom. The bathroom has a tub but we never used. When you can unpack suitcases, hang clothes in closets, etc. with a second person in the room and not in your way you know it is roomy! LOL.

 

The bonus feature was the balcony, which was about double the size of a regular balcony. It’s still narrow but there were three chairs (two of which reclined to become almost like a regular lounger) one regular chair and a table.

 

The room’s location was perfect. Cabins above and below to buffer noise and just two floors up to the Lido and two floors down to the Promenade. It was forward but the ship is so small that you can get from forward to aft in no time.

 

We did get unlucky with our across-the-hall neighbors. From what I could tell they were a family occupying two or three adjoining rooms. So there was a lot of door-knocking and yelling,and this was strange: they seemed to spend lots of time just hanging out in the hallway. Kids just sat out there talking and that’s where they’d have their pow-wow each morning to plan their activities. Oh well, I know it was their vacation and they were having fun. Not their fault that we liked to nap in the afternoons! But that was the one little drawback to the room for us.

 

Did I mention that my husband just LOVES his balcony? He sits out there for hours at night listening to the ocean and watching the stars and I prefer our own little quiet zone too for reading and relaxing.

[jujibee]

Now about that room. Really nice! The standard bed, of course, plus a couch and chair, flat-screen TV and tons of drawer and counter space. There are two separate closets plus a vanity-type area off of the bathroom. The bathroom has a tub but we never used. When you can unpack suitcases, hang clothes in closets, etc. with a second person in the room and not in your way you know it is roomy! LOL.

 

 

 

The bonus feature was the balcony, which was about double the size of a regular balcony. It’s still narrow but there were three chairs (two of which reclined to become almost like a regular lounger) one regular chair and a table.

 

 

 

The room’s location was perfect. Cabins above and below to buffer noise and just two floors up to the Lido and two floors down to the Promenade. It was forward but the ship is so small that you can get from forward to aft in no time.

 

 

 

We did get unlucky with our across-the-hall neighbors. From what I could tell they were a family occupying two or three adjoining rooms. So there was a lot of door-knocking and yelling,and this was strange: they seemed to spend lots of time just hanging out in the hallway. Kids just sat out there talking and that’s where they’d have their pow-wow each morning to plan their activities. Oh well, I know it was their vacation and they were having fun. Not their fault that we liked to nap in the afternoons! But that was the one little drawback to the room for us.

 

 

 

Did I mention that my husband just LOVES his balcony? He sits out there for hours at night listening to the ocean and watching the stars and I prefer our own little quiet zone too for reading and relaxing.

 

 

Sounds nice. We are sailing on the Sunshine in September.

 

 

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[izzypooch]

Now, remember, this review isn’t a complete review of all the Sunshine has by any stretch. There were a lot of activities we didn’t do and some places we never even saw despite its size. We basically booked this cruise to eat, gamble and relax and that’s what we did.

 

I did check out the Serenity area which is located forward on three levels. There are plenty of loungers plus a few hammocks, some double-wide loungers beneath clam-shell covers and a few umbrella-covered loungers/chairs. There are two hot tubs and a small pool with a waterfalls and two bars. There are tables and chairs close to the bars.

 

I’ve read a few complaints that because the Serenity area is so close to the outdoor theater screen, which is constantly showing movies or concerts or just blaring music, that there is little serenity. But I didn’t find it too much of a problem. I just meandered to the forward-most part of the ship to get a little bit farther away from the music. Now, I spent time there on port days when it undoubtedly wasn’t as crowded but I never had a problem finding a good spot.

[izzypooch]

We spent every night in the casino and popped in and out on the one sea day too. We both had coupons for some casino play chips. I wondered if we would have a problem since the actual rate we paid wasn’t the casino rate but when we took our coupons to the casino cage on the first night they had our names on their list, no problem.

 

The play chips work like this. You can’t cash them in for money; you have to play them on the table games. If you make a $5 bet and win, the dealer pays you your winnings AND replaces the play chip with a real chip. If you lose, well, naturally you lose the play chip.

 

I actually got real lucky by being an airhead. I play roulette a lot and usually play the inside numbers, putting a $1 color chip on various numbers. So I walk up and put five of the $5 chips out on my “regular” numbers. As the wheel is spinning and the dealer has already called “no more bets” I realized I had just bet $25 instead of $5. Yikes. But one of my numbers actually hit so I was generously rewarded for my stupidity!

 

I’d say the casino was about standard size: 1 crap table, 2 roulette tables, 2 3-card poker tables, various black-jack and other tables and a couple of video texas hold-em tables. Mostly penny slots with a pretty good variety. Half of the casino is smoke free but you know how that goes. It helps a little, but it’s still a very smoky place.

 

With every cruise I connect with some dealers more than others so by the end of this cruise I had three or four dealers who were my favorites but they all were friendly and fun.

 

One thing I liked about the casino was that the dealers took your sail and sign card to monitor your play every time. They practically insisted even if you were only buying in for $20. They swiped the card right there. You didn’t have to wait for the pit boss to take it and bring it back. I have no idea how they track players. But at least it seemed like they were giving me credit for every $1 I used to buy chips.

 

The casino got pretty crowded in the evenings, especially if you like certain slot machines or certain tables. Sometimes you had to just keep milling around until a spot opened up and you could jump in. I'd rather it be that way, though, than being the only one at a table. Playing at a table with fun people and a fun dealer really enhance the losing experience. LOL.

[izzypooch]

Okay, all you foodies, here’s my report. The Guy’s Burgers, in all their greasy wonderfulness, were a big step up from the hamburgers Carnival used to serve on the lido deck. But I wasn’t crazy about the fries. I actually longed for the old McDonald-style fries they used to serve.

 

Really enjoyed the Blue Iguana place although I never even tried the burritos. I had a couple of chicken tacos for lunch that pleased my tummy in a big way.

We ate at Cucina del Capitano for lunch one day which was a nice Italian fix.

 

The rest of the time, except for the first night when we did anytime dining, and one night when we ate in the steakhouse, we just visited the Marketplace buffet. What can I say? It’s typical cruise-ship buffet food. Some things were really good. Some things were so bad I took one bite and pushed it aside. Most stuff was just fine. Oh, we had pizza one late night too and I wasn’t impressed. But, hey, as everyone on here is always saying, food is very subjective. All in all, I’d give the Sunshine’s food offerings a B+.

 

Here’s tip #1, if the seating spaces are crowded in the main dining area, go on back to where the two specialty restaurants – JiJi’s Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano -- are and sit there. It was always less crowded and it’s convenient because there is a beverage station back there and you can get your sodas or drinks at the Havana Bar. In the mornings, that’s where the omelet lines are.

 

Here’s tip #2, when you are back there be sure to walk to the side of the bar and check out the Cuban inspired tidbits they have to eat. In the morning they had a sausage and plantain quiche and some really yummy guava-filled puff pastry goodies. One lunch day they had mini pressed Cuban sandwiches and fried pork pies and little mocha cupcakes with tiny tubes of coffee inserted in the frosting that you squirted on top for an extra jolt. You don't see those every day!

Edited May 30, 2014 by izzypooch

[izzypooch]

It was our first experience with anytime dinning and for us, it worked great. We knew going in we were probably going to spend most nights just doing the Marketplace buffet but I told my husband I have to have chocolate melting cake at least once so we went to the dining room the first night when we could dress more casually.

 

I like the way the anytime dining was set up. You went to a check-in station on promenade deck 5 to sign in and get a pager. That way you didn’t have to loiter around the entrance to the dining room, you could get a drink at a nearby bar while you waited. They even had a little tasting station right there where nibbles were set out. Nice touch. We showed up at about 7 pm and only had to wait about 15 minutes. Maybe the fact that there were just two of us helped. Don’t know. Anyway, the meal that night was very good.

 

Husband had a pasta with peppers and sausage that he raved about and I had the braised short ribs (pot roast) and mashed potatoes which was also yummy. The chocolate melting cake was just the way I like it – cooked enough that the outside was cake-like but still runny on the inside. I knew when they got my CMC right it was going to be good cruise!

 

As I mentioned before, we did go to Fahrenheit 555, the steakhouse, one night. This was sort of a new experience for us as we’re pretty casual people when we cruise and really never saw the need to pay extra to eat. But we ate in the steakhouse when we cruised the Oasis (Royal) last year and it was so good we decided to give Carnival’s a try too. Yep, Carnival’s was really, really good too.

 

The servers treat you like you are special. They brought out cute little complimentary starters. I had a little scooped out potato with potato soup and my husband was given a sampling of something salmon. We weren’t sure what all the garnishes were but he said it was good so that’s all that mattered. I had the filet and he had a rib eye that were both excellent. We had a caramelized apple tart for dessert that was to die for.

 

I liked that they spaced out the dessert from the main entrees enough that I actually had room to eat the whole thing! All in all, we were there for two hours, but it was a really nice experience and one I would do again

 

Oh, here’s another thing I liked about the steakhouse. There was a family sitting in back with small children and one of them started crying loudly (throwing a tantrum actually). The maitre’d was there in a flash. The father took the child out and came back in about ten minutes with everything under control. Now, I know these things happen when you have children and I’m sure the father would have done that on his own too, but I liked how the maitre’d was pro-active to insure the comfort of the rest of the patrons rather than just ignoring the situation.

[izzypooch]

The itinerary for this cruise was first day at sea, then Key West, Nassau, and Freeport. We had visited all of these places many times so we didn’t even get off at Freeport and only got off at Key West long enough to scoot on over to Kermits and get a slice of key lime pie and some key-lime white-chocolate cookies to take home. We did grab a taxi and go over to Atlantis to play in their casino for a few hours but most of this cruise was spent on the ship.

 

Something new to me for a Carnival cruise was the gathering of towel animals on the lido deck one morning. What a surprise. I wish I had a picture but my cell phone was locked away in the safe so no pictures at all on this cruise. Anyway, they had all the regulars sitting all around along with several big alligators or iguanas (not sure which). It was cute.

 

I did hear of one little incident: met a young gal on the elevator one day who was limping pretty badly. She said she had gotten hurt coming down the water slide. She went to the infirmary and met up with a couple more people who had been hurt too. She said the slide was too fast; that it just shot you out the end like a cannon and that they had actually closed it down to try to figure out what was going on. However, I saw it was back in operation the next day.

 

Also they had some kind of emergency announcement on the last night about midnight. Operation starburst I think. Anybody know what that means? The next morning the cruise director made mention of it and said to keep the family in our thoughts and prayers.

 

So, bottom line, it was a very enjoyable cruise. The ship was really nice, updated, modern and clean. And to top it off we had perfect weather and calm sailing. I think there may be some more Sunshine in my future!

[Tutontow]

Oh, here’s another thing I liked about the steakhouse. There was a family sitting in back with small children and one of them started crying loudly (throwing a tantrum actually). The maitre’d was there in a flash. The father took the child out and came back in about ten minutes with everything under control. Now, I know these things happen when you have children and I’m sure the father would have done that on his own too, but I liked how the maitre’d was pro-active to insure the comfort of the rest of the patrons rather than just ignoring the situation.

 

I would sure like to see that become the norm for every mid to high end dining establishment. I understand kids will be kids and I can tolerate it at Mickey D's but when in a steakhouse I would expect the parents to deal with it and that is often not the case.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Tutontow

[Tutontow]

We did grab a taxi and go over to Atlantis to play in their casino for a few hours but most of this cruise was spent on the ship.

 

 

How difficult is it to find a cab from Atlantis back to the ship?

[izzypooch]

How difficult is it to find a cab from Atlantis back to the ship?

 

Very easy. Just walk outside the main entrance and they are lined up. Most are vans that hold 8-10 people so they like to fill them before they take off and you sometimes have to wait till they get a full capacity but other than that no problem. Our rate was $4 per person each way.

 

 

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[Tutontow]

How difficult is it to find a cab from Atlantis back to the ship?

 

Very easy. Just walk outside the main entrance and they are lined up. Most are vans that hold 8-10 people so they like to fill them before they take off and you sometimes have to wait till they get a full capacity but other than that no problem. Our rate was $4 per person each way.

 

 

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Great and thanks. I am like you, I hate to see an open casino go to waste.

[cookiejarvis]

Thanks Izzy...We sail Sunshine on July 5th. Loved your fair and balanced review.

[Dreacrusingaway]

I was on the same sailing. There was a crying baby in the steakhouse when we were there on Tues evening. I wonder if we were there at the same time.

 

The call was Brightstar. I also wonder if the passenger was okay.

 

I loved the towel animals. There was a huge Iguana on one side and a big frog on the other. Very cute!!!

 

 

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[LPGA Golfer Gal]

Thanks so much for this review. We are counting down till our July cruise on the Sunshine. Cannot wait. I enjoyed all your takes on the ship and fair comments.

[izzypooch]

was on the same sailing. There was a crying baby in the steakhouse when we were there on Tues evening. I wonder if we were there at the same time.

 

 

 

The call was Brightstar. I also wonder if the passenger was okay.

 

Yes, Tuesday evening about 7:30 or 8:00 pm.

Thanks for the catch about the medical alert. Bright Star is correct.

 

 

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