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7 Day Western Carib Sunshine Review!

Lizstar319

By Lizstar319,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Lizstar319

Lizstar319

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Hi all,

 

Just off the Sunshine this past Saturday with Mama and Sister....since I find all of your reviews so helpful, thought I'd write up a quick one of my own!!!

 

Thursday, 8/14

We flew from NYC to FLL on Thursday evening. When we were booking our flights, I miscalculated the distance from FLL to PC, and ended up booking into here instead of MCO or PBI....this wasn't a worry on the way down, since we had lots of time....a little worrisome on the way back, but we'll get to that. We landed around 10:45PM, waited on a very long line for the shuttle to the rental car center, and then another long line to get the car. Finally got on the road at about 12:15AM, and made it to our hotel at around 3:30AM. Yowza.

 

We booked the Best Western Oceanfront Ocean Beach Hotel & Suites, and were not fans of the room we got at all. Immediately upon opening the door, we were smacked in the face with the strong scent of mildew. Oh joy. but, since it was 3:30AM, we fell into bed and decided we didn't care.

 

Friday, 8/15

Originally, we considered going to the Space Center, but ultimately decided to use the day to run errands, pick up last minute items for the cruise, and relax a bit. We thought the Space Center would be a bit tiring, especially considering our long day before, and it was a little pricier than we were looking for since we couldn't get free tix from our local representative.

 

We were woken up around 10AM, after a not very restful night of sleep. Although we had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, the housekeeping staff decided to have a yelling conversation in front of our door. Sister and I went to Dunkin Donuts just down the street to caffeinate while Mom got dressed, then once we were all ready, we decided to start tackling our long list of errands. First on the list was breakfast! We decided to go somewhere local, and ate at Gina's Cafe & Deli, on Merritt Island (where most of our errands were). Food was delish! Highly recommend, everything is homemade and very good. After that, we made stops at CVS, the bank, and Target. Of course, Mom looked up a yarn store, so we had to make a stop there as well. We got back to the room (still smelly), walked down to the beach for a few minutes, relaxed for a bit, re-arranged bags for easier boarding, then went and grabbed some dinner. None of the local restaurants that I had found online has non-seafood options that were very thrilling, so we went to the Outback (always consistent!!!). Off to bed early!

 

To be continued...

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Lizstar319

Lizstar319

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Just a quick note - this will be a (mostly) photo free review - I haven't gotten around to uploading most of my photos yet...when I have them, I will try to go back and add relevant ones...I decided to skip most of the typical ship and food photos, we've all seen those a ton! I believe my mom did save all of the Fun Times, so I will also try to scan those if I get a chance.

 

Saturday, 8/16 - Embarkation Day, Port Canaveral - Day 1

We were once again woken up bright and early by housekeeping - this time they actually came into the room, even with the sign on the door. :mad: NOT happy.

 

A little backstory before I go on - we had booked this cruise about a year ago, in a spa suite. Then a few months later, I received an email that they were switching our ship from the Dream to the Sunshine. I assumed that we would maintain the same category as we booked in, confirmed this with Carnival several times, but didn't see a cabin assignment up until the day we left for FL. We managed to log in on Saturday morning, despite the very week WiFi in the hotel, and saw that we had been assign to.....7198.....NOT a spa suite. I made an immediate call to Carnival, hoping this could be straightened out (we very specifically wanted a spa cabin). After being put on hold for quite a bit, I was informed that we had been upgraded to a Grand Suite, and since it's considered a higher category than a SS, we would receive no compensation for the loss of the spa passes, since they felt that the "upgrade" was enough. I disagree...I didn't WANT a Grand Suite, I WANTED a Spa Suite. That's why I booked one a year ago.

 

Anyway, so after a quick stop to check out (and let them know their housekeeping staff really needs some tweaking - got $50 off the room which was an unexpected bonus), and re-print boarding passes/luggage tags, we were off to return the rental and take the shuttle to the port.

 

We got off the shuttle at around noon, and found a porter to take our bags. I asked him to put a priority tag on them, he told me we didn;t have priority - I had printed the luggage tags in b&w, so had to pull out the boarding pass to prove it to him. Tipped him $10 for 4 suitcases, and off we went to check-in. We waited less than 10 minutes, got everything squared away, and were boarding the ship no later than 12:30. We immediately got on line at Guest Services, since we had all purchased e-Gift cards through the Verizon Smart Rewards program, and unfortunately the only way to credit them to your account is at GS. That took another 45 minutes or so...then we went to the cabin to drop off our carry-ons. The room was very nice, and in a good location...we were just bummed that it wasn't what we had planned on for so long, but we decided to just enjoy where we were and address it after we returned.

 

More from Day 1 to come....

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KPfromCT

KPfromCT

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Enjoying your review.....:D:D

Cannot wait for more....

Did you have a "guarantee" rate? Why didn't you see the cabin number until days before?

I would have been LIVID!

Hopefully, the "upgrade" was worth it.:D

Edited by KPfromCT
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Lizstar319

Lizstar319

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Thanks, everyone who is reading so far!

 

KPfromCT - I for some reason couldn't find the original booking email, but when we agreed to the ship change, apparently in the fine print was a note that they would do their best to keep our accommodations the same. I called several times, asking why the cabin had not been assigned yet, afraid for this very thing happening. Each time I called, I was assured by the rep that I would definitely be in a spa suite, since that's what was listed on my booking, and that it would be assigned at check-in.

 

I was also livid, and still am, a bit. I decided to not let it ruin my vacation, but I will be following up with Carnival - we booked the spa suite for the spa access - and when they wouldn't even give us that, or a credit equivalent to that, it left a bad taste in my mouth. If anyone has had success getting a previous cruise screwup rectified, I'd love to hear your feedback.

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gred1994

gred1994

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I leave on the Sunshine in 19 days also!!! Have you joined the roll call?

 

Yes, I am on the role call:-)

 

Can't wait for more! We leave in 18 days! We are on deck 10 - spa balcony cabins!

 

 

We are on the 11th floor spa balconies! We have two adjoining because we have three kids!

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Lizstar319

Lizstar319

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Day 1 continued...

 

After dropping off our bags, we decided to make our way to Lido to get some lunch. Namely, Guy's Burgers. I have to admit, I am a bit of a Food Network junkie, but he is not a fave of mine....still, I was intrigued. The burger was quite good, and while the names of the different options were very Guy-esque (aka cheesy and annoying), I still managed to eat there a few more times on the cruise haha. I do like the toppings bar, very easy to customize a burger to however you like it!

 

While we were eating, it started to pour (ah, Florida in August), which was kind of hilarious to watch, since we were safely seated under the overhang. We spent some time people watching, then decided to go see if any of our luggage had shown up yet so we could start getting settled. I decided to stop by the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar on our way and get myself a cocktail to start this cruise off right, and got a margarita...twas delicious.

 

We went back to our cabin, and a few suitcases had been delivered, so we started unpacking, settling in, etc. Soon it was time for the muster drill, and what a delight that was. No one had included in their announcements that drinks weren't allowed, and so I of course brought my margarita with me. I was told that I would need to finish it, since I couldn't have anything in my hands....so I chugged about half of a margarita....and then no one ever took my glass. So I was a lil light headed, holding this glass, pressed into a small space with lots of strangers. Yay. Thankfully, it probably wasn't as long as it felt in reality, and we got out of there. We went back to the cabin to unpack some more, and rest up before dinner.

 

We ate in the MDR (we had ATD), and found check in to be fairly painless. On other ships where I've had ATD, you check in at the dining room, but I guess because of the way the Sunshine is configured, there's not a whole lot of room so they have you check in at Ocean Plaza, and wait until your buzzer goes off to go downstairs. We went about 7pm, got our buzzer, and had about a 20 minute wait. Not bad. Our waiter team this evening was good (but not great). No complaints, but nothing making us want to come back to his section specifically. Food was good and solid (how I find the MDR to be, usually...rarely have I ever had something just awful.)

 

After dinner, we wandered through the casino a bit (Mom loves to play the slots), sister and I played a bit as well, but she is like a black cloud of bad luck to whomever she sits near, so that didn't last very long. We decided to walk over to the Alchemy Bar for a cocktail before calling it a night. There were some very interesting looking drinks on the menu, but the bartender seemed determined to make us something custom. unfortunately, he asked us what we liked to drink, and then went in the complete opposite direction from that. He seems very talented, but perhaps should focus a little more on what people say they like, and making them something in that vein. Once he went off shift, sister and switched drinks, and then went to pick Mom up in the casino. Settled in for a very restful night of sleep, after putting out our room service request for coffee/tea for the next morning.

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Lizstar319

Lizstar319

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Sunday, 8/17 -Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We woke up around 10am, puttered around the suite drinking our coffee and tea (I have trouble eating in the mornings until I have a few cups of tea, so this is more for me than mom/sis). I also looooove sitting out on the balcony in my pj's with my tea and just watching the ocean go by. Nothing better, in my book. We went to brunch around 11:30, of course bringing our free drink coupons. I enjoyed the different options offered, but could do without the cheesy menu descriptions....they're just not funny. I ordered an omelette with cheddar, onions, & bacon, with a side of hash browns and....more bacon. This was to be the bacon cruise (don't worry, I have banned myself from eating bacon for the next month...oof). I also ordered a bloody mary, and we decided to split the mac and cheese with fried chicken and........bacon lol. Omelette was good, bloody mary was ok, mac and cheese was not very good (needed seasoning). The fried chicken was a chicken tender, which is not the same thing.

 

After brunch, we decided to go explore the ship a bit, looked into the shops (seemed like a small area, not very interesting), and then of course, go take a nap. Because afternoon naps are a requirement when cruising, aren't they? Just me? Hmm.

 

After we woke up, we decided it would be a good night to go eat in the Cucina (I sailed on the Magic a few years ago, and I swear....the spaghetti carbonara is the best I've ever eaten....and I grew up eating amazing Italian food. Mangia!) I didn't realize that on Day 1 OR Day 2, you get a free half carafe of the Cucina house wine, which was nice. I'm not a fan of Chianti, so we went with the Pinot Grigio. It's been a long time since I drank Pinot Grigio, so it was a bit of adjustment, but we somehow muddled through :)

 

After dinner, we wandered around the top deck a little bit more, mom wanted to see the whale tail up close, I wanted to try to catch the sunset...we stopped by the casino for a little while (well, the dark cloud of bad luck didn't, just mom and I), then headed back to the cabin for some reading and bed. First port day tomorrow!

Edited by Lizstar319
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