Carnival Sunshine Trip Review - May 24th, 2015 - Is it better in the Bahamas?

[misstiffany]

Cruise Specifics

 

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Sailing Date: May 24th, 2015

Nights: 5

Departure Port: Port Canaveral

Ports of Call: Half Moon Cay, Nassau and Freeport - all in the Bahamas!

Excursions: Kayak and Nature Experience (Freeport), British Colonial Hilton Day Pass (Nassau), Get on an early tender and get in an early morning workout by running to the far end of the beach and grabbing a nice shaded spot under a tree (Half Moon Cay)

Room Type: Forward Standard Balcony on the Lido Deck

Pre-Cruise Hotel: Comfort Inn Cocoa Beach

 

 

Background Info

 

I went on this cruise with my boyfriend. We’re both 30-somethings living in Tallahassee, FL. We went on a Memorial Day weekend cruise last year on the Paradise and liked it so much we decided to make Memorial Day cruising a tradition. The Sunshine had a few new food options we hadn’t tried before and it fit the bill for schedule, ports and price. We booked the cruise about 60 days out. We drove to Cocoa Beach the day before cruise started. Pictures included in this review are a mix of images from my cell phone and several point and shoot digital cameras. I don’t have copies of the Fun Times or menus and we didn’t purchase Faster to the Fun or the Alcohol Package. Our cruise style is relaxed and worry-free. Cruising has become our vacation of choice because we can literally get on the ship and go! We haven’t been able to do that on any of our land vacations.

 

Choosing the Bahamas: Perhaps something else to point out is that we specifically looked for Bahamas cruises. We’d both been to all of these ports before but have only been to Nassau and Freeport in the dead of winter and didn’t have good plans for either on our previous visits. Being from Florida, even the Bahamas (or any cruise for that matter) in December/January is not that pleasant for us. The water feels too cold for us and it seems rougher than usual. We’re usually upset that we can’t lay out in the sun, and it’s an overall bad vibe. We have chosen to never cruise again in the winter but decided we needed to give the Bahamas another shot when it’s warm and we would make sure to plan our excursions carefully. If Nassau and Freeport still sucked, at least we’d have Half Moon Cay - which is always 100% perfect!

 

Pre-Cruise Day Travel and Parking at Comfort Inn Cocoa Beach

 

We had absolutely no issues on the drive down to Cocoa Beach, which was amazing (Florida can have awful traffic on holiday weekends and the weather usually complicates the situation even more). We booked a night at the Comfort Inn Cocoa Beach for the day before the cruise and our booking included a Cruise Parking package. I think this was around $150, which was fine with us...parking at the port would have been about $100 alone. We arrived at 3pm and our room was not ready yet but they gave us our parking pass. The parking pass is good anywhere on the hotel property and not only in “Lot E”, which is a side lot designated especially for long-term parking.

 

With time to kill, we walked to the public beach across the street and it was packed. Much more crowded than Panama City Beach or any of the other North Florida beaches I’m used to. This was surprising to me because Cocoa Beach reminds me of Panama City Beach in the 90’s - a sleepy, Southern small town, beach/coastal community….Anyhow, dark brown dirt/sand and rough Atlantic waters are not our thing so we decided that we’d eat and come back to the beach for sunset. We went to eat at a pizza place across the street from the hotel, called New York Pizza (I think?). There were other food options within walking distance. We also walked to a CVS and picked up some soft drinks to bring with us on the ship. By the time we were done eating our hotel room was ready. The room was clean and I was happy to find that it had tile floors. I can’t stand carpeted floors in a beach hotel, even though I wear slippers or flip-flops 99% of the time I’m in any hotel room. Our room was near the pool and had a little privacy provided by the palms. The pool area stayed lively throughout the night. It didn’t interrupt my sleeping but I also wear earplugs to sleep every night. I don’t have any pictures of the inside of the hotel room but here’s the room window (pool is directly behind the plants) and pool area at night:

 

 

 

Our evening sunset stroll on Cocoa Beach was nice! I’m a 100% Gulf Coast girl and way too biased, but I’ll try to appreciate other beaches at least a little.

 

 



 



 

Embarkation Day

 

The day began with finding out that "Lot E", (the designated hotel parking for cruisers), was filled. However, the hotel staff told us we were welcome to park anywhere on the hotel’s property except for a parking spot that was directly in front of a hotel room. That’ll make more sense if you’ve been there before, but we just took their word for it and parked where they said we’d be safe.

 

The hotel provided a shuttle to and from the port area. No issues getting on an early shuttle, and we arrived at the port at 10:30am. Crowds were minimal and we were on board in about an hour. We explored the ship until our stateroom was ready. We found that the Havana Bar was our best spot for eating in an uncrowded area and we ate there for all other meals, except for ones in the dining room. It’s easy to find the Havana Bar, but it’s still a little hidden. When you reach thte pool deck, go PAST the plow em’ down crowds fighting for gut bombs at Guy’s Burgers and then go all way the way through the Lido Buffet area. At the back of the Lido you’ll see a sign pointing to the Havana Bar. You’ll need to walk through the Aft Elevator area to get to the Havana Bar and that’s why it seems a bit hidden. I tried Cucina del Capitano's pasta bowl lunch option and it was fine, but nothing that made me want to pay extra for their food at dinner.

 

Next up are my Stateroom Thoughts and Day at Sea!

[cruzeluver]

Thanks. Really looking forward to the rest. We are booked on a 10 day Journey's cruise next year on Sunshine.

[RaMar]

Looking forward to the rest, great beach pictures!

[seafoy]

Can't wait for the rest....on the same cruise July 5th!

[JJInc]

when you reach thte pool deck, go past the plow em’ down crowds fighting for gut bombs at guy’s burgers

 

LOL! :d

[cajunfla]

Looking forward to the rest of your review, we are booked on Sunshine for Sept. I agree with you on the Gulf beaches spoiling us.

[AmberTeka]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. For those of us who have yet to sail on the Sunshine , it is a textbook of sorts. What to do and what not to do.

 

Your sharing of experiences is much appreciated.

[misstiffany]

Stateroom Thoughts: I don’t have many pictures of stateroom but it was clean and spacious enough. It was located on Deck 9 (Lido Deck) near the pool area. I will be 100% honest about this and admit that IT WAS LOUD at night. I don’t think it was necessarily the guests on our deck, but more-so people that liked to congregate near the Lido Deck elevators at 1am, speaking in what I can only refer to as Redneck Ramble. Literally, a drunk Boomhauer from King of the Hill was outside our room every single night! I am from North Florida and get told I have a strong Southern accent but even I couldn’t make out what was being said. However, I’ve had plenty of roommates and heard plenty of Redneck Ramble before, so once I had my earplugs in I was able to pass out and and sleep well each night. Despite this, I still felt that staying on the Lido deck was convenient and I would do it again.

 

 

 

Plus, here’s a quick sailaway shot leaving Port Canaveral:

 

 

 

Day At Sea

 

This was the only sea day of the entire cruise. Yes, the pool deck and Serenity area was crowded but it didn't seem any more crowded than any other holiday or summertime cruise. We were able to find a few lounge chairs but honestly, it was so hot out that we weren't in them longer than an hour and a half or so. The main pool is laughably small, about the size of a backyard swimming pool, and had approximately 25 kids in it playing Marco Polo every time I passed it. I never saw a single parent in the pool or noticeably supervising any of them but who knows - maybe the kids were all playing Marco and the parents were playing Polo ;) . The hot tubs were also full of kids. I don't use either so it didn't bother me, but the "kid presence" was definitely higher than other cruises I've been on.

 

This day was mostly uneventful for us but we took as it the best day to try out all the food options that aren't available on all other Carnival ships. Blue Iguana's taco/burrito station was never too crowded and it's easy to forget that they're also open at breakfast time. The crowd that was scrambling for Guy's burger-gut-bombs on embarkation day? They were still present from 11a-1p but it was easy to grab one any other time. I think Guys was open until 6pm each day, which seems plenty late enough to me. The Mongolian Wok is also on the Sunshine, but it's back in the Havana Bar..along with Cucina Del Capitano and a few fried Cuban foods. The Lido Buffet area was similar to other Carnival ships and had multiple stations set up for the same foods, so you didn't have to wait in one long line for anything. Other than stuffing ourselves with food, we just enjoyed the beautiful day. There was hardly a cloud in the sky

 

 

 

 

This was also formal night. Yes, there were people dressed in jean shorts and flip flops but they were simply walking around the ship...everyone in the main dining room was dressed perfectly fine. I wore a black jersey cocktail dress and the boyfriend literally wore exactly what he wears to work - a nice button up, collared shirt and black slacks. No tie, as he says that only "the little ones" wear those on a cruise. By that he means males between the ages of 18-25 who still believe their significant other when she says that everyone else on the ship will be wearing a tie on formal night. It worked for me for awhile, but once he stopped wearing one I know that he won't do it again

 

Up Next is our first port of call, Half Moon Cay!

[ReggaeRoy]

Nice review. Looking forward to more.

[KimEadler]

Love the review! We'll be on the same trip July 5th! Thank you, and I can't wait to read more!

[JayMo]

I was on this cruise with you! I want to do a review, but I can't wait to see read yours and read what you thought about the Sunshine :)

[crewsweeper]

Subscribed!

[Golf18aday]

Am enjoying your review. Will you be posting the Funtimes from your 5-day cruise?

[DutchCruiseFan]

Nice review!

Looking forward to more!

[TravelE]

Great review! I agree with many of your points and can't wait to hear more.

[Foxycourt95]

Great start,Following!!!

[DScroggy5]

subscribe

[misstiffany]

Half Moon Cay

 

This day seemed to go by too fast, faster than any other day on the cruise. I've been to Half Moon Cay twice before. Once I was part of a group that got the Private Oasis (full luxury) and the other time I simply got a spot under the shade on the far end of the beach, away from the crowds. In all honesty, I prefer the latter. Half Moon Cay is going to be the highlight of your cruise no matter what, but the Private Oasis was a bit too much fuss for a place that doesn't need anything else to make it great. I don't like being waited on though, so that might have something to do with it!

 

Anyhow, I woke up before the boyfriend as usual, and started the day the exact same way that I started every day on the cruise. Go in bathroom, run brush through hair, throw on shorts and a tank top and shoes and zombie walk it through the pool area to grab coffee. Yes, I'm aware that room service would help me avoid this, but I liked how the short walk woke me up and I considered it was a great way to take advantage of having a cabin on the Lido deck - no balancing coffee through stairs or elevators! After grabbing coffee and a muffin, I would go sit out on our balcony and watch the morning begin. Each morning was beautiful, and I never heard a peep on our balcony in the a.m. hours.

 

Awhile later, the boyfriend was up and ready. We grabbed a couple of boxes of dry cereal (he prefers sleep over eating in the morning), packed sunscreen, water bottles and "water cocktails" (take an empty water bottle, add alcohol, add water, add water flavor squirts such as Mio or whatever you like, shake a little and you're done) in our backpacks and headed to the Liquid Lounge to catch a tender over to the island. We got there about 10 minutes after 8am and were given Tender Ticket #12. From what I've figured out, this doesn't mean you'll be on the 12th tender. Rather, each tender can hold multiple groups, or "ticket numbers". Each tender probably holds 6-8 ticket groups. I don't feel like you'd need Faster to the Fun for tendering, as long as you arrive between 8 and 8:30. By 8:30 (we were still waiting to be called), the lounge was mobbed and I started seeing Ticket numbers rise to the high 20's pretty quickly. Our ticket # was called in the second large group, maybe 8:45 a.m.? (best approximation when you're on island time and don't care) and the Half Moon Cay still looked pretty deserted when we arrived.

 

We took off on a very brisk walk, past the food, past the bar, past the cabanas, and all the way down to the middle-to-end part of the island. We didn't go as far as where I've seen the horseback riding occur, but still far enough way that hardly anyone else was around. There were still stacks of lounge chairs this far down, so we grabbed a few and placed them under the trees. If you don't mind the walk to get food or go the bathroom, then this is a much better option than a clamshell. It's way more open and doesn't get hot! I was in a clamshell once on RCCL's private island and it felt a lot like being stopped at a red light in a car with no a/c.

 

 



 

 

The picture below shows exactly where we set up camp for the day. The part of the island you see across from us that's sticking out further than the rest? I believe that's where the tenders come in:

 

 

 

 

 

The only people around at first were cruise ship employees, who had varying breaks. Most had to be back before noon, but other employees came out at noon as well. They had the same idea as us - simply bring a beverage and some dry snacks, sunscreen and a towel...and that all you need! After noon, more cruise ship passengers made their way down to where we were at, but it never got crowded. I'm honestly not sure what time we had to be back on board (though I knew on that day), but I know that we made sure to leave at least an hour and a half early to avoid a long line for a tender. Surely enough, our effort paid off and we had the shortest wait for a tender we've ever had! The line for the tender is HOT and completely void of shade. Seriously, it's worth the embarrassment of wrapping a towel or tshirt on your head, desert-turban style, just to avoid your scalp getting burned. A nice touch, however, was that Carnival had a few free ice water/lemonade dispensers along the tender line route.

 

 

 

 

We hadn't eaten anything but cereal by the time we made it back to the ship, so we finally divulged in Guy's Burgers. Had to reward ourselves for all of the incredibly deceiving bathing suit shots we took of each other on Half Moon Cay...Sucking in your stomach repeatedly all day is quite exhausting! Did the standard dinner-in-the-dining-room, karaoke, and wine on the balcony before bed routine. A downside of having three port days in a row is that you can't really afford to stay up that late at night. Call me paranoid, or maybe I've just watched too much Locked Up Abroad, but I like being 100% alert when I'm not in the U.S. Unfortunately, that requires an 11pm bedtime.

 

Next Up is the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau!

Edited June 3, 2015 by misstiffany

[sjcruiser]

Thanks for the review and photos. We'll be back on the Sunshine in less than 60 days for an 8-nighter to the E. Caribbean.

[pirate4me2]

I'm loving this review! Thanks for posting it.

[cessnabmw]

Thanks for review! Great pics!

 

Would love some thoughts on the ship itself and we are looking to potentially booking it for a Journeys cruise.

[loslili2021]

I will be on the same trip in September..thanks for the review great tip on HMC!

[jfried8]

Following!!

[mypokey2]

We were on this cruise also,mostly to check out how they worked in the 2.0 upgrades. The specialty restaurants ie: steakhouse and bonsai sushi are on deck 4 right by the comedy club. The comedy club is quite small and about 1/3 of the people that d get in the club will watch the acts on monitors as they are not in line of sight of the stage. The other specialty dining is on the lido deck past the buffet and towards the Havana Lounge which we recommend for all meals as there is ample seating, Cucunia and JIJI are located here. Grandkids loved waterworks, but didn't try slides as they are too young. Camp Carnival for the younger set was excellent and the staff recognized the kids after the first day.

The highlight of the cruise is Jaimie the cruise director the energy that she brings to every event is amazing. Overall a good cruise with a great CD.:)

[Alabaster Cruiser]

following