Just back from 8 day August 21 - 29 on the Sunshine

[CruiserPVB]

There were certainly positives and negatives to our cruise. But I have to say we will not be booking the Sunshine again. I will continue tomorrow with both positive and negative details.

[CoastieBMC]

Really what cruise were you on? I had a wonderful time and probably my best cruise ever last week on the sunshine

[CruiserPVB]

Whoa, I stated there were some positives as well as negatives. I'll explain it more tomorrow.

[riclop]

Can't please everyone that is why you take comments with a grain of salt.

[isismommy]

Wow! Love to hear both.

[Kiran]

Waiting -thinking of booking Sunshine for February so want to know what didn't go well.

[Macklovin38]

Want to hear more! Thanks!!

[jenne252]

Waiting to hear both, I leave on Sunshine next Fri

[kublaieod]

Waiting to hear both, I leave on Sunshine next Fri

 

me too..

[neo2120]

There were certainly positives and negatives to our cruise. But I have to say we will not be booking the Sunshine again. I will continue tomorrow with both positive and negative details.

 

 

I totally agree with your statement. My wife and I have been on 6 Carnival cruises in the last 6 years and this was definitely the most disappointing for us.

 

In most respects quality has decreased compared to any of our other cruises.

 

We stayed in a Spa balcony on deck 12 and the room was nice, but I can say our room steward was the worst we have ever had. No clean glasses for 4 days and our sheets weren't changed. Even when we left the towels on the floor they were just poorly folded and hung back up (we figured this out because there was an old stain on one of them that was there the entire cruise).

 

For the most part the food hasn't changed from our first cruise to this one but I noticed less choices in the lido marketplace. I feel as though we were eating sandwiches from the deli or pizza way to much due to the fact that every evening we had a variation of rice and a ton of rolls. Dare I say that it seems they lowered the selection so more people would be interested in going to one of the 4 extra charge restaurants on the ship(we ate once at the Italian and once at the Steakhouse and both were great).

 

Another downside was the sheer number of people on the boat. If you had your heart set on lounging on the comfortable furniture on one of the Serenity decks you better get out there before 8am or forget it.

 

There were physical altercations involving multiple parties in the main pool on more that one occasion as well.

 

There is also no way to view sail and sign accounts charges, restaurant menus or any other helpful information on the TV in the staterooms. There are busy kiosks in public areas for that now. I guess they figure that any time you are not in your room you could be spending more money.

 

We have always felt that cruising was the easiest on our pocketbook but I can say that we probably could have stayed at an all-inclusive in the Caribbean or Mexico with airfare for the same amount of money.

 

I will leave you guys with these two stories that, for me, really spell out the nickel-and-dimey and no loyalty nature that Carnival cruises have become:

 

1.)They would show 2 movies every night on the big screen by the main pool and they had popcorn available during that time. My wife and I walked up during the middle of the first movie and requested a small amount of popcorn and the gentleman making it declared that we could not have any popcorn and would have to come back an hour later at the start of the second movie to get some......it was all made, he just couldn't spare what would equate to <$1 worth of popcorn. We have spent thousands of dollars on cruises over the years......just saying

 

2.) We met a woman who was on her 25th Carnival cruise. She explained to us that she had spoken to her room steward and requested that she get a mini fridge for her room so she could cool soda and bottled water that she had brought on board(allowed by Carnival). The steward advised her to ask guest services and they would bring one up. She went to guest services with the request and was asked why she needed it. She told them and they refused.

[CruiserPVB]

Good - The crowded deck space everyone is worried about is no different than any other cruise ship on Sea Days. If your a serious sunbather you should have your chairs by 9:30 - 10:00 am. If your later than that then your not serious.

 

Bad - Crowded and long lines for the Comedy Club. Need to get in line 35 - 40 early. The Comedy Club is clearly the best entertainment on the Sunshine. The so called Production Shows in the "Liquid Lounge" have no production value and compared to other cruise lines absolutely terrible. There are 8 singers and dancers. All 8 work hard but just not that good. Feel they have been doing the same shows over and over again for years.

 

Good - The Food. Important right. My wife and I were not disappointed. The different outlets i.e. Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana and such were a nice addition to the cruise. Not like Royal Caribbean's burger and shake restaurant that cost extra.

We dined in the Main Dining Room not because we didn't want to spend the extra $'s in the upper scale restaurants but because we enjoyed it so much. Jerome and his assistants were great as well as the food. We were on the Anytime Dining and while it was a little bothersome to go to deck 5 to get our ticket to get a table on deck 3 it worked smoothly and were seated right away.

 

Bad - Arrived on the ship at 1 pm on day one did not see our Cabin Steward for the first 5 1/2 hours. No refrigerator in our Balcony cabin, we wanted Ice, called 3 times and that at 6:30 pm is when we met our Cabin Steward with a bucket of ice. I asked him why did it take so long to meet him, he told me he had been on break.

Mid way through the cruise we left 2 dirty wine glasses in the cabin. They were left in the cabin the entire next day until I set them on the floor in the hallway.

 

Our cabin #7258 was the smallest cabin and balcony we have ever had on any ship. In an attempt to not come across to snobbish we have been on approximately 20 cruises with the cruises fairly well split between Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have never had stayed in a Suite.

 

Finally we did enjoy our cruise and despite having a Tropical Storm to deal with on the way out "Danny" and a Tropical Storm on the way back "Erica" we had the calmest seas ever. The Sunshine itself was just OK.

 

My recommendation is: If your already booked on the Sunshine you should be ok and you will make the best of it as we did. If you haven't booked your cruise with Carnival yet then I would stay away from the Sunshine.

 

P.S. My age is 63 and my Beautiful wife is younger than me.

I apologize for any misspellings and the lack of acronyms.

 

P.s. #2 If your able please don't use the elevator to go up or down one floor.

[cruiznut]

We were also on this cruise and had the best time ever! This was our first Carnival cruise and we will be back! We have eight cruises under our belt including Disney and RCCL and this very well may have been the best one! Don't understand all the complaints for sure!

[NCTribeFan]

Do people not realize that Sunshine is a refurbished older ship? The cabins don't all have refrigerators. I'm guessing that the few they have available need to be reserved for people who need to store medications, not just so someone can chill their drinks. And the number of cruises anyone has taken should have no bearing on it.

 

I couldn't care less if I never see my cabin steward. I'd rather have a glass left that I may want to re-use than have it taken and not replaced. Guess that's just me.

 

Don't eat at the buffet. Don't go to the comedy shows. I'm a morning person so don't expect to have any problem getting a lounger on Serenity.

 

I often sail Fantasy class ships and have survived close to 70 nights on them without interactive TVs!

 

Many of the "negatives" from the two longs posts are things that simply wouldn't bother me, and I'm fairly picky. For some reason, once I get on a ship, I tend to just not notice and try to relax and enjoy myself. Never had a perfect cruise but have yet to get off a ship and think I wouldn't return (have #23 and #24 on Carnival coming up soon).

 

Just goes to show that what one person notices, another person doesn't.

 

I got a nice price and will have a wonderful itinerary when I sail her. I don't sail for the ship but I'm looking forward to Sunshine.

[cruising maniac]

Thank you for spending your valuable time in writing a review. I for one will pay attention and either stay away from the Sunshine or go with different expectations. Seemed to me that your review was fair and unbiased. I don't like the idea of an old ship that they try to make new again with a little refurb and a name change. Doesn't really work for me. Glad to hear that the food was good.

[CoastieBMC]

I'll

Be back

Edited September 2, 2015 by CoastieBMC

[Buffettlovertina]

I to will be waiting to hear. I leave out 9/11 with a group of 24....

[jenne252]

That is crazy about the popcorn. So if you get to the movie late, or if you want popcorn in the middle of the movie versus the beginning, the answer is no? Did they say why??

[AmberTeka]

I did a lot of research on the Sunshine. it is a port located 3 hours from our house and I

WANTED to like it.

 

After reading as many reviews as Cruise Critic has...........15 pages I think. I DISCOVERED

 

IF you sailed on the Sunshine and had one of the NEW cabins..............the lobby deck ( 3) all of them. Inside and Inside with window view ( 4J), the PROMENADE Deck ( 5) ocean view rooms.......and I think Spa Balconies. THEY HAD MINI FRIDGES. NO PLUMBING ISSUES. THEY WERE AND ARE NEW CABINS.

 

those people seemed to be pretty happy.

Se we booked a 4J. Had a grand time

Going back at Christmas In a four J. and they are hard to get.

 

Did not seem as crowded as the Breeze did to me. Food was good. My Cabin steward REY. BEST in the WORLD. Passengers nice. Crew nice. Ship Desk prints out statement anytime you want. takes a minute. ( to stay on top of your spending)

 

for what it was worth. I loved the Sunshine. Loved it. and honestly. did not expect to do so. We have.............more sea days than most sailors as my husband says. And he was in the Coast Guard Reserve for years.

[jean87510]

Thank you for the review. We are going on the Sunshine in October. May I add that it is a pleasure to read a fair and unbiased review that is easy to read without fragmented sentences.

[cruizinisthebest]

I was on this same sailing and will eventually do some sort of review of my own.

 

I will say - I only saw one production show - Epic Rock - and I thought it was horrible.:D Now last year on the Freedom I saw 88 Keys and thought it was definitely one of the best short stage shows I've ever seen. So I'm not a playlist production hater. But Epic Rock was bad. Just my opinion.

 

As far as the comedy shows, I went to 3 late night shows. Stood in line for all of them and knew to do as much from the experiences shared on this board. The late show started @ 11:15. I got there each time between 10:45 and 11:00. By then the line was long but I found a seat with relative ease each time. Standing in line didn't bother me as it's a pretty hallway for one with the piano bar, bonsai sushi, and the steakhouse right there :p . And for two, there was the other folks standing to chit chat with to pass the time. The hallway was warm, but no big deal with that.

[Crusin Hogs]

Sunshine is a refurbished old ship , We now stick with The Dream , The Magic ,and The Breeze . 3 the newest in the fleet . Awaiting The Vista !

[summersigh]

Do people not realize that Sunshine is a refurbished older ship? The cabins don't all have refrigerators. I'm guessing that the few they have available need to be reserved for people who need to store medications, not just so someone can chill their drinks. And the number of cruises anyone has taken should have no bearing on it.

 

I couldn't care less if I never see my cabin steward. I'd rather have a glass left that I may want to re-use than have it taken and not replaced. Guess that's just me.

 

Don't eat at the buffet. Don't go to the comedy shows. I'm a morning person so don't expect to have any problem getting a lounger on Serenity.

 

I often sail Fantasy class ships and have survived close to 70 nights on them without interactive TVs!

 

Many of the "negatives" from the two longs posts are things that simply wouldn't bother me, and I'm fairly picky. For some reason, once I get on a ship, I tend to just not notice and try to relax and enjoy myself. Never had a perfect cruise but have yet to get off a ship and think I wouldn't return (have #23 and #24 on Carnival coming up soon).

 

Just goes to show that what one person notices, another person doesn't.

 

I got a nice price and will have a wonderful itinerary when I sail her. I don't sail for the ship but I'm looking forward to Sunshine.

 

WELL SAID !!! You saved me a lot of typing :D

[cruiserNC]

We were on the Sunshine in early August although we had a great time we would not book the Sunshine again for many of the reason the OP stated. This was our 13th Carnival cruise and with all ships some we enjoy more than others. The ships has many of the features that the newer ships enjoy so that is why we booked but in our opinion the ships size is too small to handle that many passengers. I've never cruised on a ship where I felt as if I couldn't enjoy parts of the ship unless I arrived 30 mins early.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[scm200]

I was surprised to read the cabin was small, I have cruised on Carnival in Both Conquest Class, Fantasy Class and the Triumph (a lot like the Conquest Class) and all the cabins except the Fantasy (first cruise) were very spacious. We have had inside, ocean view, balcony and family balcony and they are all larger than the cabins on the NCL ships we cruised on. NCL has much smaller cabins in general. 185 SF is pretty good sized for a Balcony.

[pmoniz]

Do people not realize that Sunshine is a refurbished older ship? The cabins don't all have refrigerators. I'm guessing that the few they have available need to be reserved for people who need to store medications, not just so someone can chill their drinks. And the number of cruises anyone has taken should have no bearing on it.

 

I couldn't care less if I never see my cabin steward. I'd rather have a glass left that I may want to re-use than have it taken and not replaced. Guess that's just me.

 

Don't eat at the buffet. Don't go to the comedy shows. I'm a morning person so don't expect to have any problem getting a lounger on Serenity.

 

I often sail Fantasy class ships and have survived close to 70 nights on them without interactive TVs!

 

Many of the "negatives" from the two longs posts are things that simply wouldn't bother me, and I'm fairly picky. For some reason, once I get on a ship, I tend to just not notice and try to relax and enjoy myself. Never had a perfect cruise but have yet to get off a ship and think I wouldn't return (have #23 and #24 on Carnival coming up soon).

 

Just goes to show that what one person notices, another person doesn't.

 

I got a nice price and will have a wonderful itinerary when I sail her. I don't sail for the ship but I'm looking forward to Sunshine.

 

 

Totally agree!! Thank you for saying it all for me!

I cringe when I start reading a review that's negative - because I'm nervous that it's a disaster and I'm going to hate the ship! Then I continue on and realize - Really??? Big deal! I'm on vacation!