Sunshine Report: Sep 27th, 5 night Bahamas with pics (HMC, Nassau, Freeport)

[starfish the second]

subcribing will be on the sunshine in april

[ScottsSweetie]

This is the first picture I've seen of the pour your own beer station.

 

Curious - when you swipe your card, is there a gratuity charged on the price of the beer?

[CruzinScotty]

subcribing will be on the sunshine in april

 

Welcome aboard, I hope you find some useful information.

 

This is the first picture I've seen of the pour your own beer station.

 

Curious - when you swipe your card, is there a gratuity charged on the price of the beer?

 

None of us bought and beer here. We watched a couple of guys. When you swipe, you pick which of the two beers you want. Then, somehow, you pay by the ounce. I don't think there was a gratuity, but I'm not positive.

[CruzinScotty]

After an uneventful Muster Drill, we headed up to Deck 10 for Sail Away. Here are a few pics.

 

Pulling away from the terminal:

 

Some local restaurants:

 

Here is the Freedom of the Seas at the new Royal Caribbean Terminal:

I couldn’t see the Terminal well, but read about it beforehand. Hard to believe the Oasis is coming here.

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[CruzinScotty]

Looking towards Cocoa Beach and points south:

Looking north towards Cape Canaveral:

 

And finally, a gang on the Lido busy dancing. Looks like a bunch of zombies to me ;)

Coming soon, it’s time for dinner!

[isismommy]

Great job and pix!!!! Thx!!!

[CruzinScotty]

Great job and pix!!!! Thx!!!

 

Thanks, glad you are enjoying.

 

I forgot one more pic from Sail Away. We planned to wear the same shirt:

 

 

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[CruzinScotty]

We had Any Time Dining which in a different location on the Sunshine. It’s on Deck 3 in the aft Sunrise Dining Room. I’ll discuss this process later.

For now, here is the view from our table:

There are 3 things to note in this picture: The Sensation is catching up with us, there is a dirty spot in that window, and you can see a small portion of the window to the left. (The last two come into play later…..)

We sat in this area at the very rear of the ship most evenings.

How about starting off with some bread:

So, what to eat on the first night?

Let’s see…….

[CruzinScotty]

My last 5 Carnival cruises have been 7 or 8 nights. Last year, we were on the Liberty; which has the new menus. My family really enjoyed the new options; we may be in the minority according to many CC members….

So, it’s been two years since I had the old menu and I was wondering what the 5 night options were. It’s time for info from another CC member to come into play: Gambee.

During the last few weeks before this cruise, I found a 5 night trip report on the Victory out of Miami by Gambee. My, what a great review; his photography is phenomenal. One reason I read this review was to see what the menu options would be on a 5 night cruise. When I saw Gambee’s first night menu, I could not remember what I had had in past years – nothing looked familiar. But, he had the Lasagna and it looked really good.

So, imagine my surprise when I looked at our menu and there was no lasagna. LOL

I found out that not all 5 night menus are the same! I was surprised and didn’t think to take pictures of tonight’s menu, but have them for the other nights. Keep in mind – they may or may not be on YOUR next 5 night cruise. ;)

As I did last year, I asked the person on each side of me if I could take pictures if they ordered something different than me. Here are a few appetizers and entrées from tonight:

Linquini and Italian Sausage (pasta as a starter):

When one just won’t do:

Caesar Salad:

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[CruzinScotty]

Sweet and Sour Shrimp:

 

Healthy chicken:

 

Not-so-healthy chicken :) :

 

Crème brulee:

 

 

Black Forest Cake:

I LOVE Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. I can’t believe I didn’t order it tonight, but I had too much dessert at lunch. the Black Forest Cake was much lighter. You will see WCMC in the future, have no fail!

Back in a bit with our evening out and about

 

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Edited October 12, 2015 by CruzinScotty

[CruzinScotty]

At this point, we split up for the evening, running into a few folks here and there.

 

DW and I headed forward on Deck 5. Here is more of the Atrium Lobby:

 

 

 

Cherry on the Top is larger on the Sunshine:

 

 

 

 

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[CruzinScotty]

The arcade is also on in this area. Seems a little strange, but a great marketing strategy putting the arcade next to the candy store!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed to the Fun Shops for a bit, and caught the last few minutes of the Welcome Aboard Show. It was very different than I remember. That has to do with the new production show and the Liquid Lounge. I'll go over both of these later.

 

Next: come on and join in – it’s time for a sing-a-long!

Edited October 13, 2015 by CruzinScotty

[CruzinScotty]

As I said, C-Luv was our Cruise Director, Jaime Dee would be back on the next cruise. I’ve heard she is great. Does she sing and dance?

After the Welcome Aboard Show, C-Luv had a “roaming show” called Rock the Promenade. He and some of the performers started in the Atrium and sang for a bit. Then, they moved up do deck 5 and down to a few areas on the Promenade for more singing. We watched part of the Atrium show.

Here, he’s trying to get people in the mood:

I’m having so much fun, I gotta sing and dance on the bar:

 

So, as a low-tech guy, the thing I like most about digital cameras is you can just keep snapping away and hope you get a few good shots along the way. I surprised myself when I sorted thru the next set.

It’s time for everyone to sing along. You know you know the song….

Young man, there’s no need to feel down…..

Come on, you know it!

It’s fun to stay at the:

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Edited October 13, 2015 by CruzinScotty

[CruzinScotty]

Next, we decided to get some fresh air. Here’s a picture of the Serenity pool at night:

The Dive-In Movies have been running for a few years. Tonight they were playing Pitch Perfect 2 and DW wanted to watch the last 20 minutes of it.

I must say, this is the first time I’ve actually sat down and not just passed thru during movie time. I didn’t get the appeal; now I do. It’s very enjoyable and relaxing, watching the movie and being able to look up to see the clouds and stars in the night.

Next: it’s a FULL MOON out there.

[CruzinScotty]

I heard about it a week ahead of time and tried to make sure I didn’t forget. It even made it’s way into the Fun Times. Tonight is the first Super Full Moon Eclipse in 33 years, there won’t be another one for 17 more.

We went up to the Jogging Track to take a look. We ran into one SIL, the healthy one, getting a walk in this evening. We joined up and talked while we watched the eclipse. We even got some frozen yogurt along the way.

One thing that was interesting was the movement of the ship. You could feel us moving from side to side, but it wasn’t bad. I say meaning I heard no one talking about rough seas.

You could see the Sensation on the port side. Now, when you were on the starboard side, you could see the Freedom of the Seas ahead of us. With a point of reference in front, it was an amazing site. You could not feel it at all unless you were looking at the ship ahead, but the Sunshine was doing some MAJOR “porpoising” – moving up and down from bow to stern. If you went to the port side to see the Sensation, you couldn’t tell a bit the ship was moving this way. And no, we had not been drinking tonight. LOL

So, the eclipse was quite interesting with the moon getting darker and darker. With no point of reference, I was unable to get any decent pictures. I don’t know how it might have been for people at home, but I will say it was a little disappointing in the fact they said the moon would turn red and there only appeared to be a faint color coming thru.

But, it was a fun event non-the-less.

We headed back to our room to find a new friend:

 

I admit I thought I would miss the chocolates. But, in reality; I did not. They were not the best quality and I was the only one that ate them – and I eat enough as it is. ;)

My evening ritual is to take notes for the day and spend a little time on the balcony. Sleep came easily and very soundly. Every night at sea. There’s nothing like it. :D

But, I can’t end a post about the moon without a picture. Though I slept well, I was still up early enough to catch this picture the next morning:

Also note how calm the water is.

 

Goodnight Moon.

Edited October 13, 2015 by CruzinScotty

[CruzinScotty]

Monday, Sept. 28th – A DAY AT SEA

Edited October 14, 2015 by CruzinScotty

[CruzinScotty]

As I said, I was up early, so it’s my turn to get a walk on the Jogging Track. Here’s the sunrise:

There are so many activities up on Deck 10.

The ropes course:

Basketball court:

Now THAT’s a fooseball table:

Chess anyone?

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[CruzinScotty]

These next two pictures were taken in sequence.

 

Sunrise, forward port side:

 

 

Full Moon, aft starboard side:

 

Meanwhile, DW was on the balcony and got a different perspective of the moon:

Notice how calm the water is and how beautiful seaweed from the Sargasso Sea is at sea (as opposed to on the beach).

[CruzinScotty]

“Sunshine Perception” – well, sometimes a perception on all Carnival Ships on sea days: You have to be on the Lido deck by 7AM or the chair hogs will have claimed all the spots.

This is at 7AM, I think I see a few spots left. ;)

I continued on with my walk, now on tour.

Here’s the Marketplace seating area.

A new seating option:

Heading towards the buffet from Guy’s on one side or the Mexican Cantina on the other:

I will say that these areas can be warm during the day because the doors are open with a lot of traffic allowing the outside hot/humid air to come in.

Seating near the buffett stations:

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[CruzinScotty]

Here are some pictures of the Continental Breakfast. It was too early for the full breakfast. I have those photos on another day.

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[JenWag]

I am loving this review! We will be on the Sunshine for this same cruise in April :)

[CruzinScotty]

Here are a couple of pictures.

This is the aft of the ship. Notice the great view and the band area:

A side view. There are drink stations on each side back here:

There are two specialty areas in the Havana Bar area as well. The upgrades have made good use of this space – all day long.

Ji Ji makes omelets in the morning, is the Mongolian wok at lunch and is an up-charge Asian restaurant at night.

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[CruzinScotty]

Another multi-purpose area is:

 

Cucina del Capitano also makes omelets in the morning, is the free custom-made pasta location at lunch and is also an up-charge Italian restaurant at night.

Given the Italian legacy of the Carnival Ship Captains, in this area is information on the Destiny and it’s transformation:

Coming soon: a lot more touring

[S.C.]

Enjoying your report! And I agree the green is easier to read.

[CruzinScotty]

“Sunshine Perception” – they added cabins and took away public space. This makes the ship more crowded and unbearable to many people.

There’s no an easy answer to this. You’ll just have to come on the ship and find out for yourself! :) :)

First of all, I’m not fond of crowds and try to avoid them when possible. When people are “zigging”, I am “zagging”. I’m pretty good at it. Keep in mind, the Marketplace is crowded on every ship on Embarkation day and the Lido Deck is always crowded on sea days. But from my perspective, I did not notice extra crowds on this sold out cruise.

I will say that others in my family do have a different opinion. They found the walkways narrow, particularly the Promenade. And, even though the Lido Buffet is set up with more “pods” instead of long straight-aways; some family found a lot of bumping from other cruisers in both of these areas.

So, they added/converted public space on Deck 9 from a pool to expanded indoor eating options (Havana Bar). They also added the huge waterpark/Family area on Deck 10. They converted outdoor space into a new Serenity area.

But, they took away public space on Deck 5 and Deck 3 to add more cabins. I’ll discuss Deck 3 later. I’ll discuss Deck 5 next.

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