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Why the Carnival Sunshine will forever be one of our favorite ships. (Review)

CruiseAdict218

By CruiseAdict218,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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CruiseAdict218

CruiseAdict218

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Having planned this cruise almost a year and a half ago, starting off with choosing both Carnival and the Carnival Sunshine to celebrate the anniversary of my parents and renewing their vows marking 40 years of marriage. This could not have been a more perfect cruise vacation.

 

Quick Background: This was our first cruise with Carnival since 2009 on the Carnival Triumph, so its been a few years since then. This is also our first cruise vacation that included most of our immediate family and a few friends about a group of 20 or so came altogether. My parents selected Carnival to do the renewal of vows, because it was the most affordable.

 

I'll try my best to include everything and to break it down as best as I can, hope you enjoy.

 

Embarkation: We selected a private limo company to take us to the terminal. We did not have FTTF believe it was sold out but aside from a brief wait..once we checked in; we were called for boarding no later than 15 minutes, so overall it was very smooth.

 

Cabin: OV-5335, it was a great cabin, lot of room with three of us in the room, our cabin steward was nice but never really saw her too often but she did a good job.

 

Food: Main Dinning Room had great food overall, would have like a few more options but I'm just a picky eater. :D Our waiter Spitz (?) was excellent, kept us entertained during our voyage. I also would like to note, I do quite like the dinning room entertainment with the entire staff, it made the experience that much more.

 

Guy's Burgers was excellent. Lido Buffet I felt could have had more options as well but still good altogether. One disappointment was the lack of a "midnight buffet", they had a few small snacks but it was the same-thing each night and I can't eat pizza so that didn't help.

 

Cruise Director: Emma did an outstanding job, she had a lot of energy knew how to entertain and kept the room laughing.

 

Bermuda: We didn't get to do everything as planned, due to the ship leaving a few hours early on the last day but on arrival a few of us in our party went parasailing which is something none of us had done and we all had an excellent time, highly recommend it.

 

Second day we went to Horseshoe Bay Beach which was beautiful, lots of spots to explore and the food was good was well.

 

Third day, a few went to a beach closer to the ship, and some went shopping.

 

Carnival Hub App: Worked well for those of us who used it, and easy to use as well. A few times the app would stop working but all you have to do is restart the app. I should note the app has to stay running to get notifications from the chat feature. The chat feature is $5, which you pay once for the week. It was also a plus to be able to track your on-board spending as well.

 

Internet: I purchased the Value Package for $60 which was the entire length of the voyage and was worth the money. Only time I had a weak connection was in my stateroom.

 

Shipboard Renewal of Marriage Vow: Since this is something that I don't think gets reviewed often but if your thinking about renewing your vows with Carnival, I and my parents of course would highly recommend this. They purchased the deluxe package which included the following:

 

A special ceremony performed by the Ship's Captain with a one-hour bar and hot and cold canapés, sparkling wine toast and a tiered wedding cake. This package accommodates a maximum of 20 guests including the celebrating couple; additional guests may attend for an additional price per person.

 

Overall it was a perfect ceremony, Carnival did an excellent job and a big shout-out to Melissa who did an outstanding job planning the whole thing.

 

Entertainment: The shows were great, very well put together.

 

Punchliner's Club: The two comedians were good, you'll either love it or won't.

 

Disembarkation: No issues here other than the traffic outside the terminal, so be prepared when traveling to the Terminal in Manhattan.

 

Carnival Sunshine: On a final note, the Sunshine is a beautiful ship, looks great for her age. Honestly only during certain times could you notice the "crowding" some talk about due to the added staterooms; but you really don't notice it as much. She has great staff and it was a very enjoyable experience. We loved her so much, we put a deposit down for the same cruise next year! So don't always believe the negativity when it comes to this ship, we all would highly recommend her.

 

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them and hope you found this review helpful and enjoyable.

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clskinsfan

clskinsfan

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I was on her when she was Destiny for her last cruise before she was refitted/renamed. The reason I keep that cruise in my signature. She was a great ship then as well. I think the Destiny class ships are Carnivals best. But I havent had a chance to sail on Vista yet. Hope to sometime next year.

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mishka422

mishka422

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Sunshine is my very favorite of the Carnival ships I've been on so far. That's why I booked her for an 8 night in January with my husband and son who haven't been on her. I think they are going to love her too!

Glad you had a wonderful time!

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pirate4me2 "Live from...." Rare

pirate4me2

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Thank you for your review. I use to say I would NEVER sail Sunshine due to all the negative reviews, but a great deal came up last year and we sailed on her. I LOVE THAT SHIP!! I sailed her again in May and had a blast, and I do believe she is my favorite ship I have sailed on. Emma is a great CD, the food was great, and I loved all the upgrades (waterpark, ropes course, etc). I will sail her again I'm sure. Awesome awesome AWESOME ship.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app

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cruzeluver

cruzeluver

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Could almost have written this review myself. We were hesitant to book Sunshine based on reviews and frankly not in a big hurry to come back to Carnival. But then a 10 night Journeys cruise got scheduled from my home port with a fantastic itinerary, so I figured, what the heck!

 

So glad we went! Sunshine is by far my favorite of the Carnival ships we have sailed on. Love the more muted decor, the amazing variety of food options and she has my favorite Serenity area. Have re-booked another Sunshine cruise for next month and cannot wait!!

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Jamman54 Great Review Rare

Jamman54

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Thanks for your review! Though the Sunshine is not my favorite ship in the fleet, (the Pride is), we really enjoyed our cruise on her, and would book her again in a heartbeat! Oh yeah, boarding her again on Thursday! :D

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woodman

woodman

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We have been on the ship 3 times and have enjoyed all 3 cruises. IMO it has some of the best food on any Carnival ship. We did the journey cruise in Jan. and are going to book it again for Jan. 2018. Oh we have it booked for March 2017 as well. Love the ship and can't wait to sail on her again. Congrats to you parents on their 40th. Happy cruising.

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vp1

vp1

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Been on the Sunshine for 6 cruises (3 B2Bs) and enjoyed them all. Will sail her again if and when she returns to Port Canaveral. :)

Just an FYI - Sunshine is sailing out of Port Canaveral this spring - our cruise departs February 17….

~Bob

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Coopie

Coopie

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Did her when she was the Destiny and by far that was my favorite ship. After reading all the bad reviews was afraid to book her but after reading here I think we will give her a try.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or which OV or BALC to choose????

 

Thanks

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BattyL

BattyL

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Did her when she was the Destiny and by far that was my favorite ship. After reading all the bad reviews was afraid to book her but after reading here I think we will give her a try.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or which OV or BALC to choose????

 

Thanks

 

We had a balcony cabin on the Lido deck and just loved it! So close to the food and the pools and not far from the fantastic Serenity deck!

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BattyL

BattyL

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Thank you for your review. I use to say I would NEVER sail Sunshine due to all the negative reviews, but a great deal came up last year and we sailed on her. I LOVE THAT SHIP!! I sailed her again in May and had a blast, and I do believe she is my favorite ship I have sailed on. Emma is a great CD, the food was great, and I loved all the upgrades (waterpark, ropes course, etc). I will sail her again I'm sure. Awesome awesome AWESOME ship.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app

 

After reading all the negative reviews on this ship I was really concerned about our Journeys cruise in August. Needless to say, I was worrying for nothing. We absolutely loved the ship. Can't say we really cared for Emma, she kind of got on my nerves. Had a balcony on the Lido deck and that was great. Only drawback for us was we thought there wasn't enough areas to just sit and relax.

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