Carnival Sunshine

[mysticlady2]

Hello all, so glad to be introduce to this forum. My question is :What are your thoughts of the Sunshine ship? We are looking at a possible cruise 12/17 and trying Carnival for first time . Thank you

[mishka422]

I personally love the Sunshine. Going on her for the second time next Saturday for 8 days. She had a few quirks, but if you go with the flow I think you would have a great time.

 

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[cruzeluver]

We sailed on Sunshine twice this past year and enjoyed the ship very much. She has nearly every feature Carnival offers. If you are a "foodie" she is hard to beat. Jiji's Asian Kitchen has fantastic Asian-fusion cuisine ($15 charge). Cuchina has very good traditional Italian ($15 charge). The Havana Bar does terrific Cuban breakfast bites and Cuban sandwiches at lunch (no additional charge). Sunshine has both Guy's Burger Joint (no additional charge) and Blue Iguana Cantina (breakfast burritos/tacos and regular burritos/tacos at lunch, no additional charge). Plus the traditional Carnival steakhouse ($35 charge) and Chef's Table ($99 charge).

 

She has the best (in my view) adults-only Serenity as it is three decks high and has its own pool with a waterfall.

 

The main show lounge (Liquid Lounge) is not a traditional cruise ship theater as it converts to the nightclub late night. Yes it is smaller than most, but as we never saw it more than half full on either cruise this was hardly a problem.

[mysticlady2]

Thank you so much. For evening dinning is it a course meal or buffet

 

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[krismas_tina]

We spent 12 days on the Sunshine a few years ago and enjoyed every minute of it! The Sunshine has many of the upgrades in terms of restaurants, as well as the Alchemy and Havana bars which are awesome. The Serenity area, with its own pool, can't be beat! But like on all Carnival cruises, your going to have to get there early to get a seat!

 

I did the ropes course and water slides, and they were a lot of fun.

 

There were some negatives. The main showroom is small, since it doubles as a nightclub. The seats in the balcony are not great since many of them are obstructed view. So, that's another place where you need to arrive early to find a decent seat. Also, I feel like other ships have more outdoor space/seating.

 

Sometimes it can seem crowded and walkways seemed narrower (although that part could just have been my imagination). We had a 4J room and it also seemed smaller than other interior rooms we've had.

 

That being said, every cruise I've been on has lines, crowds, and limited lounge chairs by the pool. The Sunshine may be slightly more crowded, but we still love that ship and would book it again.

 

 

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[mysticlady2]

I personally love the Sunshine. Going on her for the second time next Saturday for 8 days. She had a few quirks, but if you go with the flow I think you would have a great time.

 

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Thank you so much. Did you have a balcony room ?

 

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[mysticlady2]

We spent 12 days on the Sunshine a few years ago and enjoyed every minute of it! The Sunshine has many of the upgrades in terms of restaurants, as well as the Alchemy and Havana bars which are awesome. The Serenity area, with its own pool, can't be beat! But like on all Carnival cruises, your going to have to get there early to get a seat!

 

I did the ropes course and water slides, and they were a lot of fun.

 

There were some negatives. The main showroom is small, since it doubles as a nightclub. The seats in the balcony are not great since many of them are obstructed view. So, that's another place where you need to arrive early to find a decent seat. Also, I feel like other ships have more outdoor space/seating.

 

Sometimes it can seem crowded and walkways seemed narrower (although that part could just have been my imagination). We had a 4J room and it also seemed smaller than other interior rooms we've had.

 

That being said, every cruise I've been on has lines, crowds, and limited lounge chairs by the pool. The Sunshine may be slightly more crowded, but we still love that ship and would book it again.

 

 

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Thank you

 

Have a magical day

[crusinpsychRN]

You can go to the dining room or Lido buffet.

[Lizard13]

We recently returned from the sunshine, and I agree it has all the restaurants and extras you will enjoy. I liked the ropes course, very challenging for me but the kids had no problem. I loved the Havana bar area and the deck with the alchemy bar, always a lot of space to chill. The casino was too smokey, loud and crowded for me but it usually is so I stayed clear. Serenity/adults only area great. I never tried the sushi restaurant but it looked good. And guys burgers is always a treat. The comedy club and show room were not my favorite, but loved the piano bar! Enjoy

[tilliebob1919]

To each his/her own....we did not like it.

 

 

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[mabones]

I'll be on the Sunshine at the end of March and have heard horror stories about how crowded Serenity can get. Is this true? I've been so looking forward to the quiet & relaxation there.

[uncleg]

Everyone one has an opinion, I hated the Sunshine and could not wait to get off. First time I was ever glad a cruise was over. I found it to be over crowded, poorly laid out, and dirty/rundown. That said the food was good, and staff and entertainment were good, but the crowding was just to much for me...felt trapped the entire cruise I just cancelled my 2017 booking on the Sunshine...never again. I know others who went on same cruise and loved the ship, I was just overwhelmed by the hordes of people.

[Dive Master]

Sunshine was the most crowded ship that I have ever sailed on.

She was not for us.

[Dive Master]

I'll be on the Sunshine at the end of March and have heard horror stories about how crowded Serenity can get. Is this true? I've been so looking forward to the quiet & relaxation there.

 

I found the entire ship crowded.

The Serenity section is very nice but you better get out there very early. I managed to get a clamshell on the top deck at 700 AM on our sea days. I ask someone what time you would need to be there for a seat by the pool and waterfall? He told me he was up at 530 AM and all seats were already taken by the Hoggs. By 8 AM you could pretty much forget a seat in Serenity or on the lido deck by the main pool.

 

The crew did go through the motions of trying to keep the Chair Hogs in check but it was a lost cause.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Dive Master

[sc4125]

I have been on 19 Carnival cruises & also use to work onboard long, long ago, so I am definitely a fan. I read all about the crowded conditions so I wasn't really shocked - but, it was by far the most crowded ship I've been on when it comes to outside decks.

 

I've heard others say that they had no problem finding lounge chairs if they went up a deck from Lido. Maybe it was particularly crowded with sun worshipers on my cruise, but I can tell you that by 9:00 there were NO CHAIRS on Deck 9 (Lido) or Deck 10 that didn't have something saving them. People were pulling chairs off of the tied down stacks.

 

In reference to the Serenity, I was able to enjoy it because I didn't get off the ship in Grand Turk (been there many times) and was only off a few minutes in Amber Cove - and it is the best Serenity I've seen - but even on Embarkation day, we could only find empty chairs on the 3rd level where there were tables & chairs set up near the bar. If the ship was moving, the lounge chairs on Serenity were taken (or being saved).

 

So, if crowds don't bother you (they really don't bother me that much), you should love the ship. I did really like the ship overall, but I can't understand how some people didn't find the outside decks over-crowded. Again, it may have been the particular cruise I was on.

 

Go in knowing there are some flaws - but there are also great pluses and you'll be fine.

[mabones]

Thanks for your feedback on Serenity. We will be with 2 other couples, so I guess we will have to turn into Chair Hogs for this cruise because we will have 4 Sea Days! Each couple will have choose a Sea-Day to get up early to grab some decent loungers.

[rjrpar]

Thanks for your feedback on Serenity. We will be with 2 other couples, so I guess we will have to turn into Chair Hogs for this cruise because we will have 4 Sea Days! Each couple will have choose a Sea-Day to get up early to grab some decent loungers.

 

 

Yea, that solves the problem - more chair hogging

 

 

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[mabones]

If you can't beat them, join them!!!!!

[cruzeluver]

We found that if instead of trying to stake a claim at Serenity early in the morning you wait till early afternoon, you may have better luck. At least that was our experience both times we sailed Sunshine in 2016. We were able to snag seating for four by the pool as well as in other areas of Serenity every single time by waiting. But yes, if you want to set up shop there for the day then get there early.

[mabones]

Good to know. I also purchased the Spa Pass, so I'll have somewhere else to relax.