Paradise and sunshine, a brief comparison

[Lizard13]

We recently finished a cruise on both these ships, Sunshine in October and Paradise in January, so thinking about reviewing my recent cruise often brought comparison to Sunshine, so will include both. This will not include photos or food porn, just my impressions. For a little background, we are a middle aged couple, this was around our Fifth cruise in three years, all on carnival. Here goes:

 

Check-in: we always arrive early, before noon, no real issues. NOrfolk had not started staggered check in, Tampa had. We had FTTF on Paradise for the first time so easy breezy boarding.

 

FTTF - loved it! Made debarkation less hectic, all meet in lounge and escorted off. Tender priority the same. Front of line privileges at service desk. This ship was smaller so lines not as bad but I could see on larger ship this would really be sweet.

 

Show rooms: sunshine main showroom and comedy club smaller, visibility not as good throughout, even had TVs set up for part of comedy show room where stage not visible. PAradise still has the large, comfortable show rooms, plenty of seats, no need to stand in line. Shows were basically the same in main show room. Good music and talented dancers. I enjoyed the Brits show the best, but still typical Carnival entertainment. Comedy shows were ok, not outstanding. Preferred Paradise show rooms!!

 

Piano bar: loved Sunshine best, great set up with elevated seats in back, all can see performer, which was Patrick who must be one of the best. Never really could understand the appeal of piano bars until we went to this one with Patrick. He was funny, dirty, completely entertaining, not for Kids! Did not enjoy anything about Paradise performer and room not appealing to me, poor visibility. Sunshine wins!

 

Bars: we don't go to lido bars, prefer lobby bars and alchemy. On Sunshine had cheers for first time. We loved alchemy of course, lobby bar great for day drinks, not as crowded. Loved Havana bar on Sunshine, never crowded, made the BEST morning Cuban coffee and night time espresso martinis! Paradise no alchemy, no Havana bar, and absolutely the ugliest decorations in the lobby bar. But I loved the Rotterdam bar, low lighting, never crowded, seats at the bar or next to window. They did have a martini tasting but not the skill or variety of alchemy. But quieter and roomier. The lobby bar was ugly, but had good entertainment on stage so I did enjoy!

 

CHeers: I wanted to try it on short Sunshine cruise to see what it would be like to not worry about prices or quantity. It did include coffee drinks which I loved at Havana bar and coffee bar. But trying to get my money's worth didn't work for us. The fancy martini drinks are all double or large pours anyway, so I couldn't really handle too many at a time, and when I did I felt crappy the rest of the day, this happened on the first day! Two drinks in lobby bar and I was done! Hahah. On Paradise just ordered whatever and whenever I wished, and our bar bill was $150 less than cheers would have been, and I did not deprive myself. Of course no cuban coffee:(, but that was cheep anyway so wouldn't make a difference. And this did include the top level 3 bottles of wine package.

 

Spa: love a trip to spa on every cruise, just prepare myself to resist the urge to buy products. The spa on Sunshine is beautiful, great steam room with view of ocean. The Paradise spa is small, only two toilets, old shower room, no view in steam room. SO prefer the Sunshine for sure! We did get a couples stone massage on the Paradise and this was the best massage I have had; this was my husbands second massage and he preferred stone too. We booked online for port day to get best price, saved about $50 by booking ahead of cruise.

 

Casino: Sunshine way to crowded, way too smokey, casino bar packed and smokey. Avoided all cruise. Now Paradise, smaller but never crowded and not smokey until the last night, which worked out because I was able to loose less. It did seem like there were much fewer smokers on this cruise, even casino bar never smokey. This bar is very long so a lot of space to sit and enjoy entertainment without a lot of smoke. Never experienced this on any other cruise.

PAradise casino wins for sure, especially since myself and hubby lost every night. But I did find the slots did allow for some good wins by others and did allow us to play longer before loosing.

 

Promenade deck and shops: Sunshine took out all seating along this deck so not a lot of places to sit and people watch. The gift shop and store also significantly smaller. Every space on the Sunshine is bright. I wish the lights slightly less intense, even at 3:00 AM/difficulty sleeping/ lights at full intensity everywhere! Paradise still has all the sitting areas for relaxing, reading, watching and a large shop for jewelry, make-up, all that stuff. And lights less intense; I do look better in filtered lighting, hahaha. Preferred Paradise.

 

 

Excursions: did our own thing.

 

Dining room: service outstanding on both cruises. Our server on Paradise did go out of his way to tell us about the evening activities and ask about our day, couldn't have been better. The food on the Paradise was much better; not sure why. I was a little disappointed after the Sunshine but faith restored on Paradise. Favorites: grilled tomato soup on brunch menu; chocolate melting cake of course; duck appetizer; chateaubriand. Veggies not over cooked and tasty.

 

 

Room service: outstanding on both ships. Rarely saw our Stewart but received two times daily service. The bed on the Paradise had the MOST comfortable mattress and pillows I can remember on a cruise! We had outside rooms on both ships. The Sunshine we did book inside with window to deck on third deck, right outside lobby bar. I did love this location and this room is larger than most inside or outside rooms, had a couch. Would definitely want this location again if cruised Sunshine.

 

Improvements noted on both: coffee better all over ship. Music volume controlled.

 

And the winner is: ME! cruising on Legend to Alaska in May!

[JMCruising]

Thanks for this great comparison. Going on the Paradise in May and can't wait!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[easyboy]

Very useful comparison. Thanks for sharing.

[HectorAchilleus]

I will be going on the Paradise in two weeks and was relived to hear that it did not have the crowds and lines that Sunshine had. I have been on 30+ Carnival cruises and Sunshine is the only ship that I will never book again.

 

It seemed like we were constantly in lines or looking for a place to sit. Crew was great, but dinner waits were way too long - and often served cool or cold. The waits for ATD were the worst we have ever experienced.

[crusinpsychRN]

Food is usually good or bad due to the chef. Had the worst room steward on Paradise. My cabin was never done until after noon. Even asked for earlier, was told sure and it didn't get done.

[ZoeyVictoria]

We were on the Paradise for NYE 2015, expecting to not like the ship, but it was a free casino cruise and our standards are always lower when something is free. To our surprise, we really enjoyed the Paradise and look forward to going again in September. Tampa will be our home port in just 41 working days (retiring and moving) and we will be happy to sail on the Paradise frequently.

[Lizard13]

Congrats on retiring. I liked the Tampa port, a lot of seating and as we boarded there was someone blowing bubbles and shaking maracas to welcome us! Tampa seemed like a nice place to visit also.

[crusinpsychRN]

Captain Carnival works in the Tampa terminal. Much nicer terminal than the old one.

[Ace5614]

We recently finished a cruise on both these ships, Sunshine in October and Paradise in January, so thinking about reviewing my recent cruise often brought comparison to Sunshine, so will include both. This will not include photos or food porn, just my impressions. For a little background, we are a middle aged couple, this was around our Fifth cruise in three years, all on carnival. Here goes:

 

Check-in: we always arrive early, before noon, no real issues. NOrfolk had not started staggered check in, Tampa had. We had FTTF on Paradise for the first time so easy breezy boarding.

 

FTTF - loved it! Made debarkation less hectic, all meet in lounge and escorted off. Tender priority the same. Front of line privileges at service desk. This ship was smaller so lines not as bad but I could see on larger ship this would really be sweet.

 

Show rooms: sunshine main showroom and comedy club smaller, visibility not as good throughout, even had TVs set up for part of comedy show room where stage not visible. PAradise still has the large, comfortable show rooms, plenty of seats, no need to stand in line. Shows were basically the same in main show room. Good music and talented dancers. I enjoyed the Brits show the best, but still typical Carnival entertainment. Comedy shows were ok, not outstanding. Preferred Paradise show rooms!!

 

Piano bar: loved Sunshine best, great set up with elevated seats in back, all can see performer, which was Patrick who must be one of the best. Never really could understand the appeal of piano bars until we went to this one with Patrick. He was funny, dirty, completely entertaining, not for Kids! Did not enjoy anything about Paradise performer and room not appealing to me, poor visibility. Sunshine wins!

 

Bars: we don't go to lido bars, prefer lobby bars and alchemy. On Sunshine had cheers for first time. We loved alchemy of course, lobby bar great for day drinks, not as crowded. Loved Havana bar on Sunshine, never crowded, made the BEST morning Cuban coffee and night time espresso martinis! Paradise no alchemy, no Havana bar, and absolutely the ugliest decorations in the lobby bar. But I loved the Rotterdam bar, low lighting, never crowded, seats at the bar or next to window. They did have a martini tasting but not the skill or variety of alchemy. But quieter and roomier. The lobby bar was ugly, but had good entertainment on stage so I did enjoy!

 

CHeers: I wanted to try it on short Sunshine cruise to see what it would be like to not worry about prices or quantity. It did include coffee drinks which I loved at Havana bar and coffee bar. But trying to get my money's worth didn't work for us. The fancy martini drinks are all double or large pours anyway, so I couldn't really handle too many at a time, and when I did I felt crappy the rest of the day, this happened on the first day! Two drinks in lobby bar and I was done! Hahah. On Paradise just ordered whatever and whenever I wished, and our bar bill was $150 less than cheers would have been, and I did not deprive myself. Of course no cuban coffee:(, but that was cheep anyway so wouldn't make a difference. And this did include the top level 3 bottles of wine package.

 

Spa: love a trip to spa on every cruise, just prepare myself to resist the urge to buy products. The spa on Sunshine is beautiful, great steam room with view of ocean. The Paradise spa is small, only two toilets, old shower room, no view in steam room. SO prefer the Sunshine for sure! We did get a couples stone massage on the Paradise and this was the best massage I have had; this was my husbands second massage and he preferred stone too. We booked online for port day to get best price, saved about $50 by booking ahead of cruise.

 

Casino: Sunshine way to crowded, way too smokey, casino bar packed and smokey. Avoided all cruise. Now Paradise, smaller but never crowded and not smokey until the last night, which worked out because I was able to loose less. It did seem like there were much fewer smokers on this cruise, even casino bar never smokey. This bar is very long so a lot of space to sit and enjoy entertainment without a lot of smoke. Never experienced this on any other cruise.

PAradise casino wins for sure, especially since myself and hubby lost every night. But I did find the slots did allow for some good wins by others and did allow us to play longer before loosing.

 

Promenade deck and shops: Sunshine took out all seating along this deck so not a lot of places to sit and people watch. The gift shop and store also significantly smaller. Every space on the Sunshine is bright. I wish the lights slightly less intense, even at 3:00 AM/difficulty sleeping/ lights at full intensity everywhere! Paradise still has all the sitting areas for relaxing, reading, watching and a large shop for jewelry, make-up, all that stuff. And lights less intense; I do look better in filtered lighting, hahaha. Preferred Paradise.

 

 

Excursions: did our own thing.

 

Dining room: service outstanding on both cruises. Our server on Paradise did go out of his way to tell us about the evening activities and ask about our day, couldn't have been better. The food on the Paradise was much better; not sure why. I was a little disappointed after the Sunshine but faith restored on Paradise. Favorites: grilled tomato soup on brunch menu; chocolate melting cake of course; duck appetizer; chateaubriand. Veggies not over cooked and tasty.

 

 

Room service: outstanding on both ships. Rarely saw our Stewart but received two times daily service. The bed on the Paradise had the MOST comfortable mattress and pillows I can remember on a cruise! We had outside rooms on both ships. The Sunshine we did book inside with window to deck on third deck, right outside lobby bar. I did love this location and this room is larger than most inside or outside rooms, had a couch. Would definitely want this location again if cruised Sunshine.

 

Improvements noted on both: coffee better all over ship. Music volume controlled.

 

And the winner is: ME! cruising on Legend to Alaska in May!

 

We just go back from our Sunshine cruise and have been on the Paradise.

I was much more impressed with the Sunshine than I thought I would be. Service was great! We have anytime dinning and had to wait 1/2 hour on formal night to be seated. We expected to wait at least that long so no problem. But we were comped 2 free drinks because we had to wait. By the time we were seated, we were in and out in 1 hour! I believe that was the quickest in 15 cruises. Lobster was excellent just like it used to be.

Buffet food was the best we have ever had. Selection was good and food was hot.

We didn't experience long lines as some have posted here. We did get to the show lounge and comedy club half hour early.

At the platinum/diamond party, you could have any drink you wanted. We had 2 drinks each and could of had more. Excellent service there also. There were 4 diamond and 424 platinum cruisers.