Just off the Sunshine

[tidecat]

I just finished the 5-day Bahamas (Freeport, Nassau, Half Moon Cay) cruise on the Sunshine, and while by no means perfect, I had a brilliant time. This was my first cruise with any line and I sailed solo.

 

What questions do you have?

 

 

 

 

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[ABQrobin]

What did you do at each port?

 

Did you try JiJi's?

[kingston13]

How large is the casino? thanks!

[tidecat]

What did you do at each port?

 

Did you try JiJi's?

 

 

At Freeport I did the Dolphin Close Encounter at UNEXSO. It would have been nice to have had more time in the tank with the dolphins, but it was absolutely fascinating to be that close to such a magnificent creature. The souvenir photos of you being "kissed" by a Dolphin are reasonably priced at $17 and change after tax.

 

At Nassau I did the Catamaran Sail and Snorkel. We headed almost due east from the harbor to Athol Island and had a good 45 minutes to Snorkel. The water was a bit choppy, but I saw plenty of fish and some other small creatures as well. There was complimentary rum punch available on the way back. The only thing I didn't like was we docked outside the cruise terminal, so we had street vendors converge on us pretty quickly. It also wasn't obvious how to get back to the ship.

 

At Half Moon Cay I was off the ship fairly quickly (tender group #4) so I was able to grab a beach chair and just relax on the beach for a while. It was overcast and a bit cool, but I got in the water and the fish were very active. There was a volleyball tournament at 11:30. We initially had 18 show up, so we had three teams of six. Another five people showed up after we started, so our host D-Lo jumped in for the fourth team. I played on a team that was mostly a family from Southeast Michigan, and we actually won both games. We got ships on a stick for winning - it was actually my second since I got one from our Facebook meet and greet. After volleyball I grabbed some lunch at the Island BBQ spent another 30-40 minutes on the beach before heading back to the tender boat queue.

 

I did not get to try Ji Ji's - I almost had lunch yesterday at Mongolian Wok (which is the same venue on the Sunshine) but I was pretty hungry after Behind the Fun and the lone for Mongolian Wok was pretty long. I had a really enjoyable group of table mates at the Sunset dining room, so I stayed with late dining especially since I was sailing solo.

 

 

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[tidecat]

How large is the casino? thanks!

 

 

The casino is pretty decent size - I would say it is comparable in size to what the Red Frog Pub, Alchemy Bar, and Ocean Plaza have combined. One side is larger than the other, and at times it was a bit smoky, but it actually wasn't too bad.

 

 

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[wingnt68]

I am sailing solo on Sunshine next week. Did you do assigned dining or anytime dining. Did you have fun as a single? I am a bit nervous. :(

[tidecat]

I am sailing solo on Sunshine next week. Did you do assigned dining or anytime dining. Did you have fun as a single? I am a bit nervous. :(

 

 

I did late dining. I had fun as a single - having a set group of table mates really helped and it was not unusual to see most if not all of them during the day.

 

Remember if you do late dining you can go to the 7:15 shows - sometimes they'll just barely finish in time for dinner, but a lot of people miss the shows because they don't realize they can see the show before dinner. I actually made it on stage for Hasbro the Game Show, so be sure to act like a total maniac to get Emma's attention. ;) Hasbro was only done once during my cruise at 7:15 PM, so it really doesn't work with early dining since you'll need to get a seat on the lower level (Deck 4) of Liquid Lounge.

 

 

 

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[wingnt68]

Thank you for the information. :)

[RTRMom]

How were the crowds at lunch and was it hard finding a lounge chair?

[surfjock27]

We cruise this same itinerary on the Sunshine in a few weeks. Thanks for taking time to do this.

 

1. Which shows were playing in the main theater?

 

2. Who was the CD and what did you think?

 

3. I heard the Serenity area is one of the nicest on Carnival, what did you think?

 

4. Was the piano bar any good? It's one of our favorite things to do on a cruise.

 

5. Did the Limelight (comedy) seem crowded? I've heard mixed reviews.

 

6. Where was trivia held? Oceans Plaza or main theater?

 

Sorry for all the questions and thank you again!

[Mybearsbaby]

At Freeport I did the Dolphin Close Encounter at UNEXSO. It would have been nice to have had more time in the tank with the dolphins, but it was absolutely fascinating to be that close to such a magnificent creature. The souvenir photos of you being "kissed" by a Dolphin are reasonably priced at $17 and change after tax.

 

 

Hi! Did you book through the ship or by yourself, and what was the cost PP? Thanks for telling us about your trip! My son would love the dolphins. <3

[Mommabear2Five]

We just got off this morning too! Our second sailing on Sunshine and we had a wonderful time!

[tidecat]

How were the crowds at lunch and was it hard finding a lounge chair?

 

It was predictably crowded at lunch but I never had a problem finding a place to sit down to eat - quite a few people would take food from Lido Marketplace, Guy's, or Blue Iguana to the Havana Bar area.

 

I didn't have any trouble finding a chair on the lido deck, although I was never there until after lunch.

 

 

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[tidecat]

We cruise this same itinerary on the Sunshine in a few weeks. Thanks for taking time to do this.

 

1. Which shows were playing in the main theater?

 

2. Who was the CD and what did you think?

 

3. I heard the Serenity area is one of the nicest on Carnival, what did you think?

 

4. Was the piano bar any good? It's one of our favorite things to do on a cruise.

 

5. Did the Limelight (comedy) seem crowded? I've heard mixed reviews.

 

6. Where was trivia held? Oceans Plaza or main theater?

 

Sorry for all the questions and thank you again!

 

 

We had Motor City (Day 2), Hasbro the Game Show (Day 3), Studio VIP (Day 4), and Epic Rock (Day 5). One interesting thing I should note is that I actually got to witness the current cast training the incoming cast as part of the Behind The Fun tour - the new cast will take over in early March.

 

Our CD was Emma Nixon ("hello lovelies!"). I thought she did a good job; we weren't besieged by announcements, and she kept the party going wherever she was. When she hosted Hasbro she was especially good working with the kids who made it on stage.

 

The Serenity area is nice, but the major drawback is only one hot tub. If you're in the Serenity pool on Deck 11 or the hot tub on Deck 12 you will get noise from Lido and Serenity's bar, but the sides are surprisingly quiet.

 

Piano Bar 88 was good, but it stayed packed pretty much the entire time I was there. It is a ridiculously cozy venue.

 

I didn't personally attend any shows at Limelight, but I did hear from my table mates that it was packed. It would have been nice had there been more family-friendly shows as there were 1400 kids on our sailing - you typically only had one chance to catch the family-friendly version each evening.

 

Trivia was typically held at Ocean Plaza, although Skybox Sports Bar hosted sports trivia several evenings at 5:00 PM.

 

 

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[tidecat]

Hi! Did you book through the ship or by yourself, and what was the cost PP? Thanks for telling us about your trip! My son would love the dolphins. <3

 

I booked through Carnival at $154. If I had to do it again, I actually would do the dolphin swim - it is $204, but you will get more time in the pool with the dolphins, and it is literally a couple of pools over from where my excursion was held.

 

I imagine you could book this independently, but you will need a taxi from Freeport to Lucaya, and you will need to make sure you make it there by a certain time to catch the boat over to Sanctuary Bay. My excursion was scheduled for 10:00-1:30, but we did not get back to the terminal in Freeport close to 2:30.

 

 

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[chong67]

I just got off it too.

 

The dive in movie screen is not working.

[easyboy]

How was the food in the dining room?

[tidecat]

How was the food in the dining room?

 

 

I thought the food in the dining room was excellent. The only exception seemed to be the chicken in the Junkanoo pot which for some reason seemed to be off in texture, but the rest of the dish was excellent.

 

My favorite appetizers were the calamari and the chicken flatbread. The Junkanoo pot, prime rib, and red drum fillet were the highlights among the main courses.

 

I did get the melting cake twice, but be sure to check out the pies as well.

 

Below are the menus from Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. Guest menus are on a seven day rotation but with the varied itineraries the Sunshine sails you would actually see more variety for the Port of Call section.

 

 

 

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[tidecat]

 

 

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[Port of Tampa]

We also were on this cruise. It was our fourth on the Sunshine and was one of our favorites...even though the casino gods were not on my side. Food, comedians, and all crew were excellent. For the first time we never left the ship and enjoyed areas to ourselves such as the spa, fitness center, serenity and all the great dining options. Got another bounceback from the casino and booked 5 day cruise on the Paradise over Memorial Day.

 

Cheers and happy cruising!

[Mommabear2Five]

How was the food in the dining room?

 

 

The dining room was the only thing that fell short for us this cruise. We have always raved about the food in the MDR and, to be honest, the food was really good, but the service was not what we have experienced on other Carnival sailings. This was the first time that we were seated at a table for 2 and we were in a row of about 8 other tables for 2. We were on time each night for dinner, however, the waiter waited until the other 7 tables showed up to take our order. The first night we waited 35 mintues until we got our bread!

 

We after the second night, we decided to enjoy the other options on the ship for dinner.

[Cruisefriends]

We booked an inside Spa room deck 11 and hoping to see what we get included with that. I know other cruise passengers have to purchase a spa pass for, so I am hoping most things are included for us. Never have done this before..have been on 8 other cruises.....we wanted to be close to serenity deck...so this is what we decided to try this time.

[chong67]

The dining room was the only thing that fell short for us this cruise. We have always raved about the food in the MDR and, to be honest, the food was really good, but the service was not what we have experienced on other Carnival sailings. This was the first time that we were seated at a table for 2 and we were in a row of about 8 other tables for 2. We were on time each night for dinner, however, the waiter waited until the other 7 tables showed up to take our order. The first night we waited 35 mintues until we got our bread!

 

We after the second night, we decided to enjoy the other options on the ship for dinner.

 

 

They are able to accommodate my time from 8:15pm (which I didnt choose) to 6pm and we are happy. We also have the setting table for 2 with about 4 to 5 tables in a row. We got our bread quick and I thought our service was good. The dining food is alright but the buffet food is not good.

[easyboy]

I thought the food in the dining room was excellent. The only exception seemed to be the chicken in the Junkanoo pot which for some reason seemed to be off in texture, but the rest of the dish was excellent.

 

My favorite appetizers were the calamari and the chicken flatbread. The Junkanoo pot, prime rib, and red drum fillet were the highlights among the main courses.

 

I did get the melting cake twice, but be sure to check out the pies as well.

 

Below are the menus from Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. Guest menus are on a seven day rotation but with the varied itineraries the Sunshine sails you would actually see more variety for the Port of Call section.

 

 

 

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Thanks for the response.

Love the melting cake!

[HeyJut]

We also were on this cruise. It was our fourth on the Sunshine and was one of our favorites...even though the casino gods were not on my side. Food, comedians, and all crew were excellent. For the first time we never left the ship and enjoyed areas to ourselves such as the spa, fitness center, serenity and all the great dining options. Got another bounceback from the casino and booked 5 day cruise on the Paradise over Memorial Day.

 

Cheers and happy cruising!

 

Hi

Thanks OP for answering questions. Can you or Port of Tampa or others answer my question:

 

Does the Cloud 9 spa have a jacuzzi? I know it doesn't have the T-pool. Thinking of booking the spa passes, but most interested in jacuzzi.

Thanks.