Sunshine Southern Caribbean Review 3/25-4/2

[sunset785]

We are just off the Sunshine this morning from an 8 day cruise to Curaçao, Aruba, and Grand Turk. We had a great time overall.

 

Embarkation: We had a check in time of 11:00-11:30 and we were on board by 12. Process was smooth and lines went by quickly.

 

Ship: Clean ship with some wear shown in places. We had been on the Destiny twice and it's true that the Sunshine was a bit crowded in some places (mostly the lido and serenity deck). It was overall a nice renovation though with lighter tones. If you want a chair on the pool deck, get up early. We made the mistake of not getting out early one day and by 10 am, there were no chairs to be found anywhere.

 

Dining: Food was good overall. Guys and the Mongolian wok were our lunch favorites. We did anytime dining and never waited when we went around 6 pm. One day we didn't make it until about 7 pm and it was a 25 min wait.

 

Ports: We were in Curaçao from 2-10 pm. We did a tour with Irie tours for about 3.5 hours. It was only $25 per person. Kids under 5 did not pay. Well worth price. We used Fantasy Tours for a 5.5 hour tour around Aruba for $50 per person. Again, kids under 5 did not pay. We got to see all the major spots in Aruba and went to Baby Beach for about an hour. Small group of people and great tour. Grand Turk was beautiful . We got off the ship right away and had no problems finding chairs.

 

Entertainment: Mason was the cruise director and he was fun. We went to 6 shows and all the singing/ dancing shows were great. The juggling and magic shows were a bit boring. We went to two comedy shows. I would show up at least 30 minutes early as these were very popular.

 

Camp Carnival: Our two kids enjoyed going here and had a good time. I thought it was a bit small compared to Camp Ocean on the Magic but our kids didn't say anything. Wonderful staff.

 

Debarkation: Very easy to get off the ship and fast moving lines

 

 

If you have any questions, ask away!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[nicole9s]

Thanks for your review.

 

If you could share more info about Camp Ocean (assuming your little one(s) was in the Penguin group?), that would be fantastic.

 

Also, any other tips for kids would be greatly appreciated. We're on the Sunshine in September with our 4 year old, and are so excited!

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[richfret]

Any chance in getting the Fun Times for this cruise. We will be doing the same cruise 1/20/2018.

[youagain]

What cabin were you in ? We are in a extended aft for 1st time next March and was wondering about weather . I think we have the same dates.

[sunset785]

Our kids (2 and 5 years old) enjoyed Camp Carnival. On sea days after they were worn out from the waterworks area, they would spend an hour or so in there then they went back around 7-10 pm almost every night so we could go see the shows and such. We never did the Night Owls, which you pay for after 10 pm. The staff is awesome.

 

I don't have any copies of the Fun Times.

 

We were in obstructed view cabin 3127. Good size and right near the atrium. Seas were rough the first day but after that, it was great.

[klaner64]

Also going Jan 20, 2018. Only change is that Bonaire is a port instead of Curacao.

 

I was wondering if you did the steakhouse or any of the other special restaurants and if so what you thought about them? Also did you use the serenity deck and how is the pool on that deck?

[sunset785]

Also going Jan 20, 2018. Only change is that Bonaire is a port instead of Curacao.

 

I was wondering if you did the steakhouse or any of the other special restaurants and if so what you thought about them? Also did you use the serenity deck and how is the pool on that deck?

 

We didn't do any of the special restaurants. The serenity deck was amazing! It is three levels high and the pool is gorgeous.

[bitemebaby]

We are in that same room for Bermuda and Canada/New England back to backs end of Sept and Oct. Did you hear any noise from Liquid Lounge??? This will be our first time on the Sunshine!

[sunset785]

We are in that same room for Bermuda and Canada/New England back to backs end of Sept and Oct. Did you hear any noise from Liquid Lounge??? This will be our first time on the Sunshine!

 

We didn't hear anything from the Liquid Lounge but we did hear noise from the atrium at times. Then they started closing off doors to the hallway to block off the noise. It was better but still muffled.

[ab6219]

can you give more details about getting off at Curacao: what time did you get off the ship / how long did you have wait in line to get off? We are going on same itinerary and have plans for the am before the day's heat

[sunset785]

can you give more details about getting off at Curacao: what time did you get off the ship / how long did you have wait in line to get off? We are going on same itinerary and have plans for the am before the day's heat

 

 

We didn't arrive until 2 pm but getting off the ship was very quick and painless.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[gardn198]

Thank you for this! We are currently booked on Fascination out of San Juan but flights are so pricey and we are thinking of switching to this instead. Was debating between Sunshine, Vista, and Conquest- but Vista seems like a floating shopping mall and Conquest doesn't work with our dates! Looks like Sunshine is coming out the winner!