Sunshine March 25-April 2, 2017 mini review

[Biffer1997]

Just off Sunshine and since we have hours till our flight, thought I'd post a mini review. Please feel free to ask questions. I did keep the weekly entertainment schedule and Funtimes. Not sure if/when I can scan them but I can answer questions.

Bit of background on us...traveled with my significant other (henceforth known as Skippy). It was my 10th Carnival cruise (reached platinum status)and his 5th.

Arrival/embark:

We arrived at Orlando airport about 12:30am on the 25th and by time we got bags and called for hotel shuttle (Quailty Inn Airport) and checked in, it was 2am. The hotel served our purposes just fine for the few hours we were there. We had pre arranged shuttle to Pt. Canaveral through Cortrans...I recommend them. It was $40 per person roundtrip..paid cash at pickup at hotel. Driver was there about 10am. Had few other stops to puck up people but arrived at checkin by around 11am. The agent had to check master list for our names bc it wasn't recognizing my boarding pass. Got it straightened out pretty fast and was sent to priority checkin mob scene. They took our name, had us find a seat (hard to do) and then called our name to come check in. Took photos for ship card (mine didn't register so I had to have it retaken when we went to ding card to get on ship...they now use tablets to "ding" you on and off..no more machines).

I think we were on ship between 1145 and noon. Headed to cabin.. deck 2, 2117..to drop carryons...steward (Tennyson) stopped us and said it was too early..said I was priority and showed him card...he apologized that we weren'ton his early check in list and to give him few min to do room. I asked if we could stuff stuff in closest..he said no problem and apologized again. We stowed stuff in closet and went off to get food.

 

Stopped at Guy's and Skippy got burger and I asked for bun with lettuce and pickle..no problem. Headed up to Serenity and got couple chairs by pool ( 1st and last time for that to happen. Eventually went down and got pasta dish from the pasta bar 1st trip of many there). Went to cabin about 2pm I guess...no luggage yet. Luggage didn't arrive until we were at dinner...latest I've ever gotten it. But it wasn't a problem.

 

Dowmloaded the Hub app before and must say it was a very helpful tool! Loved being able to look at activities for the whole week and favorite them. It also showed you if other people in your party were attending. It had open times for each day and could check account on it. Right before last port, shore excursions showed up as a beta test. It was a nice feature as well.

Going to go eat now....hope I remember I have to pay for food now! ;p Be back in few to post more.

[Biffer1997]

Activities: Skippy was huge fan of Dive in movies..he went to almost all of them. I went to four movies. We saw each of the 4 comedians at least once. They were all pretty good. Didn't have too much problem finding seats and only had to wait in the line a couple of times. The comedy show host, Jay from LA, has that "it" factor..I can see him moving up quickly. Only saw one production show...Epic Rock..on last nite and it was very good. Those two lounges are smaller than any ship I've been on.

Went to the VIFP party on last day. They had cans of beer and free drinks available. Skippy had no problems coming in with me..no one batted an eye. They had a few guessing games set up and gave plaques to winners. Also had a guest book to sign. It was nice. They had the lobby singers sing at beginning and end.

Played trivia one day and won coveted ship on a stick.

 

Excursions: I normally do alot of research before cruises and plan own excursions, but due to lack of time for planning, this time we did Carnivals excursions.

Curacao- did Highlights and beach tour. It was nice..about 4 hours long.

Aruba- we did Sailaway snorkel tour. It was by far my favorite tour...boarded catamaran and had two snorkeling stops. They served non alcoholic drinks before snorkeling stops then liquor flowed. We were dropped off at Pelican Nest for a nice lunch that was included and then lounged on beach.

Grand Turk- Skippy did segway tour and I did Top 10 ...they were both fine. If I go back I will most likely camp out at the free beach or pool.

 

Dining room: Had YTD. We only went twice for dinner and once for lunch. Wasn't overly impressed. First night was fine, but second night was horribly slow (got in at 5:15and left at 7pm without getting dessert). Went to lunch bc my VIFP drink coupon had to be used in the dining room during breakfast, lunch, or brunch. I was turned off by the waiter who didn't think he could get me a plate of french fries even though they were offered as a side to the Tex mex sandwich. :rolleyes: Honestly didn't notice lack of tablecloths.

 

Overall impressions: We had a fantastic time! Thought the decor of ship was definitely classier than other ships. Have never been to any of the ports so that was a plus. The ship takes some getting used to in terms of tight walkways and knowing where to enter areas, but get used to it eventually. If you want seat on Serenity, get there early! First sea day the upper deck was closed due to high winds and the 2nd day I woke up early and went up at 5:45am and there was no space available on the lower Serenity deck. No problem getting clam shell on upper deck though. On last sea day I got upper deck clam shell at 6:30am.

Sunshine isn't my favorite ship but I would sail on her again!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'll attempt to post pictures (more of ports than ship) when get home.

[RecoveryDude]

Activities: Skippy was huge fan of Dive in movies..he went to almost all of them. I went to four movies. We saw each of the 4 comedians at least once. They were all pretty good. Didn't have too much problem finding seats and only had to wait in the line a couple of times. The comedy show host, Jay from LA, has that "it" factor..I can see him moving up quickly. Only saw one production show...Epic Rock..on last nite and it was very good. Those two lounges are smaller than any ship I've been on.

Went to the VIFP party on last day. They had cans of beer and free drinks available. Skippy had no problems coming in with me..no one batted an eye. They had a few guessing games set up and gave plaques to winners. Also had a guest book to sign. It was nice. They had the lobby singers sing at beginning and end.

Played trivia one day and won coveted ship on a stick.

 

Excursions: I normally do alot of research before cruises and plan own excursions, but due to lack of time for planning, this time we did Carnivals excursions.

Curacao- did Highlights and beach tour. It was nice..about 4 hours long.

Aruba- we did Sailaway snorkel tour. It was by far my favorite tour...boarded catamaran and had two snorkeling stops. They served non alcoholic drinks before snorkeling stops then liquor flowed. We were dropped off at Pelican Nest for a nice lunch that was included and then lounged on beach.

Grand Turk- Skippy did segway tour and I did Top 10 ...they were both fine. If I go back I will most likely camp out at the free beach or pool.

 

Dining room: Had YTD. We only went twice for dinner and once for lunch. Wasn't overly impressed. First night was fine, but second night was horribly slow (got in at 5:15and left at 7pm without getting dessert). Went to lunch bc my VIFP drink coupon had to be used in the dining room during breakfast, lunch, or brunch. I was turned off by the waiter who didn't think he could get me a plate of french fries even though they were offered as a side to the Tex mex sandwich. :rolleyes: Honestly didn't notice lack of tablecloths.

 

Overall impressions: We had a fantastic time! Thought the decor of ship was definitely classier than other ships. Have never been to any of the ports so that was a plus. The ship takes some getting used to in terms of tight walkways and knowing where to enter areas, but get used to it eventually. If you want seat on Serenity, get there early! First sea day the upper deck was closed due to high winds and the 2nd day I woke up early and went up at 5:45am and there was no space available on the lower Serenity deck. No problem getting clam shell on upper deck though. On last sea day I got upper deck clam shell at 6:30am.

Sunshine isn't my favorite ship but I would sail on her again!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'll attempt to post pictures (more of ports than ship) when get home.

 

I'm going on this exact cruise in 26 days!!! I can't wait. looking forward to seeing your pictures.

[ohitssunshine]

We were on this cruise too! Totally agree on Jay from LA - we were all talking about watching him to see how quickly he moves up the ranks...he was fantastic!

[ShillyShally]

We were on it too and had a fabulous time!! Loved the ship and crew, loved the cruise director and Jay from LA was a hoot! Only complaint was trying to find where the bathrooms were and how small the stalls were but we had a blast. The piano bar player, Eden, is amazing too and a lot of fun, we also enjoyed the comedians!

[sunset785]

I was on this cruise too and Jay from LA was fantastic. He will move up fast.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Biffer1997]

SillyShally---we had a few Esther cruisers our hallway and I loved watching the signs on the doors change each day. :hearteyes:

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[jewliana]

Great review! We sail her in a few weeks. We plan to spend a lot of time at Serenity but not sure about getting up at 6A to find a clam shell! We usually have breakfast and read for a few hours before it gets too hot then go in and let someone else have a go at it :-)

[RachelC33]

We were on this cruise, too! Jay from LA was a great host for the comedy show. We also thought Mason was hysterical!!

[2xsin12mths]

Getting up at 5:45 and 6:30 to get a Serenity Deck chair:eek: That's insane!!!

In all our cruises DH and I very rarely get a Serenity spot. I'm ok with that...usually it gets so hot! Hubby and I like to sleep till 8:00 and roll up on deck around 9:00.

[Biffer1997]

Getting up at 5:45 and 6:30 to get a Serenity Deck chair:eek: That's insane!!!

In all our cruises DH and I very rarely get a Serenity spot. I'm ok with that...usually it gets so hot! Hubby and I like to sleep till 8:00 and roll up on deck around 9:00.

 

 

I didn't get up purposely at that insane hour to get chair... I just happened to wake up and couldn't fall back asleep so I thought I'd see what I could get. The first day I didn't expect to see anyone that early so I was dismayed when I saw nothing available!

[Biffer1997]

I'm going on this exact cruise in 26 days!!! I can't wait. looking forward to seeing your pictures.

 

I hope to get pictures up this weekend and maybe at least pics of Funtimes if I don't scan them. You will love the ports...especially Grand Turk...I DID NOT want to leave there!

[jsglow]

I didn't get up purposely at that insane hour to get chair... I just happened to wake up and couldn't fall back asleep so I thought I'd see what I could get. The first day I didn't expect to see anyone that early so I was dismayed when I saw nothing available!

 

Was it still dark out? That's downright crazy.

[Biffer1997]

Was it still dark out? That's downright crazy.

 

yep...I suspect some may have slept out there-- at least those in the clam shells. Alot of the chairs just had towels on them which makes you think they did that the night before. After sunrise, they did start putting sticky notes with time the crew had stopped by and what time they would remove items (40 min later). Not sure if it was followed through, but did see alot of sticky notes.

[Crusin Karen]

yep...I suspect some may have slept out there-- at least those in the clam shells. Alot of the chairs just had towels on them which makes you think they did that the night before. After sunrise, they did start putting sticky notes with time the crew had stopped by and what time they would remove items (40 min later). Not sure if it was followed through, but did see alot of sticky notes.

There was another Sunshine review a few weeks ago and everyone mentions about the CHOGS at the pools AND Serenity. We will be on her in late September to Canada/NE so I'm hoping with the climate it won't be so bad. Thanks for the review and will look forward to seeing your pictures.

[Biffer1997]

I tried to post some pictures but unfortunately I kept getting an error message :-( Any hints?

[bramptonroy]

Please put me out of my misery! What is an Esther cruiser.