Couple Questions about the sunshine and if that would be the best.....

[Crusin Karen]

Thanks Jamman! (y)(y)

[sunset785]

We were on the Sunshine in March and the only crowding we really found was on the Lido deck to find a chair by the pool or waterworks area so we changed our routine up and woke up earlier to find a good spot. Otherwise, a great ship and the Serenity pool was very nice.

[tatt2ed]

We were on the sunshine while it was decorated for Christmas. Made it even more enjoyable

 

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[Crusin Karen]

We were on the Sunshine in March and the only crowding we really found was on the Lido deck to find a chair by the pool or waterworks area so we changed our routine up and woke up earlier to find a good spot. Otherwise, a great ship and the Serenity pool was very nice.

This is the biggest complaint I have read about. We will be cruising to Canada/NE the end of September, so not sure it would be as much of an issue as a Caribbean route. (yn)

[Tuckers Mom]

Hey guys, new here and thought this would be a good place to ask a couple questions. Long story short I finally talked my boyfriend into going on a cruise with me he has never been on a cruise before. We were looking at the carnival sunshine out of port canaveral next march on its 8 day eastern Caribbean. Was looking at booking a balcony room for us, but I was curious what was everyone's thoughts on the sunshine that have been on it before and if it would be a decent boat to take a new cruiser on. I originally wanted to take him on Oasis but I think that would be overwhelming on a first go. Also when I signed onto my carnival status had dropped from platinum to gold, and I can't figure out why? Thanks everyone in advance.

 

We cruised on Glory in April and the couple that were our table mates were getting off Glory, then driving straight up to Port Canaveral and getting on Sunshine for a cruise with family. They loved the Sunshine and said it was their favorite Carnival ship. They also raved about how good the food was. Sounds like a good bet to me. My husband and I are seriously considering an 8 day on the Sunshine for our next cruise. We were docked right beside her in Grand Turk and what we could see looked beautiful.

 

Glory was my husband's first cruise. I felt the same as you...one of the big megaships might be a bit too much for a first cruise. He absolutely loved Glory so I think Sunshine would be a good first for your husband. Whichever you choose, have a fantastic time!

[tatt2ed]

I love when people have these complaints.... not enough deck chairs X amount of passengers, the pools are too small for X amount of passengers passengers, or the buffets are crowded during prime meal times or debarkation is a mess.

How big would a ship need to be to have one lounge chair for every passenger ? and then people would complain its not in the sun or by the pool. Then if the pool was large enough for everyone to be in it at once would you really want to go in it ? Yuck !

As far as the buffets, why would you think the main food source be busy during meal times ? Arent pancake houses packed after church ? Arent Mcdonalds busy at lunch time ? How about red lobster at dinner time ? Guess what people are hungry and want to eat just like you do.

Debarkation would go so much easier if people followed direction, had their docs out and didnt try to drag 10 pieces of luggage off by hand.

None of these to me are something to complain about considering i know full well what im walking into.

 

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[MarcelLucSell]

Our first cruise ever was on the Destiny, and John Heald was the CD, if you can imagine. When we read about the overhaul to Destiny to become SunShine, with the waterslides on top, and sailing out of New Orleans, we booked a SpaCabin.

 

Loved it so much, we did the same a year later out of Canaveral. We had set late dining and had great dining crew. We had our Cheers and had our quickly became friends with a Lobby Bar & Alchemy Bar bartender. The CD was a riot and added to the fun.

 

We joined a social media page specific to our cruise sailing, and months before the cruise, felt like we were going to be on the ship with a whole group of friends.

 

We'd sail on her again.

[summersigh]

Last year on both of our Sunshine cruises there was live music in the Ocean Plaza every evening - most nights with dancing. We really enjoyed that !:D

[CBuick]

I did the Sunshine last year out of NYC on a cold trip to Canada. That being said I can understand the mixed reviews. Although there were some design changes I didn't like, I really liked the food on the Sunshine. The main changes to the Sunshine (from the Destiny) is the aft pool was removed and the theater and mid ship dining room shrunken by a deck. The ship carries roughly 3,009 which is identical to the larger Splendor (sad that ship is leaving CCL :loudcry:). Though not painfully crowded, there were occasions you felt the 10,000 ton difference between the two. Disembarkation was a little tougher in that they didn't have the theater to queue. I haven't been on a Dream class or Conquest so I can't compare to those two. Some of the loudest complaints are from cruisers that miss the aft pool, and those unlucky enough to book a cabin under the theatre - which is converted to a nightclub late at night. The serenity decks closeness to the main pool is also unnerving to some.

 

I am probably one of the few cruisers that really likes the older "loud" decoration style of the older ships, so the design seemed a little bland to me. I like how the loud decorations can really force one into vacation mode. I also felt she could use 2 or more additional hot tubs. Design wise my least favorite CCL ship, food wise one of my favorites. We did JiJi's the first night and the pork belly is every bit as good as everyone says it is. The free drinks for the first night were nice too. The peppered beef is also a cool dish. Though I am not a buffet fan I thought the Comfort Kitchen was good change from the International themed Chefs Choice. The free pasta station for lunch was a treat, and Guys as always is excellent. I didn't expect to really like the Havana section of the ship but it proved to be a good place to grab a buffet seat, and the buffet items there were an excellent addition that helped me forget about the lost aft pool. My Father (who is a RCL fan) really enjoyed the Epic Rock show compared to other ship board shows. Despite the smaller comedy club size, we were always able to get a seat.

 

Would I go on Sunshine again? Yes - in a hearbeat. But I wouldn't use it as a template to compare for all Carnival cruises, as it is a very unique ship. Probably my least favorite CCL ship in all categories, except food.

Edited June 11, 2017 by CBuick
grammar

[mississauga]

The Pride! We've been cruising on the Pride last couple of cruises and it just amazed me that there were no lines - except for the Chocolate Extravaganza thing - and even that wasn't as long as any I've seen on other ships. You want a Guys - maybe 2-3 people ahead of you at lunch time. Same with the Blue Iguana and Sea Day Brunch. And it never felt crowded - there were times I thought everyone was hiding out in their cabins.

 

On other ships - you're right - lines and crowds depending on what was going on. I have to admit I was flabbergasted with the Pride. It's my new favorite ship. One cruise was in early June when PA & MD kids had finished school, and another was in April when NY & some NJ schools were on Spring Break (I checked PA & MD and thought I'd be safe!)

 

But I'm glad to hear good things about the Sunshine. I loved that pool with the waterfall first time I saw it, but then I heard all the negative stuff, and we've been avoiding it. It's going to be great to sail out of NYC again!

 

 

Funny that you mentioned the Pride as not being crowded.

 

I stand by my statement about timing. We did a b2b in January this year on the Pride and encountered such a crowd when crowds were coming from dinner that I had to go up one deck to get to the back of the ship. Also when people are coming out from the theater after a show so yes, there is crowding on any ship at certain times. You just have to not be in that area at those times.

So no worse on Sunshine than any other ship.

 

Timing! Timing!

[mississauga]

We cruised on Glory in April and the couple that were our table mates were getting off Glory' date=' then driving straight up to Port Canaveral and getting on Sunshine for a cruise with family. They loved the Sunshine and said it was their favorite Carnival ship. They also raved about how good the food was. Sounds like a good bet to me. My husband and I are seriously considering an 8 day on the Sunshine for our next cruise. We were docked right beside her in Grand Turk and what we could see looked beautiful.

 

Glory was my husband's first cruise. I felt the same as you...one of the big megaships might be a bit too much for a first cruise. He absolutely loved Glory so I think Sunshine would be a good first for your husband. Whichever you choose, have a fantastic time![/quote']

 

Lol......sounds like you were talking about us. We also went from the Glory to the Sunshine but only it was in February. The Sunshine is also now our favorite ship.

 

Oh, and I don't think we have met but maybe on a future cruise

[CBuick]

I think that timing can be one thing, but there can be bottlenecks. The thing I like about Guy's is that it is very efficient, and quick. Though Mongolian Grille is a popular favorite, it is a place where bottlenecks can be serious in comparison because of the cook time for each dish. This is one of the reasons I think they have chopsticks on Pride instead of the more favored Mongolian Grille. The crowds for the Pride's Dining Rooms and theater exits are those are very large venues - larger then the similar venues on The Sunshine. The Pride is a narrower ship so those crowds can seem large.

 

So I think the crowds on Pride are related to the larger size of these venues, where Sunshine is the opposite. The theaters and dining rooms are smaller. One should still time things to avoid the peak crowds.

 

I was happier to see that the new builds are including a larger atrium, because some of the worst "bottlenecks" I witnessed on Sunshine were during disembarkation. My solution to that would be to rest one floor above in the theater and monitor the crowds as they clear out. Not optimal but a good work around.

 

Call me old fashioned but I really prefer the decoration of the Pride compared to the Sunshine.

[kelly1142]

I love the Sunshine!

 

Alchemy Bar is killer.

Love the Serenity area.

SO MUCH FUN!

[Crusin Karen]

Not a big deal, but does the Sunshine have fridges in all the cabins?

[EBFURR]

We just got back from Sunshine and it was our first Carnival cruise. We really like the ship. It was full (and we even had a stormy sea day with all outside areas closed) and we did not think that overcrowding was an issue. The serenity area is awesome and we never had a problem finding a spot - usually a hammock or a "clam shell". The most crowded area on serenity was around the pool. The main pool always seemed to have chairs. The pool is small but the area is very large. The comedy shows were always full but get there 15 minutes early and you will get a good spot. Only went to one show in Liquid Lounge and had great seats. The show was surprisingly good since we do not go to many of these. Longest lines were Ji Ji at lunch and pizza at any time of day - maybe not late at night but we never went then. Bar service at Red Frog Lido was super slow - understaffed. Same with lobby bar. Havana bar and Alchemy were outstanding. Alchemy is the best bar on any ship we have been on. Guys was very fast and efficient. Burgers are very good. Beats the pants off Johnny Rocket on Royal which costs a small fortune (not really, but compared to free, no contest). We would sail on Sunshine again in a heartbeat.

[mississauga]

We just got back from Sunshine and it was our first Carnival cruise. We really like the ship. It was full (and we even had a stormy sea day with all outside areas closed) and we did not think that overcrowding was an issue. The serenity area is awesome and we never had a problem finding a spot - usually a hammock or a "clam shell". The most crowded area on serenity was around the pool. The main pool always seemed to have chairs. The pool is small but the area is very large. The comedy shows were always full but get there 15 minutes early and you will get a good spot. Only went to one show in Liquid Lounge and had great seats. The show was surprisingly good since we do not go to many of these. Longest lines were Ji Ji at lunch and pizza at any time of day - maybe not late at night but we never went then. Bar service at Red Frog Lido was super slow - understaffed. Same with lobby bar. Havana bar and Alchemy were outstanding. Alchemy is the best bar on any ship we have been on. Guys was very fast and efficient. Burgers are very good. Beats the pants off Johnny Rocket on Royal which costs a small fortune (not really, but compared to free, no contest). We would sail on Sunshine again in a heartbeat.

 

 

Excellent and a very fair review

[teacher34]

I think we may be on the same cruise as you. We sail on the Sunshine March 3,2018. It will be on first time on the Sunshine and like you, I wasn't sure. However, after hearing all the positive things and reading some great reviews about her, I am totally excited ! I continue to hear the serenity area is one of the best and that is important to me. Hope you have a great trip !

[CBuick]

I think we may be on the same cruise as you. We sail on the Sunshine March 3,2018. It will be on first time on the Sunshine and like you, I wasn't sure. However, after hearing all the positive things and reading some great reviews about her, I am totally excited ! I continue to hear the serenity area is one of the best and that is important to me. Hope you have a great trip !

 

There are good points and bad points about the serenity.

 

The splash pool is nice but I wish there was more than one hot tub.

 

Some don't like the proximity of the serenity to main pool area during the day, but u can watch movies from the serenity area.

 

Though I feel the decoration on Sunshine is understated, it is a little more mainstream for others.

 

I did love the food and the service on Sunshine. Ji Jis is a gem, and in addition to Havana being a great buffet area to sit the bitend sized food there is great as well.

 

Though I have heard some ppl say they wouldn't give her another shot, I think the ships pluses outweigh the minuses.

[CruiserFromFL]

Sorry for not replying back here at all got busy with life and all. But went ahead and booked Us on the Sunshine for March 3rd 2018 in a balcony room. Looking forward to it. Thanks to everyone who responded and I apologize for not thanking you all sooner.

[crusinpsychRN]

That's good to know! I've heard that the Havana Bar is the best place to get a table. I'm getting excited for this cruise and I wasn't so excited (except for the itinerary) when we first booked it.

 

At dinner time they remove the salt and pepper from the tables in Havana Bar as they are setting up for the night music which is excellent, best on any ship.