The Sunshine Dine! May 29 - June 3rd dining review

[meatloafsfan]

We sailed on the Carnival Sunshine from May 29 - June 3 (5 nights) out of Charleston SC. We've sailed extensively on the Pride and I've done a few dining reviews for that ship. This was the first time we've done a short cruise on Carnival (but have done some on other lines); we usually favour the longer cruises (21 nights and 14 nights, and the minimum is usually 7 nights). I just really wanted to try the Sunshine and this cruise fit into our schedule so a short cruise it was!

 

First off, this review will be mainly food based.

 

Secondly, I'm going to digress and tell you some thoughts on the ship. ;p

 

1. I liked the ship. It was compact and flowed well. There were ample walkways through deck 5 so it didn't feel crowded and that's where we spent most of our time. It was nice to have so many "bells and whistles" available even if we didn't use them all.

 

2. The Lido deck (including the Marketplace) does feel crowded. I can understand if you're the person who basically hangs out on the top decks (pool, buffet, Serenity) why you wouldn't really like this ship. The buffet area feels a little enclosed, there are some narrow walkways as you pass Guys and the Blue Iguana, and overall the pool areas felt crowded to me (maybe it's the stadium seating).

 

3. The Havana Bar area is truly a hidden Gem. It's the exception to the crowdedness of that deck. Lots of space between tables and the space just feels open. Even on the very crowded last sea day, we still found a table back there (it took a couple of minutes but we did get a big round table to ourselves).

 

4. The staff on the ship were mostly great; those who weren't great though were exceptionally poor. We had a great room steward (and assistant), great dining room servers, the fun squad were great as were the people we dealt with at the taste bar area and the buffet. Guest services was pretty clueless and there were some bar waiters that were really poor (i.e. didn't want to bring you the drink you wanted and/or took a long time).

 

5. Accessibility on this ship is good in the public areas; their accessible bathrooms suck. Toilets are either placed low, or with grab bars in the wrong place, or as was the case in our cabin, placed on an angle from the wall (so the bar was too far away to really offer support).

 

Overall we really liked the ship; we just won't be sailing on her again (due solely to number 5 listed above).

[meatloafsfan]

Day 1 - Lunch

 

So the one thing I had been keenly checking before we left was if the BBQ was going to be in the taste bar on embarkation. There were numerous signs in the check in area and then another sign as we entered the ship saying that the BBQ was being offered on deck 5 so that is where we headed.

 

It was very good.

 

They had potato salad, coleslaw, mac n cheese, pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked chicken, and buns (at least that's what I remember and what we ate). They also had a choice of 3 sauces available. We didn't try any of them; I would suggest that if you don't enjoy your bbq food plain, that you add a sauce. My parents don't like spicy so I was hesitant to add anything to my mothers plate and since I had both of our plates, I just skipped it for me as well. Even without the sauce the food was tasty.

 

The pork was the most flavourful. It was pulled and then they had added some sauce to it;

The beef brisket was tender; no sauce but there was a spice rub on it;

The chicken had a different spice rub on the outside and no sauce - it was cooked perfectly (not dry) though how they cut the pieces seemed wrong and it was almost like they cut them so that there was more bone than meat; the skin peeled off easily and there was actually a few pieces in the pan with no skin (and probably a bunch of skin in the bottom of the pan).

 

They were refreshing the food constantly so it was all fresh and hot.

 

The mac n cheese was good; it wasn't like the sea day brunch one - this was made with an orange cheese sauce all the way through (the sea day brunch one is a béchamel sauce where they add bits of cheddar) and then a heavy cheese layer on top which was well toasted. It was very creamy and the pasta was cooked perfected.

 

The potato salad and coleslaw were the same ones served upstairs in the buffet.

 

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100_2144 by PATRICIA TODD, on Flickr

[toddtimes5]

Enjoying review. Following for more review.

[meatloafsfan]

After lunch we went to the cabin (aft accessible cabin). The cabin itself was nicely laid out with 2 beds and the couch and of course, a huge balcony.

 

My mother however, missed her wheelchair transferring from the toilet back to her chair and ended up falling on the floor. She only has the use of one arm and one leg and isn't able to pull herself up (or get on her knees). My dad and I can't do it on our own (because she can't control her feet to stabilize herself) so we alerted our room steward who called for medical and the head housekeeper. After the nurse checked her to make certain she was okay, they brought it a couple of strong guys and they helped her up and we got her back into her wheelchair. They were able to supply a commode chair so we didn't have to deal with the cabin toilet for her for the remainder of the cruise (and have her end up on the floor again). As the accessible bathroom is quite large, the commode chair easily fit into the shower area.

 

Anyways, all that excitement wore out my mother and she wanted to just rest so she skipped dinner. My dad and I (also exhausted because it was a big kerfuffle that afternoon) decided to just go to the buffet. The food offerings are very similar to the dining room so we wouldn't be missing out on many food choices, it was just the service and plating that were missing.

 

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They also had pork on the carvery, baked potatoes, plain rice, and green beans. They also had the salad bar open along with pizza and the deli.

 

My dad's plate:

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My plate:

100_2150

 

The shrimps were excellent and it was nice to be able to select as many as we liked (and not have the fried rice), the lasagna was the same/tasty as I've had before in the dining room. The pork and chicken were fine (nothing special but filling and cooked properly). The Quesadilla's probably benefit from being plated in the dining room so they don't either dry out or drop out their filling (the case with some of them in the pan at the buffet).

 

Overall it was good food, plentiful and hot. The buffet was pretty crowded when we were there around 7pm. It seemed to be the preferred choice of a lot of families with kids in the 4-8 age range.

[meatloafsfan]

The next morning we got up pretty early (around 7am). The plan was to go to the sea day brunch for breakfast. By 7:45 we were all too hungry so decided to pop down to the taste bar to check out their breakfast. I am sorry that I didn't get pictures. It was a complete set of breakfast offerings.

 

From what I remember:

 

Scrambled eggs;

Egg cups (toasted bread that had been pressed into a muffin cup with an egg cooked in the middle);

French toast;

bacon;

sausage;

hotdogs (yes, they were called something different but they were hot dogs);

hash brown rounds;

a variety of fruit;

pastries (turnovers, Danish and croissants);

oatmeal;

grits;

cheese, turkey and some other kind of lunch meat;

bread with toaster (and all the trimmings).

 

They also had juice, coffee, tea and ice water available.

 

I ate a little more than I intended. The food was hot and fresh having just been put out. The cooks behind the taste bar were also friendly and were eager to help if you couldn't reach something. There were also servers milling about (clearing plates and handing out drinks). There were plenty of tables and it was so much more relaxing than the buffet.

 

My dad wasn't thrilled because he prefers the made to order omelets; there was enough choice for my mother and I.

 

 

Later in the morning we ended up at the sea day brunch (my dad was hungry because he's the one who didn't eat his "hot dog sausage" in the morning).

 

My dad ordered 2 plain pancakes (no picture) for his appetizer and then the steak and eggs for his main course. The steak was cooked medium rare as per his request and the eggs were over hard (how he likes them). The potatoes were different than we've experienced in the past - these were thin sliced and almost like homemade potato chips. I liked them, he did not.

 

DSC04548

 

My mother ordered the "Hey Pork Chop". The gorgonzola cream sauce was her favourite part. The chop itself was moist and the green beans were cooked without being mushy. She really enjoyed this dish. I think the orange thing on top was a breaded carrot - it was certainly odd.

 

DSC04546

 

I wasn't really hungry so I ordered some corn beef hash (we don't really get that in Canada). It was kind of sad - it was served as a small puck on a big plate. It was however tasty.

 

DSC04547

[meatloafsfan]

Even though we're not big balcony people - because we had the super big aft balcony, we did spend a bunch of time on this cruise out there.

 

Today was the day that the Platinum chocolate delight was delivered (it was all strawberries which was fine with us).

 

 

And later in the afternoon we ordered some cheesecake and chocolate cake via room service.

 

 

 

Both cakes were tasty with a slight nod to the chocolate cake for being a better version of itself.

 

We didn't want to eat too much this afternoon because tonight we were trying JiJi's.

[Clarasgrandma]

Love the pics!

[April42749]

Did you notice if they had grilled salmon in the mdr. I saw "probably outdated" menus that had it and I'm hoping it's still there.

 

Anyone....is there a link to the menus?

[cruzeluver]

Nice job! We really like Sunshine a lot. Looking forward to your thoughts on Jiji's as its our personal favorite. Dined there on both of our Sunshine cruises.

[Crusin Karen]

Hi Tricia, I have read and loved all your reviews. We will be sailing together on the Pride in January! :D We are doing a one week Sunshine cruise the end of September because NY is our homeport and we heard CCL is pulling out of there, so we are going to do one more sailing from our back doorstep. So I am enjoying this and look forward to meeting you!

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[easyboy]

Very nice photos!

[shof515]

Hi Tricia, I have read and loved all your reviews. We will be sailing together on the Pride in January! :D We are doing a one week Sunshine cruise the end of September because NY is our homeport and we heard CCL is pulling out of there, so we are going to do one more sailing from our back doorstep. So I am enjoying this and look forward to meeting you!

Carnival is still sailing out of NYC next year, It will be the Carnival Horizon for 2018 and maybe 2019 too if they bring it back or a different carnival ship. Every few years, carnival rotates the ships out of NYC.

[Crusin Karen]

Carnival is still sailing out of NYC next year, It will be the Carnival Horizon for 2018 and maybe 2019 too if they bring it back or a different carnival ship. Every few years, carnival rotates the ships out of NYC.

Thanks, but not interested in the mega ships! And Horizon's prices are outrageous right now. We live 20 minutes from Port of Manhattan, so it stinks, but at least we still have Baltimore and the Pride! Destiny was our lst CCL ship and we sailed on her a few times and always wanted to go back on Sunshine. So figured we would book her from NY now vs. FL at a later time! ;) I am also a bit of an "atrium snob" and I love the multi deck atriums with the elevators, etc. and tho pictures of Horizon's atrium I have seen are very pretty, it just doesn't do it for me! Favorite ship décor wise is the Liberty. If they brought her to NY I would be one happy camper....err, cruiser! Tricia, sorry for the highjack! :cool:

[EBFURR]

We were on the June 4 sailing. We can't really speak to the MDR food since we only went one night and did not have a great experience. We had late seating and arrived on time. We were taken to our assigned table (we were a party of 2) which was a booth and a couple were already seated, one on each side. This was probably because we went to the buffet the first night. The hostess asked us if we wanted a private table and we said okay rather than interrupt the folks already seated. We were put in a two top in the aisle and it was a little like being in the median on a highway. We waited 45 minutes for appetizers and another 20 min for main course. Other people seated after us were eating and finishing before we got food. Maybe we just had a rookie waiter. He was nice, but we decided to skip the MDR and use the alternate options. We were not really upset since we had experienced similar things on previous cruises on another line and sometimes it is just an off night. The bright side of things is that Sunshine has so many great options that we did not even miss the MDR. The food that we got everywhere was very good and well prepared. There are just so many options on this ship. By the way, we did see the grilled salmon on the menu and I almost ordered it.

 

Some of our positive experiences:

 

Blue Iguana breakfast - Breakfast burritos were great! Unfortunately we never tried the tacos at lunch.

 

Market Place breakfast - The usual selection in the main buffet. The omelet station was outstanding. It is in the Havana Bar and they usually had four stations with each station having three pans going so the lines were manageable. There was one chef who really did a super job and I went to him every day. Much better than Royal.

 

Havana Bar - They have a mini buffet set up at the bar at breakfast and dinner with a small but tasty selection. At breakfast they have some cream cheese pastries that will blow your mind. They are so light and flaky that they would probably float way without the cheese inside. At dinner they have Cuban sandwiches and empanadas.

 

Guys burgers - What can I say? Best burger at sea. Lines always moved quickly and usually we just walked up and were served.

 

Ji Ji - Never went for dinner but tried the Mongolian Wok at lunch (free) and it was very good. This was always the longest line on the ship but worth the wait.

 

Cecina del Capitano - Again, never tried dinner but did the lunch (free) and found it to be really good. You pick your pasta, sauce, and toppings from a card and they give you a buzzer. It only takes a few minutes and you have some very good freshly prepared Italian food. This was good stuff! the ingredients were fresh and not the pre-packaged stuff you get in a lot of places.

 

Taste Bar - Only hit this once but the samples were amazing. Wife went for seconds.

 

Market Place lunch and dinner - The selections are more limited than Royal's Windjammer but are well prepared and they are kept fresh. By limiting the number of items I think they can do a better job and the layout keeps the lines down. We never had to stand in line even in busy times. We always found something we liked.

 

Pizza - Pizza was good, but there way always a very slow moving line. This is not your local pizzeria but is pretty good when you need a pizza fix.

 

Deli - Very good. Wife tried it and got a smoked salmon bagel that she raved about. Again, line was a little slow but quality takes time.

 

After many years of cruising this was the best overall selection and quality of food since about 20 years ago. We never paid one cent of extra charge dining and we were very satisfied. Next time we will try the extra cost options but this time we really did not feel a need to.

[happy cruzer]

Wow, love your descriptions. The point about the bechamel sauce style mac and cheese is so right. Many think there is only one way to prepare and item. None wrong or right, just differences. Lots a variances in recipes and you are able to bring them to life. Thank you so much.

[mizLORInj]

Love the pics. Thanks for sharing!

 

We liked the Sunshine a lot when we cruised on her last September out of NYC.

 

I do hope Carnival keeps a ship in NYC--would be nice if it was not just in the summertime! Like when Miracle cruised from NYC year-round! Are you listening, Carnival??

[meatloafsfan]

Did you notice if they had grilled salmon in the mdr. I saw "probably outdated" menus that had it and I'm hoping it's still there.

 

Anyone....is there a link to the menus?

 

Yes they had grilled salmon on the everyday menu. The menus we had were the same ones posted on the zydecocruiser site:

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/menus/CarnivalCruiseLineMenus.htm

 

If you click on the link for the bloggers cruise we had the menus from day 1, then the 5 night Feast menu (which is posted separately on that site), the day 3 menu, the day 5 menu and then I think it was the day 7 menu (we ate at Cucina's on the last night).

[meatloafsfan]

Enjoying review. Following for more review.

 

Love the pics!

 

Thank you both for following along!

[meatloafsfan]

Nice job! We really like Sunshine a lot. Looking forward to your thoughts on Jiji's as its our personal favorite. Dined there on both of our Sunshine cruises.

 

It was - by far - the best specialty restaurant at sea we've eaten at - and that includes Carnival, Celebrity, Royal and Disney. My pictures and review should be done today for JiJi's. It will be long and full of "OMGs" and "Yummms".

[meatloafsfan]

Hi Tricia, I have read and loved all your reviews. We will be sailing together on the Pride in January! :D We are doing a one week Sunshine cruise the end of September because NY is our homeport and we heard CCL is pulling out of there, so we are going to do one more sailing from our back doorstep. So I am enjoying this and look forward to meeting you!

 

I too wanted to try the Sunshine before it settled back to Florida on a more permanent basis. Since we have other fall cruises booked (and summer vacation is tough for me to take), this seemed like the perfect cruise for us.

 

Please try JiJi's - if it's not a fabulous meal I'll reimburse you myself on the Pride cruise! Looking forward to sailing with you as well.

[meatloafsfan]

Carnival is still sailing out of NYC next year, It will be the Carnival Horizon for 2018 and maybe 2019 too if they bring it back or a different carnival ship. Every few years, carnival rotates the ships out of NYC.

 

Thanks, but not interested in the mega ships! And Horizon's prices are outrageous right now. We live 20 minutes from Port of Manhattan, so it stinks, but at least we still have Baltimore and the Pride! Destiny was our lst CCL ship and we sailed on her a few times and always wanted to go back on Sunshine. So figured we would book her from NY now vs. FL at a later time! ;) I am also a bit of an "atrium snob" and I love the multi deck atriums with the elevators, etc. and tho pictures of Horizon's atrium I have seen are very pretty, it just doesn't do it for me! Favorite ship décor wise is the Liberty. If they brought her to NY I would be one happy camper....err, cruiser! Tricia, sorry for the highjack! :cool:

 

No worries about the hijack.

 

I was looking at the Horizon for us for next year but I agree Karen - it's just too big!

[meatloafsfan]

We were on the June 4 sailing. We can't really speak to the MDR food since we only went one night and did not have a great experience. We had late seating and arrived on time. We were taken to our assigned table (we were a party of 2) which was a booth and a couple were already seated, one on each side. This was probably because we went to the buffet the first night. The hostess asked us if we wanted a private table and we said okay rather than interrupt the folks already seated. We were put in a two top in the aisle and it was a little like being in the median on a highway. We waited 45 minutes for appetizers and another 20 min for main course. Other people seated after us were eating and finishing before we got food. Maybe we just had a rookie waiter. He was nice, but we decided to skip the MDR and use the alternate options. We were not really upset since we had experienced similar things on previous cruises on another line and sometimes it is just an off night. The bright side of things is that Sunshine has so many great options that we did not even miss the MDR. The food that we got everywhere was very good and well prepared. There are just so many options on this ship. By the way, we did see the grilled salmon on the menu and I almost ordered it.

 

Some of our positive experiences:

 

Blue Iguana breakfast - Breakfast burritos were great! Unfortunately we never tried the tacos at lunch.

 

Market Place breakfast - The usual selection in the main buffet. The omelet station was outstanding. It is in the Havana Bar and they usually had four stations with each station having three pans going so the lines were manageable. There was one chef who really did a super job and I went to him every day. Much better than Royal.

 

Havana Bar - They have a mini buffet set up at the bar at breakfast and dinner with a small but tasty selection. At breakfast they have some cream cheese pastries that will blow your mind. They are so light and flaky that they would probably float way without the cheese inside. At dinner they have Cuban sandwiches and empanadas.

 

Guys burgers - What can I say? Best burger at sea. Lines always moved quickly and usually we just walked up and were served.

 

Ji Ji - Never went for dinner but tried the Mongolian Wok at lunch (free) and it was very good. This was always the longest line on the ship but worth the wait.

 

Cecina del Capitano - Again, never tried dinner but did the lunch (free) and found it to be really good. You pick your pasta, sauce, and toppings from a card and they give you a buzzer. It only takes a few minutes and you have some very good freshly prepared Italian food. This was good stuff! the ingredients were fresh and not the pre-packaged stuff you get in a lot of places.

 

Taste Bar - Only hit this once but the samples were amazing. Wife went for seconds.

 

Market Place lunch and dinner - The selections are more limited than Royal's Windjammer but are well prepared and they are kept fresh. By limiting the number of items I think they can do a better job and the layout keeps the lines down. We never had to stand in line even in busy times. We always found something we liked.

 

Pizza - Pizza was good, but there way always a very slow moving line. This is not your local pizzeria but is pretty good when you need a pizza fix.

 

Deli - Very good. Wife tried it and got a smoked salmon bagel that she raved about. Again, line was a little slow but quality takes time.

 

After many years of cruising this was the best overall selection and quality of food since about 20 years ago. We never paid one cent of extra charge dining and we were very satisfied. Next time we will try the extra cost options but this time we really did not feel a need to.

 

thanks for this addition.

 

There were a number of things we didn't try this cruise - the deli, pizza, Mongolian wok, breakfast at the buffet or the blue Iguana so it's nice that you were able to add some details for those things.

 

We also did the pasta bar for lunch and I agree it was great. Hot, fresh, prepared for you food is better than stuff out of a warming pan any day!.

[meatloafsfan]

Wow, love your descriptions. The point about the bechamel sauce style mac and cheese is so right. Many think there is only one way to prepare and item. None wrong or right, just differences. Lots a variances in recipes and you are able to bring them to life. Thank you so much.

 

Yes - and I find that on cruise ships you seem to find even more variances to recipes than on land.

 

At the pasta bar the lasagna is made with shredded beef, sweet potato and spinach - not a combination you'd find on land in a lasagna description but it worked!

[meatloafsfan]

Love the pics. Thanks for sharing!

 

We liked the Sunshine a lot when we cruised on her last September out of NYC.

 

I do hope Carnival keeps a ship in NYC--would be nice if it was not just in the summertime! Like when Miracle cruised from NYC year-round! Are you listening, Carnival??

 

It would be nice for either a ship out of NYC or a second ship out of Baltimore. Personally I wish that Carnival would start sailing out of Bayonne because I find that easier than NYC itself (and parking is a lot cheaper!).

 

Any time we can do just a day's drive to get to the ship, we're happy campers. Two days wasn't bad but it now takes us 3 days to drive to Florida so I try to limit that to just once a year (maybe twice if we are desperate).