Carnival Sunshine Questions

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, SurfCat said:

It's my understanding that the shakes and specialty coffee from shake spot come with the Cheers program.  Can anyone verify that?

 

Yes, indeed, included.

 

Says so right on the Carnival website Cheers page (excerpted):

 

The following beverages are available within the CHEERS! program:

• All spirits, including cocktails, cognacs, whiskies and other spirits, as well as beer (including self-serve beer stations) and wine and champagne by the glass, with a $20 USD or lower menu price per serving 
• Sodas (including specialty sodas), Zero-Proof frozen cocktails (including smoothies) and juices 
• Specialty coffees and hot tea served in the main dining rooms, specialty restaurants and coffee bars
• Milkshakes, where applicable  
• RockStar energy drinks, Powerade, Vitamin Water, Coconut Water and Honest Tea
• 500ml bottled water and other non-alcoholic bottled beverages served in bars and lounges
• Large format (1 liter and 1.5-liter) bottles of water in the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants

Only a few ships have a Shake Spot (including Sunshine), thus the disclaimer "where applicable".

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 hours ago, Greensuz said:

I’m following this thread, as we are also considering a future Sunshine cruise.  A lot of the reviews I’ve read mention a foul sewer smell in the aft of the ship.  Can anyone speak to that?

 

We wandered the ship a lot in Dec 2018, and did not notice that at all.

 

It was hopefully something that got fixed during that last dry dock.

[young_ens]

1 hour ago, maryhou said:

where exactly are the new cakes?  I love key lime cheesecake

 

Lido buffet from what I hear.  Won't take me long to find them, they look very good!

 

 

[Eliot Ness]

1 hour ago, young_ens said:

Lido buffet from what I hear.  Won't take me long to find them, they look very good!

 

 

Yes, they are off to one side by themselves in the Lido buffet.

[teacher2cruiser]

4 hours ago, maryhou said:

If you want a place to see the front of the ship all by yourself go to end of deck 7 on the left side.  There is a door there that take you outside.  We went a few times and had the place to ourselves. 

Are there any chairs there, or just a standing area?

 

[K&RCurt]

We were on the Sunshine on a Charter Jan 25 - Feb 3 and had an amazing time.

 

We thought the food was very good in both the Main Dining Room as well as the Buffet.  We never had dinner in the Buffet as we did Jiji's one night, the Steakhouse another night and the Chef's Table as well.  Lunch time was a bit crowded in the buffet area at lunch, but we were always able to find a seat.

 

Yes, the casino is smokey, but I have yet to be on a ship where it isn't.

 

Luckily for us our Charter TA had a team of folks enforcing the rules for deck chairs.  If a chair was unoccupied for more that 20 minutes it was cleared and made available for someone else.  They also went through and cleared any chair that didn't "have a butt in it" right before 8:00am, so after the first day, no one tried to hog a chair.  IMHO every cruise line should be doing this to enforce their policy, but they are afraid of a confrontation.

 

A few people I know had mentioned a "sewer smell" in the aft of deck 7 & 8, but I never experienced it, and the plumbing on cruise ships is prone to this inherently and almost every ship has some folks complaining of this.

 

The shows we saw, Motor City, Epic Rock and a 3rd I can't recall the name of were very good.  The issues with the Limelight comedy club are legit.  Very hard to get a seat and many seats just have a view of a wall with a fairly small TV screen.

 

The BBQ they served in the Ocean Plaza area on embarkation and two of the sea days was very good.  The Ocean Plaza area was our favorite hang out at night.  There were bands playing there every night (granted a few of them were brought on board by the Charter Company), The Red Frog Pub and Alchemy Bar were right there so we really enjoyed that space.

 

We would not hesitate to sail on the Sunshine again.

[SSBrickNJ]

9 hours ago, CRocks said:

 

I really DON'T want to spoil anything for folks already booked, but this is a message board + you ARE entitled to your opinion, so that's what I'll give, "my OPINION". 

 

I've been to Freeport + Nassau many times. EVERY time I've had encounters with the locals hitting on women right in front of me. IMO, this is both rude + ignorant! Never had a problem anywhere else, just there, both places. Recently watched a youtube vid and Bahamas was ranked the #1 most dangerous cruise destination. Course, St Thomas made the top 10 also which surprised me. Finally, we cruise in the winter. Bahamas are in the N Atlantic NOT the Caribbean. I've been in the Bahamas when the high was in the 40s. Never below 70 in the Caribbean. I'm sure this soured my opinion also.

The Bahamas are south of Miami. So when you mentioned above about a high temperature that fell short of 50F , it struck me as being kind of weird.

I put into Google the following question:

"What is the average high temperature in Nassau Bahamas in January?"

The answer that search yielded was 79F

Edited March 1, 2019 by SSBrickNJ

[NWACruiser]

2 hours ago, K&RCurt said:

Luckily for us our Charter TA had a team of folks enforcing the rules for deck chairs.  If a chair was unoccupied for more that 20 minutes it was cleared and made available for someone else.  They also went through and cleared any chair that didn't "have a butt in it" right before 8:00am, so after the first day, no one tried to hog a chair.  IMHO every cruise line should be doing this to enforce their policy, but they are afraid of a confrontation.

 

I think "have a butt in it" was an accurate statement.  We were on the cruise ship the trip before yours.

[CRocks]

12 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

The Bahamas are south of Miami. So when you mentioned above about a high temperature that fell short of 50F , it struck me as being kind of weird.

I put into Google the following question:

"What is the average high temperature in Nassau Bahamas in January?"

The answer that search yielded was 79F

 

SMH, I say AGAIN, I've been to the Bahamas, more specifically Nassau (Fantasy out of Port Canaveral 3/30/20003), when it was in the 40s. AND I've been to Miami when it was in the 40's (Destiny Jan 2009). So you + Google are wrong!

[Bostwick girl]

1 hour ago, CRocks said:

 

SMH, I say AGAIN, I've been to the Bahamas, more specifically Nassau (Fantasy out of Port Canaveral 3/30/20003), when it was in the 40s. AND I've been to Miami when it was in the 40's (Destiny Jan 2009). So you + Google are wrong!

 

I totally agree with you! I have lived in northeast Florida for all my life and I can tell you for a fact it does indeed get cold in Miami and the Bahamas. Not very often, but it does happen. I have friends who live in Miami and they are not equipped for cold weather, no heat! 

[SSBrickNJ]

15 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

The Bahamas are south of Miami. So when you mentioned above about a high temperature that fell short of 50F , it struck me as being kind of weird.

I put into Google the following question:

"What is the average high temperature in Nassau Bahamas in January?"

The answer that search yielded was 79F

A recent poster said that "you + google are wrong" re. the info. quoted above. I doubt that google is wrong. Hey please note.... I didn't say the Bahamas NEVER have a high of 49F. That's not what was presented.

Probably that poster did not focus on Google's key word....that being "AVERAGE". The "average" high temperature of 79F in January still allows for the isolated cold snap the poster told me about.

Edited March 2, 2019 by SSBrickNJ

[SSBrickNJ]

My wife and I discussed this thread last night.

I read her numerous sample posts from within the thread.

I purposely balanced the positive and the negative posts. We are NOT gonna book the Carnival Sunshine.

We've decided to do our next cruise on Royal Caribbean.

A SUMMER cruise .....not to the Bahamas.....but to Bermuda.

*
*
*

A big and sincere thank you to ALL posters on this thread. I'm DONE HERE. Thanks again everyone!

BYE 

Edited March 2, 2019 by SSBrickNJ

[Bostwick girl]

1 hour ago, SSBrickNJ said:

My wife and I discussed this thread last night.

I read her numerous sample posts from within the thread.

I purposely balanced the positive and the negative posts. We are NOT gonna book the Carnival Sunshine.

We've decided to do our next cruise on Royal Caribbean.

A SUMMER cruise .....not to the Bahamas.....but to Bermuda.

*
*
*

A big and sincere thank you to ALL posters on this thread. I'm DONE HERE. Thanks again everyone!

BYE 

 

Regardless of what cruiseline you choose, you will enjoy your trip to Bermuda! Much nicer than the Bahamas. We went there a couple of years ago on a Carnival Victory cruise out of Port Canaveral in early May. weather was cool and rainy/overcast for the 3 days we had in port.  We ended up being somewhat limited in what activities we could do because one day was Sunday and most things are closed, and Monday was Bermuda Day which is a national holiday and everything was closed! Wedid get a nice tour of the island the first day. We are trying again this September again on Carnival Breeze, and hoping for better weather, lol. 

 

In my opinion, you really shouldn't let the negative comments make up your mind because you'll have negative nellies on all the cruise boards.  Either way, enjoy your cruise, and would love to see a review.

 

[maryhou]

On 3/1/2019 at 4:23 PM, K&RCurt said:

We were on the Sunshine on a Charter Jan 25 - Feb 3 and had an amazing time.

 

We thought the food was very good in both the Main Dining Room as well as the Buffet.  We never had dinner in the Buffet as we did Jiji's one night, the Steakhouse another night and the Chef's Table as well.  Lunch time was a bit crowded in the buffet area at lunch, but we were always able to find a seat.

 

Yes, the casino is smokey, but I have yet to be on a ship where it isn't.

 

Luckily for us our Charter TA had a team of folks enforcing the rules for deck chairs.  If a chair was unoccupied for more that 20 minutes it was cleared and made available for someone else.  They also went through and cleared any chair that didn't "have a butt in it" right before 8:00am, so after the first day, no one tried to hog a chair.  IMHO every cruise line should be doing this to enforce their policy, but they are afraid of a confrontation.

 

A few people I know had mentioned a "sewer smell" in the aft of deck 7 & 8, but I never experienced it, and the plumbing on cruise ships is prone to this inherently and almost every ship has some folks complaining of this.

 

The shows we saw, Motor City, Epic Rock and a 3rd I can't recall the name of were very good.  The issues with the Limelight comedy club are legit.  Very hard to get a seat and many seats just have a view of a wall with a fairly small TV screen.

 

The BBQ they served in the Ocean Plaza area on embarkation and two of the sea days was very good.  The Ocean Plaza area was our favorite hang out at night.  There were bands playing there every night (granted a few of them were brought on board by the Charter Company), The Red Frog Pub and Alchemy Bar were right there so we really enjoyed that space.

 

We would not hesitate to sail on the Sunshine again.

Where is the ocean plaza?

 

[K&RCurt]

44 minutes ago, maryhou said:

Where is the ocean plaza?

 

Deck 5 (Promenade) just aft of the Java Cafe.

[hotsauce126]

On 3/1/2019 at 5:05 PM, SSBrickNJ said:

The Bahamas are south of Miami. So when you mentioned above about a high temperature that fell short of 50F , it struck me as being kind of weird.

I put into Google the following question:

"What is the average high temperature in Nassau Bahamas in January?"

The answer that search yielded was 79F

Freeport is north of Ft. Lauderdale

[Hoops_Baller]

Since the original thread topic seems to be dead, let's talk about having some fun on the Sunshine!!!!  We sail the Sunshine in 20 days...March 24th.  Anyone know who the new cruise director is?  Any other good tips other than the positive reviews of the Ocean Plaza area?

[Hoops_Baller]

Or anyone else going to be aboard with us?

[schazzy]

49 minutes ago, Hoops_Baller said:

Since the original thread topic seems to be dead, let's talk about having some fun on the Sunshine!!!!  We sail the Sunshine in 20 days...March 24th.  Anyone know who the new cruise director is?  Any other good tips other than the positive reviews of the Ocean Plaza area?

 

We are sailing on the Sunshine a month after you, it will be our first time and we can't wait! Mikey Gibson is the current CD until the end of May, from what I've seen about him, he is very energetic and hilarious. 

[Cruisefriends]

We are sailing the Sunshine the week after you.  Can hardly wait!!!!!! We will love the cruise no matter what!!!

 

 

[Cruisefriends]

We are sailing the Sunshine the week after you.  Can hardly wait!!!!!! We will love the cruise no matter what!!!

Mikey will be the CD

 

 

[Hoops_Baller]

10 hours ago, schazzy said:

 

We are sailing on the Sunshine a month after you, it will be our first time and we can't wait! Mikey Gibson is the current CD until the end of May, from what I've seen about him, he is very energetic and hilarious. 

Thanks Schazzy, for some reason I was thinking that there was a new CD.  I've read good things about Mikey as well.

[PhillyFan33579]

13 hours ago, Hoops_Baller said:

Since the original thread topic seems to be dead, let's talk about having some fun on the Sunshine!!!!  We sail the Sunshine in 20 days...March 24th.  Anyone know who the new cruise director is?  Any other good tips other than the positive reviews of the Ocean Plaza area?

 

We sailed on Sunshine a few weeks ago. It was my 25th cruise on Carnival and Mikey Gibson was the best CD I have seen, and I have cruised with a lot of good CDs on Carnival.  If you like to drink, the lobby bar is the largest bar on any Carnival ship and the bar at the Red Frog Pub is also very large.  The Havana Bar and the area around it is a great location to eat breakfast.  We usually eat breakfast in the MDR, but on this cruise we had breakfast at the Lido buffet and ate at the Havana Bar and had a few mimosas almost every morning.  If you like water slides, Sunshine has three of the best slides on Carnival’s ships. 

[Hoops_Baller]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

We sailed on Sunshine a few weeks ago. It was my 25th cruise on Carnival and Mikey Gibson was the best CD I have seen, and I have cruised with a lot of good CDs on Carnival.  If you like to drink, the lobby bar is the largest bar on any Carnival ship and the bar at the Red Frog Pub is also very large.  The Havana Bar and the area around it is a great location to eat breakfast.  We usually eat breakfast in the MDR, but on this cruise we had breakfast at the Lido buffet and ate at the Havana Bar and had a few mimosas almost every morning.  If you like water slides, Sunshine has three of the best slides on Carnival’s ships. 

Solid...sounds good!  Can't wait...we sail in less than 3 weeks now.

[maryhou]

25 days until we cruise on the Sunshine....... sorry to 'yell' but I'm starting to get excited  🙂  Thanks everyone for the tips and info on the ship, any place you loved having dinner the night before in Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area?  We love live music and seafood...... and are pretty low maintenance . We are staying at Raddison by the port

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by maryhou