The Sunrise - some things we liked, some things we didn't

[Joanne G.]

This is long, but I hope it is helpful.

 

My sister and I were on the June 10 “Journeys” cruise on the Sunrise.  We booked the cruise a year in advance, long before the announcement that the Triumph would be transformed into the Sunrise.   However, the end results of ship refurbishments are pretty standard – more cabins, more revenue-producing space, less non-revenue-producing public space.   We looked at the hype about the new features on the Sunrise with a fair amount of skepticism about how it would affect our cruise experience.  

 

In comparing deck plans, I concluded that about 40 new cabins were added in the forward section of deck 3, in the space that was formerly the stage level of the theater.    The lounges at the back of deck 5 have been replaced by about 50 cabins.   About 7 cabins were added on deck 11, in the area of the spa.  There may be a few more new cabins tucked into various areas, but these are the major additions that I noticed.   That’s a couple hundred more people.

 

The former theater, now called a lounge, has been reduced from 3 levels to 2.   We are active during the day and usually not terribly interested in the evening shows, so I can’t say for certain that you should go early to get a seat.   But with more passengers and a smaller space, that would be my recommendation.  One evening we headed to a comedy show in one of the other lounges (on deck 4 where the cigar bar had been), but we got there too late, meaning about 10 minutes before the showtime.  There was no seating left, including in an overflow area in the hallway with bar stools and video screens.    Everyone’s tolerance for inconvenience is different, but we don’t want to waste our precious cruise time staking out a seat for a show well before it starts.   Keep in mind that the lounge space at the back of deck 5 has been eliminated, so there are fewer venues for evening activities.

There is one big design change that we really didn’t like.  While we were never on the Triumph, it had, based on deck plans in an old brochure, the same walkway, with ample seating, along the starboard side of deck 5 that we have enjoyed on the Conquest, Liberty, Freedom, Valor, and Splendor.   This has been our favorite space to sit in the evenings to watch the activity, and usually live musicians were performing in the vicinity.  Now, in order to go aft from the atrium on deck 5, you must walk through the casino.   We hated that – the smell of smoke was noticeable, and I personally hate the sound of dinging slot machines.   

 

The remaining (reduced) amount of seating in that section of deck 5 is opposite the new bar where karaoke is done.   I appreciate the enthusiasm and courage of those who do karaoke, but the talent level among passengers is . . . inconsistent.    Karaoke should be done in an area where only those who want to listen can hear it!  There is a new enclosed piano bar that could have been used for Karaoke.  

 

We didn’t use the new Serenity area, which is forward on parts of the two highest decks.  There is no shade there.   A few of the lounge beds are under a slatted cover, but that does not provide full shade. 

 

The ropes course and other sports-related activities on the upper decks seemed popular with the kids on our cruise. 

 

We found the décor attractive.   I don’t know what the Triumph looked like, but we have seen our share of the colorful-to-the-point-of-garish Carnival décor.   The Sunrise colors are more muted, with a lot of pleasing shades of blue and aquamarine.  

 

A small but important new feature in our cabin was an electrical outlet with room to charge 2 devices at a time, plus 2 USB ports in the headboard.   A power strip for additional outlets may not be needed. 

 

We were pleased that on the two port days with afternoon arrivals, the dining room was open for breakfast and lunch.   The Lido buffet was typically crowded on this cruise, so the dining room for lunch on a port day was a nice option.  (Sea day brunch was as it has been on our other Carnival cruises.  The dining room was not open for lunch on the port days with morning arrivals.)

 

Embarkation was awful.  We arrived at our assigned time between 1:00 and 1:30, and we stood in line outside for an hour and 40 minutes before entering the terminal building.  It was raining that day in New York, but thankfully we were under a shelter.  After entering the terminal building, the rest of the process moved fairly quickly.  We don’t know what the reason for the delay was.   During an onboard Q & A session with officers, they referenced an unusual amount of luggage from the 14-day cruise before ours and an unspecified “technical” issue.  We will never know for sure.  We sailed about 2 hours late.

 

The absolute worst experience:   Our first port was San Juan, arriving a little past the scheduled time of 3:00.  Given all the usual issues upon arriving in port, debarkation started maybe about 3:45.  We had no plans other than going to a particular store and just strolling around the old town.   We headed towards the gangway forward on deck 0 after waiting a bit hoping for the crowds to thin out, but the backup on the stairway went to deck 4.  After a few minutes with the line not moving, we gave up and went back to our balcony.   The store we wanted to visit would be closing by 6:00, and by 7:00 it would be getting dark. Thankfully, we have been to San Juan multiple times, or the disappointment would have been worse.  We were in port until 10:00 or 11:00, but the Fun Times actually recommended not being out in San Juan after dark.  However you assess the risk for yourself, there is clearly a disconnect between Carnival’s advice to avoid being out after dark when a good deal of the port time is after dark.  

 

The next day, there was a mix-up with our pre-purchased excursion in Tortola.  Our 11:00 choice had been combined with the same excursion at 9:00, and despite the staff’s insistence that a notice had been delivered to our cabin, we never got it – and we read everything in the cabin.  We only found out when we met at the location stated on our 11:00 tickets.  Our accounts were credited for the cost of the excursion, and we were offered an opportunity to go on the only excursion that hadn’t yet departed.   But we weren’t interested in that and simply walked around the port area for a while and then returned to the ship.  As with the San Juan fiasco, we have been to Tortola before, or the disappointment would have been worse.  Stuff happens, and at times like this, we look at each other and say, “We are not at work.”  😄

 

Our other port stops, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk, were uneventful – other than witnessing a couple latecomers being left behind in St. Thomas.   😲   Sadly, evidence of the 2017 hurricane damage in St. Martin and St. Thomas is still very evident.  The guides on our excursions expressed appreciation for visiting their islands that depend so much on tourism.

 

Now about the new-and-not-improved disembarkation procedure.   We are used to disembarkation groups being assigned based on transportation plans, with corresponding numbered tags delivered to our cabin.   Instead, the printed information described timed deck-by-deck debarkation for those taking their luggage off themselves, and then “early” and “late” debarkation for those who prefer to leave their luggage out the night before for collection.   For those choosing to leave luggage out the night before, we were to pick up a numbered disembarkation group tag ourselves at a location on deck 5 anytime between 9:00 and 3:00 on the last day.  By the time we did that around 10:00, all but the last “early” tag numbers were gone.    I was concerned, as I had purchased a Carnival transfer to La Guardia, and the meeting time printed on the ticket was earlier than the “early disembarkation” time.  I asked at the front desk about the discrepancy and was rather dismissively told not to worry, the bus wouldn’t leave until people were off the ship and on the bus.  Later, an early disembarkation number was delivered to my cabin with a letter stating I was getting it because I purchased the transfer.  OK, that was good.  But if I had planned on getting a cab to the airport, I might have been stuck with a later time, causing more stress about getting to the airport in time.   I don’t know how long this experiment on pick-your-own time will last, but it seems problematic in that pretty much everyone wants to be off early, regardless of their transportation plans, so those earlier tags were long gone if you didn’t grab yours early in the morning.   Those with luggage disembarked first – a long process presumably due to the heavy elevator use.  

 

While most of my comments seem negative, that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a good time.   An annual cruise is a tradition for my sister and me, and we adjust to circumstances fairly well.   We had our balcony for quiet space, and if eating in the Lido, we strategized in order to avoid the worst crowds.  But there is an effect with the double whammy of passenger capacity being increased while public space is reduced.  This was a very crowded cruise, made a little more so by our choice of cruising when some schools are out for the summer.   Sometimes we were in a mood to cut Carnival some slack, given that this was like a new ship, and they might have been still figuring some stuff out, especially in the areas of getting people on and off the ship.   But then again, Carnival is not exactly an upstart cruise line unfamiliar with managing big ships.   We would recommend this ship only if you are prepared for and not particularly bothered crowds and lines.  Or, of course, if you are interested in the new features of the Sunrise.  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2019 by Joanne G.
trying to put spaces between paragraphs for easier reading

[bury me at sea]

Unfortunately the trend apparently is more passengers/less public space.

 

Dream class is the largest I will sail, and I prefer the Conquest class.  I'm really worried about what ship will replace the Freedom in Galveston when the next dancing of the ships occurs.  They have already palmed the Vista off on us.

 

I'm glad you and your sister still had a good time.

[April42749]

I was on this cruise too.  I am platinum and live "walking distance" to the pier.  We got there 11:30,went right in but stayed seated for about an hour until we were allowed to board.  We just have carry-ons, so we basically walked right off the ship (maybe it took 10 minutes).

 

DH and I are buffet people.  I never saw lines like this for a buffet.  Tip...in the morning you can go "upstairs" to the Italian restaurant and they will custom make your omelets and bring them to the table.  The lines for the deli were ridiculous and when I finally got a sandwich, it just wasn't worth the wait.  The burgers were delicious.  There is a (I forget the name) Asian soup station and their soups were excellent.  The cakes at the lunch buffet were super uber good (so were the evening desserts).  The Mexican food was very good but not very authentic.  We went to the dining room 2 evenings (DH wanted the lobster tail).  There isn't much variety and what I had was "fair".  Overall...nobody went hungry.

 

The entertainment in the theatre was consistently excellent.  We always got there early, but there was no need to.  I'm short so I like to sit in the first row (there is no elevation on 4th deck).  I didn't go to any of the comedy shows.

 

The gym was brand new with lots of machines.  I got lazy and only went twice.  But, by the looks of it, it was underutilized.

 

Our San Juan excursion was cancelled so we just walked around a bit (I don't recall having a problem getting off....maybe we waited a while).  We also walked around in Saint Martin and Tortola.  Next time we'll do excursions.  We did a party boat cruise in St Thomas and it was a really good excursion.  We did a tour of Grand Turk.  There isn't much to see there but we still got our official t-shirts at a local vendor.

 

We went to the art auction and DH saw a print he liked.  He's a bit hard of hearing.  Anyway, the rep said we could get it for $70...but they had to ship it.  DH did not hear that the $70 did not include the frame....it would just be a rolled up piece of paper in a tube.  And for that the shipping was $119 (plus the $70).  How stupid do they think we are????  But, to be fair, there was something we saw that I'm familiar with and I thought the price was a fair one (something by Ron Agam).

 

The casino was super stingy.  I got a watch from the jewelry store (same price as on land...but a nice souvenir).  I got some nice baubles but on land stores; one expensive piece in St Thomas and the price was good.

 

We loved the cabin.  It was a balcony on the Lido deck.  It was very convenient and room with lots of storage.  Our stewards did a great job.  We get the laundry perk and both times we gave them the laundry after 10 am but got it back the same day.

 

I'll post if I thing of anything else.

 

 

[Joanne G.]

I can add some positive notes:

 

1.  We don't drink much besides wine on our balcony, but when we did order drinks, it was at the lobby bar with two charming female bartenders.  Even when we weren't drinking, it was fun to watch how engaged they were with passengers.

 

2.  One of the funniest sights we have seen on a cruise was the Scottish cruise director, dancing to Latin music, on top of the lobby bar, while wearing a kilt and sneakers.   It was a festive time in the lobby, between the two evening performances of a Latin-themed show.  The show dancers were in the lobby, encouraging passengers to get up and dance.    That was definitely a "Fun Ship" type of event.  

 

3. We had anytime dining, and our experiences were good.  We always got a table or booth for two as requested without waiting (around 6:00), and the tables weren't inches apart as I have encountered on other cruise lines.   There is an odd process of checking in for anytime dining at a location separate from the dining room.  We never figured out why, but it didn't cause any problems.  On recent cruises, we have pretty much eaten every meal in the buffet, but the lines and the noise (poor acoustics?)  in the Lido on this cruise caused us to try the dining room a few times.  We weren't disappointed in the service or the food.  

 

4.  For those into sushi, the new extra-fee sushi restaurant seemed to do a good business, so it must be good.  

 

5. For those who like omelets,  there are several places to order them at breakfast, which minimizes the lines and the congestion at the main buffet line that happens with people waiting for their omelet.  Check the Fun Times for the locations.

 

 

[April42749]

You can book the anytime dining with the fun app.  We did it twice and the table was ready almost  immediately.  No need to "check in" on Deck 5 first.  They will send you the table number and you show it to the hostess.

[mets123]

My wife and I were on the cruise as well. The CD was insane in a good way. I don't know where he gets his energy from. But the Lido marketplace was a complete mess. They Spent all that money on a makeover, yet the design was extremely poor. My wife uses a  scooter but the hallways were so narrow that if she was passing through, no one could get by in the other direction. There were long lines all the time. And plates and silverware were in an poor location. You had to bother people waiting in line to get them. Half the ice machines weren't working, and it seemed that the coffee machines were always being fixed. I spoke to a supervisor up there one night and he agreed the marketplace was a big failure.

[beshears]

 I appreciate all the info these postings were putting out on the Sensation. At this point, we are thinking of either the Sensation or the Sunrise ship.  With these changes, it makes a person wonder whether taking this ship or not is worth it, but then, everyone has their OWN opinion, and time will tell.  I say a cruise (even with its problem/s) can turn out good if a person "thinks" positive! 🙂

[bjfitz0703]

Sailing the sunrise tomorrow out of NY.  I will let you know.  I have a plan to minimize the crowd issue.  Side note:  Just watched The Norwegian Escape sail from NY.  Was right there and man that thing is a monster.

[caracbeara]

I’m currently on the Sunrise and arriving back in NYC tomorrow. I agree with everything the original poster had to say. The ship design is poor and we heard several people complaining about it. It’s nearly impossible to get to the aft dining room without going through the Casino. The cigarette smell spills into the atrium and the arcade next door. There’s also a musty, damp carpet smell throughout the ship. 

 

The ship is crowded. Buffet lines are long. Overall though, dining has been excellent. We’ve been happy with the dining room and loved our experience at the steakhouse. 

 

We spent quite a bit of time on Serenity, which is set up odd. The whirlpool is by the serenity bar but most of the serenity seating is the deck above that. The serenity area is also located near the slides and the kids clubs, which increases the noise. 

 

We had a spa room and visited the spa everyday. The gym is impressive but the thermal suite is small. 

 

We’ve enjoyed the cruise but I didn’t love it like I did the Horizon last year. My Horizon cruise made me excited to cruise Carnival again. After this one, I’m leaving unimpressed. 

[shof515]

2 hours ago, bjfitz0703 said:

Sailing the sunrise tomorrow out of NY.  I will let you know.  I have a plan to minimize the crowd issue.  Side note:  Just watched The Norwegian Escape sail from NY.  Was right there and man that thing is a monster.

 

i was on the Escape last year, that is a much better nicer ship then the Sunrise

[jimbo5544]

On 6/22/2019 at 1:28 PM, bury me at sea said:

Unfortunately the trend apparently is more passengers/less public space.

 

Dream class is the largest I will sail, and I prefer the Conquest class.  I'm really worried about what ship will replace the Freedom in Galveston when the next dancing of the ships occurs.  They have already palmed the Vista off on us.

 

I'm glad you and your sister still had a good time.

“Palmed the Vista” which is of course the most popular ship in their fleet....

[Garth2]

The June 10 sailing was only the third sailing of the Sunrise from New York so they're still working out the kinks with boarding and debarkation and luggage.

 

There are 2 additional USB ports on the wall where the telephone is plugged in.

 

Besides the loss of space to sit on deck 5, there are now slot machines on both sides of the walkway, so there is more smoke to deal with.

 

The Sunrise will be doing mostly 4 & 5 day cruises but for the longer Journeys cruises there is a noticeable lack of shelf space in the cabins.

[kwokpot]

I'm on the ship right now. I will say having been on the SUNSHINE twice THAT renovation is FAR SUPERIOR to the the Sunrise. The attention to details during renovation ARE Glaringly MISSING on the Sunrise. 

 In THE Cloud 9 Spa, they DID NOT put in a complementary SAUNA IN THE LOCKER ROOMS as they did in the Sunshine and as they have on EVERY CARNIVAL SHIP! The gym is smaller than on the Sunshine. 

There's no overcrowding in the buffet area on the Sunshine since they took out the aft pool and put the Havana and Jiji's Kitchen restaurants there. The pool & waterfall in the Serenity area on the Sunshine makes up for the lack of an aft pool. 

I'm assuming the Radiance conversion will follow this design rather than the Sunshine. 

 

[sanmarcosman]

I think the figure of 400 added passengers is correct for double occupancy but is greater when 3rd and 4th berths are factored. Based on when you sailed you potentially sailed with 700 - 800 more guests.

[HectorAchilleus]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I'm on the ship right now. I will say having been on the SUNSHINE twice THAT renovation is FAR SUPERIOR to the the Sunrise. The attention to details during renovation ARE Glaringly MISSING on the Sunrise. 

 In THE Cloud 9 Spa, they DID NOT put in a complementary SAUNA IN THE LOCKER ROOMS as they did in the Sunshine and as they have on EVERY CARNIVAL SHIP! The gym is smaller than on the Sunshine. 

There's no overcrowding in the buffet area on the Sunshine since they took out the aft pool and put the Havana and Jiji's Kitchen restaurants there. The pool & waterfall in the Serenity area on the Sunshine makes up for the lack of an aft pool. 

I'm assuming the Radiance conversion will follow this design rather than the Sunshine. 

I hope that you are wrong about the Rasiance! I booked a transatlantic for next June and I do not think I could take 13 days of crowding and lines like that. Am seriously thinking of cancelling. 

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

 

 

[mdaviswv]

Glad to see I wasnt the only one somewhat disappointed. The improvements were hardly worth a new name.  For as happy as we were on Horizon last year, the Sunrise seemed to more than emphasize Carnival’s shortcomings. 

[April42749]

7 hours ago, Garth2 said:

The Sunrise will be doing mostly 4 & 5 day cruises but for the longer Journeys cruises there is a noticeable lack of shelf space in the cabins.

We had a balcony on the lido and were impressed with how much storage space there was.  Not shelves...but lots of drawers.  Maybe we were lucky.

[Joanne G.]

On 6/24/2019 at 7:51 PM, April42749 said:

We had a balcony on the lido and were impressed with how much storage space there was.  Not shelves...but lots of drawers.  Maybe we were lucky.

 We were in an corner aft-wrap on the Empress deck.  We had only high shelves in the closets - some too high for convenient use.  We had no drawers at all.  Granted, these cabins have unique layouts, but we have been in comparable cabins on the Freedom, Valor, Liberty, Conquest, and Splendor.  On those ships, we had desk drawers, and also shelves in one section of the closet.  

 

The difference on the Sunrise was the couch, which we have not had in those other aft-wrap cabins.   From a Google image search, it appears that the couch was there when the ship was the Triumph.  There didn't appear to be a refrigerator previously, and the desk drawers were taken away in order to fit in a refrigerator.  We adapted to the loss of storage space, and it was nice to have the couch for seating.   But - I was irritated by a chunk of closet being taken up by a huge pack of bedding, presumably for the couch had it been needed for a 3rd person, which we obviously didn't need.  

[Joanne G.]

One more thought - while we were never on the Triumph, based on the similar Conquest class, it appears that no additional public bathrooms were added.  This was particularly noticeable on disembarkation day, when everyone had to be out of their cabins early, losing access to their own bathroom.  So, even the traditionally late-risers had to be up early, perhaps fortified with a lot of coffee while waiting out the drawn-out disembarkation process.   During our wait, we encountered toilet paper running out in some of the stalls in two different ladies' rooms, and of course lines to use the bathroom as the morning went on. Perhaps Carnival could have anticipated this situation - more people, more bathrooms.  OK, it's too late for more bathrooms to be added, but there is no excuse for running out of toilet paper.  Increase the toilet paper order proportionally to the increase in passengers, and put someone in charge of checking the supplies in the public restrooms, especially on disembarkation day!

[thesmiths]

13 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

 We were in an corner aft-wrap on the Empress deck.  We had only high shelves in the closets - some too high for convenient use.  We had no drawers at all.  Granted, these cabins have unique layouts, but we have been in comparable cabins on the Freedom, Valor, Liberty, Conquest, and Splendor.  On those ships, we had desk drawers, and also shelves in one section of the closet.  

 

  But - I was irritated by a chunk of closet being taken up by a huge pack of bedding, presumably for the couch had it been needed for a 3rd person, which we obviously didn't need.  

We are in aft wrap on 6.

I am going to have to come up with a pop up shelving system for my wife.

She like shelves.

Any Idea how wide that is?

 

 

I will ask the room steward to get rid of the extra bedding or hide it under the couch with suitcases and life vest.

 

 

[Joanne G.]

I am terrible at estimating dimensions. Later I will look for pictures that may help you. The closets were the same width as we have had on all our Carnival cruises, if that helps. 

 

We asked the steward for additional hangers and hung some things that we would have put on shelves, such as t-shirts. 

 

FYI - There was a folded up mattress under one of the beds, presumably for use on that couch.  As with the bedding, I feel extra supplies should be stored in their space, not the passengers’ space. 

[thesmiths]

4 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

I am terrible at estimating dimensions. Later I will look for pictures that may help you. The closets were the same width as we have had on all our Carnival cruises, if that helps. 

 

We asked the steward for additional hangers and hung some things that we would have put on shelves, such as t-shirts. 

 

FYI - There was a folded up mattress under one of the beds, presumably for use on that couch.  As with the bedding, I feel extra supplies should be stored in their space, not the passengers’ space. 

Thank you! 

[Maraprince]

On day 1 when can you access your cabin?  We would like to drop off our carryons before going to the buffet.

 

MARAPRINCE

[amyotravel]

Typically it is 1:30 unless you have a priority status/suite.

[April42749]

3 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

One more thought - while we were never on the Triumph, based on the similar Conquest class, it appears that no additional public bathrooms were added.  This was particularly noticeable on disembarkation day, when everyone had to be out of their cabins early, losing access to their own bathroom.  So, even the traditionally late-risers had to be up early, perhaps fortified with a lot of coffee while waiting out the drawn-out disembarkation process.   During our wait, we encountered toilet paper running out in some of the stalls in two different ladies' rooms, and of course lines to use the bathroom as the morning went on. Perhaps Carnival could have anticipated this situation - more people, more bathrooms.  OK, it's too late for more bathrooms to be added, but there is no excuse for running out of toilet paper.  Increase the toilet paper order proportionally to the increase in passengers, and put someone in charge of checking the supplies in the public restrooms, especially on disembarkation day!

I would like to add to "the bathroom situation".  The public bathrooms were not clearly marked and it was often difficult to find one.  Even coming out of the theatre....if you didn't know where it was you'd pass it by.  Now, that's something that could easily be fixed.