Carnival sunrise. The worse ship ever

[Seeleyhs17]

Just got back from a 10 day cruise on the carnival sunrise and was very diappointed in the ship. The make over did nothing for it. The upgraded the cabins to make it for more people to be on the ship. This was a horrible idea. It has became way over crowded. Several times we had no place to eat and had to take food back to the room. Food was mediocre at best several times did we end up with cold food or soggy food from the deli. The smoke from the casino was horrible. No ventilation at all. And it travels through out the ship and you can smell it all over. For the only place to smoke is the casino it's in a horrible place bc it's right in the middle of the ship so you gotta walk through it to get to anywhere you really want to go. It also did not have very many activities for the kids compared to other fleets like royal carribean.

[shof515]

i was also on the 10 day cruise. the lido buffet had massive lines, lines that i usually never on a ship. it is insane they added more cabins to a ship that can not handle additional passengers

[April42749]

30 minutes ago, shof515 said:

i was also on the 10 day cruise. the lido buffet had massive lines, lines that i usually never on a ship. it is insane they added more cabins to a ship that can not handle additional passengers

We "beat the system" for breakfast by going to the omelet station in the Italian restaurant.  We grabbed "some stuff" (yogurts, fruits etc) from the buffet, went upstairs and had wait service at the table.  This must have been a secret, as it was never crowded and the servers got us anything we wanted.

If the buffet was crowded at lunch I got a burger (very fast moving line).  Or, they had pre-made salads.  Also, no line at the Asian soup station.  It was do-able.

I don't think it was ever crowded at dinner.

The one issue I has was the deli.  It took each person about 5 minutes to be served and the lines were long.  I got a tuna panini and it wasn't worth the wait.

Except for the buffet I never felt crowded on the ship. 

 

Just to add....my husband, who dislikes cruising, thought it was the best ship ever.

Edited June 22, 2019 by April42749

[bjfitz0703]

Well darn.  I should have picked a Spirit class ship again.  Now I am nervous it will be a mob scene on the Sunrise.  The ideas above sound good.  If you eat at 11 for lunch does that work?  I always use the MDR when it is open.  Is that a scene to for breakfast and lunch?

[April42749]

The buffet was open until 12 for late risers breakfast on one side.  The other side opened at 11:30 for lunch. But, the line was long long long for the late breakfast...........   MDR was open for breakfast, lunch and brunch depending on the ship's schedule.  We had brunch one day....no wait to get in....but there was a wait for the food.

The first 2 days were chaos in the buffet...perhaps because it was raining outside.  By the end of the cruise people "figured it out" and it was no worse than on any other ship.

[Lee Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Seeleyhs17 said:

Just got back from a 10 day cruise on the carnival sunrise and was very diappointed in the ship. The make over did nothing for it. The upgraded the cabins to make it for more people to be on the ship. This was a horrible idea. It has became way over crowded. Several times we had no place to eat and had to take food back to the room.

I have been saying this all along.  It is the same thing they did with the Sunshine, which is our least favorite ship. On the Sunshine, you had to line up very early to get a seat in the shows.  They were packed most of the time. Many of the "updates" were to create more revenue like more cabins and Cucina Del Capitano, which is a fee based restaurant in the evenings.  The Victory is about to go through the same transition as it becomes the Radiance.

[HectorAchilleus]

Hopefully they will realize some of these shortcomings by the time they build the Radience. I went on the Sunshine and decided NEVER AGAIN. It seemed like Carnival wanted their guests to wait in lines. We love the comedy shows, but had to skip most because all f the seats were taken. We could not find private spaces to sit and talk, and Lido lines were terrible. After reading about the Sunrise, it seems as if they did not learn. Hope the Radience is better.

[PalmTree601]

I guess everyone is different.  Haven't been on Sunrise yet, but we like Sunshine, and have been on her multiple times.  Yes, there are peak times where lines can form (Lido on embarkation day, some comedy shows, etc), but that's been true for us on all ships.  Do I love the new "convertible" theater layout?  No, but that's the same on the new Vista class ships as well.  We like the updated features that were added to Sunshine that Destiny/Triumph/Victory didn't have.  And Sunshine has arguably the best Serenity area in the fleet.  We didn't find crowds to be worse than any other ship - and we tend to go at peak times (spring break, summer, holidays).  Not everyone hates the Sunshine/Sunrise/Radiance idea (as it sometimes seems in threads like these), so I'd encourage folks to keep an open mind and form your own opinion!  Happy cruising!  

[mets123]

I was on the cruise and totally agree. The lido marketplace was a zoo. They add capacity of about 700 passengers for revenue, but don't touch the marketplace to add capacity for them. It was always crowded, and tables were never cleaned. Even the supervisor there admitted it was a complete failure. Coffee and ice machines were breaking down daily.

[jocko4279]

3 hours ago, mets123 said:

I was on the cruise and totally agree. The lido marketplace was a zoo. They add capacity of about 700 passengers for revenue, but don't touch the marketplace to add capacity for them. It was always crowded, and tables were never cleaned. Even the supervisor there admitted it was a complete failure. Coffee and ice machines were breaking down daily.

 

I agree that taking away public spaces and adding cabins is all about bringing in more revenue (and I'm not a fan of it), but I believe they bumped up capacity by about 300 or so, not 700

[thesmiths]

10 hours ago, April42749 said:

We "beat the system" for breakfast by going to the omelet station in the Italian restaurant. 

What time is this open?

 

[PhillyFan33579]

Sunshine is my least favorite of the 11 Carnival ships I have cruised on. It sounds like the crowding issues we experienced on Sunshine are happening on Sunrise too based on reviews I have read online and YouTube videos I have watched. I can understand Carnival’s perspective on adding cabins to increase revenue, but they need to also factor in how much public space is available. I can understand some parts of the ship bring crowded based on what event or special is going on, but when the majority of the ship is always crowded, which was our experience on Sunshine except during the day on port days, that is not appealing in my book. 

[Joanne G.]

5 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

. . . .. I can understand some parts of the ship bring crowded based on what event or special is going on, but when the majority of the ship is always crowded, which was our experience on Sunshine except during the day on port days, that is not appealing in my book. 

That was our experience on the Sunrise earlier this month  - it was nearly impossible to avoid the crowds.  When we watched a dance class in the Red Frog Pub, we had had to stand as no seats were available.

 

And the noise in the Lido was unpleasant, especially at lunch time - maybe it was poor acoustics, or maybe we just sailed with a loud bunch, but we didn't like it at all.    It was better at breakfast, but we are early risers and ate before 8:00.

 

 

[Joanne G.]

2 hours ago, thesmiths said:

What time is this open?

 

I believe it opened the same time as the Lido breakfast, which I think was 6:30.  Sorry I can't be more precise, but I didn't save any of the Fun Times.  You can take anything from the Lido upstairs, or you can have eggs or omelets made to order.   Cold cereals and some fruit are also available up there.  

 

At lunch time, the space is a pasta bar, and I believe there is no extra charge.  We never tried it, not wanting a carb-heavy lunch, but it would be an alternative to the Lido.  At dinner time, it is an Italian restaurant that does have an extra charge, I believe $15. 

[shof515]

2 hours ago, thesmiths said:

What time is this open?

 

 

around 730am or 8am. it opens a little later then the main buffet area.

13 hours ago, April42749 said:

The one issue I has was the deli.  It took each person about 5 minutes to be served and the lines were long.  I got a tuna panini and it wasn't worth the wait.

Except for the buffet I never felt crowded on the ship.

 

i hate the new deli, the new premade sandwich is horrible and they take forever. I got the grilled cheese once and it was like barely melted cheese or bread that was not toasted.

[Joanne G.]

One more comment - the casino is huge.   Of course gambling is a big revenue source, but there wasn't any revenue coming in from the empty tables and vacant slot machines that we saw every time were walked through it - which was many times as it is the only passageway on the public decks 3, 4, and 5.  We had 4 sea days, and 2 partial sea days with late port arrivals, and it was the only space on the ship that wasn't crowded.  🙁    (We turn in early; maybe it busy late at night.)  

 

As for that passageway through the casino, during a Q & A with the officers, a passenger expressed her negative opinion of that design feature, and a couple of the officers basically agreed, diplomatically saying they wouldn't have designed it that day.  .   

[quickrate]

7 hours ago, PalmTree601 said:

I guess everyone is different.  Haven't been on Sunrise yet, but we like Sunshine, and have been on her multiple times.  Yes, there are peak times where lines can form (Lido on embarkation day, some comedy shows, etc), but that's been true for us on all ships.  Do I love the new "convertible" theater layout?  No, but that's the same on the new Vista class ships as well.  We like the updated features that were added to Sunshine that Destiny/Triumph/Victory didn't have.  And Sunshine has arguably the best Serenity area in the fleet.  We didn't find crowds to be worse than any other ship - and we tend to go at peak times (spring break, summer, holidays).  Not everyone hates the Sunshine/Sunrise/Radiance idea (as it sometimes seems in threads like these), so I'd encourage folks to keep an open mind and form your own opinion!  Happy cruising!  

Unfortunately, those that have a lot of Carnival cruises do hate the way they are redoing these ships, me being one of them. I love the Victory and very sad she is becoming the Radiance. they are cramming as many people as they can on these ships making them less appealing. The new theater design truly sucks!! Having to line up 45 minutes before a show is not how I like spending my cruise. 

Pat

[April42749]

On a positive note....the entertainment was excellent.  The singers/dancers were very talented and there was a good show in the Liquid Lounge each evening.  Although you do need to get there early for prime seating, there were always seats available on the 5th Deck.

The couple of times we went to the pool (after lunch) we never had problems finding lounges.

Sorry....but I never really felt that it was so crowded (except for the buffet at breakfast)

Then again, being from NYC, maybe my definition of "over crowded" is different than others 🙂

 

Oh...one thing I didn't like:  The public bathrooms were not clearly marked so finding them wasn't easy.

[antmaril]

I will be on the Sunrise in September (NE/Canada).  This will be my first time on Carnival in almost 20 years.  My most recent cruises have been on the Regal Princess, which I love.  Reading these comments about the Sunrise does give me pause.  Definitely.  But, I am going to go with a positive attitude and make the best of it.  My friend invited me to join her on a Carnival Cruise after she received an offer for a free cruise from a local casino.  She knows I love cruising, so I was an obvious choice.  

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that in spite of all of its shortcomings, we will have a fun week on the Sunrise.  

[April42749]

9 minutes ago, antmaril said:

I will be on the Sunrise in September (NE/Canada).  This will be my first time on Carnival in almost 20 years.  My most recent cruises have been on the Regal Princess, which I love.  Reading these comments about the Sunrise does give me pause.  Definitely.  But, I am going to go with a positive attitude and make the best of it.  My friend invited me to join her on a Carnival Cruise after she received an offer for a free cruise from a local casino.  She knows I love cruising, so I was an obvious choice.  

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that in spite of all of its shortcomings, we will have a fun week on the Sunrise.  

People like to complain.  You don't see my husband posting here...about how good our cruise was.  And he dislikes cruising.

[Joanne G.]

4 minutes ago, antmaril said:

. . . . .Keeping my fingers crossed that in spite of all of its shortcomings, we will have a fun week on the Sunrise.  

We definitely did, and I hope you do, too.    

 

[antmaril]

39 minutes ago, April42749 said:

People like to complain.  You don't see my husband posting here...about how good our cruise was.  And he dislikes cruising.

 

37 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

We definitely did, and I hope you do, too.    

 

Thanks for the positive comments!  

[jimbob70]

We too liked the Victory and thought it had a perfect balance between public space and staterooms.  But removing the aft lounge and replacing it with more cabins and removing 1 level of the main showroom completely changes everything.  We’re not giving up on Carnival but scheduling our next cruise on the Magic.  We’ve sailed on all three Dream class ships and I think they were built from the getgo with enough public space to handle the load.  The updates to the Dream class have repurposed existing spaces ie. The Plaza Bar becomes Alchemy, etc. without changing the platform.  At least as far as I can tell.

Edited June 23, 2019 by jimbob70

[luvsboozecruises]

I was also on the 10 day trip. Worst cruise ever. NO..... Carnival did screw the ship up, YES, cutting the lido buffet area in half  and adding more cabins was really stupid, but crying over it will not work.... Alot of first timers on that cruise so you have to figure ways  around them like I did. When we all got onboard you could see the confusion of the passengers and the crew. Refub boat and new crew = HELP.. if you want to complain write to carnival and tell them.. instead tell others ways around that mess were on, breakfast as said, in cucina ,no one in it, also on sea days, eat in the dining room, lunch , don't have it at the same time as everyone else, 4,000 people on board when there should be 3200, makes Long lines,every where, as I said carnival screwed this one up and I will call them tomorrow and complain..  my wife and I had a great time and the great weather is always a plus. NEVER been on a bad cruise, have been on 50+ Cruise's and enjoy your time and make the best of it ,as you can.. have had, hurricane's and really bad seas and am lucky that we don't get sea sick, make the best of your next cruise and enjoy not being at work, because,  work sucks, not cruising...

 

[evandbob]

Carnival's buffet lines seem to be the longest of any of the mass cruise lines.  I usually look for alternatives at meal "rush hours" .

 

By creating more cabins and removing public spaces, Carnival exacerbates this issue. 

 

Like Jimbob70 above, we prefer the Dream class or NCL's newer ships, or Celebrity.  Bargain pricing that I can sometimes get on Carnival is the tradeoff for the overcrowding.  We won't book the Sunshine or Sunrise or any other re-purposed Carnival ship that has a higher crowd issue after remodeling.