My thoughts on the Sunrise and carnival after my 8 day cruise from NY

[Stick93]

So I have now sailed on the Carnival Sunrise and can give my own personal opinion of the ship and my experience.  There is a mix between the many who think that carnival has done a great job in their $200 million upgrade and reintroduction of this ship and those who are not as impressed. I made up my mind that I was going to enjoy this cruise no matter what so my thoughts below are an assessment of what I saw and heard and what I thought while on the cruise and now after the cruise. We had a wonderful family trip even though there were some very glaring issues that came up on our trip. I refused to let them ruin my trip but I have written them below. 

 

On this cruise I met many new cruisers along with experienced Royal, Norwegian and even European cruisers who had come on the ship thinking it was new and were not impressed. I personally couldn’t believe that they did not do some research on the ship before they boarded and but was not surprised at their disappointment in the amenities and offerings.  However, unfortunately this seemed to be a common undertone among the guests who were chatting  in common areas. I did not come across many people who were very excited about the ship - but to be fair I didn’t come close to speaking everyone.  I do love to ask people if I see a blue card if they have cruised before and their thoughts on their first carnival cruise as well as asking fellow platinum and diamond how their cruising experiences have changed over the years and how the different ships compare. The consensus of people I spoke to weather it be rookies or Carnival pros was that as a company it seemed that Carnival is  selling a lower frills, discounted brand and this ship particularly was an example of that- 

 

I did notice  something new on this cruise - there was only one night of late comedy. Adult comedy was 8:30 and 9:30 which stank for us since we had late (8:15) seating for dinner (old habit). The early show wasn’t finished in time and the late show started before we finished at dinnner. The other shows were also 7:30 and 9:30. I personally think the shows are a bit amateur on Carnival anyway- but still entertaining to see at times. The CD (Chris Williams, known as the flying Scotsman) did his own show that was absolutely the best show I have seen on the any carnival cruise. He sings and dances - a one man show!!!  That said I am not sure why the comedy has been changed but its possible that on this ship it’s because the comedy theatre (Punchliners comedy club in the limelight lounge)  is too small to fit the number of ppl interested, but that’s my own opinion. Yes I am scratching my head why they don’t have late comedy in the main showroom (the Liquid Lounge) more often in the evening/night hours.

 

The Sunrise doesn’t have any large common areas or without noise. Everywhere you go there is some activity, singer or music. Especially in the evening and night time - they have karaoke (which most of the time sounds pretty bad) that takes place in the red frog pub that is heard very clearly at the alchemy bar/lounge area and even at the Bonsai (for pay) sushi restaurant. While these Sitting area are nice, they are always being utilized and are never quiet to just sit, relax, people watch and socialize. 

 

There are two pools on board - both family friendly. Unfortunately no adult-only pool if you don’t like the splashing and jumping of the kids. I was upset that I saw many very young kids in diapers (not kiddie swimmer-made for pool) in the pool and yes it only took 24 hours for the pool to be drained for the first of multiple times secondary to poop and then a couple of vomitings on other days. The lifeguards on duty  blow whistles at bad behavior but there is no enforcement of a code of conduct. The pools are very crowded as are the pool decks and there is very little extra space to move around. The hot tubs were also all family friendly and the behavior there was also unbelievable as there were about 20 kids in-and-out of  all the hot tubs and they were swimming/jumping in and even doing cannon balls to enter while their parents watched them. I personally utilized the hot tubs as we entered the ports (PR was a late arrival) and they were empty. 

 

Cruise ships are designed to offer you a fun and relaxing vacation. Guests on board spend hard earned money on their vacations and expect certain vacation luxuries for it. This particular ship is a vacation value ship but not a luxury vacation ship - You can and will have fun and enjoy the ship but the details that you find on some of the other cruise lines don’t exist here. This particular ship is noticeably cramped and was not well thought out. I can only think that the ship was originally built many years back when things were probably more simple and service was given differently. The ship is nowhere close to the modern marvels of the other cruise lines and they did very little to make this ship technologically advanced to today’s cruise market. There are no differences between this “upgraded” ship and their other older ships except for more venues that are jammed all over the lido deck and other common areas. They couldn’t even invest a few bucks to make the pictures digital and they are all still spread out on shelves like it’s 1995. The decor of the ship is just a new mix of bland colors with a sprinkle of the old Triumph motif which doesn’t match it’s new name. On this cruise I had 3 rooms , 2 cheers cards, 4 soda cards, paid for massages, liquor at the fun shops, excursions and bought sushi daily - that added up to a pretty penny. This ship, I feel didn’t give me the value I thought it should have for that money spent. 

 

Carnival missed any hope of making this ship more desirable than their other ships or bringing on real upgrades that would make this ship either par or above par to other ships in the fleet or in the other cruise brands. There was clearly not enough space on the ship for the number of people that were on it and it dampens any positive thing they did right on the ship.  There were 3900 plus passengers on our sailing - yes almost 4000 passengers! (As per upper staff) If you want different options to eat out, they have added various restaurants but you will wait on lines everywhere for everything and anything.  The buffet was by far the worst area with lines and bottle necking everywhere as they was clearly not enough room for the food/seating and getting around the area as a whole. Forget a seat once you got your food in this area as those were a premium and if you were lucky you got to share half a table with strangers who were already sitting down but felt bad to watch you circle the seating area yet another time in the hopes of finding  any seats at one table at the same time.  Even the coffee shop which is larger than it needs to be and offers nothing more than sister ships - maybe less as there are only two flavors of ice cream - carnival sunshine has a full ice cream bar in its coffee area - was understaffed with only one barista most of the time, who generally worked very slowly and was confused very easily.

 

This ship is not new or close to it and even the staff seemed to acknowledge that people were thinking that and judging their cruising experience as such.  When they spoke about the surveys that would be sent to the guests following the cruise, they would tell us that we shouldn’t rate the ship - the survey should only be about the staff and service. The staff strives for 100% satisfaction and I believe they are doing that, but the ship experience is bringing the score down and it was evident as they had to clearly state this to the customer. The ship was very clean and they were constantly cleaning it - which was great as I have been on other carnival ships where this was not the case.

 

The ship has plenty of signs of an aging ship coming through the new paint and areas that need fixing. The new(??)upper deck flooring was bubbling in many areas which to me  felt was a tripping hazard, the heavy smoke is still  a big issue in the casino and the comedy area (limelight lounge)which is grossly undersized is hot all the time. Smoke from the casino also seeps up to floors 6 and 7, which we found to be irritating and uncomfortable.  It Doesn’t seem like they will address these issues as it’s been written about for three months already so be aware it will be here when ever you sail. 

 

The most positive thing this ship has going for it is the staff. This was the best and most positive, helpful, happy staff I have ever seen on a carnival ship. They were all on their “A” game. If you are sailing this ship in the next while rest assured the staff is amazing. The upper officers are engaging and available on the ship. Like I mentioned earlier, CD is by far the most talented on the fleet (but he is going on vacation soon). I wish I could take these guys home with me! I spoke to so many upper crew members, even the captain multiple times and I was very impressed by each and every one of them. They were very honest about the ship itself but said there were many factors about the old ship that carnival could not redesign or make better staying in budget and working with what they had. They felt this was about as good as it could get and were unsure if the Radiance would be changed much from this exact design. 

 

To me food is the same as most other cruises, as I eat a special diet. The wait staff was excellent in navigating my families needs but we never once saw the matre Di or the chef which I thought was odd but did not take away from my dinning experiences. 

 

My one off topic rant about this cruise and carnival in general is - 

What type of passenger is Carnival trying to target on their ship. This cruise in particular was a very rough crowd. Fights, threatening young kids roaming the ship, loud cursing and lewd language in common areas - the list goes on.  I was personally threatened foolishly by a woman that her husband was coming to take care of me which made for a nice way to spend a day at sea talking to security and writing a report to try to feel safe on a vacation! There were multiple people walking around with speakers blasting loud vulgar and inappropriate music and would not listen to staff when asked to turn it down.  Their party actually taunted security when  when they said they would confiscate the speaker -which they didn’t actually do. Teens were playing running-tag on the floors at 2am. Others broke people’s personal belongings (arrested upon debarkation) and there was an incident of a man with a cane that kids were kicking the cane to make him fall. Security seems to be unable to do anything about this - which I understand given the way things could escalate on a ship but if you ban people who act this way for future cruises —-the message will go out that this may be the last cruise they will ever be on and all guests need to behave. I have noticed this kind of behavior escalating year after year on my summer cruises out of NY and I cannot understand it and personally don’t want to tolerate anymore. 

 

In summary I will say - I would cruise this ship again if and only if it was the final option I had or the price was significantly better than something else. I have now taken 14 cruises on carnival, 3 on Norwegian, 2 on Royal and 1 on celebrity. In the last 6 summers I have cruised carnival 8 times.  I enjoy cruise vacations and will continue to book,  but next summer I will probably not be going on the Sunrise or Radiance.  I have cruises and given carnival ample opportunity to improve the atmosphere  but won’t vacation in such a rough environment where myself and my family  members don’ t quite feel safe walking back to their cabins alone. There are many other ships sailing out of NY and believe the prices are pretty competitive between the cruise lines at the end of day. I believe people want more value and a better ship experience for their money and I believe I can find that on other cruise lines. I would still travel Carnival in the future as it was my first cruise love but they will have to earn me back as a Carnival loyalist which I am sadly no longer. 

 

Carnival should be doing it better than the product I currently see. If this is what the future holds and I believe they will make these “Sunshine” changes on all conquest ships and add many more passengers that these ships simply  cannot handle - they will be setting themselves up as not a value based company but a bottom level Cruise company. There is lots of partying on Norwegian and Royal and I am not sure that the ‘fun ship’ mentality will be enough to maintain their faithful with their aging  ships being inferior in general to the other major cruise lines. 

 

I have been very blunt but honest in what I have said above. I am sure people will disagree and I hope that people never have to or never will experience a cruise where at time they did not feel safe.  I also know this is one experience and it’s a summer cruise with more kids and families  and even more people, but I also cruise with my family so I cannot necessarily change my timing to avoid the larger crowds and families. I can only assume the next two months of cruising out of NY will be different as the the cliental might change but it doesn’t change the challenges of the physical ship and it’s sister ship which  will be here next year at the time. 

 

 

Last note I will end with - they still are giving straws out at the bars!!

[jbethel11]

14 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

and there was an incident of a man with a cane that kids were kicking the cane to make him fall.

That is disgusting! They should have been brought down to the security office and had their parents called down! That just makes me so angry to hear!

[eroller]

Thanks for your review!  This pretty much sounds like a living hell to me.  Not a vacation.  An aging ship that was never great to begin with, given a half-ass refurb to increase capacity and reduce public room space.  All done on the cheap which is rather typical of Carnival.  Sell it at rock bottom prices and you get the class-A crowd onboard.  I read more and more about fights, vulgar language, threatening behavior, etc on Carnival.  This is not what I seek on a vacation no matter how cheap it is.  I guess this is why they need the largest security staff afloat.   Sad really that people can't act like decent human beings even while on vacation.  

 

I've outgrown Carnival years ago but Mardi Gras has peaked my interest in Carnival again.  I'm truly considering booking a cruise on her, but these reviews on Carnival's "new" ships have me second guessing that interest.  At least MARDI GRAS truly is a new ship, and not some old bucket given a new name to fool people into thinking it's a new ship.  Unfortunately it's a very high density ship.  More people than the Oasis Class but a smaller ship.  We shall see.  

 

Anyway thanks for giving your point of view.  Most of the reviews I've read so far on SUNRISE are disappointing.  I can't imagine RADIANCE will be any different.  The refurbishment was definitely not to the extent or scale of DESTINY/SUNSHINE.  Just looking at the Serenity area shows that, and also additional partial decks were added to SUNSHINE.  On SUNRISE/RADIANCE they are just removing public space and turning it into more cabins.  Unfortunately the deck space, amount of pools, and elevator/stairs are untouched and remain static.  So more people crammed into even less public space and than before.  Great for Carnival (more revenue), but not so much for the customers.        

[Cafedumonde]

Ugh.  We have booked radiance in 2020.  Easy saver or early saver, whatever the non refundable deal is called.

[Stick93]

9 minutes ago, eroller said:

 Sell it at rock bottom prices and you get the class-A crowd onboard.      

What I find funny was this was not a cheap cruise and the most I ever paid for a summer Carnival cruise which is why I am not sure why this took place on the ship. 

 

10 minutes ago, eroller said:

The refurbishment was definitely not to the extent or scale of DESTINY/SUNSHINE.  

 

Excellent point - yes this refurb was not as extensive or on the level of the last refurb. They went cheaper and missed many details. 

[jimbo5544]

So they spent another 50 mill for less....interesting 

[jimbo5544]

Can you give us some of the details they missed?  

[jimbo5544]

23 minutes ago, eroller said:

Thanks for your review!  This pretty much sounds like a living hell to me.  Not a vacation.  An aging ship that was never great to begin with, given a half-ass refurb to increase capacity and reduce public room space.  All done on the cheap which is rather typical of Carnival.  Sell it at rock bottom prices and you get the class-A crowd onboard.  I read more and more about fights, vulgar language, threatening behavior, etc on Carnival.  This is not what I seek on a vacation no matter how cheap it is.  I guess this is why they need the largest security staff afloat.   Sad really that people can't act like decent human beings even while on vacation.  

 

I've outgrown Carnival years ago but Mardi Gras has peaked my interest in Carnival again.  I'm truly considering booking a cruise on her, but these reviews on Carnival's "new" ships have me second guessing that interest.  At least MARDI GRAS truly is a new ship, and not some old bucket given a new name to fool people into thinking it's a new ship.  Unfortunately it's a very high density ship.  More people than the Oasis Class but a smaller ship.  We shall see.  

 

Anyway thanks for giving your point of view.  Most of the reviews I've read so far on SUNRISE are disappointing.  I can't imagine RADIANCE will be any different.  The refurbishment was definitely not to the extent or scale of DESTINY/SUNSHINE.  Just looking at the Serenity area shows that, and also additional partial decks were added to SUNSHINE.  On SUNRISE/RADIANCE they are just removing public space and turning it into more cabins.  Unfortunately the deck space, amount of pools, and elevator/stairs are untouched and remain static.  So more people crammed into even less public space and than before.  Great for Carnival (more revenue), but not so much for the customers.        

Care to elaborate on the change as compared to the Sunshine?

 

[Stick93]

They missed.

When you don't hit a ball in baseball you strike out. What did they miss - a chance to make and old ship better and more sailable. They Struck out here -   They have missed their goal of keeping loyal customers happy and feeling like they got value on the money they spent.  

 

I just saw a post on the private social media account of the Cruise Director introducing parts of what he called "the brand new Carnival Sunrise" - this is not a new ship its laughable to even call it that.

 

They missed so much...sorry you didn't see that. 

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you for the honest review!  I feel the same way, I cruise a few times a year, not just on Carnival but other cruise lines with RC to be my favorite so far.  We have gone on two Carnival ships this year and after our experiences we (my 28 year old daughter and her 38 year old b/f, my 80 year old father in law and we are both 57) decided we are done with Carnival.  We see more and more cutbacks on these past cruises, its just getting worse.  Its a shame, I have been on 91 cruises so far and about 50 on Carnival but their product is going more downhill....the staff is cut and the ones working are working much more and we finding a decline in the upkeep of these ships.  The liquor bar is getting scarce with alot of top brands not offered any longer and the buffet lunch is really unpleasant with less variety too.  The ships are not well maintained as they used to be.

We are currently booked on the Mardi Gras (family of 4 generations, 9 cabins total) on October 16th and we are all going to cancel...I also feel looking at the layout of the ship as well as videos and the amount of passengers it will be very crowded!!  We are done with Carnival, its really a shame because we love the staff, but when their product keeps declining its best to go somewhere else that makes our cruise vacation alot more pleasant.

 

I am sorry you had this experience, but reading many recent reviews, others are saying pretty much the very same thing, plus they mentioning the maintence of the ships are lacking too.  I wish Carnival get their act straight, but perhaps after paying those hefty huge fines they have to make it up somewhere for their pocket.  We do have other choices and have options.

 

Thanks for your honest review!

[eroller]

23 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

What I find funny was this was not a cheap cruise and the most I ever paid for a summer Carnival cruise which is why I am not sure why this took place on the ship. 

 

 

 

Ouch!  I'm sorry about that.  It makes it even worse.  I always put my expectations in line with what I'm paying.  I'm much more forgiving if I got a great deal.  I bad a lot and still had a crappy experience, it's a double negative.  

[jimbo5544]

13 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

They missed.

When you don't hit a ball in baseball you strike out. What did they miss - a chance to make and old ship better and more sailable. They Struck out here -   They have missed their goal of keeping loyal customers happy and feeling like they got value on the money they spent.  

 

I just saw a post on the private social media account of the Cruise Director introducing parts of what he called "the brand new Carnival Sunrise" - this is not a new ship its laughable to even call it that.

 

They missed so much...sorry you didn't see that. 

I think I know the definition of the word, I was looking for details of what they missed on.  Carnival never called it new.  A link to this quote ?

 

Edited August 29, 2019 by jimbo5544

[eroller]

22 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

So they spent another 50 mill for less....interesting 

 

 

The SUNSHINE refurbishment was 6 years ago.   Costs have gone up.  

[jimbo5544]

I can give you some facts if you want.  You speak so high of Carnival, in many forums.  WHen was the last time you sailed on a Carnival ship?

[eroller]

4 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I sailed both....you?  It is legit question, you can answer...

 

 

I have not sailed on SUNRISE and certainly don't plan to.  I honestly don't need to in order to see what it's all about and have an opinion.  I can read a deck plan and I've sailed on enough cruises to recognize what works and what probably doesn't.  

[jimbo5544]

Just now, eroller said:

 

 

I have not sailed on SUNRISE and certainly don't plan to.  I honestly don't need to in order to see what it's all about and have an opinion.  I can read a deck plan and I've sailed on enough cruises to recognize what works and what probably doesn't.  

DId I say your opinion was not valid?  Another reference to the deck plan, please elaborate.  

[eroller]

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

DId I say your opinion was not valid?  Another reference to the deck plan, please elaborate.  

 

 

I'm not hear to explain things to you.  Do your own research, sail the ships, read reviews, study the deck plans and make your own determinations.  I'll do the same and make my own determinations, and voice my opinions as I see fit.  You are welcome to do the same.   It seems your objective is to defend Carnival to the death, and that is your choice.  Good for you.  I'm not here to validate your opinions or defend mine.    

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, Stick93 said:

Not sure what you don't understand about what I wrote, You read my review it and picked one aspect out to try and discredit it. Okay your a smart guy you have 26000 posts - you understand all the points of what I and others are writing. I am happy you don't agree as I want people to not have this experience but to deny what I said I think is wrong. The review speaks for itself. 

You made a point of how they missed big time.  While the Sunrise was not my favorite ship, she sure was not my least favorite either.  It was a legit question, and I was unclear by reading your review.  You also mention of how the upgrade was flimsy and poorly done which I did not see - at all I might add.  I wanted to see if I missed something.  I hope your future cruises are better fits for you.  Happy cruising.

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

 

I'm not hear to explain things to you.  Do your own research, sail the ships, read reviews, study the deck plans and make your own determinations.  I'll do the same and make my own determinations, and voice my opinions as I see fit.  You are welcome to do the same.   It seems your objective is to defend Carnival to the death, and that is your choice.  Good for you.  I'm not here to validate your opinions or defend mine.    

Ahh ok. Sorry if asking for a clarification is a big deal.  I did look at the deck plans again, guess I just do not get it.  I agree it sure does not look like a Cunard ship, but it was never meant to.  When I asked if you had sailed on (any) Carnival ship, I was trying to understand your view.  I asked you to validate nothing...was just asking for a clarification.  Sorry if that was imposing, not intended.  Happy cruising.

[eroller]

7 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

Not sure what you don't understand about what I wrote, You read my review it and picked one aspect out to try and discredit it. Okay your a smart guy you have 26000 posts - you understand all the points of what I and others are writing. I am happy you don't agree as I want people to not have this experience but to deny what I said I think is wrong. The review speaks for itself. 

 

 

Your review was very clear to me, and balanced as well.  You remarked on what you did like, but a lot was a failure.  I think you were pretty clear on what disappointed you and what aspects of the refurbishment were a failure (mainly the overcrowding and noise).  

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  Not everyone will agree with you and that is fine, but it certainly doesn't discredit yours or diminish it in any way.  

 

I appreciate a balanced approach.  I tend to take all bad and all good reviews with a grain of salt.  Generally speaking most things are not 100% bad or 100% good.  

[Stick93]

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

You made a point of how they missed big time.  While the Sunrise was not my favorite ship, she sure was not my least favorite either.  It was a legit question, and I was unclear by reading your review.  You also mention of how the upgrade was flimsy and poorly done which I did not see - at all I might add.  I wanted to see if I missed something.  I hope your future cruises are better fits for you.  Happy cruising.

I am sorry I may understand that a bit better -

 

You may have missed the may rusty areas they just painted over and are  trying to peak through again, the shoddy flooring that was bubbling and coming up, the lack of space, the lack ease in which it should be to get around and even to get some basic food and the lack of any technology on the ship. The elevators didn't work on certain floors and the AC in areas was non existent. 

 

This was my least favorite ship by miles. I would rather sail again on the Fascination which is years behind this ship but more comfortable and less crowded. 

[jimbo5544]

13 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

Not sure what you don't understand about what I wrote, You read my review it and picked one aspect out to try and discredit it. Okay your a smart guy you have 26000 posts - you understand all the points of what I and others are writing. I am happy you don't agree as I want people to not have this experience but to deny what I said I think is wrong. The review speaks for itself. 

Oh, I forgot, thanks for doing the review.  

[Stick93]

4 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

 

Your review was very clear to me, and balanced as well.  You remarked on what you did like, but a lot was a failure.  I think you were pretty clear on what disappointed you and what aspects of the refurbishment were a failure (mainly the overcrowding and noise).  

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  Not everyone will agree with you and that is fine, but it certainly doesn't discredit yours or diminish it in any way.  

 

I appreciate a balanced approach.  I tend to take all bad and all good reviews with a grain of salt.  Generally speaking most things are not 100% bad or 100% good.  

appreciate you response

[eroller]

7 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Ahh ok. Sorry if asking for a clarification is a big deal.  I did look at the deck plans again, guess I just do not get it.  I agree it sure does not look like a Cunard ship, but it was never meant to.  When I asked if you had sailed on (any) Carnival ship, I was trying to understand your view.  I asked you to validate nothing...was just asking for a clarification.  Sorry if that was imposing, not intended.  Happy cruising.

 

 

When did I say I ever expected it to be a Cunard ship?  Just because my avatar has Cunard ships you somehow made an assumption that it determines my expectations?  I'm Platinum with Carnival and have sailed on them since the early 80's.  In total I've sailed on over 130 cruises on just about every line sailing today.  I'm not loyal to any one line and enjoy sailing them all, even Carnival although not so much any more.  Prototype ships are my favorite which is why I will likely sail on MARDI GRAS.  Technically she will be the 4th in the class so not exactly a prototype, but new to Carnival Cruise Lines none the less.    

Edited August 29, 2019 by eroller

[Stick93]

1 minute ago, jimbo5544 said:

Oh, I forgot, thanks for doing the review.  

Thank you for appreciating - means a lot to me