Last minute spring break cruise....... Sunshine, NCL Sun, or Liberty?

[Timmay77]

Carnival Sunshine

NCL Sun

Carnival Liberty

 

We think we may try and score a cheap cruise for Spring Break this year. If we can find something cheap, we will book it, if not, we may just drive to Destin for the week. Very flexible. Going to monitor the prices for a few weeks and pick something.

 

The reviews for all 3 ships are ALL OVER the place. Most of the terrible reviews are from either people that had a certain event or from people who just seem grumpy all the time. I was really hoping to find a 50/50 mix of reviews, but it seems most are negative for all 3 ships..... I am making a pro/con spreadsheet for all 3 cruises. Anyone help me out here with some experinces?

 

The room doesn't matter, just looking to get away. We won't spend any time in the room anyway. I priced everything for an Oceanview. All 3 are to the Bahamas. Ports are also really not that important, we just plan on hitting the beach every stop anyway.

[TravelE]

The Sunshine has the most "extra" stuff like an expanded waterworks, rope course, basketball area plus specialty restaurants. We thought it was a great ship when we sailed it a few years ago and had an ocean view on Lobby Deck 3 which was very convenient.

 I have not sailed that class of Norwegian ship so can't offer any feedback on that.

[mouche]

1 hour ago, Timmay77 said:

Carnival Sunshine

NCL Sun

Carnival Liberty

 

We think we may try and score a cheap cruise for Spring Break this year. If we can find something cheap, we will book it, if not, we may just drive to Destin for the week. Very flexible. Going to monitor the prices for a few weeks and pick something.

 

The reviews for all 3 ships are ALL OVER the place. Most of the terrible reviews are from either people that had a certain event or from people who just seem grumpy all the time. I was really hoping to find a 50/50 mix of reviews, but it seems most are negative for all 3 ships..... I am making a pro/con spreadsheet for all 3 cruises. Anyone help me out here with some experinces?

 

The room doesn't matter, just looking to get away. We won't spend any time in the room anyway. I priced everything for an Oceanview. All 3 are to the Bahamas. Ports are also really not that important, we just plan on hitting the beach every stop anyway.

Carnival Sunshine for sure, Carnival Liberty is my least favorite ship, I can't speak on NCL Sun.

[pfleer]

We loved Carnival Sunshine!  Recommend a cabin on deck 5, aft.  There is a small buffet on deck 5 that will serve breakfast and lunch snacks.  Never busy there.  

[tmg698]

Love Sunshine we sailed on it 2 years in a row. Liberty is ok but not as good as Sunshine.

[Alegeeter]

Sunshine probably has the most activity-wise but I think most people around here think it's way too crowded. I enjoyed the NCL Sun and find that it's the perfect size and never feels crowded.

[Timmay77]

2 minutes ago, Alegeeter said:

Sunshine probably has the most activity-wise but I think most people around here think it's way too crowded. I enjoyed the NCL Sun and find that it's the perfect size and never feels crowded.

 

THANK YOU. We have only ever been on Carnival cruises, so am curious to try out a different cruise line. I like the intinerary better on the Sun. Is there enough to do for 2 adults and a 16yr old on the smaller ship? What about room sizes? How do they compare? Both Oceanviews.......

[Tampa Bay Irish]

We sailed on Sunshine twice. Great ship. We never had any issues with crowds onboard. Try Jiji’s Asian restaurant on Sunshine for dinner. Minimal up charge. Great food and plenty of it. Well worth it. Bon voyage.

[Alegeeter]

Carnival rooms are definitely more spacious but the oceanview rooms on the Sun aren't bad. NCL inside cabins are TINY.

 

There's definitely enough for adults to do. I don't have nor have I sailed with teens before so I can't say for sure. But like Carnival, NCL has a teens club/group. There are definitely fewer top deck adventure activities on the Sun. Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island, is not to be missed! 

 

I've been on several NCL cruises, and I like NCL a lot. I will say, I liked the Sun and it does give you a taste of what NCL is like in terms of Freestyle, but it doesn't compare to their bigger ships that do have all the bells and whistles.

[scpirate]

5 hours ago, Timmay77 said:

 

THANK YOU. We have only ever been on Carnival cruises, so am curious to try out a different cruise line. I like the intinerary better on the Sun. Is there enough to do for 2 adults and a 16yr old on the smaller ship? What about room sizes? How do they compare? Both Oceanviews.......

I liked the itiniary on the sun also but I'm too scared to try ncl .too many bad reviews but then msc gets bad reviews .I still went on the seaside and prefer msc over carnival.

[Alegeeter]

It's hard to make decisions solely based on the number of bad reviews, simply because we go out of our way to make it known when things don't go our way than to go out of our to give accolades. There are plenty of people with wonderful experiences on NCL, MSC, and all lines. That's why they all do great business and have repeat cruisers! 

 

Don't be scared to try NCL. Try going to the NCL board, ask some pointed questions and seek out the positive reviews. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

We have been on the Liberty twice and have a third sailing coming up in three weeks.  We enjoy the size of the ship, the violinists in the atrium before dinner,  the shows, and listening to music and people-watching outside the casino.  When the Liberty was cancelled due to a hurricane in September, we used the refund to book the Sun for the following weekend.  For the amount of the Liberty refund, we gained an extra night (5 instead of 4) and two speciality dinners.  We booked an interior guarantee and were assigned a huge cabin with an unusual layout.  We enjoyed lunches in the MDR and having different food generally.  We missed assigned seating at a large table with new friends and the loyalty perks we enjoy on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  I wouldn’t hesitate to book NCL at a low, last-minute rate again, but only on a different ship; something different was fun, but I prefer the Liberty.  We went back to the Liberty for our next cruise.  We have never been on the Sunshine, but the Victory is my least favorite ship (no particular reason, just find it kind of mediocre) and the reports of crowding on the Sunshine were a turnoff.

[live.love.cruise]

12 hours ago, Timmay77 said:

 

THANK YOU. We have only ever been on Carnival cruises, so am curious to try out a different cruise line. I like the intinerary better on the Sun. Is there enough to do for 2 adults and a 16yr old on the smaller ship? What about room sizes? How do they compare? Both Oceanviews.......

I sailed on the Sun twice last year (with a 14 yr old) in May and October. I was on the Liberty about 6 years ago and have the Sunshine booked for later this year. I love NCL, have sailed 3 times with them. I’ve sailed 9 times with Carnival , with next one coming up next week. 
 

I’m not super active (and I don’t use the pools) when I cruise but I do like having options and I must say the Sun was very laid back and relaxing but almost boring. We didn’t notice it the first time because of the itinerary (Cuba). The next time (Bahamas/didn’t get off ship) we realized there wasn’t much to do around the ship and basically spent the time catching up on movies in our cabin. But I enjoy the food and the vibe on NCL and will continue to cruise with them in the future. I would sail the Sun again if I liked the itinerary and didn’t have too many sea days. 

 

Like others have said I’d go with the Sunshine over the Liberty since it has more to offer. And for JiJi, lol! Had one of the best meals at JiJi on the Vista a couple years ago and that’s part of the reason I booked the Sunshine.
 

I can’t speak to the cabins since I had inside both times on the Sun. 
 

If you want ship activities I’d say go with the Sunshine but if you want to try a new cruise line , like the itinerary , and don’t need lots of things to do onboard then give the Sun a try!

 

Whichever you choose, I hope your family has a great vacation!

Edited January 15, 2020 by live.love.cruise