Carnival Sunshine Reviews

Are there any positive reviews for Carnival Sunshine? I am starting to wonder if I made a very bad decision when booking this cruise. There are so many negative reviews. Has anyone been on the Sunshine that actually enjoyed it? My family is booked in cabins 5341, 5343 and 5347. From the sounds of things is going to be very smelly and noisy. I really hope this isn't the case. It will be some of our family members first cruise and I would hate for them to have a miserable time.

Yes I was on her a few months back. We had a wonderful time and hope to sail on her again. We had a large group spread out on all floors and no one smelled any unusual odors. The serenity decks were 2nd to none.

You have to remember, more people with negative experiences tend to do more reviews than people who enjoy themselves. You'll be just fine. Enjoy your cruise.

I haven't been on the Sunshine, but I have read on these boards lately that the bad reviews were mostly from before the ship was in dry dock, I believe.

Remember, there will be no cooking, no cleaning, and lots of entertainment. If you're with family, it will even be better :)

Also, a cruise is what you make of it, and someone on the same ship may have a much different perspective than you. Go with an open mind, and you will probably have a blast!!

A day on a cruise is much better than a day at work :D

Safe sailing!

Actually, a whole of the reviews have been positive lately. A lot of people don't write reviews, but they will make comments in the forum section that they loved the Sunshine. I will be on the Sunshine on May 30th with 34 of my friends. I am not too worried. Prior to sailing on the Dream, there were so many negative reviews. I loved the Dream, so I'm not too worried about the Sunshine negative comments. I am aware that the comedy club will be crowded. I have learned that they have several shows each evening, so if I don't make it to the first one, I'll try the next. I don't use the pools or night clubs, so those concerns don't worry me. Going with a group is part of the fun. I enjoy their company while sitting on the balcony observing the beautiful ocean.

If you enjoy standing in line for an hour to get into a 150 seat comedy club or 600 seat Liquid Lounge only to be turned away, you'll have a great time. If you don't mind spending 2 hours to have a cold meal in the main dining room you'll be in good shape. If you have no plans to use the pool you're in luck. If you've never been on another ship you probably won't know the difference. If you're already booked you'll have to make the best of it. If you're not then I'd pick another ship.

We were just on the Sunshine and had a blast! Your room are deck 5 aft? Should not be noisy at all! Our room was right above the Liquid Lounger deck 6 forward and it was loud. The ship is fantastic and you must splurge and eat at Ji Ji Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano for dinner. My wife, kids, and I all agreed they were the best meals we have EVER had on a cruise ship. Sushi was very good and fresh. Red Frog Pub was awesome with foosball to play for free as well as another game. Many options for live entertainment every night. Stop worrying your going to have a blast! Btw we did not smell anything bad at all.

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If you enjoy standing in line for an hour to get into a 150 seat comedy club or 600 seat Liquid Lounge only to be turned away, you'll have a great time. If you don't mind spending 2 hours to have a cold meal in the main dining room you'll be in good shape. If you have no plans to use the pool you're in luck. If you've never been on another ship you probably won't know the difference. If you're already booked you'll have to make the best of it. If you're not then I'd pick another ship.

Thankfully I was on the Sunshine and not the ship you described. That would have been bad.

Thankfully I was on the Sunshine and not the ship you described. That would have been bad.

Haha I was thinking the same thing!

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Are there any positive reviews for Carnival Sunshine? I am starting to wonder if I made a very bad decision when booking this cruise. There are so many negative reviews. Has anyone been on the Sunshine that actually enjoyed it? My family is booked in cabins 5341, 5343 and 5347. From the sounds of things is going to be very smelly and noisy. I really hope this isn't the case. It will be some of our family members first cruise and I would hate for them to have a miserable time.

Search on this forum for more recent reviews of the ship. You'll find plenty of positive ones.

I was booked in 5346 until this morning, the last review motivated me to peek for other cabins and I was lucky enough to be able to move to a spa balcony and get an $142 OBC due to recent rate drops on my sailing.

Yeah, the last review was the 1st one to make me wonder. BUT I do think I will have a wonderful cruise. I will seek out the positive and try to minimize the negative.

I will probably try a different Carnival ship next time, just to try to find a ship/class of ship I enjoy. Tying out different lines too, just to compare.

But there are some positive reviews. She seems like a love it or hate it ship. Not a lot in between.

What's so different about the Sunshine?

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If you enjoy standing in line for an hour to get into a 150 seat comedy club or 600 seat Liquid Lounge only to be turned away, you'll have a great time. If you don't mind spending 2 hours to have a cold meal in the main dining room you'll be in good shape. If you have no plans to use the pool you're in luck. If you've never been on another ship you probably won't know the difference. If you're already booked you'll have to make the best of it. If you're not then I'd pick another ship.

We just returned from the 11 day Repositioning Cruise last week & did not encounter ANY of these problems. Although Sunshine was not my favorite ship, it wasn't bad.

If you enjoy standing in line for an hour to get into a 150 seat comedy club or 600 seat Liquid Lounge only to be turned away, you'll have a great time. If you don't mind spending 2 hours to have a cold meal in the main dining room you'll be in good shape. If you have no plans to use the pool you're in luck. If you've never been on another ship you probably won't know the difference. If you're already booked you'll have to make the best of it. If you're not then I'd pick another ship.

Wow..you make this crud up as you go along or what??

We also were just on the repo cruise and NONE I repeat NONE of this occurred on our cruise. As someone else said....glad we were on the Sunshine and not the ship you describe.

Yeah, I just make it up. The comedy club actually seats 600 and Liquid Lounge holds 2,000 and the pool is the biggest I ever seen on a cruise ship. :rolleyes:

We just returned from the 11 day Repositioning Cruise last week & did not encounter ANY of these problems. Although Sunshine was not my favorite ship, it wasn't bad.

We are booked in August. Just Couroius, what did you not like?

Yeah, I just make it up. The comedy club actually seats 600 and Liquid Lounge holds 2,000 and the pool is the biggest I ever seen on a cruise ship. :rolleyes:

What sailing were you on?

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I just returned from the 2-day on the sunshine...food was great at the alternative eateries, Serenity was wonderful, the racer slides are fast! There are random smells towards the aft on decks 4,5 and 8. There's rust and signs of wear and tear. I enjoyed the ship...I would sail it again, but the Breeze is still my favorite.

Carnival Liberty - 4/14/12 - 4/21/12 (Eastern Caribbean)

Carnival Breeze - 3/16/13 - 3/24/13 (Eastern Caribbean)

Carnival Ecstasy - 3/31/14 - 4/4/14 (Key West & Cozumel)

Carnival Sunshine - 4/17/14 - 4/19/14 (Freeport, BS)

We are booked in August. Just Couroius, what did you not like?

The ship is beautiful but the layout is kind of weird. I really only had 2 things that I didn't like & that was our Spa inside cabin was SMALL & there was the sewer smell on deck 3.

After sailing on Breeze in October, anything is gonna pale in comparison but Sunshine wasn't a bad ship.

One thing for sure is Jiji's is AMAZING!!! Well worth the $12 fee!!

Enjoy you cruise!! We had a great time!! It's all what you make it!!

I'm booked on The Sunshine on May 17th and I've read a lot of reviews, negative and positive, I know reviews are simply peoples opinions and I can't wait to see everything for myself and form my own opinions ~ I'm going with the attitude that while some things could happen I'm not expecting anything but to have an excellent cruise with my friends ~ how bad can it really be to be on the ocean going to beautiful ports, not have to cook, clean or even make my own bed? I am beyond excited to sail on the Sunshine!!

I agree the layout is weird, if you're in the aft of the ship to go to deck 3 or 4 you need to go to mid ship unless you're in the Sunset dining room or Comedy Club. If you're getting off the ship go Forward.

It's a great ship, the Havana Bar, Cucinia and JiJi were EXCELLENT.

Remember, you're cruise is what you make of it. :D I only had 2 days on the Sunshine. I would sail her again, the amenities on board were IMPRESSIVE. I just wouldn't book a deck 6 AFT cabin.

We are also just off the 11 day repo cruise. The cruise was great. Loved the itinerary and length. Loved sitting on the balcony, played a little in casino. The band was great. The Swamp Thang Band. Listened to them almost every night except the nights we couldn't find a chair.

We had YTD and never had the problems we had there. I recommend go early, like 5:30 or 5:45, because around 6:30-7 it is unreal. The pager system is fine but they need to find a way for you to get to the head of the line when your pager goes off. It was not a good dining experience.

JiJi/Italian/Burrito/Guys were all great. I especially liked JiJi but the ringer w/o the bun was great too. Now Lido, evening, was another story. I have never seen such a small selection of food as was in the evening. Seems all our other cruises were carving meat at night and much more selection. It was fine for us because we just usually ate lite if we were there in the evening. Just saying don't be surprised...

Havana Bar was a nice place to hang out. We just didn't find the out door space we have on the Magic. It was horribly windy on our trip though. Serenity was very windy or crowded.

We had a balcony cabin on 7 aft close to the elevators. Cabin was fine but seemed smaller than other balconies we have had. Shower was larger. You could smell JiJi every evening when they got the woks going and at lunch.

IMHO the ship was ok. I have just been on others I like a lot better. Would I sail again on her? Probably, right itinerary and price and not during peak season..

Go!! Have fun!! As they say it is much better than work, cooking, cleaning etc.

Yelp we are back home, same routine counting the days until our Splendor cruise!!

We were on the Sunshine in February. No smells on deck 6 aft. Layout is kind of quirky but that gives her personality. Don't miss jiji's for sure that was the best. I loved the duck. Also the serenity area is the best. I heard people say it is noisy but if you go to the front of the ship it is serene.

We will miss her in New Orleans.

We are also just off the 11 day repo cruise. The cruise was great. Loved the itinerary and length. Loved sitting on the balcony, played a little in casino. The band was great. The Swamp Thang Band. Listened to them almost every night except the nights we couldn't find a chair.

 

We had YTD and never had the problems we had there. I recommend go early, like 5:30 or 5:45, because around 6:30-7 it is unreal. The pager system is fine but they need to find a way for you to get to the head of the line when your pager goes off. It was not a good dining experience.

 

JiJi/Italian/Burrito/Guys were all great. I especially liked JiJi but the ringer w/o the bun was great too. Now Lido, evening, was another story. I have never seen such a small selection of food as was in the evening. Seems all our other cruises were carving meat at night and much more selection. It was fine for us because we just usually ate lite if we were there in the evening. Just saying don't be surprised...

 

Havana Bar was a nice place to hang out. We just didn't find the out door space we have on the Magic. It was horribly windy on our trip though. Serenity was very windy or crowded.

 

We had a balcony cabin on 7 aft close to the elevators. Cabin was fine but seemed smaller than other balconies we have had. Shower was larger. You could smell JiJi every evening when they got the woks going and at lunch.

 

IMHO the ship was ok. I have just been on others I like a lot better. Would I sail again on her? Probably, right itinerary and price and not during peak season..

 

Go!! Have fun!! As they say it is much better than work, cooking, cleaning etc.

 

Yelp we are back home, same routine counting the days until our Splendor cruise!!

Hmmmm.....We were on the Sunshine repo....Did I meet you?!?!?

I can echo most of what you said, except for the comments on the YTD. When did you try and go? Admittedly, I think we only hit the MDR like 3-4 nights the entire cruise, the first night being the first formal night. It was crowded around the entry to the dining room about 7pm...but we got a pager..they told us about a 20-25 minute wait...we said no biggie...hit the Alchemy bar....barely got our drinks when the pager went off.....went back to DR and right it. Other nights...went around 7....basically went right in...maybe we got lucky and went the correct nights!!

The wind was crazy the whole trip as you said...windiest cruise we've ever been on...but we had a blast........Having sailed the Sunshine twice now, we probably won't rush back...but for a decent price and itinerary....we will sail on her again without question....just maybe after one or 2 other new cruise experiences.

Hmmmm.....We were on the Sunshine repo....Did I meet you?!?!?

 

I can echo most of what you said, except for the comments on the YTD. When did you try and go? Admittedly, I think we only hit the MDR like 3-4 nights the entire cruise, the first night being the first formal night. It was crowded around the entry to the dining room about 7pm...but we got a pager..they told us about a 20-25 minute wait...we said no biggie...hit the Alchemy bar....barely got our drinks when the pager went off.....went back to DR and right it. Other nights...went around 7....basically went right in...maybe we got lucky and went the correct nights!!

 

The wind was crazy the whole trip as you said...windiest cruise we've ever been on...but we had a blast........Having sailed the Sunshine twice now, we probably won't rush back...but for a decent price and itinerary....we will sail on her again without question....just maybe after one or 2 other new cruise experiences.

YTD the 1st formal night was fine. Same experience with the pager. I even thought hey that's great. Should be done on other ships like that. The other nights we went not so organized. We didn't go every night. The last night was the worst but as we were sitting at our table after waiting 45+min we could see the front doors and it all cleared. We were only a party of 4. We must of just hit it right!:( Could have been they were holding everyone off because of the dancing, singing.

If you enjoy standing in line for an hour to get into a 150 seat comedy club or 600 seat Liquid Lounge only to be turned away, you'll have a great time. If you don't mind spending 2 hours to have a cold meal in the main dining room you'll be in good shape. If you have no plans to use the pool you're in luck. If you've never been on another ship you probably won't know the difference. If you're already booked you'll have to make the best of it. If you're not then I'd pick another ship.

Again, what sailing were you on? :rolleyes: