Sunshine...opinions please:) Too crowded? Good or bad?

Hi all...have read so many different reviews of the Sunshine. Would love some feedback from people that have been on the Sunshine recently...is it too crowded? Are there "old ship probs?" Service ok? Does it look like a new ship or like an old ship with a bad facelift?

Booking soon for me and my daughter and her friend...need to know if I should settle on Sunshine or Breeze 😎. Thanks for any help!

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Hi all...have read so many different reviews of the Sunshine. Would love some feedback from people that have been on the Sunshine recently...is it too crowded? Are there "old ship probs?" Service ok? Does it look like a new ship or like an old ship with a bad facelift?

 

Booking soon for me and my daughter and her friend...need to know if I should settle on Sunshine or Breeze . Thanks for any help!

 

 

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I actually like the Sunshine but there are many people that don't. It didn't look like an old ship to me. There were only a few issues, lack of seating areas (same problem on Dream, Magic, and Breeze), the theater and comedy club were too small. That's it everything else was great. I loved all the 2.0 upgrades, and we had great services.

Good info! When I was on the Breeze in March 2013 we didn't really have a hard time finding seating but summer might be different...the lack of space in the theater won't be a deal breaker for us but I WOULD like to go to the comedy club. Thanks for the feedback! 😊

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Hi all...have read so many different reviews of the Sunshine. Would love some feedback from people that have been on the Sunshine recently...is it too crowded? Are there "old ship probs?" Service ok? Does it look like a new ship or like an old ship with a bad facelift?

 

Booking soon for me and my daughter and her friend...need to know if I should settle on Sunshine or Breeze 😎. Thanks for any help!

 

 

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I was on the Sunshine last summer and while we had a great time I will not sail on her again. The Waterworks felt small and cramped compared to the Breeze but I never felt like it was too crowded except for maybe the comedy shows once or twice but it wasn't a big deal. Loved the Alchemy Bar and all the different dining venues but something about it didn't work for me. We had an 'old ship' problem with the room and a bit of an issue with the room steward-which is obviously not an issue with the ship itself.

Service was fine throughout the ship, no complaints, but unspectacular outside of the steak house. The steak house was one of the best I've had on any ship.

Cool...thanks for the input! Small waterworks wouldn't be too big of a concern for us - will be with 18 yr olds. Good to know about the steakhouse though...I've heard people say it's great - looking forward to that if I choose Sunshine! 😊

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We loved her as Destiny (97) and SunShine (14) and are booked for next month.

We had no complaints.

Yes, get there early for top deck Serenity is my tip.

Oh and the Alchemy bar is a plus... Lol

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I heard that the Serenity deck was bigger than the one on the Breeze...Seems like that should help..no?

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Was on her last week.

Bad, bad design decisions by the line to reduce the size of the main theatre and to create the way, way undersized comedy venue with a third of the audience not even having a view of the comedian. Carnival's choice to max out revenue will require you to get to the shows way early. Bring a good book.

On the plus side, great crew and the best cruise director on the seven seas, Jamie Dee.

I heard that the Serenity deck was bigger than the one on the Breeze...Seems like that should help..no?

 

 

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Deck 12 Spa serenity area is always packed. Get there by 7 am or so otherwise you probably will be out of luck. If you are looking for a quiet place to relax this is NOT it. The DJs pump out hip hop/dance club music most of the day at very loud levels.

I was on the Sunshine last year and loved it. It never felt any more crowded than any other place. Lines were reasonable and moved quickly. I don't remember having to hunt for a seat. The 2.0 updates are fantastic.

The only drawback was the sewer smell that would waft into the liquid lounge. I think the engineers screwed up the math when calculating what the sewer system could handle vs. number of people on board.

Well that's bad news in the Serenity deck:/

And yes...have heard only amazing things about Jamie Dee!

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Yeah I read something about the sewer smell but wondered if it could possibly actually be that...that's pretty gross:(

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No sewer smells anywhere on the ship last week.

Maybe they got it fixed..can't imagine that smell would be good for business! Lol

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We were on the sunshine Feb 2014. It is not as big as the Dream or Breeze so the water park area is smaller. Carnival has tried to provide more places to eat and not just the Lido or MDR. Loved Ji Ji at night and the Wok at Lunch. Both are it the very back of the ship behind the Lido Deck Buffet. Great place to hang out, until the crowds find out. I think there are more positives than negatives. There are always more people on the Lido deck on sea days, you'll find that on all ships.

There are things we really loved about Sunshine, and things that we really didn't like at all. JiJi's is excellent, and we loved the way the Lido buffet is set up. Serenity Deck is awesome! Waterslides are really good! Comedy Club left a LOT to be desired....WAY too small! The sewer smell does exist...we had a balcony room on deck 6, I believe, and our hallway often had the smell. At least it wasn't in our room.

The ship overall is creaky, our cabin had a lot of creaky noise. My husband is a mechanical engineer, so of course we looked closely at certain things. There are a lot of places where things didn't quite match up, or there were gaps, or unevenness (not that obvious, but it is there, and not something that affected our overall enjoyment of the cruise).

We would sail her again, but it would not be our first choice.

Honestly, our experience on the Sunshine was so bad I was turned off of Carnival. The Breeze is an awesome ship....no complaints with her at all (and I went on her at a time everyone was complaining about terrible smells, cramped spaces, horrid food, terrible motion). I would say book on the Breeze. The Sunshine doesn't look like an old ship but she sure does feel like one once you get to know her.

Thanks everyone! Yeah it may be a safer bet just to stick with the Breeze..I was just really wanting a few of the places that the Sunshine offers:/ What I'm REALLY looking forward to is the Vista! That should be amazing 😉

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We are booked on the Sunshine this June. I have also seen mixed reviews and had some concerns. The itinerary won me over. I have decided I will make up my own mind on this one.

We haven't sailed on the Breeze but really loved the sister ship, Dream. I am sure you will have a great time no matter which ship you choose. 😄

Happy sailing!

The only things that the Sunshine really has to offer over the Breeze are Alchemy and JiJi's...trust me, there are enough bars on each of these ships, you won't miss any opportunities to buy drinks lol. Breeze has the Thrill Theatre, much better bet for you guys! and the T pool, we were in a spa inside on her and OMG so worth it! The sunshine's spa was broken (aroma room) and small and not worth any upcharge for it. Trust me, you will be much happier on the Breeze :-) enjoy your trip.

Yes...we are SOOO looking forward to the T pool! So excited...and yes, I'm sure we will have an amazing time no matter which ship! I AM leaning towards the Breeze though I think..

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I haven't sailed Breeze yet ( hurry up, March!) but I sailed Sunshine last November and back in November 1996 when she was brand new Destiny.

Overall we had a great time, and I would not hesitate to sail on her again, though there were some drawbacks. I would say it looks like an old ship with a good facelift.

Service was phenomenal, as always. Food was good in the MDR and satisfactory on the buffets. Coffee was horrible everywhere.

As far as crowding, your mileage may vary. Your kids are 18 and therefore could use the Serenity pool, so it likely won't be an issue for you that there is only one small non adults only pool on the entire ship. It's very very crowded. Yes, there is Water Works and the slides, but they were closed 75% of the time due to wind (not carnivals fault, but that's where one tiny pool really sucks). Buffets are poorly designed IMO which makes for long lines. I don't do shows, so I can't speak to that issue.

We never smelled a single bad smell anywhere at any time. I would agree with the poster who said the ship was creaky. Granted we had high winds and rough waters for much of our trip, but there were constantly creaks and bangs from the balcony. It didn't bother me, but it was noticeable.

Casino was great; busy, but I could usually find a seat at whatever game I wanted to play and the hosts did a great job.

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I sailed the Breeze in March of 2013 and it was pretty amazing..you should have a blast! My ONLY complaint was that it was windy and chilly a few times..nobody's fault. I will admit the coffee situation worries me lol...I'm afraid I'm a bit picky where my coffee is concerned:/ Should be a sweet week anyway though...my daughter and her bestie are enough fun to make up for drawbacks of any ship:)

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2114397

Above link is to my review from October. There were both pros and cons but the pros outweighed the cons for us. Kids loved all the activities. Although we were cruised in October and there were not a lot of kids onboard. We never felt crowded but we don't typically hang out by the pool. We found loungers in the same place everyday. We had early dinner and would then go right to the comedy club and hang out waiting for the show so we always had front row seats. I had read all the bad reviews beforehand so we knew how to avoid most of the problems. We knew how to navigate the ship before we got onboard. The only thing that was really bad was the temp of the cabin and the dining room. Hopefully they get that fixed. We loved the atmosphere of the Havana Bar area. We ate there all the time. But we choose a cruise based on ports not on the ship. We also don't have to be entertained. I just need a book and a chair. So our expectations are different than others.