The (Initially) I Would Prefer the Sorta-New Carnival Sunshine Over the Breeze Review

Enjoying your review, thanks for posting.

Still here ,enjoying your tr!

Enjoying your review, thanks for posting.

Thanks...Much appreciated! I hope you continue to enjoy as much as it was for me sharing my experience. :)

Thanks for taking the time. Thinking about booking Sunshine since she is so close to home. You may have just sealed the deal.

You're very welcome! Yes,that's how we feel, it's much closer than Miami and the Sunshine is somewhat of a mini Breeze. I plan to sail her again in the future (maybe our first cruise without the kids). ;)

I think I would have been exhausted wrestling with the kids each night for 30-45 minutes to get them to stay in camp. If they were consistently unhappy, why make them go? I thought the kids camp was pretty big on the Sunshine?? Guess not. We had 1100 kids on the Freedom. Camp Ocean was a really good size but I wouldn't call it a huge space. Alot of kids used the camp but honestly I think most didn't or did so only sparingly. My kids had a ball. Especially the 11-year old.

 

 

Thanks for the review!

My pleasure! Thank you for following.

We had 2 issues with camp. The first, which I didn't mention in my review, we home-school our children so, we found this to be a great time for them to socialize with children besides cousins and siblings.

The second issue to why it was small (in comparison to the Breeze,) we would send our children to camp only after dinner for 1-2 hours (between 9pm-12am.) Every night in that small area were a mixture of 2-11 year olds. My problem was that the 2-5 years are probably tired by this time and right next to their play area, they would be blasting music for the 6-11 year olds. After the second night, I told the counselors, Listen, on the Breeze (even on the Destiny) by a certain time they had the children laying down with pillows and a blankets watching movies or playing quietly. The following night when we came to drop the children off, I saw the 2-5 year olds laying down with pillows and blankets watching movies (or sleeping) and NOT 1 child was crying. My problem was not only the cramp area but the counselors seemed out-of-tuned for some reason (I attributed it to the small area and exhaustion). Not all children are going to be happy, I get that, but at least be creative.

I said that to say this, if you are traveling without the kids and the Sunshine is closure to your home, by all means sail the Sunshine. But if traveling with your children (like we do), I would suggest the Breeze because it has much more to offer than the Sunshine (bigger AND separate classrooms, a thrill theater, better activities, etc). Either way, enjoy your cruises because it's a blessing to be able to travel in this economy.

Thank you all for your comments!:)

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. It really helped me in comparing the Sunshine and the Dream for an upcoming family cruise that will include my two grandkids, ages 9 & 3 - On Carnivals website, we thought that the Breeze offered more for kids, and you confirmed it! However, I think I'd like the Sunshine, especially the Alchemy Bar, if ever my husband and I and my grown son and his girlfriend travel.

Thank you again for your wonderful review! Did you ever find your cabin pictures by the way? Or did your cabin look the same as the one that the previous poster had?

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. It really helped me in comparing the Sunshine and the Dream for an upcoming family cruise that will include my two grandkids, ages 9 & 3 - On Carnivals website, we thought that the Breeze offered more for kids, and you confirmed it! However, I think I'd like the Sunshine, especially the Alchemy Bar, if ever my husband and I and my grown son and his girlfriend travel.

Thank you again for your wonderful review! Did you ever find your cabin pictures by the way? Or did your cabin look the same as the one that the previous poster had?

Thanks for taking the time to read my review! I checked my pics and they are mostly of the family and the views of the sunsets/sunrises. I tried posting a couple pics from a Google search but I kept getting an error message (this is my first review attempt). Here is a link to pics of a 6K cabin on the Glory (identical to ours except the bathroom door is next to the bed.) They have an 4 occupancy limit and are 280 sq ft on the Sunshine (slightly bigger than the ocean suites). They're conveniently located on lido deck forward, right next to the Captain's suites (the area is always nice and quiet). I wish I could book this cabin again, it's very difficult to get one. I hope this helps, and yes, definitely give both ships a try...each had something different to offer. ;)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1933656

Thanks for the great review! I'm going with my teens next June on an 8-day on the Sunshine. So glad we are past the kid's club age but, believe me, it happens faster than you think! So important to cherish when they're young because they grow up way too fast. But having the freedom to try more nightlife options are a plus.

Have you tried the Disney line yet? Your kids would love it!

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Happy to read this review! We are booked in 9126 on an upcoming sailing. My kids will be 11 and almost-13 at the time. I think they will love waterworks and the ropes course, which is why we booked this ship. That and the Family Game Night show.

Thanks for the great review! I'm going with my teens next June on an 8-day on the Sunshine. So glad we are past the kid's club age but, believe me, it happens faster than you think! So important to cherish when they're young because they grow up way too fast. But having the freedom to try more nightlife options are a plus.

 

Have you tried the Disney line yet? Your kids would love it!

 

 

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Hi! Thanks for reading. I've heard mixed reviews about Disney and we're not sure if we are willing to pay the extra cost. We enjoy our cruises and found the Breeze works for us perfectly.

Happy to read this review! We are booked in 9126 on an upcoming sailing. My kids will be 11 and almost-13 at the time. I think they will love waterworks and the ropes course, which is why we booked this ship. That and the Family Game Night show.

Thank you! Yes, you're going to love the views from this cabin. We always kept our shades up to sleep under the stars at night and wake up to the sunrise in the mornings. It was an experience of it's own. Your kids will have a great time too!

Enjoy your upcoming cruises all!

Thanks for the great review! I'm going with my teens next June on an 8-day on the Sunshine. So glad we are past the kid's club age but, believe me, it happens faster than you think! So important to cherish when they're young because they grow up way too fast. But having the freedom to try more nightlife options are a plus.

 

Have you tried the Disney line yet? Your kids would love it!

 

 

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So true!

thanks for taking the time to post your review. We are on the Sunshine this June and love having your knowledge about the comedy club and how busy they can get.

Did you try JiJi or the italian restaurant for lunch when it was free? Or dinner paid?

thanks for taking the time to post your review. We are on the Sunshine this June and love having your knowledge about the comedy club and how busy they can get.

 

Did you try JiJi or the italian restaurant for lunch when it was free? Or dinner paid?

I apologize for the late response but we did not dine at any paid restaurants for dinner. However, I did try the Italian restaurant a couple times for lunch and the pasta dish wasn't too bad, just nothing to brag about. Given that both restaurants are free for lunch, I would suggest to try them both. Our family is a big fan of Guy's and the Blue Iguana's food bar so that's what we preferred most days. There's also the option of the buffet for lunch and dinner which had nice selections as well.

Enjoy your upcoming cruise!

I see that you are a Florida resident. Go to the Disney Cruise Line site and click on the special offers section. The Florida Resident rates are reasonable. The fact that you homeschool and don't need to travel when school is out is a huge plus.

Your kids will be asking to go to the kids club on a Disney cruise.