Sunshine...the good, the bad, and the "smell"

We just got off Sunshine yesterday, on a 7 day western cruise. I'll do my best to give you our thoughts about it all! Instead of doing a day by day review, I'm going to highlight things about the ship.

Embarkation- went smoothly, like it always does in Port Canaveral. We were on the ship by 11 or so, our room was ready, and lunch was waiting!

Debarkation- again, easy and painless. We're platinum, so we met in the Limelight Lounge, and were off the ship and through customs by 7:45. The only problem we had was waiting for our niece to pick us up...she's twenty something, and doesn't know how to tell time, I think!

Food- we had breakfast at the buffet most days...we love the way the buffet is set up, with different stations. Lunch was a variety of places, like Guy's Burgers, Jiji Mongolian Wok, Cucina del Capitano, buffet, brunch, and room service (love the BLT's!!). Dinner was in the MDR a few nights, buffet a couple times, and JiJi's. JiJi's was excellent, and everything else was pretty good too. We had anytime dining, and thought the service was slower than normal. Also, the buffet did not have a carving station, and we kind of missed that.

I would like to note that we sailed on Glory a little over a month ago, and had the American Table/Feast menus, which we loved. It was a little disappointing that Sunshine is still using the old menus, but trust me, we NEVER went hungry!

Cabin- we had a balcony on deck 6, forward. Once I realized the Liquid Lounge turned into a night club after the shows, I was a little worried we would be hearing club music well into the night. It turned out our cabin was actually above dressing room area, and crew cabins, so all was well for us!

Cabin was adequate for two people, had no problem finding storage for everything, and the shower was about twice the size of most Carnival ships!

Entertainment- we went to one Playlist Production show...we normally don't go, because we've never been impressed, but we did go to Epic Rock, and it was one of the best shows we've seen! Take note, however, that Liquid Lounge is not very large. If you want a good seat, go early!

We watched a couple of movies on Lido deck, and went to the Piano Bar a few nights. Sonia (the piano girl), is quite the entertainer...not the best singer, but entertaining!

We usually attend several comedy shows while cruising, but because of the cluster **** that the Limelight Lounge is, we only went once. This place is TINY!! And about 2/3rd's of passengers can't see the stage, and have to watch on tv screens. Not only that, the comedy club manager did not close the doors after the show started, so people kept coming in, and blocking seated passenger's views. Needless to say, we were more annoyed than entertained, so we never went back.:(

Pools/waterslides- Serenity Deck is AWESOME! Loved the pool there! We didn't even go in the main pool. Waterworks was great, too....some of the best slides on Carnival ships! Warning....if you do the racer slides, you will get a face full of water at the end....water rushing up my nose was not the most pleasant feeling!!

And last, the "Smell"-It exists...it moves around.....it is not very pleasant. I noticed it on deck 5, as I walked into one of the shops. We also smelled it every day on deck 6, in the hallway, at different spots, at different times. Another passenger said where their cabin was (deck 2), it was extremely bad at times, and could be smelled inside their cabin, as well as in the hallway. There were a couple other places I smelled it faintly, but don't remember where.

Overall, we had a great cruise, and we would sail the Sunshine again. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, and the things we didn't like we can live with.

I'll be happy to answer any questions....if I can!:)

We were on this cruise and I'm laughing at the water slide comments! My cousin and I went down the racers and we both had "front thongs" from the final blast! We kept our legs crossed and super glued them on all the other trips down! :o:p

We only attended the family comedy, but we heard the later ones were packed out! Sorry you had such a bad experience. We loved the family comedian and our biggest regret is we didn't make it back to see her again. They were, obviously, much less crowded.

We were on this cruise and I'm laughing at the water slide comments! My cousin and I went down the racers and we both had "front thongs" from the final blast! We kept our legs crossed and super glued them on all the other trips down! :o:p

 

We only attended the family comedy, but we heard the later ones were packed out! Sorry you had such a bad experience. We loved the family comedian and our biggest regret is we didn't make it back to see her again. They were, obviously, much less crowded.

The one show we went to was the family show...it was packed! What we could hear of the comedian, was good, but the latecomers were kind of rude, and stood in front of us talking. Oh well....it sure didn't ruin our cruise!!

There were several little things we noticed around the ship...I'm thinking this was part of the renovation process. Some of the doors didn't hang correctly, and some trim areas weren't finished off properly. Several of the elevators had lights that didn't work, and this ship is creakier than most. The overall layout is kind of choppy, and as a result of adding some of the 2.0 "upgrades", some of the public space disappeared. Again, nothing was that bad or noticeable, (except The Smell!!), and didn't affect our enjoyment of the cruise!

Thanks for your review.

Continues to sound like slicing up the main show lounge just to make more cabins was a major mistake for this ship.

Nice review. Glad you enjoyed the Sunshine!!

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. It is interesting about the smell. When I sailed Sunshine in January, I didn't notice any smell. I really liked Sunshine. So much that I think it is one of my favorite ships. Since I'm not a show person, the small Limelight Lounge didn't bother me at all. I share your opinion about Sunshine's Serenity area. I loved it too. There is something very relaxing about that waterfall, and the sound of the water kind of acts like white noise that blocks out the background noise.

I'm glad you had a great cruise! Welcome back to reality. :-)

Thanks for the report!

How were the bands and dance area...haven't been on her since our B2B before the renovation and name change.

As Destiny, the band played in a smoke filled cigar bar and carpet , no dance floor...I think. :p

Thanks,

Mike

What was your room number? We are looking at 6129 and 6123

Continues to sound like slicing up the main show lounge just to make more cabins was a major mistake for this ship.

This is why I have never booked this ship. Crowd control and lines at the buffet and getting on and off of the ship were horrendous when it was the Destiny. We thought about booking it after the do-over, but decided against it when we heard that they added even more cabins, and took away general use space.

Was the Serenity area quiet and "laid back"? after looking at floor plans, it seems like it would be a noisy area.

Nice review, thanks for posting it.

This is why I have never booked this ship. Crowd control and lines at the buffet and getting on and off of the ship were horrendous when it was the Destiny. We thought about booking it after the do-over, but decided against it when we heard that they added even more cabins, and took away general use space.

 

Was the Serenity area quiet and "laid back"? after looking at floor plans, it seems like it would be a noisy area.

We to would never look at booking any of the small ,outdated ships , Give me The Dream , Magic , or Breeze

Nice review, glad you had a good time.

What cabin did you stay in?

The one show we went to was the family show...it was packed! What we could hear of the comedian, was good, but the latecomers were kind of rude, and stood in front of us talking. Oh well....it sure didn't ruin our cruise!!

What time was the family comedy show? We have late seating and I'm afraid we might miss it :(

I was on the Sunshine a week or so ago, and you just reminded of the missing public areas. Except for Ocean Plaza which almost has something going on, there we no little hidden or public areas venues to sit, and maybe play cards or read a book like on other ships. If I remember correctly, the Breeze is the same way.

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