Carnival Sunshine - A great idea, poorly executed

NONE of the insides have tables???????? That's what it looks like on the deckplans. I'm going to be pretty bummed by that........also it looks almost like the beds are positioned stern to aft rather than the foot of the bed facing the door. Is that true????

 

I guess my sister and I will put one of our suitcases between our beds to act as a nightstand.

No nighttable is one of the dumbest ideas ever

Good to see you and yes that would be frustrating too...a mainstay for so many...I want to try another line next but the deals are tempting me....but yes..another ship I think is better if I do Carnival soon again.

We have one on the Glory coming up and after that is our first Princess cruise.

Time for something new

Dont understand that one at all.

 

Always keep a box of tissues, my glasses and book I am reading on it. Small table how much could it possibly cost.

I find the "no nightstands" odd too. Perhaps the previous occupants requested they be removed (for space reasons), and they were never put back?

I can't imagine that cabins would not have nightstands :)

We had all planned to meet aft for sail away. That was quickly eliminated when we saw that the aft of the ship was comprised of the Water Works area. While I like having this area for kids, this is a horrible spot for it. There was really no good place for sail away. We were fortunate to find a little nook on the top deck of serenity off to the side that you could get good pictures from (it also had a rail so we could set our drinks down). Sail away was nice, but cool.

 

It was fun leaving from a new port and getting to sail down the Mississippi. Didn't suck that we had cell service most of the night.

I agree that I thought the placement of waterworks & serenity are backwards from what they should be. I love ships having the waterslide above & open to the main pool area. That seems like the right spot for it, where all the action and noise is. That's not the right place for serenity. Serenity would've worked better in the back, or work it out the way Dream class ships did.

How was the entertainment & nightlife on board the ship. The ship does look nice, and I love good waterslides, but I don't want to get bored at night.

No nighttable is one of the dumbest ideas ever

Agreed, I'm completely flabbergasted. I guess Cahill figured out he could save a few bucks by not ordering them... give me a break. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

OP, really enjoying your review!

I saw a pic of an inside on deck 11 and the cabin had both night tables with a lamp on each.

Come back Chris.....

Hey guys loving your review........Al has totally filled us in about Sunshine too....and I have to say I was sorry we didn't get to go............the ship itself never really bothers me.....it's the company we keep...........but the one pet peeve I have with Carnival so far is that on every one of their ships with a serenity area.........the kiddies pool side entrance or water works area is close by........not a huge problem...........I love kids.........but if I'm wanting to relax and be serene...........listening to kids screeching as they go down the slide etc kinda takes away the serenity............I believe a MAN planned these.......just saying..........a women would know.......kids and serenity don't go together.....unless they are tucked up in their beds safe and sound sleeping.........

I find the "no nightstands" odd too. Perhaps the previous occupants requested they be removed (for space reasons), and they were never put back?

 

I can't imagine that cabins would not have nightstands :)

This same thought ran through my head and I even asked our room steward. Nope, just don't have them. Again, baffling.

Sorry folks, had an extremely busy first weekend back. I'll try to get back to this today but I have meetings almost all day so it might have to be tomorrow.

Are there refrigerators in the cabins?

Hey guys loving your review........Al has totally filled us in about Sunshine too....and I have to say I was sorry we didn't get to go............the ship itself never really bothers me.....it's the company we keep...........but the one pet peeve I have with Carnival so far is that on every one of their ships with a serenity area.........the kiddies pool side entrance or water works area is close by........not a huge problem...........I love kids.........but if I'm wanting to relax and be serene...........listening to kids screeching as they go down the slide etc kinda takes away the serenity............I believe a MAN planned these.......just saying..........a women would know.......kids and serenity don't go together.....unless they are tucked up in their beds safe and sound sleeping.........

Hi Lee!!! I'll say this, the Serenity on the Sunshine was by far the biggest and best. The Waterworks and Sports Square are on the other side of the ship. The only issue is the big screen tv.

I have to chime in with agreement on no nightstands being ridiculous and to say that I'm enjoying your review. Sad she's leaving NOLA so quick. I was so wanting to sail her.

I have to chime in with agreement on no nightstands being ridiculous and to say that I'm enjoying your review. Sad she's leaving NOLA so quick. I was so wanting to sail her.

Looks like this is not the case with all inside cabins. i saw a pic of an inside on deck 11 with both nightstands.

We had an inside cabin in November...2 count em TWO nightstands were in our cabin....

You looked beautiful in that dress, Cass! :)

A NYE cruise is on my bucket list for sure! Looking forward to reading the rest, especially Jamaica. I haven't been there in a very long time.

Denise

Are there refrigerators in the cabins?

Very few rooms on this ship have a fridge. It took a while to get used to but we hardly keep anything in there anyway.

We had an inside cabin in November...2 count em TWO nightstands were in our cabin....

I'm wondering if something was up. It's so odd to not have at least one nightstand. We never ventured into anyone else's room to see if they had them though.

Fortunately there was a small ledge above the bed where we could lay a cell phone. I wouldn't put anything of value up there as it was only about 2".

Thursday - Jamaica

This was our first trip to Jamaica and one of the major selling points for this cruise. I'd heard some mixed reviews of Jamaica but never specific to any port. I'm astounded that anyone would stay on the ship on this beautiful island. Floatie, had been here several times and new a family that ran a tour. She hired a driver for the day to pretty much take us wherever we wanted.

Before we met up I went to deck 10 to get some pictures (I could easily spend the entire day posting great pictures of Jamaica but I'll refrain). And for the first time, we were greeted by a group of towel animals.

But also an amazing view

We met up at the casino bar, again the only place inside to smoke. I grabbed a quick bite at the Taste Bar (delicious ham and cheese on croissant). We then ventured off the ship.

I was amazed at how quickly we were able to get off the ship in both ports. We were off within 20 minutes of being able to and there was no wait. Much different than on the Victory where the lines to get off were ridiculous at every port.

following.. sail her this Sunday

We met up with our tour guide, Javia Shaw, with Know Jamaica Tours (knowjamaica.com/en). They normally are in Ocho Rios but Javia drove the 2 hours to Montego Bay to take care of us this day. He was fantastic!! We were supposed to be a group of 16 but 7 didn't show. It didn't phase him and he kept his smile the entire day. I really can't say enough great things about him.

He took us on a little sight seeing tour first and even pulled over at a great spot so we could get some photos.

It was already 10 am and a few people hadn't had any booze yet so he drove us to the end of the beach where a guy had a cart full of cold beer. This beach was right were planes would come into the airport. Unfortunately none came in while we were here.

following along, we were thinking of taking our 1st Carnival cruise and I thought maybe we'd like the Sunshine...not so sure now.

Since youve been on many is there a ship you'd recommend for us...we have kids ages 15, 12 and 7 and have done 2 disney and 1 RCCL cruise.

Very few rooms on this ship have a fridge. It took a while to get used to but we hardly keep anything in there anyway.

 

 

 

I'm wondering if something was up. It's so odd to not have at least one nightstand. We never ventured into anyone else's room to see if they had them though.

 

Fortunately there was a small ledge above the bed where we could lay a cell phone. I wouldn't put anything of value up there as it was only about 2".

Two more reasons not to sail on Sunshine unless Carnival makes me with a super low fare, not a good replacement for the Dream...

Our friend Trudy had mentioned that we needed to go to this inn up on one of the hills that overlooked the bay. I believe it was the Richmond Inn and it was $2 pp to enter. Well worth the price.

We stayed here for about an hour or so but we were really ready for a beach.

After a scenic drive through the main Montego Bay shopping area, Javia dropped us off at Doctor's Cave Beach. It was $6pp to enter and then about $6 extra for a chair, umbrella, etc. The place was packed!!! They were out of umbrellas so we got a few chairs between the group and found a spot that had shade. The water was cool but fine once you were in for a minute. Me and Steve swam out to the floating trampoline which quickly became too crowded.

I figured this was one of the more touristy areas and I was right. I would've loved a more quiet location but this was also convenient to our next stop, Margaritaville.

Margaritaville was also quite crowded but that's kind of expected. We'd heard about the slide going into the water and I knew I wanted to try it.

Cass tried and failed miserably to get a picture of me flying out of the tube but was able to get at least one Funnatic shooting out.

We all got something to eat as well as a couple more Red Stripes (Hooorayyy Beeeer). All aboard was 3:30 and we knew we had to hit the shops to get a shot glass so we ended up heading back around 2:30.

It was a great day and I can't wait to get back there. I'd love more ships to head there instead of Grand Cayman which does nothing for me.

Sail away was supposed to be at 4 and we had found our little spot on Serenity to get some pictures. 4 came and went and we were still not moving. 4:30 nothing. The VIFP party was at 5 and I knew I wanted to get some free booze. Just before 5 a Carnival excursion shuttle pulled up and the last guests were hustled aboard so we could leave. Cass stayed up top to get some pictures while I ran down to grab us both a drink. The one positive of that excursion being late was getting to see the most amazing sunset ever.

We met up with our tour guide, Javia Shaw, with Know Jamaica Tours (knowjamaica.com/en). They normally are in Ocho Rios but Javia drove the 2 hours to Montego Bay to take care of us this day. He was fantastic!! We were supposed to be a group of 16 but 7 didn't show. It didn't phase him and he kept his smile the entire day. I really can't say enough great things about him.

 

He took us on a little sight seeing tour first and even pulled over at a great spot so we could get some photos.

Javier Shaw is a terrific guide, and just a sweet guy. We had a private tour with him a couple of years ago, and had a terrific day. Very helpful, informative, and just plain nice.