Carnival Sunshine April 23, 2017 Live Review

Excited to finally be a week away from cruising. I booked the Carnival Sunshine to take my 13 year old daughter on a fun cruise ship. I have cruised many times, but this will be her second cruise, she wasn't impressed with Disney. I usually book a cruise based on the itinerary, and the ship is just a bonus. This time we booked just for the ship, as it seems to have lots of fun things to keep my 13 year old happy and active for the week. My older sister found out we were going and decided she wanted to go too, so there will be 3 of us cruising. We originally booked an inside cabin about 6 months before sailing, but about 3 months before sailing the price went down and we were able to upgrade to an oceanview and get about $100 back before we paid in full. Total cruise fare $1011.83 with tax included, tips not yet included.

Pre Cruise Travel Plans. We are flying down Saturday, the day before the cruise departs on Sunday. My sister is impatient and wants to be excited about finding the best price, so she booked her airfare from CAK to MCO about 4 months before the cruise, and while it was a good price for Non Stop Flights, Spirit changed her return flight within 1 week after she booked, so she now has to stay an extra night in Florida after the cruise. So she may have saved $100 on her airfare, but she now has to pay that $100 for lodging, taxi, and meals. I have to work the Saturday after the cruise so I have to return the Friday the cruise ends. I booked my airfare about 21 days before cruising and went with Delta non stop from CMH to MCO and returning from MLB back to CMH on AA. I spent about $350 total roundtrip for my daughter and I both. Hopefully we will all arrive in Orlando around 10A, and will take a taxi to The Castle Hotel on International Drive, as I wanted to take my daughter to Wonderworks and The Eye. The Castle is in a great location and just $103 a night including tax.

Port Plans: I have not visited Half Moon Cay before, so did not book any excursions here we are using this port as our relaxing beach day. Nassau we booked Atlantis Aquaventure passes with Bahamasdaypass, we've done this a few times before and there are still places in Atlantis that I've never seen. And in Freeport, this is our last stop before home so it will be our Shopping port.

Week before Cruise: I have not yet packed a thing, I will pack the day before I leave so I do not forget anything. I'll go to the bank and get small bills that I will divide up between my packing. Only taking carry on luggage so packing light with mix/match outfits and 1 formal outfit of dress pants and nice shirt. Friday before leaving calling bank to let them know I'll be traveling so they do not turn off my credit card. I'll also be printing off all my documents and organizing them into a binder. I'm traveling with a passport, and my daughter will use her birth certificate. Also, because I'm celebrating my birthday on the cruise, I have to go get my license renewed before I cruise or it will not be valid when I try to come back.

:DI post often using Tapatalk App with many photos because it will be like a memory book for me to look back on and remember my cruise. If you don't like tons of photo's, commentary, or information this is not the thread for you to follow. :D

Looking forward to your review !! My cruise is still 300 days away so I have to live vicariously through other's cruises ;p;p

looking forward to hearing about how your 13 yo liked it going the end of July with a 13yo and 15 yo.

Leaving tomorrow morning to fly down to Orlando. Always best to fly down a day early in case of delays. Have not yet packed but things are laid out ready to be packed. Put together a Travel binder to keep all my travel documents. I also decided to add on insurance today for peace of mind. Leaving emergency contact info with my husband and son, as well as leaving them with detailed itinerary information. At the end of my week this binder will turn into a memory filled scrapbook with all my daily cruise information and I will print out the live blog to add to it. Great keepsake book of our week.

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Checked in at CMH airport and we have an hour wait before boarding. We picked up a couple of books to read. And a few "buckeye" gifts for a friend. I'm going to read Cabin 10, and Lydia is reading Miss Peregrine Library of Souls. My sister will be meeting us at the Orlando airport.

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This is gonna be a good one ;)

Following. We are sailing on the Sunshine May 6-14.

We made it into Orlando by 11:00am. Found sister at baggage and we grabbed a taxi to the Castle Hotel on International Drive. About a 25 minute taxi ride at $40 plus tip. Hotel is gorgeous and the perfect location. Checked in at 11:30 room not ready but bellman will hold bags and we will call you when room is ready. We changed into Florida wear and went walking. Stopped at Denny's for lunch then walked another 10 minutes to Wonder works. What a fun crazy place. Lydia loved this place. She loves COSI and anything science related. At 3:30p we walked back to hotel and room is ready. Going to take a nap then go out to The Eye of Orlando at dusk. So far it's been fun with lots of memories created!

The Castle Hotel

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Lydia got second place out of about 30 players at laser tag

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Great evening out on International Drive. Lydia and I went up in the eye and my sister took in the wax museum and aquarium. Dinner at Cici's and picked up a couple more souvenirs. Back at the hotel to shower and getting things ready for tomorrow. Sedan service picking us up at 8:30am which is early I know but the past few weeks I have seen Port Canaveral Traffic backed up with long delays. Not taking any chances. Day one was a perfect success. :)

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Sedan service from the Castle. Driver friendly and fast. Dropped Checked in and now the dreadful wait. Lido lunch served until 3:30 and BBQ lunch served in Sunshine Dinning room. Fast to the Fun sure sounds like a great value while waiting this dreadful wait.

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Thanks for sharing! Can't wait for more!

On the ship and finished lunch. Lydia and I had Blue Iguana tacos. Chicken taco bowel was delicious but I added something that made it very spicy. The lido buffet was not what I am used to seeing there were two salad bars on each side and then four stations of food but all four stations had the same food which did not look desirable. Just bought the internet plan. Value plan was $44 and I had a $32 credit so we are not doing too bad now. We will see how good the internet service is. Lydia does not like crowds, so we are going adventuring to take pictures while the rooms are empty.

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Found a nice quiet place to wait for rooms to be ready. The Library Bar :) Games and books and the best part is that it's quiet. Some friends are in the BBQ lunch in the Main Dining room and their lunch looked much better than ours. I'm a bit jealous.

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We did play a game of checkers up on the deck but then it got a bit crowded. We offered to play twister with another little girl but her mum acted like we were horrible people to date talk to them.

This girl NEVER smiles, the goal of the trip is to get at least 1 smile a day.

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It's 2:30pm we are now unpacked and taken our Bonine meds just in case. Lydia and I tried to check out the Circle C club but for some reason it was the only one closed but said they will be back open at 7:30pm she's actually looking forward to going to that club and she is hoping to make a friend. Let's cross our fingers that our "unsocialized" Home school girl makes friends. Waiting for our muster drill at 3:30pm but wanted to share some room pictures. A little disappointed that there is not a fridge and in the bathroom the bath tissue is behind the toilet which seems odd to me ;)

I wasn't happy about being on deck 1, but I am very happy that it is close to the aft elevators and Lydia can go straight up to Circle C. The door decor is cool and different. Better than looking at a bunch of blank gray doors

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Two things you should bring, lanyard with an ID holder. I just put my room key in my cell phone case. The drinking cups on lido are small so if you're a big tea drinker you will want to bring a cup with a lid.

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Following along and enjoying the pictures.

Loving the pic.s and looking forward to those smiles!

loving all the pics !!!!

Following! Really want to book a cruise on Sunshine!

Early Dining, American Table style. Three of us were seated at a very large table for 10, we were a little worried about who we would be dining with, but it turned out to be another party of three very nice family. Great service fast and good food.

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Fruit salad for Lydia.

Chicken Quesadilla for Me,

And sister had the shrimp cocktail but I didn't get a photo. Trying to be discreet when taking photos I did not have phone out all dinner just quick enough to snap a picture then put it away.

Sister's roasted Chicken Dinner

Lydia opted for something safe

I had the honey pork

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After dinner Lydia registered for Circle C and they are having a meet n greet event at 8:30pm so off exploring we go for an hour.

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