Coming from rccl this will will be my first cruise with carnival sunshine

I been traveling with royal since 1998 I will like to know how is carnival

Are you looking for opinion? Because they are going to run the gambit. Personally, I am not a Royal fan. My first cruise was with them and I was so disappointed in the service I didn't cruise again for several years. The staff just seemed unhappy and I thought the food was mediocre. I find Carnival staff much more friendly and the food tastier. Also, the rooms appear much larger. RCI wins on the mega ships if you are looking for bells and whistles and they also have a classier appearance vs Carnival's Vegas on crack approach. Carnival truly is the FUN ship and Sunshine is my favorite with all the dining options and new additions like Sports Sqaure and Alchemy Bar. I am happily sailing her again in October.

That said - it really is what you make of it. Perhaps I just got lousy staff with RCI but for now I find better deals on Carnival and Princess and I will be staying with them.

After 9 Royal Caribbean cruises and 2 Carnival cruises there is not much difference to me except the ships themselves. I find the service and entertainment about the same. Carnival cabins are a little larger also. I never noticed a drunk party crowd as some people state that Carnival ships are known for. BTW I just got off the Sunshine 2 weeks ago and the FB group I was with onboard, about 30 of them got sick about day 6 into the cruise with flu like symptoms stating it was from the mold and fumes. Some were even hospitalized when they got home. so I don't know really what it was. Luckily me and my boyfriend didn't get sick. The FB page is a private group so you cant get in to read their comments, but they have filed complaints with Carnival. I also didn't like that they didn't enforce using hand sanitizers. They had them around but I noticed people rarely used them. On Royal, they made sure you used them before you entered a food area.

The bottom line though is that I still tend to like Royal Caribbean better. I love the promenade on the larger Royal Caribbean ships with the pubs and little shops. I loved the Oasis class best. It was the best ship I've ever been on with the boardwalk, outdoor aquatheater, central park neighborhood with the live grass and trees. The ship was amazing and nothing compares.

I've also been on Princess twice. I found the crowd to be older and the ship very quiet at night and not too much going on after hours.

I'm going on Norwegian Breakaway in September so I'll have another cruise line to compare. ;)

I have sailed with several different lines, and I avoided Carnival for years because of its "party" reputation. We finally gave them a try because we could drive to Jacksonville from the Atlanta area pretty quickly. We had toddlers at the time, so it was a big factor. We had a pretty good experience, but the crowd was a little drunk/rowdy. Last year, there was a good deal on a 7day on the Valor out of Port Canaveral, so we decided to give it a try. It was amazing! Beautiful ship, amazing crew, well-behaved passengers. Best cruise I ever had. I highly recommend Carnival, just not the shorter itineraries, necessarily.

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In general they both offer a great product.

On Carnival the cabins are larger and I find the food better in the dining room.

On Royal the shows seems to be better.

Overall each cruise I have been on has been a different experience even when on the same ship.

I am finding I prefer the smaller ships to the mega ships, just loved the size of the Pride. I did feel like the Allure of the Seas was too big, but did enjoy many of the perks on the ship. (Central Park, the boardwalk and aqua park.) I couldn't resist booking the Vista, but I am wary of the size of it.

I keep thinking it would be fun one day to try Crystal or (RCL)

Azamara.

PS My worst cabin steward ever was on the RCL Liberty of the Seas, he just didn't want to do anything.

Sunshine............. they pack them in like sardines!

I been traveling with royal since 1998 I will like to know how is carnival

Not exactly the best ship to try out Carnival the first time. A crowded 20 year old ship.

Again, opinions will vary immensely. I've sailed Sunshine twice and LOVED her both times. Start with a positive attitude!

Not exactly the best ship to try out Carnival the first time. A crowded 20 year old ship.

We sailed the Sunshine in January and have her booked again for later this spring. We enjoyed our cruise on her.

We liked the ship and felt she was in good shape. Our interactions with staff- cabin steward, MDR and in bars/lounges - was all good. We've sailed a lot of different ships on different lines and didn't feel the Sunshine was overly crowded. We didn't do YTD so I can't speak to lines for it except that folks waiting for their table were able to sit in the comfortable Ocean Plaza lounge with a buzzer to alert them when they could proceed to the dining room.:)

PS The sunshine goes into drydock for a facelift May 8-20

Thank you everybody I booked the sunshine for August next year, one more question grand turk do they sell cartoon of cigarettes and how much

Not exactly the best ship to try out Carnival the first time. A crowded 20 year old ship.

I've been on RCCL Grandeur of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas. My third cruise, we tried Sunshine this year for spring break. Had a wonderful time!

That said, I chose the ship for the itinerary, price, kids activities and the many food options. Was not disappointed. Had it been just hubby and me, this ship wouldn't have been our first choice.

After 9 Royal Caribbean cruises and 2 Carnival cruises there is not much difference to me except the ships themselves. I find the service and entertainment about the same. Carnival cabins are a little larger also. I never noticed a drunk party crowd as some people state that Carnival ships are known for. BTW I just got off the Sunshine 2 weeks ago and the FB group I was with onboard, about 30 of them got sick about day 6 into the cruise with flu like symptoms stating it was from the mold and fumes. Some were even hospitalized when they got home. so I don't know really what it was. Luckily me and my boyfriend didn't get sick. The FB page is a private group so you cant get in to read their comments, but they have filed complaints with Carnival. I also didn't like that they didn't enforce using hand sanitizers. They had them around but I noticed people rarely used them. On Royal, they made sure you used them before you entered a food area.

 

The bottom line though is that I still tend to like Royal Caribbean better. I love the promenade on the larger Royal Caribbean ships with the pubs and little shops. I loved the Oasis class best. It was the best ship I've ever been on with the boardwalk, outdoor aquatheater, central park neighborhood with the live grass and trees. The ship was amazing and nothing compares.

 

I've also been on Princess twice. I found the crowd to be older and the ship very quiet at night and not too much going on after hours.

 

I'm going on Norwegian Breakaway in September so I'll have another cruise line to compare. ;)

You are SO lucky you didn't get sick. That carp was THE worst. 16 days of NO energy and no appetite. Ate for the first time today and don't feel as bad.

Donkey, the CD, did a Motown "trivia" which was really a sing-a-long one evening. Best fun on the ship and it lasted almost 2 hours.

Had great service with Soulamon in MDR. I was solo and got the worst table on the ship per the lady who gave me the seat. It was a bench on one side, chairs on the the but the bench was so close to the table if you weighed more than 70 lbs you couldn't sit there. Ate at the end of the table. It was all the way to the wall on the starboard side, 303.

Sunshine............. they pack them in like sardines!

Most crowded ship I have ever sailed on. The chairhogs are also totally out of control. Better be up top by 530 AM if you want a seat in the vicinity of the Serenety pool. You can sleep in until 700 AM if deck 14 will do.

I've sailed Royal twice. (Allure and Liberty OTS) We prefer Royal ships but Carnival atmosphere.

I was also on the recent sailing of the Sunshine others have mentioned. Fortunately, we didn't get sick but I've never been so happy to get off a ship. Not a good experience at all.

We sailed on the Sunshine April 8 - 16 , 8 days to Aruba, Curacao and Grand Turk. Of our 13 cruises, this was our favorite.

This ship has the most "un-Carnival" like décor of any Carnival Ship we've sailed on. Very subdued colors. Outstanding outdoor spaces (Water park, Ropes Course, Sports Square, Serenity Decks, etc. Food was the best we've had since the 2000-2005 time period. Musical entertainment was great (Mix of Six Band (six member band) and other solo performers). Great food options for free (Havana Bar food, Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Burritos and Tacos, El Capitano for lunch, Mongolian Wok, Seas Day Brunches in Sunset Dining room). Outstanding service by all staff. Great gym facility. Outstanding movies at night on deck (Star Wars, The Revenant, etc.)

Now....to be clear.....DW and I do not lay out by the pool all day on sea days, nor do we require being in the prime serenity deck seats on sea days. If this is critical for your enjoyment, be aware these these two areas will be extremely packed during the 8:00 am - 4:00 pm time frame on sea days. However, there are always deck chairs available on other parts of deck 10, deck 3 etc.

We had "Your time dining" and arrived to the dining area usually from 8:00 - 8:45 pm. We never had to wait for a table and most nights finished dining in one hour to one and one half hour. We do not rush through our dinner. If we had, we could have been finished in an hour or less every night. To be fair, I did hear from others who dined "Your time dining" at 6:00 - 7:00 pm that service was a bit slower.

The ports of call were all amazing. The weather was wonderful and the sea calm as I have ever seen until the last night of the cruise between 1:00 am and 8:00 am., due to strong/severe thunderstorms off the Florida coast.

As for our demographics, I am 60 years old and DW is 58. We both love to explore the ports of call, love dining, dancing and meeting people on the ship. We truly find Carnival to be the "Fun Ships" as advertised. My wife doesn't drink any alcohol, I have only a few drinks all cruise long.

I hope this is helpful.

We were on the SS April 8-16 also. Two previous cruises were RC Freedom OS and Oasis OS. Comparison in my opinion:

Room - about the same. RC advantage with reservations, excursions, bill on TV

Crowded - about the same and not much with all 3

Sickness - none but a few water leaks on SS with a little mildew in hall

Pool Deck - about the same

MDR - about the same

Buffet - about the same

Other dining - like Guys burgers better than Oasis roast beef

Entertainment - RC huge advantage with ice shows, live music, diving, etc

Embarkation - about the same

Debarkation - sunshine has huge problems at least on this cruise

Muster drill - sunshine needs to improve on this

Staff - equal, could not have been any better on all 3 cruises

Price - Sunshine 135 pn, FOS 135 pn, OOS 121 pn, all balconies

Itineraries - Carnival seems to hit more different ports

Passenger Demographic - about the same, we are in our 60s

CD - about the same

Shopping on board - about the same

Overall Experience - had a blast on all 3 and would do all 3 again in a heartbeat

Best Cruise - slight edge to Oasis

I would suggest you book another Carnival ship. Breeze, Vista, Magic, Dream - a newer Carnival ship with a few more bells and whistles and a little more modern. Sunshine is a really old ship that they refurbished. You're only point of reference is RCCL fleet of ships. You will probably be disappointed on the Sunshine. Definitely book another Carnival ship. I cruise both lines and they're more alike than different.

After 9 Royal Caribbean cruises and 2 Carnival cruises there is not much difference to me except the ships themselves. I find the service and entertainment about the same. Carnival cabins are a little larger also. I never noticed a drunk party crowd as some people state that Carnival ships are known for. BTW I just got off the Sunshine 2 weeks ago and the FB group I was with onboard, about 30 of them got sick about day 6 into the cruise with flu like symptoms stating it was from the mold and fumes. Some were even hospitalized when they got home. so I don't know really what it was. Luckily me and my boyfriend didn't get sick. The FB page is a private group so you cant get in to read their comments, but they have filed complaints with Carnival. I also didn't like that they didn't enforce using hand sanitizers. They had them around but I noticed people rarely used them. On Royal, they made sure you used them before you entered a food area.

 

The bottom line though is that I still tend to like Royal Caribbean better. I love the promenade on the larger Royal Caribbean ships with the pubs and little shops. I loved the Oasis class best. It was the best ship I've ever been on with the boardwalk, outdoor aquatheater, central park neighborhood with the live grass and trees. The ship was amazing and nothing compares.

 

I've also been on Princess twice. I found the crowd to be older and the ship very quiet at night and not too much going on after hours.

 

I'm going on Norwegian Breakaway in September so I'll have another cruise line to compare. ;)

Actually I see that you were on the Allure of the Seas and loved it- the entertainment on the Allure, Oasis and even the Freedom class ships is much better- not even in the same category as Carnival, Princess and the NCL Breakaway. Not the RC Quantum class which is so crowded also . The flow of the Oasis Class ships are far superior to the Princess, Carnival and Breakaway IMO.. I hope that you are in the Haven- the rest of the ship is very congested. If you aren't in the Haven, get on board early and book the Vibe for the week- you will be sorry if you do not! If you haven't tried it yet- try the Solstice Class Celebrity ships- especially the Reflection and the Silhouette. While the entertainment isn't great- everything else is!

We sailed on the Breakaway last August- and it was mobbed- Maybe Sept will be more tolerable. Enjoy!