stephluva

My husband and I (both in our 30s) went with about 40 family members/friends on this Eastern Caribbean cruise, traveling from NYC to San Juan, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove. This cruise was chosen as a good way for all of us to vacation together from the NYC area, without having to worry about flights or long drives. This was my 4th cruise on Carnival, and 14th cruise overall onboard various lines. 

I will start by saying that I do generally like Carnival..the Miracle was one of my absolute favorite ships. I like the so-called "party atmosphere", the towel animals, and their casinos are some of the best at sea. With that being said, after this cruise, I will be taking a break from booking anymore Carnival cruises....and I will definitely not be booking any cruises on one of the "new $200 million dollar revitalized ships".

The good:

-Embarkation/Debarkation was a breeze! I was shocked at how quickly we got on/off the ship.

-The atrium is very nice to look at, I always liked the glass elevators and the gold touches all around. Gives it a classy vibe.

-Stateroom (1279) - very nice, decent size bathroom, ample closet space. Wish they had more drawers instead of shelving, but not a big deal. I thought it was interesting when our cabin attendant asked us on the first day if we wanted our room to be cleaned/turned down once or twice daily. We had to fill out a sheet saying which one we would prefer. I chose 2x daily...I mean, we're on vacation! He was very nice, and our room was always clean. 

-Food in the dining room was excellent, for both breakfast and dinner. Never once tried to get food in the buffet (more on that later). Guys burgers and Blue Iguana were good for lunch, along with their toppings bars. Bonsai sushi was excellent! Living in NYC, you can always find great sushi, and this was no exception. Nominal fee, but worth it the 2x we ate here for lunch.

-Drinks in the Skybar (sports bar adjacent to casino) and Alchemy bar (Deck 5 aft next to Red Frog) were the best on the ship.

-Ports were great! Grand Turk we went to Jack's Shack, swam in the ocean (nice sand, not rocky at all). San Juan we walked around town, did some shopping. Felt very safe there despite all fo the commotion from the previous weeks. Amber Cove was delightful...would definitely go back!

The not so good:

-So. Many. People.

-They really overcrowded this ship. When it was originally built as the Triumph, it was not designed to hold this many people comfortably. Carnival got rid of public space, built more cabins to fit more people (because $$$), but they did not think of where all those extra people were going to go! If all of those extra people just slept in their cabins and didn't go into any public areas on the ship, it would have been fine. But naturally, no one is going to do that on a cruise. So now all those extra people trickle into the public areas that were not designed to hold all those extras, and that's where the problem lies. If Carnival just did a refurb to the Triumph, named it the Sunrise, and left everything (space-wise) the way it was, the cruise would have been great. But the overcrowding really puts a damper on things...you end up not really doing what you would like to do, you wind up choosing the activity or dining venue with the fewest crowds.

-The pools. I've been on smaller and older ships that only have 1 pool for the whole ship. Even then, not a problem. But this was ridiculous. Never even could get close to the main pool on Lido because there was simply no way to even get into the pool. People were standing shoulder-shoulder in the pool with crowds all around the outside. I don't see how this is pleasant for anyone. We ended up at the aft pool, which was much better, but still very crowded. Standing room only. I felt bad for the bartenders/drink staff at both pools, they seemed very overwhelmed at all times. 

-Limelight lounge. They held comedy shows in here and I believe it transformed into the night club. No need to go to the spa, just step foot in here for 20 minutes, and you'll feel like you're in the sauna. Serious ventilation problem that they need to deal with, and quick. Only went to 1 show in there, and that was enough for me. 

-Lido Buffet. I normally love a cruise ship breakfast buffet. I can pick and choose what I like and mix it up a bit everyday. This was the first cruise that I ate breakfast everyday in the dining room, because the lines were tremendous and choatic. Some brave people from our group ventured up to the breakfast buffet 1 day, and ended up joining us in the dining room the next day. According to them, the food was almost inedible (and these folks aren't picky and have been on other cruises before). 

-There were multiple locations where there was water leaking from the ceiling light fixtures in public areas (entrance to casino bar, atrium port side). I don't know about you, but if I'm on a cruise in the middle of the ocean, I don't want to see water leaking from anywhere!! It remained like this for the entire length of the cruise, with staff putting a bucket underneath with a wet-floor sign. Occasionally, an officer would come along and stare at the leaking water for a few minutes, but nothing ever came of it. 

-Thankfully this next incident didn't turn into a bad thing, but there were so many people on our cruise doing laundry (or we just noticed it more because the laundry facilities were just down the hall from our cabin). One night on our way to dinner, a woman started shouting from the laundry room that one of the machines was smoking. I notified a crew member as I was walking to the elevator, and he ran back into a crew only zone (I'm assuming to get someone). Never heard anything else about it, and we got back home safely, so probably just an incidental event. I did take a look at the machines after this, and they seemed a bit dated. Maybe in their refurbishment, they  could update the laundry facilities. (With this being said, I have never done laundry on a cruise, and I don't plan on starting...it is vacation after all)

I will add that the crew on this ship is fantastic. From the bartenders, waiters, cabin stewards, all the way to the crew in the shops, they were all so kind and personable. Not a bad thing to say about any of them. 

We had lots of fun on our cruise, and that is mostly because of the people we were traveling with. We work hard every year to take a nice vacation, so we really try not to let the negatives get in our way of having a good time. You just avoid problem areas, and stick to what works well for you. Hopefully this review helps those who are booked on the Sunrise in the near future. If anyone has any additional questions, I'll be happy to help where I can while the information is still fresh in my brain. 

I do enjoy a good Carnival cruise, but we will be taking a bit of a reprieve for now. So it's not goodbye, just see ya later. 

Sailed to Bermuda on the Summit July 2011, and will be sailing again this July! My husband and I (both in our early 30's) LOVE Celebrity. We like the laid back, traditional cruising feel of Celebrity. There's just something "nicer" about it. Same scenario as PP, many people from Norwegian Breakaway wished they were on the Summit, mainly because of the crowd and their disappointment in the food. For cruising to Bermuda, I would choose Celebrity in a heartbeat!

Thanks for all the great insight everyone! We know we will have a great time on the Equinox!!

We were on the Solstice and met a couple on their honeymoon. They told that there were 6 honeymoon couples on the ship and the ship had a luncheon for them.

 

The couple we were talking with were in a Sky Suite and were also invited to the Captains Table.

We are thinking that there won't be too many other honeymoon couples on our sailing...kind of "off peak" time. Hopefully there will be a nice luncheon though...thanks!! :D

Many times we have had honeymoon couples at the Senior Officers table.

Don't know how they are selected but I suspect it helps if you are in a high level suite:)

That would be lovely...too bad we booked a balcony cabin...might have to upgrade ;)

Had my Honeymoon on the Summit in April 2014, I am positive it was noted on the reservation, even mentioned it to the butler since we were in a suite. To be honest I was expecting something, a card, cheese plate, small cake, something..

 

Received nothing extra the entire cruise.... was a little surprised, but had a great cruise anyway.

 

I think they do recognize honeymoons normally, Good Luck and Congrats!!

Sorry you didn't receive anything for your Honeymoon, you would think at least a cheese plate! LOL

We sailed on the Summit in 2011....one of the best cruises we've ever been on!

We will be going on our Honeymoon on the Equinox 4/17/15 sailing (Ultimate Caribbean)....SOOOOO EXCITED!!! We both love Celebrity, and this particular sailing was perfect for us, because it leaves a few days after the actual wedding, so we have some time to relax before we cruise.

Does anyone know if they do anything special for Honeymoon couples? I mentioned it to the representative when we booked, and they said that they would make a note of it in the reservation.

Looking to see if any fellow cruise critics have some insight for us who went on their Honeymoon with Celebrity. Thanks!! :D

I had asked a very similar questions in the "Private Islands" forum and found the same map...unfortunately, this map is from years ago and is not an updated map. I was hoping to find a more recent map that had the villas included so we know where we can avoid them when we chose which cabana we want.

I've always enjoyed playing bingo on cruises. My bf and I went on the Crown in 2007, and we played bingo almost everyday. He ended up winning twice! Got some extra spending money, and had a blast! The payouts are never really worth it when you think about it, but people go on a cruise to have fun, not get paid ;)