livingthedream1

We really enjoyed this cruise it was myself, husband, 21 year old daughter and her boyfriend. This was my 17th Carnival cruise. 

We were on the 10th deck with Spa cabins and we really enjoyed the access to the spa area especially since you can only have access to the 

steam rooms and sauna area with either a spa pass or room access. Which made for very few people there. Nice and relaxing. We did not

take part in any of the other spa perks figured they would turn into a high pressure sales thing. 

   The ship was very nice I really liked the world theme as I called it with the map on the ceiling in the atrium area.  We thought the ship was

 clean. Did it show some of its age yes but nothing to bother us. My daughter and her boyfriend did the rope course they thought it was fun.

We would have but it was windy that day and we had already partaken with a few cocktails having the Cheers program you know how that goes. 

    Now for the food overall it was good. We ate in the dining room twice for dinner and I thought the service has become quicker it only took

an hour for us to eat this time. Food was OK nothing to rave about.  We ate in the steakhouse twice and it was good. We did the Table art for 

dessert one night its like others have said presentation is nice but just OK to actually eat. We also ate at the Italian Restaurant one night and here 

is where  I would say the food could of been better. We actually had reserved this for two nights but canceled after the first night we ate there. It 

was very underwhelming and that we paid extra for it made it even more so. 

 For breakfast we discovered the Guys breakfast burger on the second day and enjoyed this so much I think we ate this 3 times.

We also tried the Lucky Bowl for breakfast but did not care for it. The food was cold and just not good. However  I really enjoyed the 

lunch options for the Lucky Bowl. We also ate at the Brunch and I always  have high expectations for this and I come away disappointed .

 We do not do buffets so I have no comments on the food for that. The lines did not seem any longer then any other ship I have been on.

As others have mentioned there are some tight areas in and  around the buffet area where the drink stations have been placed.  We tend to 

avoid the crowds and pick off times to eat as best as we can. 

   We really enjoyed the new added on Red Frog Pub area.  We also saw two comedy shows and we found these easily they have signs up 

now showing you where to go. We didn't have problems getting a seat and maybe arrived 20 minutes before the show.  The atrium Motown

with the cruise director was fun as always. I thought the Flying Scottish man was one of the best cruise directors we have seen and

very talented.  We also saw two shows and didn't have any issues finding seats. The shows were ok.

    We really didn't have any issues navigating the ship maybe its where we were located everything was very easy for us to get to.

 The casino was ok we really didn't notice the smoke as others have mentioned and we are all non smokers. We did notice  that  there were

areas that were hot and some were cold. My only complaint was our room did seem hot the whole cruise and the comedy club as well.

   For the itinerary my advice for Jamaica would be to book a excursions unless you liked to  be harassed as you are trying to walk. We did not 

book one having already being here a few years back.  Grand Cayman is ok we just walked around a bit has have been here a few times also.

I am one of those that doesn't really book a cruise based on ports any more as having done them numerous times now.   

   If your thinking about trying the Sunrise I would say go for it. Do not put to much into the negative reviews. From what I have read 

a lot of the negative things are about the people on the ship we really didn't experience any of this and I will say I was a little concerned about this

when I knew the ship was basically full.  We did have some issues with children running in the hallways at night which surprised me because from

what others have said usually the Spa area is quite. I would go back on the Sunrise again in fact have been looking but all the Spa cabins are sold out

for the dates I am looking.

   One more thing my daughter and I are both Platinum we were invited to the Platinum party neither of us attended the invitation was 

not extended to others. We both received the luggage tag and I am not sure why but I received a $40 off offer for an excursion she did not. 

 Thats it for now. Happy sailing!

Just off the Sunrise this past Thanksgiving week and they had them. It was surprisingly good. And the service was very personable. Actually ate 3 out of the 5 mornings there.

6 days till Sunrise. 🛳️😀

Great review it was refreshing to read a positive review we will be on her in 6 days and cant wait. My girls have been cruising

since the ages of 4 and 5 and my oldest turns Platinum this cruise at 21. I have raised dedicated cruisers for life. 

I am wondering what the earliest time for Port Everglades we can get on the ship we are Platinum we are sailing the Sunrise over Thanksgiving

2 minutes ago, desiree741 said:

I am also on the fence. I rarely drink at home but I do like getting a daiquiri or something and sitting on my balcony. I am also interested in going and trying new drinks. I don’t think I would do this is I had to buy individually. But I do like specialty coffee, soda, and bottle water. I think we are leaning towards staying on the ship in port, or possibly walking around the shops for a little bit.

The questions I have is, do you pay for disembark day?  

Can you order your drinks virgin or light handed? It’s juts going to me and my 15 year old daughter so I really don’t need to be a lush all day lol

You do not pay for disembark day. And yes you can order virgin and light handed drinks.

You can also purchase a bottle of alcohol and have it delivered to your room.  It is a pricey though.

We do take advantage of all the above. I just get tired of drinking after 4 to 5 days of it. 

We have only purchased for the 4 and 5 night cruises and always come out ahead but I do not think we would purchase the Cheers for a cruise longer than that. 

Has anyone been there and have any information? We are looking at the ATV adventure there. Not sure about transportation to there either we will be on a cruise and docked in Ocho Rios.

Steakhouse is $38 per person and the Italian restaurant is $15 per person.  You can ask for special request at the deli. Yes they still have the chocolate buffet and I have not seen a midnight buffet in years but they may still do this on a Journeys cruise.

The Liberty is one of our Favorite ships as well. we have sailed her 4 times.  Watch the ship runners I just realized this was a thing on our last 2 cruises and didn't realize how popular it was. I have been sailing Carnival since 2004. Funny I never see anything on here about it.  All the above tips are great as well. Do most of them myself. Sunrise is next for us depending on that outcome could be back to the Liberty for our April cruise. 

5 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

The ship

 

The Sunrise has gotten slammed in some early reviews.  I will give my thoughts.... She is not perfect, as I said before, have not been a ship that is.  When you take an existing footprint and modify it very significantly, their are things that have to be fit into the area that is available.  I thought they did a really good job doing this.  Serenity is somewhat disjointed with two levels and the center area broken off, but it works. Lido, they did the best they could.  The two areas I question is Lucky Bowl, which we thought never busy and the deli was mobbed, whenever was open.  Pools and splash park were just fine.  The ropes course was busier than I can remember on any ship we were on.  The slides the same.  This ship felt no more crowded than any other Carnival ship we have been on.  Bigger than s Spirit class and small than a Conquest class.  Next year New York will have her and he’s sister sailing together for the season from New York.  I hope the New Yorkers embrace having two great ships to sail on.

 

We sailed the Triumph and now the Sunrise.  There is no comparison folks.  This is a significantly enhanced ship sailing in an older hull.  Will we sail her again?  Definitely  We are sailing her twin on her TA to New York next June. A thread here called it the worst ship, which was laughable then and even more so now.  LAUGHABLE. Is she our favorite Carnival ship? Probably not.  IS she near the bottom of the list? Not even close.

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. It was so nice to read all the positive things. I have not been on her yet will be over Thanksgiving and really looking forward to it. I find the negative reviews laughable as well most things the complaints are about are not even under Carnivals control.  I was kinda exited about the Lucky Bowl. We really like the Ramen  soup places that are local here so was hoping for something similar. 

3 minutes ago, thesmiths said:

I am going to add a 2nd trip to the Steakhouse now.

Thank you and hope you feel better!

 

Did you happen to notice if they still offer the Lobster by itself?  I did not see it on the new menu only Surf &Turf.

Does the pub have food options?

We are booked on her in November over Thanksgiving I have also read a lot of negative reviews But I have never been on a bad cruise and have sailed Carnival 15 times on various ships some new some older ships. Some of the reviews are laughable at what they are complaining about and make no sense.   I am not worried at all I know we will have a good time.    

17 hours ago, FiredogCruiser said:

We have eaten in the steakhouse on several of the Carnival ships, as well as on other lines. Generally speaking we have found Carnival's to be consistently better quality, although we have found variations in both the quality of food and service provided between cruises and ships. My favorite to date has been David's on the Pride, which we have been to several times. In addition to the food and service, we like the location and layout of that facility.

One thing I have noticed though, is the variation in the quality of the meat. I have looked through the Carnival site several times looking for their description of the meat, and can only find it referred to as 'premium' cuts. That is not a USDA grade. As someone who once cut meat, (years ago while in school) I look for quality in meats, especially when it is being advertised as 'premium'. I would prefer to know what I am paying an up-charge (premium price) for. I don't believe I have ever received a prime steak in any shipboard steakhouse. Choice is the best I believe I have ever received. On Princess I would almost believe it was Select. I doubt you would find anything higher than select in the MDR.

I am always surprised by the number of people who do not realize that there are five different grades given by the USDA. I am equally surprised by the number of times I have seen lessor cuts of meat advertised using terms like premium, perhaps in an attempt to represent what is being provided as more than it is. I had had several discussions with people about the ship board steakhouses, and have often found those with the most negative comments generally have the least amount of knowledge.

Anyway, the question I always ask myself is whether the up-charge represented a value over whatever the meal allowance is, that is contained in the fair paid for the cruise. With the exception of Princess, I have always decided it was, or I would have never returned. On Princess, I felt I received a 'good' meal, but a poor value if you get what I mean.

On the other hand, I would never rank any of the seagoing experiences as equal that of say a Morton's experience. I have dined in Morton's from coast to coast and have personally found them to be of consistent quality where ever located, and have always received prime cuts of beef. (I personally rank them above Ruth's Chris.) But I have also paid far more than the up-charge plus meal allowance for that experience.

As for how people are dressed, and whether or not there are table cloths or linen napkins, or the grade of stem ware and utensils, I suppose you could argue that it is all part of the experience, but to me the quality of the food, from the ingredients to prep and presentation coupled with the service given is the mark of the value received.

I try to never go into a situation with unrealistic expectations, and find I am seldom disappointed or offended, as so many seem to be today.

We are currently booked on a B2B on the Pride for this October/November (Bermuda followed by Journey), and plan to eat at David's again, and enjoy it. And no matter what happens, I will not leave hungry!

Just curious as to what your thoughts are on the Wagyu steak that is now offered? 

Priority boarding and having cabin ready when we board.  

10 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

10 hours ago, cruiser8607 said:

Thanks everyone.  I have a lot to think about.  However I am leaning towards just doing cheers.  I just don’t want to fret about the cost of each drink.  With cheers we may drink a little more but can experiment and enjoy.  Plus we are not doing much in ports this go around so we have 12 hours a day to break even.  

We have done cheers the last couple of cruises. That button initially is hard to press but we have not regretted it. We are moderate drinkers and as others have said its peace of mind not worrying about a big bill at the end. Throw  a couple of shots into the mix and you will have no problem breaking even. I always like to ask the different bartenders to make me their specialty.

2 hours ago, clearwatergirl said:

Hit the atrium bar for the first drink of the cruise to celebrate!  Head to the cabin to drop off bags (Platinum) then up to Lido for lunch and meet up with the rest of our cruising family. 

Same here!

25 minutes ago, jmcathome said:

You have to get there early for a 4J. Lont time cruisers know about them and go for them quickly It is easily the best interior room. It is almost as good as a balcony. Take ten steps and you are out on a deck in the front of the boat. The interior window looks out onto the deck. You can see out and in daylight noone can see in, that changes at dark so when your steward closes the curtains keep them closed at night. There are handicapped 4J which I had a problem with in that there was no rail on the shower to stop water and I kept getting the rug wet. I had my own personal floor fan to dry it out. These rooms are well worth getting if you can. Two of my nest three cruises are here, only had to get them 18 months in advance.

You are right very hard to come by I have been fortunate enough to snag a few and they are the first I look for when booking.

I have had one of these cabins twice on the Liberty on the empress deck. We really liked the location and the secret deck. If it is windy its a little hard to open and close the door but besides that it was great.  Ours had a window that the curtains had to be closed at night.Liberty so far is one of our favorite ships.

I saw this this morning and am wondering if it will affect my already booked reservations for our upcoming cruise in November.

7 hours ago, fla97 said:

I am so over these tip threads. These people work hard, they don’t get to see their families months at a time. You can’t convince anyone to tip, so that percentage will always find a reason not to tip. They don’t tip at home the reasonable tip, so why expect them to do it now.

I prepay my gratuities and give extra to bartenders, stewards, and all those who make my vacation wonderful. Both my children worked in the service industry, so I know how tough a job it is to deal with so many people. Just donate to help these workers and their families. What is another couple dollars on a trip. Throw change in a jar while you anxiously wait for your cruise. 

I agree with you we always pay are tips and then some. In my mind there is no reason anyone should remove those gratuities. 

I dont think you should be able to take off the gratuities. They should be built into the fare just like the port taxes as a separate fee and paid before you go. When you go to a all inclusive resort and stay the week they do not let you remove the charges.   

And thats basically what a cruise is too.