srjones1

Looking at deck plans that one is larger than a standard balcony, correct?

Day 3: Fun day at sea.

I have to admit this... My wife is a reformed chair hog. On our first cruise together she told me you had to get by the pool by 6-7 and leave a towel to get a chair. I didn't argue with her because I knew no better. I found CC before our second cruise though. But even before CC I though it seemed kind of crappy. Anyway, we slept in that day and while she was getting ready she kept fussing about how I wouldn't let her go claim a chair. I assured her we'd find a chair or have belongings moved from a chair unattended for an hour or so. No one can say that's rude or otherwise. They have a big big sin that says 40 minutes so an hour is plenty. Maybe I'm the jerk here, I don't know, but I have no problem asking to have things moved. So we head on up to the smoking area on deck 10 above the pool and, wait for it... There were chairs open. I had to throw in a "told ya so". I got a dirty look but we had chairs.

The lido deck music bounced between a DJ and some chick playing guitar and singing on one of the sea days. Might have been this one. I'm not sure.

The sun bathing was short lived once she realized the casino was open and we get free drinks though... Two more chairs were available then. Lol

So our fun day at sea became our fun day at the tables. I didn't care after a few drinks.

I watched kids on the ropes course but I never actually did it. It looks fun. That entire area looks great. I wanted to try the slides but the lines... Ugh. Our next cruise will be on the same ship with our kids and I'm guessing they will bounce from the waterworks to the deli all day long.

I'll post the Funtimes papers Friday night when I get back to work. I can't do them at home.

My passport has my full name on it but on Carnival stuff just my first and last. It's not a problem.

Correction... Smoking is allowed on Deck 10 PORT, not starboard. I was so turned around on this ship I couldn't keep up with which way I was going.

We have had fridge on last 15 or so cruises and like to have them to keep stuffr cold. Also Carnival entertainment has gone downhill lately and we do spend a lot of time in comedy club and a number of close cruising friends have said it is much to small a venue now.

 

Since we enjoy Conquest, Spirit and Dream class dont see a reason to sail on the Sunshine.

I walked through the place they have comedy shows and it did seem small. We never went to a show there but I looked in during one and it was SRO.

The entertainment is about what I'm accustomed to if you look at my signature so if it went downhill I haven't noticed. Lol.

Posted twice. Deleted duplicate

More cabins less public space, few fridges and very small venue for comedy club meaning this will be a ship we will avoid.

I had read where others said similar things. I never really felt all that crowded except the two narrow walkways on Lido going inside. I've never had a fridge in a cabin on my previous cruises so that didn't bother me. The steward kept me three buckets of ice always and that was sufficient for my particular needs.

I did think a tad bit too much space was used for the Serenity deck. It's three levels of the new decks that were added.

I respect your opinion though. Just commenting...

For those interested and don't already know... Wifi can be found in Grand Turk at a place called "Froots" smoothie shop. I walked around with my iPhone looking for a place so I could message my kids. Wasn't crowded either so may not be a well known thing.

Day 2: First stop, Nassau. We have been here many times before so we never left the ship. That's the first time we had done this and it was pretty nice. There couldn't have been 500 passengers on that ship. We had our pick of chairs. That doesn't happen often.

I'll insert this here at the risk of getting nastygrams from some...we both smoke so we naturally chose chairs near the pool where smoking is permitted. So for the sake of others that smoke, it is only allowed on deck 10 starboard near the DJ. On sea days it was packed. Really packed. I did read in the Funtimes that smoking is allowed on deck 3 somewhere but I never checked into it. Of course balconies are smoking for now and we did smoke there but I talked with my immediate neighbors on the first day and everything was cool.

I took this opportunity to walk the ship some more but I failed to take my phone to get pictures. Sorry.

Question... When I get back to work and have scanning abilities would it be beneficial to anyone to post pictures of the Funtimes? I have all of them except embarkation day.

We just left that ship Saturday and our cabin had no refrigerator. I can't speak for the newer cabins though.

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So we went out to tour the ship and it is definitely bigger than what I was used to. DW had been on it as the Destiny and she said it looked only vaguely familiar. Until now I had only cruised Fantasy class. I had researched the ship prior to leaving both on CC and YouTube and had some basic knowledge of the layout. The worst congestion of people is between Guys Burgers on starboard and Blue Iguana on port side going to inside area because of the narrow path to go inside the Lido eating area. It is barely wide enough for 2 and they put the drinks and ice cream in those areas right by the door. Just get used to hearing and saying "excuse me" in that 20 foot section. Otherwise it never really felt crowded to me as others have said.

The Serenity Deck is absolutely awesome. Hammocks, couches, even beds. I can't put words together to say how nice it is. Three levels of it too.

We went back to our room about 3 or so and arrived at the same time our bags did. We got unpacked and sat on the balcony a while. An announcement was made that we were being delayed by a sick employee and were waiting for an ambulance so we waited to actually move from the dock before we went back out. Sail away was just as usual. Same songs, same drinks, same etc.

All in all, embarkation day was about as smooth as my last four cruises and the ship had impressed me so far. At this point though I wasn't sure I would like it as much as my previous cruises. I guess because I was so used to the other ships.

That evening we headed for the casino. It is very nice and a bit larger than the others I've been in. We went to the Roulette table as always and DW immediately got social with the dealers and pit bosses. Nothing really to say about the casino here. They're all about the same. BUT, quick tip. DW is very outgoing and talkative and we had our "Drinks on Us" card when we walked in the second night. We barely spent $100 together so get to know your dealers and pit bosses. It pays because table games aren't bound by points like slots are. They do swipe your card and record your buy in's but the pit bosses monitor your play time and per hand/spin bets and it's all manually recorded.

I'll go ahead and get the bad of the cabin out of the way. It is located directly below the ice cream and drinks on Lido but that wasn't the big problem. The problem is it is also below the automatic door that leads inside and under that door is a drain for water that is covered by an aluminum grating that is not secured but rather just loose. It took me days to figure this out but every time someone would step on the grating you could hear it in the room. I can't explain the sound to you but it was just plain annoying trying to go to sleep and hearing that "clank" every few minutes. Secondly, the staff roll large plastic bins loaded with dishes around at all times of the day and night and think of a heavy object on wheels rolling across a tile floor right above you. It sounded like thunder.

To be fair though, there are no cabins across the hall from this one. It's the cabin steward work areas. Also it is steps from the laundry area if you need to iron anything.

My advice to anyone would be to try and avoid deck 8 in this particular area.

I will definitely get a different cabin on our next Sunshine cruise.

I just looked at the deck plans and there is no 8527. ???? Just wondering as I am booked on the Sunshine in Nov and would really prefer not to be in a bad location.

Oops, sorry. 8257. My folio # was 8523 and I kept making the same mistake on the ship.

Quick tip... I prefer milk when I eat even if I've been drinking adult beverages all day. Except at breakfast they don't leave it out but if you ask they will get it for you. I spent 7 days on the Sunshine and never drank the tea or juices. I took my own Pepsi as well.

Just in case you were interested...

My wife and I just returned from a 7 day cruise aboard the Sunshine. Over the next few days I will be sharing my thoughts and experiences of our trip with the CC family. If anyone has any specific questions that I might could answer as part of the review please let me know.

For tonight... Day one.

We spent the night before at the Fairfield Inn in Titusville. We had accumulated enough points for a free nights stay and they offer a voucher for 40% off port parking. Our free night plus parking: $72. Great start!

We arrived at port around 11:15, dropped our bags and parked. DW is platinum so we breezed through the lines pretty quick. I had a carryon with 12 Pepsi's, 12 cans of juice, and 2 wine bottles. Security took it from the X-ray table to another table and opened it. He only opened the main compartment and looked past the other 3 zippers. I mentioned this to him and he ignored me. He barely looked at the drinks or bottles. Ok then...

We were directed to the Captains Lounge (?) and had our cards and account taken care of in 5 minutes. We were then sent upstairs. It was now about 11:40. Well, the priority boarding room was packed. Really packed. We finally boarded at 12:30. Something was said about ship inspections, but that's the longest we've ever had to wait. I felt bad for those downstairs cause I knew they would have to wait even longer.

We boarded and went straight to our cabin, 8527. Remind me later to explain, but I would advise against this cabin and the others around it. Strongly. We met our steward, Yoho, and prepped him with some $ to insure we were taken care of and he met our expectations and then some. I had asked for three buckets of ice at all times and he never let us down.

After that was handled we set out to tour the ship...

Ok I don't play the tables or gamble much. Can I give my match play to someone at the tables?

 

 

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You can give them to whoever you want to. It's just a little card they give at the cashier with a receipt for a classic cocktail.

Well, you can only do this max 15 times in a day and they don't have to be one after the other.

 

BTW, does the match play have to be done the same day as the drink was ordered or can they be saved up and used later in the cruise?

You can save them. I've actually brought some home before and used them on the next sailing.

So it's only good for the tables and not for slots? What about roulette??

We used them on Roulette. One on black, one on red. You profit $5 so it knocks off $2.50 per drink overall. Certainly not a huge savings but it's something I guess.

You are hereby the official tester. We expect a full lab report upon your return..... or we will find you...

Official report... On the Sunshine you are not permitted to use two match plays at once. However, if you give one to your wife...

We both got drink cards on the second night so we only did it once.

Just off the Sunshine this morning. Wife and I sat down at Roulette Saturday evening with $100 each. Played for hours with the same money while she chatted with the dealers and pit bosses the whole time. Sunday night we walked in to drink cards waiting for us.

Being social is a definite help.

I'll certainly be trying this weekend on the Sunshine. I'm fairly certain the ones running the casino are smarter than me so they probably know this can be done and most likely won't allow it. Just my opinion. But if they do I'll definitely take advantage of it. Crazy not to.

Another spin on this is just skip Cheers all together, buy 2 Classic Cocktails for $10 or so each and go collect my $5. Makes my drinks $7.50 each. Four Long Islands are enough to have a good evening and I can opt out on port days if I choose without "loosing" that days Cheers money.

Do that same thing except bet 5 on 1st 12, 5 on 2nd 12 and 5 on 3rd 12, and play match cards on all three bets :):)

 

 

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I think Matchplays are only good on 1:1 bets. That bet is 2:1 if I remember correctly

Think about it this way... You put $5 of your money on red and a card that merely represents $5. Same thing on black. Then red hits. They take your $5 and the card from black. Gone. They pay you $5 on your $5 and $5 on their representation of $5 and take the card so you can't use it again. You came out of pocket $10 and walked away with $15 in real money. Now multiply that by 15 for each day of the cruise.

 

I wonder how long they'll allow that to happen.

Actually, I should have said multiply that by 7.5 for each day because you need two coupons per spin. It's late, my math is foggy. Still knocks a dent in the costs

Are you sure?? That doesn't make sense or seem fair..

 

 

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Think about it this way... You put $5 of your money on red and a card that merely represents $5. Same thing on black. Then red hits. They take your $5 and the card from black. Gone. They pay you $5 on your $5 and $5 on their representation of $5 and take the card so you can't use it again. You came out of pocket $10 and walked away with $15 in real money. Now multiply that by 15 for each day of the cruise.

I wonder how long they'll allow that to happen.