Carnival Sunshine NYE cruise. BAD vs GOOD

Just got back from the Carnival Sunshine. Here’s what I thought (BAD and GOOD). Feel free to make comments or ask questions.

BAD

Wifi: Did not work half of the time, but when it did work, it was horribly slow

Comedy Club: I read many reviews about the unique layout of the club, and I knew what to expect, but the crowds were absolutely ridiculous. 30 minutes before the show even started, there were already crowds of people standing at the back with nowhere to sit. It was crazy and chaotic.

Lounge/Theatre: Also very crowded. Always fills up before the show starts. Many standing at the back or sitting on the stairs

Breakfast Buffet: Same exact items ever single day. No variety.

AirConditioningg: Inconsistent. Freezing in some areas, sweaty and sticky in others

Lido deck chairs: On the first sea day, there were no chairs available to sit at. I walked around the whole ship 3 times and could not even find one availble place to sit.

Water pressure. Horrible water pressure in the newly added staterooms on Deck 5.

GOOD

Entertainment: Performers were really talented, cruise director was funny and caring.

Options from Lunch: Wok, Guys Burgers and Italian pasta bar were delicious

Decor: Nice and modern

Service: Staff was almost always friendly. Guest services, Housekeeper, and waiters were all pleasant to deal with (Only one exception where a guest services worker rolled his eyes when I told him that I lost my sail & sign card).

Waterslides and games: Fun, although the paint on the slides is fading and some of the games could be in better conditon.

6pm Dinner: Very fast and efficient service. A large 3-course meal was served every night in about hour. Food in the dining room was always good, with 1 or 2 exeptions.

Casino: Unlike other ships, the casino was not at all smokey.

That is a nicely balanced review. Thanks for posting.

Thank you for your review. Now that you’ve done a NYE cruise, do you feel the price was worth it (vs cruising during a less expensive time)? I’m trying to decide whether it would really be worth it to pay the extra for a NYE cruise.

Did you notice the ship being much more crowded during this holiday than other times?

Thanks for your objective feedback!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for your review. Now that you’ve done a NYE cruise, do you feel the price was worth it (vs cruising during a less expensive time)? I’m trying to decide whether it would really be worth it to pay the extra for a NYE cruise.

 

Did you notice the ship being much more crowded during this holiday than other times?

After the NYE countdown on embarkation day, it felt like a normal cruise.Very little was different or special compared to other cruises we have taken. The only differences that I noticed were that there were many kids and teenagers. There was also a special dinner menu for NYE. The ship only felt crowded in the areas mentioned in the review above. I think it was due to the design of the ship rather than the fact that it was a NYE cruise. I would not advise you to book a NYE cruise unless it is the only time you can get off work/school and you are interested in experiencing a countdown at sea.

Thank-you for the report.

Thank you for taking the time to write this report.

Keith

After the NYE countdown on embarkation day, it felt like a normal cruise.Very little was different or special compared to other cruises we have taken. The only differences that I noticed were that there were many kids and teenagers. There was also a special dinner menu for NYE. The ship only felt crowded in the areas mentioned in the review above. I think it was due to the design of the ship rather than the fact that it was a NYE cruise. I would not advise you to book a NYE cruise unless it is the only time you can get off work/school and you are interested in experiencing a countdown at sea.

Thank you for your response! Sounds like I will be sticking with our originally planned cruise. I don’t want to spend $1000 more just to experience a countdown at sea.

Just got back from the Carnival Sunshine. Here’s what I thought (BAD and GOOD). Feel free to make comments or ask questions.

 

BAD

 

Wifi: Did not work half of the time, but when it did work, it was horribly slow

 

Comedy Club: I read many reviews about the unique layout of the club, and I knew what to expect, but the crowds were absolutely ridiculous. 30 minutes before the show even started, there were already crowds of people standing at the back with nowhere to sit. It was crazy and chaotic.

 

Lounge/Theatre: Also very crowded. Always fills up before the show starts. Many standing at the back or sitting on the stairs

 

Breakfast Buffet: Same exact items ever single day. No variety.

 

AirConditioningg: Inconsistent. Freezing in some areas, sweaty and sticky in others

 

Lido deck chairs: On the first sea day, there were no chairs available to sit at. I walked around the whole ship 3 times and could not even find one availble place to sit.

 

Water pressure. Horrible water pressure in the newly added staterooms on Deck 5.

 

GOOD

 

Entertainment: Performers were really talented, cruise director was funny and caring.

 

Options from Lunch: Wok, Guys Burgers and Italian pasta bar were delicious

 

Decor: Nice and modern

 

Service: Staff was almost always friendly. Guest services, Housekeeper, and waiters were all pleasant to deal with (Only one exception where a guest services worker rolled his eyes when I told him that I lost my sail & sign card).

 

Waterslides and games: Fun, although the paint on the slides is fading and some of the games could be in better conditon.

 

6pm Dinner: Very fast and efficient service. A large 3-course meal was served every night in about hour. Food in the dining room was always good, with 1 or 2 exeptions.

 

Casino: Unlike other ships, the casino was not at all smokey.

 

Thanks for posting this. We sail Sunshine in less than a week. [emoji41] You give me hope about using the casino, smoke seems to be an issue for the majority. My other concern is the lack of consistent WiFi onboard, to check on our home security. This is the only way my hubs can truly relax. I’m now looking for WiFi spots while in port. [emoji58] The comedy club is our fav thing at night, my hubs doesn’t care much for production type shows, so I guess I’ll be bolting from dinner early to get in line. They have always been popular and crowded on any ship, seems the Sunshine is pushing the limits though.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you for the review, it's been years since we sailed Carnival and really looking forward to cruising on the Sunshine.

The lounges are too small for the Sunshine, that's for sure. It's sad, the ship otherwise is very nice in my opinion.