Which would you choose, Norwegian Jewel or Carnival Sunshine?

[AmberTeka]

NCL JEWEL.

 

WE loved that ship.

 

Bad.....food in MDR not good.

 

GOOD food in FREE Restaurants......garden Café...( hamburgers, salads, Chili, hotdogs, sandwiches, cookies) par to burger King or such. Good I thought. Mama's Kitchen..VERY good. it was free or a tiny charge. TEX-MEX was free. Ribs. good. some Mexican things..good.

French Restaurant....The Bistro. not so good

Cagney's Steak House..good

Asian Fusion.....good

Then..if you ate before 6:30 pp it was half price. Se we dined around. FAVORITES...Mama's Kitchen and Garden Café. Loved it. You can eat Breakfast there too...pretty much alone. And look out at the Sea. Loved it.

Buffet.very good. And a children buffet..which made adult lines move quicker. They had Mac and cheese.hamburgers corn dogs. Fries. brownies. cole slaw. Cookies. Yes, I admit. I lined up over there once or twice myself. The mac and cheese was made by a chef who knows mac and cheese. And no bacon. no mushrooms. Just cheddar cheese, butter, milk and macaroni. delicious.

 

entertainment. BEst at Sea. Great.

Bingo.....ugh. expensive machines

Trivia........Loved it

Casino...did not go....then.

Ship décor. Staff. Passengers ( Lots of Brits and Scots.) Fabulous.

 

I intend to sail on it again if they ever quit just going to the W.Caribbean. It is not enormous like the new ships. Easy to get around.

[AmberTeka]

-+*

 

This sounds good.

I have read references to add on cost on Norwegian, but not specifically what the additional costs are.

 

We are trying to work around several people planning this cruise.

My sister's husband does not like sea days or beach days.

Basically he does not want to get wet or have wind blow on him.

He also needs entertainment.

And he wants to go somewhere he has not been before.

He is kind of a problem child in this.

He seems to like excursions where people ride on things.

 

Myself, I like a five day cruise, a good book in a shady deck chair, and as many sea days as I can get.

I don't get bored as DH and I keep ourselves amused.

 

-

 

Does he gamble? The casino? Play Trivia? Bingo? like to cook? Eat? Shop? surf the Net?

Dance? Watch people dance? See show productions? listen to music and chatter at a Piano Bar?

Does he know all of the Options on board. If he does..and does not like any of that......leave him at home. Or book a private VaKay for him. Surely he can not be as bad as you make him out to be...........have pity....................

[mzloolue]

Does he gamble? The casino? Play Trivia? Bingo? like to cook? Eat? Shop? surf the Net?

Dance? Watch people dance? See show productions? listen to music and chatter at a Piano Bar?

Does he know all of the Options on board. If he does..and does not like any of that......leave him at home. Or book a private VaKay for him. Surely he can not be as bad as you make him out to be...........have pity....................

 

Well, we decided no Jewel or Sunshine and instead booked in May on Elation.

Going to Mexico again.

 

Five days is so much better for DH's work schedule.

And easier to get someone to take care of the dogs.

 

Now if we were retired we'd be on that 11 day Sunshine in a split second.

New Orleans to Orlando sounds fabulous.

Hopefully when we retire we can save up our pennies and do some repositioning cruises.

[trvlwithkids]

I'll be on the Sunshine this summer and looking forward to it. Except the post above (first time poster:rolleyes:) the stuff I have read here recently has been favorable. I'm thinking of trying the Epic (NCL) but its weird how the posts are 50/50 on the food. I'm sure I wont starve because any meal I didn't have to cook and do the dishes for already puts me in a good mood. I'm also thinking of trying the Princess line. We can only cruise once every year or year and half and when Carnival keeps being thousand of dollars less it keeps me loyal to them. I think if we didn't have to spend so much money on airfare we would be more willing to spend more for a different line.

 

 

I may be a first time poster but I am NOT a first time cruiser. I am only posting now because of how much the ship literally stunk. HOPEFULLY, all the mechanical problems will be fixed by the time you get on board but considering the number of them…. I HIGHLY DOUBT it. The best way I can describe it was Carnvial upgraded the cosmetic appearance to make it "Sunshine" but mechanically you are sailing on the Destiny! I was on Enchantment after it was cut in half and refurbished and it was like a new ship, not so much with Sunshine. I read about the problems before I boarded as well and ignored it… I am going back to Royal Caribbean after this disaster and I will gladly pay the extra to NOT spend 5 days smelling sewage. This warning then is to anyone who has not booked yet, if you have I would see if you can transfer to another ship. I was on the Carnival Liberty and it was really nice as well no complaints. Spend the extra money and go else where…

I just got off the ship, but really what do I know :rolleyes:

[mzloolue]

I may be a first time poster but I am NOT a first time cruiser. I am only posting now because of how much the ship literally stunk. HOPEFULLY, all the mechanical problems will be fixed by the time you get on board but considering the number of them…. I HIGHLY DOUBT it. The best way I can describe it was Carnvial upgraded the cosmetic appearance to make it "Sunshine" but mechanically you are sailing on the Destiny! I was on Enchantment after it was cut in half and refurbished and it was like a new ship, not so much with Sunshine. I read about the problems before I boarded as well and ignored it… I am going back to Royal Caribbean after this disaster and I will gladly pay the extra to NOT spend 5 days smelling sewage. This warning then is to anyone who has not booked yet, if you have I would see if you can transfer to another ship. I was on the Carnival Liberty and it was really nice as well no complaints. Spend the extra money and go else where…

I just got off the ship, but really what do I know :rolleyes:

 

This is another thing I was taking into consideration.

My b-i-l was on a Destiny cruise that broke down.

(He owned his own business at the time and he got stranded in San Juan.

San Juan is not a bad place to be stranded unless your business is going to hell while you are gone, I guess. They were stranded for five extra days)

He was really unhappy with the way it was handled and refused to sail Carnival for five years.

Apparently it was really disorganized and no one would give him any information.)

If we had gone on Sunshine and it sucked it would have been bad.

[fuddrules]

but really what do I know :rolleyes:

 

Based on quite a few other current reviews and my own experience this summer on the Sunshine....not much.

[trvlwithkids]

Based on quite a few other current reviews and my own experience this summer on the Sunshine....not much.

 

The key word is you were on it in the SUMMER, I was on it the week before Christmas.

Read the actual reviews of people who were on the ship the month of December. I promise you I am not the only one with this experience.

If you went in the summer that means you were cruising Europe…. Right after it was out of dry dock. Then it went across the ocean and my guess is that stressed it and was when everything started failing…… PRIOR to going on my trip I already saw reports from the repositioning that there were problems. I ignored them and gave it a chance.

Would the previous guests of the Concordia from several months prior, tell the victims of the disaster that their experience was not an accurate description of the ship as they knew it??? I know this is an extreme example but I think the point is valid. I am sure the ship was lovely in the Summer FOR YOU, not so much when there is water pouring out of the ceiling and the ship stinks FOR ME!

[gemsm]

So, I am looking at cruises coming up from New Orleans.

 

Norwegian Jewel has a good price.

 

I have heard a lot about Sunshine that sounds not so good.

 

But I know nothing about Jewel except that I have seen it docked and it looks like a fairly new big white boat.

 

Has anyone been on one or the other or especially both and can help compare and contrast each ships good and not so good points?

 

Would Sunshine be worth more than Jewel to you?

 

Thanks!

 

Sorry I know absolutely nothing about the Carnival Sunshine but the Norwegian Jewel happens to be my favorite ship that I have sailed on. It had a nice atmosphere, I thought the ship was laid out particularly well and I enjoyed trying all the different dining options. We were also able to upgrade to an aft suite from a balcony for a very reasonable price which gave us all the suite perks which definitely made for a one of a kind cruise experience.

[christmas]

STAY AWAY from the Sunshine. I was on it December 15 to the 22. It is as bad as you have read. Mechanically not updated and everything breaks and water leaking. Soaked carpets, sewage smell through the ship. Rocks like no other ship I have ever been on to the point at times you bang into walls or counters. It was cheap and I laughed it off, it was so bad we were waiting so see what would break next. I was on the Enchantment of the seas after it was refurbished and had similar expectations. NOT EVEN CLOSE. They updated the appearance and added extra amenities but mechanical was never fixed or updated and something different was leaking or breaking each day… I haven never been on the Jewel but I am telling you Sunshine is the worst. I have 3 previous cruises under my belt and this boat is the gong show!

 

You seem to have the same complaints as everyone else. I didn't believe this at first but after reading other reviews, I believe it.

Edited January 14, 2014 by christmas

[mzloolue]

Sorry I know absolutely nothing about the Carnival Sunshine but the Norwegian Jewel happens to be my favorite ship that I have sailed on. It had a nice atmosphere, I thought the ship was laid out particularly well and I enjoyed trying all the different dining options. We were also able to upgrade to an aft suite from a balcony for a very reasonable price which gave us all the suite perks which definitely made for a one of a kind cruise experience.

 

A suite would be lovely.

I don't see one is my near future, but I can dream.:)

[dbpowell]

What was your favorite thing about Jewel?

 

And what did you not like?

 

Favorite thing about the Jewel......well that's a tough one as we liked so much about it. The crew wAs very friendly. Our room steward was fantastic. Food, we never had anything that was bad and we at a a few pay for restaurants Tepenyaki, Cagneys and Modernero. Shows that we saw were good. Overall it was a very good experience that we would not hesitate to do again. I did a review after the cruise that is on the NCL forum. Hope this helps.

[gemsm]

Okay, here is the big question about Jewel, do you remember if they had deck chairs looking out to the sea, but not around the pool?

 

Yes on deck 7

[golfb4cruzing]

Our last Carnival was on the Destiny so I'd go with the Jewel.

[joswhales]

i was on carnival sunshine dec 1 sailing.... that boat has so many issues. i just wrote carnival a 10 page letter and sent pictures for everything that was wrong. let me tell you im not one to complain about anything!!!! it is so under staffed! the crew either wasnt doing there jobs or they couldnt keep up. the ship is beautiful... i wouldnt recommend having more that 2 people in a cabin. otherwise they bring you a roll away bed to cram in the room. the food was terrible other than the dinning room and burger joint. you could smell sewage strong enough to make you sick at times..EVERYBODY was complaining about the ship no matter where you went on board or off. the customer service line was long no matter what time of day with people complaining...Read the reviews on here about Sunshine the negative one are correct. i didnt want to believe it but i saw it first hand. i would wait to sail on this ship until hopefully they work out the kinks....as far as norwegian i have never sailed that cruise line but i have heard so many negative things about it from passengers on this last cruise. i made the comment about trying out norwegian cause that ship was docked behind us and the people said it was so boring there was nothing to do. if 2 people were in a room they only gave you one towel to share... i heard that from more than one person.. we did dock next to the norwegian Breakaway and that ship looked amazing!!!!!! but then i read horrible reviews on it also...

[asalligo]

I doubt I shall ever cruise NCL. I like formal dress.

 

 

Norwegian Cruise Line

The Code: Norwegian has no formal dress code. For dinner, collared shirts and pants or "nice" jeans are suggested for men, and slacks or jeans, dresses, skirts, and tops for women. Suggested dress applies to dinner in all restaurants.

 

Number of Formal Nights: There are no official formal nights. One restaurant each night is reserved for those who want to "dress up," but no dress code is specified.

 

Nightly Casual Option: It's all casual, save for the one restaurant that's been reserved as a spot for potentially dressing up.