Quick b2b review on NCL Jewel & Carnival Sunshine

[Bobug]

My hubby & I went on our first NCL cruise for a week (2/2/14) & followed it up with our 6th Carnival cruise on the Sunshine (2/9/14) We are Platinum on Princess & sailed with RCCL twice.

This will be more of a comparison review ( & probably scattered as I am writing as I think of things..LOL) than a full everyday review with pictures but I will try to answer any questions that I can.

We had standard OV rooms on both ships...the Jewel had a fairly big shower with a DOOR!! Yay...loved it.

I am the planner & as I was looking for the perfect stateroom on the Sunshine I found 2346 & loved the odd shape & found out it was indeed a bigger cabin but it was at the VERY back of the ship but decided to go for it...the room was very big...loved it but you better love the movement of the ocean & some vibration & you will not need a wake up call :) I knew all this was a possibility & I did fine with it. The only thing that did bother our sleep was the squeaking/creaking of the ceiling. I would get out of bed & push on the ceiling & hope to get back to sleep before it started making noise again...lol. The bathroom was a little small but the shower was a good size.

Had a fridge on the Jewel but not on Sunshine. Had tons of storage on both ships.

We only saw our room steward one time on the Jewel but he did a great job...saw Roberto on Sunshine almost everytime we opened our door. He did a great job also.

Both ships were very clean & loved the décor on them but were very hard to navigate. Jewel seemed to be more confusing.

I don't remember the name of the cruise director on the Jewel. Butch was not my favorite from the Sunshine.

As far as entertainment....the Jewel blew the Sunshine away. We are not a fan of the Playlist productions...possibly because a few of them just could NOT sing...as a group it wasn't too bad but individually it was more apparent. Our favorite was Epic Rock & the magician. Was not very impressed with the comedians on the Punchliner either. The Jewel had a band & the funniest (JP) comedian/magician we have heard in a long time. They had aerialist etc.

The Sunshine LOVED their trivia games & Bingo!!

We loved the Serenity decks...we always laid by the pool & waterfall. That is some COLD water in that pool...brrr. If you wanted more quieter areas you can go further back & up (kinda windy though). We did see chair hogs but didn't affect us because we would get up at 7:00 so we could get a seat...& we actually stayed in it :)

Next...the all subjective food topic :)

[Bobug]

Food: The MDR food on the Sunshine was better than the Jewel but the buffet food was much better on the Jewel & the stations layout was great...never crowded.

We loved Guy's Burger's! Pizza was better on the Sunshine. We ate at Ji Ji's & it was wonderful. Most of the food we had was really good on the Sunshine.

We ate at the Teppanyaki Japanese specialty & Italian specialty restaurants on the Jewel & they were also wonderful. Did not like the Blue Lagoon food at all...except for the brownie sundae.

Few more observations:

The pools on the Sunshine are freshwater...wonderful.

The Sunshine is VERY crowded...way too many people for this ship. Never felt crowded on the Jewel.

The Liquid Lounge is like everyone has said...awful layout...but looks nice. Limelight Lounge is pretty big but only so many seats can actually see the stage.

The atrium on the Sunshine is beautiful...Jewel doesn't have that wow factor.

The slide/waterworks area looked awesome but could never find a time when the slide was open...evidently the conditions had to be perfect???? Maybe we just had bad timing.

There were a fair amount of kids on the Sunshine.

The difference in passengers on each ship was....well... different :)

Did not see any buckets or leaks or smell any funny smells...LOL

 

All of this being said we would sail on either ship or either line again...we make the most fun out of every cruise we go on.

Hope this scattered mess helps someone :)

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank u for taking the time to write your review.

 

So looking forward to our Sunshine cruise.:D

[Bobug]

Thank u for taking the time to write your review.

 

So looking forward to our Sunshine cruise.:D

 

Your welcome!!

When do you go on your cruise?

[mousecrazy]

 

The difference in passengers on each ship was....well... different :)

 

Can you please elaborate.

[riclop]

Thanks for the comparisons.

[Bobug]

Can you please elaborate.

 

On Norwegian the people were laid back, quieter but fun...we never saw anything outrageous. Can't say the same for the people on the Sunshine that week. Heard fighting in staterooms, throw up in corner of one elevator, people leaving plates of food outside their cabin (never saw that once on NCL). Just a louder in your face type of crowd. I am not going to go into labels etc. because I am not willing to be flamed...LOL. All in all we just go with the flow & make the best of our cruise.

[mousecrazy]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you had a nice vacation.

[Bobug]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you had a nice vacation.

 

You are welcome! And thank you.

[Bobug]

Thanks for the comparisons.

 

Your welcome!!