Carnival Sunshine Review

[southerncrusingal]

My husband and I went on the March 16th to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Now this is my first review so I’m going to try and cover everything

 

We booked an Ocean View cabin on the Rivera Deck 1553. The room was very spacious, lots of closet space for (all my luggage! Lol) my husband and I cruise every now and then and have always chosen interior cabins but for us to choose an ocean view was a treat cause of the amount of space. Note we are never booking interior cabins again!! Our cabin steward (please forgive me I forgot his name) was awesome! He remembered our names and always assisted with anything we needed. We did however experience a minor issue with our a/c unit and after complaining, asking for managers, 3 maintenance men, last day at sea apology and a small onboard credit for the inconvenience later we were ok!

Dining was good for the most part. From the moment we step foot on the boat, My husband had been dreaming of Guy’s burgers and could not wait to partake in a burger w/ fries! I must say they were great! We had them almost every for lunch. Well he did!!! The Blue Iguana Cantina was good; I had them both for breakfast and lunch. We did the steakhouse for dinner our first night and the food was amazing!! The service was incredible! Did I mention the food was amazing! My husband and I both agree this place is underpriced for all that you get! I must advise if you choose the steakhouse you will need to get your desert to go! (Trust me). We tried Bonsai Sushi and I have to say it was really good! We had them twice throughout the week. Ji Ji Asian was great as well. We only did the MDR once and for Elegant night, nothing to brag about the food was ok (we had your time dining) so the experience was basically rushed. The Lido Marketplace we ate as well, the food was standard cruise fair dining nothing to brag about.

The cruise director Butch was great!! Love that guy!

 

The Alchemy Bar had awesome drinks! There was a band playing next to them called The Swamp Thang and they were really good! We caught most of there shows!

If you want a quiet spot sit in the Havana bar area to eat when you want to eat on Lido. It's never crowded!

 

The comedy club was fun! We went two nights didn’t have an issue getting seats but its rather a small place to hold a comedy show.

 

The rock show was awesome! We went to every show each night but the last (I got sick the last day at sea – motion sickness go figure!) Hasbro show was really fun! We went to both shows, I was hoping to get pick but I didn’t! I had fun watching!

Our excursions!! In Jamaica, we did the Chukka 4x4 Safari and it was AWESOME!! Our tour guide Richard (I remembered his name lol) was very informative and all around fun! I got a great history lesson of the island, great local food and fun time! In Grand Cayman we did the Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar and it was great! We just shopped for our family in Cozumel.

Now here’s the real about Carnival Sunshine! Even though we had issues with our room it did not ruin the trip for us. Getting off the boat during port days was a bit of a pain. Too many people tried to get off all at one time, some were even late for excursions. I didn’t see any famous buckets (I was really looking too!) I did notice the sewage smell in the Liquid Lounge during club hours and again on deck 4 by guest services deck outside. Some of the staff was a bit rude or had that I don’t care look on their face. Now I’m not a hard person to please but will I sail the Sunshine again? Hmmmmm maybe……… and the reason why I say maybe because Carnival really needs to check the staff on their attitudes with their guest. My a/c issue could have ruined my trip but I didn’t let it get to me. Guest Service was not as sympathetic as I thought they should have been and on top of that I witnessed the same nonchalant attitude when a guest was screaming at the top of his lungs complaining about his room issue. Coming from a Customer Service environment and trust me just a bit of care and concern goes a long way!

So now that I just finish sharing my experience with you. It’s funny because I’m now fresh off the boat and my husband’s family wants to plan a cruise for the whole family sailing on the Carnival Dream. I want to look into other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Norwegian too I could use some help guys. Have any one sailed on these ships Carnival Dream, Royal Caribbean (that sails out of New Orleans) and Norwegian Jewel? Tips would be very helpful! Thanks!!!

[Casinocouple]

If anyone wants to see a video of the a spa balcony cabin on the Carnival Sunshine we've posted one at

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA86r0ZoeY

 

Hope it helps and enjoy your cruise

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[no1volman]

We'll be on the Sunshine in June for our first cruise. I'm curious about your sea sickness. I assume you weren't taking anything to prevent it? Did you take anything after you became sick and if so did it help? Was it a rough sea day that caused the sickness?

 

 

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[Green4me]

Thanks for your review, we sail soon and have booked the steak house!

 

Also looking forward to trying the Asian dining as well

[sjcruiser]

Thanks for the review!!! Waiting patiently to get onboard in August!!!

[k2excursion]

Thanks for your report. Since you asked, I have been on the Dream 3 times, and they have been my favorite 3 cruises. Their 3 main shows in the theater are excellent, especially Dancing in the Streets. They actually utilize a live band for the music, and have double the performers, last twice as long, & have real props instead of video screens. The theater is also significantly larger. I felt disappointed going from these kind of shows to the kind they have on Sunshine (which were on my Breeze cruise). But you never know. Some people may prefer the kind they have on Sunshine.

 

Dream also has a great waterpark, a little different but just as fun & in a beter location. No ropes course though. Doesn't have the Guys or Blue Iguana cantina, but she does have regular burgers (offered even late at night unlike Guys) & lunch burritos & extra omelet lines for breakfast & a Mexican buffet after one of the deck parties. No Asian restaurant & no extra-pay Italian restaurant for dinner, but she does have the same lunchtime pasta bar. Despite what the Dream doesn't have compared to ships like Sunshine & Breeze, I still feel like the Dream is the best Carnival ship at sea. It's all those indescribable things that set her apart, at least for me it does. Dream also has one of the best cover bands at sea: Black Jack Band. My clear favorite of all my cruises. They play in the oceans plaza. They are about to come back from vacation, and their next one is scheduled for late Sep-early Nov.

 

If you enjoy balconies and like the idea of being close to the water, get one of the cove balconies, but get one forward of the midship elevators. Or else you'll be under the noisy galley/kitchen. If you enjoyed your oceanview, the Dream has deluxe OVs with an extra half bathroom, which has a sink & tub/shower. That's what I was just in. With 3 adults, it was nice having the extra half-bath. 2 can shower at a time. Great for families as well. Some of them can sleep 5.

 

In regards to attitudes of the crew, I felt that the Dream was good. It's not quite what it used to be when I started cruising over 10 years ago on smaller ships, but I felt that the Dream was much better in this regard than the Breeze. I think that Carnival is starting to put more emphasis on 2.0 as opposed to good customer service. But Dream doesn't have much in the way of 2.0, which is one of the things that I like about the ship. Whatever you decide, I hope you have another great time on your next cruise.

Edited April 1, 2014 by k2excursion

[pauleydm]

I work in the customer service industry as well and I have found that the employees that work the guest service counter for Carnival are usually pretty cold. I am not sure if it is because 99 percent of the time they are dealing with guest complaints or if it because (and please don't hate me for saying this) they are from Europe for the most part. It could just be the demeanor of the international staff they hire:)

 

Thanks for the review...we will be sailing on the Sunshine in October.

Edited April 1, 2014 by pauleydm