Less Than 48 hours aboard the Carnival Sunshine

[debee1015]

Sunshine freeport by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

Only hours ago I left the "NEW" Carnival Sunshine after a short 2 day cruise to Freeport in the Bahamas.

 

I initially was going to do this solo as I would only need to take 2 days off from work, but I asked my co-worker Wanda if she wanted to go as well. She had never been on a cruise and I figured better to test the waters on a short trip than on an 7 or 8 day cruise.

 

So being a good friend and wanting to make cruising seem like an awesome thing to do, I made her a cruise survival kit:

 

20140417_073821 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

Inside was a variety of items including:

Toilet Paper

Cheeze Its

Spam

Spanish Style Rice

An inflatable tube

Sun Block

Pistachios

Bonine

and last but never least a small bottle of Captain Morgan Black.

 

20140416_185849 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

So I left my home northwest of Tampa Thursday Morning, I was on my way to pick up Wanda, I arrived at the Hess station and my pump stopped working 3 gallons in. My Scion may be little but I need more than 3 gallons of gas to get to the port. I move to another pump.

 

Is this a bad omen I wonder? Will we make it to the ship?

 

I pump gas and head to Wanda's we load my car and head out. Oops she forgot her Birth Certificate. Fortunately we were still in her apartment complex.

 

Finally we're off:

 

20140417_090504 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

We get on I-75 and we're in some terrible traffic.

 

Another Omen perhaps?

 

A small honda civic sized vehicle tangled with a tractor trailer and as usual the tractor trailer won, I took about an hour and a half to go from Fletcher to Fowler. While I make light of this, based on what I saw I wondered if maybe all the things that were delaying me that morning were preventing me from being a part of or witnessing this accident. I would be shocked if the driver of the car walked away....

 

[YesJeffery]

Great review so far, I love that zombie survival kit.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[debee1015]

It takes us over two hours to go from State Road 56 to I-4.

 

We get to the Starbucks on Thonasassa Rd near Plant City for some caffeine:

 

20140417_112225 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

We are on our way towards Orlando. Now once you get to the Orlando area, you can get off I-4 and onto the Central Florida Greenway which will take you to the Beachline Expressway, or you can just stay on I-4 and get off at the Beachline and fly right into Port Canaveral. I chose the later.

 

Oh silly me another accident around Universal Studios blocked I-4 up to almost to the Central Florida Greenway exit. MORE TRAFFIC??? I'm now regretting another driving decision today. I jump off I-4 at the next exit and head to the Greenway and the Beachline. We arrive at Port Canaveral around 1 PM, but it takes almost another hour to get into the parking garage at the port ( I used offsite parking once before, I will never do it again). A two and a half hour drive turned into a almost 5 hour ordeal. We could have been in Miami by now.

 

Here's some first glimpses of the Sunshine:

 

20140417_133802 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

20140417_135224 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

We stayed in Cabin 6351, aft starboard.

 

20140417_152548 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

20140417_152601 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

[2 cruzen]

Hope the rest of the trip only had happy events occurring. Looking forward to reading the rest.

[debee1015]

20140417_152555 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

Some different cabinets on the Sunshine compared to the Spirit, Conquest and Dream class ships.

 

20140417_152613 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

FLAT SCREEN TV, but there's no room service option (or if there is it wasn't working). One of the things I loved about the Dream, the TV room service.

 

20140417_152620 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

Some of you need to avert your eyes, here's a bathroom shot:

 

20140417_152627 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

The shower heads are higher on the Sunshine than on any of the other ships. I'm 6'1" on my barefeet and did not have to duck to rinse my hair like I normally do.

[picomullet]

20140417_152555 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

Some different cabinets on the Sunshine compared to the Spirit, Conquest and Dream class ships.

 

20140417_152613 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

FLAT SCREEN TV, but there's no room service option (or if there is it wasn't working). One of the things I loved about the Dream, the TV room service.

 

20140417_152620 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

Some of you need to avert your eyes, here's a bathroom shot:

 

20140417_152627 by DeBee1015, on Flickr

 

The shower heads are higher on the Sunshine than on any of the other ships. I'm 6'1" on my barefeet and did not have to duck to rinse my hair like I normally do.

 

We were on the repo cruise and it seemed to us the showers were larger. We had a regular balcony cabin which seemed smaller than other ships we have been on.

[JamesEM]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[debee1015]

Great review so far, I love that zombie survival kit.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

 

It was fun to make. She laughed as she opened it. :D

[debee1015]

Hope the rest of the trip only had happy events occurring. Looking forward to reading the rest.

 

Yes, MOST of the bad things occurred prior to getting to the port. One noticeable thing occurred while on the ship. But I'll get to that later on.

[debee1015]

We were on the repo cruise and it seemed to us the showers were larger. We had a regular balcony cabin which seemed smaller than other ships we have been on.

 

I agree, the cabin itself felt a little smaller. The bathroom was bigger, the shower was rectangular rather than having an angle. I thought the balcony was smaller, but we had one of the 180sq foot extended balconies on the Legend last October and that's like comparing Pineapples to Grapes.

[Hmdecor]

Thank You for doing a review! We will be on the Sunshine in 12 days and i am absorbing everything i can . Love the Pictures! Wheeeww..glad ya'll made it to the ship on time!

[debee1015]

Even though it was a 2 day cruise I still had a small suitcase (checked at the port) a backpack and a rolling carry-on bag and a shopping bag with water and wine (a bottle of Cava Spanish Sparkling wine and some Chardonnay), the security shook the plastic wrapped 6 pack of Zephyrhills water. Wanda asked why he did that and I answered, because Vodka/alcohol bubbles and water does not. The Security guy was like, that's right and he started joking with us. I find that if you don't act like you're hiding something and act naturally and are overall pleasant to people it make the whole day so much easier for everyone.

 

At least when I'm on vacation.

 

Last October I packed almost every make up item I owned into a giant Sephora bag and dragged it on the Legend. My Mom who is typically my sailing companion said I needed to become more organized, as the bathroom looked like a pop-up Sephora on a Carnival ship (Duty Free Sephora? I LOVE that idea). So she bought me these rolling bags from HSN from that lady who makes the huggable hangers. I was skeptical, its from HSN after all. So I used them this cruise and my makeup was in a nice little rolled kit, all my brushes, eyeliner, mascara, etc, etc, etc. The bigger one held my full size shampoo (I hate those little bottles, I just carry the real deal) body wash, contact solution, etc. They also hang on the little hooks on the back of the bathroom door, so my stuff was easy to put away. So maybe I am better organized?

 

Wanda was excited when we finally go to our room, we had a balcony and this was her first cruise. She kept saying "I LOVE THIS, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT". It was very exciting. Just when you become cynical about cruising and changes that have been made over the years go with someone who's never been on one. It reminds you why you go on cruises to begin with.

 

Our luggage arrived at 3:30 and we were unpacked before the muster drill started.

 

We still had yet to have a drink. But the people around us did. I know there aren't a lot of icebergs or reefs in the sailing channels in the Caribbean but seriously people pay attention at the Muster drill.

 

Oh another thing, passing gas, please hold it. Especially when you're at the front, those of us behind you are suffering enough as it is.

 

Muster Drill over (FINALLY) we head back inside for a beverage of an adult kind. Our first stop is the Lobby bar. After waiting for 30 minutes and no one came to reopen it we headed up to the Lido We saw the Guy's Burger joint, but the line was ridiculous. so we went in search of other food. Ok I did, Wanda really wanted a burger. The lido deck is really pretty the colors and light and fresh. Very different from the other ships I've been on. We end up in line at Guy's (The Blue Iguana Taco spot is not open at this time).

 

Here's our view of the Lido looking up into the Serenity area:

 

 

I understand now why people say it's not so serene. The music from the Lido pool is amplified to the serenity deck near the waterfall. The idea of the serenity waterfall is beautiful but the execution is lacking. The Serenity deck does wrap around those top three decks so you can find plenty of seating in the front of the ship where you are less likely to hear Salt N Pepa tell you to "Push it, Push it Real good" during sail away.

 

Guy's Burger Joint

 

There is a menu, but we only got to choose from Hamburger or Cheeseburger. The other options were not offered on either day of the sailing.

 

The Burgers are REALLY good. I watch Triple D a lot and Guy's greatest thrill it seems is to get food smushed in his beard. This burger is messy, but really tasty. The toppings bar had some great options crumpled bacon mushrooms, sauteed onions Chipolte Mayo.

 

We head over to the Red Frog Rum bar and order our first 2 drinks of the day:

 

A Beachcomber for Wanda and a Red's remedy for me:

Edited April 20, 2014 by debee1015

[debee1015]

We head up to the serenity bar on the 14th deck and watch as Port Canaveral starts to slide into the distance. Here we have Wanda's favorite beverage a B-52 shot (Kahlua Bailey's and Grand marnier in layers) We sit a bit and watch the people around us and we walk around the Serenity deck.

 

People are having a good time and drinks are flowing.

 

There were a lot of bachelorette parties on the ship.

 

We were able to find an empty clam shell and relax for a few minutes. My understanding it people in interior rooms make their way up here late and night and sleep in the clam shells. Or at least a rumor that someone told me who did it. They woke up when it started raining.

 

Back to the cabin, the seas were kind of rough, Wanda was holding on to the railings in the hall. After sailing behind Sandy in 2012 nothing really bothers me. So I'm laughing at her asking her how many other drinks she had. She's like I can feel the ship rolling.

 

The sun finally starts to emerge:

 

 

Roughish Seas

 

We're going to have dinner tonight in the Farenheit 555 Steakhouse.

 

It's not in the usual location near the top of the ship. It's on the 5th deck across the hall from Bonsai sushi.

 

The Sunshine has a lot of options from a dining perspective. It's crazy. I don't think in a week you could try EVERYTHING. It will be interesting to see if Carnival is able to offer everything they do currently at no charge.

[debee1015]

Thank You for doing a review! We will be on the Sunshine in 12 days and i am absorbing everything i can . Love the Pictures! Wheeeww..glad ya'll made it to the ship on time!

 

Thanks!

 

Me too, what a waste that would have been. :(

[debee1015]

Like I said previously Fahrenheit 555 (spelt correctly this time) is on the 4th deck. Not 5th. It was a very short cruise and I'm still lost.

 

Here is where my biggest problem with the Sunshine happens. If you are staying in the Aft section of the ship above deck 5, you CANNOT use the aft Elevators to access the restaurants and dining areas on decks 3 or 4, you have to use the Mid Ship elevators to get to these places. If you have Your Time dining and you're in an aft room, everything is OK the dining room for you is the Sunrise at the aft of the ship. I don't like Anytime Dining so we were in the Sunset dining room on deck 3. On Deck 3 the Galley takes up the middle section and on Deck 4 the Limelight Lounge prevents direct access to the middle of the ship. This makes the mid ship and the forward elevators very busy. I would have walked but Wanda's knees sometimes bother her.

 

Food Porn Ahoy:

 

The salt and pepper shakers look like nail polish bottles.

 

Steaks and Chops

 

Garlic Oil, Butter and Pesto (which we decided needed a pinch of salt)

 

Brioche and something else....

[debee1015]

Tastings from the Chef:

I don't know what this was, but Wanda really liked it.

 

BTW, you can't eat the rock, its for presentation purposes. LOL

 

Something carpaccio it tasted like a lemon sorbet on top. Quite tasty.

 

Tiger Shrimp Cocktail

 

Ahi Tuna Tartar

 

Martini time

[debee1015]

Caesar Salad

 

Spinach Salad

 

NY Strip

 

Surf and Turf

 

Mushrooms on the side

[debee1015]

Cheese plate for me for dessert, Wanda had the RIDICULOUS cheesecake (sorry no pictures we took it to go and I forgot, but there's one in my Dream and Legend albums).

 

A Bunny Towel animal.

 

So yeah! After all the trials and tribulations getting to the port we had a successful and tiring day one. Our plans to maybe go to the Comedy Club or see Pacific Rim on the Seaside Theatre were moot. We were both too tired to party and we had a big day in Freeport ahead of us.

 

Cheers to a successful day 1

[debee1015]

Friday April 18th Started out beautifully. While the Sun had yet to make an appearance, the moon was still out:

 

(I just Mooned Cruise Critic! HA!)

 

What's that saying Red at night Sailor's delight, Red in the Morning Sailor's take warning? I read that we were at a 60% chance for rain in Freeport, but the day was slightly cloudy, but I didn't experience any rain fall.

 

The seas were still pretty rough

 

Still sailing towards Freeport

 

There is a George Harrison quote about this moment....

[zephyrhillscruisers]

Note for the future regarding State road 56 and I 75, should you find out there is an accident..and,for some reason, most of them take hours to clean up: get off on 54 or 56 and head east through Zephyrhills (Don't forget to wave as you drive by) and pick up 98 south. Takes you right to I 4 ,Lakeland. Back roads and snowbirds, but in the long run you save time

[debee1015]

Note for the future regarding State road 56 and I 75, should you find out there is an accident..and,for some reason, most of them take hours to clean up: get off on 54 or 56 and head east through Zephyrhills (Don't forget to wave as you drive by) and pick up 98 south. Takes you right to I 4 ,Lakeland. Back roads and snowbirds, but in the long run you save time

 

Yeah, I've gone that way before. We were stuck just south of Fletcher. I had no way to get off I-75 at that point. :mad:

[Rockstarmami]

Even though it was a 2 day cruise I still had a small suitcase (checked at the port) a backpack and a rolling carry-on bag and a shopping bag with water and wine (a bottle of Cava Spanish Sparkling wine and some Chardonnay), the security shook the plastic wrapped 6 pack of Zephyrhills water. Wanda asked why he did that and I answered, because Vodka/alcohol bubbles and water does not. The Security guy was like, that's right and he started joking with us. I find that if you don't act like you're hiding something and act naturally and are overall pleasant to people it make the whole day so much easier for everyone.

 

At least when I'm on vacation.

 

Last October I packed almost every make up item I owned into a giant Sephora bag and dragged it on the Legend. My Mom who is typically my sailing companion said I needed to become more organized, as the bathroom looked like a pop-up Sephora on a Carnival ship (Duty Free Sephora? I LOVE that idea). So she bought me these rolling bags from HSN from that lady who makes the huggable hangers. I was skeptical, its from HSN after all. So I used them this cruise and my makeup was in a nice little rolled kit, all my brushes, eyeliner, mascara, etc, etc, etc. The bigger one held my full size shampoo (I hate those little bottles, I just carry the real deal) body wash, contact solution, etc. They also hang on the little hooks on the back of the bathroom door, so my stuff was easy to put away. So maybe I am better organized?

 

Wanda was excited when we finally go to our room, we had a balcony and this was her first cruise. She kept saying "I LOVE THIS, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT". It was very exciting. Just when you become cynical about cruising and changes that have been made over the years go with someone who's never been on one. It reminds you why you go on cruises to begin with.

 

Our luggage arrived at 3:30 and we were unpacked before the muster drill started.

 

We still had yet to have a drink. But the people around us did. I know there aren't a lot of icebergs or reefs in the sailing channels in the Caribbean but seriously people pay attention at the Muster drill.

 

Oh another thing, passing gas, please hold it. Especially when you're at the front, those of us behind you are suffering enough as it is.

 

Muster Drill over (FINALLY) we head back inside for a beverage of an adult kind. Our first stop is the Lobby bar. After waiting for 30 minutes and no one came to reopen it we headed up to the Lido We saw the Guy's Burger joint, but the line was ridiculous. so we went in search of other food. Ok I did, Wanda really wanted a burger. The lido deck is really pretty the colors and light and fresh. Very different from the other ships I've been on. We end up in line at Guy's (The Blue Iguana Taco spot is not open at this time).

 

Here's our view of the Lido looking up into the Serenity area:

 

 

I understand now why people say it's not so serene. The music from the Lido pool is amplified to the serenity deck near the waterfall. The idea of the serenity waterfall is beautiful but the execution is lacking. The Serenity deck does wrap around those top three decks so you can find plenty of seating in the front of the ship where you are less likely to hear Salt N Pepa tell you to "Push it, Push it Real good" during sail away.

 

Guy's Burger Joint

 

There is a menu, but we only got to choose from Hamburger or Cheeseburger. The other options were not offered on either day of the sailing.

 

The Burgers are REALLY good. I watch Triple D a lot and Guy's greatest thrill it seems is to get food smushed in his beard. This burger is messy, but really tasty. The toppings bar had some great options crumpled bacon mushrooms, sauteed onions Chipolte Mayo.

 

We head over to the Red Frog Rum bar and order our first 2 drinks of the day:

 

A Beachcomber for Wanda and a Red's remedy for me:

 

Were you at Muster Station C? Someone passed gas there, it was terrible, we were sooo mad! We also came from NW Tampa, we took Bearss Ave to I-275, and that to I-4 E, a few tolls after that and we were at Park 'N Cruise....smooth drive both ways and no accidents.

[debee1015]

Were you at Muster Station C? Someone passed gas there, it was terrible, we were sooo mad! We also came from NW Tampa, we took Bearss Ave to I-275, and that to I-4 E, a few tolls after that and we were at Park 'N Cruise....smooth drive both ways and no accidents.

 

YES. We were at Muster Station C.

 

I decided not to take 275 because we would get on by the airport and I figured 75 would be easier...

[debee1015]

When we arrived in Freeport the Bahamas Celebration was in port with us:

 

 

Welcome to Freeport

 

We went up to the Lido and popped into the "Cucina Ji Bar" for breakfast. If you sail on the Sunshine this is the place for breakfast. The Omelet stations are here, there's plenty of seating, minimal wait and a great view.

 

 

 

The Havana Bar:

[debee1015]

We were off the ship around 9:30, our plan for the day was to head over to the Port Lucaya and the Grand Lucayan resort and take advantage of their $15 day pass.

 

Where are the limes for my coconuts?

 

The Sunshine in port

 

We walked through the market at the port and got to the Taxi area. We waited a bit for a taxi. It was $5 pp each way (or $10RT pp) to Port Lucaya.

 

My Mom has worked for Publix supermarkets here in Florida for over 20 years, when I saw the logo for Butler's Food World I had to take a picture.

 

Police check point.