Picture Review of SUNSHINE and Western Caribbean Ports of Call

[mpcaruth]

COZUMEL CONTINUED:

 

Final moments at Punta Sur

 

After we stopped at the souvenier stand, I asked about going to the beach at Punta Sur. The tour guide was reluctant and said we should probably head out to see the other side of the coast. I had wanted to see the beach, but I wanted to spend time on the other side more. So off we went. Since we had now drank a few of our complimentary beers, Carlos drove the rest of the day. This allowed me and the kids the opportunity to stand up in the back of the Jeep and take it all in!!! Red Neck Cozumel style.

 

 

 

Here is the entrance/exit to the Park. There is a long caravan tour waiting to get the ok to proceed as we were leaving.

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

COZUMEL CONTINUED:

 

Exploring the eastern side of the island

 

There is no electricity on the east coast; just beautiful scenery, secluded beaches, and the occasional bar and restaurant huts. PARADISE! This ride ranks right up there with our off road jeep tour in Aruba.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this is the famous Coconuts Bar. We did not stop here, but if we ever come back and rent a vehicle, you can bet your bum we will!

 

Edited February 18, 2015 by mpcaruth

[rtw68]

Enjoying your review! We will be on Sunshine in 66 days!

[mpcaruth]

COZUMEL CONTINUED:

 

Exploring the eastern side of the island

 

We stop at a pre-arranged restaurant for for food and drinks. The lunch was also included in the price of our tour, however, drinks we not.

 

 

 

 

My daughter, the pina colada connoisseur, absolutely loved the all natural, alcohol free drink.

 

 

Lunch was very good and all four of us enjoyed it and ate it all. (So glad my kids are willing to try new foods.)

 

 

[mpcaruth]

COZUMEL CONTINUED:

 

Exploring the eastern side of the island

 

 

After lunch we headed across the street to enjoy some final beach time. The water was amazing, sand soft, and waves gentle.

 

 

 

I cannot help but think "shrinkage" every time I look at this photo!

 

 

View from the water looking back towards the restaurant hut:

 

 

 

I LOVED this stop!!!

 

Now it was time to head back across the island towards the cruise port. This is the one time I was disappointed in this excursion. I had read beforehand that this tour wants to take you to a tequila factory, apparently someone knows someone or someone gets a cut of tequila sales. I told our tour guide that we do not drink tequila and that we were not interested. Evidently, the beer had mellowed my typically assertive style... so off to the fake tequila factory we went. The tour was a joke, and thankfully it was only about 10 minutes long. We politely said that we were not interested in buying the $80 bottles of tequila and off we went.

 

We made it back to the port with around 30 minutes to spare. It was a very memorable day spent with my family.

 

[mpcaruth]

Okay, it's time to call it a day. My typos are becoming more frequent. I was off from work today on a rare snow day, so I figured I should utilize the extra time and pay it forward on Cruise Critic.

[SunnyDayz4me]

Loving your review and pictures...thank you for taking the time ! Looking forward to more :)

[Momma1980]

Subscribing. I was happy to see that you were posting a review. I've really enjoyed your other reviews. Thanks for deciding to do it!

[Momto3kiddos]

Looking foward to the rest of this trip report. We sail in 38 Days! :D

I am the same as you sailing for the ports and new experiences for me and my family. I have sailed 6 RCCL, 1 NCL and 1 CCL and 1 DCL. I sailed the Paradise in the 90's and was not impressed with CCL. Giving them another shot.

[Sthrncrusr]

Your photos and reviews are fabulous! I'd love to pick your brain a little as it looks like three ships you have been on we are deciding between. We are a family of four and our two children will be 4 and very close to 3 when we cruise this summer. In years past we've done mega ships on Royal, etc but like you, I've found being a lot more frugal saves us money and gets us a great vacation still. With that said, I'm aware of the differences in the ships but would love your opinion as to which would be best for smaller kids: Sunshine, Dream, or Fascination. We'd drive to the port so this is simply a ship question I guess. I've done the Ecstasy before and while I was so hesitant ,I ended up having a great time and so did the kids. Because the cost was so great, we splurged a little on the room and did a grand suite and really great excursions. I guess I'm trying to figure out if it is better to do a bigger/newer ship like Dream or Sunshine and skimp more on the room and excursions or get a nicer room on fascination but maybe spend more on excursions and such if need be. On sea days our kids like to splash around the slides for a bit, mini golf, and go to the kids club. They'd love it either way but are still so young and small that they don't need much to entertain them! This is the first year I'm really trying to be savvy and smart with my planning and money! We are looking at 7 nt cruises. The fascination has a select few to the Bahamas, Dream to western car, and sunshine to the southern car. The sunshines itinerary is the most appealing but as of now it's the priciest. That said, we have a lot of flexibility with dates and could definitely book two wks before. I've always planned well in advance but this summer I have decided to wait and book a great deal as it popped up last minute. We'll see how that goes!...

[mpcaruth]

Looking foward to the rest of this trip report. We sail in 38 Days! :D

I am the same as you sailing for the ports and new experiences for me and my family. I have sailed 6 RCCL, 1 NCL and 1 CCL and 1 DCL. I sailed the Paradise in the 90's and was not impressed with CCL. Giving them another shot.

 

Glad you are giving Carnival a try. I am somewhat concerned that your return-to-Carnival ship (Sunshine) may be a big gamble. Many Carnival fans do not like the Sunshine. We enjoyed it, but we knew the ins and outs of avoiding the crowds, meandering the awkward public areas, and the Any Time dining fiasco.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Casco Bay Kid]

FTTF. I can think of Alot better things to spend $50 on.

 

Sent from my HTC One mini using Forums mobile app

[mpcaruth]

Your photos and reviews are fabulous! I'd love to pick your brain a little as it looks like three ships you have been on we are deciding between. We are a family of four and our two children will be 4 and very close to 3 when we cruise this summer. In years past we've done mega ships on Royal, etc but like you, I've found being a lot more frugal saves us money and gets us a great vacation still. With that said, I'm aware of the differences in the ships but would love your opinion as to which would be best for smaller kids: Sunshine, Dream, or Fascination. We'd drive to the port so this is simply a ship question I guess. I've done the Ecstasy before and while I was so hesitant ,I ended up having a great time and so did the kids. Because the cost was so great, we splurged a little on the room and did a grand suite and really great excursions. I guess I'm trying to figure out if it is better to do a bigger/newer ship like Dream or Sunshine and skimp more on the room and excursions or get a nicer room on fascination but maybe spend more on excursions and such if need be. On sea days our kids like to splash around the slides for a bit, mini golf, and go to the kids club. They'd love it either way but are still so young and small that they don't need much to entertain them! This is the first year I'm really trying to be savvy and smart with my planning and money! We are looking at 7 nt cruises. The fascination has a select few to the Bahamas, Dream to western car, and sunshine to the southern car. The sunshines itinerary is the most appealing but as of now it's the priciest. That said, we have a lot of flexibility with dates and could definitely book two wks before. I've always planned well in advance but this summer I have decided to wait and book a great deal as it popped up last minute. We'll see how that goes!...

 

 

To answer your specific question, "which would be best for smaller kids: Sunshine, Dream, or Fascination?": For small kids under 5, I would say there are all about equal. They each have the smaller waterslides and splash area, camp Carnival, and mini golf. The Sunshine does have a small, outdoor play area for little ones). If your kids are not very tolerant to crowds and loud noise, the Fascination may be the better choice. With that said, I don't the ship really matters for that age group.

So then, I suggest you look at an itinerary that is most kids friendly. Private Islands or port areas are good for little ones, as you can easily go back to the ship for lunch, a quick nap, and head back out. (i.e. Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, or Mahogany Bay Roatan).

Now, I will reveal my anal side... I actually create a spreadsheet before booking every cruise and rate the following categories (1-10) for my narrowed down 10 or so cruise picks: Port of departure (we drive, so closer is better), # days cruise (and how this fits into work vacation schedule), itinerary (new ports get higher ranks), cabin comfort (larger cabins rank higher), price (I also will convert to price per day to justify 8-day over 6-day), cruise ship (more amenities rate higher), and a bonus category (use this if pre or post cruise Disney, Sea World, etc. - this also compensates for 6-day).

I then sum all the ratings and rank the cruises. This method may require a little tweaking, but it has never failed me. Typically, the highest rated itinerary is also the highest ranking overall.

Out of your 3 choices, I would personally splurge on Itinerary (the Sunshine) and get a cheap cabin (the 4J, of course). The experience of the port days is definitely more important to me than the cabin.

 

Have fun planning!

[mpcaruth]

FTTF. I can think of Alot better things to spend $50 on.

 

Sent from my HTC One mini using Forums mobile app

 

 

I know, it was not a proud moment for me when I realized I had completely wasted $50. I tried justifying by saying we could easily drop off sodas and wine...

[Sthrncrusr]

Thank you!!!! I'm definitely going to attempt your spreadsheet 😉

[lizziez00]

I know, it was not a proud moment for me when I realized I had completely wasted $50. I tried justifying by saying we could easily drop off sodas and wine...

 

It is definitely a personal opinion.... I have had FTTF on every one of my 6 cruises and have it on the next 2 CCL ones also. I LOVED IT and felt it was a great investment every time. Always been on early..room was ready every time and only once had to wait more than 30 min for our luggage!

 

And seeing as they are mostly snapped up within minutes of being released (when they have been sold out)...Some others have definitely had a great experience with it also! :o

 

Love your Sunshine review!! We are on her for the second time in 16 days!!!

Edited February 18, 2015 by lizziez00

[Toobar]

I really loved the view from our not-so-obstructed view, and having the outside deck to lounge on while the family was getting ready for dinner. I would pull a couple of lounge chairs right up to our window and relax on my "balcony". Usually there was no one else out on the deck at this end. When everyone was ready for dinner, they would tap on the window to get my attention. As I said earlier, I am frugal, and this is the closest I have been to having a balcony cabin.

 

Our view in Roatan:

 

 

The deck outside our cabin. There is an uncomfortable bench, however, a lounge chair is preferable and can be had. Notice the smaller tender boats are hanging above and do not obstruct the view.

 

 

Outside on Deck 3 (Lobby). The 4J cabins are all the way down to the end.

 

 

We are staying 3128 at the end of March. The last 3 cruises we have stayed in balcony cabins, so this will be a new experience for us. Any issues with noise at night?

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Great pics. Thanks for posting. Looking forward to our cruise on the Sunshine.

[islandatsea]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review on the Sunshine. Looking forward to reading more.

[H&K+1]

Loving the review!!!

 

Sent from my KFTT using Forums mobile app

[rdevine10]

Loving the review! We sail the sunshine in 59 days!

[PathfinderEss]

Really enjoying your review and wonderful photo's.

[mpcaruth]

We are staying 3128 at the end of March. The last 3 cruises we have stayed in balcony cabins, so this will be a new experience for us. Any issues with noise at night?

As I stated earlier in my review, there was some noise overhead. Not real loud, but it sounded like someone rolling a cart or something. We never could determine the source. We sleep with a fan, so the ocassional noise did not really bother our sleeping.

[fadenya]

Love this review! Sailing on the Sunshine on April 25th. Would love to hear your tips on avoiding the crowds. Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip.

[HDC80]

Loving the review. We are aboard the Sunshine on 4/11.

 

So far I have booked cave tubing at Belize. We might go to paradise beach in Cozumel.

 

Still looking for inspiration in Roatan and Costa Maya.

 

Could you tell me how "elegant" people dress on the elegant nights? Our last couple of cruises hardly anyone dressed up. The women mostly had sundresses on. We have never been on the Sunshine.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.