100% honest review of the Sunshine.

[AguaMala]

I can't speak for others but it seems so many people when writing reviews go so over the top to try and make some point that the review isn't even close to accurate anymore. I just got off the Sunshine 3 days ago and half of what the OP mentioned was either untrue or so blown out of proportion that it was ridiculous.

 

I have to believe 2 different people can have two totally different experiences, unless they have the same cabin, same servers, same steward, and destination the same area of the ship.

 

And then add what draws each to whatever likens them, those specific areas of the ship.

[blessedwith12]

Thanks for your "honest" review. Rather than just having someone say they had a wonderful cruise or a horrible cruise, I like to see why they felt that way. Often, I will find that the things that annoy one cruiser won't bother me at all. If you had told me the food selections and service were horrible, or that your ports were terrible, I would be concerned. But torn carpeting or skinny walkways on the Lido aren't going to be a deal breaker for me. If crowding is an issue, now I know to adjust times that I show up places. Very helpful information!

 

One question, how long was your cruise? The one I'm looking at is a 9 day. It seems like shorter cruises have more families and are more crowded while longer cruises have more couples and are less crowded.

[Vitamin_D]

Thank you for the very fair review on of the Breeze. These are points that have been brought up over and over again by many different cruisers that have gone into their cruise with a positive attitude not looking to complain. I think honestly, it's a bit of a disappointment that Carnival put all those extra staterooms on the ship but did not leave room to accommodate the extra passengers in public spaces.

Between all the reviews of crowded spaces, very long lines, issues with ATD, a lack of an aft pool, I am glad I decided to switch my cruise to the Breeze. I mean I'm sure we would have had a wonderful time on the Sunshine, but I think it was a better decision for us.

 

Hello! :)

 

I've been reading through some of the topics on the Sunshine because I am booked on her this coming September and I noticed that you mentioned you switched from her to the Breeze. We were on the Breeze last September and experienced EVERYTHING negative that was mentioned about the Sunshine (if not MORE). I can not even tell you how annoyed I was - I will never sail on the Breeze again.

 

However, agreeing with another point mentioned earlier in the thread, this was just my experience... everyone is different I guess!

 

Anyway, good luck on the Breeze. I hope you have an amazing trip and a lovely vacation! :D

[Katfncy]

i just got off the Sunshine on March 15th. I will have to say i had a great favorite ship that i have been on. My first and second sailing was on the Destiny, so yes i wanted to compare. The lack of walking space around the area of Blue Iguana has to the worst. I did see buckets collecting water in various areas. I never smelled anything bad in any of the areas. I also had a missed port day, Aruba, so that made us have 3 days at sea in the beginning of the cruise. The casino waiter and waitress has to be the worst i've ever experienced. Did i have a good time.... of course i was on a cruise in the middle of winter. Our cabin steward was wonderful and the layout was great and with plenty of room. Balcony cabin deck 7. The main dining room food was good. Epic Rock has to be the best show i've seen done on any Carnival ship. Loved it! The comedy club was crowded but if you get there early enough to stand in line you will get a good seat! if you don't at least you have a TV screen to watch. Will i sail the Sunshine again - NO. My favorite ship so far is the Breeze, but i didn't like the Dream at all. So as we all say each person's has their own likes and dislikes and i go in thinking i'm on a cruise ship in the middle of winter in warm weather. It never is that bad!

[big ragu 1950]

Thanks for your "honest" review. Rather than just having someone say they had a wonderful cruise or a horrible cruise, I like to see why they felt that way. Often, I will find that the things that annoy one cruiser won't bother me at all. If you had told me the food selections and service were horrible, or that your ports were terrible, I would be concerned. But torn carpeting or skinny walkways on the Lido aren't going to be a deal breaker for me. If crowding is an issue, now I know to adjust times that I show up places. Very helpful information!

 

One question, how long was your cruise? The one I'm looking at is a 9 day. It seems like shorter cruises have more families and are more crowded while longer cruises have more couples and are less crowded.

 

it has been my experience as well, longer cruises do have effect on crowds and the age groups

[blessedwith12]

I did decide to go ahead and book on the Sunshine! I really choose cruises more based on the ports and I really want to return to St. Kitts and St. Lucia. I know we will have a wonderful time on the Sunshine. My daughters and I have fun wherever we go together. I know the food will be great and we'll adjust to any crowds - although as mentioned above, they should be less crowded on a 9 day.

[Nilbog]

I read reviews just to see what others think about a ship/itinerary/cruise line. I'll be on the Sunshine in November and my wife and I will have a great time. We picked the cruise based on the itinerary and where it fit into our lives. We'll do some shore excursions based on what my physical limitations allow. We're going to have an awesome time! We've dealt with crowds our entire adult lives due to work, and know that on a cruise we need to make adjustments. We know we can't show up for a show 3 minutes before the show and expect a good seat, we know (from life and past cruises) to avoid high traffic times for meals. We've learned to be flexible, a necessary trait for cruising. Neither of us are sun worshippers and spend time in our cabin on our balcony instead of on deck (which is why we always book good balconies). We go on cruises to escape the rat race of the work/sleep grind. I kind of hope people read reviews of the Sunshine and decide not to sail her, because that leaves more room for me and my wife's enjoyment of my vacation time.

[Liverpoollovely]

thank you for your honest review :) as you can see by my signature my family and I are booked for the next three cruises on the Sunshine

 

having read this review it will help me keep an open mind :) we are doing ATD and the paging system does not bother us, what bothers me is waiting IN the dining room at the table for service; the recent B2B we went on we experienced long wait within the dining room at our table ending up having a 3 hour dining experience because there just wasn't enough waitstaff, kitchen staff and this was at different times when it was off peak times.

 

in all honesty the only reason we chose the ship was for the itinerary's and the timings were perfect; we have never been to Bermuda, St Kitts, Aruba, Caraco so we are excited about experiencing those particular ports.

 

as far as crowds go; we tend to sail when it is Spring Break in the US so there's always an element of hunt-for-the-sun-lounger.

 

I expect to have a lot of fun (always do) and be wary of these common issues you spoke of

 

Thank you for sharing :)

[coscab]

We are NCL cruisers but were thinking of booking the Sunshine for May (next month) as we only live about an hour from PC, is there a main dining room open at lunch time on sea days? Would there be a long wait?

Also, we want to book an aft facing balcony on deck 6, I have been reading this thread and it sounds like so many of you are familiar with this ship, would that be a good cabin choice, we love the aft.

Thanks and happy sailing!

[Carnival Queen]

Thanks for your review on the Sunshine. Our cruise on the Sunshine will be next February but with the negatives we have read about, we will know what to look out for. Mainly taking that cruise because of the 8 Ports we will be visiting :D .

 

Same with us!! Not great reading the not so good reviews, but after our 12-day repo cruise in February we were spoiled and couldn't turn down this 2/21/16 13-day cruise with some amazing new ports. And as long as they have Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana too, we should be good to go!! :p And as others have mentioned, some people LOVE her! Go figure . . .

[cocacola86]

Is the Sunshine really that bad, crowded? Or should we just ignore all the bad reviews. We've never had a bad time.

[freagan]

Is the Sunshine really that bad, crowded? Or should we just ignore all the bad reviews. We've never had a bad time.

 

It was that bad when it was the Destiny.

[bar1068]

Is the Sunshine really that bad, crowded? Or should we just ignore all the bad reviews. We've never had a bad time.

 

Yes, ignore the bad reviews....really all reviews for that matter, but fwiw....we've cruised on the Sunshine twice....felt no more "crowded" than any other ship we've cruised on.

[ready1]

I'm afraid Carnival is taking the shrinking show room idea to the new Vista class.

[sea wanderer]

The Sunshine is a fine boat. After about 3 days you have adapted to her idiosyncrasies and are running around like a pro. Loved the Waterworks! Yes the comedy club is intimate get there early or you will be watching one of the "side" screens. Yes, she does show some signs of being a 17 year old vessel, but you have to be looking. The "new" stuff is really nice. Deck chairs were a premium on sea days, get out early and stake your claim. Always remember you are on vacation, someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning.

[missdebi]

We are booked on the Sunshine in 2016 so we have awhile to go! Thanks for your review- we sailed on the Pride and did not like that ship at all but had a great cruise- and will have a great time on the Sunshine and will take your comments into consideration with our planning. Thanks

[spazilla1]

So glad you have given a completely thorough review! Thanks muchly! We live near to Port Canaveral and many times have wanted to sail out of here - but wind up sailing out of Miami instead. Was interested when the Sunshine came to port as we thought "at last - an affordable larger ship" (the dream was a bit out of reach initially for our little budget). But I have seen many many negative reviews. Even your review, in my humble opinion, was very negative for a ship as large and as newly furbished as this was.

 

My question to you was - if you had a teenager - says 16 yrs old - would you make this their first cruise with you? She has been wanting and wanting to cruise with us, and DH does not want to sail out of Miami again, so I thought maybe we would chance going on Sunshine - but I am constantly hearing "its a good ship - BUT......".

 

As a recent Sunshine cruiser - what is your take on that?

 

Again, thanks for the review!

[Out to sea!]

So glad you have given a completely thorough review! Thanks muchly! We live near to Port Canaveral and many times have wanted to sail out of here - but wind up sailing out of Miami instead. Was interested when the Sunshine came to port as we thought "at last - an affordable larger ship" (the dream was a bit out of reach initially for our little budget). But I have seen many many negative reviews. Even your review, in my humble opinion, was very negative for a ship as large and as newly furbished as this was.

 

My question to you was - if you had a teenager - says 16 yrs old - would you make this their first cruise with you? She has been wanting and wanting to cruise with us, and DH does not want to sail out of Miami again, so I thought maybe we would chance going on Sunshine - but I am constantly hearing "its a good ship - BUT......".

 

As a recent Sunshine cruiser - what is your take on that?

 

Again, thanks for the review!

 

Ummmm.......both the Liberty and the Valor are larger than the Sunshine. :p

Edited April 12, 2015 by Out to sea!

[cocacola86]

How is the sunshine for two 30 something olds and two adults in their 60s or should we stick to Celebrity?

[Out to sea!]

How is the sunshine for two 30 something olds and two adults in their 60s or should we stick to Celebrity?

 

Depends on what your expectations are. What do you expect and I can let you know whether you might like it or not.

[Familycruisers20]

We were on the Sunshine last June and LOVED it! Previously been on the Dream too. We loved the Sunshine so much we did not hesitate to book her again for this June. I am sailing with a group of 17 total. Adults and kids of all ages.

 

We had no issues with this ship!

[rdrack5]

I guess I'm glad our first cruise will be on the Sunshine. No expectations. We just wanted to go to the Styx concert and decided to make a family vacation out of it.

[cocacola86]

When your in the serenity area, how quiet is it? Can you hear the music from the pool area?

[jimbo5544]

When your in the serenity area, how quiet is it? Can you hear the music from the pool area?

While I have not sailed her (yet), I can tell you you will be able to hear (we did a sleepover on her when they brought her over to New Orleans). That being said, You hear noise on most ships (surely every Dream and Conquest class of ship) in Serenity.

[crazychuckie]

Hopefully people dont actually use CC reviews to base their decision 100% on whether to sail a ship or not. My DW and I find it quite amusing to read some of the posts and "issues" people have. We didn't see a single portion or carpet that was tattered and worn, did not think the layout "horrible" (cannot get anywhere without going up and down decks?? Come on, that's just ridiculous and over exaggerating), had no issue with waking around people getting drinks ( the ice cream machines were in the corners not in anyone's way at all), lido deck chairs "worst ship ever"? It's a ship with limited space. Lol. Any ship has the most chairs/ loungers crammed into the decks they can get. I really can't see the deck getting "so full of chairs that there is no place to walk on the ship". I find some peoples exaggeration amusing to say the least. I just don't hope some people take certain reviews totally to heart and cancel/ change ships/ don't book on certain ships, simply because of what they read. We were on the sunshine last week and thought the ship was great. Did see a couple water leaks ( you just walk AROUND a bucket!), had great meals, great service and got to serenity early to grab our seats. We had several conversations about reviews we read on here while enjoying dinner ( which we only waited one night for and that was only 15 minutes) and wondered which ship, if at all, some people were actually commenting on.

 

 

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Thank You...109 days!