Carnival Sunshine 8/8/15 8 day sailing review with pics

[mississauga]

Thank you very much, kind of sad to seeing it winding down. Two journey cruises.....wow. Have a TA on our bucket list....OK, my bucket list. MY wife's not so much, she is afraid of rough seas. Interesting, because I have been more affected but a couple of particularly rough sea days and not her.........

 

Enjoy your Journey cruises and let us know your thoughts when you return.

 

Tell your wife that TA's don't always have rough seas. We have been on 4 TA's and only one had some rough seas. The rough seas were not in the middle of the Atlantic. Much closer to the islands. On our very first one, the seas were smooth as glass and the others were no different than if we were cruising in the Caribbean.

 

If she is concerned about rough seas, the Pacific may be more of a concern. We had some really really rough seas in the Pacific both close to Australia and the Pacific northwest from Vancouver to California.

[mississauga]

Your nickname here, which is obviously based upon where you come from (my mother always said I was so bright that is why she called me son;), is that an Indian name?

 

I believe it is Indian. Mississauga is just west of Toronto which I believe is Indian also. Many of the cities and towns in Canada have names derived from the native Indians and many many more from the mother land of England.

 

I have a funny story about one of our friends who came from the USA to visit this summer. This was her first visit to Canada. She had only heard of Mississauga and Toronto so after they crossed the border at Detroit, she saw names like Windsor, London, Stratford and Hamilton and said she got a different impression of Canada. Don't know what her initial thoughts were and did not ask but just thought it funny that she made that comment.

 

Mississauga used to be a suburb of Toronto but has become a city in its own right now. Whenever we meet people ( especially on cruises ) and they say they are from Toronto, I ask them where they are really from and many times they are from outside of Toronto. They know everyone has heard of Toronto and maybe not their city or town but I am always proud to say I am from Mississauga. We have been here for nearly 40 years, making it our home after we got married and raised our family here.

Edited September 2, 2015 by mississauga

[cruisin blue]

As they raised the sail, the music began to play and the drinks began to flow.....

 

Jimbo, I have enjoyed your review and am even more excited for our cruise next month! I am seriously considering the sunset sail after reading your review.

 

I have a quick question...were the drinks included with the excursion price or was it a cash bar? Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!

[jimbo5544]

Tell your wife that TA's don't always have rough seas. We have been on 4 TA's and only one had some rough seas. The rough seas were not in the middle of the Atlantic. Much closer to the islands. On our very first one, the seas were smooth as glass and the others were no different than if we were cruising in the Caribbean.

 

If she is concerned about rough seas, the Pacific may be more of a concern. We had some really really rough seas in the Pacific both close to Australia and the Pacific northwest from Vancouver to California.

 

Good input, Thanks! I think at the end of the day, we end up doing one. We both really enjoy days at sea. We find them very relaxing and certainly in our most favorite things to do group (if there is such a thing)! We have not done a Hawaii trip for the very reason you have mentioned. Most reviews of such that I have read here have mentioned the seas as a factor. Interesting perspective of Vancouver coming south. We have found in our Mexican Riviera sailings that the seas were fairly rough as well (not enough of a factor to not want to do then though ;)).

[jimbo5544]

I believe it is Indian. Mississauga is just west of Toronto which I believe is Indian also. Many of the cities and towns in Canada have names derived from the native Indians and many many more from the mother land of England.

 

I have a funny story about one of our friends who came from the USA to visit this summer. This was her first visit to Canada. She had only heard of Mississauga and Toronto so after they crossed the border at Detroit, she saw names like Windsor, London, Stratford and Hamilton and said she got a different impression of Canada. Don't know what her initial thoughts were and did not ask but just thought it funny that she made that comment.

 

Mississauga used to be a suburb of Toronto but has become a city in its own right now. Whenever we meet people ( especially on cruises ) and they say they are from Toronto, I ask them where they are really from and many times they are from outside of Toronto. They know everyone has heard of Toronto and maybe not their city or town but I am always proud to say I am from Mississauga. We have been here for nearly 40 years, making it our home after we got married and raised our family here.

Very interesting. Living in the northeast, we have a lot of Indian names as well. We used to have (gave it to our kids, but still visit from time to time) a time share in Ft Myers Beach Florida. Small time share (15 units) which during our weeks had three groups of families. One from CT (us), one from Ohio and one from the Toronto area. All good friends (almost family), I will have to ask them where about's (I think you would say aboot's;)) in the Toronto area they are from.

[jimbo5544]

Jimbo, I have enjoyed your review and am even more excited for our cruise next month! I am seriously considering the sunset sail after reading your review.

 

I have a quick question...were the drinks included with the excursion price or was it a cash bar? Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!

 

Thanks for enjoying it, I am enjoying the reliving of it. I cannot recommend the sunset cruise (actually I think it is called the sunset cocktail cruise, but I am not positive) enough. It is probably in our top ten of all time. The drinks are included, but I must provide a bit of a caveat to that statement. They do not have beer and wine (which I found to be a little strange) and have about 5 drink options (alcoholic), most local in nature and all rather good. I don't think you will go wrong in selecting it. The staff was very friendly and fun and the sights were OUTSTANDING.

[Barbluvstocruz]

Jimbo - Thanks so much for a great review!!! We just booked the Sunshine for a Thanksgiving cruise next year. We won't be in the Captain's suite, but I did score the cool Grand oceanview next to the cabin you had!

 

 

Any chance you saw in there? I hope it's as cool as it looks. I'll miss sitting on the balcony late at night, but I think we'll love the view as we cruise!

 

:D

Barb

[jenne252]

Thanks for enjoying it, I am enjoying the reliving of it. I cannot recommend the sunset cruise (actually I think it is called the sunset cocktail cruise, but I am not positive) enough. It is probably in our top ten of all time. The drinks are included, but I must provide a bit of a caveat to that statement. They do not have beer and wine (which I found to be a little strange) and have about 5 drink options (alcoholic), most local in nature and all rather good. I don't think you will go wrong in selecting it. The staff was very friendly and fun and the sights were OUTSTANDING.

 

I booked this excursion, based on your recommendation and pics!! First carnival excursion :)

[jenne252]

Jimbo - Thanks so much for a great review!!! We just booked the Sunshine for a Thanksgiving cruise next year. We won't be in the Captain's suite, but I did score the cool Grand oceanview next to the cabin you had!

 

 

Any chance you saw in there? I hope it's as cool as it looks. I'll miss sitting on the balcony late at night, but I think we'll love the view as we cruise!

 

:D

Barb

 

I have this room, 9126, next week!!! I'll be happy to report back and tell you how cool it is.

[jimbo5544]

Jimbo - Thanks so much for a great review!!! We just booked the Sunshine for a Thanksgiving cruise next year. We won't be in the Captain's suite, but I did score the cool Grand oceanview next to the cabin you had!

 

 

Any chance you saw in there? I hope it's as cool as it looks. I'll miss sitting on the balcony late at night, but I think we'll love the view as we cruise!

 

:D

Barb

 

Interestingly, I did get to see in there. We were returning to the cabin on the 2nd to last night and the people staying there were doing the same. Another of our daughters and her family were originally booked in that room for our cruise, but they had to cancel. I mentioned it to them, and they were trying to get one and suddenly it opened up (from our daughter canceling). They showed us the room and we did the same. It is a super room and you will love the view.

[jimbo5544]

I booked this excursion, based on your recommendation and pics!! First carnival excursion :)

I don't think you will be disappointed. The bar server/ship hand will keep you entertained. Make sure you bring a camera, you will want to remember that sunset for a lifetime!

[applefangirl]

We had pretty much taken over the bar area.......

 

We were on this cruise, also, as well as this shore excursion (in fact, the young man in the blue shirt in this picture is my youngest son). We had a blast, as we did last year on the Sunshine. I enjoy reading your reviews; they are always fun to read and very informative!

[jimbo5544]

We were on this cruise, also, as well as this shore excursion (in fact, the young man in the blue shirt in this picture is my youngest son). We had a blast, as we did last year on the Sunshine. I enjoy reading your reviews; they are always fun to read and very informative!

 

Thanks for the kind words. How about that, that is the second time when posting a review pic someone shouted out they were in my pic. The last time was in Cozumel when we did the Cozumel Bar Hop, I had posted a pic and someone saw themselves in there and then posted one of theirs with me in the pic. Were you sitting across from the bar?

[applefangirl]

Thanks for the kind words. How about that, that is the second time when posting a review pic someone shouted out they were in my pic. The last time was in Cozumel when we did the Cozumel Bar Hop, I had posted a pic and someone saw themselves in there and then posted one of theirs with me in the pic. Were you sitting across from the bar?

 

Yes, we were. There were six of us: DH and I, our three sons and long-term GF of middle son. I would post a pic, but I still haven't mastered that here on the CC boards. Would love a step-by-step tutorial if you happen to have one!:) This was our thirteenth Carnival cruise, and our second on Sunshine. We all had an absolutely wonderful time!

[jimbo5544]

Yes, we were. There were six of us: DH and I, our three sons and long-term GF of middle son. I would post a pic, but I still haven't mastered that here on the CC boards. Would love a step-by-step tutorial if you happen to have one!:) This was our thirteenth Carnival cruise, and our second on Sunshine. We all had an absolutely wonderful time!

This was our 30th on Carnival. There are several ways to post pics, the one I use is Tinypic dot com. Go in, select a pic upload selecting the message board setting and then copy and paste the img...img link to your post. Let me know if you need more info. We can email back and forth.

[Barbluvstocruz]

I have this room, 9126, next week!!! I'll be happy to report back and tell you how cool it is.

 

Enjoy! Can't wait to hear about the cabin...and the cruise! :D

[Barbluvstocruz]

Interestingly, I did get to see in there. We were returning to the cabin on the 2nd to last night and the people staying there were doing the same. Another of our daughters and her family were originally booked in that room for our cruise, but they had to cancel. I mentioned it to them, and they were trying to get one and suddenly it opened up (from our daughter canceling). They showed us the room and we did the same. It is a super room and you will love the view.

 

Thanks for sharing! Sorry your daughter had to cancel. We are excited for the cabin...and the view. Traveling with 2 kids any extra floor space is nice. I love watching the water so I may just sit in front of the windows all week! ;)

 

Thanks Again! :)

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for sharing! Sorry your daughter had to cancel. We are excited for the cabin...and the view. Traveling with 2 kids any extra floor space is nice. I love watching the water so I may just sit in front of the windows all week! ;)

 

Thanks Again! :)

 

The view is spectacular. You will be drawn to the windows. They have pretty cool electronic shades the raise and lower by remote control. At night, they will put them down. Having them up and the room lit can be disruptive to staff on the bridge below you. I have a pic of the control if you have not seen it.

[lifeisgoodPat]

Thank you so much for this review. It is wonderful. We will be sailing on the Sunshine on October 2nd to Bermuda and are so happy that you were pleased with the ship.

[jimbo5544]

Thank you so much for this review. It is wonderful. We will be sailing on the Sunshine on October 2nd to Bermuda and are so happy that you were pleased with the ship.

 

Thanks for the kind words. We loved the ship, I do not think you will be disappointed. Sailing to Bermuda is pretty special!

[Barbluvstocruz]

The view is spectacular. You will be drawn to the windows. They have pretty cool electronic shades the raise and lower by remote control. At night, they will put them down. Having them up and the room lit can be disruptive to staff on the bridge below you. I have a pic of the control if you have not seen it.

 

Sounds cool. If you don't mind, would you post it. I'm curious to see it.

:)

[jimbo5544]

Sounds cool. If you don't mind, would you post it. I'm curious to see it.

:)

 

I will when I get home.;)

[applefangirl]

This was our 30th on Carnival. There are several ways to post pics, the one I use is Tinypic dot com. Go in, select a pic upload selecting the message board setting and then copy and paste the img...img link to your post. Let me know if you need more info. We can email back and forth.

 

Thanks! I'm trying a pic of the spectacular sunset!

[cruiseclues]

I might be jumping a head a bit, but here are a couple of pics I have of the Sunshine (both interior and exterior). Here is the atrium lobby bar.

 

 

I can see your priorities are in place with this First Ship Photo. :):):):)

[jimbo5544]

Thanks! I'm trying a pic of the spectacular sunset!

There you go!