Why all the Carnival Sunshine hate? Should I avoid it?

[dulcemariamar]

How come the rating of Carnival Sunshine is so low? It only has a 64% positive rating? Has anybody been on it recently? I have read the reviews and people say it is really crowded, not enough public space, and that they didn't do a good renovating it.

 

Are people just holding it to higher standards than the older ships?

We are looking to book a cruise in February. We will be traveling with our 3 year old. Should I avoid it? We did Carnival Magic about 5 years ago and loved it so I am shocked about the negative reviews. I could do Disney but of course it will be a lot more.

[Drazil65]

Hi, we have noticed the same thing and have avoided booking (although the southern itineraries are appealing and of course more expensive). Many say its like putting lipstick on a pig, its still an old ship.

 

Some reviews say the renovated/added cabins are nicer but they go very fast because of that and the rest are just fluffed up. We were recently on the fantasy and had a great time but def. prefer the larger, newer ships. If your experience is the Magic then you may have a hard time on the Sunshine being so much smaller, crowded and older.

 

I would take a good look at the deck plans and see if the size of the ship will cause you any angst with crowds. Also, find out which cabins are the new ones and see if they are available. Also, search for you tube video or pix of the cabins. This boils down to personal preference but we feel your hesitation. Good Luck!

Edited September 20, 2015 by Drazil65

[jimbo5544]

How come the rating of Carnival Sunshine is so low? It only has a 64% positive rating? Has anybody been on it recently? I have read the reviews and people say it is really crowded, not enough public space, and that they didn't do a good renovating it.

 

Are people just holding it to higher standards than the older ships?

We are looking to book a cruise in February. We will be traveling with our 3 year old. Should I avoid it? We did Carnival Magic about 5 years ago and loved it so I am shocked about the negative reviews. I could do Disney but of course it will be a lot more.

 

We loved the Sunshine, sailed her on the 8/8/15 sailing. Here is a link to my review with many pics. Much of the negative posts here on the Sunshine are from people who never set foot on her. Go and make up your own mind and come back and let us know your thoughts....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2249358

[cruzeluver]

The reviews seem to be growing more positive. We are not worried. We are booked on a ten night Sunshine cruise next year and are really looking forward to it. A lot of the early criticism seemed to be speculative, that is, coming from folks who had not actually sailed on Sunshine, but assumed it would be bad based on what others had written.

 

Every Carnival ship I have sailed on has been crowded compared to other lines we have sailed on. I don't need a lounger right by the pool and we avoid buffets like the plague, so should not be an issue for us.

 

What we are really looking forward to are all of the food options Sunshine has, more than the others.

[Tapi]

I think that a big reason why the Sunshine gets disproportionate negative reviews is Carnival's fault for advertising Sunshine as a brand new ship and creating false expectations.

 

Magic is a brand new ship. Sunshine is a 20 year old ship which got a name change, was refurbished, cabins were added, and public areas removed, which gave it one of the worst space to passenger ratios in the entire cruise industry.

 

In my opinion, you will enjoy it as long as you go with REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, in other words, not expecting the Magic.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Tapi

[nwo4life]

She's a great ship, would love to sail on her again soon.

[Jamman54]

We booked the Sunshine specifically to check her out for ourselves. We sailed her twice when she was the Destiny.

[cajunfla]

Got off Sunshine yesterday, 8 day cruise. This is MY OPINION, and everyone has one. Your opinion will vary.

Staff was great, beds surprisingly comfortable, pillows too soft for our likings, food merely acceptable in MDR, except for Warm Melting Cake which is only reason I went back to MDR after first night. Guy's Burgers were best food on the boat. Mongolian BBQ was excellent also. Pizza was surprisingly good, but limited selection. Buffet area gets real busy and crowded also. On formal nights in MDR, (we don't do formal) the only other options are pay extra $$ for steakhouse, Asian, etc., or very limited selection in buffet area

If you want a place to sun on upper decks, get there early. If you want a shaded place on upper decks, get there before 7am.

Having to walk thru smokey casino on deck 5 really sucked. My wife even hated it, and she smokes. You can smell the smoke from adjoining areas. Deck 5 also has the indoor Ocean Plaza for trivia games right next to casino. Always cold in there and smells smokey. It can get crowded there as it is also waiting area for those that do YTD.

Select your room carefully, as it can be noisy if you are directly under a live band that plays late night into early mornings. We were in aft balcony directly under live Latin band playing in Havanna Bar until 1 or 2am. Shame on us for not doing our homework on room selection.

Again....MY OPINION......I'll never do Sunshine again, but then I may never even cruise again unless I get one helluva good price. Only 2nd cruise, first was in 2000. If I do cruise again, it won't be Carnival.

Good Luck

Forgot to add this.......Sunshine seemed very clean to us. Crew was constantly seen cleaning, polishing, painting, etc. I actually looked for the rust that previous posts complained about, but didn't see any.

Edited September 20, 2015 by cajunfla
More info

[lauren0309]

I have a cruise booked for Sunshine in April. I read all the negative reviews but I don't go by them. I like to form my own opinions. Everyone has likes and dislikes and what some people don't like doesn't bother me. I've been on other cruises with negative reviews and I loved the ship whereas they didn't.

[otis30223]

I have sailed the Sunshine, while it has good points it has many bad ones as well. I feel Carnival attempted to do too many things and got very few of them right. The comedy club is so small it's almost impossible to get into it and the main theatre is small as well. It's just the layout that I think causes so much confusion and leaves many with a bad taste.

[denrusk]

We loved the Sunshine, sailed her on the 8/8/15 sailing. Here is a link to my review with many pics. Much of the negative posts here on the Sunshine are from people who never set foot on her. Go and make up your own mind and come back and let us know your thoughts....

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2249358

 

 

Not true. The negative reviews are mostly from people who have sailed her. My opinion is with a 3 year old it may be a good choice for you. The water works area is great for little ones. It is one of the reasons the ship has no deck space for lounging in other areas. They tried to add things to this ship like the newer, much larger, ships have and there is just not enough space for those things. The serenity are is very nice, that is until just after 7 am when it is completely full! The rooms they added have made the main theatre very small and the comedy club is just a joke, and I don't mean in a good way! People say just go early, and that is true, however, sitting and watching them play bingo for an hour waiting for a show to start is not my idea of fun, neither is standing in line outside the comedy club. I will say the ship was finished nice. The public areas are nice looking, the food choices are very good, even the buffet with the extra amount of people on the ship is laid out in way that it moves people very quickly. Most of the additions to this ship are money makers, extra rooms and pay for eating places. It would have been nice to see updated cabins with things like refrigerators, newer bathrooms and TV systems with the account and menu data. Those things do not make them money so they were left out. Overall, it is a cruise ship that has a lot to do and some good eating places. I would go on it again, but it would be because of itinerary or price, I would choose a different ship if not for those things.

[cruiser fanatic]

For the most part I like the Sunshine. I liked all the new areas Carnival added, I liked the updated cabins, the shows were great and I thought the ship was beautiful. Cons: The pool area was way too small. When they added the Havana Bar area they took away the aft pool. One pool for 3K+ people is not enough. The theater and comedy club area was a little small. No big deal, just get there early. The bathroom in the cabin was the smallest I have ever seen on a cruise ship. I didn't think there was enough places to sit throughout the ship. I wish Carnival would go back to the Promenade decks that they have on the Fantasy/Conquest class ships that have enough places to sit. I would sail the Sunshine again. In fact, we are planning a B2B on the Sunshine for April.

[love my grandkids]

I have sailed the Sunshine, while it has good points it has many bad ones as well. I feel Carnival attempted to do too many things and got very few of them right. The comedy club is so small it's almost impossible to get into it and the main theatre is small as well. It's just the layout that I think causes so much confusion and leaves many with a bad taste.

 

Big reason we keep coming back to Carnival is comedy club. So many better ships to choose from why go on a ship where it is hard to see the shows?

[MCFTJCH2V]

We loved the Sunshine, sailed her on the 8/8/15 sailing. Here is a link to my review with many pics. Much of the negative posts here on the Sunshine are from people who never set foot on her. Go and make up your own mind and come back and let us know your thoughts....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2249358

 

That's a load of rubbish. I can accept someone saying they liked the Sunshine, but to say others didn't are those that haven't sailed in her? That's disingenuous at best. You wouldn't even know that.

 

I personally have not resailed her because I didn't like her the first time.

 

But for Carnival trying to pass her off as a new ship? That was sneaky a best. I still read/hear shock at those not knowing she is a 20 year old ship.

[Podna's]

Sailed on the Sunshine twice out of Nola and PC. Absolutely loved her. The overcrowding issues are way overrated. Wasn't any more crowded than my other cruises. I do agree with a poorly designed comedy club but that would never be a deal breaker. for me. She's a beautiful ship with a wonderful crew. CD Jaime was great. Thankfully I've never gone by the reviews especially here. I would've missed out on 2 awesome vacations.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Podna's

[leedm]

We sailed the Sunshine Feb 2014, BC7 and have 2 more cruises book, Nov 2015, 8 day and Apr 2016, 9 day. The Sunshine is not the Dream, Breeze or a big new ship. It is however a very good ship that has some great areas. Havana Bar, Serenity Deck area, and the new Theater/Lounge area. The comedy club is crowed, but I have seen this on all of our other CCL and NCL cruises. The amount of guests to common area space may be higher than some ships, so at peak times on sea days the Lido desk and Pool area will get crowed. Knowing this some daily planning of what you want to do will help. On a scale of 1 - 10 I rate the Sunshine as a 8.5. We have sailed Carnival 26 times and no ship is a 10, most are 7 to 9. :D:D

[Derbie]

MY DH and I, along with two young nieces, sailed on the Sunshine last October. I really enjoyed the ship, and so did the rest of my family. It was smaller than we are used to; however, it never felt crowded. I will say, I didn't always appreciate walking through the casino to get many places I wanted to go. I loved the escalator on the bottom deck. I wish they had them on every floor. This would help transfer more people on embarking and leaving the ship.

[MACUQUI58]

How come the rating of Carnival Sunshine is so low? It only has a 64% positive rating? Has anybody been on it recently? I have read the reviews and people say it is really crowded, not enough public space, and that they didn't do a good renovating it.

 

Are people just holding it to higher standards than the older ships?

We are looking to book a cruise in February. We will be traveling with our 3 year old. Should I avoid it? We did Carnival Magic about 5 years ago and loved it so I am shocked about the negative reviews. I could do Disney but of course it will be a lot more.

Because of so much bad reviews we didn't do the Sunshine last October as planned we decided to do Disney instead, finally my husband said let's do it anyways. We did the Sunshine 9/6 - 9/11. So glad we did, we had an awesome time. From the Cabin, Crew, Food everything was wonderful. I have sailed on NCL, RCL, and Disney both my husband and I thought this was one of our best cruise. Always found chairs on both the Lido Pool and Serenity Pool. We went different times during the day. We have learned not to pay any attention to the reviews.. I will say try the Sunshine...

[ExFed drvr]

Yes they totally screwed up the Destiny, sailed on it twice before they redid it and renamed it. They added more rooms at the expense of public space and its crowded everywhere. Hated what they did to the theater and it looks like they are doing to theater on the Vista. Almost no seating on the main floor and the tables were a disaster.. The buffet is like a chinese fire drill and the Serenity Deck is right in front of the loud big screen TV on three levels with a bar only on the middle one and no bar waiters up there either..I will not sail her again....Dennis

[love my grandkids]

Yes they totally screwed up the Destiny, sailed on it twice before they redid it and renamed it. They added more rooms at the expense of public space and its crowded everywhere. Hated what they did to the theater and it looks like they are doing to theater on the Vista. Almost no seating on the main floor and the tables were a disaster.. The buffet is like a chinese fire drill and the Serenity Deck is right in front of the loud big screen TV on three levels with a bar only on the middle one and no bar waiters up there either..I will not sail her again....Dennis

 

If the Sunshine was such a great concept they would have done it on other older ships.

[xeroxme]

I was on sunshine this past summer. Worried about reviews. Ship was great and a fun time. Only two things to worry about. One muster drill at start of cruise. Anytime dining does have a wait for 5 minutes to 20 minutes depending on your time and formal nights. If you choose fixed dining time you would have no wait

[kelkel2]

I think that a big reason why the Sunshine gets disproportionate negative reviews is Carnival's fault for advertising Sunshine as a brand new ship and creating false expectations.

 

Magic is a brand new ship. Sunshine is a 20 year old ship which got a name change, was refurbished, cabins were added, and public areas removed, which gave it one of the worst space to passenger ratios in the entire cruise industry.

 

In my opinion, you will enjoy it as long as you go with REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, in other words, not expecting the Magic.

 

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Not everyone is a member of CC and not everyone is as informed as some of us are before they travel or book a cruise. I think a lot of the bad reviews are Carnival's fault. Can you imagine booking the Sunshine as a new cruiser thinking you are booking a new ship and then getting to the ship and realizing it is not new? I think that leads to a decent amount of the disappointment of cruisers.

I can't imagine how disappointed we would be if we saw on Carnival's page were next to the ship it says "new" next to the Sunshine. We booked it, got there and then saw it was most certainly not new....

Carnival should rethink the way they are advertising. Maybe instead of saying "new" they could say "fully remodeled" or something like that.

[MACUQUI58]

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Not everyone is a member of CC and not everyone is as informed as some of us are before they travel or book a cruise. I think a lot of the bad reviews are Carnival's fault. Can you imagine booking the Sunshine as a new cruiser thinking you are booking a new ship and then getting to the ship and realizing it is not new? I think that leads to a decent amount of the disappointment of cruisers.

I can't imagine how disappointed we would be if we saw on Carnival's page were next to the ship it says "new" next to the Sunshine. We booked it, got there and then saw it was most certainly not new....

Carnival should rethink the way they are advertising. Maybe instead of saying "new" they could say "fully remodeled" or something like that.

First of all I would never book a cruise no matter which cruise line before reading the specs of the ship, so if they book thinking it was a new ship it's their own fault..... Specially if you are a first time cruiser always read the ships information before you book. I have taken over 80 cruises on several cruise lines and I still read everything there is before booking on a ship...

[kicia]

We really like the Sunshine. We've sailed on her twice and have a Journeys cruise booked for February. Yes, we miss the refrigerator and night stand but we just get a large ice bucket and move a stool. It works. Love the Lido layout and especially the Havana bar area. You can almost always find a table back there for breakfast and lunch. Really like the décor especially on the Lido. I say try her. It does seem that this is a ship that people either really like or really dislike. I can't really tell that it is smaller but it is only about 7500 tons less than the Conquest class.

[jimbo5544]

Not true. The negative reviews are mostly from people who have sailed her. My opinion is with a 3 year old it may be a good choice for you. The water works area is great for little ones. It is one of the reasons the ship has no deck space for lounging in other areas. They tried to add things to this ship like the newer, much larger, ships have and there is just not enough space for those things. The serenity are is very nice, that is until just after 7 am when it is completely full! The rooms they added have made the main theatre very small and the comedy club is just a joke, and I don't mean in a good way! People say just go early, and that is true, however, sitting and watching them play bingo for an hour waiting for a show to start is not my idea of fun, neither is standing in line outside the comedy club. I will say the ship was finished nice. The public areas are nice looking, the food choices are very good, even the buffet with the extra amount of people on the ship is laid out in way that it moves people very quickly. Most of the additions to this ship are money makers, extra rooms and pay for eating places. It would have been nice to see updated cabins with things like refrigerators, newer bathrooms and TV systems with the account and menu data. Those things do not make them money so they were left out. Overall, it is a cruise ship that has a lot to do and some good eating places. I would go on it again, but it would be because of itinerary or price, I would choose a different ship if not for those things.

 

 

Actually what I said I will stand by. Did I say reviews? I said negative posts, and it is right on. To further argue the point, most of the negative reviews were from when she launched before she was ready. I will stand by my comments.