Nicole721 Takes on the SUNSHINE: A Full PICTORIAL Review

[luvstovacation]

Loving your review! I was on this cruise as well and your description of the rocking is spot on. By day 4 we were referring to it as the "Sunshine Sway"! Also it felt even crazier in the MDR during dinner because you could feel the roar of the engine and it felt like we were going a million miles an hour! I really loved this ship and loving reliving this trip through your review so thank you!! On a side note the very top of my face and sunglasses made an appearance in your day 2 pic of the serenity deck at the very bottom of the picture :-) . We were lucky to snag 2 chairs as people were leaving when we got up there otherwise it was ridiculous.

[BeadedGoblets]

I wouldn't have been seasick so much as I would have been frightened in those turbulent seas. I wish I could get past that fear! (Very much enjoying your review!)

[keishashadow]

For those who may be reading this and worrying about facing seas like that, I thought I'd share the experiences and advice of my 11-year-old DD who is prone to seasickness and managed to get through this same cruise without getting sick and without needing the meds that she hates taking. What helped her most was going outside as much as possible, no matter the weather. Most evenings, she would settle on a lounger under a blanket with some dry, salty popcorn and cold water, watching the early movie. The night that the OP is currently describing, she left dinner before dessert to get outside in the wind and mist. After her stomach had settled, she was relieved that the deck party was cancelled and happily went to bed early, looking forward to getting off the boat in Aruba but not too sick to sleep.

 

i used the non drowsy OTC med first bad night

 

2nd we hit what my DH (who served on a carrier in the Navy) a speed bump, even he said it was a doozy. Our balcony cabin was near the front of ship i think on deck 6. We went up, then sharply to the right. i was done and applied my Rx patch i hate to use as to side effects.

 

went up to serenity deck above the waterfall and wound up sprawling out on one off the couches. Finally fell asleep. Woke up to people walking past me out the doors laughing as to: look at that drunk:rolleyes:

 

what was really strange was people in our cruise meet group who had cabins that were mid ship or aft didn't feel a thing either night. We didn't run into any sort of that degree returning. The issue wasn't the gulf stream i'm used to, this was in open water before hitting Aruba.

Edited January 30, 2016 by keishashadow

[rludema]

M

 

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[rludema]

Oops. I was so excited about this review I hit send a little too quick. Great review! We can't wait to go on the Sunshine in November.

 

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[CruiseAdict218]

This made me really excited for our cruise on her in October, really loving the review.

[Codeman1]

Thanks for such a great review. We will be on the Sunshine in March. We are really looking forward to it. I believe you had the middle plan (value) for Internet. Did that work well for you or would the premium be better? I see on Carnival's website there is a per day charge. I have seen some posts with a lower price if you purchase the entire week. Do you remember the different costs for Internet. Thanks so much! Great review.

[LaCal]

Hi Nicole. Thx for a awesome review and photos so far

 

Also since this one wasn't done yet I went back and read your WHOLE EUROPE review and WOWWWWWWW I Loved it..

 

We're going on a 10 day Med cruise on the Vista on Oct 1st and your review has me even more pumped up about it

 

Thx Thx Merci

[mvaygibson]

Enjoying your review :) Thanks for taking the time to share your trip!

[Nicole721]

Loving the review but unable to see the pics you posted last night

 

Hmm. Can you see them now?

 

I can't see the photos either.

I clicked on a photo and it carried me to photobucket with a message that they were down for maintenance.

 

Weird! Must have been a Photobucket bug. Grrrrr.

[Nicole721]

Great review. My family and I will be on Sunshine the week of February 13th going eastern Caribbean. Looking forward to reading more about yours. [emoji122]🏻[emoji1360][emoji120]🏾[emoji847]

 

 

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Have so much fun! :D

 

Loving your review! I was on this cruise as well and your description of the rocking is spot on. By day 4 we were referring to it as the "Sunshine Sway"! Also it felt even crazier in the MDR during dinner because you could feel the roar of the engine and it felt like we were going a million miles an hour! I really loved this ship and loving reliving this trip through your review so thank you!! On a side note the very top of my face and sunglasses made an appearance in your day 2 pic of the serenity deck at the very bottom of the picture :-) . We were lucky to snag 2 chairs as people were leaving when we got up there otherwise it was ridiculous.

 

Oh yeah. The MDR was awful when it came to feeling that "Sunshine Sway" -- only place that was worse was our room! Our cabin was pretty far forward and since we were so low (deck 2), anytime I laid in bed, I could literally feel every wave beneath me. I can't imagine being prone to seasickness and dealing with that kind of motion :eek:

[Nicole721]

I wouldn't have been seasick so much as I would have been frightened in those turbulent seas. I wish I could get past that fear! (Very much enjoying your review!)

 

My mom is actually pretty afraid of turbulent seas. We kept her as far away from the windows as possible at some points :P

 

Oops. I was so excited about this review I hit send a little too quick. Great review! We can't wait to go on the Sunshine in November.

 

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Thanks! :)

[Nicole721]

This made me really excited for our cruise on her in October, really loving the review.

 

Thank you!

 

Thanks for such a great review. We will be on the Sunshine in March. We are really looking forward to it. I believe you had the middle plan (value) for Internet. Did that work well for you or would the premium be better? I see on Carnival's website there is a per day charge. I have seen some posts with a lower price if you purchase the entire week. Do you remember the different costs for Internet. Thanks so much! Great review.

 

I think the price difference was around $30 between the Value and Premium plans for our 8-day cruise. The Value plan was fine for me. I was just using it to keep up with my work emails, read the news and post to social media and the speeds suited my purposes just fine :)

[Nicole721]

Hi Nicole. Thx for a awesome review and photos so far

 

Also since this one wasn't done yet I went back and read your WHOLE EUROPE review and WOWWWWWWW I Loved it..

 

We're going on a 10 day Med cruise on the Vista on Oct 1st and your review has me even more pumped up about it

 

Thx Thx Merci

 

Ooh thanks! We're doing a 10 day Med on the Vista too -- super excited for it! :D

 

Enjoying your review :) Thanks for taking the time to share your trip!

 

Thanks for reading along!

[MamatoJack]

Love the review. I'm debating between this and the Eastern for next February, your talk of the waves has me a little worried! We had rough seas last year on our last sea day and kiddo (5 at the time) was seasick. Not a fun time! But I know it can happen on really any route, we were headed from Grand Turk back to Port Canaveral at the time, which I think would happen either route... so I'll have to think on this :)

 

I'm liking that I have your review of this route and a review of the other one at the same time to enjoy! Does not make it any easier to decide though. Too bad I can't do them both :)

[saintscruisefool]

Great review can't wait for the rest!!

[mimxmom]

What are the normal cruise elegant nights for this itinerary? Sunday and Thursday?

 

 

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[brepri_h]

Hi Nicole! Great review. My family spends all our spare time at the aft pool so I’m very disappointed to hear that there is not one. That may be enough for us not to go on the Sunshine. We really don’t enjoy all the commotion at the beach pool.

[Codeman1]

Thanks so much for the great info.

[Grey Poupon]

Hey I've hit a void. Where's the rest of the review? :D

 

j/k..thanks for all the good info. I was on this ship when it was the Destiny. Our first cruise. No matter what the name is, the ship has a special place.

 

Now seriously...where's the rest of the review?

[BIGA961]

Hey I've hit a void. Where's the rest of the review? :D

 

j/k..thanks for all the good info. I was on this ship when it was the Destiny. Our first cruise. No matter what the name is, the ship has a special place.

 

Now seriously...where's the rest of the review?

 

I'm with Grey, the people are getting a bit restless here...please don't leave us hanging!:D

[Nicole721]

Love the review. I'm debating between this and the Eastern for next February, your talk of the waves has me a little worried! We had rough seas last year on our last sea day and kiddo (5 at the time) was seasick. Not a fun time! But I know it can happen on really any route, we were headed from Grand Turk back to Port Canaveral at the time, which I think would happen either route... so I'll have to think on this :)

 

I'm liking that I have your review of this route and a review of the other one at the same time to enjoy! Does not make it any easier to decide though. Too bad I can't do them both :)

 

In all honesty, I don't think the route or time of year had anything to do with the seas -- it was just unfortunate luck of the draw :(

 

Great review can't wait for the rest!!

 

Hope you enjoy!

[Nicole721]

Ack! Looks like there's some quoting issues going on right now and I can't quote to reply :(

 

@mimxmom -- those sound about right for Formal Nights

@brepri_h -- also big fans of the aft pool over here. Thankfully, we had the Serenity pool, but when it was closed down, having to use the main pool was a major downer.

 

And to everyone else, so sorry for the wait! I'm in the midst of a rather stressful promotional cycle at work and I've been working non-stop the past few weeks :/ Cross your fingers for me. Aruba coming your way now. Hoping to have Bonaire up in the next couple of days, as well :)

[Nicole721]

I usually love those split sea day/port day’s. You know, the ones where you start the day at sea and then dock in port in the afternoon. Those days are the best of all worlds. Lazy mornings on a lounger followed by an afternoon of exploring another country. It's the best.

 

But on this day? The sooner we could get into port, the better. I needed some time away from the churning ocean waters on tierra firma.

 

We woke up a little later than I wanted to – cruise ships can be noisy and if I’m not absolutely exhausted, I can be a pretty light sleeper, so I sleep with earplugs in and rely on Stephanie or Mom to wake me up. Stephanie decided that since it was overcast when her alarm went off, we should all sleep in some more. Thankfully for all of us, it was nice and sunny by the time we headed upstairs for breakfast.

 

The ship was still rocking through some rough waves as we continued course towards Aruba, but arepas are just as tasty in Gale Force winds as they are in smooth seas (you know…in case you were wondering).

 

 

Because the winds were so strong, all public areas above deck nine were shut down. That not only meant no Serenity and no Water Works, but all those extra lounge chairs up on deck 10? Those were off limits, too. Just how windy does it have to be to force the shut down of the upper decks? On the 12-level Beaufort scale, we were sitting at an upper level 8 at 43 mph.

 

 

It was impossible to find open chairs, even with the high winds. The pool was relatively empty. The chairs had no people in them. And at 9:30 in the morning, it was not just impossible to find three chairs together…it was impossible to find a chair. Undeterred, we put our towels out on some chairs under the shade huts at the Beach Pool and sat out on some of the pool benches.

 

[Nicole721]

Our spots near the pool gave us a primo spot for chatting with some fellow guests, who were also unable to find loungers. One of them mentioned that they were watching the ship’s info channel the last before and saw winds reaching 65 mph. For reference, that’s a level 11 (Violent Storm) on that 12-level Beaufort scale. Level 12 is a hurricane, at 73 mph. These winds were no joke.

 

As we were settling in at the pool, Jamie came on to announce our arrival into Aruba would be delayed due to the wind. And then, I got this awful Santorini deja vu. Back in May, we were forced to skip port in Santorini because the winds were too high to tender in. I don’t immediately think port cancellation on non-tender ports but it hit me once Jaime finished her announcement: attempting to dock in high winds is just as risky as attempting to tender.

 

At this point, I was pretty convinced that we weren’t getting into Aruba. This had shades of Santorini all around it. After all, the motion we were experiencing was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. My boss frequently has to remind me to suspend my disbelief (skeptic by nature over here), so I suspended all disbelief and crossed my fingers. The delay was because the pilot from Aruba couldn’t board until 1:00 (our previous ashore time), so they’d have more information (aka, they’d make a final call) then.

 

So in the meantime, we settled in by the pool and we encountered our first issue with crowding. Unlike other ships in the Carnival fleet, the Sunshine only really has one pool. There's a mini pool at Serenity, but there's really only one main pool. So with the adults AND kids areas shut down, everyone was crowded around one little pool. When they transitioned the Destiny to the Sunshine, they removed public areas to add more cabins, so you have more passengers in less space. Today we felt it, and if we didn’t make it into Aruba, I was going to lose my mind.

 

As we were talking to some people at the pool, a near brawl broke out in front of us. See, in the wee hours of the morning, this family came down, claimed a bunch of chairs, went back to bed, came back hours later and expected their chairs. They were able to recover one, but the other was occupied by a woman who had found the chair empty and was sitting out with the belongings of her husband and two small children. And as the alpha chair hog tried to intimidate this woman into giving him this chair, another woman kind of stepped in and asked him to back off and he just went off on her. The words that came out of his mouth were vile and ugly and shouldn’t be spoken to another person period, let alone outloud in an area crawling with children. I lost a little faith in humanity there. Honestly. It’s a lounge chair, guys. You’re on a cruise ship. At Christmas. Apparently it’s too much to hope adults act like, you know, adults. Or decent human beings, at the very least.

 

Anyways, alpha chair hog decides this woman who deigned to call him out for expecting chairs to be open after being left for hours is now his enemy and makes “friends” with the woman he was trying to intimidate. It was a bizarre situation.

 

Between that and the antics at the pool (dozens of unattended children literally jumping in the pool over each other, kicking each other in the head, weak swimmers in what has become a wave pool with no apparent supervision), we gave up on getting any kind of peace and headed inside to shower.

 

We headed to Cucina del Capitano for lunch to await the decision. At night, Cucina del Capitano serves as a full-service Italian restaurant with an additional fee for dining, but during lunch hours, it’s a made-to-order pasta bar that’s completely complimentary.

 

 

You can choose your pasta, sauce and a variety of toppings, or you can opt for lasagna, and you can get a Caesar salad or some delicious bread on the side. My creation of farfalle with Alfredo and a bunch of veggies was super tasty.

 

 

While we were nomming on our carbs, Jaime came on to give us the good news that the pilot would be able to dock us safely in Aruba. AND, bonus, because of the delay (and because Bonaire was a hop, skip and a jump away), our back onboard time was extended to 10:30 pm for an 11:00 pm departure. Oh, and they were extending our port time in Bonaire, too. Good news on top of good news on top of pasta?! What a time to be alive.