Nicole721 Takes on the Carnival Sunshine (...Again)

[stevefrisco]

This is one of the best reviews I've read in quite some time. There's a great balance between quality prose and quality pictures. I also appreciate the fact that you use accepted grammar, syntax and spelling conventions.

 

We also cruise at Christmas and have seen some of the celebrations that are catered to those of the Jewish faith and heritage. Are those celebrations open to all? We aren't Jewish, but like to expose our kids to various cultures and religions. I'm sure Carnival probably doesn't check or turn away people, but would other passengers be offended if we attended? Sorry if this is a personal question. I notice you guys eat pork so it is possible you are the same as us and we've just been overthinking trying to be respectful to all. I appreciate any insight that you care to share.

[jimbri]

Wonderful review and photos. Thank you so much.

[Crusin Karen]

Have a great NEXT cruise, Nicole! Thanks for the JiJi info. Are reservations necessary?

[Nicole721]

This is one of the best reviews I've read in quite some time. There's a great balance between quality prose and quality pictures. I also appreciate the fact that you use accepted grammar, syntax and spelling conventions.

 

We also cruise at Christmas and have seen some of the celebrations that are catered to those of the Jewish faith and heritage. Are those celebrations open to all? We aren't Jewish, but like to expose our kids to various cultures and religions. I'm sure Carnival probably doesn't check or turn away people, but would other passengers be offended if we attended? Sorry if this is a personal question. I notice you guys eat pork so it is possible you are the same as us and we've just been overthinking trying to be respectful to all. I appreciate any insight that you care to share.

 

 

I studied Journalism in college -- it never leaves you, even when you don't pursue it as a profession ;) Thanks for the kind words!

 

And the celebrations are absolutely open to all! The more, the merrier!

 

 

Wonderful review and photos. Thank you so much.

 

Thank you for reading along with me!

[Nicole721]

Have a great NEXT cruise, Nicole! Thanks for the JiJi info. Are reservations necessary?

 

 

Thanks, Karen!

 

 

Reservations at JiJi aren't usually necessary, but highly recommended -- there are nights where they get quite busy!

[Nicole721]

Hello hello from Copenhagen! It's pretty late into the night here, but I'm wide awake (mostly because I couldn't follow my own advice and allowed myself to take a nap this afternoon. I'm going to be stuck with this jet lag for a few days, I'm sure!). The good news is that Copenhagen has wifi basically everywhere, including some primo speeds in my hotel, so the review continues! Onto the next sea day!

 

 

On our last cruise, when we were onboard the Vista, we couldn’t get enough sleep. We were up early in the morning almost every day and we lamented about the early wakeups.

 

But on this Sunshine cruise, we were getting too much sleep. So much so that we were waking up ahead of our alarms, often before 7:30 am. When we were up early on this day, we thought we’d grab a quick breakfast and snag some primo deck seats.

 

 

We headed upstairs to deck 11 to scope out the situation by the Serenity pool and were surprised that there weren’t any loungers available. Not just three loungers together. There wasn’t a single unclaimed lounger. We went up to deck 12 and 14 and found the same situation. And then down to deck 10. Same thing. It was 8:30 in the morning, and there wasn’t a single open lounge chair.

 

 

Chair hogs were a real issue on this cruise, and it’s an issue the Sunshine is particularly vulnerable to – when the Sunshine underwent its refurbishment as it transitioned from the Carnival Destiny, public spaces were removed for more cabins and revenue generating spaces. What this meant is that more cabins were created to hold more people as they decreased the passenger to space ratio. The Sunshine has one main pool. There is another smaller pool up on the Serenity deck and it really is quite lovely, but it’s impossible to get a lounger or a chair up there without getting outside at dawn, and we were on a Caribbean cruise. There’s no reason to get up that early on a Caribbean cruise – not even for a lounge chair on a sea day.

 

The sun moved into overcast and we headed inside to grab some made to order omelets at the Lido Marketplace for breakfast. The Lido Marketplace was mostly empty, so it stands to figure that many of the people who had gone outside to save loungers had returned to their cabins.

 

We didn’t care to wait for pool security to remove the belongings from the saved chairs (they were putting stickers marked with the time to mark saved chairs and removing belongings to free the chairs after 40 minutes). Instead, we headed downstairs to the deck 3 promenade, our favorite multi-functional space that got enough sunlight for us to pull up some loungers and watch the water.

 

[Nicole721]

Hours passed before we left. Literal hours. The water is mesmerizing and brings me so much peace that I lost all sense of time and just about everything else sitting there. And the wifi signal down there was a solid 3/5, which is about as good as it got all cruise.

 

 

Stephanie went back to the room first and I followed an hour or so later. Mom had ordered some room service for lunch and Stephanie and I headed upstairs to grab some stir fry before the lunch service shut down. The stir fry bar is one of our favorite lunch options, with a million possibilities to serve any possible mood. Carbs and spicy? They’ve got you. Veggies and mild? They’ve got it covered.

 

 

[Nicole721]

We did more walking around after lunch, ultimately heading back to the room to watch a movie before going out for tea a few hours later. Afternoon tea service on the Sunshine was an absolute gem and between the enhanced offerings and the A+ staff constantly exceeding our expectations, there wasn’t much we were wanting for.

 

 

 

 

[Nicole721]

Sea Day #3 meant Elegant Evening #2, and we spent most of the late afternoon getting ready. I know formal nights are a hot button topic sometimes – some people like getting all fancied up and others would prefer to leave their formal wear at home. I side with the former, if for no other reason than I work for a dot com, which means more often than not, I’m wearing leggings and oversized tunics and it’s fun to have an occasion to get dressed up for.

 

 

Elegant Evenings also mean American Feast menus, linens on the tables and those decorative silver shells (which, if you’ve ever wondered, you cannot hear the ocean through). Dinner was fantastic, not only in our meal, but in our company. We were seated near the sweetest elderly couple and the dining staff absolutely fawned over them, bringing out new things for them to try and making sure they were well taken care of.

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

 

Chesapeake Crab Cake

 

Four Season Salad

 

Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake

 

Save

[Nicole721]

The entertainment for the evening was a Playlist Production performance of Studio VIP, which we’ve seen more times than I can count, but was high energy fun and super entertaining nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the disco party left the lounge for the lobby, we headed back to the room to switch out of our formalwear and catch up on some emails. We had a few hours to kill before the midnight feature (Bad Moms) at the Dive In.

 

 

Funny movie, piping hot pizza and the warm Caribbean breeze? It doesn’t end much better than that.

[trpschick]

Ain't that the truth.

 

 

 

Seems to be the Sunshine's biggest flaw: when they removed public spaces for extra cabins, the passenger to space ratio went down. If the ship is anywhere close to capacity, it's a foot race for one of those loungers.

I just got off the Sunshine and had one of those "extra" cabins on the Promenade deck ... I LOVED our cabin, close to everything! I will definitely book one of these cabins again for our next cruise. This was my second cruise on the Sunshine and I have to say that this is my favorite ship, looking forward to my next cruise on board!

[Nicole721]

I just got off the Sunshine and had one of those "extra" cabins on the Promenade deck ... I LOVED our cabin, close to everything! I will definitely book one of these cabins again for our next cruise. This was my second cruise on the Sunshine and I have to say that this is my favorite ship, looking forward to my next cruise on board!

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip! :)

[Nicole721]

We’ve lost count of how many times we’ve docked in Grand Turk at this point.

 

I figure the number is 6-8 times, but really, we have no idea. They all blend together in a beautiful puddle of crystal clear water in the most beautiful shade of cerulean blue. I think the reason we’ve lost count is because our days in Grand Turk all look the same. We walk on the beach, we go shopping, we go back to the ship.

 

 

There’s a reason our days in Grand Turk all look similar to each other: there isn’t a lot to do on Grand Turk. Grand Turk is a small island, probably amongst the smallest we’ve ever visited. At it’s widest point, the island is 7.5 miles across. From the Lido deck of the ship, you can see clear across to the ocean on the other side of the island.

 

 

There’s a large, free public beach steps away from the ship. That’s the biggest attraction. There’s a Margaritaville with a very large pool. There’s a nice shopping area. You can take a cab to a different beach, or rent a golf cart and drive around the island (on our to do lists one of these visits), but there isn’t much else to do on Grand Turk.

 

But there’s an old cliché that says that good things come in small packages, and while there isn’t a ton to do or see on Grand Turk, I wouldn’t necessarily call that a bad thing. It’s nice to have a day to laze around an island and not feel pressured to see or do or buy, especially as you’re ending a lengthy voyage.

 

[Nicole721]

After a quick breakfast, Stephanie and I headed out for a quick visit onto the island. Mom stayed back – she hadn’t been feeling well and wanted to rest up. The first thing Stephanie and I noticed was that as you exit the ship, they have painted lines that you cannot step across to block people from sitting on the ledge of the walkway. They will blow whistles and yell at you if you try. I’m not sure if someone hurt themselves falling in or if this was purely precautionary, but mind that gap.

 

 

There are two beaches at the pier – one to the left of the duty free store and one to the right. Most beach-bound visitors to the island will take a left when they exit the store – that side of the beach is where you can swim out and wade around in the water. Because most visitors prefer the left side of the beach, it gets really crowded really fast. By the time we walked by, the umbrellas were stacked so closely that it made almost one big giant umbrella. With two ships in port (and a third on its way), it was a busy day in Grand Turk.

 

 

So while everyone was on the left side of the beach, we took our usual route through the right side of the beach. The right side is quieter because while you can toe dip in the water, you can’t swim out as far as you can on the other side and the further along the beach you walk, the rockier the terrain gets. If you’re looking to lay out on a palm tree and enjoy the breeze, this is the side of the beach you’d want to opt onto.

 

 

Regardless of what side of the beach you settle on (if you settle on a side at all!), beach chairs, clamshells and umbrellas are all free for use. While Grand Turk isn’t a private island (a la Half Moon Cay), the Carnival Corp has spent a lot of money on building up the port area, so the beach area may as well be considered one of Carnival’s “private” areas.

 

[Nicole721]

It was a gorgeous day to walk along the beach. The skies were perfectly blue and the water was calm. It was a little windy, but the wind provided the perfect relief to the humid temperatures on this Friday morning.

 

 

 

Stephanie and I stopped into a bar, the Beached Whale, a little further down on the beach for some margs. We contemplated going to Margaritaville but it’s always overpriced and overcrowded. It turns out, the Beached Whale is a Margaritaville bar, so the prices were still a little high, but we avoided most of the crowds.

 

 

[Nicole721]

We hit the shops after our late-morning mango margs. I wouldn’t call the shopping options on Grand Turk robust – they’re all Carnival recommended shops and the shopping area isn’t that big – but there’s plenty to browse if you’re looking for jewelry or island logo gear, and there’s a small craft market near the left side of the beach if you’re looking for more artisan goods.

 

 

 

 

When we had gone through our usual shops, we started to head back to the ship, but a Princess ship was docking, and civilians are prohibited from being on the dock while a cruise ship is docking. Everyone was starting to stack up in the duty free shop, and we spent a couple of minutes looking at the liquor prices, but once you go to St. Thomas, you know how the prices are never as good anywhere else, so we settled in outside the craft market while the Regal Princess pulled in alongside our Carnival Sunshine.

 

[Nicole721]

After the dock was cleared, we reboarded the ship, threw on our swimsuits and headed straight up to Serenity, where, for the first time all week, we had our pick of loungers and chairs and a near empty pool to enjoy!

 

 

We headed in for lunch after a few hours in the sun, opting for tacos from the Blue Iguana Cantina and cupcakes from the Sweet Spot.

 

 

Still not ready to call it a day after lunch, we headed downstairs to the promenade to watch the pier runners as we approached our back onboard time of 3:30 pm. When all guests were back onboard, the captain blew the ship’s horn, and the captain of the Regal Princess responded in kind -- but their horn sounded like the theme to the Love Boat!

 

 

We enjoyed the sun and sea views for an hour after we left port, up until the sun had set below the horizon, and we headed back inside to get ready for our evening.

 

 

 

The dining menus hadn’t looked all that appealing for this evening, so Mom had called Cucina del Capitano while Stephanie and I were out in port to inquire about dining availability for the evening. When told they were booked for the evening, Mom went upstairs to talk to the hostess, and when the hostess noticed Mom’s Platinum card, she squeezed us in for a 9:00 pm reservation. Super late for us, but we’d take what we could get. So we relaxed, watched a movie in the room, and Mom called Cucina again to see if they could squeeze us in any earlier, only to be told they had no record of our reservation for this evening and that our reservation was placed into the following evening. A 20 minute game of phone tag ensued and ended with a 7:30 pm reservation. We had a little time to kill, so we spent some time on Ocean Plaza listening to a live Latin duo.

 

[Nicole721]

Mom and Stephanie love Cucina del Capitano. I do, too – the food is great and the ambiance is lovely – but I’m more partial to the offerings at JiJi’s. As we were seated, we immediately picked up on some tension between two tables we were sitting between. One, a large party, was having some sort of a celebration. The other party, seated behind us, was a smaller party, with a man who was offended by how loud the other table was and kept shouting at them. We ignored the war brewing between the two to settle in with wine and a bread plank, and thankfully, the rest of the meal was less eventful.

 

 

Bread Plank

 

Nonna’s Meatballs

 

Insalata Caprese

 

Il Capitano’s Signature Arancini

[Nicole721]

Brasato al Barolo

 

Broccoli with Peperonata

 

Pollo Parmigiana della Cucina

 

Spaghetti with Captain’s Tomato Sauce

 

Bistecca alla Griglia

 

Rosemary Potatoes

[Nicole721]

Magic Tiramisu

 

Sorbetto al Limone

 

Crostata di Mele Coppetta

[Nicole721]

Because we were able to dine earlier, we were able to take in Cruise Director Chris’ show, The Flying Scotsman. Chris got his start with Carnival as a Playlist Performer before shifting over to Cruise Director, and the Liquid Lounge was just about standing room only for most of the show. Chris led the crowd in sing-alongs of some of his favorite rock songs.

 

 

 

I really, really wanted to go to the 80s Rock and Jam Party but I literally fell asleep as soon as we got back to the room to change. Add the Rock and Jam party to the list of things we’ll do on the next cruise (…where I’ll inevitably fall asleep…again…).

[riclop]

Better you then me.

[Crusin Karen]

It was a gorgeous day to walk along the beach. The skies were perfectly blue and the water was calm. It was a little windy, but the wind provided the perfect relief to the humid temperatures on this Friday morning.

 

 

 

Stephanie and I stopped into a bar, the Beached Whale, a little further down on the beach for some margs. We contemplated going to Margaritaville but it’s always overpriced and overcrowded. It turns out, the Beached Whale is a Margaritaville bar, so the prices were still a little high, but we avoided most of the crowds.

 

 

These pictures should be post cards! GT is our favorite port of call. Just so easy peasy to get off and sit our fannies down on a lounger. I wait an hour or two, then mosey over to M'ville when everyone has had a few drinks and watch the action lol. :oYou are my "optional dining specialist" I guess. Is there an upcharge for Capitano for dinner? Hope you are having another great cruise!

[spleenstomper]

Chris Williams is on Dream now. He is the best CD we have had. The 80s party was a blast!

[#55worktoplay]

I studied Journalism in college -- it never leaves you, even when you don't pursue it as a profession ;) Thanks for the kind words!

 

And the celebrations are absolutely open to all! The more, the merrier!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for reading along with me!

 

I have been following along enjoying this fastastic review while admiring your writing skills. At least if the dot com gig falls through you have a great skill to fall back on.

 

Very well done!

 

Thanks for sharing.