Sunshine Review

[beacha]

We were on the June 14 cruise from Norfolk, VA. This was our third Sunshine cruise. We had a very relaxing vacation.

Embarkation was fairly quick. We were on the ship within 30 minutes of our arrival at the terminal. Our check in time was 11:30 , but we didn't get there until about 4:00, which was cutting it close; however, there were many checking in after us. We went straight to our room to drop the luggage, as I refuse to check mine with the porters. I love my clothes too much to let them out of my sight!

Our spa balcony on deck 11 was clean and lovely. We unpacked, made a few phone calls, and relaxed on the balcony. Muster was in the Liquid Lounge at about 5:30. I got caught playing games on my phone by a Carnival employee and was asked to put it away. They were very serious about passengers being quiet and not using phones. After muster we went to Red Frog Pub on deck 5 to get a beer. On our last cruise, we played a lot of shuffleboard, but this time it was occupied every time we went there. After that, we went back to the room to change clothes for dinner. Later I will add my thoughts on our dining experience.

[CBuick]

Looking forward to hearing about your thoughts about the food. Though the pool/spa set up and decor is my least favorite of all Carnival ships, I really like the Sunshine's food.

[Ascott318]

Sunshine has one of the best Maitre D's Amith

 

 

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[LaCal]

You mentioned your muster drill being in the lounge, Is it in all the diff lounges shipwide?

 

I asked someone else before and they told me it was standing outside and not in the lounges

 

Hope it's inside. Hate standing outside like sardines

[beacha]

I had emailed the Maitred to ask for a two top table, and received a reply immediately, with an affirmation. The last two cruises, we were in the Sunrise Restaurant on the upper level along the rail. It was a lovely experience. The waitstaff was wonderful. We had 3 attendants- a head waiter, assistant, and a bus person. They had a "show" with dancing and passenger participation on 3 of the 5 nights. This time, we were in the Sunset restaurant, and it felt like we were at Applebee's. the ceiling was low, and they played loud random music. The one server was nice, but overworked. The first night I ordered the Indian vegetarian. It was delicious. The second night was elegant night. Most folks were nicely dressed. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the other diners were so loud. They were making loud noises and laughing uncontrollably. We decided not to go back again. Dinner has always been one of the special times on a cruise for me. This time, we ate breakfast in the Havana bar in the morning. This area is totally open- no one wants to walk back there, I guess. Breakfast was great! The best day was a veggie burrito from the burrito bar. My husband got French toast from the buffet. He got it every day, so I guess it was good! At dinner, we went to the deli and got pizza. Some people ordered 5 pizzas at a time, which was irritating. It took a long time to get to the front of the line. My husband enjoyed the burgers from Guy's. the lines were long there, too, until late afternoon. We never used room service, so I can't comment on that. The appetizers before dinner on deck 5 were awesome. We didn't eat dessert, but my husband enjoyed the ice cream on the lido deck.

Our cabin steward was very nice. He did ask if we wanted morning or night service. We chose morning, and that was fine; we don't spend a lot of time in the room to need service twice a day. If we dropped a towel, though, we had to call to ask for another. I did miss that turn down after roaming the ship at night.

We did not go to any shows. We saw all three of the shows on the previous two cruises. They were very enjoyable. The after shows in the Atrium were fantastic.

We spent most of the day on the Serenity deck 11. I was up by 7 each day and got a clamshell. ( My son in law calls it a bird's nest.) We really enjoyed the privacy and space. There were lots of chairs available throughout the day. No chair hogs that I could tell.

We loved the three levels of serenity. It was so relaxing. The bar servers were really overworked at the small Serenity bar. They ran up and down the stairs all day. If you check out towels up there, the towel check in closes at 5:30. It took us 3 days to get ours checked back in. We should have used our room towels.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[beacha]

You mentioned your muster drill being in the lounge, Is it in all the diff lounges shipwide?

 

I asked someone else before and they told me it was standing outside and not in the lounges

 

Hope it's inside. Hate standing outside like sardines

only certain cabins were in this location. We were lucky to be sitting in a room with ax.

[beacha]

You mentioned your muster drill being in the lounge, Is it in all the diff lounges shipwide?

 

I asked someone else before and they told me it was standing outside and not in the lounges

 

Hope it's inside. Hate standing outside like sardines

Only certain cabins are in the lounge. We were lucky to be sitting in the air conditioning.

[beacha]

Looking forward to hearing about your thoughts about the food. Though the pool/spa set up and decor is my least favorite of all Carnival ships, I really like the Sunshine's food.[/quoteAll three cruises the food was great. We enjoyed every meal!

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

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[EBFURR]

You mentioned your muster drill being in the lounge, Is it in all the diff lounges shipwide?

 

I asked someone else before and they told me it was standing outside and not in the lounges

 

Hope it's inside. Hate standing outside like sardines

 

We were on June 4 an had muster in the lounge. It is better than standing in the sun for sure. The down side is that they keep you until all the outside stations are dismissed so you have to stay longer. They tell you that at the end, after everyone else is dismissed, they will walk you past the lifeboats. We thought this would mean another 15-20 min but basically you just walk out the door of the lounge and you can catch a glimpse of the boat outside. Not a bad experience all said.

[beacha]

The lido deck bars, including Serenity, were very crowded. There was no organized line to get service. My husband waited at the Serenity bar for about 15 minutes, as others came up and were served right away. We finally gave up, and he went down to Red Frog Pub on deck 5 to get a beer. Fortunately, we don't drink much, or that would have been a pain. I remember the old days when wait staff would walk around the decks with frozen drinks already prepared, and they were gone in a minute. It reminded me of the ice cream truck that used to drive through neighborhoods.

I was really surprised that the Alchemy Bar was never crowded when we walked by, even in the evenings. One night, no one was there.

The Havana Bar was very relaxing in the late afternoon/early evening. It was wonderful to sit looking out at the wake. We didn't go to the late night parties in the lounge because we were in the casino. The bar service was pretty good in there. Servers came around frequently. Also, it didn't seem to reek of smoke in there this cruise. There weren't as many people in the outside smoking area either.

People were smoking on the balcony under us all the time. It did bother me a little bit. We did not report them, though. Next I'll make comments on the pools.

[emcelh]

Only certain cabins are in the lounge. We were lucky to be sitting in the air conditioning.

You were lucky. My daughter and I were on the Sunshine last year and the muster drill was the worst I ever experienced on any cruise. We stood outside in the heat for almost an hour packed together, as someone said, like sardines. I loved the ship and considered it for a cruise for DH and I, but I hesitate to book because he's claustrophobic.

[EBFURR]

The lido deck bars, including Serenity, were very crowded. There was no organized line to get service. My husband waited at the Serenity bar for about 15 minutes, as others came up and were served right away. We finally gave up, and he went down to Red Frog Pub on deck 5 to get a beer. Fortunately, we don't drink much, or that would have been a pain. I remember the old days when wait staff would walk around the decks with frozen drinks already prepared, and they were gone in a minute. It reminded me of the ice cream truck that used to drive through neighborhoods.

 

We had the same experience with bar service. The worst for us seemed to be Red Frog on lido where it was almost impossible to get served. They picked people at random rather than who was there longest. The Serenity bar seemed to be closed a lot and only had one or two bartenders when open. Bars seemed understaffed in general. Maybe in order to serve fewer drinks under Cheers. We were "pay as you go" and tipped extra in cash & still had trouble at busy times getting service. Hopefully this will change. The bartenders are overworked and need more help. I like the ice cream truck reference. I think those days are a victim of the prepaid drink packages.

 

I was really surprised that the Alchemy Bar was never crowded when we walked by, even in the evenings. One night, no one was there.

 

We went there several times and it was never crowded. Surprising since it is such a good bar.

 

The Havana Bar was very relaxing in the late afternoon/early evening. It was wonderful to sit looking out at the wake.

 

We loved Havana bar at any time of day. Very nice area.

[CBuick]

Havana Bar and Alchemy Bar are definitely winners. I do like how the Havana Bar on the sunshine helps the Lido Dining experience.

[bankofdad]

The Havana Bar was very relaxing in the late afternoon/early evening. It was wonderful to sit looking out at the wake.

 

Do you know if the Havana Bar serves up draft beer like Red Frog does? Thanks for your review!

[beacha]

Bank of Dad, I'm not sure if the Havana bar has a draft beer. We seemed to always get draft beer at Red Frog Pub on deck 5.

[Techman360]

The lido deck bars, including Serenity, were very crowded. There was no organized line to get service. My husband waited at the Serenity bar for about 15 minutes, as others came up and were served right away. We finally gave up, and he went down to Red Frog Pub on deck 5 to get a beer. Fortunately, we don't drink much, or that would have been a pain. I remember the old days when wait staff would walk around the decks with frozen drinks already prepared, and they were gone in a minute. It reminded me of the ice cream truck that used to drive through neighborhoods.

I was really surprised that the Alchemy Bar was never crowded when we walked by, even in the evenings. One night, no one was there.

The Havana Bar was very relaxing in the late afternoon/early evening. It was wonderful to sit looking out at the wake. We didn't go to the late night parties in the lounge because we were in the casino. The bar service was pretty good in there. Servers came around frequently. Also, it didn't seem to reek of smoke in there this cruise. There weren't as many people in the outside smoking area either.

People were smoking on the balcony under us all the time. It did bother me a little bit. We did not report them, though. Next I'll make comments on the pools.

 

We were on the same cruise and I guess I should be thankful I have nothing else to compare to because most of our party commented on how much like cigarette smoke the casino smelled like, but were surprised how much the areas just outside did not. It seemed to be contained very well to just the casino. Also when ever I walked through the smoking area it was generally pretty full but it was hard to tell who was smoking and who was lounging. The section is actually pretty nice with chairs and tables and its a shame there isn't one for non smokers mirrored on the other side. We had a ocean view so I don't know about balcony smoking but i did notice people just kind of smoking at the rails all over the ship off and on. None of this detracted from our awesome time that we had on our first ever cruise. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Mutumbojimbo]

You mentioned your muster drill being in the lounge, Is it in all the diff lounges shipwide?

 

I asked someone else before and they told me it was standing outside and not in the lounges

 

Hope it's inside. Hate standing outside like sardines

 

Depending on the ship and on the cruise, I have had the muster drill inside and out, it really is just luck of the draw. On some ships you go to your actual boat station and on some we just watched a video of how to get there. I'm not sure why the experiences can be so different, but no two drills have been exactly the same (except it's always annoying to wait on the people who think they don't have to go).

[JaniceB]

Enjoying your review so far

[April42749]

Questions about the spa:

Were shampoo and conditioner included in your cabin?

Since there is no pool in the spa, is it ok to wear shorts on the heated loungers?

Were the steam room and sauna co-ed?

What refreshments were in the spa? Cold or hot drinks?

Was it crowded?

 

Thanks....

[beacha]

The pool on the Serenity deck was beautiful. The waterfall is such a nice touch, and I really like how there are levels around the pool for sitting in a few inches of water to cool off. The water was really cold and refreshing. All the loungers around have comfortable cushions. There are also clamshell lounges at the edge of the deck. This is a great place to watch the lido deck activities. We spent most of our time on this deck, and it was convenient as our cabin was on deck 11. Everyone was well behaved; no one was obnoxiously drunk , loud, or rowdy.

One afternoon, we happened to be sitting on the lido deck having a beer and a snack. It was so loud, we couldn't even have a conversation. The children were out of control. ( I have been a teacher for 41 years.) There were teenagers showing off for each other while toddlers were running and jumping. There weren't many parents watching their children like I think they should have been. If I had young children with me, they would not have set foot near this pool. It was a free for all. At one point the dj was set up on the deck above, and had to ask those in the pool not to squirt him with the pool toys. He asked them about 4 times to stop. He had to explain that he had a lot of expensive equipment up there. I could not have spent even 30 minutes near this pool. I don't know how families could stand it. I am so thankful for the Serenity deck and pool. There were a few older teens up there with their parents. They were quiet, and I can see why their parents broke the rules.

[beacha]

Questions about the spa:

Were shampoo and conditioner included in your cabin?

Since there is no pool in the spa, is it ok to wear shorts on the heated loungers?

Were the steam room and sauna co-ed?

What refreshments were in the spa? Cold or hot drinks?

Was it crowded?

 

Thanks....

hi April,

Yes, shampoo and conditioner were provided. You could certainly wear shorts on the heated tile loungers. The whole spa area is co-ed. They had ice water in the relaxation area. We went to the steam rooms around 7 pm each night. We stayed about an hour. Only one other person was in there the whole cruise. It was great. Oh, also, bring your own lotion, I asked my room steward if he could get some, and he said they didn't have any.

[April42749]

hi April,

Yes, shampoo and conditioner were provided. You could certainly wear shorts on the heated tile loungers. The whole spa area is co-ed. They had ice water in the relaxation area. We went to the steam rooms around 7 pm each night. We stayed about an hour. Only one other person was in there the whole cruise. It was great. Oh, also, bring your own lotion, I asked my room steward if he could get some, and he said they didn't have any.

"Lotion" as in body lotion? Glad I asked....I assumed it was part of the upgraded toiletries.

[mirp]

Thanks for the review. Also sailing on Sunshine this summer in a spa cabin. Your tips are great.

 

 

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