Our Carnival Sunrise B2B to Bermuda?? & New England / Canada (with pics) – 9/16/2019.

[Jamman54]

After the Morning Show we head to the aft Sunshine Restaurant for the Sea Day Brunch. Here is the menu…..

 

 

We use our VIFP coupons to get our free drinks…..

 

 

Patti had a blueberry muffin, the parfait, a Caesar salad, and finished with a tomato and cheddar cheese omelet…..

 

 

 

 

I had an apple Danish, followed by a mushroom, ham, and cheddar cheese omelet with sausage bacon, and brunch potatoes…..

 

 

After Brunch, Patti went to the early bingo card sales, and then back to the cabin to pack. There she found our last towel creation of our cruises…..

 

 

I went to the Red Frog Rum Bar to hang with my buds Andi & Harley…..

 

 

Looking out at the flat calm seas……

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti has just about finished her packing so she comes back up to the Lido, where she catches me at the RFRB…..

 

 

Patti made it just in time for Groove for St. Jude…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, I went back to the cabin to get a jump on my packing. Patti made her way to the Liquid Lounge for CLUE: the big reveal…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

I joined Patti in the Liquid Lounge for Mikey’s Q & A session……

 

 

This was immediately followed by the final bingo session of the cruise. Once again, we didn’t have any luck.

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

After bingo, Patti went back to the cabin to relax, and I decided to play a little blackjack. I played for a couple of hours and won a couple of hundred dollars. I went back to the cabin to get ready for the last dinner of the cruise. Tonight we are back in the Radiance Restaurant. Here are tonight’s menus…..

 

 

 

 

Patti started with a Caesar salad and I started with the steamed mussels…..

 

 

 

We both had the caprese salad…..

 

 

For her main, Patti had the flat iron steak, a baked potato, and a side of mac & cheese…..

 

 

 

For my main I had the shrimp creole…..

 

 

For dessert, we both had the baked Alaska…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Like clockwork, Yoki showed up for shot time. He has been great to us from day 1, and I took good care of him. If any of you see him, tell him Jeff & Patti said hello! 

 

 

 

 

We said goodbye to our great wait team of Surya, Anupa, & I Made…..

 

 

This is Laura. She took care of us from the very beginning. Thank you Laura!

 

 

We head back to the cabin to finalize our packing. These were our room stewards who did a fantastic job for us, Wasis & Jiwandono…..

 

 

Our bags are now out. After 13 days we are ready to go home, so it’s not so sad…..

 

 

Patti heads out to walk around and browse the Fun Shops one last time, while I head up to the Sports Bar to have my last drinks with Stefan. I think that we were both back to the cabin for good around 10 pm.

 

Day # 14  -  9/29/19  -  We’re Back!!!!!

 

When we woke up at 6:30 am, we were already docked back in Brooklyn. It’s sunny and 70 degrees in New York City today. Here is the general debarkation information…..

 

 

 

Here is our Diamond debarkation information…..

 

 

We got our carry off bags packed and ready to go, so around 8 am we vacated our cabin and made our way to the Radiance Restaurant. Tyler would be handling our debarkation from there. I grabbed a cup of coffee and some Danish while we waited.

 

Around 8:20 Tyler said we were good to go, so after we said our goodbyes, off the ship we went. We easily found our luggage, and waved down a porter. He whisked us through customs and outside to where our car service would be picking us up.

 

Our driver arrived at 8:40, and that’s where the trouble began. Today is the yearly tunnel to towers run, and this causes a lot of road closures. To make a long story short, it took over an hour to get from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to the BQE, which is normally a 5 minute drive. We weren’t going to complain though, knowing what the tunnel to towers run represents. Here are the last two shots of the Carnival Sunrise as we left the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.....

 

 

 

Once on the BQE heading towards the Verrazano Bridge, traffic opened up, and in 45 minutes we were safely back home, another couple of great cruises completed. The End.

 

Coming up next:  Our final thoughts and observations.

[mcgore83]

Great review Jeff and Patti!  Thank you so much for sharing!

[Jamman54]

Our final thoughts and observations.

 

I guess the first thing most people would want to know is if we would book another cruise on the Carnival Sunrise. The answer is absolutely yes, but…. Before I tell you what the but is, let’s talk.

 

Patti and I had read all the reviews, mostly negative, on the newly refurbished Carnival Sunrise. Some of these reviews had come from some pretty reputable posters, and the vast majority complained about how crowded the ship was. Of course some of the claims were over the top, such as having to stand up to eat breakfast and lunch which to me was a bit of stretch, but I could see where they were coming from. But in reality they had to feel more crowded.

 

Let’s talk a little about passenger space ratio. The Destiny, Triumph, and Victory in their original configurations had a PSR of 31. The refurbished Sunshine, Sunrise, and soon to be Radiance have a PSR of 27. That’s quite a drop. Also, there is a huge difference between sailing on the Sunrise when it is “full” (3,000 – 3,300 pax) vs sailing the Sunrise when it is “near or at capacity” (3,500 – 3700 pax). When do they sail at “near or at capacity”? Peak times such as spring break, summertime, Christmas, and New Years. That’s when the family groups travel the most, with plenty of kids, filling up all those third and fourth berths. The cruises that we were on were “full”, with very few family groups, and hardly any kids. Our Cruise Director Mikey told us that there were about 300 more passengers on our second cruise, and Patti and I could “feel” the difference.

 

So, back to the beginning. We would absolutely sail on the Sunrise again, but, not during peak times. That also goes for the Sunshine and Radiance. Let me also throw the Vista Class in there as it’s PSR is only 28. For those that want to sail on these ships during peak times, and at one time we were locked into that scenario, be prepared to feel a little crowded, but I can assure you, that you won’t have to stand up to eat! 

 

Patti and I both loved what they did during the refurbishment. Yes, they added cabins, but it is what it is, so we all need to get over it. The ship has a much lighter and brighter feel to it now. The re-done cabins were very comfortable. We loved the yellow and blue colors. The cabin had a pretty large flat screen television, a new thermostat that actually worked, and a new mini fridge. The mini fridge seemed a little smaller then we were used to, and their installation resulted in the loss of drawer space. That was tough for a 13 day cruise, but we made do.

 

In the Lido Market Place we never had a problem finding a place to sit or having to wait in long lines. Patti waited one time for 15 minutes in the Deli line, but that was because the people at the front of the line kept changing their orders! I tried “Lucky Bowl” one day and liked it, but don’t think this venue will last. How many people after being on a hot beach for four hours are going to say “I’m hungry for some hot soup!” It needs to be made into the Asian place again.

 

One thing that we really liked was the extra omelet stations during breakfast at the Deli, Lucky Bowl, Cucina, and Seafood Shack. You could get your breakfast meats and potatoes at these stations also. This helped alleviate the breakfast buffet lines.

 

After sailing on ships for the last 35 years whose sliding glass doors would open automatically, I had to be trained to push a button. I almost walked into one the first day, but remembered just in time what I read here on CC. Heads up!

 

When I first heard of the refurbishment I was very happy to hear that they were going to keep the aft pool. However, they removed the sliding glass dome that covered it during cool or inclement weather. Sure wish it was still there for our Canada / New England cruise, and I guess it doesn’t rain any more in the Caribbean. They use the space where the machinery was for storing lounge chairs. Makes me wonder where they stored the lounge chairs for the last 22 years?

 

Loved the aft section of the Promenade Deck where the Alchemy Bar, Piano Bar 88, and the Red Frog Pub were. If you were sitting in the Red Frog Pub listening to the band, you could not hear anything from the Piano Bar, and vice versa. Good job with the sound proofing. The Red Frog Pub on this ship was huge.

 

Here are my thoughts on the Comedy Club (Limelight Lounge). Though this lounge is still small for the amount of people on the ship, they did learn something from the Sunshine. They moved the stage 90 degrees to the port side, which made the stage viewable from the entire lounge, eliminating the need for televisions in the lounge itself. They still have televisions and seating in the entrance way, so late arrivals could see the show that way. Now if they enforced the one way in, and one way out concept, things would flow much better. On our second cruise, one night both of the comedians performed during one show in the Liquid Lounge. That worked out really well.

 

Speaking of the Liquid Lounge, neither Patti nor I are big fans. Having the loose chairs on the floor is a big drawback, since there is no place to place your drinks. Bingo players can take heart though, as they have big clipboards available to put your bingo sheets on, something that wasn’t available when we were on the Sunshine.

 

I have to give kudos to the crew of the Sunrise, every single one of them. By far, this is the best crew we ever sailed with, and with over 50 Carnival cruises that says a lot. Our first cruise being a 6 day cruise to Charleston with 5 sea days meant the crew had absolutely no rest at all. But through it all they kept smiling and went above and beyond to take care of everyone on board and keep us happy. That you did! Crews change a little every week that goes by, but this is one we’ll always remember!

 

I know I’m probably forgetting something, so if you have any questions let me know and we’ll get you the answers. We enjoy doing these reviews and sharing information so please don’t be shy.

 

Thanks to my beautiful wife Patti for all of her help with the review and for her beautiful pictures. She really does all the hard work. While she’s running around the ship or the port like a mad woman getting all the shots, I’m sitting somewhere drinking a frosty cold one. I really couldn’t do this, or live life, without you. Love you babe!

 

Well, this was our last cruise for 2019, but 2020 should be an exciting year. Right now we have a B2B booked on the Glory out of New Orleans in April. This may or may not happen as some unexpected bills, and having to have cataract surgery on both of my eyes, may cause us to have to cancel. Fingers crossed! On September 30^th we will be boarding the brand new Mardi Gras on a 15 day repositioning cruise from New York to Port Canaveral. This one is going to happen by hook or crook, and will be epic!

 

So for now, may you all have blue skies and calm seas. Cruise on!

[Joe817]

Outstanding review, and afterthoughts! congratulations for a job well done. I can't imagine how many hours you and Patti spent putting it together. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Thank you. 

[jimbo5544]

Great sum up Jeff, well thought out and delivered.  Come on tho, are you sure you could find a seat on Lido, I am sure a poster Said there were def none available. 😏😄  sorry I could not help myself.  A b2b on the Glory would be interesting.   Wish we could have jumped on the Mardi Gras cruise with you but have a conflict.  Nice job.  

[Cairns Cruisers]

Thanks Jeff & Patti for taking us all along with you once again, I really enjoyed it.

 

[Saint Greg]

Great stuff Jeff. And great work by Patti. I hope you’re able to make the New Orleans trip. That’s peak crawfish season. And Jazz Fest if you’re there the last week of April.

[pacruise804]

Wonderful review as always and great follow-up.  Thank you again Jeff and Patti ❤️ 

 

Praying for your cataract surgery.  My dad had his done a few years ago and was amazed at the difference.

 

 

[blarko]

Thanks for the fantastic review, but I’m sad it’s over, especially since I felt like I was right there with you guys! Thanks for pointing out the difference between a full ship and an at capacity ship. It’s something I never really thought about, but it makes perfect sense now.  I always wondered how a ship could seem more crowded on one sailing moreso than another sailing on the same ship, since they claim they always sail full, but now I get it. Best of luck with your cataract surgery.

[grandmarnnurse]

58 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

Wonderful review as always and great follow-up.  Thank you again Jeff and Patti ❤️ 

 

Praying for your cataract surgery.  My dad had his done a few years ago and was amazed at the difference.

 

 

My hubby had cataract surgery a few years ago. He went from wearing glasses for years to perfect 20/20 vision, and no glasses. 

[antmaril]

Thanks to you and Patti for your great review.  I have been following along because I, too, was on this cruise with you (NE/Canada).   I can see that you and Patti make the most out of your cruises and I think that’s wonderful.  I agree with you 100% about the crew on the Sunrise.  They were fantastic.  We thought the food was very good and our ocean view cabin was quite nice.  It was spacious and we had no complaints.  We worked around the lack of drawer space.  

 

Will I cruise on the Sunrise again?  Probably not.  It just wasn’t my cup of tea.  The Lido area is a disaster in my opinion.  We went up there once for breakfast and the line was incredibly long.  We got a breakfast burrito from the Blue Iguana, which was fine.  But, after that, we only went up there to grab an iced tea or a piece of cake in the middle of the afternoon.  (Like, we needed cake - ha!). 

 

Anyway, thanks for your review.  It looks like you had a great time.  We enjoyed our week, as well.  

 

 

[Mutumbojimbo]

13 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

 

I have to give kudos to the crew of the Sunrise, every single one of them. By far, this is the best crew we ever sailed with, and with over 50 Carnival cruises that says a lot. Our first cruise being a 6 day cruise to Charleston with 5 sea days meant the crew had absolutely no rest at all. But through it all they kept smiling and went above and beyond to take care of everyone on board and keep us happy. That you did! Crews change a little every week that goes by, but this is one we’ll always remember!

 

 

I'm sure that this has a lot to do with Mikey. In our opinion, he's amazing. I always shook my head at people who gushed over Cruise Directors, but he really made our cruise on the Fantasy extra special, and I would definitely like to cruise with him again. I think he really knows how to engage the guests, but he also passes that along to his Fun Squad, who make the atmosphere special at every event.

 

Thank you so much for your review, and I look forward to the next one!

[pacruise804]

I agree that Mikey was great - probably the best CD I've had.  I'll disagree on some of the Fun Squad - one lady in particular really seemed to struggle at events with preparation, energy, volume, engagement, etc.

 

I'm not sure how much the CD affects the food and beverage or housekeeping staff (beyond anything - excellence or mediocrity- being contagious), so as much as I enjoyed Mikey I don't know as he gets all the credit 🙂 

[luvcruzing]

Great job, as always, Jeff.  Thanks to you and your slender 🙂 wife for taking the time to do this.

[mommio]

Always a pleasure to read your reviews and see your smiling faces

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks again, Jeff and Patti, for taking the time to entertain us. I'll look forward to your next review.

Heather

[sp2]

Hey Jeff and Patti,

I’ve been lurking all along and following this great review - another great review Bravo!  Your writing and Patti’s pictures make for a great read. I’ve been dealing with a health issue the past few weeks so it was great to look forward to your posts. We were supposed to be taking a Danube river cruise next week but unfortunately had to cancel.  We are booked on a Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam leaving in 4 weeks so hope I am better by then. Paul says we’re going because the sea air will do me good, and I can recuperate at sea as well as at home!

 

so you have to update us - how did Ryan make out with the hole in the roof??

 

sharon

[Jamman54]

On 11/5/2019 at 5:56 PM, fyree39 said:

That baked Alaska looks good. I don't remember the last time I've had it on a Carnival ship.

 

The baked Alaska has been back for quite a while. I'm sure it will be there on the Panorama. 😎

[Jamman54]

On 11/5/2019 at 6:12 PM, mcgore83 said:

Great review Jeff and Patti!  Thank you so much for sharing!

 

Glad you enjoyed the review! 😎

[nybumpkin]

Really enjoyed this, Jeff. I hear you about sailing off-season, but we're still stuck with July and August. At least when I retire in 3 years we may be able to do a March cruise when DH has his school spring break. But next year is Radiance in August. At least, having sailed Sunrise, we know where the choke points are. And if we can't find a place to sit on Lido😉, we have an aft wrap so we can always eat on our balcony.

 

Taking out the Magrodome - I though about it and have figured they just don't want to be bothered with it. If there's a pool cover, people will expect it to be closed in bad weather. If there's no dome - no expectations, no extra work for the deck crew. The last day of our cruise on Sunrise it rained quite a lot in the morning, and the aft Lido area was soaked.

 

Hope you don't have to cancel your B2B Glory. She's our favorite Conquest-class ship. Thanks again for taking us along for the ride!

 

 

[matt082600]

Thanks Jeff and Patti for taking us along on your cruise.  Another excellent review!!!

[Jamman54]

On 11/6/2019 at 9:11 PM, Joe817 said:

Outstanding review, and afterthoughts! congratulations for a job well done. I can't imagine how many hours you and Patti spent putting it together. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Thank you. 

 

Thanks for reading and your kind words! It is a lot of hours, but it is a labor of love and a way to relive the cruise. 

 

On 11/6/2019 at 9:42 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Great sum up Jeff, well thought out and delivered.  Come on tho, are you sure you could find a seat on Lido, I am sure a poster Said there were def none available. 😏😄  sorry I could not help myself.  A b2b on the Glory would be interesting.   Wish we could have jumped on the Mardi Gras cruise with you but have a conflict.  Nice job.  

 

Thanks Jimbo! Too bad you couldn't book the Mardi Gras re-positioning cruise. It's going to be a blast! 

 

On 11/7/2019 at 1:05 AM, Cairns Cruisers said:

Thanks Jeff & Patti for taking us all along with you once again, I really enjoyed it.

 

 

Thanks so much! We were glad to have you!