Willdra's Silent Carnival Sunshine Sept. 17-22 Review

[willdra]

 

When W and I got back to Deck 6, there was a guy standing in his cabin doorway with only shorts on. Red Flag. I quickly assessed the situation and determined that whatever he was going thru had absolutely nothing to do with us. However, he volunteered to tell us that the noise from the Ocean Plaza Party downstairs was too loud and he couldn’t sleep. Okkkkkk. Here’s some free lifesaving wisdom. Minding your own business is about not inserting yourself into other people’s Koolaide. Don’t even ask. Try to avoid eye contact if at all possible. But. And I have a big but. If they volunteer the info, listen, and maybe nod a few times. Do that as long as it’s not uncomfortable or weird. As he was telling us his deal, we nodded, and kept it moving. We never paused. Here's another complimentary nugget of knowledge. There are different types of nods. There’s the “I hear you, but no” nod (this is more of a quick chin lift than a nod). There’s the “I hear you and I agree, so tell me more” nod (this is a more vigorous nod than the first one). Then there’s the “I hear you and I need more information to determine whether I’m in or not” nod (this one is more of a slow mo nod).

 

We hit him with the “I hear you but no” nod. We weren’t getting in that. When we got inside our cabin, we could hear him out there talking to other people, repeating his story.  A little while later, we saw him (thru the peephole) in the hall waiting for the escorts to his new cabin. I hope he found the peace that he was seeking. This is also reason number 5678 that packing earplugs are worth it. I can’t stress enough how blocking out sound will save you all of that trouble. If you’ve never worn them or if you’ve had some that were uncomfortable, get a few different types and try them out at home before your vacay. Don't let sounds assault your ears and keep you from sleeping like a newborn baby who pays no bills. Sleep is sacred.

 

We called it a night within the hour after the situation across the hall fizzled out.

 

Before I fell asleep I said a prayer thanking God for sandwiches. They’re perfect for any meal. There are breakfast sandwiches, dessert sandwiches, dinner, and lunch sandwiches. You gotta love multipurpose, versatile, portable food. God gives the best gifts.

 

 

 

[kelkel2]

Wildra! I love your reviews. This is a special great. We have yours, Megan’s and jamman’s all going! I can’t wait for more! 

[jimbri]

Great review!

[dmet0225]

17 hours ago, willdra said:

 

 

 

I don't even know what to say about these car lanes.

[willdra]

20 hours ago, peteandpris said:

What a great surprise to see this review. We did a back to back in 2018 so I can't wait to relive the Sunshine. Thank you. You are the best.

Awwwww shucks!! Thanks so much for this!! 😍😍😍

[willdra]

19 hours ago, mkcurran said:

Yay! looking good as always. Time to partay!

Yesss!!! 💃🏽🕺🏽💃🏽🕺🏽💃🏽

[willdra]

19 hours ago, SenatorsFan said:

So happy to be here for another Willdra and W review! 🥰

I’m happy that you’re here too!! 😍😍

[willdra]

19 hours ago, EllaDuChien said:

I boarded the Sunshine the day you got off and thought the exact same thing!  It had even changed since I was on her in July.  Still I love her and I will be back in December.

Going to be super sad when she leaves Charleston though...Its my closest port too.

I agree, we would definitely sail on her again. Especially since she’s so close. 😊😊

[willdra]

19 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yeah, what's up with the chewed up sport track?  We saw that Sept 3.  Why is it still there?  Hmmmm....

Hopefully they will get that fixed soon. It’s not cute at all. Thank goodness we didn’t have to go back up there after that initial walk thru. 😅😅

[willdra]

18 hours ago, WhiteOptima said:

1) I am a Corporate Director of Payroll over seeing a team of 6.  See the timecard issues all the time.  You can't get your timecard right but you sure in hell want to be paid correctly and on time!  Hello are you not an adult!  And no I am not part of HR because I would be an HR nightmare.

2) Your parking to ship was better than ours-just got off on the 6th.  We followed the cars to where you parked and a parking attendant yelled at us and we had to park almost to the street which made for a long walk on debarkation day.

3) I loved the Havana bar area but the room😱.  I was in 6207 and had to sit on the toilet sideways because the door opened in and was always in the way.  I don’t remember any ship having bathroom doors that opened in before.  And FYI I am 5’3” 120 lbs.   Still enjoyed myself and the Sunshine Rock Band was great.

LOL!!! I’d forgotten about the toilet in our cabin. It had a mind of its own. It only flushed when it was good and ready. Which was very scary 😟. I didn’t want to be the one who had to go get help if it decided to go on permanent leave. So I prayed every time I flushed! 🙏🏾🙏🏾😄😄

[willdra]

18 hours ago, Cruisesfun65 said:

Willdra, I can't tell you how much I enjoy your writing style. You are the only reviewer that makes me laugh OUT LOUD at every single post!

You're sure you don't want to review more events in your life? Like Thanksgiving and family reunions? 😉

LOL 🤣🤣 My adult offspring keep asking me to write reviews of my everyday life. If they ever win and I do it, I will definitely post a link here! 😉

[willdra]

15 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

Wildra! I love your reviews. This is a special great. We have yours, Megan’s and jamman’s all going! I can’t wait for more! 

Thank you! 😍😍

[willdra]

7 hours ago, jimbri said:

Great review!

Thabk you!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾

[TravelGirlinDallas]

6 minutes ago, willdra said:

LOL 🤣🤣 My adult offspring keep asking me to write reviews of my everyday life. If they ever win and I do it, I will definitely post a link here! 😉

Yessssssssssssssss!!!!

[willdra]

2 hours ago, dmet0225 said:

I don't even know what to say about these car lanes.

I know right! A smokin hot mess is what that is. 😆😆

[Shamrock73]

On 10/9/2022 at 8:06 PM, willdra said:

. We were staying at Cambria Hotel Riverfront on Ripley Dr. I got a king room for $129/night by booking through our Corporate Concur site at work. ..

We are looking for a hotel to stay in the night after our cruise in February and the rooms are $280 through Hotels.com (I checked with Concur as well and they have it for $330)

 

You got a good deal!

[Sadebud]

Love Willdra reviews!!!! Please cruise more!!

[willdra]

1st Sea Day

 

The universe woke me up at 9:45. Shout out to the universe for not waking me up too early. The first thing I did was look outside. It was just as I expected.  It was cloudy and it looked like rain off and on. This was a Hazy I.P.A. day.

 

W rolled up right after me and we started getting ready. He checked us into the app for brunch when he thought I was done, then asked me if he should cancel because I wasn’t ready. Huh? Sir are you new here? Can you not look at me and know that I needed at least 10 more minutes?  He sighed when I gave him the look, then he canceled the table. When I was closer to getting done he checked us in again. I told him that I was ready, I looked on the app, and it said our assigned table was 429. I asked W if that was the original table or the new table. Silence. That means he didn’t know. He opened his app then said "oh yeah that’s the new table". I’m skeptical.

 

We left the cabin, walked down to Deck 3 and were led to table 429. Where other people were sitting. Hmmph. A quick check in the app, and we found that our new Table was actually 415. So we were led over there. W got lucky that it worked out. Cuz y'all know I was giving him the biggest side eye that I could. 

 

It was a little busy in that area where table 415 was located. We sat down, perused the menu, and I noticed they had Emeril's Shrimp and Grits as a specialty item. It was $6 extra. That made me wonder if it was there all along and I never noticed it, or if it was something new. I didn't want it yet, cuz I already had my mouth ready for my Sea Day Brunch steady Eddie. I had to order the Skillet Cake, Scrambled eggs with cheddar, and soft bacon. W ordered the Lox/ Salmon, Steak and Eggs (over medium), and he asked for a specific Hazy IPA.  Our servers brought us loads of coffee. They really kept us stocked up with coffee and cream until our food arrived. It was so good. To me vacation coffee always tastes so much better than ”Let me drink this to make it thru this day without un-aliving anybody at work” coffee. Vacation coffee hits different. 

 

When our food arrived, I got my scrambled eggs with 1 1/2 teaspoons of cheese sprinkled on top, and crispy bacon. Excuse me, but who ordered cheese wishes on their eggs? When I ask for cheddar cheese on my eggs, I would like to be able to see the cheese. I would also like for there to be slightly more cheese than egg. I have prepped my body for it already, so when say bring it, I mean bring it. 

 

W’s eggs were over hard, and they brought him the wrong Hazy IPA. He didn't complain about the eggs, but the beer was a whole nother story. When he ordered, he asked for the Sierra Nevada one. I asked him what the difference was. He said it was because the one that he wanted has 6.7% alcohol, and it’s 19oz, so you get your money’s worth. I have a similar formula for ordering cocktails. When I consider a drink, it has to contain a bare minimum of 2 alcohols. The ones with 3 or more are preferable. I figure why pay for a drink with 1 shot of alcohol, when you can get a few more shots for the same price. I apply the same thought process to other beverages too. When I go to Starbucks, I order my grande Café Americano in a venti cup. It’s actually already saved in my favorite drinks in their app. The baristas don’t read that it’s supposed to be a grande. They just see the venti cup and fill it up. That way I get 2 coffees for the price of one. Usually. Please don’t come for me fam. A barista at Starbucks told me to order it like that because I like a lot of room in my cup for cream. I win either way. If they truly give me the grande, I’m good, or if they give me the venti, I’m good good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

Ok let's cruising on. I looked back at my plate and wondered if they didn’t understand me, didn’t write it down, didn’t have that, or all of the above. Cuz there was no way that somebody looked at that food and thought  “Yes! She is gonna love this!”. I ate my Skillet Cake, which was phenomenal, some of the bacon, and not one bite of those scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese hopes and dreams. W told the server it was the wrong IPA, and she took it back and brought him the right one. We chewed and swallowed as much as we could, then bounced.  
 

It was yucky outside still, so we slow walked out on Serenity and Lido. All of the covered spots were taken by people, or books and flip flops. It’s crazy how books and flip flops get better seats than people do. I love that for them. Nothing grabbed us and said “pick me” so we went back to cabin 6317. W went to iron his dress shirt for the night and I sat on the balcony talking to y’all via writing my notes. There was some indoor stuff on the app that we liked but not until 2:30.

 

At about 1:30 I could see sprinkles of sun in the water. I told W we should walk out and see if there were livable conditions outside. 

 

 

[willdra]

Yep. Our pass thru Serenity this time netted us a sweet spot. It was on Deck 12, under the overhang. There were actually some really good options out this time, so if we had to move, it wouldn’t be an issue. The cool thing about our seats, was that you could see the ship riding the waves, going up and down, by looking at the horizon behind the funnel. It was good and terrible at the same time. It goes to show that at the end of the day nature owes us. This huge ship still has to yield to the sea. Now that's some sea power. 
 

 

[willdra]

W went to go get something from the cabin and while he was gone we passed thru some questionable clouds but we stayed dry. I got up to look at our cloud cover, and when I looked down, there was a ducky in the chair in front of me. I scooped it up quick! This is the second cruise that I’ve found a duck on. I’m convinced that the ducks are good luck, cuz they are placed by other passengers with good intentions. They usually have a little note attached that tells you where it’s from, and/or what it’s for. I’ll admit I didn’t get it at first, until I found one. Then I was like OMG these are really cute. Maybe one day I will hide little Willdra ducks around a ship. That would be fun!

 

[ShakyBeef]

 

 

Did your hair get more radiantly colourful since embarkation or is it just the MDR lighting?  Beautiful!  I LOVE it!  Thanks so much for this review, Miss Willdra.  I'm enjoying every moment of it.  Your style, as many others have said, is so entertaining!😁

[willdra]

 

We sat out in Serenity a long time. I could do this for hours and hours and hours. W wanted to get in the water so he did that. I stayed up reading and watching people do people things. There were several small groups of family/friends who would swarm in and suck the calm out of Serenity like locusts on leaves. One such group was sitting back in the little cove, which was fine, because it’s possible to be loud back there and not disturb everyone else. Then I guess they decided they wanted to see the Lido, so they moved up to some of the chairs. That was problematic cause they moved and sat in chairs that belonged to someone else. Now ordinarily I’m like “welp you shouldn’t have left”, but to be fair the couple sitting there was only gone a few minutes, and the lady left her shirt and bag that the other people just sat on. So the couple came back and the lady was like “that’s my seat”, and the group was like “oh sorry we didn’t know” and the lady said “you’re literally sitting on my stuff”. So they apologized and moved down.
 

This happened a few times with different people. While W was getting a drink, and I was sitting right there, this lady came and moved his sunblock and cup off of the table and tried to take it. Rude. The worst part was, she didn’t even need it. She and her family were trying to take a picture.  I said “excuse me, my husband is using that table”. And she was like "oh sorry" and put it back. They ended up taking the picture and then going somewhere else. Byeeeeeee!!

 

I don’t mind at all if someone asks before moving our stuff. Especially if we aren’t using it. But it’s not cool when someone just takes it upon themselves to do whatever they want. That’s mad disrespectful, and unfortunately I gotta return that same energy. This is vacay, therefore I’m not trying to do that. But……if they try me, vacay me will leave and at home hoodrat me will take over. Nobody wants to see her. She’s not as sweet as me. 

 

Anywho, we stayed out until around 6, then it was time to get ready for dinner. 
 

 

[willdra]

19 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

 

Did your hair get more radiantly colourful since embarkation or is it just the MDR lighting?  Beautiful!  I LOVE it!  Thanks so much for this review, Miss Willdra.  I'm enjoying every moment of it.  Your style, as many others have said, is so entertaining!😁

LOL 😂😂 I am posting this at work, so I’m taking the pictures directly from my phone instead of SmugMug. They actually look better so I may do it like this from now on. 🥰😘

[peteandpris]

My husband and I take turns getting food or drinks so we won't loose our table and a couple asked me to save their table on Lido, boy did I make enemies and I will never do that again because I guarded this table.😍