A Vacation To Remember!

Carnival Sunrise Cruise Review

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 62

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5
Carnival Sunrise

8 Night Exotic Eastern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 02, 2019

Ship: Carnival Sunrise

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

An amazing trip that my family will never forget! it’s all about making memories and making the most of every situation that you’re in. There were lots of times that we could have taken any given situation and made it sour our trip. But in the end, you’re paying a ton of money to have fun. So you have to just let go of the small stuff and have fun. I have to recommend the Red Frog Pub. Just go there and chill. You will not regret it. There is always seating and always things to do. I love the Trivia and the karaoke. It was an amazing time.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
I spent a lot of time reading reviews. And I think that in doing that I allowed myself to get so anxious about the embarkation process. However for myself and my family the process was so smooth. We arrived a little bit earlier than our scheduled arrival time and we’re allowed entry. The line through security was extremely easy and quick once seated we were able to board within about 30 minutes. And we were on the boat. It was very seamless. I was in one of the very first boarding groups. I made sure that when I did the online check-in I did it at like 5 o’clock in the morning so my group was immediately after faster to the fun. But all in all it was a very smooth process

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Again I read extensive reviews. And was very concerned about the quality of the food on board prior to our embarkation. My only suggestion is this.… Our experience with the buffet was similar to others here. The lines are ridiculous and the food is pretty bland. However, we found that eating breakfast and dinner in the sunshine restaurant every single night was one of the most enjoyable parts of our entire trip. My daughter said that the waiters made her feel like she was an important and special person. And honestly I thought that way too. The food was always really great. There are always tons of selections. Honestly we found that the steak weather we had it in the morning or in the evening was always cooked perfectly. And overall we were very satisfied with the dining experience. I am talking to text this message and my phone app does not allow me to see what I am saying right now. So hopefully it makes sense. LOL

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
My daughter and son really enjoyed the Rope Walk. A lot of our time on the ship had a very windy days and so they were not able to use it as much as I think they would have. But when they were able to use it they enjoyed it. Like everyone else says the pools are very small. This is probably one of the biggest downsides of the ship. It’s kind of sad how small the pools are. My husband and I did not swim the entire time we were on board. The only time we swim was when we were at port. The waterslides were fun. but my children only did them the first day. My husband did go to the fitness center a couple of times and said that it was nice.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
We actually didn’t go to any shows. I thought we would have but we ended up not. However, we really enjoyed going to the Red Frog Pub for the Hip Stars. We could always find a seat and we would sit there and have a drink and listen to them have live music. There were different music options every single night and we found The whole thing very chill. Something we totally enjoyed. They did a set with the group of guys on the horns (saxophone, trombone, and one other one that I don’t remember) and that was so freaking good.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5
I have mixed feelings about this. My son enjoyed every second. He made so many friends and was completely entertained the entire trip. He’s 12 years old and was in Circle C. However my daughter, who is 10, had a totally different experience. Because of her age she was not able to go into circle C and had to stay in the group just a bit younger. And as a result she was in a room with five and six-year-olds and really did not enjoy her time there. It was really unfortunate because we asked for her to be moved into her brothers group. Her maturity far exceeded every single person in her group. And they would not allow it. So as a result she ended up spending a lot of time with us. Or by herself. Which was kind of a bummer.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
CAMILO! This guy was the most amazing server ever. If you are in the sunshine restaurant and want an amazing server… Go with Camilo. He is so amazing. Our steward, Richard, was also great. He made sure we had everything that we needed and always greeted us by name. That was one of the most amazing things of the entire trip was the fact that everywhere we went everyone remembered our name. They knew who we were and called us all by name. It was so awesome. We hardly encountered a employee that was not amazing. I can’t even think of one.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Everywhere that we went the ship was in awesome shape. It was clean and well organized. It was unfortunate that you do have to walk through the smoky casino to get to the lobby. But it was OK. That could definitely be improved upon. Other than that we thought the ship is great. Our room was great and everywhere we went to was clean and well-maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Stay positive! I worried myself sick reading reviews and at the end of the day, it is what you make it.

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Super quick and easy. We kept our luggage and when our floor was called, we left the room and followed the signs. We were in our Uber in less than 30 minutes from the time we left the room.
Was this review helpful? 62

13 Comments

Fiesta83    4 years ago

So glad you guys enjoyed your cruise

KWheeler317    5 years ago

Browneyedgirl - When we were in Grand Turk we did an excursion. And it was amazing. We had some time before our excursions though when we got off the dock instead of going left where everyone else went we went right and the beach is much less crowded. At one point we were the only two people on the beach. That killed some time before we went on our excursion.

florida2    5 years ago

I never go by anyone’s reviews!! I always have a great time!

AlandTanya2016    5 years ago

My husband and I are going in September I hope we dont have those problems.

browneyedgirl    5 years ago

What did you do in Grand Turk? Did you venture out or stay at the port? I'm trying to figure what is best with a port time of 8am-3pm. Glad to read you had a wonderful time!

Mydogluke    5 years ago

Don’t listen to the very unhappy and negative people. You can always find something wrong if you look for it.Just have fun!!!!!

KWheeler317    5 years ago

Nope. Eating in the dining room is included.

freebase    5 years ago

Thanks for the honest review.

TravelingSmis    5 years ago

Thank you for this review. We are sailing in November and I’ve read so many negative

Elissa35    5 years ago

Do you have to pay extra to eat breakfast in the dining room? And do you have to reserve a time? Thanks for the review!

sayleaway    5 years ago

We were on the second sailing after drydock in May and our family had an amazing time. Spending time with family and friends is a priceless experience!

sasha1227    5 years ago

I too am so worried, I’m giving myself anxiety but your review has really helped. Thank you so much!

Blondy    5 years ago

Thanks for the great review and pictures. So glad you had a great time!! 😊

Other reviews of this sailing