Great cruise, great food, a little overcrowded

Carnival Sunrise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5
Carnival Sunrise

8 Night Exotic Eastern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 19, 2019

Ship: Carnival Sunrise

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This was my first cruise and while I enjoyed it very much and would have given five stars throughout, I thought the ship was a little overcrowded (3, 763 people) and should have offered more guidance to people the first day or two. I felt the overcrowding mostly the first few days or so, especially when the buffet lunch lines were very long. The ship staff eventually addressed this by opening more food stations and guiding people to shorter lines. Eventually, the lines became shorter as people also opted for other options/time slots. This was the perfect vacation for families and I thought you had alot of activities for youngsters in the middle years. However, there was very little for teenagers to do and they started running around the ship (unaccompanied by adults) in packs and getting rowdy or sitting in large groups on the stairs leading to the cabins. I noticed this in some of the 9th buffet areas, and especially the night the movie "Endgame" was shown. Teenagers were running around the deck and no one stopped them. I thought the staff should have called security to put an end to it. As a suggestion, you might consider designating a special time in the evening (and area) for teens where they can hear their music played by an actual DJ - a place where they can dance, have dance contests, and socialize. Of course, you would need some security staff there. Also, a game/video room for teens wouldn't hurt either. They could go there during the day and play games. You also need some policy to make parents accountable for their teenagers while on the ship. Another suggestion (just because I'm a retired elementary teacher) is to include some activities for the very young toddler and pre-school children. There were loads of them on the cruise and you might include activities like: pet shows, story book time (read alouds of picture books), and some daily art activity for small kids (clay, puzzle play, coloring, etc.). Hope my suggestions are helpful.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Food was great!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Mostly trivia games- wanted more.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Excellent musicians in all categories.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The best service ever. Everyone was so friendly and eager to serve you. We really appreciated Charisma who checked us in for the Sunrise dinner every evening and got us the best seats. Katalin was also another friendly Sunrise restaurant check-in person. They were both great. Also great was the female Maitre'd at the Sunrise Restaurant (I forgot to write her name down) who apologized to us and tried to get us better seating. Every waiter at the restaurant was friendly and polite. Richard an Ideghi were two waiters that stood out. The ship's Director, "The Flying Scotsman" was uplifting, funny, and fun to listen as well as be around. He kept spirits up on a few overcast/rainy afternoons and keep all of us informed of major events happening on the ship. I liked his morning shows.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin #6266 - our cabin steward was Arlene and she an excellent job keeping cabin neat and clean. Every morning she greeted us with a smile. Everyday we looked forward to her towel folded animal creations.

Ship tip

Vacationers should let cruise ship know they are allergic to certain foods. My room mate had an allergic reaction to the vegetarian dish and had to go to medical for three shots. There should be a separate space on the sign-up account for allergies.

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5
Loved all three ports: San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
Loved excursion I took around Old San Juan. A very informative tour. I learned a lot. I would definitely visit Puerto Rico again.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5
Actually, I took an excursion to St. John's Island, which was the most scenic of all the excursions I took. Beautiful green vegetation and scenery. The visit to the ruins of an old sugar plantation was the highlight.

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5
My excursion to "Home Sweet Home" for lunch and an day on the beach was excellent! The atmosphere, food, and beach was exactly what I was looking for. It was worth the price.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
This was the best organized event on the ship! The ship director's briefing days before was thorough. He said if we followed the instructions he gave, we'd get off the ship early and we did. Everything was orderly and the lines flowed. Getting through N.Y. customs was a breeze.

Traveler Photos

Dinner in Sunrise Restaurant
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5 Comments

Fiesta83    4 years ago

Carnival is the place for fun

Mydogluke    5 years ago

Love Carnival

AuthorNaomi    5 years ago

All the ships, including the Sunrise, has special supervised areas for children and teens. Last year it wasn't kids who were rowdy, it was adults, drinking, shouting, and disturbing people day and night. On a ship with endless drinking and parties, we chose to use earplugs at night and let them have their fun. Overall we had a great time, as always.

FDTripp    5 years ago

Also 3,700+ people on a ship is about average. The newer ships carry more. That's the nature of the business.

FDTripp    5 years ago

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. Everything you suggested is provided by Carnival. It's up to the individual cruiser to participate. If you have any special requirements, have your Travel Advisor annotate it on your file when your make your reservation, Carnival will accommodate you. The kids have clubs per age group, story telling, etc. There is an arcade also. Also the first day or two on the ship is a mess until people get the layout of the ship.

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