The crew is not allowed to leave the ship at any port and rely on Amazon orders which take 2 weeks to a month to receive. If you are looking for gifts that would be so appreciated, think about toiletries. We have been doing this in addition to the additional gratuities and chocolates we normally bring. This will be our 4th cruise since restart. My wife is Filipina and strikes up conversations with the crew all the time. Since they are doing extra cleaning, with harsher chemicals, lotions are much appreciated. Also, since they are wearing masks practically 24/7, lip balm is also a good idea. In short, anything like toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, etc., would be great. Dollar Tree is great for these items. We also get the gift bags and thank you card/envelopes there as well. Below is a picture of our gifts for the past cruise. We gate the toiletries to our room attendant and his assistant and our 3 Dining room servers early in the cruise – Gave additional gratuities and chocolate on the last night. We flew to Miami, so we were limited in what we brought. Since we live close to Baltimore, we will load up – they deserve it!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Since this was part 2, I will review the process of staying on board. Since living in the Covid would, Covid testing is required within 2 days of cruise. Carnival foot the bill for the testing prior to second cruise. We met in the Limelight lounge 2 days before the end of the first leg for testing. We were not informed of the results, but assumed that only if you tested positive you would know. On morning of arrival back to Miami, we gathered in the Radiance Dining room. At a set time, we were escorted off the ship, used the Immigration's new facial recognition system, and returned back to the ship where Mimosa's were waiting for us. That was it. Since we stayed in the same cabin, we just went back to the room.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
All excellent, please see my previous review as I reviewed both legs of cruise together.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
All excellent, please see my previous review as I reviewed both legs of cruise together.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
All excellent, please see my previous review as I reviewed both legs of cruise together. We watched the playlist productions on first leg and comedians on the second to avoid repeats. It worked out well.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Housekeeping: Raja was great. Room condition and cleaning was perfect. We saw him often in the hallways and he was always friendly, called us by name and always asked how we are doing. He is kind and sincere for sure.
Evening Dining: We heard from our cruise on the Magic last month that Michelle was on Sunshine. He had her on two previous cruises, so we asked if she could be our server.
We asked Maria (Junior Host) on the Lido Deck at embarkation lunch if this was possible, we did not want to cause any issues. She was over the top accommodating and said she would do her best to work with her boss to see what could be done. Her assistance was appreciated, and we were able to be assigned to Michelle and her Team. I want also say that Maria consistently checked on us while dining in the Radiance Dining Room. She was reassigned to the Sunshine dining room and even then, made an effort to come over to the Radiance dining room to check on us! She was friendly and accommodating throughout the cruise!
Michelle and her team (Bernadette and Marphee) were great. Michelle is a true professional and leader. The team worked smoothly and did not miss a beat in serving us. We look forward to seeing Michelle on future cruises.
The following people related to dining make our experience especially noteworthy: The Maitre D’ Milo and Denis. Both were exceptional and they constantly checking on us whether in the Main Dining or Lido Deck for Lunch and Breakfast.
On the Lido, we were so happy to speak with Martha, Angela, Alexandru, Sovi, and Angelo. During a “sit down breakfast” we had the pleasure of being served by Virgilio and during a “Sea Day” Brunch being served by William. Both were friendly, accommodating, and efficient. Ben, who worked the omelet station was fast, efficient, and friendly. We sat near that station so we say that he was entertaining and brought everyone’s spirit up. Sudita, who was in charge of the Lido Deck, was great. He ran the team well, and joked with us as well.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
All excellent, please see my previous review as I reviewed both legs of cruise together.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
As mentioned in previous review, room was a good size and could have fit a sofa. No complaints. It was quiet with no noise from the Dining Room above and close to elevators. We were near the back so Lido Deck was conveniently located.
Ship tip
Less seating on Sunrise as compared to Sunshine. With that and Lido being on the 9th deck, you will find additional seating on the 10th where the Italian restaurant is located. You can bring food from lido or Pig and Anchor and sit there. During our cruise, we were half capacity, so no real challenge with seating. I suspect that it will be more of a challenge when things are normal again.
First time to this port. Jamaica was Covid Level 4, which is high. They island was on lock down and no one was to leave there house for at least a week. You needed an excursion to leave the terminal area. The Jamaica staff took your temperature and made sure you sanitized before you got off the pier. We met our Carnival Excursion people, we did a panoramic tour. This took us to the hills above the island for an over look and drove parts of the city and back roads. This is something we like to do for any island we tour. We want to get a history and feel. This was relatively in expensive. The lockdown kept the streets really empty. We were shuttled to a gift/jewelry store to purchase items. Even though other stores were around, we were not to leave the area because of lock down. I am not complaining, the tour was great and did not feel overly restricted. Other people who did the river, waterfall and other excursions all had great times as well. Those who wanted to explore on their own were disappointed since nothing was open and they could not leave the pier area. There were many vendors set up on the Pier, all selling the standard items.
This port had only been taking Cruise ships for 4 weeks by the time we were there. Since we were visiting the port on the second of the B2B, we just explored. We took the free tram, which was great. It stops at 4 locations, the Casino and 3 beaches, then loops back to the pier. It was maybe 20 minutes for the loop though the accommodate what is needed, so not on a strict schedule. There are multiple trams so not really much of a wait. After that, we took a taxi to "downtown". $5 each. There isn't really a downtown, just 4 shops selling souvenirs. I guess if you want items that say "Bimini" this is the only place to get them. This is a good stop for Radio beach. The water looked super clear. There are chairs for rent along with a beach bar and assorted deep fried food. On the taxi ride back, the driver Anita Harris took us on a brief history - sight seeing tour of the island. She did not ask for any additional money, but I did tip her. She works for Harmonia which is a taxi and vehicle rental company on the island. She wanted me to pass her contact number, and hope it is appropriate 1-242-802-8110. The island is new to the large cruise ships so I suspect it will develop more. On our second trip to the island the following week, we just took the tram to the last stop, which was the public beach. I would say it was clearer than HMC and just as calm. Needless to say, it was nice. The chairs are for rent, but too expensive in my opinion. Food options are limited, but there are some water toys to rent, if interested.
Something that I would recommend as an option, you can rent a golf cart for the day, which will cost you $60. This might be a good option and something I would consider in the future. Remember to drive on the left side of the road!
Fabulous review, so detailed it was almost like being there! Thanks for looking out for the crew. I'd like to suggest bringing ear guards as gifts for the crew also. They wear those N95 masks for hours every single day and it's hard on the ears.
Look forward to reading more reviews from you 🙂
The cruise line doesn't provide shampoo etc. My daughter was a crew member for 5 years. Outside the medical center they have envelopes with vitamin c, Tylenol, Advil, and condoms. They crew bring their own toiletries.
So do each of the thousand or more crew members have to order their own toiletries from Amazon and have them shipped separately to each ship? That sounds terribly inefficient. The Cruise Lines don't provide shampoo, soap, etc. for them?
Wow! What a great detailed review. Glad to see you had such a good time and that you met great staff members. We also bring personal care items for the staff members and detergent pods since they have to do their own laundry. Hope to be back on the Sunshine in Jan but not looking to good right now.
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