Cruise Vacation
Carnival Sunrise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 48
4 Night Bahamas (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 11, 2021
Ship: Carnival Sunrise
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 1302
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 3 years ago
Review summary
We relaxed, saw some beautiful sea and countryside, slept a lot, gained some weight. I probably will not cruise again. But at least I got to cross snorkeling off my bucket list!Embarkation
Easier than expected! Well organized, lots of staff to answer questions and provide guidance.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
I think we liked Guy's Burgers and the Pulled Pork Barbecue station the best. The taco bar was also good. We tried the dining room twice but preferred the more casual atmosphere of the Lido deck restaurants. Don't drink the coffee they provide for free -- it's awful. I had to go into caffeine withdrawal till we found the coffee shop.
Onboard Activities
We mostly relaxed on the deck. Took a tour of the Spa -- way overpriced for our budget. Enjoyed the hot tub, only swam in the pool once and it was very nice. Didn't like it when the smokestack spewed soot all over us -- felt like plastic pellets hitting us and was really dirty, getting our clothes dirty too.
Entertainment
We went to a couple of the comedy shows which were OK. I really would have liked to go to the stage show, but my travelling companion did not. We are not gamblers, so we just walked through the casino when necessary. I think it would have been nicer if there would have been adult crafting or cooking activities, but with Covid, I think they did a good job of providing a variety of safe entertainment activities. The Lido deck DJs and musician were awesome -- they were just always there in the background and we kind of took them for granted. They did make the top 3 decks more festive!
Children's Programs
No kids with us
Service and Staff
Waiters were attentive and available. We liked that gratuities were added to the check. Our room steward was amazing, polite, attentive, courteous, helpful. Loved the towel animals. The first night, I couldn't get the hairdryer to work. I called Housekeeping and Hubert was there in minutes to fix the problem (it had come unplugged). He gave us his personal # in case we had any more problems.
However, one day it drizzled and people hurried to get inside. The marble floors were wet and slippery. I passed 2 Carnival employees, one dressed in a uniform indicating a supervisor, and one with a mop who was really just standing in the entryway. I slipped and fell w/in 40 Ft. of them. Many passengers came to help me, but the Carnival employees stayed where they were, and I know they were aware of the situation. I saw this happen to another passenger near the taco bar one morning. This time, a Carnival employee was standing about 20 ft. from the incident. She did not come to help or inquire on the passenger's condition. I think they have been trained to ignore them for fear of litigation. Skid-proof mats would be helpful in these areas.
Ship Quality
I'd rate the design a 2-3 but the cleanliness a 4-5.
The design was confusing. Trying to get to areas on the 3rd floor sometimes meant you had to go to 5 then come back down a different bank of elevators. I think the flow could have been better. Also easier if you were trying to find an entertainment area (we had sailed Holland America and thought theirs was much more sensible.)
However, the cleanliness factor was AMAZING! The staff were always working to keep things clean -- everywhere! The exception was the soot spew.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabins were a little small -- glad we didn't have 3 people -- but adequate. They need more electric outlets. There is only 1 in the entire suite. They should have one in the bathroom so the hairdryer can be kept in there where one could actually see what they are doing when trying to style your hair. Or shave. The hairdryer needed a longer cord. I use a CPAP and though the ship provided an extension cord, it presented an unnecessary safety hazard as it had to be laid across the floor of the room. We constantly had to step/trip over it to get to our beds. More plugs, please!
Ship tip
Don't drink the coffee! Go to the coffee shop where you can purchase it!
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We embarked and disembarked here. We came in a day early to make sure we wouldn't miss the cruise. Stayed in the Day's Inn b/c they offered a shuttle to the Carnival port. Don't stay at the Day's Inn. It was dirty, smelled bad, had no close restaurants, and was terribly understaffed. I felt sorry for the sweet young woman who worked the desk and tried to do everything else. The airport is huge -- plan to arrive 4 hours early just to get to TSA and find your gate. The airlines changed our gates at the last minute. Not a great situation for people with any kind of health condition that makes it hard to get around quickly.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Beautiful! White sand and perfect blue waters. We both went snorkeling and it was fun (scary for me!) I also bought the tram tour excursion and I enjoyed it very much. The beach barbecue was well-organized, with a lot of variety, and tasted good.
The part of Nassau we saw was kind of dirty and run down. I'm sure there are prettier places on the island. We took the Jeep Tour. DON'T. It's overrated and overpriced. The literature tells you that there will be 3 stops so you can switch drivers and all 4 passengers can take a turn driving. We made 3, and the 2nd "leg" was only about a 5 minute drive from where the first ended. They bragged about the "famous cave" and how you could get out and explore it and take pictures. First, it's like a small rock overhang. Not a cave. No opening, goes in about 2-3ft. It was littered. There's a pull-off on the side of the road and we drove through it; we didn't even get out. It was pretty pathetic. Our second "stop" was a public beach where we were supposed to stay for 45 min. It was not a beach you could swim at -- dirty, unguarded, etc. The restrooms were closed and even our guide (Vincent was knowledgeable and tried to make things interesting and fun) was unaware of that obstacle. We had worn swimsuits b/c we thought we'd be able to get in the water -- not the most comfortable attire if you aren't going to swim and especially if you're going to have to go to the bathroom. The restaurant we went to -- well, the food was good. That's the best I can say. They gave us a pre-plated lunch, pre-served lemonade (one glass only, and it had obviously been put out well before our arrival, because there was so much condensation, it had saturated most of the paper placemat and dripped onto the floor), no water, and after they served the food, no wait staff should you want a glass of water or refill of lemonade. And the bathrooms! Small, 2 stalls which didn't lock. Remember the swimsuit issue? Not easy to get in and out of and embarrassing when someone walks in on you b/c the door doesn't lock. And no paper towels. I'd never go back. Although the guides were amazing people, I would recommend you skip this excursion forever.
We were unaware you could get excursions from other companies than Carnival. I wish we had been given the option to maybe visit Atlantis or go to a more pleasant part of the island. Cruise.com could add this info when booking.
Disembarkation
There was some confusion b/c when we attended the disembarking meeting, we were told (by the cruise director) we could put our bags in the hall for pick up, despite the fact we had a noon flight which they considered early. Bags are heavy and I would have liked to have had assistance with them. Guest Services told us it would be necessary to carry them ourselves to the early disembarking meeting place in order to make sure we made our plane -- I'm glad we double-checked. I wonder who might have missed their flights b/c incorrect info was given. Disembarking was fairly easy EXCEPT we didn't know where to go to catch the buses we had paid for. Not enough signage once you are through the building. Some passengers had arranged their own transportation, and we actually waited in one are that had a sign that said "Pre-paid transportation". We asked a couple of other people waiting there and found out we were in the wrong place and had been give bad info. When we got to the bus, the guy wanted us to show proof we had paid for our transfers. We had stowed the paperwork in our luggage which was already being loaded under the bus. I told him we didn't have it, no one on the ship had ever indicated we would need it, and asked him if he had a list he could check. Reluctantly, he did so and let us on. However, 3 other women were there with the same problem, and he refused to check the list for them. They were black -- it was obvious racism which we did not appreciate.