First time cruise
Carnival Sunrise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 23
5 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: January 13, 2024
Ship: Carnival Sunrise
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 2344
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 9 months ago
Review summary
Overall, for my first experience on a cruise ship, I do not believe it was that bad. However, being nickel and dime for every everything from juice to having to rent a chair when you were at a certain port to not being able to enjoy the amenities was not something that I was prepared for nor did I appreciate. As mentioned before the staff and cruise, Director were amazing at their jobs. The boat was beautifully redone, and overall a good time was had, but I won’t be cruising anytime soon. Ill stick with the all inclusive and flying to a destination.Embarkation
As my first time ever being on a cruise ship, the embarkation process was disorganized and confusing. Too many people being shoved through the same door, told to go to their muster station where staff was not stationed for us to check in multiple groups are just standing around.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
My party had a you pick your time, so we ate at the sunshine restaurant for breakfast and dinner. We were very pleased with the flavors and the variety of foods available to us. One night we did the chefs table and was completely blown out of the water. If it is in your budget to enjoy this experience, I highly recommend it.
Onboard Activities
The pool situation on the ship was two pools. One in the main area, and one behind the buffet at the back of the ship. Both had two hot tubs as well attached. Unfortunately, we were never able to get into any of the hot tubs as they were packed from morning till night with not only adults, but children as well. The pools remain the exact, same way, full of children, splashing around and people simply floating wherever they can get a spot. This ship had an adult only section where the pool was simply a bathtub size people were practically sitting on each other’s laps just to be in that pool. One of the main features was a waterslide that was always constantly busy and the line was long. Mini golf Was a cool view from the highest deck, but due to how windy it was, it was unable to be played. The fitness center is beautiful and clean and always had space for anyone.
Entertainment
Our cruise Director made sure that everyone knew about everything that was happening on that ship at every single second. There was plenty of musicians and DJs at any given point during the day. Plenty of dance parties and activities for the kids and adults to be involved in at any given day, they really made sure that every second was planned for entertainment. The performers in the liquid lounge theater were amazing from dancing to singing to costumes.
Service and Staff
The service from the ship, personnel and staff was top-notch. Everyone was friendly, constantly, smiling, seem to enjoy their line of work. We were able to talk to many of them about life on a ship, and how they are able to cruise around from many different ship lines And areas of the world.
Ship Quality
Going into the ship I knew that I was traveling on an older ship that had been redone in 2019. Therefore the aesthetics of the ship we’re up-to-date clean, and in my opinion nicely done. The ships layout was a little confusing for some of my party, and by the second day I was able to get my bearings and know how to navigate the ship. For anyone going on the ship, you will need to orient yourself with what is on the backside of the ship what is on the front side and how to navigate through the middle of the ship to get from one side to the other. We were on the second floor, so for us, we were able to walk the entire length of the ship underneath everything that was going on without having to switch elevators and levels to reach our destination.
Cabin / Stateroom
For my first time being on a ship, our cabin size was great. Although I did order a king size bed, we were only given a queen. We did have a couch. A convenient refrigerator in the room along with plenty of storage. Space to hang and fold clothes. We also had a very large window in my opinion. (Since I thought we would be getting a porthole) Which was great to wake up in the morning and either see nothing but ocean or whatever spot we have docked in for that day. The bathroom was an OK size. The toilet was some sort of scary monster. Every time you flushed it the lip of the shower is not high enough so the bathroom does fill with a little bit of water on the floor. The downside to our cabin, and I heard from many other people as well Was the smell. Unsure if the smell was coming from the pipes inside our bathroom or if it was coming from the floor below. This smell is of sewer and seem to dissipate once the water was ran for a few minutes. We did hear people complaining at guest services About the smell and a few other Drainage problems in their shower.
Ship tip
The piece of advice I would give you is to be flexible like we were know that you weren’t always going to get a seat on the upper deck, and the adults only section, if you and your party separate, I would download the Carnival HUB app and pay for the texting. Since the Wi-Fi on board is a ridiculous price.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Grand Turk is a beautiful island, and it is my fault that I did not do enough research on it. I believe this island to be Turks and Caicos. Which it is part of, but not one of the eight islands. Grand Turk is an old salt mining working island. With beautiful beaches and unfortunately due to us being docked at such a short time we were not able to enjoy. I do wish that we were docked longer. We did the golf cart excursion, which was a wonderful way to see a good portion of the island in such a short time. When they take you downtown, you will be able to see all of the local handmade shops along with local vendors. And then a picture Perfect beach opportunity. Do go to the food truck And gets the jerk chicken and most amazing mac & cheese I have ever eaten in my life.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Getting to half Moon Cay was not fun. We had to be water taxied over to the island. Once we landed on the island, the stretch of Beach was beautiful and packed. The amount of rose of people we had to walk past and try to configure seats together was somewhat of a time consumption. Once we were set up The sand and water were absolutely beautiful. One major downside was that your drink package did not flow over to this privately owned island by carnival cruise line. Due to the water taxi situation we decided to leave early, which became the worst part of the entire trip. The disorganization of the staff in the herding of people such as cattle to place us all in a giant waiting area, so that we may board the water. Taxi was nothing but a hot mess. kids were screaming people were pushing one girl even passed out in the midst of the crowd to say that some organization at this point of the trip would have been the best thing for carnival to invest in .
For my first time in the Bahamas, I was very disappointed by such commercialization of this port. You were nowhere near Beach nothing was authentic and once you left the port gates, the island itself was full of trash and rundown. My party and I walked many blocks off the beaten path Just to find acquaint little spot near the harbor. This is the port we spent the longest time at, and I was the most disappointed at. To add insult to injury. There was also three other cruise ships docked at the same time as our ship, it made it impossible to get a seat Out of the rain at anyone of the local establishments.
Disembarkation
Disembarking was the easiest, we did self check out. Woke up early went to have breakfast on our own time grabbed any bottles that we had purchased, and when it was ready to disembark they overhead our number. That was the most organized well planned part of our entire vacation completely stress-free even with us being dropped off at a different terminal, which was conveyed to us the night before, with a notice on our doors, along with being announced overhead.